Fighting for Love (8 page)

“Are you kidding me? What’s your problem?” I hissed, clenching my hands into tight fists. I was two seconds away from messing up that pretty boy face of his.

Getting to his feet, he stalked over to me, narrowing his eyes. He was just as tall as I was, and it was obvious he had just as much muscle … only leaner. However, he wasn’t a fighter. Leaning closer, he whispered low, and I was pretty sure it was so Shelby couldn’t hear him.

“She’s my friend and I care about her. The night she overheard you fucking those girls after the fight almost broke her. I don’t want to see her get hurt like that again. Being the friend that I am, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Shelby obviously still cares about you, but it wasn’t you who was there for her when—”

“Jace,” Shelby shouted, cutting off his sentence.

Over his shoulder, I could see Shelby, who stood in the doorway to what I assumed was her bedroom, her arms defiantly crossed at her chest. “That’s enough. Thank you for wanting to look out for me, but I know what I’m doing,” she warned.

Jace held his hands in the air and backed away. “Okay, I’m done. I said what I needed to say here, and last night to you,” he remarked, still staring at me. He grabbed a set of keys and a bottle of water off of the white marble kitchen counter before turning to acknowledge Shelby. “I’m going out for a run. I won’t be home tonight, so call me if you need anything.”

Shelby nodded and watched him walk out the door before sliding her gaze to mine. Dressed in what looked like pajamas, a small pink tank top and matching shorts, her nipples poked through the thin fabric of her top and immediately I could feel the blood rushing south.

Damn, she’s so fucking hot.

“You’re early,” she said brightly, trying to lighten the mood. “Oh, and please forgive Jace for the way he acted. He’s known about our past for a while now, and he’s just worried about me.”

“It felt like it was more than that,” I responded skeptically, studying her.

Nonchalantly, she shrugged her shoulders and averted her gaze. “He’s an actor, so he’s always dramatic. I wouldn’t look into it that much. I’m used to him being that way.”

Oh yeah, she’s definitely keeping something from me.
I could see it in the way she dodged me with her eyes and hear it in the aloofness of her voice. Whatever it was I was going to find out.

Clearing her throat, she smiled and hesitated for a second before meeting my gaze again. “Um … all I have to do is put on some clothes and I’ll be ready. If you want you can wait in my room.” A slow, languid smile spread across her face and there was no way I could say no to that.

She moved out of the way, and once I was inside of her room she shut the door and headed to the bathroom. Her room was bright, painted in a pale green, and it was almost exactly like her bedroom at her parents’ house. Her favorite color was green, so it was no shock to see the room covered in nothing but different shades of it. Her bed was already made, but deep down I wondered what she’d do if I ripped off her clothes and spread her wide beneath me. Would she let me make love to her or would she push me away? That was the question of the day.

I wish I knew what she wanted.

“All right, I think I’m ready to go.”

Throwing her purse on the bed, she sat down and slipped on a pair of high heeled ‘fuck me’ sandals. Her chestnut colored hair was curled in waves down her back, and she wore a pair of tight jeans that hugged her ass perfectly, along with a low-cut, cream-colored top that showed the top mounds of her breasts.
Fuck, she’s going to kill me.

“Matt, are you okay?” she asked. When she stood, her gaze lingered down to my waist. Immediately, her eyes went wide and she bit her lip. “I see.”

Groaning, I blew out a frustrated sigh and grabbed her hands in mine. “You look really hot right now, but I think we need to get out of here. I don’t know what we’re doing, but if you don’t want me to rip off your clothes and fuck you then we need to leave.”

Letting go of my hands, she laughed and grabbed her purse off the bed before pushing me out of her room. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think us having sex is such a good idea right now,” she insisted seriously.

“Oh yeah, and why is that?” I asked.

She nudged me out the front door, and then turned around to lock it. I walked down a couple of steps so that when she approached her eyes would meet me head on. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. “Do you really want to know my reason? I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to be with you, it’s just …”

I had one good guess … Jace.

Taking my face in her hands, her serious gaze slowly transformed into a mischievous glint and she smiled. Chuckling, she leaned down and kissed me quickly, playfully. “You are so easy to read, you know that? I don’t know about you, but I want you to win the fight tonight. You need that testosterone if you’re going to do your best, and the last thing you need is to go into it relaxed. You need to be frustrated.”

If she only knew how frustrated I was. It had been months since I’d had sex and just being near her only made my balls ache more. Leaning forward, I grazed my teeth along her bottom lip. “So what happens after the fight? Will you reward me if I win?”

Her sexy chuckled vibrated all the way down to my cock. “I guess you’ll just have to win and see.”

And a win it will be.

IT WAS DANGEROUS BEING AROUND
Matt. The look in his eyes when we were in my bedroom practically stripped me bare, leaving my heart and soul exposed and ready for the taking. His love was intense, raw. In one simple touch I had lost myself, lost the past ten years as if nothing had ever changed. It was so easy to forget when I was in his arms.

I thought Jace would have time to cool off over night, but he still wasn’t happy with my decision to start spending time with Matt again, and he proved that by almost telling him my secret during their confrontation. Thankfully, I was there to stop him, but I was afraid there would never be a right time to tell him the truth.

