Crossing her arms, Avery shook her head. “You wear helmets for that. And leathers. And that’s beside the point since he doesn’t ride a motorcycle—and other drivers aren’t generally trying to hit you!”
“Uh…” Dustin scrubbed a hand over his shaved head. “I’ve been riding for the last few months. And helmets don’t always protect you.”
She stared at him, her hands clenched tight around her pie plate and fork. “Where did you get a motorcycle?”
“From Beck. Mason’s brother.” Dustin rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s been letting me borrow his to get around. It’s easier to park and uses a lot less gas.”
Stomach knotting and chest tight, Avery shook her head. “Do you want to die? Is that what this is about?”
Dustin pushed to his feet. “No, what I’d like to do is live my own damn life! Every time I try you pull me back. Oh, Dustin, I’m so afraid. Oh, Dustin, you’re so young. Oh, Dustin…well, I’m tired of hearing it. That’s why I split.”
Avery pulled in a breath. She brushed at her eyes. Her chest tightened even more and she put down the pie. “Dustin, I wish you would think about your own future—about where you’ll be in ten years, assuming you survive.”
“You mean I might end up like Mason?” Dustin waved at Mason.
Mason held up his fork. “Hey, watch it.”
Ignoring him, Dustin focused on his sister. “Might end up a trainer maybe? Or one of best fighters around?”
Avery narrowed her eyes. “What if I make you a deal?”
Wary now, Dustin glanced from Avery to Mason. With a shrug, Mason stepped back. Avery pressed her palms against her thighs. This was a huge risk, but she had to do something. Talking with Dustin wasn’t getting her anywhere. “What deal?” Dustin asked.
“How about I spend a week here watching you train? I’ll…I’ll learn everything I can about this sport you seem to love so much. And if I can do that for you, then will you do one thing for me?”
Dustin crossed his arms over his chest. He’d gotten so muscular that his T-shirt barely fit. “Stop fighting?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. No , I can see that’s not going to happen. But…but I think, if you promise you’ll listen to Mason, and that you’ll never fight in those underground fights, or get into a match that is going to be too much for you, and—”
“Great, you want me to—”
“Hold on.” Mason stepped up and put a hand on Dustin’s shoulder. “Your sister is trying to meet you half way here.”
“Oh, yeah, by telling me what I can and can’t do.”
“Come on, Dustin. You know you have no interest in anything but the MMA and official fights. That’s an easy one to promise, right?”
Reluctantly, Dustin nodded.
Mason let out a breath. This wasn’t going to be easy, but he thought he could see a bridge between these two now. “Great. Good. And I like that part about promising to listen to me about picking fights.” He grinned and slapped Dustin’s arm. “That’s what a trainer is for, right?”
“Okay.” Dustin grumbled the word, but he nodded.
“As to the rest, I think that’s enough for now. The main thing is to keep talking. Avery, if you get worried, will you come talk to me first, not Dustin? He needs to concentrate on training right now.”
She bit her lower lip, but she nodded.
“And Dustin, if you start feeling hounded, will you agree not to just bail on us and cut and run? That’s the reaction of a kid, not a fighter. And I don’t want to see it again. Got it?”
Dustin nodded and a blush stained his cheeks. “Yeah, sorry, I was just feeling—”
“Save the excuses.” Mason waved at his pie. “Now eat up. That’s the last dessert you’re having until after your fight.”
Avery sucked in a sharp breathe. Mason turned to her, but she was already on her feet and heading to her bedroom with a muttered and breathless, “Excuse me.”
Sitting down, Mason shoveled in a forkful of pie. It tasted like dust. He should know better than to try and eat with all this drama going on, but maybe he’d patched a few things up between Dustin and Avery. Now he just had to worry about himself and Avery.
The chair squeaked as Dustin sat down and Mason glanced at him. Dustin picked up his fork and pie, but he nodded toward where Avery had disappeared down the hall. “Okay, so what’s really going on between you and my sister?”
Mason blinked. “Uh…excuse me?”
