On the Ropes (Fighting For Love Book 2) (4 page)

The pain in her eyes makes Grayson’s heart literally hurt. He used to think that was such a cliché, but it turns out heartache is as real as it gets. He wants to envelop her in his arms and take that sadness away, the sadness that he’s caused. But he can’t. Would it always be this hard to be so close to her without being any closer?

“What if I said that things would be different this time? That I would be different?” Grayson wonders absently how it was possible that taking down a two-hundred-twenty-pound guy in the ring seemed like easy pickings next to Adriana.

She shakes her head, not a little sadly. “People don’t change, Gray. Besides, like Tommy said, the girls,”—she shudders, probably at the memory of Cassie draped around him—“they’re all part of the package. And I’m not sure that’s something I would ever be okay with.” She shrugs and smiles cheerlessly.

“But it wouldn’t be like that.” Grayson stops before he digs himself an even deeper hole. He realizes that he doesn’t have a leg to stand on with Adriana, not after what she’d seen earlier in the dressing room. Words mean nothing. The only way he can prove to her that he can be what she needs him to be is to show her.

“So…friends?” Adriana sticks her thumbs into the belt loops of her jeans, like she doesn’t know what to do with her hands.

“Friends.” Grayson agrees. He doesn’t add, ‘for now.’ “So, will you come to the after-party?”

Adriana shakes her head before he’s even finished the question. “I have an early shift at the hospital tomorrow. Besides, you don’t look like you should be going anywhere tonight except to bed!” She flushes deeply, as it occurs to her what she’s just said. “Alone,” she adds hurriedly, looking around awkwardly.

Grayson raises an eyebrow at her, but doesn’t say anything about the slip. “I have to be there. The crew, the fans, they’ll expect me to make an appearance.” He shrugs; it is part of the life. This is what is expected of him.

Adriana nods in understanding, chewing her bottom lip. “Well, have a good time. I guess I’ll see you around?” It’s more of a question than a confirmation, but she doesn’t wait for a response before she heads to the door.

“Hey, Adrie.” Grayson’s voice stops her with her handle on the doorknob. “Thanks for taking care of me.” He gestures towards his hands and his swollen lip.

“That’s what I do.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal, despite the fact that Grayson is desperately searching for a double meaning to her words.

“You’re working tomorrow. What about the day after tomorrow? Do you want to come to training? We could hang out…as friends.” He cringes at his own desperation. Grayson Fletcher having to beg a woman to spend time with him…this was a first. However, he didn’t care. There was no doubt in his mind that he would do whatever he had to for Adriana. With the winnings from the fight tonight, Morrison would finally be off his back, and he could start again. He would be free, free to pursue Adriana, free to be with her, free to tell her everything that he’d been holding back all this time.

The seconds tick by as Adriana thinks about his invitation, and he feels himself hold his breath. “Sure, that would be nice.” She smiles, and this time there’s no sadness there. It’s one of her smiles that feels like it’s just for him.

Before he has a chance to respond, she’s slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind her. He stands there, staring after her dully, pushing down his desire to chase after her. She’d made what she wanted clear, and running after her would just prove what she already believes, that he can’t change, that he can’t be what she needs. This time he would prove to her that he can be whatever she needs.

He takes a look around the room, and an envelope catches his eye. It’s not the envelope itself that’s caught his attention; it’s the handwriting on the front of it. It’s one that he recognizes all too well. With all the commotion in the dressing room, with the girls and then his one-to-one with Adriana, he hadn’t even noticed it until now.

He stalks over and rips the envelope bearing his name open. As he reads the few words on the card inside he feels a chill go through him. This is exactly what West has been afraid of…that Morrison would go back on his word like the snake that he is.

Congratulations on the fight. But we’re not through yet. The next one you throw.

He re-reads the phrases again and again, but they still say the same thing.

“Not this time,” he says to the note as if it were Morrison he was holding in his hands. “I’m done with you.” He screws up the note and throws it into the wastepaper basket. However, the uneasiness he’s feeling can’t be gotten rid of so easily.

ADRIANA

Not for the first time that morning Adriana wonders what she had been thinking when she’d agreed to come here. She’s standing outside of the gym that Grayson had directed her to, contemplating if it would look really bad if she just texted him with a bullshit excuse and left.

“Adriana?” West’s voice calls from behind her.

Busted
. She plasters a smile on her face and turns around. “West, hey!”

“You looking for Grayson?” The bald man looks at her with interest, clearly trying to gauge what the situation is between her and the man he thinks of as a son.

“Yes, I mean no.” Adriana reminds herself that she’s a smart, professional woman and should be able to string a sentence together. “He invited me to training today, but I was just thinking that I should probably go. I don’t want to interrupt you guys.” She makes a move to head back towards her car, wincing at her lack of cool.

