Outmatched: A Novel

by Kristen Callihan

  “I want you again,” I said inside of a kiss.

  “Then have me again,” she said with a lusty little sigh.

  I was so completely gone on this woman it was scary.

  Cupping her ass, I hauled her up, and she wrapped her legs around me. When I began to walk her back to the room, she grinned wide. “You think this means dinner for tonight is off?”

  “Doesn’t matter.” I gave her lower lip a quick nip. “I slipped Andrew a hundred bucks to make sure we get room service.”

  Her brown eyes widened. “And he agreed?”

  I loved that it clearly made her happy. “Guess so, since dinner arrives at seven.”

  Parker kissed me hard and fast before leaning in to nibble on my ear. “I love the way you think, Rhys Morgan.”

  “Yeah? Because I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do to you when we get back to the room. Want to hear?”

  She did. And I told her. In detail.

  Happiness wasn’t something I was used to. I felt it then, so strong it almost seemed like a dream. Maybe it was. Nothing about this place or being with Parker here seemed real. I pushed away the fear that it would change when we got back to the real world. Nothing would change. It couldn’t.

  After all we’d been through, Parker and I deserved our happiness.

  And yet even when I finally slid into her again and she made that sound of utter satisfaction, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that being with Parker was something that could shatter with one wrong move.

  Eighteen

  Parker

  * * *

  It shocked me how much I didn’t want to say goodbye when Rhys dropped me off at my apartment.

  I’d clung to him as he kissed me, wishing he would drive us back to his place. Spending the weekend with him had spoiled me. It had also surprised me. And not just because of the tremendously fantastic sex.

  Although it was worth noting that I was having the best sex anyone could have possibly ever had.

  I hadn’t even known sex could be that intoxicating.

  My appetite for Rhys Morgan was … unexpected, shall we say.

  “Yet it’s about more than just the sex,” I told Zoe as I stood at our kitchen counter with a glass of wine in hand.

  I’d just gotten done telling her about the weekend with Fairchild. How Rhys and I had decided to explore the very real chemistry between us. Then that horrible billionaire’s machinations. How it had led to a phenomenal night of sex and laughter. The hilarity (it was wrong to be amused, it really was) of Fairchild literally getting bitten by a sand snake, and how that led to more excellent sex. In fact, we’d stayed holed up in our room all night.

  I was pretty exhausted.

  However, it was the very best kind of exhaustion.

  Fairchild hadn’t shown his face the next day. Andrew had been there at breakfast to see us out, and then we all got into our cars and drove to the airport. On the plane, I slept with my head on Rhys’s shoulder, content beyond any time I could remember.

  Zoe sat on a stool at the counter opposite me, her chin resting in her palm. Her expression was contemplative. “Are you sure it’s not just sex? Because the sex you just described would convince any woman she was emotionally involved.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I think I can separate my sexual feelings from my emotional ones. But that’s the thing. I can’t with Rhys. The sex isn’t just fantastic because the man is beautiful and athletic and very, very generous. It’s fantastic because there’s a connection between us. I feel it. We make each other laugh, and he has this wonderful ability to make me feel completely safe, even though when we’re together it’s like we’re free-falling. Scary and exciting … but I trust him.”

  My best friend’s eyes glistened. “Oh, Park. Honey, I’m so happy for you.”

  “Don’t get all emotional on me, you dork,” I teased, because if I didn’t tease, she’d make me cry.

  “I know. I just … for years you’ve pushed guys away. Some very nice guys. Guys who wanted to be the one to pick up the pieces that shattered when you lost Theo.”

  “It was too soon back then.”

  “It’s been too soon for thirteen years, until Rhys,” she pointed out.

  I bit my lip, trying to stop my dopey smile, and failing. “I want to spend all my time with him, which is extremely out of character. You know me. I’ve always needed my space from potential romantic interests.” I grinned now. “I don’t want space with Rhys. Space is officially unappealing.”

  Zoe smirked. “You’ve got it bad.”

