“Why?” I question. “You worried I’m going to make a run for it?”
“Nope,” he tells me. “I’m worried you’re going to get inside that head of yours and start thinking things over. If you’re stuck with me all day, then you won’t get the chance.”
“You don’t think I’ll run?”
“I know you will,” he says before giving me a cheeky as fuck grin. “But I’m going to catch you. Every. Fucking. Time.”
“You seem pretty damn sure about this whole ‘you and me’ thing,” I say as the toast pops out of the toaster. I grab the toast and realize the fuckers are burnt, so I start over.
Cole grabs the burnt toast and takes a bite out of it. My face scrunches up. I mean, there’s nothing worse than burnt toast. “I’ve never been so fucking sure in my life, and the sooner you hurry up and get on the same page as me, the better.”
“Same page,” I laugh. “I’m not even sure we’re in the same chapter, hell, maybe we’re not even reading the same book.”
“We’re definitely reading the same book,” he grins. “Now, answer my damn question. Are you coming to Rebels with me?”
“I might have a few spare minutes in my day,” I smile. He rolls his eyes, but I continue on. “Can you drop me back at my car? I need to go home and change, then I’ll meet you there.”
“Nah, babe,” he says with a shake of his head. “I told you. Same page. I’ll take you home, you can get yourself dressed, and I’ll take you back to Rebels with me. Actually, you better pack a bag. I plan on keeping you for a while.”
I practically gawk at the guy. I mean, was it his intention to kidnap me?
“What exactly is on this page you’ve been reading?” I question.
He places the knife down on the bench and turns to give me his full attention. “That I am one hundred percent committed to you,” he says in all seriousness. “This isn’t just some fling for me,” he says. “Without even trying, you’ve dug your claws in and I have no intention of changing that. I want to make this work.”
Oh, wow. Shit just got way too serious, way too soon. I look up into his eyes as that familiar fear begins bubbling up. “What happens on the next page?” I question with wide eyes that search his.
“That’s up to you,” he tells me before turning away and getting back to preparing breakfast. “Now, cut this shit about pages,” he says. “You’re not ready for anything else I have to say.”
Crap. Does this mean the balls in my court? I gawk at him once again. What else could he possibly have to add? He’s already turning my world upside down with just a few little words, but for some reason, I’m still standing right here in the middle of his kitchen, though, that could have something to do with the fact that I currently have no getaway car.
I focus on my task of not burning the toast and eventually we manage to actually eat.
Half an hour later, I direct him up to my apartment. We walk through the door and he cracks a grin the second he looks around. “What?” I question as I head down the hallway with Cole on my heels.
“You gave me shit about my place, but yours doesn’t exactly scream ‘dark angel of the night’.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I laugh as I walk into my room and start rifling through my drawers for something to wear to Rebels. “It means you have a fucking painting of a flower hung on your wall. You have throws on your couch and… is that a duck on your bed?”
“Fuck,” I groan as my eyes flick across to my stuffed ducky that sits in the middle of my bed. “I forgot about Quackers.”
“Quackers,” he laughs as he crosses the room and scoops my little duck off the bed.
Shit. I’m fucking mortified. I put on this hard exterior in hopes I can protect myself. The harder I appear, the less likely it is for men to try and figure me out. Yet, in walks Cole and sees my fucking duck. Game over.
Surely, he’s bound to realize I’m a fraud. It’s all an act. Deep down, I’m just a regular girl with commitment issues, though, those issues seem to be vanishing before my very eyes, leaving only a regular girl behind.
“Shut up,” I groan as I turn away from him, completely embarrassed.
He comes up behind me and hugs me from behind, only that damn duck is still in his hands. “I think he’s cute,” he teases before squishing Quackers into the side of my face and making kissy noises.
“You’re a dick,” I say as I turn in his arms.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he says, completely calling me out and tossing Quackers back on to the bed. “I want to get to know you, and unfortunately for you, that means I’m going to dig up every little detail of your life, especially the ones you’re not so proud of.”
