Harley
For the rest of the week, I find Devon every time I turn around. Smiling at me, winking at me, giving me that cocksure look that says he knows exactly what to do with a woman when her body responds to him the way mine does. My hormones are out of whack, my nerves constantly on edge. The man is intruding on my peace of mind.
What’s worse is the way I’m coming to admire him. He may be a loose cannon, but he treats everyone well and he’s passionate about MMA. In fact, he might be the only person who trains as long and hard as I do. The difference is that he probably blows off steam with parties and women in the evenings whereas I crash on the couch with Seth to watch TV or meditate in my room.
His flirtatiousness is growing on me too, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t erase the memory of his hard dick beneath me. By the time Friday comes, I’m starting to wonder if it wouldn’t be the worst thing to go to bed with him once or twice. My body is tired of being in a constant state of arousal, and it’s not as if I haven’t had casual sex before. Besides, any loyalty I may have felt toward Thaklaew is gone.
When I enter the gym after returning from a run, I’m immediately greeted by one of his perusals that’s so heated I may as well be naked. He doesn’t even have to touch me, and I want to strip off all his clothes and ride him like a wild mustang. Based on the way his lips curl slowly, he’s aware of his effect on me. Would it really hurt so much to be with him once and get it out of my system? It’s not as if he’d want anything more than that. Men like him get bored with women like me. Maybe I could find out what he’s capable of, just to satisfy my curiosity.
No. Bad Harley. Sleeping with someone from your gym is part of what got you into this mess.
Devon isn’t Thaklaew though, and it wouldn’t be a relationship, just a quick fuck. I don’t have any feelings for him, other than professional admiration. He’s hot, that’s all. That body… My gaze dips to his strong thighs, and I swallow. Very hot.
“Harley, you’re with me,” Seth barks across the gym, holding up a couple of Thai pads. Shaking away thoughts of Devon, I slip on a pair of gloves and join him. He takes me through a few rounds, issuing instructions while I punch, kick, knee, elbow, slip, and weave. It’s while I’m practicing my low kicks that I sense a change in the atmosphere and glance toward the entrance. A pretty black woman with her hair tied back is hovering just inside the door, looking around.
“Who’s that?” I ask Seth as I aim a straight right at the pad in his hand.
“Sydney. Gabe’s girl.”
“Hey, Syd.” I hear Devon’s voice behind me, deep and welcoming. “You’re looking particularly beautiful today. Is there a special occasion I don’t know about?”
My heart sinks and I don’t hear her reply. He’s flirting with her. Of course he is. I’ve already ascertained that he’s a flirt. He’s not truly interested in her, but perhaps that means he’s not truly interested in me either, and I’ve been silly to take his winks and smiles to heart. Maybe he’s just messing with me the same way he is with Sydney—because it’s in his nature and he enjoys it.
I’m a fool.
Setting my jaw, I make up my mind to pay him no heed in future.
“Left hook,” Seth calls, and I smash my fist into the pad with all the power and aggression I can muster. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make me feel any better.
Five minutes later, I’m doing crunches in the corner when I hear a quiet voice saying my name.
“Harley?”
Pausing, I roll into a seated position and look up to see Sydney standing over me. Up close, I can see she has deep brown eyes, flawless skin, and a kind smile.
“I’m Sydney. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” I say, getting up and thrusting my hand out before realizing it’s sweaty as hell and she probably doesn’t want to touch me. She takes it anyway. “You’re dating Gabe?”
“Yeah.” She smiles, and tucks her hair behind her ear. “It’s very new, but we’ve been best friends basically since first grade.”
My heart squeezes at the way her eyes soften. It’s clear she’s in love, and for some reason, envy grips me for a few seconds before I manage to dismiss it. I’ve never wanted a perfect romance before, so I don’t know why her obvious giddiness gets to me.
“That’s pretty cool,” I reply, wishing I had something better to offer.
“Yeah.” She tilts her head. “I know all of the guys here, and you’re in good hands.”
“Thanks.” I study her, wondering if there’s a reason she came over other than to introduce herself. She seems to have something on her mind.
“Did you know one of the newbies has a fight tomorrow night?” she asks. “Jase and Seth will both be there to corner him. Gabe, too. He’s taking a break from training, but he’ll still be helping out with things like this from time to time.”
I nod. Seth has mentioned the event. Apparently he has some concerns about whether the fighter is up to the task, but not because of any lack of training, just that his attitude is a bit off.
“Anyway, Lena—that’s Jase’s girlfriend—and I are getting together while they’re at the fight, and we’d love for you to join us.”
“Really?” I hadn’t expected that, and I’m not sure how to respond. I haven’t had female friends I could just hang out with in over eight years. The only ones I’ve kept up relationships with trained with me at the gym, and we lived muay thai. Then there’s Ashlin, but considering we’ve been in different countries, it’s not as if we’ve had the chance to spend time together.