Rolling his eyes, Dustin shoveled in a folk of pie and talked around the pecans. “Come on. You’ve only been teaching me to read moves and looks for how long? And how can I not miss you watching Avery like she’s better than Marguerite’s pie. And Avery asking me to listen to you? That is like a major change.”
Mason frowned. “Do you mind?”
“Mind what? You stepping in? I say amen! It’s about time she got someone so she could stop worrying about me. I can’t wait to see how you handle that.” Dustin grinned.
“Handle is a good word—and I’m not sure she’s got me. Yet. She seems to think she can do casual.”
Dustin finished his pie and nodded. “Because you’re a fighter, she’s backing off?”
“Got it in one.”
Dustin grinned. “Well, I don’t have to tell you that if you hurt my sister, you and I will end up in the ring together.”
“And I don’t have to tell you I can still whup your ass. Hurting Avery is about as low on my list as anything. Convincing her that there’s a ‘we’ in this, that’s another story. And I don’t have to tell you I don’t want to see you hurting your sister, either. Try to make this deal of hers work out, okay.”
Dustin stood. “And training?”
“We leave Monday for Utah. Avery can come with and then I’m going to stick Alice on her.”
“Terry Ander’s daughter? That should be fun. Hey, that could work—Alice can show Avery that not every girl in this world faints when a guy gets hit. Think maybe Alice could show my sister a few moves even?”
“Don’t push your luck. In the meantime, you’ve got today and tomorrow to fine tune your moves. Tavvy has a copy of Shamus’s last fight and I’ve already given him my take on the guy’s weaknesses. Watch the fight a hundred times and make your own notes. Spend tomorrow working Tavvy on escape plans and ways to answer to that hard strike Shamus likes to pull out. Now go train.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Dustin left.
Mason sat back on the couch and shook his head. What the hell had he gotten himself into—between Avery and Dustin he seemed to be way over his head in things he hadn’t planned on starting.
And then Avery stepped back into the room and all he could think about was how beautiful she was with the sun glinting on that hair of hers. Her face seemed too pale and he stood up and headed over to her.
“Did he head back to the gym?” she asked.
“Yeah. You okay?” He touched her cheek.
Avery hugged her arms tight. “My chest was getting tight so I went to use my inhaler.”
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her down next to him on the couch and put his arms around her. “Nerves making your asthma act up?”
“More like the cold.” She pushed against him, but he wasn’t letting go.
He curled one strand of hair around his fingers. “Look, we leave for Utah Monday morning. You’ll come with us so you really can watch Dustin train—I’ll tell you more about fighting than you ever wanted to know, but when you know more you’re going to start to see just how good a fighter Dustin is.”
She shuddered and gave in, clinging to him. “What if I can’t stand seeing him get hit?”
“Well, just think every time that maybe someone else is doing your job of pounding sense into him.”
She gave a shaky laugh. “The only pounding I ever wanted to do was a verbal one.”
“Yeah, well your brother has a thicker head than that. He also has a fight is a couple of weeks away. We have plenty of room at
the house, and you can have your choice of your own room. But I’d rather have you in mine.”
Pulling back, she untangled herself from his arms. “I’m not getting involved with a fighter. Last night was just last night. Or does this mean you’re giving up the sport?”
Mason cupped a hand around her jaw. “You really think we can hang out and ignore this…this whatever we have going? I don’t know where it’s going, but I think we need to see if there’s more than just a fling here. What have you got to lose?”
“It’s more like what I might gain. I have Dustin to worry about…and if I had you…” She broke off and shook her head. “I’ll come to Utah. I’ve already promised Dustin I’ll watch him train. But…that’s it.”
Mason kissed her forehead. “I guess that answers the question about bedrooms. But if you’re going to hang around the gym, I need to make sure you’re not going to be a distraction for every fighter there.”
She smiled. “Meaning what? Baggy clothing and a hood over my head?”
“Don’t think I haven’t thought about that. Pull out those god-awful pants and sweats you had on last night. You’re going to put them to use.”
