Uncle Joe set a hand on her shoulder as Rafe finally released her. “I’ll read her the riot act and then give her a crash course on MMA.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Rafe surprised her by leaning over and kissing her briefly on the lips two inches from her uncle’s gaze. He was the most infuriating confusing man alive. First he won’t touch her, and then he claims her unquestionably in her uncle’s office.
She didn’t know how to respond. And she couldn’t make her mouth move anyway, so when Rafe left, she just stood there.
“Well well. I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Uncle Joe said.
“Me neither.”
He laughed. “Tell me more about this stalker.”
“Tell me more about Rafe Walker.”
He laughed again. “Fair trade.”
She explained in detail everything that had happened for the last few weeks, and then Uncle Joe gave her an overview of mixed martial arts while they watched the first few matches from behind the glass window of his office. It was quieter in there with the door closed.
“What about Rafe?”
“What about him?”
“What’s his story? And don’t tell me you don’t know. I saw the way you two looked at each other. He has secrets he isn’t sharing, and I believe you know them. Spill.” She turned toward him and crossed her arms.
Uncle Joe smirked. “I can tell you he is an excellent fighter and a good man. He works hard both inside and outside of the ring. He’s done my taxes the last few years. I trust him with my life and my finances.”
“But?” She knew there was more.
“Anything else you will have to get from him.”
Katy sighed. She should have known the two men would have some man code of silence.
She peered out the glass as five huge guys who looked similar to Rafe came over to the window. They were chuckling and made no attempt to conceal the fact they were clearly getting a good look at her.
Uncle Joe waved. “Guess the guys heard Rafe came in with a woman.”
“Who are they?”
“The Fight Club. At least that’s what I call them.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Uncle Joe shrugged. “I have about a dozen guys who work out here in their weight range who practice MMA for sport. About half of them are close friends who also socialize outside the gym.” He pointed at the five who’d wandered over to see Katy. “The one on the left is Mason.”
“Rafe talks about him. I think he’s the one who came over last week to work out.”
“Yep. They’re best friends. Met in college.”
Mason nodded toward her as he reached for the door and opened it. He stuck his head in. “Don’t mind us. We’re giving Rafe shit. He’s too easy.” He stepped inside then. “I’m Mason. Sorry we didn’t meet the other day. Rafe said you were pretty shook up Saturday morning. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
She took his hand as he offered it.
Mason turned and pulled the other guys in behind him. The office grew very crowded in a hurry. “This is Rider, Gage, Zane, and Conner.” He pointed at each one, though she barely caught their names.
She nodded at them. “Nice to meet you.”
“We better go before your man sees us and starts punching people outside the ring. Enjoy the match.” Mason pushed everyone out of the office and shut the door.
My man?
She licked her lips at the thought.
“So now you’ve met The Fight Club.”
“They’re big.” She stared at the backs of them as they walked away, punching each other in the arms. Bunch of overgrown children.
“Yes they are. And they’re good. Rarely do any of them lose.”
Katy winced when her view cleared and she could see the fight in progress. “Lord. They look like they’re killing each other.”
Her uncle chuckled. “They won’t die. Come on. Let’s get a seat closer. I’ll point out the highlights.”
The room boomed with noise as they made their way to two seats on one side of the ring. “Why do they fight in that cage thingy?”
“It’s called an octagon.” He leaned in so she could hear him better.
“What are the rules?”
“There aren’t too many. Basically, they aren’t permitted to hit the groin area. No head butting, biting, pulling of hair. The throat and kidneys are off limits. Basically anything that could cause permanent injury.”
“How long does this last?” She couldn’t take her eyes off the man currently getting his ass kicked.”
“Three five minute rounds, unless someone wins before that.”
“God. How awful.”
“I didn’t figure you were going to like it.” Uncle Joe pointed to the side of the ring. “Rafe is up next.”
She spotted him, and her adrenaline kicked in. All of these guys were hot as shit, but none as sexy as Rafe. He took her breath away just as he had the last time she’d seen him without his shirt on. He was bouncing up and down next to the fence, stretching his neck back and forth.
