He grabbed Alexander’s towel and threw it at him.
Alexander caught it with ease and moved to the corner of the ring, pressing the rough material to his burning ribs. The pain was sharp, but it was a welcome distraction. It was far easier to manage than the thoughts he had been trying to outrun. Alexander sighed, he was so used to fighting thoughts of his past but today he fought thoughts of…her. When Miss Theodora Dowell left Hawthorne House, he felt unsettled, so much so that it covered up the battle of guilt he had been struggling with for years. No woman had ever occupied his mind as much as she did.
Rowan cleared his throat, bringing Alexander back to reality. He turned towards his trainer and saw that the old man was watching him with narrowed eyes.
“What’s botherin’ you lad?”
Alexander froze.
Rowan raised a quizzical brow. “Do not look so surprised. I have seen that haunted look in many men before.”
Alexander exhaled slowly and shook his head. “I am merely having some… lady issues.”
There was a beat of silence. Both men exchanged knowing looks before they burst out laughing. Rowan slapped his knee.
“Lady issues? Ha! How can the Scarlet Duke, the scourge of London ballrooms and a brave warrior of The Iron Pit, be sufferin’ in that department?”
Alexander laughed, throwing his towel over his shoulder. “You have no idea. This is my most difficult fight ever.”
“Then do what you usually do.” Rowan grinned.
This time, Alexander raised his brow. “And what is that?”
“Charm her senseless.”
Alexander barked a laugh. “I truly think that is impossible with this particular lady.”
Rowan feigned surprise. “Impossible was never in yer vocabulary especially when it came to ladies before. Never thought I’d hear that.”
Alexander leaned his back against the ring rope, stretching his spine until he heard a slight crack and letting his head fall back. “This lady is… different.”
“Different how?” Rowan sounded genuinely interested.
Alexander hesitated.
How much can I tell him?
And how could he explain Miss Theodora Dowell to anyone for that matter? There were no words to describe such an infuriating woman who challenged him intellectually and looked at him as though she could see straight through his charm and into the parts of him he kept hidden.
“She is an intelligent woman who does not easily fall for flattery,” he said finally. “She believes in science more than anything else, and the most surprising of all is that she does not swoon over me like most of the ladies.”
Rowan laughed a bit too loudly.
“Do continue? She sounds intriguin’!”
Alexander rolled his eyes. “Well… she does not blush easily?—”
He stopped because that was not entirely true.
She had blushed and trembled.
His breath caught as the memory of her punched him harder than Briggs ever could. The way her lips had parted, and her fingers had curled into his coat, pulling him closer into the kiss. Alexander could still hear her breath catching and the little moan she let loose.
He swallowed hard.
Rowan watched him closely. “Ah. So that’s it, lad.”
Alexander blinked. “That’s what?”