Avery sat up and saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
He gave a laugh. “Well, if we can keep that attitude going, we might get somewhere.”
Chapter Fourteen
Avery fell into bed, exhausted. She hadn’t realized that spending the day watching Dustin train would mean she was going to get pulled into doing some training of her own.
“You can’t just hang out and not look like a ring girl,” Mason had told her. He’d gone on to explain she’d seem like a groupie bimbo if she just sat in the gym, doing nothing. “Girls fight—so you’re going to seem like a fighter looking to train.”
He’d put her to work lifting weights, punching bags and doing push-ups. Running was starting to seem a much easier option. Her legs ached, her shoulders ached, and every time Mason came near her pulse jumped and she started thinking about how he’d felt in bed. But she was trying hard to stick to the line she had drawn. If she started sleeping with him every night, she was going to start caring—a lot more than she did right now.
Mason had at least allowed her some down time in the gym so she could watch Dustin when he was sparing with another fighter. At first she’d shut her eyes every time Dustin was hit. But Mason would start talking, explaining why Dustin hadn’t ducked or moved right, or held up his guard.
She had just as much trouble watching Dustin hit the other fighter, but it helped when she saw Dustin and his sparing partners grinning and joking with each other afterwards. They really weren’t trying to hurt each other. And she was starting to see the skill that Dustin had.
She could also see that Mason was more than just a trainer. He brought an energy into the gym every time he stepped into it—everyone seemed to notice when he walked in. He encouraged all the fighters, giving advice and pointing out mistakes without making them feel bad. She thought he was a natural—a gifted teacher. And if he was only a trainer, maybe…
She pushed the thought away. He—like Dustin—was a guy who took too many risks. She was just trying to learn how to live with a brother who might get himself killed. She wasn’t certain she could handle falling in love with a guy who was just like that.
And there it was. She could fall too easily for Mason. He was funny and fun, and way too sexy. When he stripped down in the gym her mouth watered and she couldn’t help the small skip in her heart rate. She also couldn’t stop watching him. But she had to keep her hands to herself.
That had been more than difficult in a cabin—but tomorrow she was heading to Utah with everyone.
Sitting up, she dug out her computer and tried to lose herself in work.
*****
The next day everyone packed and Avery found herself riding in a van with Dustin, Mason and Tavvy. The guys seemed in a great mood. Dustin and Mason took turns driving, and Avery tried to enjoy the scenery, but she kept watching Mason instead. She loved the strong muscles that corded his neck, and his profile—his nose so straight and his jaw line so strong. She could stare at him all day, from the back or the front.
They drove through and Avery woke only to find Mason lifting her out of the van. She shifted, but he told her, “Got you, angel. Just go back to sleep.”
Fighting eyelids that wanted to close, she felt exhausted when he slipped between cool sheets. He pulled off her shoes, kissed her forehead and said, “Sweet dreams.”
She turned and snuggled into the bed. She woke early and padded into the kitchen of the house. Like the cabin and lodge up in Oregon, this place seemed rustic and masculine, but with touches of color and comfort. The kitchen was bright and open, and Avery walked in on a woman making coffee.
Turning, the woman offered a warm smile. Tall and thin, the woman had the muscles of a fighter. She also had a mane of auburn hair and what seemed like a friendly personality. “I’m Alice Anders. You were dead on your feet last night when Mason brought you in. Coffee or tea?”
Avery sat down on one of the stools at the counter. “I’d love some tea. Is Mason around?”
Sending her a sideways glance, Alice moved to put a kettle on to boil. “Out running with your brother and the guys. You’ll meet Beck and my Bryant later.”
“You’re Bryant?”
Alice smiled. “To make a long story short, we met up when he came to train with my father. Only he started off training with me. And he didn’t know it.”
“Okay, I have to hear the full story,” Avery said, propping her chin on her fist.
