“You don’t owe me an explanation, London.” And he didn’t. She knew what she was getting into, and what being with one of the biggest players in the gym meant. Besides, she sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it, because then she would think about him and Missy together. Yeah, not what she wanted on her mind after she had just had sex with
him.
“I don’t regret anything.” She smiled, trying to get rid of this weird vibe that was suddenly choking the shit out of her. “It is what it is.” She smiled, hoping the act didn’t look as weird as it felt. He continued to stare at her, and before things went from awkward to unbearable, she made her way past him and to the door.
Well, chalk this up to a life experience, because you can’t say you didn’t know what you were getting into.
Right as she went to pass him he reached out, grabbed her hand, and spun her around so she slammed right into his chest. The air was knocked out of her, and she craned her neck back to look at him. The penetrating stare he gave her was something she could feel all the way to her toes.
“You didn’t let me explain, Sunny, and I
need
to.” Okay, this certainly hadn’t been the reaction she thought she was going to get from him. Licking her lips, she nodded and waited for him to continue. “I won’t sugarcoat my life, because you eat, breathe, and live in a fighter’s world. You see what we do, and how we act with women.” Yeah, she did know what he was talking about, and how they slept around on a constant basis. “I didn’t sleep with Missy, even though she would have put out like all the rest of them.” God, now she felt like a slut, because she had given into him so easily. She reminded herself that she was a proud woman, and because of that had gone after what she wanted, and what she had wanted was London. “I knew it was wrong to want you, to touch you, and to fuck you.” He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them she saw how dilated his pupils were. “And it was fucking perfect, baby. I couldn’t help myself, and when I realized that I couldn’t walk away from you, or from what I wanted with you, I told Missy no fucking way was I going there with her.”
“I don’t know what to say.” And she didn’t. He was admitting that he had wanted her and hadn’t stopped until he got her. Her belly tightened at those words, and it felt good. But hardening herself to him right away would save her heart in the long run … right?
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a split-second before opening them. “I’m telling you this because you’re different, especially to me, Sunny.” Her heart picked up double-time at his words. “What we shared back there.” He tilted his head toward the pantry, and her damn body grew soft and the memory. “I don’t want that to be the only time. I want more with you.” He was now holding onto her shoulders, kneading the flesh in a way that was arousing, but also comforting. “Do you feel what I’m saying, Sunny, understand that this wasn’t a one-time fuck for me?”
No, she hadn’t thought that, hadn’t even realized that could have been a possibility, and here she was, thinking walking away from him and from what they could have had was the best idea. “I—”
He stopped her with a firm kiss. He stroked his tongue along her bottom lip, and she couldn’t help but shiver under his hold. “I know this is crazy as fuck, and I’ll probably get my ass kicked more times than I even want to admit, but I don’t care about any of that because I want to be with you more.” He pulled back, but only kept an inch between them. “I want you to be willing to take a chance on us, Sunny. I want that pretty fucking badly.” He seemed sober now, but now his words were making her feel like the one that was drunk.
She certainly hadn’t thought anything could happen between her and London, but here he was, pouring his heart out to her, and she wanted to reach up and never let go. There was going to be a lot of shit thrown their way because of it, but dammit she didn’t care, because she wanted him just as badly. Wrapping her arms around his neck, plastering herself to him, and kissing him fast and hard, she answered his question with her actions instead of words. They kissed for long, arousing minutes, and when he pulled away and looked down at her with his sexy lopsided grin, she fell for him all over again.
“So can I safely assume you’re willing to give my ass a try?”
She busted out laughing, and his brows knitted in confusion. She lifted her hand and smoothed a finger between his eyes. “I’m laughing because I thought of something really filthy concerning your ass when you said that.” It took him a moment as he thought about what he just said, and then his face spilt into a wide grin.
“All right, that came out pretty fucking bad, but you know what I meant.”
