Camile
I wake feeling more refreshed than I’d like. I’ve had a lifetime of being quiet, sensible Cami, who lives in the shadow of Karson Hayes. Last night, I’d hoped for more. I wanted to do something for me. Something that would shock the hell out of my twin brother and make him give me that disapproving look that always stopped me in the past.
It won’t stop me any longer.
I didn’t get my adventure yesterday, so I’ll just have to chase it today. Tony is hosting an afternoon party at his place for people associated with his new gym, Crown MMA, to debrief. I know he won’t turn me away if I show up, even though I don’t technically have an invitation. He’s too kind for that. Of course, if I go to the party, there’s a chance I’ll run into Leo again, but I’ve let fear dictate too much of my life already. No matter how nervous I am about the possibility of seeing him, I won’t let it hold me back.
I get out of bed, make breakfast, and spend the morning working on my designs. I’m employed by a boutique for plus-size women, but my greatest passion is the designs I make in my own time. I have dozens of different styles sketched out, but I’ve never been brave enough to show anyone. Not even Karson or my parents. My brother has always been the talented one, the famous one, the good-looking one. Design is the only thing I have that’s just mine, and if one of them laughed or told me I wasn’t good enough, I don’t think I’d recover.
But I am good. I know it. Or at least, I’m decent enough not to be laughed out the door if I pitch my designs to a clothing company. I just need to work up the nerve to do it. Sharing my designs terrifies me, hence why it’s the last thing on my list. I’ll have to build up the confidence for it.
After fixing a burrito for lunch, I shower and start primping. I choose a gorgeous pink lipstick and pair it with a dress of the same color that drapes over my shoulders, plunges at the cleavage, and gently caresses my curves as it falls to my knees. It’s one of my favorites. I designed it myself but had someone else make it, since sewing isn’t my strong point. I can get by in a pinch, but artistic vision is more my thing than the nitty-gritty of stitching and adding buttons or zips.
I dust on a little blush, apply mascara, curl my hair, and smile in the mirror. Perhaps I won’t ever look like a model, but I’m pretty enough for men who like their girls on the bigger side. I check the time and decide it’s late enough for the party to be in full swing. Thankfully, most people shouldn’t notice when I turn up.
I drive to Tony’s home, a modern building in a wealthy area of town with big glass windows and a terrace overlooking a sprawling lawn. He makes good money, although Karson makes more. Or at least, he used to. This arrest has the potential to destroy his career. I park down the street because the roadside is clogged with shiny new vehicles, and make my way down. I feel self-conscious strolling up his front path by myself. Several people I don’t recognize look at me strangely. Across the lawn, I lock eyes with Lena LaFontaine, Karson’s ex, who is standing with three other women. I’ve seen two of them at fight events before—a stunning black woman and an athletic blonde with a dangerous scowl—but the third, a pregnant brunette, isn’t familiar. I hold Lena’s gaze, sucking in a breath as I wait to see whether she’ll make a fuss about my presence. I didn’t spend much time with her while she dated Karson, and I’m not sure why they broke up, but my newly cynical side tells me he probably mistreated her. I offer her a small smile, and her icy blue eyes narrow, but then she lifts one shoulder and looks away, dismissing me. I relax. I can handle a casual dismissal. Perhaps this will be okay after all.
“Cami!”
I turn at the sound of my name. Tony is making his way toward me, smiling widely. When he reaches me, he bends to kiss my cheek. His lips are warm as they ghost over my skin, but no tingles erupt. I don’t feel the urge to swoon.
Damn.
“It’s good to see you, bellissima.” The corners of his dark eyes crinkle, and a lock of hair hangs free from the tie that’s holding the rest of it at the nape of his neck. “It’s been too long.”
“Hi, Tony.” I return his smile and remind myself of my mission. “Good win last night.”
He beams. “You were there?”
“Aren’t I always?”
He laughs. “True.” He takes my hand, but I don’t read into it because he’s just a touchy person. “Come on. Let’s find you a drink and catch up. I want to hear all about what you’ve been doing since I left City Fight Center.”