“Just so you know,” I tell him. “For every embarrassing secret you dig up of mine, I’m going to find two of yours just as bad.”
A grin rips across his face. “You’re on, babe.”
With that, he presses a quick kiss to my lips and allows me to finish getting myself ready. After making me follow through on the whole ‘pack a bag’ thing, we walk out the door and head down to Rebels Advocate.
Chapter 18
Cole
“Back off, Xander,” I say as the kid continues to pummel the pads with everything he’s got. “You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”
“Can’t help it,” he grunts as he drops his hands and jumps straight into rapid push-ups. “I’ve got way too much energy,” he says through breaths. “I can’t manage this whole taking time off bullshit.”
“Tough luck,” I laugh. “You’re going to have to get used to it, otherwise, you’ll exhaust yourself and lose your fucking title.”
“Not possible,” he quips as he flies back to his feet with his hands already raised and instantly begins slamming them into my pads again.
“I’m flattered you want to be with me so much, but you should be wasting all this extra energy on your fiancée while you have the chance,” I tell him.
A wicked smirk crosses his face. “Oh, believe me, I have been,” he says. “Charli’s exhausted. She’s the reason I’m here. Her body can’t take it anymore.”
“Fuck kid,” I groan. “I don’t need to know that shit.”
“You asked,” he shrugs.
I’m about to remind me of what a dickhead he is when laughter in the corner of the gym catches both our attention. I look over to find both Charli and Rylee squished into a one-seater couch, looking at Rylee’s phone and giggling like little school girls.
It’s fucking nice to see, for both Charli and Rylee. Seeing Rylee getting along with my crowd is like a fucking wet dream. You always hear shit about when a woman doesn’t get along with your friends and it’s always hell, but I’ve hit the fucking jackpot with Rylee.
But Charli, seeing her so confidently making new friends is bittersweet. Charli had a rough life before she met Xander. She’s completely come out the other end a much stronger woman, but there was a lot she missed out on while growing up. Everyday Xander gives her a piece of herself back and I’m glad that Rylee will play a part in helping her live a full life.
I look back at Xander to see him watching Charli and looking like a love-sick puppy. “You’re so fucking whipped,” I laugh as Xander gets back into his training.
“Like you’re one to talk,” Xander grunts as he ducks under my arm. “You’ve been drooling over Rylee all afternoon. There’s a fucking puddle on the ground. If we were in my gym, you’d be down on your hands and knees cleaning that shit up.”
I roll my eyes as he goes on, thinking that he’s king shit. “It’s serious with her, isn’t it?” he questions as he stops to grab his bottle of water.
“What makes you say that?” I wonder.
“You haven’t dated a single woman in the three years I’ve known you,” he tells me.
“That’s bullshit,” I say, trying to think back over the years. Surely, I must have dated one of the chicks I was fucking.
“No,” he confirms. “You’ve fucked plenty of them, but neve
r dated them.”
“Really?” I grunt. I hadn’t even noticed.
“Uh huh,” he says as he walks back over, ready to get back into it. “This one means something,” he tells me.
“She does,” I confirm.
“Is she aware of that?” he asks with a smirk.
I can’t help but laugh at his question. If only he knew about her commitment issues. “Probably not, but she will.”
“Yeah,” he laughs to himself. “You’re just as whipped as I am.”
I can’t help myself. Only I get to make jokes like that during my sessions. I need to teach Xander a lesson. With a grin, I dive for him and collect him around the waist. My shoulder nails into his side and we fly to the floor with a heavy thump before I show this kid how a real man fights.
“What the fuck?” he laughs as he snaps into action, trying to flip me so he can hold me down. He needs to remember that he’s not the only title holder in the fucking room. Sure, I held mine five years ago, but I still have what it takes to kick his ass.
We tumble around in the ring and come extremely close to falling right off the edge. If it wasn’t for the ropes, I have no doubt we’d be fucked by now.
