Page 13

Chapter 13

Ari

I t’s just a welcome present.

I clutched the shorts between my fingers. I would have done the same for any new member to the gym. But I already knew that wasn’t true. Quite a few fighters had joined the gym since I’d been running it, and I hadn’t gone out of my way to do anything special for any of them.

That didn’t mean it had to mean something, though. It was just a small token of how happy Smiley’s was to have Bones. There was certainly no extra meaning there.

But would he see it that way? Sudden panic coursed through me. Would Bones see this gift as a sweet, ‘welcome to the gym’ gesture. Or would he think there was more meaning attached to it? Would he think I was coming on to him?

For a second, I held the shorts out in front of me, examining them, trying to see what he could misconstrue from the gift, before changing my mind all over again. It was only a piece of clothing, for crying out loud. He might just take the gift for what it was—a meaningless clothing item. I was definitely overthinking this.

With a newfound confidence, I strode down into the main room to try to catch Bones at the end of his first workout as an official member of the gym and give him the welcome gift. A small part of me also wanted to see if he was all right and if the other fighters were treating him well.

I had walked by Frankie giving Teo an ass chewing for being a dick to Bones in the locker room. I normally tried to tone down Frankie, but this time, I wanted the guys to know there would be consequences if they fucked with Bones. I didn’t want him to go through a real-life upheaval to get back into the sport he loved, just to face all kinds of crazy bullshit inside the gym.

He would have to face it in the outside world, as it was.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do about that, however much I wanted to. But I didn’t want shit within the gym. Not only would that affect everyone’s head game, but it might also push Bones away before he’d really had the time to settle back in.

But as I entered the gym, I quickly realized I was too late. The training session was already over, and most of the fighters had dispersed.

I headed toward the locker room, smiling and acknowledging the other guys as they filed out, freshly showered and dressed. Because I was pretty sure that I’d seen every other person, except for Bones, I had no hesitation with simply walking in there to see him. If everyone else was dressed, then he must have been, too. And to catch him alone was absolutely the best way for me to do this.

My heart raced with excitement as I imagined how his face might light up when he saw the shorts. They were just like the ones he once wore before. Same colors and design. Bones embroidered on the waist. I had seen a picture online when I had been researching and thought it might be a nice gesture. Or a stupid one. I still wasn’t sure.

“Bones,” I called out tentatively, my voice echoing around the room. “Bones, are you still in here?”

When he didn’t answer me, I started to assume I might have missed him, that maybe he’d gotten dressed quicker than everyone else. So, with a heavy heart, I turned to go. That was the moment I heard a clattering from across the other side of the locker room, much nearer the showers, and my heart clenched all over again.

“Bones,” I called out again, this time with much more confidence. “I have something for you. I wanted to give it to you now before?—”

Holy fuck!

I found myself standing dead in the middle of the room like a statue when I finally saw him. It was as if my limbs had completely iced over, freezing me in position, while all of me heated up painfully. My brain screamed at me to run, to get the hell out of there, but my body simply wasn’t paying any attention.

Bones was basically naked…

I needed to get the hell out of there!

“I… I…” I finally managed to splutter out. “I’m so sorry, I’ll just…”

That body! His bare ass was dangerously sculpted. And when he turned to face me, with abs dripping wet from the shower—he was like a freaking Greek god. That abdominal V of his had droplets running down the lines all the way to the small towel that barely covered his dick that I desperately wanted to see. Even with a flimsy cloth covering his manhood, his incredible body had the power to turn me into jelly.

I was staring at him like an idiot, openmouthed and everything. If he didn’t think I had the hots for him before, he sure as hell did now. I couldn’t stop staring at that towel, hoping he would drop it.

“I have something for you,” I forced myself to gasp out, “but I’ll wait for you outside.”

It wasn’t until I had raced from the locker room, and I was panting heavily with my eyes closed, leaning against the ice-cold wall behind me, that I realized he hadn’t even tried to hide himself. He’d simply stood there, smirking—flirting—at me, almost as if he wanted me to keep on looking.

Could that mean… Did he want me to stay?

An involuntary moan escaped past my lips at the mere thought of being with him, which made me squeeze my thighs together.

Why did he have to be so damn sexy? I had enough fighters in my life with Freakshow. One was a handful and the thought of another… but I could barely resist. That I already knew I couldn’t go anywhere near him might have added to the temptation, but that knowledge wasn’t helping me right now. I’d never had to fight off a sizzling sexual chemistry that was quite as intense as this one. That, combined with the bond I felt we were forming, as well as an emotional connection, was driving me to new levels of recklessness.

