Raven (15 page)

I hadn’t thought about that. I’ve been so consumed with wanting to prove myself
that I never considered of the danger. Even knowing that, there’s no way I can back down now. I’ve worked too hard, and with Garrett showing up, buying half the gym, what those guys say is true. I’ll be here because I’m fucking the owner—
one
of them anyway.
Shit.

“You want to fight? Like really train and take on opponents?”

I straighten my back, square my shoulders and stare him straight in the eye. “Absolutely. Since the moment I got here, it’s all I’ve wanted to do. I just want a chance. If I’m terrible or don’t have what it takes, I won’t push it. I just need to know if I can do it.”

“I’ll train you then,” Garrett says casually.

“You sure about that? I don’t want any special treatment.”

“Nothing special about it, Rian.
There are no girls and I won’t ever hurt you. I won’t be easy on you, though. I’m going to be hard and push you. If you wanna do it, I’m your only option. What do ya say? You in?”

“When do we start?”

“Get your ass back inside. We start right now.”

Chapter
20

It’s like I blink
my eyes and five months pass by. Garrett’s sticking true to his word and continues to train me. I’m not sure if I’m getting better, but I
am
getting sorer. My body aches in a way that I never knew possible. Nothing like just working out. It’s much more intense.

Garrett’s
planning on us working out later today and I’m terrified. Since we began, it’s been mostly grappling and submission maneuvers. Today, though, he wants to work on striking. This isn’t an area I’ve ever had a problem, but the thought of hitting Garrett makes me sick to my stomach.

I did try
to stop our relationship outside the gym. It’s not working. Not even a little. I remember it like it was yesterday and it still gets me hot and worked up.

“Stop being a pussy, get over here,” Garrett calls from the corner of the ring, waiting for me to attack.

“I’m not, I’m coming. What do you want me to do again?”

“I want you to take my legs out and pin me on my back. We’ll work on everything else later. If you’re going to want to win, you need to learn to take your opponent’s power and this is how.”

After working myself into a frenzy, hot and sweaty, hair matted to the back of my neck, I still haven’t taken him down. He’s too quick, too strong. My frustration’s making me sloppy; I need to figure out how to turn that off.

“I’m not exactly sure how to take you down. Everything I’m trying isn’t working,” I huff, ready to concede and leave the gym.

“Stand right here.” Doing as he says, I plant my feet a few inches away from where he points. It’s a second, maybe two, and I’m lying flat on my back.

“How the hell did you do that?” I ask, amazed that I didn’t even see it coming.

“When I see you dancing around, staring at my knees, I know that’s exactly where you’re going. Train your body to work differently. It was the same in basketball. If the other team saw me staring at Eli, they assumed I was going to pass him the ball, so they’d double up on him. They always got pissed when I passed to Tony instead. Am I making sense?”

“Yeah.” Surprisingly he
is. I understand, but just don’t know how to do it. Running different scenarios over in my mind, I remember a move I saw on TV once and want to try it out.

Holding eye contact with Garrett, I shift underneath him, only to see that ravenous look in his gaze. Without
a second thought, I roll him onto his back and straddle his waist.

“See what you just did, grasshopper
? You taught the teacher.”

Bracing my hands on his chest, I push myself up to stand when Garrett catches the tops of my thighs, holding me in place. I try again, only to get the same result.

“What the hell?” I ask, making the dangerous mistake of looking into his blue eyes.

“I kinda like you up there. You’ve never looked sexier. All proud of yourself and out of breath. God, Rian, do you know what you do to me?” Garrett barely thrusts his hips and his hardness grazes my sex, inspiring an involuntary shiver, which seems like the most common reaction my body gives off where Garrett’s concerned.

“Knock it off,” I say, playfully hitting his chest, trying to break the tension that you could easily cut with a knife. Not any ordinary knife, though. We’re going to need a huge butcher knife to slice through the thickness.

“I’m so serious.”
His devious stare is nothing compared to when his hands grip onto the bones in my hips, squeezing. More betrayal occurs as my body rocks into him.

“Garrett, not here,” I whisper, trying yet again to stand.

