Clinch (The Underground Book 2) (4 page)

“No. Of course not. Though not for lack of effort on his part. My mother still thinks he’s the catch of the century. She hasn’t given up on us.” She cringed inwardly. Maybe at one point early in her relationship with Marshall he’d seemed more normal, but she’d seen him through new goggles at the fight that night. He’d gone from boring, rich guy to full asswipe in two seconds flat.

She’d dated him off and on for months before that night, never feeling a spark but leaving the door open to the possibility to appease her parents and give her something to do in the evenings from time to time.

It wasn’t like she had anyone else on the horizon at the time, so the occasional date with Marshall had seemed innocent enough. Both her family and his thought they would eventually get married, and she hadn’t had the energy to argue against the case. Until that night when his true colors came out loud and clear.

Leo smiled, a slow spread of his lips that brought dimples to his cheeks and made her panties wet.

She squeezed her thighs together, grateful for the pink scrubs she wore that didn’t rub her pussy with enough pressure to make her weak in the knees.

She was always a little dizzy around Leo. The man made her clit throb and her nipples pucker every time he came near.

“So?”

“So what?” She met his gaze, biting the corner of her lower lip to keep from swaying.

“Friday night? I want you to come to a fight with me.”

“What?” Her voice squeaked.

“You don’t get out enough.”

How did he know that? Did he watch the lights in her apartment in the evenings? Shit. Had he seen anything else through her windows?

She jerked her gaze to twist her head around and make a mental note to close her blinds more often. From where she stood, she could see every window in the apartment. It wasn’t difficult. The one next to the kitchen table was to her left. The larger one at the end of the sofa in the living room was to her right. And the one visible through her open bedroom was above her dresser.

The place was only four hundred square feet. And all hers.

Leo chuckled, the deep sound radiating through her small space and reaching in to clench her heartstrings at the same time. Even his voice was sexy. “No. I don’t watch you undress in front of your windows. I just know you. You work your ass off, and you never take time to play.”

He did know her well. She’d fed him dinner at least two dozen times in the last five months. The first time he showed up with one of his injured friends in tow and she’d asked him to fix the lock on the front door of her clinic, she’d offered to pay him.

He’d taken offense and almost stomped from her office without saying goodbye. “You don’t owe me anything for tightening a screw on your front door, Dr. Schwan.”

“Katie,” she’d muttered, “and let me fix you dinner then.”

That had made his face light up, and he’d winked. “Now that sounds fantastic.”

She shook herself from her reverie. “I play,” she responded.

He lifted a brow. “When? When was the last time you went out? I’ve never seen you in anything except scrubs.” He glanced down at her loose-fitting outfit.

“I was wearing a dress when we met,” she responded, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, that’s right. It was too short and too tight if I recall. That crazy asshole you were dating must either be gay or he gets his rocks off elsewhere because no way would I have taken you out wearing that dress and left you alone in a bar without making every effort to get my hands under your skirt.” He shook his head and ducked back under the sink.

Katie’s stomach plunged. Was it hot in her apartment?

“You still didn’t answer me,” he said to the pipes as he twisted something and wiped is hand on a rag. She’d left the tools and supplies he’d used right under the sink the last time he’d worked on it. Only because she’d been lazy, though. The sink worked fine. Not a single drip had fallen since he fixed it.

But it was worth it having him take another look just to stare at his fine ass and chest. Not to mention the bulge in his jeans.

Her mouth was dry as she tried to find words. “You asking me out on a date? Because the last time a man asked me on a date, it was to the same event. I didn’t like it then, and I’m not more fond of the sport now.”

That was a lie. She’d learned a lot about MMA since that night. She’d googled the sport and watched clips on her computer. Except for the fact that Leo and his friends fought in unsanctioned venues for large sums of money, the world of MMA itself was a growing sport thousands of people enjoyed.

Leo paused, his arms not moving. “You haven’t been on a date in five months?”

Shit. She didn’t mean to reveal that much.

