“Please. I can’t go back to the apartment, and I can’t live with these vows of ours hanging over my head. For sure, I feel a connection to each of you, but I need to get to know who you are before we go any further, or I’ll always wonder if it’s me, or the idea of me, that’s got you all so focused on us being together.” I take a hurried breath, and he doesn’t stop me from speaking. “I understand you’re bound by a promise you made to a beautiful little girl, and of course, I get you want to honor her memory, but this needs to be about us too. And to do that, I need to have all the in-between time, the getting to know each other, small moments of discovery while I keep working.”
The rest of my argument that I’d spent figuring out at work disappears out of my thoughts. Which only proves my point that he, and they, make me lose myself.
“I’m not saying I don’t want to be with you, and your pack, Tynan. I am saying we need to do things differently.”
After dropping as much truth as I can, I walk off, giving him what I want him to give me—the time and space to work through my outpouring.
I make it to the change room before realizing I don’t have any gear, but laid out on the bench are my workout clothes. Tynan is one step ahead of me again, caring for me on his terms.
By the time I’ve outrun my demons on the treadmill, he’s ready and waiting for me in the ring. I can’t help the thrill of my heart or the stupid smile that is impossible to hide as I climb under the ropes to meet him.
“We’ll do it your way, Tally.” That’s all he says.
He’s laid out everything we need for a hard session; he was clearly intending to teach me a lesson. The gorgeous schmuck has changed out of his black jeans and hoodie into professional boxing shorts. The black silk hugs his tight, fit thighs and sits low enough on his hips to let me know he’s naked under them. If that wasn’t enough of a distraction, his well, defined chest is a tapestry of color as ink covers his skin with the same tattoo that Ronin and Keegan has.
Walking closer, he scratches his head, but it’s a ruse. He’s merely peacocking, and the glitter of trouble in his eyes confirms it.
“Like that, is it?” I ask, holding my hands out for him to tape my gloves on.
He shrugs.
As he gets me ready, he doesn’t talk, but he keeps looking at me. Not glances, but deep into my soul.
“Warm up like you did last time.”
And exactly like the first time in the ring, he sits on the mat and watches me with an intensity that brings color to my cheeks. What feels like a hundred burpees and push-ups later, he climbs to his feet and passes over a bottle. I take a sip, and it’s not until after I swallow it down that I look at him in question.
“Aye. I would do it again in a flash. If I thought you needed it.”
“Yeah, well, word for the wise—don’t drug me again.”
“Don’t be stubborn, and there’s no need, is there? Let’s go, firecracker.” He flicks his chin up, and I have to roll the tension out of my neck before I can lift my gloves up.
Of course, that only makes his head dip as he tries to hide his smile, but I don’t try to argue the fact he has this ability to wind me up so effortlessly. In the next second, Tynan shuts down on me and becomes my trainer.
By the time he’s put me through my paces, my side aches, but there’s a stillness in my anxiety.
“Grappling, then you’re done.”
His voice cuts through the quiet. It’s deep and intimate or, in my quietness, I’m just more susceptible to him. While I steady my breathing, I completely check him out. There was never any doubt I found him attractive—for the record, he’s drop-dead-fucking-stunning, but tonight I seriously wonder if he and Rafferty are twins, because to me, there’s so many differences between them. Too many to list.
He shuffles his feet, and I realize, a little too late, that instead of perving on him, I should have been preparing. Tynan rockets over the distance, coming straight at me, and I go to step out of the way, but he’s way ahead of me and my bum hits the mat. Then, slowly, while I’m still in awe and shock at how fast he moved, he dips and lies down, pinning me to the mat.
“One.”
And then he springs to his feet.
“One what?”
“I pin you three times, and you agree to go on a date with me.”
My mouth hangs open as I do a snort, huff, laugh rolled into one. The half of me that isn’t winded from that fancy maneuveris swooning like I’m watching a sappy movie, and it’s getting to the good part.
I squat down in preparation for his next attack, watching the position of his body closer this time. His eyes are on my face, so I employ some devious distraction techniques and throw off my T-shirt, so I’m only in gym shorts and my bra. “I would have gone, anyway.”
The words are barely out of my mouth, and I’m on my back again, staring up at his face. “Two. Oddly enough, I have issues believing what you say at the moment.” He pulls my hand out from where it’s trapped between us, twisting and turning it, making it obvious he’s looking for my wedding ring again.
Then it’s my turn to shock him. I shove him off at the same time I roll over and straddle him, trapping him under me. His blue eyes blaze and my nipples harden, which he doesn’t miss. I lean down, running my nose over his sweaty cheeks. “Good. You shouldn’t trust me. I might be here to rip this town apart, for all you know.”