His smile was contagious, and she felt hers growing. “Yeah, I knew what you meant, and I’m totally willing to give your ass a try.” It was strange how suddenly things just felt like they fell into place. Gone was that uncomfortable tightness in her chest, and all it had taken was London telling her he wanted to give them a try, and his wide smile, and she relaxed. He kissed her on the lips, moved over her cheek, and finally settled along the curve of her jaw.
“But I don’t think we should tell people right away.” He stopped kissing her at her words and leaned back to stare into her face. “It’s not that I’m ashamed to be with you, because that is the furthest from the truth, but I do think we should approach this slowly.” The momentary hurt that had crossed his face at her words vanished when he finally realized what she was saying. “You know how my dad and Mack are. I just want to make sure we don’t spring this on them. Going slow is good, right?”
He smoothed his hands over her cheeks. “No, you’re right. Busting out that I’m with you probably won’t go over very well.” He pulled her into a tight hug, and she rested her head on his chest. “We’ll tell them eventually, though. No way in hell I’m keeping it a secret that you’re my girl.”
And there she went, all warm and girly over the fact London thought of her as “his girl”. Now all she had to worry about was how she was going to tell the two most important people in her life that she was seeing London.
Chapter Six
Sunny watched Daria over her smoothie. “You act like I just told you the world’s going to end.” Daria’s uniquely colored violet eyes were wide and trained right on her.
“I mean, it kind of is.” Sunny shook her head in exasperation at Daria’s response.
It had only been a few days since she and London agreed that they wanted to see each other, and Daria was the first and only person she had told. Her best friend of over ten years knew all about the fighting circuit, and even her older brother Trevor came to the facility every once in a while to work out.
“I just don’t understand how it happened. I mean, how many times have you told me you’re never getting involved with a fighter because you knew the hectic, rowdy, and wild life they lead?” Yeah, she had said that more times than she cared to admit, but London was different.
“How many times have I also confided in you that I really wanted London?”
Daria stared at her like she was growing another head. “Sunny, he is one of the worst. I mean I don’t even want to know how many girls he’s slept with, and you know all of those are probably the ones that hang out at the fights so they’re sluts. Besides, I think you can do way better. You should go after one of those nerdy guys that hang out at the library. I bet they have big wieners.”
Sunny rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the way her cheeks heated when Daria started talking about big things.
“Oh. My.
God.
London’s big, isn’t he?” Sunny told her to be quiet. “Sorry, sorry, but spill it, girl. I want to know all of the filthy freaking details.” First Daria was telling her to watch out for London, and that she could do better, and now she wanted to know about his junk? She’d never understand her friend.
“I’m not going there with you right now.”
Daria huffed out and leaned back in her seat. “You’re right. I don’t know if I’d want to hear that anyway.” Daria grinned, which had her previous comment seeming like a big ass lie.
“Listen, I can’t think about him and other girls, or what he did before we became … whatever it is we are.” It wasn’t like they had spent a lot of time together after their sexual romp in the pantry, but she still saw him every day at the gym, watched him work out with the other guys, and found herself falling harder for him. It was strange since she had kept herself at a distance for so long. But when whatever wall they had erected between each other broke down, everything changed.
“Okay, fine. I won’t bring that up again, but how’d your dad take it?” The look on Sunny’s face must have been answer enough, because Daria frowned and said, “That bad, huh?”
“Well, no, he’s fine, but that might be because I haven’t told him anything yet.” Daria sputtered on her drink and wiped her mouth. “What?
Why not?”
Sunny arched a brow. “Well, all right. I can see why you wouldn’t, but you have to realize that your dad, along with Mack, are going to go ape shit over this, even more so the longer you keep it from them.”
Yeah, she knew, and that was why she was reluctant to say anything. At first it had been the need to take it slow when telling them she wanted to be with London, but with each passing day she started to really worry that they would just be too upset over it. It didn’t matter that she was an adult.
“At first I didn’t want to just spring it on them, because I know they would have been pissed that I didn’t ‘heed their words of caution’.” Sunny shrugged.