“Oh, no, Rian. Exactly here. Everyone’s gone home and I have this whole gym to myself. There are so many things I want to do to you.” Pulling me down onto him, I don’t put up much of a fight.

Placing his lips
within millimeters of mine, it’s me that fulfills the touch, no longer able to withstand him. Before I know it, I’m again flat on my back, only this time, Garrett slips his hand into the waistband of my shorts, making his way to my core. I arch my back, giving him better access while our tongues battle for control.

Manipulating my body, Garrett applies enough pressure to my clit, circling softly
. I try to beg for more, but he swallows my pleas. It’s when he places two fingers inside my pussy and the heel of his hand presses against that bundle of nerves that I come apart on his hand, trying my hardest to wiggle away from him after an intense orgasm, but he doesn’t relent.

Garrett quickly divests me of my shorts
, and without hesitation, buries his head between my thighs and has me on the brink again. His Mohawk’s grown out longer, giving me a thin strip of hair to hold on to for dear life while his tongue lashes against my over sensitized clit. Within seconds, I’m coming against his mouth.

Peeking at me, still nestled between my legs, his dangerous blue eyes dance with mischief as he retreats, wiping my essence off his face with the bottom of his shirt. Handing me my shorts, he stands and walks to the corner of the ring.

“Now, let’s try this again since you’re calm. Can’t be fighting when you’re frustrated.”

Shoving my legs inside the spandex type material, I can’t help but giggle to myself. Garrett’s proven yet again that he knows me better than I know myself. After twenty more minutes, I’m finally able to take him down and
Garrett rewards me with some of the hottest sex of my life in the middle of the exact same ring.

I doubt I’ll ever be able to look at a boxing ring the same ever again.

“Rian,” Garrett calls, breaking me from my thoughts. Not just
any
memory, though. This is one that I store away in my version of a spank bank, ready to use any time the mood strikes.

“Sorry, yeah.”

“You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Garrett places a strange shaped helmet over my head,
one that really only protects the top and my ears, and buckles it at the bottom. Thankfully, he’s thought ahead and given me a pair of sparring gloves. I know in an actual fight, there won’t be any type of protection across my knuckles, and I really hope that when I strike him today, there’s going to be enough cushion that I won’t hurt him.

With my gloves firmly in place, I tap them together and wait in the middle of the r
ing while Garrett suits up. When he’s ready, he hops back and forth on the balls of his feet, cracking his neck from side to side. I swallow hard and mirror his actions.

“Same thing as before, don’t look where you’re gonna hit me, it’ll just let me know how to block you. Movement is your best friend. Boxers and fighters don’t do it for looks or
show; it’s a part of their armor. Now strike.”

Following his instructions, I continue dancing around the ring
while throwing out test punches, my body hopping with every step because of the bounce in the mat. I’m not sure how hard to hit him, or if he’s going to hit me back. Once I gain a little more confidence, my first jab toward his jaw is blocked.

“Gotta do better. I saw that coming before you even threw it out.”
Shit, okay, breathe and focus.

Star
ing at his jaw, I fake out and take a shot for his kidney, which lands. His smile fuels me, knowing I’ve just impressed him. Repeating the same tactic, I focus on the right side of his face; my right hand connects gently with the scruff on the left side of his face.

“Try a combination. Hit me multiple times.”

Cracking my neck, much like Garrett did moments ago, I work in my head what the best combination’s going to be to inflict the most damage. Flashes of my altercation with Tom run through my mind, and I try to imitate my actions from that day. Garrett hasn’t told me to use my legs, but on instinct, my knee rises, making contact with his stomach, and just as Tom did, Garrett falls forward. Using his slight weakening, I attack, and as soon as my hand hits his face, he falters backward.

Almost running on autopilot, adrenalin as my co-captain, I wrap my arms around his legs and take him to the ground and mount his waist. With tears swimming in my eyes, I don’t stop, and move to strike his face when he grabs my wrists and pulls me down to him.

“Shhhhhh, it’s okay,” he coos, comforting me as I lay heaving and sobbing on his chest.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean to,” I cry, sucking in too much air, causing me to hiccup at the end of every word.

