The first part of the evening was a little less exciting, mostly warming up and some drills. But once Gabriel started sparring with the other guys, it was like watching my fantasy come to life right in front of my eyes.
The leggings I have on are going to have a wet spot if I don’t get my thoughts under control.
Gabriel shoots for a takedown, grabbing his opponent by both legs and yanking him off his feet. It’s vicious, yet graceful. Violent, but elegant. When the guy slaps his palm on the canvas, Gabriel pops to his feet and offers him a hand up.
I’m salivating becauseIwant to be the one to take Gabriel down and pin him there while I do all the naughty things running through my mind. Visions of that thick, hard cock sliding between my lips and then thrusting inside me are enough to have me turning away to look out the windows on the far wall.
Jesus Christ. No one told me I’d need a fire extinguisher to keep myself under control while watching this stuff.
Gabriel is setting up to continue sparring with a fresh partner, when Jeb stops next to me.
“If you’re bored, you can always hit the bag. Gabe told me you want to pick back up on your self-defense training.”
I have no idea how to tell the older man that I’m not the least bit bored. But in the interest of not making a fool out of myself by launching myself at Gabriel and mauling him, I take Jeb up on his offer.
“I’d love to. Just point me in the right direction.”
“I’ll get one of the other coaches to give you some instruction. It’d be our pleasure. We do women’s clinics once a month for free, if you ever want to come to one of those too.”
“Really? That’s awesome.”
Jeb shrugs. “It’s a sad thing that we gotta teach women to defend themselves in this world, but ever since my wife got mugged coming home one night, it’s been a passion of mine.” He turns and calls out to a younger guy in red sweats a few feet away. “Charlie, come help Scarlett out. She’s going to hit the bag. Give her some pointers.”
Charlie, a sweaty trainer in his late twenties, waves and jogs over. “Happy to. Come over here with me, and we’ll get your gloves on.”
I glance at Gabriel, who is taking his one-minute break. He salutes me as he sucks back some water and listens to the other man whose name I forgot, but I think he’s the Brazilian jujitsu coach. I point to the area where the bags hang and follow Charlie to an equipment locker.
Once my gloves are on, I smack them together. “I’ve missed this.”
“Good deal. Let’s get you going.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m drenched in sweat and smiling huge. “Damn, that feelsgood.”
“You’re a natural at boxing. Some women are afraid to punch through the bag, and are more comfortable just tapping it. You’ve got more power than you realize.”
I open my mouth to reply but am distracted by a woman walking across the gym floor ... and straight toward the cage where Gabriel is fighting. Her perfectly coifed black hair tells me all I need to know about her identity—Lucy Byers. Butwhat the hellis she doing here?
Charlie turns and follows my gaze. “You know that chick?”
“Oh yeah, but what I don’t know is what she thinks she’s doing here.”
Jeb strides in her direction, hopefully to eject her skinny ass, but she grabs hold of the cage and shoves her face into the spot where Gabriel is leaning against it to catch his breath.
I remember what he told me about the “deal” he made with her at Meryl’s gala to get her to stop bidding on my mom’s necklace.
Oh, hell no.
I glance at Charlie. “I’ll be back. I’ve got to take care of something.”
Charlie’s eyes widen, but I’m not paying attention to him anymore. My sneakers cross the floor silently, and I’m finally close enough to hear what she’s saying.
“You promised me you’d make me scream, baby. There’s no better night than tonight. I’m getting tired of waiting for you. And that’s before I realized howhotyou are when you’re a sweaty beast. I’ll even let you fuck me in the locker room. Just pin me up against the wall and nail me to it. You know you want it.”
Gabriel lifts his gaze over Lucy’s shoulder, and those vivid blue eyes lock with mine. There’s an apology in them, but he doesn’t owe me one. This is all on Lucy.
I stop behind her and tap her on the shoulder with my glove.
“I’m busy, as you can see—”