“We talked about that earlier today,” Darcy told him before turning to her class. “Do you guys remember a few of the things we went over?”

A slender dark-haired girl spoke up. “Always walk in areas that are lit up.”

Darcy nodded. “Yep.”

Another girl chimed in. “Avoid taking shortcuts that lead you into alleys, or isolated places.”

“Good. What else?”

Other kids started calling out tips.

“Don’t go out alone at night, and if you do, travel with a group.”

“Carry your cell phone if you have one.”

“Tell people where you’re going so they know where to find you if you don’t come back.”

“Don’t talk to strangers.”

“Stranger danger!” the runt—Devon—shouted in glee.

“Those are all very good strategies,” Reed concurred. “But sometimes even the best prevention methods won’t stop you from being attacked.”

Every face in the gym clouded over with sadness, as if the kids were remembering what had happened to their classmate. The attack on Jamal Littleton had resulted in him being admitted to the hospital with a broken arm, dislocated jaw, fractured ribs, and two black eyes.

Reed was suddenly glad that he’d come here today. Seeing all their young innocent faces triggered his protective urges, and the thought of any of these kids getting beat up like their classmate made him all the more determined to show them how to protect themselves.

“We’re going to start with something simple,” he announced. “I like to call this technique the worm.”

He was greeted with giggles.

“I know, it sounds dumb, but trust me, it’s a good one. I’ll need a volunteer, though.” Although every hand in the gym flew up, Reed’s gaze zeroed in on the smallest kid in the room. “Devon, my man, I think you might be just the guy for the job.”

With an enormous grin, the young boy bounced off the bench and dashed over to the mats. Reed felt Darcy’s eyes on him, and when he shot her a sideways glance, her smile nearly knocked him off his feet. Christ, she was so beautiful. Too beautiful.

He wrenched his gaze away, and cleared his throat. “Have you guys ever tried to hold a little kid who doesn’t want to be held?” Reed asked the group.

That got him a chorus of yeses.

“You know how the kid responds, right? He wiggles around. He thrashes and squirms and bats at you with his hands, trying to weasel out of your grip. Well, that’s what we’re going to do now.”

One of the boys groaned loudly. “We’re going to wiggle around? That’s no fun! I want to punch and kick someone.”

Reed rolled his eyes. “Dude, I would love to see you punch and kick a man twice your size. Because trust me, most attackers will be twice your size. They’ll cart you over their shoulders and you won’t be able to do a damn thing about it. Except wiggle.” His lips twitched. “But if it makes you feel better, I’ll let you throw in some biting, scratching and gouging while you’re wiggling.”

The protester seemed appeased by that. “Cool. But you better teach us some real moves, too.”

“Don’t worry, by the time I’m finished with you guys, you’ll have all the necessary skills to keep yourselves safe.” Chuckling, he turned to shoot Darcy an apologetic look before adding, “And to kick a little butt.”

…

Reed was good with kids.

No, Reed was amazing with kids.

Darcy couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched him interact with her students. They’d graduated from wiggle strategies to more advanced moves, as Reed paired all the kids up. He was in the process of showing them how to target an assailant’s most vulnerable areas, starting with the knee.

Darcy had worried that the workshop might get too violent, but Reed proved to be a natural teacher, as well as a cautious and intelligent one. He didn’t allow too much physical contact between the kids, but the know-how and skills were still being transmitted.

A couple of times, he’d had to demonstrate a particular move on her, but his touch had been entirely impersonal. Nothing sexual about it, and yet her body tingled whenever he touched her. She’d attempted to hide her response to his nearness, and it helped that they were surrounded by children, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop her pulse from racing each time he wrapped one muscular arm around her or when his fingers grazed her bare arm as he showed the kids the best way to twist out of an opponent’s grasp.

To make matters worse, her mind kept going over the text message she’d received from AJ earlier in the day. Even though she’d known Reed was planning on telling his best friend about them, she’d still been dreading AJ’s reaction.

But her ex-boyfriend’s message had shocked her to the core.

I hope it works out with Reed. He plays it like he’s a tough guy, but he’s got a good heart.

Um, what? Darcy had replayed the words in her head like a broken record, but unless she was missing something, there was really only one way to interpret them.

AJ had given them his blessing.

Which was crazy. Did he think she and Reed were dating now? Did he want them to?

Did she want to?

She couldn’t deny she was attracted to Reed—and unbelievably tempted to explore that attraction—but sex and dating him were two very different things. She might be looking for passion, but successful relationships required a lot more than combustible chemistry. She wanted a reliable partner, a man who wasn’t a “selfish bastard,” as Reed had so readily described himself.