Devon
I sink into a chair at Sugar, one of the cafés near Crown MMA Gym, opposite my future brother-in-law. Not that he or Harley realize it yet, but now that I have Harley’s love, I’m hoping it’s only a matter of time before I have her hand in marriage too. Oh, not immediately, but not far down the line.
“Hey, man. How are you doing?” I ask, reaching over to shake his hand. He grips mine firmly, then rests his elbow on the table and props his chin on his palm.
“Good. I was glad you called. We haven’t talked for ages.”
I smirk. “Well, you kicked me out of your gym, so…”
He winces. “I really am sorry about that. I was in a difficult position.”
“Yeah, I know.” I wave a hand. That isn’t what I want to talk about today. It’s a battle for another time.
“How was your trip to the fiery pit of hell?”
My lips twitch. “If you mean the sweet little town of Cedar Bend, it was nice.” A server delivers me a savory roll and also places one in front of Seth, whose eyes narrow. I laugh. “Don’t worry, it’s free of sugar, refined starch, and flavor, just the way you like it.”
He huffs as though annoyed, but we both know he loves my teasing.
“Your Mom is great.”
“She is.” His expression softens. “Everything went smoothly?”
“As silk.” I dig into my food. “I also met your old trainer, Don. What a character.”
He shakes his head. “Talk about taking me back. I haven’t seen that guy in years. How’s he doing?”
“Seems to be good.”
Seth drinks from his glass of water and watches me thoughtfully. “Why did you want to meet?”
“Here’s the thing.” I wipe my fingers on a napkin and sit forward. I’m going to need steel balls for this. “I love Harley, and she loves me. I respect you, but I’d want to be with her regardless of your feelings on the matter. Still, I know she cares what you think and I don’t want to damage her relationship with you, so I just want to ask directly: do you have a problem with her and I dating?”
He exhales slowly and rubs his bristly jaw. “No, Dev. I don’t.”
My heart starts beating again.
“Honestly,” he continues, “when she first told me, I did wonder whether it was just a phase for you.” He gives me a look. “You don’t exactly have a rock-solid dating history. But it takes a lot of balls to ask what you just did, and I know you wouldn’t have done that—or gone with her to visit Mom—if you weren’t sure of your relationship. That’s just not the kind of guy you are. You don’t lead people on. So I don’t have anything against you dating her.” His lips twist so slightly at the corners that if he were anyone else, I might not notice, but Seth doesn’t smile often, so it stands out. “I just don’t like the situation it put me in, especially after I asked you both not to go there.”
I shrug. “I’m sorry about that, but the heart wants what he wants.”
He sighs. “That it does.”
Something dark and sorrowful flashes across his face, but he hides it quickly. I wonder what it was about, and whether it has anything to do with his ex, Ashlin. I’m yet to meet her, but I’m curious to know more about the woman he married, and who befriended my Harley.
“You don’t mind that she’s cornering me?”
He quirks a brow. “She has the experience, and if she can stay objective when you’re in the cage, then I don’t see a problem.” His gaze hardens. “Provided it doesn’t interfere with her fights. She’s my priority for the night.”
I nod. “Got it. We’ll make sure it doesn’t.”
“That’s fine then.” He takes another bite of his roll and chases it down with water. “Tell me how your training is going.”
Hell, yeah. I grin. If he’s asking, it means he cares. Maybe Seth and I are going to be all right after all.
Harley
One night. Five hours. Three fights.
At least, that’s presuming I’m not eliminated.
I sip from my water bottle to wet my throat. The Nightshade event has rolled around faster than I ever imagined, and it’s nearly time for my first bout. Seth, Jase, Gabe, and I arrive an hour early. I warm up, stretch, then spar with Jase while Gabe yells instructions. After that, I mop my face and lie still while a physiotherapist rubs me down with Thai oil. The spicy scent of it invades my nostrils and for a moment, it sends me right back to Thailand.
Closing my eyes, I visualize the fight ahead while the physio works my muscles over. My first opponent is Tammy Haddon, a bleached blonde with a nasty smirk and a lot of physical strength. Good on attack, weak on defense. I allow the upcoming match to play like a movie in my mind.
When the physio finishes with me, Seth wraps my hands.
“You’ve got this,” he murmurs, one hundred percent of his attention focused on me. All of the awkwardness of the past two weeks has been put on hold for the sake of getting the win. “You’ve worked hard, and you have more fights under your belt than any of the others. Your grappling has been spot-on this week, and you know what you need to do.” He meets my eyes briefly, his burning with intensity. “Tell me what the plan is for Tammy.”
