Hard Knocks: An Ultimate Novella Read Free Page B

goodbye first, but making any promises about what to expect on his return hadn’t been on his mind. Nope. He’d been one big obsessed puppy, his thoughts only on fighting and winning.
    Maybe he’d figured that once he won, his life would get too busy for her to fit into it.
    And maybe, she reminded herself, she was jumping ahead at Mach speed. They hadn’t even slept together yet.
    But that was something she could remedy.
    Never, not in a million years, would she have wished the injury on him. He’d fought, and won, for the SBC before. But never on the main card. Knowing what that big chance had meant to him, she’d been devastated on his behalf.
    Yet she’d also still been hurt that the entire time he was gone, he hadn’t called. For all she knew, he hadn’t even thought about her. Ignoring him had seemed her best bet—until she realized she couldn’t. Loving him made that impossible.
    And so she decided not to waste an opportunity.
    Gage leaned against the wall. “I give up. How long are you going to stand there staring at me?”
    “I like looking at you, that’s all.” She turned her back on him before she blew the game too soon. “You’re terrific eye candy.”
    He went so silent, she could hear the ticking of the wall clock. “What are you up to, Harper?”
    “No good.” She grinned back at him. “Definitely, one hundred percent no good.” Locating napkins and paper plates on the shelf, she put them into an empty box. Searching more shelves, she asked, “Do you see the coffeemaker anywhere?”
    His big hands settled on her waist. “Forget the coffeemaker,” he murmured from right behind her. Leaning down, he kissed the side of her neck. “Let’s talk about these no-good plans of yours.”
    Wow, oh wow. She could feel his erection against her tush and it was so tantalizing she had to fight not to wiggle. “Okay.”
    He nuzzled against her, his soft breath in her ear, his hands sliding around to her belly. Such incredibly large hands that covered so much ground. The thumb of his right hand nudged the bottom of her breast. The pinkie on his left hovered just over the fly of her jeans.
    Temptation was a terrible thing, eating away at her common sense and obscuring the larger purpose.
    He opened his mouth on her throat and she felt his tongue on her skin. When he took a soft, wet love bite, she forgot she had knees. Her legs just sort of went rubbery.
    To keep her upright, he hugged her tighter and rested his chin on top of her head. “Tell me what we’re doing, honey.”
    Took her a second to catch her breath. “You don’t know?” She twisted to face him, one hand knotted in his shirt to hang on, just in case. “Because, seriously, Gage, you seemed to know exactly what you were doing.”
    His smile went lazy—and more relaxed than it had been since he’d found out he wouldn’t fight. He slipped a hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head, rubbing a little. “I know I was making myself horny. I know you were liking it. I’m just not sure why we’re doing this here and now.”
    “Oh.” She dropped against him so she could suck in some air. “Yeah.” Unfortunately, every breath filled her head with the hot scent of his powerful body. “Mmm, you are so delicious.”
    A strained laugh rumbled in his chest. “Harper.”
    “Right.” To give herself some room to think, she stepped back from him. So that he’d know this wasn’t just about sex, she admitted, “I care about you. You know that.”
    Those gorgeous brown eyes narrowed on her face. “Ditto.”
    That kicked her heart into such a fast rhythm, she almost gasped. He cared about her. “And I know you, Gage. Probably better than you think.”
    His smile softened, and he said all dark and sensuous-like, “Ditto again, honey.”
    Damn the man, even his murmurs made her hot and bothered. “Yeah, so...” Collecting her thoughts wasn’t easy, not with a big hunk of sexiness right there in front of her, within reach, ready