  Avoiding the topic of just how bad I might have it, I continued, “You and Dean are the only people who know our relationship started out fake. I’m asking you, and hoping Dean will agree, to keep that quiet. No one needs to know it wasn’t real from the beginning.”

  “Agreed. My lips are sealed.” Zoe tilted her head to the side in thought. “Can I ask … does Rhys know about Theo?”

  “Yes. I told him.”

  “It’s not weird for him that you haven’t been able to move on from the love of your life?”

  Irritation rippled through me, even though I knew she didn’t mean to offend. “I am moving on. And Theo was my first love, Zoe, he always will be. But I don’t know if he was the love of my life.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, Park. You have got it bad. Should I be worried?”

  I blushed. “I’m not saying Rhys is the love of my life. We’re not there yet. I’m just saying … what I had with Theo was different. It was sweet and lovely. It was first love. It was the love between two fumbling kids.” I smiled now, amazed at the way it didn’t hurt so much anymore. “I think I held onto what I had with him for so long because I was afraid to get hurt again. To lose like that again. This, with Rhys … it isn’t a choice to move on, to take that risk again.” I shrugged. “I just can’t not. I want him more than I’m afraid of losing him.”

  There was a moment of heavy silence between us, and then Zoe threw back the rest of her wine and announced, “I need to buy that man a big goddamn present because I’ve never seen you this happy, and it makes me ecstatic. I love you, Park.”

  This time, tears did thicken my words. “Love you too, Zo.”

  “But just saying”—she leaned over the counter, her eyes hardening—“he hurts you in any way and I will personally see to his physical, financial, and emotional evisceration.”

  I laughed. “Good to know.”

  “Speaking of, is he really going to fight?”

  The thought of Rhys fighting against his will made me sick to my stomach. “I hope not. He’s talking to Dean tomorrow about the gym’s finances. He asked me to come over just after. He didn’t say it, but I think he needs some moral support.”

  “Of course, he does.”

  “I hope I’m right to trust Dean to help Rhys out with this.”

  “Hopefully, honey.”

  I exhaled heavily and then waved a hand between us. “Enough about me. What’s new with you?”

  “Not much.” She lowered her gaze, a little frown line between her brows. “I agreed to go on a blind date set up by my producer last Friday.”

  “And?”

  Her beautiful dark eyes finally met mine. “He researched me. All he did was talk about Richard.”

  Zoe never referred to Richard Bancroft as her father.

  “In what sense?”

  “He was fangirling.” She curled her lip. “The guy is a fan of the money.”

  It baffled me that someone as kind and funny and drop-dead gorgeous as Zoe Liu was single. Unfortunately, the men she dated either ended up being intimidated by her inherited wealth or were too obvious about their interest in her inherited wealth. There had been a few who seemed to genuinely be into Zoe, but then they’d destroyed it by cheating on her or getting annoyed by the hours she worked on the talk show.

  Her lack of romantic entanglement was not for want of trying, and part of my reticence to date over the last few years had been from watchi
ng my amazing best friend try and fail over and over.

  I was exhausted for her.

  But I had faith there was someone great out there for her. Someone who would challenge her and excite her the way Rhys challenged and excited me.

  “Then he’s not worth another thought,” I said, referring to her blind date.

  She gave me a weary smile. “Hey, maybe Rhys has a friend.”

  Oh, I’d seen the handsome guys who worked out at Rhys’s gym, and they’d fall on their knees to get within breathing distance of Zoe Liu. I grinned at the thought. “Maybe.”

  “Or there’s his brother.”

  I frowned at the thought of Dean. “The jury is still out on Dean Morgan. Rhys may think his brother has nothing to prove, but I don’t agree. Rhys has done a lot for him. I just hope Dean sees that and steps up. But until then, no Dean Morgan for you. In fact, maybe never. Truthfully, it’s going to be difficult to find a guy worthy of you.”

  Zoe laughed. “Okay, then, Mom.”

  “Oh, please. You love it that I think the sun shines out of your ass.”

