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A HALF HOUR later, I tiptoe into the Tates’ three-bedroom suite and make my way through the darkness into my room. I lock the door to keep Racer from coming in without notice, strip to my panties, and slip into bed, sighing as I hug my pillow. I shove it under my head and stare up at the ceiling, reliving every moment and every kiss and the way his body moved above me.
Did we just do it?
Did he love it as much as I think he did?
I stare at the ceiling, smiling like a dope.
I dream of the phoenix in flames, burning me, and I wake up, sweating, to the buzzing of my phone. Maverick doesn’t have my number, but I’m still breathless when I pick it up because he’s the first thing I thought of. “Hello?” I ask hopefully.
“I thought of texting, but I really wanted to hear your voice,” I hear on the other end.
“Oh, hi,” I say, leaning back on my pillow as the reality of the reckless hot sex I had last night comes crashing in when I recognize the voice.
“Well, you don’t sound too excited, Reesey,” he teases, pretending to be sad. “Have you already forgotten about me?”
It’s Miles.
TWENTY
TRAINING WITH RIPTIDE
Maverick
I wake up and do a body check of what hurts. Head. Chest. Arms. Shoulders. Back. Quads. Calves. Inhaling, I turn my head into my pillow. Hell, my pillow smells good. My cock wakes up. I reach to the side of the bed for her, smelling more of the jasmine on my pillow. It’s the scent of her. The bed’s empty under my hand, and I open my eyes and scan my hotel room. Reese is gone.
I peer at the time, then sit up and curse under my breath. I head over to shower and pull out my training gear. If Tate’s ready to teach me some lessons, I’ll get ready to dish out his. In the ring.
He’s waiting impatiently when I arrive.
Tate’s an aggressive fighter; he doesn’t wait. Neither do I. I’ve seen his tapes. I know his moves. He started boxing in his early years and his endurance has been unmatched in the Underground. No weakness. No mercy. Fast, strong, and precise. He doesn’t waste swings. More than half of his swings always land. My father swung much more, but they were wasted efforts. He would wear out and leave Tate fresh as spring rain, beating him to a pulp. I’m not making the same mistakes my father did.
The gym is vacant save for the three members of his team. His coach, the coach’s second, and his PA. I nod at the three and spot Tate by the bags. I know when a guy’s ticked, and he’s ticked now. Punching the speed bag like he’s out for murder.
I shake my arms and shoulders to loosen them up, pull my hoodie over my head. “I’m here.”
“Fucking late. I would kick your ass for that alone if I weren’t kicking it anyway.”
I grit my teeth and scowl. He turns to grab something from the wall and looks at me, scowling too, and tosses me headgear.
I catch it and toss it aside. “I won’t be needing that.”
“Fine with me. I don’t mind busting your nose.” He climbs into the ring from one side, and I climb in from the other. “Your father and I go way back,” he says.
“It’s because of you he’s in a piece-of-shit hospital bed.”
“Is that what happened?” His eyes gleam menacingly. “He did that himself.”
One of his team members comes over to tape up my hands and then shoves the gloves on me.
At Tate’s corner, outside the ropes, his coach whistles. “You two get some headgear on. Stat.”
Tate’s lips curl rebelliously, and he looks at me with challenge in his eyes.
I smile back, a feral curl of my lips.
We tap gloves.
No headgear.
I jab. He swings his arm, blocks the hit, leaps back, and I jab again, blocked again.
We space apart and jump in place, shaking our shoulders, loosening up. I pull my gloves back up, narrow my eyes, and he asks, “You think you’re the shit because you’re fast and strong? I got news for you. I’m faster, I’m stronger, and I’m disciplined. Your coach isn’t doing you any favors.”
“He’s in my corner, and that’s enough for me.”
He swings, I duck fast and come up behind him. He straightens and faces me again. “If you settle for that, then you should settle for second place.”
“What the fuck. You want me to win?”
“I want a good fight. I like keeping things real. Reminds me I’m a man. Mortal.”
“I want to be a legend. Legends never die. Even if they die alone.”
He swings again, and I duck, come up, and jab three times.
He blocks repeatedly, then hooks with his right; I deflect. He grins and jabs again. I block, then I duck before he puts me up against the ropes, and I head back to center. He follows.
“To be a legend you need to fall seven times, get up eight,” he says.
I remember a final a few years ago when my father kicked Tate to a pulp. “Or not fall at all.”