Dirty Brawler: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (with bonus novel!) (6 page)

“I wouldn’t miss it. Such a big, important article for Shaun,” I said in a sharp tone I hoped sent the message I thought this was a bunch of bullshit.

I sensed Shaun was watching the banter in confusion. “It looks like the photographer is ready for you, Shaun.  You should probably get to it,” Nigel said.

Shaun nodded. “Okay. It shouldn’t be long.”

I waved at him. “We’re fine. We have a few things to discuss anyway.”

Shaun moved over to the photographer. I watched as he leaned down to hear the directions for his first pose. He was so big, but he was light on his feet and moved with balanced grace. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of watching him.

“So, neat little trick showing up here,” Nigel said under his breath so only I could hear him.

“Well, since Shaun believes I was the one who booked it for him, it would appear strange if I wasn’t,” I said in a low tone that matched his. “Seriously, Most Eligible Bachelor? This is nothing but fluff and doesn’t help our ultimate goal of having people see him in a different light.”

“Shaun’s name needs to be in the press on a regular basis showing his support of his sponsors’ goods and services. It doesn’t matter one bit what it’s for,” Nigel said.

“That is why you are his business agent, and I’m in charge of his PR. You don’t understand the first thing about promoting an image and a brand. That’s my job. So, how about you stick to your figures and your sponsor schmoozing and leave the press to me?”

I saw Shaun look in our direction with a concerned expression, and I waved to him. He knew something was up, but I wouldn’t be one to talk out of turn about a member of his team. I was the newbie. That meant he was likely to take Nigel’s side over mine if I actually voiced my concern to him.

“Be careful, Ms. Ellis,” Nigel said. His eyes swept over my entire body, his lip curling up in disdain. “If you want to swim with the sharks, you’re likely to get bit.”

I straightened my stance. “Are you threatening me?” It wasn’t the first time I’d locked horns with a member of an athlete’s inner circle, but I still couldn’t figure out why Nigel was so threatened by my presence. It didn’t make any sense.

“Just a few words of friendly advice. That’s all,” he said with a snide smile. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. “Excuse me. I have a call to make.”

I was more than happy to be relieved of having to play nice with Mr. Potbelly. I pulled my notebook out of my briefcase and refocused on my client. He was the one I was there for. I had a job to do and nothing, certainly not Nigel, was going to stop me.

Shaun

The photo shoot was over. I was glad to be heading home. I felt a mounting wave of frustration in my chest. My fists itched to hit a punching bag. That was definitely better than the alternative of the smug reporter’s face.

“I told you they’d be asking questions today,” Tori said. She’d been quiet ever since the reporter called a wrap on the interview. I thought the photo shoot went well, and I had been looking forward to any questions I was going to be asked. I wanted Tori to see there was more to me than just a meathead athlete with a gold medal around his neck.

“I thought they’d be asking me different stuff,” I said, unable to keep the growl out of my voice. “All that stuff about Rio. What the fuck does that have to do with being the most eligible bachelor?”

“Not a thing. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. These guys sniff out unsavory details and find ways to sensationalize them for maximum profit,” Tori said with a sigh. “Listen, promise me from now on you and I will spend some time prepping before any interview.”

“You were the one that was late,” I grumbled.

“Shaun, I am on your side, remember?” she said softly. There was something there in her eyes I couldn’t read. I was reminded of that moment earlier before Nigel interrupted us. I had been thinking crazy things, like I wanted to lean over and kiss the soft area of skin right behind her earlobe. I hadn’t failed to notice the way her breathing sped up when I stood close to her. Tori was trying damn hard to hide it, but it was obvious. She was attracted to me.

“This just isn’t going the way I thought it would when I hired your firm,” I replied, trying to keep my focus, and dick, under control. The easiest way to do that seemed to be going on the offensive and voicing my displeasure with the situation.

The elevator doors slid open on the street level of the building. I moved so she could step out ahead of me. It gave me the perfect opportunity to admire her ass. Her fitted pencil skirt did nothing but accentuate her tight, round muscles. I wanted to pull her into me and grab a fistful of that tempting flesh just to see if it felt as firm as it looked.

“Patience. It’s not going to happen overnight,” she said. She pulled out her phone and tapped something on the screen. “I just sent you an invite for a charity event on Friday night. It’s a gala event with dinner raising money for leukemia research.”

“That sounds stuffy and boring.”

