Hard Knocks: An Ultimate Novella (4 page)

BOOK: Hard Knocks: An Ultimate Novella
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For Gage, it hadn’t mattered. If only the cut hadn’t been so deep. If it hadn’t needed stitches. If it would have been somewhere other than right over his eye. If—

Harper’s hand trailed over his thigh again. “So,
Savage,
” she teased, and damned if she didn’t get close to his fly. “Want to help me bring out more drinks before the main event starts?”

Anything to keep him from ruminating on lost opportunities, which he was pretty sure had been Harper’s intent.

“Why not?” He stood and hauled her up with him.

They had to go past Armie who stood with two very edgy women and several teenagers, munching on popcorn and comparing biceps.

Armie winked at Harper.

She smiled at him. “We’ll only be a minute.”

The idiot clutched his chest. “You’ve just destroyed all my illusions and damaged Savage’s reputation beyond repair.”

Gage rolled his eyes, more than willing to ignore Armie’s nonsense, but he didn’t get far before one of the boys asked him about his cut. Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by wide eyes and ripe curiosity. Because it was a good opportunity to show the boys how to handle disappointment, he lingered, letting them ask one question after another.

Harper didn’t complain. If anything, she watched him with something that looked a lot like pride. Not exactly what he wanted from her at this particular moment, but it felt good all the same.

He didn’t realize she’d gone about getting the drinks without him until Armie relieved her of two large cartons of soft drinks. Together they began putting the cans in the cooler over ice. They laughed together, and even though it looked innocent enough, it made Gage tense with—

“You two hooking up finally?”

Thoughts disrupted, Gage turned to Denver. Hard to believe he hadn’t noticed the approach of a two-hundred-and-twenty-pound man. “What?”

“You and Harper,” Denver said, while perusing the food that remained. “Finally going to make it official?”

“Make what official?”

“That you’re an item.” Denver chose half a cold cut sandwich and devoured the majority of it in one bite.

Gage’s gaze sought Harper out again. Whatever Armie said to her got him a shove in return. Armie pulled an exaggerated fighter’s stance, fists up, as if he thought he’d have to defend himself.

Harper pretended a low shot, Armie dropped his hands to cover the family jewels, and she smacked him on top of the head.

The way the two of them carried on, almost like siblings, made Gage feel left out.

Were he and Harper an item? He knew how he felt, but Harper could be such a mystery.

Denver shouldered him to the side so he could grab some cake. “Gotta say, man, I hope so. She was so glum while you were away, it depressed the hell out of everyone.”

Hard to imagine a woman as vibrant as Harper ever down in the dumps. When he’d left for the camp in Kentucky, she’d understood, wishing him luck, telling him how thrilled she was for him.

But since his return a few days ago, things had been off. He hadn’t immediately sought her out, determined to get his head together first. He didn’t want pity from anyone, but the way he’d felt had been pretty damned pitiful. He’d waffled between rage at the circumstances and mind-numbing regret. No way did he want others to suffer him like that, most especially Harper.

He knew he’d see her at the rec center and had half expected her to gush over him, to fret over his injury, to sympathize.

She hadn’t done any of that. Mostly she’d treated him the same as she did the rest of the guys, leaving him confused and wallowing in his own misery.

Until tonight.

Tonight she was all about making him insane with the need to get her alone and naked.

“You listening to me, Gage?”

Rarely did another fighter call him by his given name. That Denver did so now almost felt like a reprimand from his mom. “Yeah,
Denver,
I’m listening.”

“Good.” Denver folded massive arms over his massive chest, puffing up like a turkey. “So what’s it to be?”

If Denver expected a challenge, too bad. Gage again sought out Harper with his gaze. “She was really miserable?”

Denver deflated enough to slap him on the back. “Yeah. It was awful. Made me sad as shit, I don’t mind telling you.”

“What was she miserable about?”

“Dude, are you that fucking obtuse?”

Stack stepped into the conversation. “Hell, yeah, he is.” Then changing the subject, Stack asked, “Did Rissy go to Japan with Cannon?”

Denver answered, saying, “Yeah, he took her and her roommate along.”

Merissa, better known as Rissy, was Cannon’s little sis. A roommate was news to Gage, though. “If you have ideas about his sister, you’re an idiot.”

Stack drew back. “No. Hell, no. Damn man, don’t start rumors.”

Everyone knew Cannon as a nice guy. More than nice. But he was crazy-particular when it came to Merissa. For that reason, the guys all looked past her, through her, or when forced to it, with nothing more than respect. “Who’s the roommate?”