Matt picked me up in his old 1975 Ford Bronco, which he used to drive when we were in high school. He had it completely fixed up with a new paint job and motor. It didn’t even look the same, but it was a welcome sight. I was glad he didn’t completely disown it after he started making all of his money. As far as his life was concerned, I could tell he was still grounded just like he was before when he had nothing.

Before we arrived at the Sleep Train Arena I called Lexi to have her meet us there. She always accompanied me on my interviews, and although this wasn’t an interview, I still wanted the pictures to document. As soon as we got in the doors, Garrett was there waiting, pacing back and forth, even though we were right on time. When his eyes caught mine, he smiled and walked toward us. He looked completely different than he did yesterday at the café. He had his blond hair gelled into messy spikes instead of smooth and controlled, and was in a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt.

Matt leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I think this is the first time I’ve seen him in something other than a suit. He must be trying to impress you … since you obviously like guys that don’t have a giant stick up their ass.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a guy in a suit,” I teased. “Lots of ladies like that sort of thing.”

“Is that the sort of thing you like now?” he asked low.

Peering up at his clenched jaw, I’d almost believe he was jealous. Nudging him in the side, I snickered. “I like lots of things, Matt, but you know very well that I like a guy who’s down to earth no matter what they wear. You can’t always base what someone’s like on what they wear.”

“I see Mr. Reynolds was able to get you to come back to us,” Garrett announced happily, showing off his perfectly straight, white teeth.

I nodded, and smiled up at Matt. “Yeah, it didn’t take much. Mr. Reynolds here bribed me with a million dollars. I couldn’t refuse an offer like that.”

Garrett chuckled, and turned to address Matt. “Everything is prepared for you in your room. I think they’re ready to begin with the pictures as soon as you get changed.”

“All right,” Matt said, lightly grasping my elbow. Gazing down at me, he lifted his brows. “Are you ready?”

I wanted to go with him, but I needed to wait on Lexi to arrive so she’d know where I was. “I can’t,” I told him. “Lexi will be here in a few minutes, and I don’t want to leave her having to search around for me.”

We were at a standstill until Garrett came up to my side and announced, “I’ll stay with her. As soon as her friend gets here we’ll join you ringside.”

Clenching his jaw, Matt narrowed his eyes at Garrett for only a second before turning his exotic green gaze to me. Surely, he wasn’t worried about me being alone with Garrett for a few minutes, was he? He squeezed my arm and said, “All right, I’ll see you in a few minutes, angel. Don’t run away this time, okay?”

“I’ll think about it,” I murmured teasingly. “Now go before you’re late.”

Turning on his heel, he ambled off down the corridor and disappeared around the corner. When he was completely out of earshot, Garrett took the opportunity to speak.

“So, I can’t help but wonder … have you and Matt met before? You two seem awfully close. I was under the impression you didn’t know each other,” he inquired curiously.

Nonchalantly, I shrugged a shoulder and smiled. “Yeah, we grew up together. It was kind of a shock seeing him yesterday because I hadn’t talked to him in ten years. He’s come a long way since then.”

“Yes, he has,” Garrett agreed. “I’m sure he’s changed a lot since you knew him last, too. He’s one of the best MMA fighters in the circuit and all the women love him. You’ll see what it’s like tonight after the fight. He’ll usually have several of them lining up at the door waiting to get their chance with him.”

Gut clenching, I gritted my teeth as a spark of jealousy burned in my veins … again. I’d been trying to forget about that shit with Matt and the other women, but if I was going to be around him I had a feeling it would be thrown in my face at every turn. The question I really wanted the answer to was if he’d be able to resist temptation if another woman threw herself at him?

Doubting him led to one conclusion: I didn’t know if I could trust him yet. Staring out the glass doors of the arena, I could see Lexi power walk up the path, adjusting her camera along the way.

“Thank you for the insight, Garrett, but I don’t think my article will cover Matt’s sexual preferences,” I responded impassively. “Besides, what he does is his business, not mine.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he confessed. “You’re different from the others and I’d hate to see someone like you get hurt because of him.”

Too late, the damage has already been done
. Turning to him, I said, “Trust me. I have no intention of getting hurt by anyone. Thanks for the concern, though.”

Lexi burst through the doors at that moment with her camera in hand. “Shels, I’m so sorry I’m late,” she apologized. “The traffic was a bitch. I thought I’d never get here.” After straightening the camera around her neck, she held out her hand to Garrett. “Hey, I’m Lexi Martin.”

Garrett took her hand and grinned, making her blush crimson. “Garrett Wells. It’s nice to meet you. Now that you’re here, let’s go see the fighters in action.”

GARRETT HAD STROLLED DOWN TOWARD
the ring while Lexi and I hung back a little ways so we could talk. Around the arena there were several other fighters waiting for their turn to get their pictures taken, ranging from every single division. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Lexi taking pictures of those so-called fighters with a huge grin on her face. Hey, it was hard not to look, but my focus remained on only one person.

In the ring, Matt and another fighter posed in a faceoff with their gloves held up by their face in striking position. They looked so serious glaring at each other, but as soon as the pictures were done they grinned and immediately started talking. Matt was a likeable guy, and ever since we were younger he always had people migrate toward him. They loved him. He was a leader; charismatic and bound for great things.