by Ciz, Alley
“Why?” He was still biting back laughter from her chastising him for his dirty thoughts.
“I need to see where your weight is now, so I know how to plan out what you need to balance meeting your weigh-in requirements while maintaining the muscle mass to kick The Cutter’s ass.”
“How’d you know I decided to do the fight?”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes, giving him a look that screamed do I look stupid? “You boys are all alike.”
He raised a brow in question.
“When one of the women in your life”—she sent a pointed finger at her cousin behind her—“is threatened or disrespected, all those macho alpha man tendencies bubble up inside you demanding retribution.”
Rocky snorted, trying and failing to cover up her laugh at Gemma’s pretty spot on description.
“Honestly.” Gemma popped a hand onto her hip. “It’s a miracle Vince’s fight didn’t turn in to Wrestle Mania, with both you and Jase bearing witness to what that scrotum wrinkle said.”
He was unfortunate enough to be taking a sip of his coffee as Gemma launched her insult. He sputtered into his cup as he tried to clear the java from his throat.
“Scrotum wrinkle? Where the hell do you guys come up with this stuff?”
“One of our besties is a writer. She’s creative,” Rocky answered with a shrug.
I can’t even.
He really needed to step up his insult game if he was going to be able to hang.
“Now, enough stalling. Get your fine ass on the scale. I got things to do. I’m hoping to get done with Thor’s meal prep early enough to go to his game. He’s got some cute teammates I’m hoping to be introduced to.”
He did what he was told but asked, “Thor?”
“She means Jase.” Another amused smirk bloomed on Rocky’s face.
“Yeah, he looks like he could be the long lost Hemsworth brother.” Gemma looked down at the scale. “Wow, two-sixty, right in range. Good job.” She patted him on the shoulder like you would a dog. “Plus, we’re very superhero-centric in our group.”
“Aren’t girls obsessed with the Hemsworths?” he asked.
“Oh, we are,” Gemma deadpanned and he cast a look at Rocky. With his close-cropped, dark hair, he was the furthest thing from the God of Thunder.
“To be fair, I’ve always had more of a thing for Superman,” Rocky mentioned.
Gemma made a gagging sound. “That’s your brother’s nickname.”
Rocky waved her off. “He may have the crest tattooed on his shoulder, but he’s way more Theo James than the actual Man of Steel.”
Gemma appraised him closely. It made him feel like a bug under a microscope. He'd faced down opponents who literally were out for his blood, but hell if they had anything on the Covenettes.
“Well…he is very Henry Cavill,” Gemma concluded.
“Yup. Even down to the chin dimple.”
“Wonder what he would look like in all that spandex.”
Rocky gave a one-shoulder shrug.
“Think we could get him to put on a cape?”
Another shrug from his girlfriend.
His gaze ping-ponged between the two women as they discussed him like he wasn’t standing right next to them.
“While this has been”—he searched for the appropriate word—“informative, yeah, let’s go with that. Now that we've established that I do fall within my weight class, I’m going to go shower so we can head to the gym.”
They unabashedly laughed as he strode from the room, their laughter following him until he shut the bathroom door.
His life since switching coasts was never boring. As entertaining as the morning was, there was one thing that needed to be handled before his training got in full swing.
* * *
As was routine when they arrived at The Steele Maker, Gage went to the locker room while Rocky went to her office. The difference today was instead of heading out to the main training once he was ready, he leaned against the wall in the hallway, waiting for Rocky to make her reappearance.
His conversation with Jase hadn’t been far from his mind the last few days. It was time to take a stand and get his favorite trainer back.
“Gage.” Her hand flew to her chest, his presence clearly catching her off guard.
“Blue.” He pushed off the wall, closing the short distance between them.
“What are you doing?” Her head swirled around checking to see if the coast was clear.
“Fixing something that should have been handled weeks ago.” Without another word, he linked his fingers with hers and pulled her with him down the hall to her father’s office.
Without knocking, he pushed open the door, interrupting whatever conversation the two Steele brothers were having.
“Gage?” Vic asked.
“I wanted to tell you I’m taking the fight.”
“Figured as much. Mick and I were just discussing your training schedule.” His eyes fell to where Gage's hand was clasped around Rocky’s. “What’s this?”
“There’s a few things I’d like to discuss before we move forward.” He gave a gentle tug, his arm wrapping around Rocky’s back and tucking her against his side. They were a team and needed to show a united front. “Rocky is back to working with me, effective immediately.”
“That’s not your call to make,” Vic countered.
“But it is. I’m the fighter. It’s my training.”
“And I’m your coach.”
He nodded. Vic wasn’t wrong, but Rocky was a member of the training team.
“You are. And you just might be the best one I’ve ever had, but”—he held up a finger to stop any further comment—“Rocky is the best trainer you have. No one knows the ins and outs of individual fighters better than she does.”
He smiled at the shocked breath he heard her suck in at his words.
“I’m not doing this without her.”