“Sweet Cherry Pie,” Denver rumbled low and with feeling.

Stack grinned at him.

Gage totally missed the joke. “What?”

“Cherry Payton,” Denver said, and damn if he didn’t almost sigh. “Long blond hair, big chocolate-brown eyes, extra fine body...”

“Another one bites the dust,” Stack said with a laugh.

“Another one?”

“Obtuse,” Denver lamented.

Stack nodded toward Harper. “You being the first, dumbass.”

“We all expect you to make her feel better about things.”

Confusion kicked his temper up a notch. “What
things?

Slapping a hand over his heart, Stack said, “How you feel.”

Striking a similar pose, Denver leaned into Stack. “What you want.”

Heads together, they intoned,
“Love.”

“You’re both morons.” But damn it, he realized that he did love her. Probably had for a long time. How could he not? Priorities could be a bitch and he hated the idea that he’d maybe made Harper unhappy by not understanding his feelings sooner.

He chewed his upper lip while wondering how to correct things.

“Honesty,” Stack advised him. “Tell her how the schedule goes, what to expect, and leave the rest up to her.”

“Harper’s smart,” Denver agreed. “She’ll understand.”

It irked Gage big-time to have everyone butting into his personal business. “Don’t you guys have something better to do than harass me?”

“I have some
one
better to do,” Stack told him, nodding toward one of the women who’d hit on Gage earlier. “Butting in to your business was just my good will gesture of the day.” And with that he sauntered off.

Denver leaned back on the table of food. “We all like Harper, you know.”

Gage was starting to think they liked her a little too much. “Yeah, I get that.”

“So quit dicking around, will you?” He grabbed up another sandwich and he, too, joined a woman.

Gage stewed for half a minute, turned—and almost ran into Harper.

CHAPTER FOUR

G
AGE
CAUGHT
HER
ARMS
, steadying them both. “Why does everyone keep sneaking up on me?”

She brushed off his hands. “If you hadn’t been ogling the single ladies, maybe you’d be more aware.”

She absolutely had to know better than to think that, but just in case...”How could I notice any other woman with you around?”

She eyed him. “Do you notice other women when I’m not around?”

Damn, he thought, did she really
not
know how much he cared? Worse, had she been sad while he was away?

The possibility chewed on his conscience. “No, I don’t.” He drew her up to kiss her sweetly, and then, because this was Harper, not so sweetly.

To give her back a little, he shared his own complaint. “You spend way too much time horsing around with Armie.”

Shrugging, she reached for a few chips. “I was trying not to crowd you.”

“What does that mean?”

While munching, she gestured around the interior of the rec center. “This is a fight night. You’re hanging with your buds. When I see you guys talking, I don’t want to horn in.”

Whoa. Those were some serious misconceptions. To help clear things up, he cupped her face. “You can’t.”

“Can’t what?”

“Horn in. Ever.”

Brows pinching in disgruntlement, she shoved away from him. “I just told you I wouldn’t.”

He hauled her right back. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t, honey, I’m saying you can’t because there’s never a bad time for you to talk to me. Remember that, okay?”

Astonished, she blinked up at him, and he wanted to declare himself right then. Luckily the first fight on the main card started and everyone went back to their seats, saving him from rushing her.

This time, Gage had a hard time concentrating. He saw the fight, he cheered, but more of his attention veered to Harper, to how quiet she was now.

Thinking about him?

The fight ended in the first round with a knockout.

Instead of reacting with everyone else, Harper turned her face up to his. As if no time had passed at all, she said, “That’s not entirely true.”

Damn, but it was getting more difficult by the second to keep his hands off her. He contented himself by opening his hand on her waist, stroking up to her ribs then down to her hip. “What’s that?”

“There are plenty of times when I can’t intrude.”

She was still stewing about that? “No.”

Like a thundercloud, she darkened. Turning to more fully face him, she said low,
“Yes.”
Before he could correct her, she insisted, “But I want you to know that I understand.”

Apparently she didn’t. “How so?”

Leaning around him, she glanced at one and all to ensure there were no eavesdroppers. As if uncertain, she puckered her brows while trying to find the right words. “I know when you’re in training—”

“I’m pretty much always in training.”

She looked like she wanted to smack him. “There’s training and then there’s
training.

True enough. “You mean when I go away to another camp.”

“That, and when you’re close to a fight.”

Should he tell her how much he’d enjoy coming home to her—every night, not just between fights? Would she ever be willing to travel with him? Or to wait for him when she couldn’t?

He had a feeling Harper would fit seamlessly into his life no matter what he had going on.

