Page 19 of Knuckles & Knives

He kisses me, and it’s not gentle or tentative. It’s consuming. His mouth captures mine, and I respond with equal hunger. My hands fist in his hair, pulling him closer as he backs me against the wall of mirrors that line one side of the gym.

The cool glass against my back is a sharp contrast to the heat of his body pressed against mine. He tastes like mint and something darker, more dangerous. When his teeth catch my bottom lip, I can’t stop the soft moan that escapes.

“Fuck,” he breathes against my mouth, pulling back slightly. “We shouldn’t?—”

“Don’t.” I pull him back to me, needing this connection more than I need air. “Don’t think. Just feel. Isn’t that what you taught me?”

He groans low in his throat, and then we’re kissing again, deeper this time, our tongues dueling. His hands map the curve of my waist, the line of my ribs, careful of my bruises but possessive in a way that makes my knees weak. When he lifts me easily, wrapping my legs around his waist, I forget why this is supposed to be complicated.

There’s only this moment, this man, this need that’s been building between us since the moment I walked back into his world.

“Dom,” I whisper against his lips, and he freezes.

“Christ, Raven. What are you doing to me?”

“Exactly what I want to,” I whisper.

Before I can kiss him again, the sound of footsteps on the stairs cuts through the haze of desire. We spring apart like guilty teenagers, and I have just enough time to smooth my hair before Marcus appears at the bottom of the staircase.

If he notices the tension crackling between Dom and me, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he surveys the gym with those calculating eyes, taking in our disheveled appearance and the abandoned focus mitts.

“Morning training session?” he asks mildly.

“Something like that,” Dom mutters, reaching for his shirt.

“Good. Raven, I have information about your next fight. Are you free to discuss it?”

I glance at Dom, who’s pulling on his shirt with jerky movements that suggest he’s as affected as I am. The kiss lingers between us, unfinished business that makes my skin feel too tight. And the way he’s standing, so that neither Marcus nor I can see his front makes me certain Dom’s erect.

“Of course.”

But as I follow Marcus toward the stairs, I catch Dom’s reflection in the mirrors. He’s watching me with an expression I can’t quite read—part want, part regret.

And yes, his shorts are tented.

Whatever just happened between us, it changed something fundamental. Will that change make us stronger or destroy us both?

In this world of violence and betrayal, I’m starting to learn that sometimes the most dangerous battles are the ones you fight with yourself.

CHAPTER 7

The main fight club is empty at two in the morning, the ring bathed in a single spotlight that cuts through the darkness like a blade. I should be sleeping, recovering from the brutal training session Dom put me through yesterday, but sleep feels impossible when my body is still humming with adrenaline and my lips still burn from the memory of his kiss.

I’m working through combinations on the heavy bag when I hear the slow clap echoing from the shadows.

“Nice form. Still telegraphing your right hook, though.”

Axel emerges from the darkness, moving with that fluid grace that makes him seem more ghost than man. His nickname is so apt. His hair is even more disheveled than usual, and there’s something wild in his dark eyes that sets every nerve ending on alert.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, not stopping my routine.

“Could ask you the same thing.” He vaults over the ropes into the ring with casual ease, landing silently despite the height. “But I already know the answer. You’re running from something. Question is what.”

“I’m not running from anything.”

“No? Then why are you down here beating the shit out of an inanimate object instead of sleeping like a normal person?” He circles me slowly, staying just outside my reach. “Let me guess. Dom finally made his move.”

Heat flashes through me, and I know my face gives me away because Axel’s grin turns sharp and knowing.