Part 35 (1/2)

”You didn't have to go all stalker,” I said to turn off the thoughts racing through my head. I couldn't help wincing as I sat back up. G.o.dd.a.m.n, my ribs were killing me. At least the pain didn't make me think about f.u.c.king Parker so much. ”Like I said, this place, this world, could be bad for your health. h.e.l.l, so could I.”

”How will we know unless you give it a chance?” she asked me.

I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. She really wasn't going to give this up. As I winced again, she sat down on the bed beside me, gingerly perching there on the edge as she grazed her fingers across my arm.

”Let me see,” she said, her nails leaving gooseb.u.mps in their wake.

With a grimace, I lifted my arm up over my head, exposing my ribs. I could tell without even looking that they were a mess. I could feel it. Parker brushed her fingertips over the swollen parts, her touch so gentle I hardly even felt it, save for another stirring between my legs. I was just starting to imagine her nails raking down my back when she diverted her attention to my hands. My knuckles were bleeding through the wrappings.

”Why do you care so much?” I asked as she slowly began to unwind the tape. ”Between what I do for a living and the way I've treated you, most girls would've run screaming by now.”

”I'm not most girls,” Parker replied, finally exposing my f.u.c.ked up hands. Ain't that the truth?

”Is there any hydrogen peroxide here?” she said. ”Any bandages?”

I jutted my chin toward the bathroom door. ”In there. Under the sink.” I knew because I'd patched myself up plenty of times in this room after the girls left, but never before had one offered to actually take care of me themselves.

Parker stood and gathered her supplies, and when she returned to my side, the look of concentration on her face was too G.o.dd.a.m.n adorable for words. She saturated a few cotton b.a.l.l.s with the hydrogen peroxide and gently applied them to my knuckles, ignoring my grunts and growls as the liquid bubbled and fizzed on my fresh cuts.

”Stings,” I muttered.

Parker smirked. ”I think you can handle it,” she said.

I smiled. I couldn't help it. I liked the way she made me feel, even if it hurt a little. As she rubbed Neosporin on my hands, I blew out a long breath and relaxed, studying her face. G.o.dd.a.m.n, she was beautiful. There wasn't a single thing about her that wasn't angelic. The gentle bow of her lips. Her long, thick lashes and the way they fluttered over her bright blue eyes. The arch of her brows. The slim curves of her body. Parker was a diamond in the rough, and she'd come all this way for me. To find me. I wasn't sure what good deed I'd done lately to deserve this, but I was starting to think maybe I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

”You really want to get to know me?” I asked her as she met my gaze. ”Like... for real?”

Parker nodded. ”Everything. Every last detail.”

I watched as she wound some gauze around my knuckles. ”We can't do that here,” I told her. ”Like this. In this place, I have to be someone else. I have to be Killer Kellan, the monster, the beast. Every other fighter's worse nightmare. Not Kellan Jarvis, complex human being.”

”I like the sound of that last one,” Parker said as she finished patching me up-at least my hands, anyway. ”We could go back to The Sly Fox. Or out to dinner, somewhere. You did just earn yourself some serious winnings, after all.”

I smiled again. The thought of taking a girl like Parker Jones out made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Important. Like I mattered. Like I could be a normal guy, with a normal-and also extraordinary-girl.

But I was tired. And sore. And as much as I wanted to, I wasn't sure I could handle a night out.

”What about my place?” I asked her. ”It's not much, but I've got a decent couch. And Netflix. And beer.”

Parker blushed. She glanced at my c.o.c.k again, still jutting against the seam of my shorts. She sucked her lower lip into her mouth. It was so d.a.m.n s.e.xy.

”Sure,” she said at length. ”Your place it is.”

My c.o.c.k rejoiced, but I didn't want to get its hopes up. Parker and I were just getting to know each other. That was all. And if I ever wanted to take it farther than that, I was going to have to play it cool.

Although the way she kept stealing glances at my shorts, I got the feeling that maybe, just maybe, she was intrigued by a little more than my personality. Hey, a guy could dream. And thinking about slipping my d.i.c.k into Parker Jones was the sweetest d.a.m.n dream I'd ever had.