Being as honest as he could, Gage nodded. “There will be times when my thoughts are distracted, when I have to focus on other stuff. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care. It sure as hell doesn’t mean you have to keep your distance.”

The next fight started and though a few muted conversations continued, most in attendance kept their comments limited to the competition. Beside him, Harper fell silent. Gage could almost feel her struggling to sort out everything he’d said.

Again, he found himself studying her profile; not just her face, but her body, too. Her breasts weren’t large, but they fit her frame, especially with her small waist and the sexy flare of her hips. She kept her long legs crossed, one foot nervously rocking. She drew in several deep breaths. A pulse tripped in her throat.

By the second the sexual tension between them grew.

The end of the night started to feel like too many hours away. They had at least three more fights on the main card. Cannon’s fight would be last. It wasn’t a title fight, but it’d still go five rounds.

The current match went all three rounds and came down to a split decision. Gage no longer cared; hell, he’d missed more of the fight than he’d seen.

Around him, voices rose in good-natured debate about how the judges had gotten it right or wrong.

“What do you think?” Gage asked Harper.

She shrugged. “Depends on how the judges scored things. The guy from Brazil really pushed the fight, but the other one landed more blows. Still, he didn’t cause that much damage, and the Brazilian got those two takedowns—”

Gage put a finger to her mouth. “I meant about us.”

Her wide-eyed gaze swung to his. “Oh.” She gulped, considered him, then whispered, “I like it.”

“It?”

“There being an ‘us.’”

Yeah, he liked it, too, maybe more than he’d realized before now. “I missed you while I was away.”

She scoffed. “You were way too busy for that.”

“I worked hard, no denying it. But it wasn’t 24/7. I found myself alone with my thoughts far too often.”

She forced a smile. “I’m sure at those times you were obsessed about the SBC, about the competition, about winning.”

“All that—plus you.” When it came to priorities, she was at the top. He’d just made too many assumptions for her to realize it.

She looked tortured for a moment before her hand knotted in his shirt and she pulled him closer. With pained accusation, she said, “You didn’t call.”

Hot with regret, Gage covered her hand with his own. “I was trying to focus.” Saying it out loud, he felt like an ass.

But Harper nodded. “That’s what I’m saying. There will be times when I need to stay out of your way so I don’t mess with that focus.”

He hated the idea of her avoiding him.

Almost as much as he hated the thought of ever leaving her again. Yet that was a reality. He was a fighter; he would go to other camps to train, travel around the country, around the world.

He’d go where the SBC sent him.

“You have to know, Gage. I’d never get in your way, not on purpose.”

He almost groaned.

“I’m serious! I know how important your career is and I know what a nuisance it can be to—”

Suddenly starved for the taste of her, for the feel of her, Gage took her mouth in a firm kiss.

But that wasn’t enough, so he turned his head and nibbled her bottom lip until she opened. When he licked inside her warm, damp mouth, her breath hitched. Mindful of where they were, he nonetheless had a hell of time tempering his lust.

Damn it.

The next fight started. Cannon would be after that.

In a sudden desperate rush, Gage left his chair, pulling her up and along with him as he headed toward the dimly lit hallway. He couldn’t wait a second more. But for what he had to say, had to explain, he needed the relative privacy of a back room.

Luckily she’d seated them at the end of the back row. In only a few steps, and without a lot of attention, he had them on their way.

Tripping along with him, Harper whispered,
“Gage.”

“There are high school boys out there,” he told her. He glanced in the storage room, but no, that was too close to the main room and the activity of the group.

“I know. So?”

He brought her up and alongside him so he could slip an arm around her. “So they don’t need to see me losing my head over you.”

She stopped suddenly, which forced him to stop.

Looking far too shy for the ballsy woman he knew her to be, she whispered, “Are you?”

This time he understood her question. “Losing my head over you?” Gently, he said, “No.”

Her shoulders bunched as if she might slug him.

Damn, but he adored her. “I lost it a long time ago. I just forgot to tell you.”

Suspicious, she narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean exactly?”

Not about to declare himself in a freaking hallway, he took her hands and started backing up toward the office. “Come along with me and I’ll explain everything.” This particular talk was long overdue.

She didn’t resist, but she did say, “The fight you should have been in is next. And Cannon will be fighting soon after that.”

“I know.” At the moment, seeing the fight he’d missed was the furthest thing from his mind. As to Cannon, well, he’d be in a lot of fights. This wasn’t his first, wouldn’t be his last. If all went well, Gage would get her commitment to spend the night, and more, before Cannon entered the cage. “The thing is, I need you.”