  My best friend’s eyes widened. “Did you just curse?”

  My lips twitched. “Possibly.”

  She threw her head back in laughter. “Oh man, I’m definitely buying that boy another Harley.”

  Rhys

  * * *

  “You slept with her, didn’t you?”

  Dean’s voice cut through my fog. He leaned over me from where I lay sprawled on the couch. A stupid grin lit up his face.

  “What?” I hedged, then gave up and shook my head with a laugh. “How the fuck did you come to that conclusion?”

  Dean rounded the couch and slumped down on the armchair next to it. “By virtue of that dopey-ass grin you’re wearing and the fact that I called your name three times without you even blinking.”

  “Shit.” A grin pulled at my mouth. Because, yeah, I had a lot to grin about.

  “Fuck,” Dean muttered. “You totally got laid. Asshole.”

  “Why am I the asshole?” Brothers. You’d think Dean would be happy for me. I’d be happy for him if he found a good woman who rocked his world. Hell, I’d be ecstatic; maybe he’d focus on his future, then.

  “Because it could have been me,” he said with a wink.

  I lurched up with a snarl. Dean wisely scrambled from his chair and danced out of reach.

  “I’m joking.” He lifted his hands in apparent innocence.

  “Yeah? Well, tell a better joke because I’m not laughing.”

  His lips twitched. “Not even a little?”

  “Still not funny, shithead.”

  It was unsettling how much his “joke” bothered me. I couldn’t shove it aside. If I hadn’t locked Dean in my office, it would have been him. Dean would have been the one going on dates with Parker. Dean, who was smart in the same way Parker was smart. And while I might have ended up being the better choice to woo her boss, Dean definitely fit in better with her true friends—with her life.

  A twist of something deeper than jealousy hit me low in the gut. If I hadn’t locked Dean in the closet, would Parker have ended up with Dean instead? Would she have kissed him? Invited him into her body?

  I couldn’t stand that I didn’t know for certain. I wanted to tell my stupid-ass insecurity to shut it. Parker liked me for me. That should be enough. But she’d been in love with a guy like Dean—lighter, sweeter. Not a big bruiser with a foul mouth. Maybe I was simply Mr. Good for Right Now, not Mr. Right.

  God, I couldn’t believe I actually thought that. I sounded like a Cosmo article.

  Dean’s goofy smile fell. “Hey, you know I didn’t mean that, right? It’s obvious that she’s really into you, Rhys.”

  “I don’t want to have this conversation.” I glared at him. “When was it obvious?”

  Damn it, I sounded needy as fuck.

  Thankfully, my brother didn’t point that out. “At the bar. She couldn’t keep her eyes off you. I knew then you two would get together.”

  Sighing, I sat back on the couch and pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s great. I like her. A lot. But …”

  “She has scabies?”

  I dropped my hand and shot him a look. “Do you even know what that means?”

  “It’s a condition that—”

  “Forget I asked. She doesn’t have scabies. She has a dead first love.”

  His eyes glinted. “Let me guess—she killed him and now you fear for your life.”

  It was perverse that I wanted to laugh. I glared instead. “Would you cut it out? No, Deanie, he died. Hit and run. She hasn’t dated anyone since.”

  Dean went pale and flopped back on his seat. “Jesus. That’s … harsh. And a lot for you to live up to, huh?”

  “No kidding.” I shook my head. “How do I compete with someone she’s obviously built into a perfect paragon of young love?”

  “Well, I mean, good sex has to help.” He narrowed his eyes on me. “You rocked her world, right? Left her good and satisfied?”

  “What do you take me for? I’m not a chump.” I kind of loved Parker using that word earlier and felt a smile forming at the thought of her. “My woman was definitely satisfied.”

  Because she was my woman. At least for now. I wasn’t about to give her up to a ghost. If Parker eventually grew bored with me or wanted to move on, there was nothing I could do about it. But I was damn sure going to enjoy what I had with her right now.

  “You left her limping, then?” Dean asked.

  I threw a couch pillow at him.

