Rough Around the Edges Read Free

paused, though he wasn’t winded yet, and took a step backward. What was it about smell? The human sense of smell was weak, and yet, scents affected him like nothing else. Shaking his head quickly, he sent a few drops of sweat flying onto the black matte surface of the bag.
    He wasn’t in North Carolina and he definitely wasn’t in New York. He was in Baltimore. Shoving aside the out-of-state memories vying for prominence inside his head, he mentally pictured the new city – its streets, the iconic Inner Harbor and the buildings that could be seen from there, like the Domino Sugar Factory and the aquarium.
    The mental exercise – one he’d devised on his own, inspired by pure misery – didn’t really work. As a last-ditch effort, he threw a few hard punches at the bag. That didn’t work either. Breathing a sigh of exasperation as his mind whirled, he stepped back, away from the bag, as if it was the source of his problems.
    If only it were that easy. He’d love to have some inanimate, physical manifestation of everything that was wrong with him. He’d beat the hell out of it, and even if things weren’t different after that, at least he’d feel a little better.
    A shadow darkened the field of his vision, sending a bolt of unexplainable sureness down his spine. Raising his chin, he let his gaze settle on the curvy brunette who’d recently disappeared into the women’s locker room.
    She’d put on street clothes, but that hardly registered – he couldn’t look away from her face. Despite the fact that her nose was only a few inches from his sweat-slicked chest, it didn’t wrinkle this time.
    “Sorry,” she said.
    Her lips formed a perfect Cupid’s bow, but he couldn’t admire it directly. Her eyes had locked his in a hold strong enough to incapacitate someone inside the ring. “It’s not a big deal.” In fact, it was more than okay if she wanted to stand five inches from his chest all day.
    Her cheeks were flushed from exercise; redness had blazed its way across the bridge of her nose, stretching almost from ear to ear. The effect was significantly more becoming than the caked-on artificial blush so many women wore.
    “Ally, right?” He’d been repeating the name over and over again in his head ever since he’d heard one of the other guys mention Melissa and Ally. Either Melissa was Mel’s full name and the curvy brunette was Ally, or he’d just made an ass out of himself.
    “Yeah.”
    “Nice to meet you.”
    She finally broke eye contact with him, and as her gaze wandered lower, he could practically feel it burning a trail of heat across his mouth. An answering warmth flared in his torso, heating him all the way from his shoulders to his hips, and every last place in between.
    As he stood there fighting the threat of an erection, she nodded, still not meeting his eyes. The pink flush across her cheeks increased, bordering on true red, and realization struck him.
    He actually had to fight a grin as the knowledge that she was blushing – actually blushing – settled in. It was amazing how quickly his out of practice mind wrapped itself around that fact.
    “Maybe I’ll see you around,” she said, her voice tinged with a hint of uncertainty that was worlds away from the way she’d wrinkled her nose at him earlier.
    There was still a defiant spark in her eyes, though – a fact that echoed her earlier attitude and only increased the heat racing through his veins.
    “You will. You’ll be here Friday night, right?”
    “I was planning to come watch the fights.”
    Perfect. Friday nights were when Cameron hosted open fighting matches – with cash purses – at Knockout. He’d filled Ryan in that morning and he’d jumped at the chance to compete again.
    “I like to be here to cheer on the guys from our gym when I can.”
    Her words sparked another flare of heat and a wicked impulse that surprised even him. His lips curled into a smile without his permission. “I hope you’ll cheer for me