“Go forward,” I answer automatically. “Put her on defense. Get her off balance.”
“Good girl.” He finishes one hand and moves to the other. I test the wrapping on the one that’s complete. It’s quite a change for me. I’m used to wearing lightweight boxing gloves, but these cage fighting knuckle-covers are completely different. There’s much more freedom to move my fingers and also more ability to inflict serious damage.
My phone buzzes on the stool beside me. I check it. The message is from Devon, wishing me luck. There’s a photo of his face to go with it, and I smile. Devon is somewhere in the building, although I haven’t seen him yet. Ashlin volunteered to stay with him and help him get ready. Although she’s never done MMA, she’s well-schooled in the basics from years of being Seth’s number one supporter.
Meanwhile, I’m facing pre-fight jitters. At least they’re good for one thing. They prevent me from worrying about anything else.
Once I’m ready for action, a medic comes by to check me out. Declaring me good to go, she nods to a guy hovering in the doorway, who announces that it’s time to make the walk to the stadium. The Nightshade event is in one of Vegas’s smaller venues, with seating for a few thousand people. I put my mouthguard in and square my shoulders.
As we draw near the entrance into the arena, the song changes to metal music with a female singer. I gave Seth carte blanche to choose whichever walk-out song he wanted for me. I don’t care what music is playing in the background. It’s a hyped-up Western construct anyway. I enter the stadium, unsurprised when there aren’t any cheers to greet me. I’m an unknown entity to these people, but by the end of the night, they’ll be screaming my name.
A path has been cleared from the doorway into the center of the floor, where a raised cage is situated. I stride toward it, pausing at the base while my gloves and mouthguard are checked, then I climb the stairs and head for the far side. A couple of minutes later, Tammy joins me. She’s older—perhaps in her thirties—with a nose that’s been broken previously and a face that’s seen its share of violence. When the fight begins, and my body settles into a familiar rhythm, her age and past don’t matter. I dominate. The only moment when she’s in control is the few seconds that she gets me into a hold I haven’t practiced much, but even then, she’s no match for me. Before the second round is over, she’s tapped out. The umpire raises my hand in the air and declares me winner.
Out the back, Seth announces that my next fight will be against Savage Rose, the tattooed and shaven-headed woman I watched at the Steel Angels event. He ices my legs and the back of my neck. When I’ve cooled down, I tell him I need to check on Devon and duck out.
I find my man behind a door with his name taped to it. He’s lying on the floor, face down, while Ashlin straddles him and rubs liniment and oil into his back. I take a moment to admire his gleaming brown muscles. My mouth waters. Damn, he’s sexy, and it seems like forever since I felt him inside me because we’ve both been too preoccupied with the upcoming fights to light any fires between the sheets. Maybe tonight that will change. A delicate bud of hope blooms in my chest, and I nurture it until the door clicks shut behind me, alerting them both to my presence.
“Thanks, Ash,” I say.
She shimmies down and starts on his thighs and calves. “No problem. I’m almost done. Congrats on your win.”
“One down, two to go.”
“You killed it out there,” Devon calls, his voice muffled by the towel he’s lying on. “Like a fucking battle queen. Great work getting out of that hold she had you stuck in.”
“You noticed?” I’d thought I’d masked my trouble pretty well.
“I notice everything about you.”
I want to kiss him, and my expression must say so because Ashlin huffs a laugh. “Don’t forget I’m still in the room.”
“No chance of that,” I assure her, sinking into a chair. I managed to come out of the first fight without too many aches and pains, although the back of my neck is stiff from being manhandled and my shins are tender from kicking and checking. “I better not be too long or Seth will come looking for me.”
She climbs off Devon, and he gets to his feet and stretches, then he grabs tape and wraps from a bag and hands them over to me. He sits, and I shift my chair around and straddle it, then start on his hands. I can’t help dwelling on how much bigger they are than mine, and memories flash through my mind of those fingers on my body, my breasts, or curling inside me as I come. I shiver. His grin hitches up in the corner as though he can read my thoughts.
“You’re gorgeous,” he whispers. “I love you.”
Sucking my lips into my mouth, I don’t respond because it’s all I can do to focus on wrapping his hands correctly. When I’ve finished, I turn to Ashlin. “How do you feel about holding pads for him?”
She nods. “I can do that. It’s been a while, but I remember how.”
“Thanks.” I check his wraps, then raise my gaze to his. “I’ll be back.” Because I can’t resist, I brush a kiss over his lips. He lets me retreat without trying for more, and I’m grateful for it.
“Kick some ass, babe,” he says as I head for the door. “I’m proud of you.”