  Laughing, he batted it away. “Thought so.”

  “Keep it up and I’m putting you in a headlock.” It was my greatest threat when we were younger, and Mom would freak out if I got too rough with Dean.

  The thought of my mother was sobering. Parker had said I was making Dean a chump by keeping him in the dark. She was right, I’d had all but become a hovering, interfering parent to my brother. Shit, but I hated talking about this.

  My stomach curdled as I searched for a good way to get it all out.

  “I’ve been lying to you.” Okay, not the best way to start.

  Dean frowned. “You didn’t rock Parker’s world? Because I have tips—”

  This kid.

  “Jesus.” I huffed out a laugh. I loved my brother something fierce. “No. Not that. Dean … shit. It’s about Dad and the way he left things.”

  “You mean with the gym about to be repossessed by the bank?”

  “What?” I blinked. “How …”

  His smile was slanted and more than a bit annoyed. “Yeah, I don’t know if you truly understand this, but I’m not a total dumb-ass. And your method of hiding shit from me sucks balls, bro.”

  Well, hell.

  I sighed again. “There’s more to it than just that …” I told him the whole sordid tale, Mom’s medical bills, Dad’s stupid gambling mistakes, how he’d made a shit ton of bad investments with my earnings. I ended with Kyle Garret’s offer to buy the gym, and Fairchild’s attempts to push me into another bout.

  He swallowed several times before speaking. “Why did you … fuck, I know why you kept it from me.” He glared as though he was mentally punching my face. “It’s insulting as fuck, you know, treating me as if I’m a kid.”

  “I know.” I rubbed my aching chest. “I’m sorry. I just got in the habit of looking out for you and I didn’t want you to worry.”

  His tight nod was his only answer.

  “I shouldn’t have done that,” I added.

  “No, you shouldn’t have. But you told me now, so I guess that’s something.” He blew out a long breath and shook his head as if to clear it. “You quit boxing because of Jake.”

  The pain in my chest grew. “Yes.”

  Dean’s blue eyes, the exact shade of our mother’s, met mine. Sorrow and worry rested in his. “This guy will own a piece of your soul if you do this.”

  “Yes,” I said again, because I knew that too. It’s what pissed me off t
he most.

  “Then don’t fucking do it.”

  “We need that money, Dean. I either fight or I sell the gym.”

  “There are always ways to get money. I’ll get a job.” He leaned in. “A real job. No more messing around. I’ll find something good.”

  I gave him a weak smile. “It won’t be enough. Not with the limited time we have left.”

  Dean moved to speak, but I lifted a hand. “It’s no longer just the money. That asshole has it in his head to see me fight. This isn’t just about money with Fairchild. The fucker has a psychotic inability to take no for an answer. And he’s made it clear he’ll mess with me if I don’t do this.”

  Dean leapt to his feet and paced. “Son of a bitch. There’s gotta be a way around this.”

  I sighed and watched Dean pace.

  “That … that …”

  “Fuck?” I supplied wryly.

  Dean grinned wide. “Yeah.” His smile dropped. “He’s treating you like a freaking zoo exhibit. Pay a ticket and watch the great Rhys Morgan step back into the ring. Fucking hell.”

  Something sparked and rippled through my mind. “Wait. Stop.”

  Dean halted mid stride and faced me. “What?”

  That something danced around, growing bigger. “A zoo exhibit, you said.”

  “Yeah, uh, what?” He huffed out a laugh. “I’m not following.”

  I stood and picked up where he left off pacing. “It struck a chord. What if I did an exhibition fight?”

  “Isn’t that what Fairchild wants?”

  “Yeah—no. I mean, what if we”—I gestured between us—“organized a fight? An exhibition fight, for charity.”

  Dean chewed his lip as he watched me. “For charity? But how does that help us?”

  “I don’t know …” I kept pacing. “It might not work. But if I put on a fight, I pull the rug out from under those fuckwads. If we make it for charity, maybe somehow we can find a sponsor for the gym. Find a way to help not just ourselves, but the community too.”