She searched his face. “Need me...how?”

In every way imaginable.
“Let me show you.”

Her gaze went over his body. “Sounds to me like you’re talking about sex.”

Did lust taint his brain, or did she sound hopeful? They reached the office door and he tried the handle. Locked, of course. Trying not to think about how the night would end, he said, “Seriously Harper, much as I love that idea, we’re at the rec center.”

“So?”

Damn, she knew how to throw him. He sucked in air and forged on. “I thought we’d talk.” Digging in his pocket, he found the keys he’d picked up earlier when he shut off the lights.

Sarcasm added a wicked light to her beautiful blue eyes. “Talk? That’s what you want to do? Seriously?”

“Yeah. See, I need to explain a few things to you and it’s better done in private.” The door opened and he drew her in.

Typical of Harper, she took the initiative, shutting and locking the door, then grabbing him. “We’re alone.” Her mouth brushed his chin, his jaw, his throat. “Say what you need to say.”

“I love you.”

She went so still, it felt like he held a statue. Ignoring her lack of a response, Gage cupped her face. “I love you, Harper Gates. Have for a while now. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner. I’m especially sorry I didn’t figure it out before I took off for Kentucky.”

Confused, but also defending him, she whispered, “You were excited about the opportunity.”

She made him sound like a kid, when at the moment he felt very much like a man. “True.” Slowly, he leaned into her, pinning her up against the door, arranging her so that they fit together perfectly. She was so slight, so soft and feminine—when she wasn’t giving him or one of the other fighters hell. “I thought it’d be best for me to concentrate only on the upcoming fight, but that was asinine.”

“No,” she said, again defending him. “It made sense.”

“Loving you makes sense.” He took her mouth, and never wanted to stop kissing her. Hot and deep. Soft and sweet. With Harper it didn’t matter. However she kissed him, it blew his mind and pushed all his buttons.

He brushed damp kisses over to the side of her neck, up to her ear.

On a soft wail, Harper said, “How can you love me? We haven’t even had sex yet.”

“Believe me, I know.” He covered her breast with his hand, gently kneading her, loving the weight of her, how her nipple tightened. He wanted to see her, wanted to take her in his mouth. “We can change that later tonight.”

“I’ll never last that long.” She stretched up along his body, both hands tangled in his hair, anchoring him so she could feast off his mouth.

No way would he argue with her.

Everything went hot and urgent between them.

He coasted a hand down her side, caught her thigh and lifted her leg up alongside his. Nudging in against her, knowing he could take her this way, right here, against the door, pushed him over the edge.

Not what he would have planned for their first time, but with Harper so insistent, he couldn’t find the brain cells to offer up an alternative.

“Are you sure?” he asked, while praying that she was.

“Yes. Now, Gage.” She moved against him. “Right now.”

* * *

H
ARPER
GRABBED
FOR
his T-shirt and shoved it up so she could get her hands on his hot flesh, so she could explore all those amazing muscles. Unlike some of the guys, he didn’t shave his chest and she loved—
loved, loved, loved
—his body hair.

God, how could any man be so perfect?

She got the shirt above his pecs and leaned in to brush her nose over his chest hair, to deeply inhale his incredible scent. It filled her head, making her dazed with need.

When she took a soft love bite, he shuddered. “Take it easy.”

No, she wouldn’t.

“We have to slow down or I’m a goner.”

But she couldn’t. Never in her life had she known she’d miss someone as much as she’d missed him when he’d left. Now he was back, and whether he really loved her or was just caught up in the moment, she’d worry about it later.

She needed him. All of him.

She cupped him through his jeans and heard him groan. He was thick and hard and throbbing.

He sucked in a breath. “Harper, baby, seriously, we have to slow down.” Taking her wrist, he lifted her hand away. “You need to catch up a little.”

“I’m there already.” She’d been there since first deciding on her course of action for the night.

“Not quite.” Gage carried both her hands to his shoulders before kissing her senseless, giving her his tongue, drawing hers into his mouth.

She couldn’t get enough air into her starving lungs but didn’t care. Against her belly she felt his heavy erection, and she wanted to touch him again, to explore him in more detail.

He caught the hem of her T-shirt, drawing it up and over her head. Barely a heartbeat passed before he flipped open the front closure on her bra and the cups parted.

Taking her mouth again, he groaned as his big hands gently molded over her, his thumbs teasing her nipples until she couldn’t stop squirming. She wasn’t one of the overly stacked groupies who dogged his heels, but she didn’t dislike her body, either.

BOOK: Hard Knocks: An Ultimate Novella
6.5Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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