“You’re not interrupting, little lady. The guys will work even harder, showing off in front of a pretty girl like you. Come on, I’ll show you around.” West doesn’t wait for her reply before he throws a muscular arm around her tiny shoulders and leads her through to the gym. The testosterone in the place is palpable. There are some young guys in the ring, ostensibly working on their footwork. They wolf-whistle her as she walks past, and she blushes like a teenager.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you—unless you want to try your luck with ‘The Punisher.’” West doesn’t even break stride as he throws out the threat, but Adriana steals a look at the boys and watches them pale. She has to stifle a laugh at the effect Grayson’s name has on them.

There are some more men in the weights section, going to town on the punching bags and lifting heavy weights. Then, she sees the person whom she’s been seeing in her dreams virtually every night for ten years. He and Tommy are on the mats contorting themselves into what look like impossible positions.

“They’re practicing submissions,” West explains quietly, motioning her over the bench to take a seat and watch the action unfold.

Tommy catches sight of her and smiles broadly, taking his eyes off of his sparring partner which seems to be a pretty bad idea. Grayson kicks Tommy’s legs out from underneath him and applies pressure on Tommy’s neck with his shin. Adriana covers her mouth, wanting to shout out at Grayson not to hurt the other man before she remembers where she is. She’s in their world now, and they do this all the time. They don’t need her interfering.

“That’ll teach you not to take your eye off of your opponent, Smiler!” West barks a laugh, ignoring the look that Tommy shoots him. “Grayson, your guest is here.” West nods towards Adriana, who is sitting as straight as a board on the bench.

She can tell the exact moment that Grayson’s eyes land on her. Heat floods through her, and she feels like the sun has just come out. He jogs over to her; his muscular arms making her stomach do a little flip.

“Hey, I didn’t realize you were here.” He’s breathing heavily, like he and Tommy have been at this for a while.

“Hey, yeah West showed me around.” She gestures towards the coach who is busying Tommy with some slow-motion flip. “It’s pretty impressive.”

“It’s not much, but it’s home.” Grayson laughs, and it’s one that reaches his eyes, a laugh that she gets the impression he doesn’t let most people see.

She can feel the butterflies in her stomach fluttering like crazy. How did she think she was going to be able to be friends with this man when his very presence turned her inside out with desire?

“Anyone give you any trouble?” Grayson’s eyes darken, as he looks around at the other men behind her. “We don’t get a lot of women in here, turns some of them a little…basic.” He looks almost apologetic, and Adriana tries to put out of her mind how nice it feels to know that he cares what she thinks and that he wants to look after her and make sure that she’s okay.

“They were on their best behavior then.” She has no intention of telling Grayson about the wolf-whistles, not after what she had just seen him do to Tommy.

Adriana watches as West takes Tommy through the move again. Grayson notices her interest in what’s going on. “You want a turn?” He raises an eyebrow at her, as he nods towards the mats.

Adriana’s breath quickens. “I don’t think I’m really made for doing that. I’m about as coordinated as a seasick donkey! Besides I’m pretty sure I’m not strong enough to flip any of you guys; so, unless you have a small child hiding somewhere round here, I think I should just stay on the bench.” She’s rambling, but it’s the effect that Grayson has on her; she becomes all hot and bothered—as Willow would say—and unable to behave like a rational human being.

“Well, that’s the beauty of this move, you don’t need to be stronger than the person you’re flipping. Come on, give it a try. Besides, you can’t trick me, I know your dad taught you how to box; you can’t be that uncoordinated.” Grayson gives her a look that tells her he’s not taking no for an answer. She thinks how well he and Willow would get along, both as stubborn as mules.

“She’s beautiful, and she can box! Get her over here!” West’s voice rings out in the gym, making it clear that their private exchange hadn’t been all that private.

As Adriana looks around, she sees that West’s outburst has caught the attention of pretty much every guy in the place, and now they are all looking at her expectantly. If there was one thing that Adriana can’t back down from, it is a challenge.

“Lead the way, Punisher.” She smirks at Grayson before following him out onto the mats. She notices that the other guys aren’t wearing shoes, and she toes off her sneakers, realizing how inappropriately dressed she is. Denim shorts and a tank top aren’t exactly workout gear.

“Hey Adriana, good to see you again.” Tommy beams at her, looking between her and Grayson. “So are you two…?” He leaves the question hanging, and Adriana can feel herself blushing like a virgin.

“We’re hanging out, Tommy. We’re friends.” The look that Grayson gives him seems to speak volumes.

“Right, friends, that’s cool.” Tommy nods in understanding, but he can’t help but look confused. The idea of women and men being friends clearly hadn’t reached the MMA ring yet. “So how’s your
friend
, Willow?”

“Nice segway.” Grayson shakes his head at the younger man in amusement.