“Of course.” She smiles, and it hits me that she looks truly happy. Not many people can claim that. “Being around all this testosterone is a lot of work. You need some girl time to balance it out.”
At this, I can’t help but smile. She does have a point. Sometimes I get so caught up in all the manly energy floating around that I find myself trying to compete with it.
“Okay, then. I’d like that. Thanks so much for inviting me.”
“Great!” She beams. “We’ll be at Lena’s place. She lives with Jase. I don’t know the address off the top of my head, but Seth will have it, and if not, just get my number from him and I can find out for you. I’ll see you around six?”
“Perfect.”
She gives me a little wave. “Can’t wait. I’ll let you get back to business. You must have to train insanely hard to keep up with all these men.”
“Bye, nice to meet you.” I return to crunches, but my mind is whirling. Eight years is a long time to forget how to interact with women who aren’t part of the martial arts community. Although, I guess in a way, Sydney and Lena are part of that community. The thought comforts me somewhat. But still, will I have anything in common with them? Or will it be one of those nights where I sit there, unsure of what to say? I hope it’s the former. I could really use some friends in my life.
Devon
Damn it. I was so close to winning Harley over, I could practically taste her sassy lips on my own. She’s been laughing at my jokes—even if she glares afterward to make it clear she doesn’t mean to—and nearly every time I seek her out, I find her already watching me. But ever since Sydney visited, she’s gone cold, and I’m not sure why. I don’t know what’s going on in her head, but it’s nothing good. At least, not where I’m concerned.
Unfortunately, I don’t know how to fix it. I glance over at her as she attacks a kick-bag with vigor, her back pointedly turned toward me. Her form is fucking amazing, because of course it is. She’s a warrior princess. The bell sounds, and she stops kicking, turning to grab her water bottle. Her eyes catch on mine and the air between us seems to cool ten degrees. I offer a smile. She scowls in response.
“Dev.”
I glance over at Jase, who’s standing behind me, presumably just having witnessed the nonverbal rejection. I decide not to let it bother me. I knew Harley wouldn’t be easy to win over, and it’s only been a week.
“Haven’t heard about any of your conquests lately,” he says, walking closer and dropping his voice. “Is that because of Harley?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I told you, I’m not interested in anyone other than her.”
Gabe, who’s dropped by to run over the plan for tomorrow evening, stops abruptly beside us. “What?”
I wince. That’s right. I’d forgotten he wasn’t there when I declared my feelings.
“Shh,” I hiss, because the last thing I need is for her to know we’re talking about her. Judging by the looks coming my way, she’s annoyed enough without being the subject of gossip.
Gabe raises a brow. “You’re the one who mentioned it.”
“Actually, Jase is,” I point out. “But yeah, I’m into her, and I’m pretty sure she’s into me. She just doesn’t know what to do about it.”
Gabe narrows his eyes. “She’s Seth’s sister.”
“I know,” I mutter, “and it’s damned inconvenient.”
“Against the rules, too,” Jase reminds me.
“Yeah, yeah.” Do they have to gang up on me? I know that pursuing her isn’t the most noble thing to do, but I also want to make sure there’s something between us before announcing to Seth that I want to court his sister, or some old-fashioned shit like that.
“Are you sure that isn’t why you’re interested in her?” Gabe asks. “The allure of the forbidden?”
Snorting with laughter, I cover my mouth. “Bro, did you just say ‘allure’?”
He rubs a hand on the back of his neck, cheeks flushing. “Sydney’s rubbing off on me.”
I shake my head, not even wanting to think about all the “rubbing” he and Sydney do. She’s a great girl, and I knew her for years before they hooked up, so I do not want to think about all the filthy things they probably do to each other.
“That’s not what it is. I like her, man. Really like her.” So much that the sight of her delivering the world’s most perfect roundhouse kick has fucking flutters erupting in my belly. Flutters.
“You hardly know her.”
I grasp at the fraying ends of my temper. They’re treating me like a naughty child, and they may not mean to, but it’s bothering me. They’re supposed to know me better than anyone else. What does it say about me that they think I only want her because I can’t have her?
“I know enough.”
Jase hums in thought. “She’s clearly not interested. Maybe you should just let this go and pick up a woman at the fights tomorrow? I’m sure there are plenty who’ll want to go home with ‘Dangerous’ Devon Green.”
“No.” Honestly, I can’t believe he’d suggest such a thing. “Would you have done that when the only woman you wanted was Lena?”
“No,” he admits.
“Then don’t try to pressure me into it. I don’t care whether you understand or not, but Harley and I have a connection, and I’m not going to rush it, and I’m not going to do anything to mess it up.”
He claps me on the shoulder. “Good for you, bro. Just be careful.”
“And don’t screw over Seth,” Gabe adds.
“I won’t.” I’m not the kind of guy to betray his friends for a girl… am I?