Get your head together . This cannot happen. It’s really as simple as that.

“Hey.” His smooth voice rang out from behind me, making me jump like an unhinged loon. “You wanted to talk to me about something?”

“Oh, yeah… I…” Shit, I was getting flustered. What the hell was the matter with me? I already felt like I had to be a lot stronger than everyone else because I was a woman trying to survive in such a testosterone-filled world. I didn’t want to cause that to fall apart over one silly, lust-filled mistake. “I had these made for you,” I said as I handed him the folded material.

He unfolded the shorts, grinning at me the entire time. There was a little secret behind his smile, and it caused my heart to beat faster and louder. I had a suspicion it might be due to me seeing him almost nude, and it was leaving me unable to cope.

“Oh, no way!” he nearly whispered. “My shorts. Just like before.” He ran his fingertips along the embroidered name. “ Bones .” He looked up at me with softness in his eyes. “Thank you so much.”

“I wanted to welcome you?—”

“Ari, this is”—he looked down at the shorts and then back up at me—“this is extremely thoughtful. You really shouldn’t have. I don’t deserve?—”

“Stop,” I said. “We brought you into this gym to beat up other people. Not to beat up yourself.”

I watched as he extended his arms out to me, to pull me in for a grateful hug, and I could feel myself going into shock. I just didn’t know how I could be wrapped in those strong arms, pressed up against those amazing abs, knowing what his body was truly like beneath his clothing. I was already filled with a buzzing lust. I couldn’t make it worse.

But it was too late to back out now. He was coming at me.

The moment seemed to fall into slow motion. He touched me, filling me with a bolt of electricity. I looked toward him for a second, trying to see if he was feeling the same, and that was the moment I saw his lips were coming in to kiss me.

I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to.

I was pretty sure I had just enough time to turn my head away from him, to allow that kiss to fall on my cheek, but for some reason I didn’t. I stayed in that position until our lips crashed together. My lips pressed against his as he demanded I open them just enough to push his tongue inside to dance with mine. Passion conquered any hint of resistance. I was no match to this heavyweight contender. He championed over me as his kiss dominated.

Pulling away just enough to whisper, he said, “I shouldn’t.”

“I shouldn’t. We shouldn’t,” I said in agreement, but wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into the kiss more.

Passion multiplied, and I lost full control. The powerful lust took over, and all rational thought vanished as we kissed like I had never kissed before.

I didn’t know if anyone was still in the gym. I didn’t know if Frankie would walk in at any moment.

I didn’t care. I couldn’t focus on reality when I had Bones’ tongue inside my mouth. Reason screamed inside my head, but I fought against it as Bones pulled me hard against his chest. If it weren’t for the way he held me close, I would have surely crumpled to the ground. My breath became his, and my heart beat with the same rhythm. We were slowly merging with this all-encompassing kiss.

“Bones,” I finally said when we both came up for air.

“I know. I know,” he said as he pulled away completely and stormed out of the gym without saying another word.

What did he know? I sure as hell didn’t know. I was lost. Drowning in the waves and waves of emotion the kiss caused. What did he know?

“Careful, Ari,” someone said behind me.

I turned to see Lotto leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to find my voice. “Lotto, I didn’t know you were here.”

He pushed himself off the wall and took a few steps toward me. “You know the rules when it comes to Bones.”

“Rules?”

He closed the distance between us. “We’re a package deal. You kiss him, then you have to kiss me.”

Lotto’s words hung in the air, heavy and thick with implications. I took a step back, my heart pounding. “Lotto, I didn’t mean to?—”

A shiver ran down my spine as Lotto closed the distance between us, his lips meeting mine in a soft, gentle kiss. I melted into him, my body responding to his touch in a way I couldn’t explain.

When we finally broke apart, Lotto looked at me with a knowing smile. “Just like your contract. Black and white. Rules are rules.”

I stared at Lotto, my mind reeling from the kiss we’d just shared. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I had just kissed Bones, and now I was kissing Lotto. It was like I was caught in some kind of whirlwind, unable to escape.

“Lotto,” I started, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to explain what I was feeling. My emotions were all over the place, and I was absolutely losing control.

A knot formed in my stomach as Lotto’s words sank in.

Package deal.

Is that what Frankie and I were, too?

Package deal.

Lotto must have seen the confusion and fear in my eyes because he took a step back and gave me a reassuring smile. “See you tomorrow, angel. We have a lot of work to do.”