“Yeah, her name’s Lucy,” I admitted. “She and I seem to keep running into one another.”
James laughed and shook his head. “Keep telling yourself that, bro,” he said. “You and I both know that you don’t show up at the arena unless there’s a match to be won. Now, you weren’t scheduled to be in the ring the other night, which means that you were there for a different type of match…”
I rolled my eyes at him even though I knew that he was right. I had been too obvious about my intentions, I now realized, and about what I was actually doing there. That had been stupid of me.
Even if it had led to exactly the outcome that I’d hoped for.
I thought again about Lucy’s naked body beneath mine on the sheets. I’d made her come, and she’d looked absolutely beautiful doing it. I already couldn’t wait for the next time I got to explore her body with my lips. This time, I was sure that there would be a next time.
I was just biding my time before scheduling anything with her. We’d texted aimlessly back and forth a couple times in the past few days, but my match against her brother was coming up quickly and I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe I should cool it until was done. I’d been lucky so far that Bobby had no idea that I was sleeping with his sister. I didn’t need to give him any more chances of finding out.
At least for now. Once our match was over, I didn’t care what kind of shit he threw at me.
“Must be nice to have a good lay while you’re here,” James said enviously. “With the added perk of knowing that as soon as this tournament’s over, you never have to see her again.”
I shrugged noncommittally. The thing was, I had already thought all about that. Once the tournament was over, I might never see her again, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it.
Oh, not that I was head over heels in love with her and wanted to marry her. But there was a lot to like about her: she was comfortable drinking beers in a not-quite-dive bar, she didn’t think twice before letting me ravish her body, she was also cute, smart and fun.
I wanted to get to know her better, and I knew that I couldn’t until the tournament was over, or at least until after my match against her brother was. By then, it might be too late, though.
“Unless I stick around Boston for a while,” I said quietly.
James stared at me for a moment and then whistled under his breath. “Stick around here?” he asked. “Just how much do you like this woman?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know yet,” I said honestly. “I feel like we haven’t really gotten the chance to know one another. I don’t want to cause any extra drama where the tournament is concerned. I just want to keep my head down and get the win and then we can go from there.”
The trouble with that plan, of course, was that Lucy would probably never forgive me if I beat her brother. But that was a bridge that we would have to cross when we got there. He couldn’t win every single match, even she had to realize that.
“I feel like I should give this a chance, though,” I told James. “At least see how things go for a little bit.” I paused and grinned crookedly. “The sex is really good.”
James shook his head, glancing around the workshop. There was no one nearby, but he still seemed worried. What was it about Bobby that had people so scared of him?
“Look, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” James told me in a low voice. “Bobby is going to kill you if he finds out. Especially if he hears shit about you having sex with her.”
I rolled my eyes. “I mean, yeah, he said something about how if he saw me anywhere near her again, he was going to take care of me outside of the ring,” I said. “But what can he really do? He knows that would go against the tournament rules.”
James gave me an incredulous look, dropping his tool on the floor. It clanged loudly against the concrete floor.
“You can’t be that dumb,” he said, equal parts impressed and disgusted.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It’s not about the tournament,” James said, shaking his head. “Jesus. You think he gives a shit about the tournament when he’s threatening you like that?”
“He could never get away with it,” I maintained.
“Get away with it,” James echoed, shaking his head again and looking like he’d rather give me a good shake. “He doesn’t have to get away with it. He wouldn’t have to do anything except get his goons to go after you. His hands would be clean, as far as the tournament is concerned—only there’d be one less match to worry about.”
“His goons?” I said, unable to help the snort of amusement.
James gave me a dark look, lowering his voice even further before he said anything else. “Bobby’s a known gangster in these parts,” he muttered. “Have you ever taken a close look at his tattoos? He doesn’t just know people, he is people.”
I stared at him, feeling my blood run cold. I didn’t want to believe it, but the look in