The current fight ended and the referee declared a winner.
Katy stiffened when he announced the next fight. “And from the home gym, Rafe ‘The Dragon’ Walker…” She watched as Rafe entered the fenced area and headed toward a corner. A man leaned over him and helped him secure a mouth guard.
“That’s Byron. He’s the cornerman.”
Katy nodded.
A bell sounded when Rafe stepped into the center. She couldn’t understand the announcer very well, but her heart pounded as she watched Rafe punch, hit, and kick the other guy. Every time his opponent got the upper hand, she held her breath. She gripped her thighs with her hands hard.
The other guy hit Rafe hard under his eye, and Rafe staggered backward.
Katy gasped.
Uncle Joe chuckled. “He’s fine. Just a tap.”
“Why do they call him The Dragon? Because of the tattoo?”
He shook his head. “No the tattoo came after. Look at the way he holds that intense look on his face as he fights… There. See that? Doesn’t it look like he could breathe fire when he opens his mouth like that?”
It did. She had to agree.
The five minutes ended and each man went to his corner.
“That was only five minutes?” Seemed like an hour.
“Yep. They get one minute between. That part seems like three seconds.”
“The guy fighting him looks bigger.”
“Not much. They’re both middleweight. That’s between one seventy and one eighty-five.”
The fight resumed. Katy sat rigid. Her neck hurt from sitting so stiff. She barely blinked during the rest of the match, mesmerized by every punch as the two men grappled.
Finally the fight ended. She listened as the announcer declared Rafe the winner and held his arm in the air.
Katy wasn’t sure if she had breathed during most of the match. And she also wasn’t sure if she loved it or hated it. The exhilaration made her want to see more. The stress of watching the man she was falling hard for fight and take hits made her want to turn away.
Rafe winked directly at her before he left the cage. And then he walked away toward the locker room on the opposite side of the stage area.
Katy flushed, a deep burn racing across her cheeks from the direct attention.
“Come on,” her uncle said. He took her arm and led her away. “Let’s get you out of here before someone slips and falls on your drool.”
Katy rolled her eyes as she followed Uncle Joe back to his office. Cheers erupted behind her for the next fighter. She heard the announcer call for Mason “The Bullfighter” Simmons and twisted around to see Rafe’s friend enter the cage. How long did this go on?
She sighed in relief when they shut the office door, drowning out a good part of the noise. “Is it always that loud?”
“No. It’s much louder. This is a small match tonight. Not even a real one. More like an exhibition. Most matches are held at larger venues. We don’t have the space inside the gym for anything bigger than this.”
Katy slumped into a chair.
“What did you think?”
“I’m not sure. What a strange world I knew nothing about.”
“Yeah. Rafe lives in a different world from you.” Uncle Joe stared at her pointedly as he took a seat across from her. “Be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
She lifted her gaze. “You don’t think he would hurt me, do you? Because if you know something I should consider—”
“Oh, hell no.” He waved off her concern. “Nothing like that. I’m more worried about your heart. I saw how you looked at him. Beware. You too are very different. I wouldn’t have expected you to fall for one of my boys.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. My heart is safe. Rafe is taking this relationship at a painfully slow snail pace.”
“Good. He should.”
She almost told him about her ultimatum for tonight, but decided against it. Whatever Rafe’s secrets were, she assumed Uncle Joe knew all of them. The man seemed to consider his “boys” family.
Rafe hurried through his shower and dressed with warp speed. He wanted to get back to Katy before one of the other guys got their hands on her and possibly revealed more than he wanted her to know.
He needn’t have worried, however. When he returned to the gym floor, he found her back in Joe’s office. “What’d you think? Did I scare you off?”
She tipped her head up toward him. “Jury’s still out. Not sure. Get back to me when I’ve had a chance to ponder all this further.”
He leaned in and kissed her forehead. He had no idea why he felt so possessive of her, especially in front of her uncle. But he did. And he wanted anyone watching to know she was taken. Even if by taken he meant for one more night.
