“Who trained you?” he asks.
“My brother.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. “Your turn, ace.”
“Okay,” he’s still smiling as he leaps up and easily begins raising and lowering that sexy body up and down on the bar. His arms – holy Moses, those arms – flex and bunch with each repetition. I wish he’d take his shirt off so I can watch his chest. He effortlessly executes forty pull-ups and then drops to the matt.
“Not bad,” I smirk and jump back up, gripping the bar. I begin the push and pull again, loving the burn that’s moving through my arms, shoulders and back. After twenty I drop back down to the matt.
Without speaking, Nate hops up and completes forty pull-ups.
“Warmed up?” he asks, panting and sweating and I just want to lick him.
“Yes.”
“I want you in the ring.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “There’s quite an audience here right now, Nate.”
He laughs and grips my hand in his, pulling me toward the ring. “That too, but for now, I want to spar with you.”
Rich meets us at ringside and hands me headgear, helping me fasten it in place as Nate takes care of his own.
“You’ve got some upper body strength going on there, girl.” Rich grins down at me and I can see the unspoken questions running through his handsome head.
“My brother plays for the Seahawks. He used to make me train with him.” I smile at him as he wraps my hands in white tape.
“Wait,” Nate interrupts. “Your brother is Will Montgomery, the football player?”
“Yeah,” I grin, so unbelievably proud of my big brother. “He’s a good workout partner, but he’s brutal.”
“I didn’t know that.” Nate has stopped taping his hand and is gaping at me.
“You don’t know everything, ace. Are you going to stand there with your mouth hanging open all day, or are you gonna man-up and take an ass beating?”
The whole gym erupts in laughter, including Nate, and he grips my shoulders and pulls me in for a rough kiss, then pushes me away and finishes taping up.
“Good luck, son. Make me proud.” Rich laughs and steps over to the side of the ring, leaning on the platform, ready to watch the show.
Thank you, brothers of mine, for making me take martial arts and self-defense classes, and for kicking my ass every time mom wasn’t in the room. The training is about to pay off.
Nate and I circle each other, his eyes full of humor. He thinks he’ll take me down easy. Of course, he’s bigger, stronger, and well-trained, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve and I’ll get a few good shots in there before he takes me down.
I let him advance first, knowing he’s not really going to hit me. As he reaches for me, I grab his arm, pivot, and stomp on his foot, jab my elbow into his stomach and roll us both onto the ground, me landing on top, then quickly roll off of him and back onto my feet. The guys who have gathered around the ring cheer, and Nate rises gracefully off the ground, grinning.
“Good one.”
“Thanks.” I grin back at him.
The next few minutes are the same, me using all the tricks my brothers and teachers taught me to defend myself against him. We’re not throwing punches, we’re grappling, and it’s so sexy and fun! Finally after a few minutes, Nate lifts me and pushes me up against the corner of the ring. His gray eyes are shining, staring into mine with lust and excitement and, if I’m not mistaken, admiration.
“You are so hot,” he whispers, panting harshly, so only I can hear.
“Come on, McKenna!” A muscular, bald black man yells from ringside. “Stop dry-humping her against the corner and let her kick your ugly ass!”
I laugh and wrap my arms and legs around Nate. “Yeah, McKenna,” I whisper.
He spins quickly, and suddenly we’re wrestling around on the ground. I manage to squirm out from under him briefly, but then he pins me again, lifting my hips and legs off the ground, and I know I’ve lost.
“Shit,” I mutter as someone slaps the ring and calls the match. Nate rolls off me and helps me up, then pulls me into his arms and kisses me fiercely.
I climb out of the ring and Rich meets me once again to help me out of the head gear and to cut the tape off my hands. “Not bad, baby doll.”
“I have four older brothers. I had to learn to defend myself against them. Mom couldn’t always be there to referee.” I grin at Rich. I like him already.
The crowd thins again, all the guys go back to their own workouts and Nate joins us. “Ready to go?”
“Sure.”
“You come back anytime, girl.” Rich hugs me – hugs me! – and smiles at Nate. “You can come too, if you must.”
“Gee, thanks, dad.”
***
The ride back to the apartment is no less exhilarating than the ride to the gym was. My body is still sensitive from our rigorous workout, and the humming of the bike between my thighs is doing delicious things to my core. I wrap myself around Nate, my nipples pucker against his back, and I squeeze his thighs with mine.
He inhales sharply and curses and I smile. “Thank God this is a short trip.”
He pulls into the garage and into his parking space. It’s fairly dark down here, the only light coming from fluorescent over-head bulbs. It’s deserted.
I climb off and we take our helmets off, then before he can lower the kick-stand, I climb back on, straddling his lap.
“Hey,” his eyes widen and he grabs my ass to steady me.
“Hey yourself.” I lean in and kiss him, my hands on either side of his face and he pulls me more snuggly against him, rubbing me against his erection still hidden in his workout pants.
“I want you,” I murmur against his lips.
“Here?” he asks.
“Fuck, yes.”