Alice talked while she made breakfast. Fresh sliced pears and apples, lean ham and an egg-white omelet. Avery shook her head when she heard that Alice had pretended to be a guy. “And Bryant believed it? You’re lean, but you’re not—”
“Not a guy? Yeah, well I made sure Bryant didn’t get too close and I look a lot like my dad. But it didn’t last long.” She put a plate down in front of Avery. “Now tell me about you and Mason.”
Lips pressed tight, Avery poked at her eggs. She shook her head. “Not much to tell. I’m just here to watch Dustin train.”
Eyes narrowing, Alice nodded. “I heard about your deal. And I also heard Mason’s started you into training, too.”
Avery wrinkled her nose. “Not what I intended. But I don’t want to be a ring girl.”
Alice laughed. “Oh, no danger of that. Now, come on, let me show you around to the gym. And then we’re going to ditch the guys and go shopping. Hey, want to get a manicure, too?”
Right there, Avery decided Alice could be a best friend.
They bonded over nails, shopping, and a side trip to a chocolate shop. Over pecan turtles, Avery finally confessed her attraction to Mason. “But I…Alice, he’s a fighter, too. I can’t—” Her chest started to tighten. Avery pulled out her inhaler and took a hit from it.
“Honey, I heard about your brother. And I asked around. I don’t know if you ever heard this, but your brother—Edward—he took a freak hit. It happens in every sport. Sometimes it’s a guy falling off a horse the wrong way, or someone’s hit in the head with a bat or a ball. It’s like a lightning strike. And I’ll tell you this, the guy who hit your brother—he quit fighting. He didn’t mean to kill your brother. But sometimes, it’s just your time.”
Avery put down the bag of chocolates. They’d found seats outside the mall in a small patio and the warmth of the sun on her back felt good. She shook her head. “And then there’s tempting fate.”
Head tipped to the side, Alice asked, “What is it you do for a living?” Avery talked about her IT work, and Alice nodded. “Makes sense. It’s basically your job to look for trouble—to anticipate it and head it off before it happens. You keep networks secure. And you can do that—to a point—with computers. Why don’t you worry about that more?”
Avery blinked. “Uh…because I’ve set up measures. Firewalls. Secure access. I’ve…I do everything I can to prevent problems.”
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“And then you do backups on top of that. I get it. That’s what a fighter’s training is. That’s the security he has.”
Avery gave a laugh. “Well, I don’t get that. I don’t shove my computers into an arena with hackers.”
“Yeah, but you would if you really wanted to test them out, right? If you really want to understand your brother, take your training up a notch. Let me teach you some self-defense and a few moves. If nothing else, you’ll surprise the hell out of your brother and Mason.” She gave Avery a wink. “And we’ll just tell the guys we’re out getting our nails done.”
Chapter Fifteen
Mason watched Alice and Avery head out on another of their lunch and shopping trips. He gave a low growl. How many days in Utah now—and the closest he’d been to Avery was when he was taking her to the gym or home again.
He’d snuck in a few kisses—searing, passionate kisses in the locker room when he got Avery alone and he could sneak a hand up under her sweat shirt or down in those awful cartoon pants of hers. She melted for him every single time. Gave in to him, and he seriously considered unzipping his pants and taking her up against the wall.
He could have her shaking and wet in seconds—and he was hard just as fast. But before he could put his plans into action she’d slip away with a smile and a shake of her head.
Dammit, he still hadn’t gotten her back in bed.
He could almost wish for a nightmare, and he’d considered telling her that he was having one just so he could slip into her room. The more she stayed away, the more he wanted her. This was getting to be a serious condition.
He couldn’t eat without thinking about her picky tastes when it came to food. He couldn’t sleep without dreaming of her wrapped around him, so tight and warm and wild. He wanted to plunge his hands into her hair and drag her face to his for kisses that lasted for hours. He wanted to strip her bare and lick her body, starting at her toes and working up to her ears and spending a long time on every spot between. What—was he going to have to tie her down to get what he wanted?
The Fighter's Stubborn Lover (The Burton Brothers Series Book 2) Page 7