A few glance off me, but most barely touch me.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
He definitely heard that one, because he comes again, so hard and so fast that I finally see what he’s really capable of. I can see why that had him fighting in the WCAP.
Shit.
Gage pins me into the corner and spits out his mouthguard, apparently not caring that his perfect teeth or pretty smile might get bashed in.
He dips his head next to mine, low, where Atlas is sure not to hear whatever he says. “I like battling with you, Hellcat, though I’d much rather do it in the bedroom.”
The truth is…so would I.
And that pisses me the fuck off.
I raise my knee and jam it straight between his legs.
He barks out a cough and stumbles back slightly. His cup may have protected him from being unable to father children, but it definitely hurt. And given the whistle that Atlas releases from between his teeth, it clearly signals the end of the fight, too.
Atlas slides under the ropes and approaches, his tattooed chest still slick with a sheen of sweat from their match and a wearing a shit-eating grin on his face. “That might be the most entertaining thing I’ve seen in years.”
Gage continues to stay partially doubled over, his breathing hard, eyes narrowed on me.
I spit out my mouthguard. “I won.”
Atlas chuckles. “It doesn’t count. You cheated.”
“We didn’t establish any ground rules for this match.”
It’s a bullshit argument on my part. Hitting in the groin, especially intentionally, is never permitted.
He looks to Gage, who straightens and finally approaches us slowly, shaking out his leg as if that might relieve some of the discomfort my blow just caused.
Gage offers me a partial grin. “Bishop always uses everything at her disposal to gain control of the situation, don’t you?”
I raise a brow at him, daring him to bring our personal business out in front of Atlas and see how I would respond.
He stares at me for a moment, then looks back at Atlas. “I won’t hold it against her that she couldn’t finish me off the old-fashioned way without going for the low blow. Maybe next time.”
It would be impossible to miss the double entendre in his statement.
Gage smirks at me before he holds up his hands for Atlas to help him with his gloves. He never takes his eyes off me as Atlas undoes the Velcro and tugs them off, almost as if he’s waiting for me to blow and is afraid he might miss it if he looks away.
Atlas passes him his gloves, then turns to me and grabs my right hand. He grips the edge of the Velcro and tugs it off. I glance down to watch his progress, and to avoid his scrutiny, afraid if I look him in the eye, he will see all the things that have happened with Gage.
That’s the problem with growing up so close to each other in the Hawke family. Everyone is in everyone else’s business and loves to interject their thoughts and opinions about things that are absolutely not theirs to butt their heads into.
And sleeping with Gage would be something Atlas definitely has opinions about.
Plus, once he knew, so would everyone else. First Wren, then Astrid, and it would spread like wildfire through the Hawke gossip chain until the entire flock was yapping about it and giving me their advice I absolutely do not want.
When I finally chance a glance back up, Gage has slid out of the ring and is walking toward the locker room at the rear of the gym.
Hell.
I shouldn’t follow him.
Nothing good that will come from it.
