by Ashley Blake
“Declan, I wouldn’t want to see anyone getting beat up, it’s just not my thing, so don’t go reading more into what I said.”
“Okay fine, I’ll let it go for now but just know that I know…” He winked at me and I wanted to melt into the sand. He was so damned sexy and it really pissed me off how attracted I was to him.
“I should probably get back to my room because I’m sure Sophie is looking for me.”
“Okay, but please think about coming to my workout tomorrow. I want you to see that there is no need to worry about me getting hurt.”
“We’ll see.” It was the fastest way for me to end the conversation but I had no intention of going to watch him get ready for a fight.
When we got back to my room my heart was pounding as we stood in the hall, and I was wondering if he was going to kiss me. Declan looked at me, a slight smirk touching the corner of his mouth. I felt like I was missing something so I cocked my head to the side and gave him a curious look.
“What?”
“Life is funny sometimes.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean some things are just meant to be.” He took my key from my hand, opened my door for me, leaned down and gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek. “I hope I see you tomorrow, Brielle. I’ll be at the gym all day.” With that, he pulled his room key from his pocket and entered the room directly across from mine.
I stood in my doorway, staring at him, and my mouth dropped to the floor.
No way.
Chapter Fourteen – Declan
I smiled to myself as I walked into my room. Brielle must have been the girl across the hall Zach was talking about the first day we got there, and he was right. She had a great ass. I don’t know how I managed to sleep that night knowing that Brielle was right across the hall from me, but I did. She was the last thing I thought of when I fell asleep and the first thing I thought of when I woke up.
I couldn’t get the way her mouth tasted and the way her body felt pressed against mine out of my mind as I lay in bed just a few minutes longer than usual that next morning. I relived our kiss in my mind hoping to temporarily satisfy my ache for her, but gave up in frustration a couple of minutes later when my desire for actual physical contact with her body took over. I hopped out of bed and went through my normal routine before heading to the gym. The fight was the next day and I had to stay focused, so I was going to use that frustration in the ring.
I was going to have to push thoughts of Brielle out of my head and told myself I would deal with my feelings for her after the fight. I almost regretted asking her to come watch my workout because I couldn’t get her out of my mind, but I figured she wouldn’t show up anyway so it wasn’t a big deal. I met up with Zach and immersed myself in training.
Zach and I were five hours in and I was completely in the zone when the energy in the room shifted. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I took a step back letting Zach know that I was ready for a break. He grabbed a water bottle for me, squirted water in my mouth and I quickly glanced around the gym stopping cold when I saw Brielle and Sophie standing by the ring. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes quickly glided over her face. She actually showed up. I hopped down to go say hi and Sophie looked like a super fan with eyes as big as saucers and a smile as bright as the sun. It was cool that she was so into MMA, but I would rather have had that reaction from Brielle.
“Hey, I’m glad you made it.”
Brielle’s gorgeous sparkling green eyes almost smiled at me.
“I guess I had to see for myself that you’re not going to get killed tomorrow.”
Sophie jumped in. “I told her that she has nothing to worry about because I’ve seen you fight and you are amazing, Declan.”
Her enthusiasm was awesome and I gave her a genuine smile. “Thanks, Sophie, I’m glad you were able to put her at ease.”
“Oh, I never said she put me at ease. I still don’t like the idea of you participating in this violent fighting, but Sophie says you’re the best so you don’t get hurt. From what I’ve seen so far I guess you do look like you know what you’re doing. I just don’t think I’ll ever be into the violence because it seems too dangerous. One wrong hit and you could be paralyzed or killed, Declan.”
I winked at her and climbed back in the ring. “I’ll be fine.”
I sparred with Zach, careful not to exert too much energy, but hard enough to show Brielle she had nothing to worry about. I knew what I was doing in the ring. Knowing Brielle cared about me, even though she never came right out and said it, and knowing she was standing a few feet away made me want to be the best I could be. I didn’t ever want to be the one to cause her any type of worry, so I felt I had to kick ass with Zach to put her mind at ease.
Zach and I finished up for the day about 45 minutes later and I felt ready for the fight the next day. I wanted it to be over, get my title win, and move on to the next one. My manager set up a few meetings for me with some sponsors when I got back to Chicago, so I was anxious to hear what they had to offer me. It was crazy how fast everything blew up for me, but that was what happened when you rose to the top as quickly as I did. I loved that I didn’t have to ask my father for a dime. I looked over at Brielle who was still there, but Sophie was nowhere in sight. Zach and I made plans to have a quick meeting before I turned in for the night so I told him I would see him later. He wandered off to the back of the gym to get in a quick workout. He was great about pumping me up before a fight and it always gave me the extra boost I needed to go in and obliterate my opponent.