“I can’t say I would take your place if I could, but I can say you shouldn’t keep prolonging it. Yeah, it’s only been a few days, but it’s only going to make them more pissed that you weren’t up front about it all.” Daria was right.
“You ladies need anything else?” Their waitress stepped up to their table and smiled warmly at them.
“Not me.
Daria?”
Sunny looked at her friend. Daria shook her head, and her dark straight hair brushed along her shoulders. “I guess just the check, please.” The waitress nodded and set the little slip of paper on the table before leaving. Daria was right. She needed to just tell her dad and Mack, and explain that she was an adult, and if this was a mistake then it was hers to make.
****
“Give me twenty more, London.” Harlond held his hands up, the protective mitts he wore deflecting each and every blow London delivered. He had been working out since six this morning, and it was already noon. He had enough energy to go another four hours, but anything over eight hours in one day was a lot of strain on the body. He slammed the twentieth punch into
Harlond’s
mitt and braced his hands on his knees. Sweat dripped down his chest, and a water bottle was shoved in his face. He glanced up to see Mack standing next to him, the other guy just as sweaty from his own workout. London thanked him and took a big swallow of the cold liquid. He stood and looked between Harlond and Mack. The two men were talking about an upcoming fight Mack was going to participate in, but all London could think about was what they would do if he told them he cared about Sunny and was with her. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, or about what they shared in the pantry. The next time he would take her in his bed, with the lights on so he could see every glorious inch of her curvy body. She had felt so good, better than anything he had ever felt. Shit, he was getting hard, and right in front of the two people that would rip his balls off if they knew why he was popping wood.
“Hey, you with us, man?” Mack’s voice snapped him back to the present, and he blinked.
“Yeah, I’m good, why?” His skin tightened, and he knew Sunny had just walked in. The fact he had this physical reaction to her when she was near should have freaked him the fuck out, but in fact it made him feel pretty damn good. He looked to his side, saw her messing with her iPod, but after only a second she snapped her head up and looked in his direction. Yeah, she felt that, too, and that made him feel all sorts of fuzzy shit inside. Their eyes locked, and a small smile curved her mouth, which in turn had him smiling as well. They had only seen each other at the center, but texted and talked to each other every day. It wasn’t enough for him, though, and he needed to fix that, because she was like his drug, and now that he had tasted her, he was a fucking fiend for more. The feeling of someone staring daggers at him had London breaking eye contact with her and looking over at Mack. The fighter had his attention on Sunny, and then slowly turned his head back to London. Mack stared at him for a long second, and it didn’t take a genius to realize the Russian knew what the fuck was going on. Harlond was talking with another fighter, and fortunately didn’t realize what in the hell was going on. London cleared his throat, because though a confrontation was bound to happen, it wasn’t going to happen right now.
Before either of them could say anything Harlond turned his attention back to him and Mack and started talking.
“With the fight coming up I need everyone to buckle down and quit with the bullshit.” London tore his eyes from the stare-down he currently had with Mack and looked at Harlond.
“Bullshit?”
“You and some of the other guys getting drunk even when you’re not training for a fight.
I can’t have my best fighters coming in here hung-over. Yah feel me?”
He couldn’t argue, because he did know better. He may earn his living fighting dirty in the underground circuit, but Harlond was right. Shit, if he hadn’t been feeling the alcohol at Taylor’s a few nights ago would he have had the balls to go after Sunny? He glanced at her again. She was working out on the treadmill once again. God, he would have in a heartbeat, because having her so close that night had been like nothing he had ever felt.
“You feel me, London?”
Harlond’s
voice was stern and sharp like the crack of a whip.
“Yeah, I understand. It won’t happen again.” That answer seemed to satisfy their trainer. He gave a sharp nod, and after another hard look from Mack, the two of them went over to the ring. He needed to take a break, and now was as good a time as any other. He let himself glance at Sunny once more and forced himself to go to the locker room. He pushed the door open and made his way to his locker. After grabbing his phone and seeing he had a text from Ross, he swiped his finger across the screen and brought it up.