“You’ve got no fucking chance,” I laugh as my fists come down into him.
“Bullshit,” he says, blocking each one and reminding me just how fast the fucker is. The girl’s laughter in the background cuts through our mock fight as they watch on.
“Go Cole,” Charli shouts out across the gym as Rylee giggles and spurs me on.
“What?” Xander grunts in disbelief as he flips his head towards his woman and allowing me to use his distraction to my advantage.
I scoop my arm under his neck and my other under his arm and pull hard, making his arm squish up into the side of his face. He fights to get me off, but the amount of laughter coming out of him makes it too hard to free himself. “Tap out,” I suggest.
“No fucking way,” he laughs.
“Come on, dude,” I tell him. “I could stay here all day.”
“Let go,” he says.
I grin down at the bastard. “Tap out first.”
“Fuck man,” he groans. “Charli’s watching. I can’t tap out.”
“I know, that makes this so much better.”
“Come on, babe,” Charli says from the couch with amusement in her tone. “It’s ok to admit defeat every now and then.”
“I’ll never give in,” he tells her before using all his might and throwing his legs up to hook them around my body. He pulls me down to the ground but I don’t let go of his neck and arm, which has him practically bent in half with my face squished into the ground.
“Fuck,” I grunt while he attempts to wiggle out of my grip.
“Shit,” he says. “Tap.”
“No, you tap,” I say with my words smooshed into the floor. I should have known the fucker would do this. He has trouble with being second best, though, so do I.
“You tap first,” he begs.
“Nu-uh,” I groan as I begin feeling like a fucking pretzel, though he would be feeling it a lot worse in this position.
“Both you idiots tap,” Rylee calls out.
“Fuck, on three,” Xander says, giving in. “On. Two. Three.”
We instantly fall apart from each other, both gasping for a breath while neither of us actually admitted defeat in the form of tapping out.
We get to our feet and I resist rubbing my face from where it was squished into the floor of my ring, though, I have no doubt its fucking red. We walk over to the girls who are grinning like idiots at our display. “You nearly got him, babe,” Charli says to Xander.
“Bullshit, I did get him,” Xander says.
“You fucking wish,” I grunt. “I’m still the fucking king of the ring. You ain’t got nothing on me, kid.”
“Fuck off,” he laughs. “You just got lucky.”
I roll my eyes as I look down at Rylee. “What are you guys doing?” I ask.
Rylee presses the home button on her phone to light up the screen before turning it around to show me. “We were actually just watching your last fight before you became an old man and retired.”
“Seriously?” I grin as I take the phone out of her hand and have a quick look. “Fuck, I looked good,” I say as I notice the deep ridges of my abs and chest while Xander starts getting into Charli for cheering for me during our fight.
“Yeah, I was just saying how you look like you’ve stacked on a bit of weight,” Rylee teases, though, I know she doesn’t have a damn problem with my body, not after the way her eyes are constantly traveling from my head to my toes while she clenches her thighs together.
“I had to cut weight for these fights. It was fucking torture,” I explain, “Would you prefer I look like this?” I ask as I indicate to her phone, “or this,” I say, waving a hand up and down my body. Her eyes follow the movement with excitement before her bottom lip is sucked between her teeth.
“Yeah,” I grin. “That’s what I thought.” I’m barged out of the way as Xander pushes past to scoop Charli off the couch. He picks her up and she clings to him for dear life as he walks away with her. “Hey,” I call after them. “There’s no fucking in my gym.”
“Jace would say otherwise,” Xander throws over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.
Fuck. He better clean up after himself.
“So,” Rylee says, stealing my attention, but let’s face it, it’s not hard for her to do. “Do those rules apply to you and me?”
“Fuck, Rylee. Don’t tempt me,” I say as my eyes flick to my office while I imagine her spread-eagled on my desk with me pounding into her.