~ Eight ~

Parker

What the h.e.l.l was I thinking, agreeing to go back to Kellan's place? I felt so stupid, so embarra.s.sed. He probably thought I was one of those girls who put out right away. He probably thought I was ready to f.u.c.k right here, right now in the backseat of this cab.

And wasn't I? Kellan had one h.e.l.l of a monster c.o.c.k. I hadn't been able to stop staring at it in the winner's room. The way it had pulsed and swelled with the beat of his heart had absolutely entranced me. Even through his shorts, I could see how big and thick it was-certainly more than a mouthful. I'd given serious consideration to pulling down his waistband and letting it free just to see how big it really was. And then maybe I would have sat in his lap and slid down on it just to see how much of it I could take...

Jesus, get a hold of yourself. You're doing this for a story, not for s.e.x!

But the heat gathering between my thighs told me that wasn't entirely true.

I couldn't help it, okay? Kellan was so hot. Everything about him exuded s.e.x, danger, and pure, terrifying masculinity. Underneath all that, he seemed like a decent guy, too. Nice, even. When he wasn't going ape-s.h.i.+t about me showing up to his fight with a guy.

Now that made me smile. Kellan had been jealous of Thom-actually jealous! So I wasn't imagining things, then. Kellan was into me. He wanted me. Which made the decision to go back to his place both a great, and awfully stupid, one.

Just keep it in your pants, Parker, I told myself. And don't get too drunk, either. You know how handsy you get when you drink...

I bit my lip and stole a glance at Kellan beside me. Maybe that was what he was counting on. Maybe this was all a clever ploy to get between my legs.

As long as he tells you what you need to know, how is that a bad thing?

Maybe I could have my cake and eat it, too.

We pulled up to the curb outside his apartment building and Kellan paid the driver in cash for our ride. Then he hurried out his side and opened the door for me, helping me out even though I didn't need it.

I couldn't seem to get a read on him. Not an accurate one, anyway. Kellan the soldier. Kellan the fighter. Kellan the jealous type. But also, Kellan the gentleman. Kellan the sweetheart with the boyish smile. He had more facets to him than a diamond, and part of me was giddy as a schoolgirl at the opportunity to get to know each one.

Readers are going to love him, I thought as we entered the building and took the rickety elevator up to his floor. Everybody likes a mystery.

Kellan's apartment was shabby, to say the least, but clean-minus a few beer bottles sitting on his counter. It was small, too. Whatever he earned through risking his life in the ring couldn't have been much, and I got the sense he was struggling to live within his means. I didn't see anything too fancy-he had a decent, but older-model, TV and a laptop that looked like it came straight out of 2005-but other than that, his place was pretty Spartan.

Which made me wonder if Thom was right. Was Kellan getting screwed over by his manager without even knowing it? Undoubtedly, Thom was looking into that, too. I hoped he was okay. Thom struck me as more a lover than a fighter, and I had no idea how an illegal fighting ring manager would react to someone asking questions about the distribution of winnings.

Thom's smarter than that. He'll figure it out. And when he did, I'd share that information with Kellan. It was the least I could do.

”Make yourself at home,” Kellan said, and I realized I was still standing in his entryway like an idiot. I kicked my shoes off near the door where Kellan had abandoned his and shuffled over to the sofa, sinking into the deep, plush cus.h.i.+ons that were comfortable despite the creaking of their springs.

”You want a beer?” he asked from the kitchen.

I nodded. ”Sure.” Then I grabbed the takeout menu on his coffee table. ”If you want, we can order something to eat. I'm buying.”

Kellan chuckled and I heard him pop the tops of both beers. ”Sounds fair.”

I busied myself with the menu while Kellan sat down next to me, so close our thighs touched. He set my beer down in front of me and I handed him the menu as I dialed the number for a local Chinese place and gave them my order. Kellan held up two fingers when I looked at him; apparently, he liked orange chicken, too.

While we waited, I made Kellan watch an episode of Orange is the New Black. He humored me up until we got to the part with the lesbian s.e.x. Then he was actually interested.