She stepped closer, staring at the bend in his knee now and the way he set his foot on the floor to get the right traction. She did need to get out more. “Not to a boxing match thingy,” she hedged, backpedaling.

He chuckled. “MMA, babe. Not boxing. That’s an entirely different sport.”

Frankly, she would give her right arm to watch Leo in action. But she wouldn’t admit it out loud. “Are
you
fighting?”

“Not this week.” He finished what he was doing, shoved himself out from under the sink, and sat up, his hands dangling over his knees to avoid touching his jeans. “I wouldn’t ask you to come if I couldn’t keep an eye on you. Every man in the place would have his hands on you in less than a minute.”

Yep. Her mouth was indeed very dry. His green eyes were smoldering.

He pushed himself to standing and turned to wash his hands, leaving her with her favorite view, his ass and his muscular back. She needed to get a life.

“Were you serious?” he asked without turning around.

“About what?”

“Dating. I find it hard to believe you haven’t been on a date since the night Dmitry got injured.”

Damn. She did sound pathetic.

As he turned around, wiping his hands on a towel, she shrugged.

His mouth quirked on one side again. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Is that too early?”

She cocked one hip to the side and set her hand on it. “I didn’t agree to anything yet.”

He stepped forward and tapped her nose, the first skin-on-skin contact she’d had with him yet that evening. “You know you want to.”

“It’s so…barbaric. All that testosterone filling the room. Men shouting over each other. It smells like sweat and blood. As a doctor, it makes me cringe to watch people intentionally injure themselves.”

Leo stepped around her and pulled out a kitchen chair to lower himself onto the seat. He planted his feet wide and reached his hands up to clasp them behind his head.

Why did he have to be so damn sexy?

“I promise not to leave your side for an instant. I just thought you might enjoy learning a little more about the sport. The last time you were there you didn’t have much of a guide.”

“The last time I was there my date placed a bet on your friend and nearly had a stroke when he thought Dmitry was going to lose the fight.”

Leo laughed. “Well, Mikhail is fighting this week. And he won’t lose, either. Though, I’d advise you not spread that rumor around. Messes up the betting,” he teased. “Ivan will be there also. And Alena.”

“Who’s Alena?”

“Mikhail’s sister. He only lets her come when one of us is available to keep an eye on her.”

“Is she a child?”

He laughed again. “Nope. He’s just overprotective. Alena is only about two years younger than us—the guys that is. She’s twenty-eight.”

Katie’s eyes widened. “And you don’t think she can take care of herself? Are all your friends so high-handed?”

“Pretty much, yes.” He glanced down at her body and then back up. “You’re impossibly tiny, Katie. Alena isn’t even as tall as you. She’s barely five feet. Some drunk asshole could lift you over his shoulder with one hand and cart you from the room. Either of you.”

She stared at him. He was serious. And it was so fucking hot the way he spoke to her. He never implied she was in any way stupid. He was just protective. It was his style.

She nibbled on her bottom lip again while she inhaled long and slow. The best part about Leo coming into her small apartment was that he left his distinct scent around for hours. The time she’d had him fix a loose screw on her headboard to keep it from squeaking, he’d sat on her bed and touched her pillow with his hands.

She’d inhaled his scent off her sheets for days, wishing she could legitimately come up with another reason for him to fix her bed. Maybe she could have him flip the mattress or something…

She stepped around Leo, needing to distract herself from the way his pecs rose high on his chest with his arms in the air. A sliver of his abs peeked out from under his shirt again too. To avoid looking at him, she opened the fridge and peered inside. She needed to make dinner anyway. But she wasn’t seeing anything in her current state of drooling.

“Let’s order a pizza. My treat,” he said from behind her.

She released the door to the fridge and turned to lean against the counter. The idea of cooking at that moment seemed impossibly foreign. Pizza was an excellent idea. “That’s not how it works. See, you won’t let me pay you to help me around the apartment and clinic, so the only way to make it equal is if I buy.”

He smirked, pushing himself to standing. “Woman, we’re way past that. You know you only have me over because you’re lonely. And bored.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “There was nothing wrong with that sink.”