“You
did
mean to. This came from somewhere deep, Rian. I can only assume it’s because of what happened with your mom’s husband. You were excellent.”

“I wasn’t going to stop. I wanted to keep going.”

Pulling my face up so our eyes can meet, the only thing I see in his depths is pride. “When you’re in a fight, you have to use everything you have. The fighting isn’t going to be a problem for you, it’ll be the control. You have to learn to manage your anger and fight smart. You can’t let the fight consume you.”

“This is all a mistake.
The fight’s always going to win.
Tom’s
always going to win.” Garrett grips my cheeks tighter, placing a firm kiss on my forehead.

“He didn’t win then, he won’t now. Everything that’
s happened in your life has led you to this point. You have to be the one to decide if you’re going to let it eat you alive or if you’re gonna kick it in the dick and push forward. You’ve never been one of those weak girls, Rian. I refuse to let you start being her now.”

At that moment, Zan walks in through the front doors and makes his way to the edge of the ring, resting on the corner pillar. “How’s our girl doing?”

Garrett looks at me, then to Zan, back to me and finally rests on Zan. “She’s ready.”

“What?”
There’s no possible way I’m ready. He just said I had more things to learn. Oh hell.

“You sure?”

“I know this girl better than anyone in the world. She took me down, she’s got passion behind every hit, and once she hits the zone, she’s gonna be unstoppable. We’d be dumb to not put her on a ticket.”

“Alright, I’ll call around and find an even
t that needs a female. Make me proud, Rian.”

I nod my head, unable to speak, unsure of what lies ahead, but knowing deep in my heart Garrett would never put me in a situation he wasn’t absolutely sure I’d succeed. Other than his mom, he’s the only person left that has my best interests in mind.

****

Over the next week, while Zan finds me a fight, training has been more intense. I’m spending more time in an ice bath than actually sparring. Garrett’s faith in me is the only thing pushing me through. I’ve let him down once and I’ll never do it again.

We’ve both decided that it’s pointless for both of us to have our own apartments since we’re constantly together unless I’m working at the bar, which is a lot less than before. Since his unit is bigger, we packed up all my stuff and moved it over yesterday. I’m still not sure if it’s the right thing to do, but it feels like I’m finally in the right place in my life. Kind of what Garrett said before. Also, it doesn’t hurt that living above the gym gives us all kinds of access for crazy, out of control sex.

Everything that’s happened in your life has led you to this point.

I only have this life to live to the fullest and experience all those wonderful things you see in the movies. Over the years Garrett and I were apart, I never stopped loving him, but this new Garrett, this strong, sensual man, I’m falling in love with him all over again. So, regardless of how this will all turn out, living in the moment is almost as exciting as stepping into the ring.

“I got you a fight,” Zan says, walking out of his office, smiling from ear to ear.

“When is it?” The nerves are already setting in and my heart might leap out of my chest.

“On Saturday.”

“Saturday?” I gasp. There’s no possible way I’ll be ready by then. There’s too much to do, so much to learn and not enough hours in the day to do it. When I feel like I’m about to pass out and I waver slightly, Garrett comes up behind me, letting me lean against him, and whispers words of encouragement.

“You got this, Rian. I can almost guarantee that none of those other girls have been training with a man and can hold their own. Don’t worry, just kick ass and make us proud.”
I wonder if this is how Garrett felt before he left for basic.

There’s so much riding on
this—my pride, proving myself to the guys and making a name for myself. As upset as my stomach is, I’ve probably developed an ulcer by now, or I’m at least on my way to getting one.

“Now all you need is a name for me to put on the ticket,” Zan chimes in, breaking the nearly calming trance Garrett has over me.

Wracking my brain, trying to come up with something that seems halfway decent, I’m coming up short. I’ve never had a nickname, other than when Garrett used to call me baby, and that sounds too cliché and very
Dirty Dancing
. Let’s be honest, I’m no Frances, and as amazing and sexy as Garrett is, he’s no Johnny. I don’t think anyone will ever be a Johnny.

“Raven,” Garrett says confidently.