“Have you ever boxed before?” the guy asks sharply.
“Yeah,” I say, glancing at Jax.
“Roar, would you just let him in?” Jax mutters, sounding exasperated. “It’s not like it’s packed in here on a Sunday.”
‘Roar’, or ‘Rory’ as his name badge suggests, squints at her critically. “Hey, there are rules.” He looks back at me. “Fifty bucks.”
“Roar!” Jax says, sounding scandalized. “What the fuck?”
“We don’t do day passes. You wanna bring a guest, he pays his way,” Rory says.
I’m starting to think the guy has a bit of a crush on Jax. He’s looking at me like he wants to kill me.
“Keep the change,” I say, handing him a hundred-dollar bill. Rory stares at it, his lips thinning with disapproval as he nods us through. Once we walk up to the door, Jax looks back at me with a little frown.
“Was that really necessary?”
But I’m barely listening as we step into the gym. It’s huge, much bigger than it looks from the outside, and peppered with stark white lighting around steel machines that look like torture devices.
It’s like walking into a vampire’s crypt. There are punching bags in uniform rows along the walls, and huge, beefy guys everywhere, slamming their fists into each other or into the bags.
“This is Marlo’s,” Jax says proudly, spinning around with a grin. “It’s the best place on earth.”
“It’s amazing,” I say, not sure what to make of it.
“They didn’t accept women at first, so I challenged Marlo to a fight. Then hehadto let me join.”
I glance over at her. “So you won, then?”
“Of course I did,” she replies, with effortless confidence.
“I can believe it,” I murmur, watching her ass sway through the gym like she owns the place.
“Jax, you in?”
There’s a huge guy in the ring in the center of the room, leaning against the ropes. His arms are twice the size of mine, and he’s built like a tank.
I clench my jaw. Even I can see the guys in this place are hot. Jealousy bubbles in my chest, and I push it down, trying to keep the irritation off my face.
I expect Jax to laugh and brush off the guy’s invitation, but to my horror, she accepts immediately.
What the fuck? She can’t fight that guy; he’s three times as wide as she is.
I consider saying that out loud, but decide against it. I want to leave here with my balls still attached to my body.
“Wanna watch?” she asks. “Or you can spar. Any of these guys will show you what to do if you don’t know. They’re mountains, but they’re all friendly as hell.”
“I’ll watch for now, then I can blow off that steam you mentioned.”
“Great! Don’t judge McGregor too harshly; he won’t go easy on me. I’ve asked him not to.”
“He can’t hurt you, can he?” I ask, following her as she pulls out gloves and a mouthguard from her bag. She grins at me, and I can’t help laughing at her.
“No more than I want him to,” she says, winking at me and making a bolt of desire race down my dick.
She climbs into the ring, punching McGregor’s gloves as he eyes me quizzically.
“Who’s the new guy?”
