“Holy hell!” Jose burst in, his wide grin lighting up his weathered face. “That was insane!Seriously, Kiki, I’m gonna need to hire a medic to resuscitate Luis and Pedro. They’re crushed. They were bragging about how they were going to take you down today. That was glorious.”
She forced a smile, tugging her sleeves down. “I noticed you gave them a head start.”
“I was trying to give them a fighting chance,” Jose chuckled before he turned to Nikos, his eyebrows raised in admiration. “You. You’re scary good. If you ever want to come train some of our older kids, man—we’d be honored. I’ve offered Kiki the same gig, but she just enjoys shooting people.”
“I noticed. She’s surprisingly good at it,” Nikos replied, his voice smooth but heavy with unspoken meaning.
It shot straight through her, low and hot.
Her stomach twisted.
Nope.
Nope, nope, nope.
She couldn’t do this.
“I’m heading outside to cool off,” she said abruptly, stuffing her gloves into the gear bin and adjusting her hoodie.
Nikos inclined his head. “I’ll be out in a few.”
“Great,” she said—too quickly, too sharply. “Take your time.”
She shoved her hair out of her face and bolted for the exit.
Outside, the air was cool and breezy. The brisk chill felt good against her overheated flesh. She leaned against the brick wall and pulled in slow, shaky breaths.
She closed her eyes, drew a steady breath, and rebuilt her walls one layer at a time.
Because if she didn’t… she’d fall.
And if she fell, it wouldn’t be into something safe or soft.
It would be into something complicated.
Something dangerous.
Something that looked an awful lot like Nikos Aeto.
Falling for Nikos would be like falling into fire—beautiful, bright… and deadly.
Seven
Nikos leaned back against the prep-room wall, his chest still rising and falling from the match, adrenaline fizzing through his veins like champagne spiked with gunpowder.
God, what just happened—again?
It seemed like he was asking himself that same question over and over. He hadn’t felt this…alive… in years.
Across from him, Kiki had already stripped off her gear with jerky, deliberate movements, as if each strap and buckle had offended her. The hoodie was already pulled over her head, curls escaping in damp little coils around her flushed face. She didn’t look at him, not once, as she muttered inaudibly under her breath.
He didn’t know whether to laugh, groan, or just turn her around and kiss her senseless. She had that maddening effect—he wanted to kiss her. Constantly.
Jose burst in, grinning, his voice bubbling with excitement.
Nikos noticed her smile was strained as she responded to Jose. He had to drag his attention back to what the older man was saying. When hecommented on Kiki’s performance, he didn’t miss the way she winced and looked away from him.
He curled his fingers around the padded chest guard, his gaze trailing her as she bolted for the exit.