He wiped his palms on his black jeans when he considered what he intended to do with her next. This entire relationship could be over in an hour. He wouldn’t be surprised if she ran screaming from his house. But it was time. To wait any longer wasn’t fair. It probably hadn’t been a good idea keeping his secret as long as he had.
Pure selfishness on his part. And he’d never regret the time he’d spent with her. Even if she hated him later. “Ready to go?”
Joe stood. “It’s Friday night.”
“It is,” Rafe confirmed.
Joe opened his mouth and then closed it.
Please don’t say a word
. The man knew exactly what Rafe did on most Friday nights. Joe nodded and opened the door. “Be careful with my niece.”
“I will.”
Joe grabbed his arm after Katy had passed through the entrance. “I mean it,” he whispered, too softly for Katy to hear.
“I know. You have my word.”
Joe’s brow was furrowed, but he released Rafe and let the two of them leave.
“I’m starving. Let’s grab a bite to eat,” Rafe said as they stepped out into the cool night air. “And then I’m going to take you to my usual Friday night haunt.”
“You have a usual haunt?”
“I do.”
And you’re going to be shocked speechless
.
He drove them to a burger joint and Katy watched as he stuffed his face with a burger almost too big for his mouth.
“How can you eat all that?” She picked at his fries while he ate, having declared herself not remotely hungry.
“With my mouth,” he teased.
She sipped a soda as he devoured his food. Fighting always used more calories than seemed reasonably possible, considering the longest amount of time he ever spent in the ring was fifteen minutes on a fight night.
When he finished, they climbed back into the truck and he took a deep breath before turning toward her. “I want you to know that I’m totally into you. I haven’t had a crush on a woman like this since seventh grade.”
She didn’t move.
He gripped the steering wheel and turned to look out the windshield. Seconds ticked by before he looked at her again. He wanted to be sure he said everything just right. “There is another side to me that I haven’t shared. I’m going to do that now. And it scares the shit out of me because I may never set eyes on you again afterward.”
She flinched, but didn’t speak.
“You mean more to me than anyone I’ve dated in ten years. I want to take our relationship to the next level. But this has to happen first. And I want you to know I totally understand if you run or if you need some time to process afterward. No hard feelings.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“I know. And I want to apologize in advance for waiting so long. My reasons are purely selfish. I didn’t want to lose you.”
She sucked in a breath. “Rafe.” He turned toward her as she grabbed his arm. “A little faith. Just go. I might surprise you.”
He nodded and started the engine.
The entire drive toward Extreme he was on edge, silently praying to whatever god would listen to him.
When they pulled into the parking lot behind Extreme, Rafe opened his door and came around to her side before she had a chance to get out. The least he could do was go out as a gentleman if he had to bow out.
He took her hand, shut the truck door, and then pressed her body into the side of the truck. He kissed her. “Another thing. The bouncer’s name is Harper. He’s more than that. He’s in charge of the door. If you need anything, you can go to him. He’ll take care of you without question. Understand?”
“Why would I need the bouncer to help me? Where will you be?”
He paused. “If you’re done with me. I mean he can get you a cab or have someone take you home if you need.”
She swallowed and then nodded. She hugged him, and he hoped it wasn’t the last time he would feel her arms around his middle.
Rafe turned and led her to the entrance. He greeted the man outside. “Frank.” And then he opened the door and stepped inside, holding Katy’s hand.
They stepped into the entrance room. Harper was manning the fort, as usual. “Rafe. Where have you been? I was about to send a posse after you. You haven’t been here in a few weeks.”
Rafe pulled Katy up beside him.
“Ah. Well then. Now I see what you’ve been up too.” He reached out a hand. “Harper Stevens.”
“Katy Marks.”
“Nice to meet you.” He turned toward Rafe. “You need papers?”
“Nah. I’m just going to show her around. We won’t stay long.”
“Okay. If you change your mind. You know where to find me.”
Rafe knew the drill. No one was permitted to participate in any scenes in the club without signing a waiver. Visitors were allowed to watch and mingle, but that was it. If they wanted to gain privileges as an official guest of a member, they would have to sign several forms concerning conduct and rules of the club.