She laughed. “Many people would say that about going to the opera, just so you know. It’s a cause you can get behind because you have a personal connection to it. There will be significant press coverage because the mayor’s daughter was just diagnosed, and she will be the keynote speaker. Plus, you fill out a tux nicely based on what I saw upstairs, so it seems like a win-win all the way around.”

I hated those kinds of things, but I understood I needed to do something different to change my image. I liked that Tori had picked something I at least knew a little bit about. After watching what my sister went through, it was something that was definitely closer to home for me than most bullshit events I was asked to attend.

“So I assume you’re going with me?” I latched onto the idea. If it gave me a chance to spend some alone time with Tori, I was game. “Somebody has to keep me in line.”

“It isn’t a date,” she said, a little bit too quickly for my liking. I wished she’d just relax a little. It wouldn’t hurt her to take off the stodgy professional exterior every now and then.

“Of course not,” I said evenly. “But as my PR agent, I think it’s best, especially after the debacle upstairs, don’t you think?”

She chewed on her lower lip. I barely resisted the urge to reach over and taste it for myself. I could imagine all sorts of interesting and intriguing ways she could use those lips to torture me, just like she was doing now.

I thought she was going to refuse, but then she nodded slowly. I wished she didn’t look as if I’d sentenced her to spend an evening on death row. “Alright, but in an official capacity only. And no photo ops with me in them. The whole evening is about you.”

I was a bit chagrined she didn’t want any visual evidence of our interaction, but I knew it tied back to her whole ‘I don’t date clients’ policy… Even though this one could be easily explained to her boss.

“I’ll pick you up at 6pm,” I said.

“No, I’ll meet you there. That way you’ll be seen arriving and departing alone as well. Have to keep up appearances, you know. We don’t want anyone to think the city’s Most Eligible Bachelor was taken, right?” She rolled her eyes and gave a nervous laugh. “I’ll see you on Friday.”

I couldn’t help watching her ass swish back and forth as she moved away from me heading for the sidewalk outside. “Would that be such a terrible thing?” I asked aloud to the empty air around me.

I wanted to show Tori there was more to me beneath the surface. I also wanted to see how far I could push her to bend her unwritten rule about interacting on a personal level with her clients. I couldn’t get her out of my head. It was affecting everything, including my training.

Hammer rode me hard all week calling me a lazy ass in the ring. By the time Friday rolled around I felt wound up and irritable.  Even more so when the dress and necklace I handpicked for Tori to wear to the charity event was sent back unopened.

There was a note attached to the box in what was now becoming her familiar scrawl. “I can’t accept this, Shaun, but I appreciate the thought.”

The woman was infuriating. Since I had basically forced her into attending the event, I simply wanted to show my gratitude for the work she’d done so far. I wasn’t used to being rejected so quickly and soundly.

Tori arranged every detail of the evening down to the color of my socks. I was greeted by flashes of camera bulbs in every direction as I stepped out of the limo and onto the red carpet. Different members of the press shouted, asking me to turn toward them so they could get the right shot.

This kind of thing was old hat. I didn’t have to talk to them if I didn’t want to. I just had to stand in a relaxed pose every few feet with a smile and my hand casually slung in my pocket while letting the photographers do their thing. I waved to the fans calling my name behind the photographers and tuned down all the questions the reporters tried to barrage me with, per Tori’s instructions.

She was going to hook me up with a few select members of the press inside and had given me the talking points to share the highlights of my sister’s diagnosis and how that affected me and my family. Otherwise, I wasn’t supposed to speak to anyone else from the press without her express approval.

I stepped across the threshold into the looming lobby and found Tori waiting for me just inside the doors. She was dressed in a long, beaded sequin silver gown that clung to every delectable curve of her body.  It was the second time I’d seen her with her hair down, and I liked it much better than her usual bun at the base of her neck. Soft curls floated around her shoulders and cascaded down her back. The bodice of the gown was cut almost low enough to be considered indecent. It showed an ample offering of her cleavage. I wanted to bury my face between her tits right then and there. I didn’t give a shit who could see me.

There must have been something in my expression she read there, because her smile faltered for a brief moment and I saw the rising flush across her cheeks. I liked what I had picked out for her, but suddenly I wasn’t complaining one bit about the alternative she’d chosen.

“Hi,” she said.

“You look stunning,” I replied. She dipped her head and averted her gaze, but I could tell she was pleased by the compliment. I wasn’t an expert at handing them out by any means, but with Tori it seemed as if they slipped out easily.

“Thank you,” she murmured. She straightened up when I offered her my arm.

“You ready to do this thing?”

“I’ve got your back,” she said with a small smile.