A little more of the tension eases from my shoulders. Everything is going well. I can do this. I follow Tony and accept the glass of wine he offers. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He leads me to a quieter spot where we can hear each other over the hum of conversation. “I’m glad you came. I’ve missed seeing your pretty face.”
Nerves fizzle in my gut, and sweat beads on my forehead. Now is the moment. I need to flirt back. “Not as much as I’ve missed seeing yours.”
Ugh, Cami, could you be any more cliche?
But Tony laughs, his eyes widening with surprise. He cocks his head questioningly, and I give a subtle nod to indicate that yes, this time I’m willing to flirt. I’ve always ignored his attempts in the past because I knew he wasn’t serious, and honestly, I worried what Karson would say if he found out. He’d probably have made a snarky comment about how I was embarrassing him and making a fool of myself over a man who’s way out of my league.
Too bad. Karson isn’t here today, and he can suck it.
Tony wraps an arm around my waist and winks. “Tell me more about how much you missed me.”
Leo
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for us,” I tell my coach, Seth, as we stand side by side on the terrace overlooking Tony’s front lawn. “We’d never have bounced back so fast after the scandal if not for you.”
Many people still think poorly of the five of us who defected from City Fight Center in favor of Crown MMA after things went to shit, but we’re recovering way better than we would have without Iron-Shin Seth Isles throwing his weight behind us.
He shrugs. “It’s good for me to have you guys here. Builds up our reputation.”
I manage to swallow down a remark about how our reputation isn’t something most people would want these days. Instead, I say, “Ashlin looks healthy.”
His lips lift in a slight smile. Seth isn’t an effusive guy, but he’s crazy about his pregnant fiancé—who also happens to be his ex-wife. “The pregnancy is going well.”
“And the wedding plans?”
He grunts. “Coming along okay, but I just want everything to hurry the fuck up so I can get my ring on her finger again.”
I chuckle. “Isn’t it already there?”
“The engagement ring,” he grumbles. “Not the wedding ring.”
“You’re such a caveman.”
He gives me a look. “You just wait. One of these days, you’re going to meet a woman who fucks you up on the inside, and then you won’t be laughing.”
I gulp because I’m afraid it’s true, except it’s more likely I’ll fuck up any woman unlucky enough to fall for me than the other way around. I’m too much like my father, who was a superstar on the MMA circuit long before me, and who used the fame and fortune to cheat on my mom over and over again while she stayed quiet like the obedient wife she is. When I finally caught him in the act and confronted him, he’d rolled his eyes and said I’d understand one day because I was so much like him that I was bound to do the exact same thing. I couldn’t even argue. People had been comparing me to him all my life. One sports reporter even went so far as to call me a carbon copy.
But I’m determined to be different. A better man. Back when I told Mom what I’d seen, I expected her to leave him, but despite how it hurt her, she stayed. When I asked why, she said it didn’t mean he loved her any less. I left his gym the next day and moved to City Fight Center. I couldn’t stay around to watch them cycle through the same crap over and over. Now, we don’t talk much anymore.
“Earth to Leo,” Seth says. “You in there?”
“Huh?” I snap to attention. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“No worries.” He searches my face as though trying to read my mind. I let him, knowing he won’t see anything I don’t want him to. My poker face can withstand even his scrutiny. “Ashlin was waving. I’m going to check on her. You coming?”
I shake my head. “I’m going to stay up here a while longer. I like the quiet.”
He nods and claps me on the shoulder, then leaves. I rest my arms on the railing and watch the people assembled below. I scan them, looking for my four City Fight Center buddies: Enya, Tony, Oman, and Vic. I spot Enya talking to Harley, Seth’s sister. Vic and Oman are playing cards around a picnic table. But where’s Tony? I search for his dark countenance and finally find him with his arm around a blonde—not the woman I saw him with last night. I stare harder. The girl he’s canoodling with has a lush figure and the prettiest pink lips I’ve ever seen.
It’s Camile Hayes. Again.
