Page 60 of The Fighter

I carried my dish to the sink, rinsed it, and loaded it in the dishwasher. If I was going to live here, I wasn’t going to make a mess of Con’s place. At my apartment, it hadn’t really mattered if I cleaned since everything had felt dirty anyway.

He took a sip of water and watched me. His phone beeped, and he glanced at it. I was reminded he had been working. Like a real job and everything. Maybe he didn’t have time to show me the gym. “Hey, Con, it’s okay if you’re busy. It’s not a big deal, and I can find something else to do.”

He slipped his phone back in his pocket and frowned. “No, it’s fine, and it won’t take long. Come on.” But he didn’t walk toward the front door. He was still barefoot. I glanced down the hallway and then back at him before following. “Did you want to go get dressed, or…?”

He placed his hand on a doorknob of a door off to the side of his kitchen that I’d noticed but hadn’t paid much attention to. I had figured it was a closet or something. He gave me a smile as he swung it open and gestured for me to walk inside.

The room was as large as his bedroom, and mirrors lined three walls, while the fourth was all windows that looked out over the city. The floor was a spongey black and gray speckled tile that felt clean and soft under my feet. A TV hung in the corner, and a treadmill sat in front of the windows as well as an exercise bike. I spun around, taking in some of the weight machines as well as an entire rack of dumbbells. Some of the equipment, while in great condition, looked used. But what caught my eye was the pristine heavy bag hanging in the corner. I walked over to it, brushing my fingers along the fragrant, oiled leather.

“There’s a gym on the fourth floor.” Con stood in the doorway, hands in the pockets of his pants, shoulder leaned against the doorframe. “But I’m anti-social and don’t like it.”

I let my palm rest on the heavy bag. “You use this?”

“No.” His smile was soft. “It’s new.”

That was what I thought, and I felt my breathing speed up. “When did you get this installed?”

He held my gaze. “The day after you left my apartment with a bruised face and knuckles.”

“You didn’t know I was a fighter, then.”

“Just in case.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, unsure if I was supposed to find this creepy or romantic. “You bought a heavy bag and hadit installed in your home gym just in case you ever saw me again and just in case I liked to use one?”

“Oh, I was going to see you again.” There was that tone, the one that made me get into his car all those months ago.

Still, I scoffed. “Come on?—”

“I was close to finding you.” His posture was less casual now as he walked toward me.

I felt air whoosh from my lungs. “You were looking for me?”

“I was.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew you were mine.”

“After meeting me three times?”

“I knew you were mine after the first time, but it took me longer to accept it.” He stood close enough to touch now. “Does that bother you?”

It should, right? That would be a normal reaction. But then we weren’t normal about each other. “No, it doesn’t.”

His hand cupped my face, thumb stroking my cheekbone. “Even if I hadn’t gone to that fight, you would have ended up here eventually, I would have found you. I would have emptied out your apartment, and I would have done everything I could to keep you with me.”

“I think I’m getting more out of this thanyou’regetting out of this.”

His laugh was a surprised bark, and his hand dropped from my face. “You can’t be serious.” I clenched my jaw and refused to answer. His eyes went wide. “Tav, you make me happy.”

“I bring you trouble.”

“My life was trouble before you. You make the trouble worth it.” I sucked in a breath as his fingers fluttered over my stomach. “I have this apartment, and a lot of money, my own company, and power. And I was miserable. None of those things mattered until I got to use them to help you.”

I kissed him. I licked at the seam of his lips until he opened for me, and for the first time, Con was passive while I controlled the kiss. I wrapped my palms around his neck and held him immobile while I plundered his mouth. My heart pounded, and my knees shook. My cock hardened in my sweatpants, but I ignored it, because the kiss felt too good, and Con tasted great. His pulse fluttered beneath my hands, and our chests brushed as I angled my head to get deeper.

I kissed him until I thought maybe we could just stay locked like this forever. But then his phone chimed again, breaking me out of my trance. I dropped my hands and stepped out of the kiss. Con remained where he was, face flushed and eyes dazed, parted lips swollen and wet. He shivered as he swiped at his chin and chuckled. “For the next six days, don’t kiss me like that again.”