Page 27 of The Fighter

He twisted his lips to the side, and for a moment I thought he wouldn’t tell me. Then he turned around and flipped something in the pan. “Twenty-five.” I’d thought a bit older but thank fuck he wasn’t twenty-one. He dropped a steaming pile of eggs on a plate and turned with an eyebrow raised. “That what you thought?”

“Give or take a few years.”

“Yeah, how old are you?”

“How old do you think I am?”

His eyes actually twinkled for a moment as he chewed his lip. “Fifty.”

I picked up an empty glass in the middle of the table and made to throw it at him. He laughed, his dimples popping. I placed it back down with an exaggerated glare. “I’m thirty-five, you shit.”

The omelet he placed in front of me was good. No, it wasdelicious. Mushrooms and peppers and cheese. There was sausage in there, too, I thought, as we ate silently. Tav sat across from me and forked large chunks of omelet into his mouth quickly, like I imagined an animal did if he didn’t know where his next meal would come from. That made my chest tight.

I knew I had to be careful this morning. Everything had changed last night. I’d told him while I’d fucked him that I was keeping him, but I suspected he would pretend that it hadn’t happened. He was still skittish. He could still run. Of course, I’dchase him, but it would be much easier if I snared him before he even realized he was in my trap.

When we finished eating, I carried our plates to the sink to rinse them before loading them in the dishwasher. I glanced at Tav when I did so, finding that the relaxation of the morning had begun to fade. Tension vibrated his muscles as he sat huddled on a stool, his big palms around the coffee mug as he stared into it as if it held the tea leaves predicting his future. He was waiting for the shoe to drop, for me to ask him questions.

“When do you need to leave this morning?” I asked as I shut the dishwasher and faced him with the island between us. I immediately regretted the question. His eyes dulled, and his body went tighter. The reminder that he had a life outside of my apartment hovered over him like a storm cloud.

A muscle in his jaw ticked as he glanced at the clock on my wall. “Uh, probably about a half hour.”

“And when will I see you again?” There wasn’t anif. I made very, very sure there wasn’t anif.

His eyes shot up, then skittered away. “I don’t know, Con, I… I got something big coming up so I won’t be around for a while.”

I was impressed he’d let me know that much. But dread quickly replaced the pleasure of his minor confession.Something big. I pressed. I pressed to see how far he’d let me go this morning. I made sure my gaze lingered on his bruised face. “Will this something big get you hurt?”

He stared at me now, meeting my gaze. And he seemed to mull the answer. “That’s why I won’t be around. I have to prepare so I don’t get hurt.”

Maybe he was a drug dealer? Or a gun runner. My thoughts leaned more toward an enforcer. He was big and moved like an athlete. He could probably scrap well. But that didn’t jive with who I knew Tav to be. He was gentle at his core. Why wouldhe choose something violent? I craved answers. I pulled my lips between my teeth. “Will you tell me?—?”

He stood up abruptly, and the legs of the stood scraped across my floor with a screech that made me wince. He turned away from me and shoved his scarred knuckles into his hair before tugging in frustration. My hands had been in that hair less than an hour ago while he’d swallowed my dick.

When he turned, he braced his body on the edge of the island with palms that gripped the stone tightly. He shook his head, stopped, and then shook it again. His lips moved silently, like he was trying out words before he vocalized them. I remained silent, because he was a scared bunny now. Finally, his tortured gaze met mine, and my heart clenched. “I can’t tell you, Con. I can’t. I’m trying…” Another growl. “I’m trying to get out of it, but I…” He shook his head. “Don’t push me on this.”

For now. “Okay,” I answered.

He studied me for a moment, maybe surprised at my response. His chest heaved a minute, and when he ran a hand down his face, his fingers trembled. “You said before… you said if I didn’t tell you more about me…” He faltered then, and his eyes pleaded with me, maybe to finish his sentence, maybe to assure him, but I waited, needing to hear what he wanted next. Beneath the island, where he couldn’t see, I dug my fingers into my thigh as tightly as I could to keep myself from grabbing him and locking him in my spare bedroom where he couldn’t get any more bruises.

He exhaled roughly and let out a dry laugh. “You’re going to make me say it?”

“What are you trying to say?”

He slammed a hand down on the island, not hard, but enough to make a point. “You told me I couldn’t come see you.” His jaw worked, and his gaze bled a vulnerability that he couldn’t mask. “But after…” he tongued the split on his lip.“After last night, was that enough? Enough to let me see you again?” His voice cracked on the last word.

If I opened my mouth now, I’d ruin it all. I’d tell him that there was no longer a way he was going to get away from me. From us. That I’d bring down this whole city to make him safe and happy and mine. So all I did was nod.

The storm in his expression cleared as he came around the island, grabbed my face, and pressed a kiss to my lips. I deepened it, needing to taste my coffee on his tongue and the lingering saltiness of my own cum.

I gripped his hip, pulling him against me until I felt the hard ridge of his cock bump mine. I was considering how much I could do to Tav in a half hour when a beep sounded from my front door a second before it swung open.

Tav ripped himself away from me with a low growl and shoved me behind him with a tight grip on my wrist. The muscles in his shoulder bunched as he snatched a butcher knife off the counter that he’d used to cut the vegetables of our omelets.

“Tav,” I tried to get around him, but he held me firm, knife brandished in front of him, as footsteps sounded in the hallway heading toward us.

A moment later, Nik entered the kitchen. He stopped dead, freezing for only a split second before he whipped his gun from his coat and aimed it right at Tav’s head. “Who the fuck are you?” He spoke low and firm, not a waver to his voice.

“Who the fuck areyou?” Tav, however, was all aggression and anger. He stood with on foot braced in front of the other, ready to pounce, and his entire body vibrated with adrenaline.