The crazy thing about it was I knew her words were absolutely sincere. I didn’t feel like I had to hide or be someone else with her. I could just be me and she’d make sure nothing bad happened. I never realized how much I missed being able to trust someone like that until that moment.

She seemed to float beside me as we entered the grand hall. There was a quartet playing music in the corner. Several couples were already dancing, but I led Tori toward the bar. I wasn’t a dancer, so I hoped that wasn’t a planned part of Tori’s itinerary for the evening.

I really wanted a drink, but Tori had advised against it. She said I had to be sharp and quick on my feet—two things I never had a problem with before, but I wanted her to see I could follow directions. I wanted to please her.

Tori navigated us expertly between the groups gathered around the room throughout the entire evening. I wasn’t the only one who found her to be a captivating dinner partner, either. Everyone we spoke to seemed to key into her light and energy, and I felt a swelling of pride that she was there with me, even if it wasn’t as an official date.

I said my rehearsed lines over a dozen times as I told different people about my sister’s fight with cancer. I found it wasn’t as brittle and false as I expected. I told them how I had canceled practices and even a few fights because I wanted to be there with her when she was in the hospital fighting infection after infection following chemo. My sister was ten years younger than me. Every instinct was to protect her from the pain, but I couldn’t. I learned a lot about how to hang on despite insurmountable obstacles by learning from her.

I even choked up once, which surprised me as much as it did the people witnessing it. Tori deftly covered for me and distracted them until I regained my composure. I didn’t feel a flinch of guilt or anxiety about writing a check for ten-thousand dollars to the charity, and I promised the organizers I would lend my support to future events.

I was pretty proud of myself by the end of the evening. I could tell Tori was relaxed and happy on my arm as we stood in line waiting to gather her wrap from the coat check. The air had taken on a chill, and although I had offered my jacket to her several times, she politely declined.

“So, how’d I do, Coach?” I asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear. I heard her breath hitch. I loved how my proximity affected her. It gave me all sorts of ideas about what her expression would be if I sunk my cock deep between her legs. I could practically feel her thighs wrapped around my waist. I never even missed the alcohol. I was drunk off a million fantasies—each one involved Tori’s naked body in my bed.

“You did all right for a rookie,” she said, voice low.

“Actually, I’m ready to show you my A-game. All you have to do is say the word.”

“Shaun, I can’t.” Her whisper sounded pained. As she looked up into my eyes I saw the desire there. She wanted it as badly as I did. What would it take to push her over the edge? Her eyes flitted away from mine then. She cleared her throat.

I felt the frustration of the week starting to catch hold again. A romp with Tori would have been just the thing to take the edge off, but she was putting me squarely back in the client zone yet again.

“You know what I can’t do?” I asked. Her eyes returned to mine filled with curiosity. “I can’t act like I’m not attracted to you. I can’t pretend I don’t dream about tasting those lips or hearing you scream my name when you come.”

“Shaun!” her low whisper held a note of warning, but I couldn’t stop. I stepped closer to her. There wasn’t even an inch of space between us.

“Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll stop,” I growled into her ear. She started to shake her head, but I settled my hand on the curve of her hip. Her body tightened like a coil. “Tell me you don’t want me to rip this dress off your body with my teeth and suck on your nipples until you beg me to take you.”

Her breath came in short gasps. “I don’t,” she whispered.

Then it was our turn to step to the counter. Tori wiggled away from me to give the attendant her number. My cock was hard as diamond, and now I had a new sense of frustration to add to the mix. With Tori’s back to me, I ran my hand through my hair and tried to control the caveman urge to throw her over my shoulder and drag her away.

Tori was entirely composed when she returned to my side a few minutes later. The professional shell was once again firmly intact. It was really starting to piss me off.

“I suppose you aren’t planning to walk out with me,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You came alone. You leave alone.”

“How about meeting somewhere for a drink?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to let the evening end. Not by a long shot.

“Shaun, I appreciate you find me attractive.” Her voice dropped low as her eyes moved around me to see if anyone was close enough to hear. “But this is a strictly professional business relationship. It has to stay that way, so if you can please stop,
that
is what I want.”

“You don’t even know what you want,” I growled. “This is fucking
bullshit
.” I turned on my heel and headed toward the doors. I wasn’t interested in pounding my head against a brick wall. If that was how Tori wanted to play it, fine.

I escaped into the night air and immediately saw bursts of light from the cameras. I had forgotten all about the press outside, my mind occupied with thoughts of Tori.