I went over to Brielle and she gave me a hesitant smile.
“You’re pretty good.”
I raised my eyebrows giving her a playful shocked look.
“Pretty good?”
She laughed and it sounds corny but it was music to my ears. Everything about her made me happy and made me want to be around her all the time. I loved to see her smile.
“I’m kidding, I’m just surprised that you actually look like you know what you’re doing in there.”
“I didn’t go too hard today since I’m fighting tomorrow and yep, I know what I’m doing.” I winked at her. “That’s why I always win.”
“Well, you better win. I don’t want to see any blood coming from your body tomorrow.”
I looked at her with a smidgen of seriousness. “Are you worried about me?” I didn’t expect her to answer but she did and I was floored.
“Yes. I know I shouldn’t be but I am. Something changed for me the other day Declan when you rescued me from that jerk, Eric. I saw a different side of you, one I seriously doubted existed, and I like the guy I saw that night. I care about him and I don’t want him to get hurt.”
I looked at her and the worry in her eyes killed me. I had to make it better.
“Hey, I need to go shower and I’ll just be 10 minutes. Do you want to wait for me and we can go grab dinner?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, great. Be back in a flash!”
I rushed off to the shower feeling great about the fight the next day and feeling even better about things with Brielle.
Chapter Fifteen - Brielle
I don’t know why I showed up at the gym that day. Well, scratch that, yes I do. I couldn’t stop thinking about Declan and I was weak. Instead of fighting my feelings for him I decided to give in to them. I would have to deal with the fallout of us when I got back home. But, while I was in Mexico? I was going to have the time of my life.
I was waiting for Declan to shower and Zach came over to me to chat.
“Hey, Brielle. Tell me, what did you really think of Declan today?”
“Honestly, I was really surprised at how good he is. You seem to have done a great job showing him not only how to kick butt but also how to defend himself so that he doesn’t get hurt. I’m actually kind of looking forward to the fight tomorrow and I feel a lot better about him being able to handle himself after seeing him today.”
Zach gave me
a huge grin. “That's a huge compliment, Brielle, thanks. Yeah, I do my best to make sure our guy doesn't get hurt. He’s a beast in the ring, you’ll see.”
Our guy? It was weird to hear that but at the same time it felt really good. Was he my guy? In my mind he was, at least while we were in Mexico.
The look on Zach's face turned serious and he glanced down at the ground before looking back up at me. "You know Declan would kill me if he knew I was saying this to you, but in all of the years I have known him, I have never seen him react to a girl the way he reacts to you. He really cares about you, Brielle, no bullshit. It means a lot to him that you showed up here today and it means the world to him that you’re going to be at the fight tomorrow. Wait, you are going to be at the fight tomorrow, right?”
For a few seconds I was speechless because I totally did not expect for him to say what he said about Declan, but I wouldn’t miss the fight for anything.
“Yes, of course I am going to the fight. It’s not really my thing but I want to show my support, so I really hope he doesn’t get hurt tomorrow because I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“He'll be fine, he'll kick ass, and after the first five seconds of the fight you'll totally be put at ease, I promise.”
Just then Declan came walking out and he looked playfully uneasy as he glanced back-and-forth between Zach and me.
“You better not be filling her head with crazy stuff, dude.” He looked over at me and winked, “Brielle, don’t believe a word he says.”
Zach gave him a playful shove as he walked over to us. "This time, dude, you actually do want her to believe what I've said. I told her you’re going to kick ass in the ring tomorrow to help put her at ease.”
“Oh, that, well yeah, there’s no other result.”
“All right you two, go enjoy dinner and Declan, I’ll be by later tonight.”
We stepped out into the warm Cabo San Lucas evening, the wind blowing through my hair, and I took a deep breath resisting the urge to pinch myself to see if it was real. Was I really strolling along the streets of Cabo with sexy-ass Declan Ryan?
Declan casually slid his fingers through mine and I didn’t object. “I don’t know what you had in mind, but there is a delicious restaurant just down the block,” he said.
"Everything I have had here tastes delicious so I'm sure the one you're recommending will be great."
"Okay, cool."
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You seem pretty calm for someone who has a big fight tomorrow."
He gave me a sly smile. "I don't really get nervous the night before fights anymore. All of my adrenaline rushes through my veins the day of and that helps me stay focused and ready to win."
"Is this guy good that you're fighting tomorrow?"
"Yeah, he's pretty good." He looked at me with a devilish grin. "But he's not better than me."
I know he was trying to make light of the fight but I couldn't help but worry so I stopped and turned to look at him.
"Please be careful tomorrow. I am sick to my stomach thinking about you getting hurt."
