Her fingernails tease my chest as her hands drift to my sides. “You hit here.” She squeezes my right side and electricity blazes out of her touch and into my system. “And here.” Then squeezes the other.

I nip at her ear and Haley’s hands tighten against my skin. Images of her underneath me appear in my mind and I want the fantasy to become reality. “What do I do if he takes me to the floor?”

I watch her throat as she swallows. She has beautiful skin—soft, smooth. The gloves on my hands turn into a nuisance as the urge to touch her evolves into an obsession.

“Grappling,” she says a little breathlessly.

Now those are lessons I look forward to. “When will we start that?”

“Soon.”

I part my mouth and kiss her neck. Haley dips her head to the side, allowing me more access, and through these damn shorts, she has to feel how much I want her.

“We shouldn’t do this,” she whispers, yet her hands wander to my back and trace my spine. “I won’t date another fighter.”

“Then walk away.” I trail a line of kisses along her collarbone, up her throat, then pause, staring straight into her eyes, giving her the chance to end this now. “I won’t lie. I want this, Haley. I want you.”

Hot, shallow breaths leave her mouth and brush against my lips. The vein at her neck pulses as her fingers perform this light dance on the small of my back that drives me insane. I’m a bastard if I do this. She doesn’t know I’m a Young or that my father may have destroyed her life.

“West.” She says my name as a question, as an answer. Damn me, it was an invitation.

My name. That was my name on her lips. Fuck everything else. Haley knows the real me and for once in my life I’m going to know what it’s like to kiss a girl who means something.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” Haley whispers as she reaches up and pulls at the Velcro of my glove.

“Yes, it does.” I bring my arms to my sides and the instant the gloves fall to the floor, my hands latch on to that beautiful body. “Tell me, Haley. Please tell me it does because this means something to me.”

Her forehead wrinkles and her eyes are moist as if it’s physically painful for her to nod and breathe out the words. “It does... It means something.”

Need begs for the physical fast, but Haley isn’t one of the girls I duck into hallways with. She’s more, and a shiver runs through me. I lower my lips to hers and, with the first taste, I moan. Her lips are sweet, soft...perfect. She exhales, a contented sigh, and my body melts into hers. The metal fencing behind her crackles with our weight.

As if flawlessly synchronized, our mouths move in the same rhythm. Lips drawing in, hands learning curves and muscles, our breaths coming out at faster rates. And when Haley knots her hands in my hair, self-control ruptures.

My arms become steel bands around her waist and I lift her so she fits perfectly to me. Haley latches her arms around my neck and joins me as the kiss races past innocent and into heated—bordering on out of control.

Her neck beckons to me again and the most beautiful sound escapes from her when I give in to the temptation. The spinning in my head spirals toward delirium as Haley shifts her legs. One thigh moves and the other one follows to wrap around my hips. I relish her warm weight pressing into my body. Heat surges through my bloodstream and my fingers dig into her skin.

Then the entire gym starts to shake. Haley drops her legs and I shove her onto the floor, my heart racing and my body covering hers. Metal screeches against metal and I glance over my shoulder.

Haley pushes at me, her nonverbal cue to let her go, but intent on keeping her safe, I ignore her request. The overhead heating unit releases an earsplitting shriek as the fan fights for one more rotation. Another bang vibrates the metal frame that holds the punching bags, and the entire unit shudders, then completely stops.

From beneath me, Haley whispers a curse. “John’s going to be pissed.”

Chapter 39

Haley

We left John while he was in the middle of a particularly eloquent cursing rant. The moment I knocked on his camper door and told him the heater blew, he forgot my existence. Sneaking out seemed like the best course of action.

West and I haven’t said anything to each other since the kiss, which means this car ride is officially awkward. Resting my head against the back of the leather seat, I watch the night as we roll by. What the hell was I thinking?

When he backed me against the cage and nipped my ear... I close my eyes. I can still feel the heat of his lips on my neck and what drives me stick-a-knife-in-my-eye insane is as much as I hate myself for kissing West, my body is screaming for a repeat performance.

Stupid body. Stupid, stupid traitorous body.

West eases his car in front of my uncle’s and the pathetic part of me wants to dart into the house without acknowledging him. I rub my forehead, covering my eyes. Oh, crap, I’m embarrassed. How can I look at him again? We’re not even dating and I freaking all but molested him. And that brings up a ton of issues because I don’t want to date him... He’s a fighter.

“Haley,” West says. “About tonight—”

“I don’t hook up.” I peek at him and whatever he had to say seems to have escaped him as he stares at me with a slack mouth. It’s like someone pushed fast-forward on the remote and my thoughts are skipping and racing. “I don’t know who that was, but it wasn’t me. I mean, have you done this before?”

West runs a hand over his face. “Yeah. It’s what I do. Fuck that. It’s what I’ve done, but that’s not what was happening between us.”

Oh, crap, I’ve digressed into an Octagon Bunny, bouncing from one fighter to the next. Soon I’ll be in a bikini, announcing the next round. Just when I think I can’t go lower...

“Haley, I swear to God that wasn’t a hookup. I told you that this means something to me. That you mean something to me.”

He’s saying the right words and a small voice in the back of my mind tells me to listen, but the crazy portion is winning. “Because that’s what you tell girls when you drop them off. You don’t look at them and say ‘I used you.’ You lie and say it meant something! I watch MTV!”

“You watch...what?” He shakes his head. “Don’t care. What happened between us—”

“Stop it.” There’s an ache near my heart and my hand claws at my chest. I can’t think and I can’t draw in a deep breath and I kissed West and I loved kissing him and he makes me laugh and he’s a fighter and I like him.