He refused to blink as he stared down her father.
“I understand your reservations, but they are unfounded. We are all adults and professionals. This mandate of yours has gone on long enough. Now I’m going to go out there and warm up while you two”—he bounced a finger between Vic and Rocky—“figure out a way to come to terms with this.”
He dropped a kiss on the top of Rocky’s blueberry-scented head and strode from the room.
ROCKY’S JAW WAS somewhere on the floor as she watched the door swing closed behind Gage. There were no words to describe how his words made her feel.
She was still battling her insecurities over what could happen over the next month and a half, but there he went showing her how much she meant to him. She wanted to pirouette around the room like a teenager who’d just been asked to prom by her crush.
She would have to save that for later though, because right now her father was looking like he swallowed a bug.
Her uncle rose from his seat, clapped her dad on the shoulder, and turned to leave, shooting her an encouraging smile as he exited the room to give the two of them privacy for this long overdue conversation.
Her father’s bulk seemed to shrink as he blew out a heavy sigh. “Please sit down, Rocky.”
Oh, good. I’m back to being Rocky.
She did as he asked, opting for one of the chairs opposite the couch.
There was so much she wanted to say but she held her tongue.
“He’s right,” he said after a long minute of silence.
“I know.”
His eyes widened at her words. It was the first time she'd ever taken ownership of her role at the gym. Gage had helped give her the confidence to do this. It was his unwavering support that encouraged her to see her own value and she was going to embrace it instead of running from it.
“You pushed me to take this job.”
“I did. This gym is part of your legacy.”
It was her turn to sigh. “And for the longest time that was the only reason I thought you pushed as hard as you did.”
Her father’s entire expression fell at her words. “I’m sorry, Pumpkin, that was never my intention.”
“I know.” She reached out to place a hand over his scarred one. “It took me a long time to be able to see it, but I do now.”
“Because of Gage?”
“Because of Gage,” she answered with a nod.
They didn’t say anything else for several minutes, letting the silence help soothe the wounds left over the last several weeks.
“Okay, enough of the mushy. Let’s get out there and make sure your boyfriend is ready to kick some ass.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Gage did his best to ignore the small camera crew filming around The Steele Maker. For the most part, he was successful. It helped that Jordan was like a pit bull, making sure they kept their distance unless he was specifically being interviewed.
As far as training camps went, this one had to be one of the best he'd ever had, the time constraints not even an issue. When he was asked what he thought was the biggest difference, he credited having teammates supporting him on his journey, which was true, but he knew deep down it was Rocky.
Aside from keeping him healthy and his body in top shape, she made the mundane fun. He actually enjoyed watching footage of both his own and The Cutter’s past fights, picking apart strengths and weaknesses, looking for things he could use inside the octagon. He wanted to say it was because she was seriously knowledgeable about the sport and had a keen eye—and she did—but he was man enough to admit it probably had more to do with having breasts pressed against his back and long legs wrapped around his waist while he sat in front of her watching film that did it.
Even during the strenuous hours of training, she made sure he stayed out of his head. Challenged him in ways that kept him from being too serious.
That was who she was though.
His Blue was fun.
Like right now, for example. Not giving a fuck what her dad had to say—things had been better since their talk, but they were pushing boundaries—she lay on his back while he did pushups, ignoring him completely in favor for reading whatever it was Maddey had just finished writing.
“Holy shitballs, Madz. That’s flipping hot as hell.” He grunted as she shifted to see her friend.
He pushed so his arms were fully extended then lowered himself until his nose brushed the gray and black mats beneath him.
Up.
Down.
Inhale.
Exhale.
“Seriously. You can’t have me read a scene like this when Jake’s completing an arc of away games. Our phone sex game might be fierce, but it’s not the same as the real thing.” Jordan’s reprimand caused him to laugh hard enough to jostle his lounging girlfriend.
“You know it’s not appropriate to have porn in the workplace, right?” Out the corner of his eye, he saw Nick drop an arm around Jordan’s shoulders.
“Pff. You’re just jelly she doesn’t let you beta for her.”
“Damn straight I am.”
Nick’s vehement response caused another bark of laughter to escape him, once again causing Rocky to have to resettle herself on his back.
“You doing alright down there, Champ? Or am I getting to be too much for you to handle?” Smartass. He knocked out three more pushups in quick succession to prove a point.
“Please, we all know how well I handle you.” Up. Down. “Or do you need a reminder?”
“I want to say yes to see what you would do, but no sex at work.” The way she said the last part promised all sorts of naughty things once they were home later.
“Yeah, not unless you want to share,” Nick said, followed by an oof when Jordan elbowed him in the gut.
“Don’t be a jackass,” she scolded. “Shit like that wouldn’t fly back in college, what makes you think it would now?”
“Damn, JD.”
“Don’t you JD me, Nicholas,” she said using her mom voice. “He may not technically be your captain any longer, but I’ll tell Ry you’re talking out your ass when it comes to a Coven member.”
