“Says a man who’s been on his back twice in five minutes. If you want to take a rest, you don’t need me to send you to the mat,” she said with laughter in her eyes. “Just let me know when you want to—”

John cut her off with a quick strike to the belly and placed the same foot behind her. Once the air had been knocked out of her, she fell to the floor. He covered her quickly and pressed a powerful forearm against her chest. “What was that?”

Victoria’s eyes widened as she sucked air through her lungs. “Dang it.”

“Are you hurt?” John asked, refusing to move his arm.

She shook her head against the mat. “Only my pride,” she said with a chuckle.

“Good, now do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head again. The look in her eyes said as much. Victoria was prepared to bury her feelings and that didn’t sit well with him.

“Are you ready to tap out?”

She laughed outright. “Of course not.”

John was puzzled by her response. “I’ve got at least forty pounds of muscle on you, Dr. Reese,” he said as he straddled her chest. “You’re not getting out of this.”

“And I’ve been in tighter spots. This is nothing.”

“I don’t see you doing anything,” John said.

And that was the problem.

He’d relaxed his grip on her and hadn’t noticed how Victoria raised her hips against the mat. While pinned beneath him, she managed to bring her legs to his shoulders and clamp ankles around his neck. Pulling him backwards, she used her free arms to pry his grip from her chest. John was on his back again as Victoria squirmed away. It was a floor match now and while he was caught unaware, he knew he was better on the mat. John righted himself and grabbed her by the leg as she tried to get away.

“Nope,” he said, dragging her back to him. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Victoria swung one leg around his chest and latched onto his arm, trapping him in another arm bar. He swore he was actually trying, but she’d managed to catch him in the same move.

“Jesus, woman. How?”

Victoria’s braids swung low to the ground as she pulled his arm away from his body and locked it between her thighs. “I haven’t done this in a while, but it’s like riding a bike,” she said with a grin.