@motownmusik: We get this for FREE?
@emmytaylor: right!? I was gonna ask for a link to their Just for Fans
@imtheproblemitsme: brb sending this to my boyfriend
@swampbitch: weird way to propose but okay #thatgymguy
@error404: love how all the girlies are here. No men in the comments. MMA is our sport now.
@stacysmom2004: I mean, they have a women’s team so you’re not wrong
@jayayayyyy: I don’t wanna hear a single one of you asking me about shirt colors or nothing
@pocketfullofsunshine: I ship it
ChapterFifteen
Ring light? Check.
Tripod height adjustment? Check.
MAC’s Soar lipstick in matte? Applied.
Lily adjusted the tilt of her phone, tracking the movements of Carter and AJ through the screen as they sparred in the Octagon. Whether Kieran would admit it or not, Carter was one of the team’s best fighters. He wove and dodged while AJ chased. It was a technique Lily had seen quite a bit when researching Kieran’s old fights. Conserve energy. Strike when they slow down to breathe.
The heat of Kieran’s body rolled over her shoulders and surrounded her like an embrace.
If she closed her eyes, she could picture his touch—remember the warmth of his skin blazing against hers as he lavished her breasts with his tongue.
“What’s your surprise for today?”
Just his voice in her ear was enough to make her throat go dry. Never mind forgetting her ex. How was she going to get Kieran out of her system?
“You’ll find out in just a minute.”
Scrubbing her palms against her spandex shorts, Lily turned and found herself chest to chest with Kieran. A blush tickled her cheeks, but he took a half step back, releasing the breathless spell he always caught her in.
The space offered her a better look at him, and she clamped her hands together behind her back, hiding away those untamed pieces of herself. Left unchecked, she was likely to spread her hands over the span of his chest.
The gym uniform the guys wore consisted of black shorts and T-shirt or tank top with South Side MMA across the front.
But per Lily’s request that Kieran host a sparring match on her Live today, he was in his full MMA gear. A black rash guard with red lettering stretched taut across his torso. Black compression shorts, which she was certain had built-in protection for her favorite part of him, peeked out just a hair longer than his red fight shorts. His feet were bare and his hands already wrapped and adorned with padded, fingerless gloves. Clutched in one hand was a mouth guard.
When she managed to shift her gaze up to his face, she found his attention centered on her lips.
Lily rolled the bottom one, delighting in the way Kieran’s jaw clenched and his Adam’s apple bobbed before his eyes flashed to hers.
“Your makeup looks nice.”
“Thank you.” Teaching herself to do her makeup and connect with her femininity had been one of the ways Lily bonded with her followers early on, right after she’d arrived in Chicago. “If you could round the guys up around the Octagon, I think we’re ready to go live.”
He gave her one last lingering look, going so far as to raise a brow at her choice of a push-up bra under her tank top instead of a sports bra, but he said nothing else. He sauntered toward his fighters.
She shot off a quick text to Nat, verifying her friend was ready to moderate the comments. With one last deep breath and after painting a smile on her face, she slid her finger over the button and started the stream.
“Hey, guys! Good afternoon.” She waved with one hand while playing with her ponytail with the other. One part bashful, one part flirty—a third, secret part completely insecure and convinced she’d make a fool of herself.
“Welcome to our Monday-evening men’s team fight class!” She’d been teasing the Live all week and, based on how quickly the count of viewers ticked up, some must have been waiting on the gym’s channel for the stream to start. “We’ll just give it a minute while the guys stretch and some more friends trickle in.”