He looked at me and gently held my face in his hands.
"Wow. If you would have told me a month ago that we would be standing in this beautiful place and you would be looking at me with worry in those gorgeous eyes, I would have said you were crazy." He gently smoothed my hair that the wind had picked up and gently blown across my cheeks. "I really like where we are now, Brielle. How did we get here?"
“I’m not sure. Timing was finally right, I guess.”
His eyes slowly perused my face. “Yes, it was.”
When his lips touched mine a soft moan escaped my lips and my arms crawled up around his neck pulling him closer for a deeper kiss. I was so happy and it all felt so perfect.
Declan pulled away after a minute, his breath coming in pants.
“We better stop because if we don’t, in a couple of minutes I won’t be able to stop and that can’t happen. Not tonight, not right before a fight.”
My fingers touched my swollen lips as my eyes searched his and my voice was soft. “Okay.”
He let out a frustrated groan. “Don’t give me those eyes Brielle, please. You’re killing me.”
I looked away. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to do anything to screw up the fight tomorrow, so what do you say we go grab dinner and then call it a night?”
“Sounds perfect.”
We enjoyed a delicious meal, well I did, Declan was still on a strict diet, and then he walked me back to my room. He told me that he would only be able to spend a few minutes with me after the fight and he would spend more time with me the day after the fight. He was going to be totally focused before and he would have to be evaluated by a doctor to make sure he didn’t have any serious injuries after. Then he would take an ice bath and rest after the fight. He said that was the formula for him being able to bounce back from his fights so quickly.
We were both leaving that Sunday so the night after the fight, Saturday night, would be our last night together in our perfect and safe little Mexican bubble. On Sunday we would have to deal with whatever was going to come of us being together in Mexico. I thought about that as we were saying goodnight and I felt a little sad and scared that as soon as we got home it was all going to end. I pushed that thought out of my mind and focused on the amazing kiss Declan planted on me. As our tongues gently danced and he caressed my skin, nothing else in the world mattered.
Chapter Sixteen - Declan
I was super pumped the next day and I was ready to whip Lopez’s ass. I’d had a great night with Brielle and I was looking forward to spending time with her the following night. First I had to get my win out of the way and then I was free to be all about Brielle for a while.
The fight was scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. and by 7:15 I could hardly stand still. All I could think about was catching Lopez off guard with my first kick and I was ready to get started. Zach pumped me up with the awesome speech he gave me before each fight and he made sure I had my head in the fight and not anywhere else. There was nothing clouding my thoughts except visions of Lopez tapping out in the ring.
We were the last names on the card which meant they saved the best for last. When our names were finally called I was ready to kick ass. They announced Lopez and then they announced me.
“Are you ready for Trouble! I said are you ready for Trouble!” The announcer was yelling into the mic at the top of his lungs as we entered the cage.
The crowd was on their feet and I could barely hear my thoughts the cheers were so loud.
Lopez danced around me, which pissed me off, so I quickly brought him down with a swift kick to his right leg. It took a few seconds for him to get up and I could see that he wasn’t expecting that. He swung left and I ducked and clocked him in his stomach followed with an uppercut to the jaw. He stumbled and I danced back and forth waiting for him to recover. It was time for me to let him get a couple of good shots in because I wanted to make sure the crowd had a good show. I could easily have kicked his ass and won within the next two minutes, but people would be pissed and would feel like they paid a lot of money for nothing.
I braced myself for a few hits and Lopez swung and got me in the side and then right in the jaw. I doubled over, making the audience think he had really hurt me, and decided to let him get in a couple more before I finished him. He hit me in the stomach and kicked me in the thigh but with the training Zach had taught me, it didn’t hurt one bit. My body was as tough as Teflon and after that kick it was time to let him have it.
I could tell that he was feeling a bit cocky and he dropped his defenses for a second, and that is when I roared in like a tornado. I hit all of the key vulnerable spots; stomach, throat, thigh, kidneys, and face and it didn’t stop. I went at him with one hit or kick after another and within two minutes Lopez tapped out. The crowd cheered as I was declared the winner and as I gazed out at everyone, Brielle’s gorgeous green eyes were smiling at me from the front row. They
were the prettiest eyes I had ever seen and I was in heaven as those sparklers stared back at me.
Zach ushered me back into my dressing room and the doctor stopped by to check me out after he checked on Lopez.
“Is he okay?” I always asked about my opponents because while I always wanted to win, I never wanted to kill anybody.
“He’s fine, nothing is broken. His eye will be swollen shut for a while and he’ll have some nasty bruising, but he’ll heal in a couple of weeks. You on the other hand don’t look like you were in a fight at all. A nice ice bath tonight will have you feeling great tomorrow.”