She giggles to herself as she gets up and stands before me. “Are you going to show me a few moves, Mr. Big Shot? Or should I ask Xander.”
“Fuck that,” I laugh as I grab her around the waist and hoist her over my shoulder. She screams out as I turn away and head back to the ring before giving her ass a good spank.
“Hey,” she calls, feigning outrage.
“Shut up, you liked it,” I grin.
“I know,” she says. “I was just wondering why you stopped at one?”
I pull her off my shoulder and set her down before me while curiously studying her green eyes. “You’re into that?” I question.
Rylee slowly walks around me, as if she were stalking me. Her eyes remain locked on mine and I see that fiery girl I met on the very first night, the one who gets me hot with just a bat of her eyelashes. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” she murmurs.
A smirk cuts across my face as I start imagining all the possibilities. What kind of she-devil have I found here? Not one single moment will ever be boring with her. I can’t fucking wait.
This woman before me constantly surprises me and I know I’m going to fall hard. Hell, I can already feel it happening. If I was honest with myself, I’d say it happened the moment I first laid eyes on her. It’s like she drew me in with those eyes, and then she had to go and seal the deal by rejecting me.
“So,” I say, getting back on track before I get us out of here and spend the rest of my life between her legs. “What moves are you wanting to see?” I question.
“Honestly, I don’t really give a shit,” she says. “I just like watching you in action.”
“Really now?” I ask as I stalk towards her, instantly switching up our roles. Her eyes are filled with excitement as she takes a step back and slowly nods her head, realizing I could pounce on her at any given moment.
I continue to stalk her as she continues backing up and eventually, she runs out of room. I bring my hands up and grab hold of the rope on either side of her back, caging her in. I lean into her and as always, her hands reach up to take possession of my chest while she tilts her chin up to meet me.
“Are these the kind of moves you were hoping to see?” I question before bringing my lips down on hers and kissing her with everything I’ve got.
“Oh yeah,” she murmurs
as she comes up for air.
The whole showing her a few things in the ring idea is completely abandoned while I give her a taste of what she’s after, though I won’t be able to completely satisfy her until I get her home hell, maybe it’ll have to be the truck again.
“Get a fucking room,” I hear yelled across the gym by a familiar voice. I pull back from Rylee and see Caden walking across the floor towards his office with Luke and Jace on his heels.
They stop in the center of the room as they all look our way and I have no doubt they won’t be allowing me to finish what I started. I take Rylee’s hand and help her out of the ring before heading over to the boys.
“What are you guys doing here so early?” I question as we come to a stop before them.
“It’s nearly five in the afternoon,” Jace says. “We have the intermediate self-defense class and the beginners Martial Arts.”
Shit. It’s nearly five? I was training Xander for an hour at three which means I’ve been messing around with Rylee for nearly an hour. How the hell did that happen? Time disappears when I’m with her and I have no idea how. This has never happened to me before and I fucking love it. Though, it’s a good thing I didn’t have any of my other fighters today. I was more than happy to spend my day fucking around with her.
I’m talking to the boys when Rylee’s phone rings and she pulls it out. “Oh, it’s Cami,” she announces before she hits answer and holds the phone up to her ear. “Hey, Cam. What’s up?” she says before listening for a moment. “Oh, yeah, I’m not at the club. My car was left there. I’m at Rebels,” she explains.
I look across at Jace, wondering why the hell he hasn’t answered my question to find his full attention on Rylee’s phone call. Without warning, he reaches forward, snatches the phone out of Rylee’s hand, and hits speaker. “Hey Cami,” he says in his signature flirty tone.
“Is that Jace?” she questions.
“Yeah, sorry,” Rylee says. “Your call has just been hijacked. You’re on speaker. All the guys are here.”
“Oh, hi,” she says, rather chirpy. “What’s going on?”
“You were just about to agree to come down here. We have a class in fifteen minutes,” Jace says, desperate to lay his eyes on the woman he knows he shouldn’t want, even though he’d never actually admit it.
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