She tilts her face toward him and I growl. The way she’s pouting, she’s practically inviting a kiss. Doesn’t she know Tony isn’t a good bet for her? She isn’t the kind of girl to hook up and move on, which is all she’ll get from him.
Damn, I’m going to have to step in and stop her from getting her feelings hurt. I stalk away from the terrace and hurry down to the lawn. Someone says my name but I ignore them, too focused on getting to Camile.
“Hey, Priest,” Tony says as I stop in front of them.
“Tony. Can I borrow Cami for a moment?”
He looks quizzically between us. “Sure.” He caresses the side of her cheek. I want to grab his fucking finger and snap it. Doesn’t he know she’s not the kind of girl he can play with? “I’ll see you soon, bellissima?”
“Of course. I’ll only be a few minutes.” Lasers dart out of her eyes with enough power to fry me on the spot. My stomach buzzes. There’s so much more to this girl than I ever gave her credit for. I place a hand on her upper arm and instantly realize my mistake. Her skin is smoother and softer than anything I’ve ever felt. I snatch my hand back and gesture for her to go around the corner of the house, out of sight. She rolls her eyes but does it.
“What do you want?” she demands.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I want to know why the hell you’re hanging out with fighters. Karson is sidelined for a year, so why are you here?”
She folds her arms under her breasts, and I can’t help but steal a peek at them. Those luscious tits look like they’d be more than a handful, and based on the way she’s built, they’re all natural. Fuck, she’s gorgeous.
“Have you ever considered that maybe I enjoy watching fights?” she asks, her tone suggesting I’m a dumbass. “Or that I’m here because I have friends in these circles? Not everything I do is because of my brother.”
“Oh.” I deflate, beginning to feel like a dick. She’s always struck me as such a gentle soul that I thought she wouldn’t like violence, but I shouldn’t have made assumptions. It also should have occurred to me that after spending years around fighters, she might have friends among our ranks. I suppose I’ve rarely seen her with anyone other than Karson, but it’s not as if she just vanished whenever he wasn’t around. She must have built relationships. “Okay, but what are you doing with Tony? Surely you know he’s not a one-woman kind of man.”
Her eyes become squinty. She’s pretty fucking cute when she’s mad—not that I dare say it. “I want a mind-blowing kiss, and I think he’s the guy for the job.”
My jaw drops. “You… what?”
She smirks. “You heard me, Mr. Judgey. I don’t care if he’s not a one-woman man. All I want is a kiss that rocks my world, and rumor has it, Tony knows what he’s doing.”
Blood rushes in my ears. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. An image flashes into my head of Tony and Camile wrapped in an embrace. My brain short circuits. For some reason I don’t want to examine too closely, I can’t stand the idea of them together. But if all she wants is a kiss, then there’s an easy solution.
I’ll kiss her.
I grab her by the shoulders, groaning at the feel of her warm body against mine as I haul her close. Then, before she can do more than gasp, my mouth is on hers. She stiffens for a moment but doesn’t resist. I shut my eyes and soak up the reality of holding her in my arms. It’s so much better than I could have imagined. She’s all soft curves and silky skin. She smells edible, and after only a moment’s hesitation, her body molds to mine. A whimper sounds in the back of her throat, her lips part, and I finally get a taste of her.
Savage need tears through my body. She’s so fucking sweet. Like watermelon and sunlight. I pull her closer and plunder her mouth. What was supposed to be a brief kiss has taken a turn. The ground seems to fall out from beneath my feet, and I’m drowning in an ocean of desire. She dominates my senses. I can’t get enough of her.
My cock jumps to life, eager to join the party, and a sliver of sanity returns. I haven’t had sex in a long time, and I can’t start with her. I stumble away, gasping for breath.
I can’t do this. She’s related to one of the men responsible for my career veering sharply off course. Not to mention the fact I’ve just been telling myself she’s the kind of woman you keep—and I’m not looking for that. No matter how tempting she is.
“There.” I force the word past lips that don’t want to work. “You’ve had your kiss. If that’s all you came for, I think it’s time for you to go.”