“She’s good.” Adriana doesn’t give anything else away. She knows from Willow that Tommy had made the rounds at the after-party and spent time with pretty much every woman there before getting to her. Adriana figures that if he’s really interested, then he’s going to have to work for her friend.

“Cool, cool.” Tommy nods, rocking up and down on his toes.

“Shit or get off the pot, Tommo!” West slaps him on the back.

Adriana laughs at West’s romantic way of putting things. However, seeing the embarrassment plain on Tommy’s face, she decides to throw him a bone. “Do you want her number?”

He looks at her gratefully, and she thinks how young he looks when he’s not trying to give the impression of being a baller.

“Can we get on with training now that we’ve sorted out your love life, Tommy?” West taps his foot impatiently. “Grayson, show Adriana the flip and let’s get moving.”

Grayson gets into position in the center of the mat. “I’m going to show you the move slowed down, alright? I won’t actually flip you though, don’t be scared.” Adriana nods quickly, feeling her pulse quicken as Grayson takes hold of her shoulders and leans her over his hip so that she’s off-balance and almost falling to the ground. He rights her again and repeats the move a couple more times.

It’s an effort for her to concentrate on the instructions he’s giving her when all she wants is to let him hold her.
Wake up, Adrie
, she tells herself.
You’re the one who said you wanted to be friends just because you couldn’t let go of him. You’ve gotten yourself into this mess.

“I think I’ve got it.” She looks up at him and realizes that she’s breathless. She wishes that she didn’t feel like her heart was pumping out of her rib cage.

“Try it out on Tommy.” Grayson nods behind her.

Tommy is lighter than Grayson…there’s no way around that. Adriana bristles a little at the intimation that she won’t be able to flip Grayson. “What’s up, Gray? You scared?” She lifts her chin, throwing a cool look at him.

“Ooh, I like her!” Tommy’s enthusiastic voice boosts her confidence.

“Sounds like the lady’s thrown the challenge out there, Gray.” West’s tone is goading, and Adriana wonders how these men ever get anything done when they’re so busy winding each other up.

“You sure about this?” Grayson dips his head down a little so that only she can hear his whisper. His face is only inches from hers, and she has to actually stop herself from leaning into him like she so desperately wants.

“Let’s do it.” Adriana plants her feet as Grayson has taught her and gives him a determined look.

“Alright, but be careful, you don’t want to—” Grayson doesn’t have a chance to tell her what she should be careful of before she lands him on the mat.

He looks up at her in shock, his eyes comically wide in surprise. “You cheated!”

“Umm, actually I think you’ll find that she just handed you your ass in front of the whole gym.” The note of satisfaction in Tommy’s voice is unmistakable, and it makes Adriana giggle. Tommy holds his hand up for a high five, and she obliges, feeling pretty slick.

“Okay, so you’ve got that one down. Let’s see how you do with something a little tougher.” Grayson plants his feet and starts showing her another move, a Muay Thai punch. Then, they move onto another and another. It’s not long before they’re the focal point of the entire gym.

“Back to work, guys.” West’s commanding voice encourages them all back to whatever they should be doing, and it cuts through Adriana’s concentration. She looks at the clock on the wall, almost an hour has gone past since Grayson had started showing her the flip.

“I guess I should let you get on with your training.” Adriana takes a step back from Grayson, needing that physical distance from him. The smell of his maleness and his nearness was a heady mixture. It threatened to completely overcome her.

“You’re really good, Adrie.” She’s about to tell Grayson not to humor her, but there’s no mistaking the expression on his face; he’s seriously impressed.

“Good teacher I guess.” She shrugs off the compliment, just as she always does.

“Stick around. We’ll take a break for lunch in a little while.” It’s not a request, and the way that Grayson looks at her makes her feel like she’s going to be the one on the menu. She feels her knees go weak and reminds herself that’s exactly why she can’t stay.

“Thanks, but I have um…plans for lunch.” Adriana looks anywhere but at him, not wanting to get into this now.

Grayson frowns at her, like he knows she’s hiding something. “Coach, I’m gonna walk Adrie to her car.”

West nods curtly and throws her a look. “And Adriana, if you ever think about going pro, you know where to come.”

She smiles at the sweetness of the older man. “Thanks West, you’ll be the first to know.” She turns to Grayson, not wanting to spend any more time with him, especially not alone and away from the prying eyes of his buddies. “You really don’t have to walk me.”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” The words are said so gently and so simply that all of Adriana’s objections fly out of her head.

As they head outside, she concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other and not on the smell of him, the heat of him, and the memory of his hands on hers, as he showed her the flips, kicks, and punches.

“I’m glad you came.” The sincerity in Grayson’s eyes mixed with the unimpeachable gorgeousness of the man is almost enough to crumble her resolve. “So where are you rushing off to?” The question seems casual, but the way he narrows his eyes at her is anything but.