Busted.

She lowered her shoulders. “I’m pathetic.”

He stepped over to the door. “I’ll fix the door so it doesn’t stick to earn my way into your weak, pathetic life. And then you can pretend you only keep me around for the hard labor.”

She smiled at his back. He was teasing. And she loved having him around. Some nights she wished she could make shit up to get him to come over. But then she’d be stepping over the friendship boundary. Except for a few innuendos on both their parts, they were just good friends.

Right?

She reached into the pocket on her scrubs and pulled out her phone. “Here. You call for pizza. The closest place is programmed under ‘pizza.’ I need a shower. Some kid vomited on me today. I changed, but I can still smell the foul odor.” It was a lie. She just wanted an excuse to get away from the heat that was Leo for a few minutes to regroup and ponder his intentions for Friday night.

Leo sat on Katie’s couch, flipping through the channels on her TV. Nothing was on. And even if it was, there was no way he could concentrate with her shower running yards away from him. Visualizing her naked body under the cascade of water made him fidget and adjust his cock every few seconds.

He’d busied himself calling the local pizza parlor and then fixing her door so it closed by itself, but now he was out of things to do. His brain was filled with images of her long blonde hair hanging wet down her back. What color were her nipples?

He’d give anything to taste them. And her pussy… God almighty. Sometimes he was sure he saw her squeezing her legs together when he teased her. It changed nothing, however. She was way out of his league.

He had no idea why she ran this run-down clinic where she undoubtedly operated at a deficit and lived in a place smaller than any apartment he’d had in the United States. She was a doctor. Weren’t they supposed to make millions of dollars and live in a penthouse?

The answer to that was obvious after all these months, though. Katie didn’t give two fucks about money or appearances. Her parents did. She mentioned that often. But not Katie. She truly cared about people and helping them.

The bathroom door opened, making him jump.

When he twisted his head around, he nearly swallowed his tongue. His eyes widened as she slipped out of the bathroom and ducked into her bedroom wearing nothing but a towel. It wasn’t a luxurious bath towel, either. It barely covered her ass and her tits. If she hadn’t been holding it at the top, he might not have to wonder what color her nipples were.

Jesus
.

Was the woman trying to kill him?

“Did you order the pizza?” she called out from her room.

“Yeah. It should be here soon.” He stared at the entrance to her room. The door was wide open. He’d been inside a few times to fix things, but currently his glimpse of the dark wood of her slatted headboard made his cock harder than ever. The deep purple silky comforter was one of the few luxuries she appeared to own. He wanted to pull the soft spread back and find out what kind of sheets she owned. And then lie on them…

“Good. I’m starving.”

So was he. But not for pizza…

Steam wafted out of the bathroom. Steam probably rose off his skin too. His cock grew harder since he’d gotten a glimpse of her legs and bare shoulders and arms. Her hair had been dripping down her back, hanging in long wet curls that begged him to run his fingers through it.

In another life.

Why on earth he spent so much time with Katie was beyond him. He liked torturing himself apparently. The woman was gorgeous, funny, sexy as hell, and brilliant. She could easily date any man on the planet. But she indicated she hadn’t been on a date since he met her. She’d tried to reverse the statement, but he caught it perfectly.

Why?

He hadn’t realized he was still staring at the entrance to her bedroom when she reemerged. The door had been open the entire time, but she’d been around the corner out of sight. The second she reappeared, he nearly moaned.

He righted himself and jumped to his feet to wander over to the window and peer outside. Where was the pizza guy? The last thing he wanted was for her to see his bulging erection. And if he faced her again, that’s what would happen. His impossibly hard cock would explode and force its way out of his jeans.

Was she really wearing what he thought he saw?

“Did you hear the car?” she asked.

His ears were ringing.
Please, God. Do me this one favor. When I turn around, let me find out my eyes deceived me, and that amazing creature is actually dressed in baggy sweats and a thick sweatshirt.

“I thought so, but I don’t see anything.”