Ross:
Call me.
Got
deets
on the Lion.
Call me when U got a min.
London punched in Ross’s number, and after only two rings he answered.
“Hey.” Ross didn’t waste any time getting out what he needed to say.
“Got word on hitting it up with the Lion if you’re still in.”
Whenever communicating through the phone, they never talked openly about fighting. Who knew who was
listening.
“Got a date and an amount, but we can talk about that in person. If you’re interested, the price is insane. Seems a lot of people think the Lion will be victorious. If you’re a go we can meet at the Den, go over the details, and set it all up.”
London rested his elbows on his thighs and leaned forward. Even after training for six straight hours he was still juiced up. He would have thought it funny that everyone assumed this “Lion” was going to win. Over the last couple of days he had seen a few of the underground videos of the guy’s fights. There was no doubt he was a fucking machine, but he was an amateur all the way. Clearly one of those guys that had come off the street and thought they could kick ass. He was also cocky, getting the crowd into
a frenzy
more than he concentrated on his opponent. London wasn’t arrogant by any stretch of the imagination, but he didn’t doubt he could take the asshole. He lived for this shit, trained with sweat and blood, and was diligent. He didn’t get his undefeated title for nothing. He put everything he had into a fight, applied his anger, frustration, passion, and energy into each and every swing.
“Yeah, sounds good.” After confirming a few more things, he hung up and let his head hang between his shoulders. The sweat on his body started to dry, and he could use a shower, but he was still too ramped up. He needed to put in a few more hours, and then he could get cleaned up. The sound of the door opening had him lifting his head. He expected to see Mack walking in, because a confrontation was coming, but he was surprised to see Sunny standing there.
“Hey.” Her smile was small. They had been with each other in the most intimate of ways, but she still acted shy. It was cute as hell.
“Hey, baby.” Her cheeks turned a pretty shade of red, and he couldn’t help but feel pleasure at the fact his girl reacted to him so thoroughly. “I feel like I haven’t really seen you.” Glimpses at the center and talking to her on the phone sure as hell weren’t the same thing. He stood and reached out to take her hand. He pulled her to him, and their chests pressed together so he could feel every one of her curves. London looked
down,
saw the generous swells rising up and over the elastic top, and his cock jerked behind his shorts. When he pressed his shaft into her belly, her eyes widened, and her lips parted. He couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop himself, and had no intentions of not kissing her. Leaning down and claiming her lips with his, London groaned deeply at the taste of her. She was sweet and slightly salty from working out. It was a dual flavor that turned him on to the nth degree, and he wanted so much more from her. It might have just been a kiss, but when it was her mouth and her tongue, it was so much more. He spun, pressed her against the lockers hard enough to have the sound vibrating through the room, and reached between them to take hold of her breasts. Her answering moan had him feeling braver. Hell, Mack or any of the other guys could walk right through that door and see what he was doing, but at the moment he couldn’t care less.
“London, what if someone comes in?” Her eyes were closed, her head against the lockers, and a look of pure rapture covering her delicate features. Power surged within him. He was the one to put that look on her, to make her so needy she was clenching and unclenching her hands on his biceps. After kissing her like he was a possessed man, he trailed his mouth down the side of her jaw and to her throat. London couldn’t help but bury his head in the crook of her neck. She just smelled so fucking good, and her skin was soft and sweet, and he couldn’t get enough. Yeah, he had a thing for this particular part of her body, and it made no sense, but he went with it because it felt really fucking good. It seemed his hips had a mind of their own, because he couldn’t stop thrusting against her. Fuck, he was going to come right in his shorts if he didn’t stop. Right before he could do that, or take this one step farther, the sound of the locker room door slamming against the wall had him lifting his head and staring right into Mack’s enraged face. Breaking away from Sunny and pushing her behind him, he felt his arousal take the backburner as his anger rose up.