“Savage.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
Jordan and Nick had a long history together from his days playing for the BTU Titans.
“Mother of dragons,” Damon bellowed from across the gym. He was another former Titan puck head.
“Can’t take them anywhere,” Jordan said with a shake of her head.
“Not without risking embarrassment,” Rocky agreed. “Come on, Champ. Head down. You owe me a hundred more,” she said helpfully when he paused in the plank position.
“Demanding woman,” he retorted but continued his reps.
“It’s okay. I’ll let you boss me around later.”
And now he was hard.
He wouldn’t recommend trying to do pushups with a boner.
Sonofabitch.
He tried to think of something, anything, to will the blood away from his aching dick. He didn’t want to worry about bruising it against the floor while he did his pushups.
The smell of his gym bag, blue cheese, clowns—he fucking hated clowns.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be taking it easy until you got to Vegas,” Wyatt heckled him as he, Beth, and his godchild made their way into the gym.
The girls gushed over the baby while his cousin stepped close enough for his feet to enter his field of vision. His family had been coming by the gym a few times a week so they could see each other, even just for a few minutes, while he was in the grind of camp.
He had arranged for his parents as well as Wyatt’s to come to the fight. It made it easier for Wyatt and Beth to come without worrying about who would watch the baby during the fight.
“For years, I stayed safe from the infamous Coven, then you move out here and”—he snapped his fingers—“Beth’s a member.”
“First off.” Up. “You’ve been following Beth around like a puppy since ninth grade.” Down. “So I doubt much has changed.” Inhale. “And second.” Exhale. “I’m doing pushups with a grown-ass woman on my back, this isn’t exactly taking it easy.”
He swore he could hear Wyatt roll his eyes.
“I’d be more impressed if it was the other Steele on your back.”
He bet he would. He also knew Vince was just enough of a goofball to do it, so there wasn’t a chance in hell he would mention it, even jokingly. There was only one member of the Steele family he wanted pressed against him and she was currently fulfilling the role.
As if reading his mind, she rolled from his back only to climb back on, this time with her front pressed to his back, her face peeking over his shoulder and ponytail brushing the floor as he finished off his set of two hundred pushups.
“I hope you’re not too burned out from this set.” Her lips grazed the shell of his ear as she spoke. “Because I think you should do more later.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yup. But this time with me beneath you and both of us naked.”
And he was hard again.
* * *
“You know,” Vince said, once training was done for the day, “camp is almost over, and Gage has never had to face you in the ring.” His sweaty arm dropped around Rocky’s shoulders.
She looked around the gym, trying to spot their father to see if he heard. He must not have because both he and her uncle were walking back to their offices.
“Oh, yes, please.” Nick clapped his hands together. “Please, please, please let us watch you put someone else in their place for a change.”
“You guys realize I only ever spar with you. I could never take any of you in an actual fight.”
“Debatable,” Damon said with a shrug.
She rolled her eyes. These guys were ridiculous. Sparring with them was one thing—fighting them was something else entirely.
“Are you really going to try and stand there and say you haven’t picked up on any of Octoman’s tells after watching hours of film?” Why did her brother have to know her so well?
“I’m game if you are, Blue,” Gage said when she glanced at him.
“You just want a reason to put your hands on me.”
“Yeah, because he needs to use that as an excuse.” Becky snorted.
“Come on, Rock,” the rest of her friends encouraged.
Giving in to peer pressure, she grabbed a pair of pink hand wraps.
She was already pushing her luck by doing this without her father’s supervision so she made sure to slip on the padded sparring helmet. Attractive it was not, but at least she was protected. Though she doubted very much that Gage would come at her with any real punches.
Like a gentleman, he held open the door to the octagon, following once she stepped inside.
“Sure you want to do this?” she asked, slipping a mouth guard in place.
“Do your worst, Blue.” The playful smirk on Gage’s face only made her want to prove herself more. Sure, he was the professional fighter, but there was a thing or two she'd picked up on studying his past fights.
It was time to use them to her advantage.
Shaking her arms out by her sides, she bounced on the balls of her feet as they circled each other, neither one making a move.
Eventually, Gage threw a cross at her, the punch so lackluster she ducked easily and hit him in the middle of the chest with a jab, a chorus of ooohs echoing from outside the cage.
She didn’t want to box with him. And she knew the guys wanted to see if she could manage to put him down. As one of the instructors for the self-defense classes, she was well-versed in ways to take down an opponent larger than herself. Combining that with her own education through the years, she had a good idea what move would work best.
She kept a close watch on Gage’s arms, waiting for her opening. An arm drag into a kouchi gake was going to be her best bet.
She bided her time until she was able to grab his right arm with her left, pulling it straight across her body, while looping her right one underneath to hook a hand around his tricep, tugging the arm into her and causing his body to step forward. With their legs scissor split together, she let go instead of latching onto his arm, dropping to the mat and hooking her right leg around his left.