10. Dragon
Chapter Ten
DRAGON
That was the worst fight I’d ever seen. Maybe it was his tight shorts because usually Horse could usually hold his own.
He didn’t have any trainers who pushed him hard, and he didn’t have Nix’s ability to push himself past the point of pain.
He needed a better trainer. In six weeks, my dad could have him dominating even Nix.
Horse had all the potential, but he was distracted with running his team.
He had so many members that needed coddling.
Like Pixel and his green mohawk, who offered me a ride home so I didn’t have to call a ride and hang out in the guardhouse until it showed up.
I spent the ride coaching him on driving etiquette, why driving one way on a track was fine but absolutely not okay off-road, particularly on rough terrain, then moved on to his shifting strategies.
He was quick to accept advice and beamed at me like he never did when we were on our respective teams.
“Thanks, Dragon,” he said, pulling into Providence’s underground garage. “Do you think you’ll be coming by the castle often?”
“Castle?”
He smiled super sweet, facial piercings twinkling.
“Sure. That’s what we call Horse’s compound.
Mostly because some of the fencing is crenelated.
Kind of weird, but that’s Horse. He also has a tower in the corner where he…
” His brows furrowed. “No idea what he does in his tower. Although sometimes he puts up his telescope during the Perseid showers, and we all bring sides. Like a picnic in the middle of the night.”
I stared at him while he pulled up into a handicapped spot near the door.
That didn’t sound like the Horse I knew.
He hosted potlucks during falling star season?
Why hadn’t I ever heard about that? It’s something that people would gossip about.
So, clearly Horse didn’t want his people to repeat it.
Did Janice get invited to his star parties?
There hadn’t been any sign of her in his compound. No other women either.
My phone buzzed, and I checked the message.
Unknown number. My heart pounded faster as I opened the text.
I expected a sexy grin, but it was a gray mat.
He’d sent me a picture of his floor? It had his shadow falling over it, but that’s all there was of him.
No message. No, ‘This is Horse, come over for some sugar,’ just the least romantic floor in the world.
Not that it wasn’t high quality. You could drop a four hundred pound bar on that floor and it wouldn’t dent.
What wasn’t romantic about that? Good floor.
I flashed a smile at Pixel when I realized I’d been staring at the phone for too long.
“I probably won’t hang out at the castle very often.
You know, because I’m on Nix’s team.” Also, hanging around Horse after the elevator was weird.
The whole time he was talking, I kept having flashbacks of that mouth pressing against mine, wiping away every unhappiness I’d ever imagined.
And his hands. Such large, capable, strong hands that knew exactly…
Pixel interrupted my thoughts, sounding almost hopeful. “You could join us. You’d have a pay raise and whatever kind of tires you wanted. You should check out his garage. Horse has some incredible vehicles from this…”
I opened my door and flashed a smile. “Yeah. He’s got good taste in vehicles.
His bike was really smooth. I’m driving for Nix.
See you at the next race.” I got out of his truck and closed the door firmly behind me.
I did not need to start thinking about Horse’s garage.
If the quality was anywhere close to his gym, I’d be hard-pressed to leave.
And hard-pressed against a wall somewhere…
No. Focus. This was about Janice, not anything personal.
I’d almost brought it up, that it was her video that was making him look weak and me look… well, show my unacceptable behavior, but instead I’d gotten distracted by his absolute lack of smarm. Was his whole man-whore thing only an act? Also his hands. And his tight shorts.
Good thing we were never alone together, or who knows what I’d do with him.
His crew was unstable, particularly Death, who never talked a lot, even when he was in a ring, but today he’d spent the whole time glaring at me.
He was almost as big as Horse and was a mean fighter.
He watched me like I was a personal threat to Horse that he would gladly take down.
Well, he would try. In a ring, I could take him.
I’d been fighting since I was born. I didn’t like watching him hit Horse like that.
Horse needed to protect his face. His brain. He clearly needed a better trainer.
Why did he let people hit him like that? He was better than that. Not that it was any of my business what he did in his own gym. He actually had crenelated walls? And star parties? Why did he wear such tight shorts?
I shook my head and forced myself to focus.
I needed to bake something and borrow his sugar, but not now because he was at his compound.
Tomorrow. Sunday afternoon would be an acceptable time for a neighborly visit.
And then maybe I’d bring up Janice, feel him out subtly about her.
Because I was notoriously subtle. Right.
Canollis were an art form. I’d been meaning to make them, but my sugar pot was down to the bottom of the barrel. On Sunday at eleven in the morning, I realized I had no idea where his apartment was. Which was fine because I had his number and could text him.
Can I come over for some sugar? I’m making cannolis.
I hit send and then checked to make sure I didn’t have holes in my clothes.
I did, so I changed into jeans and a t-shirt that didn’t have holes.
I needed to go shopping. I hated shopping, but my closet was getting desperate.
I could just wear coveralls, but for some reason, I wanted to look like a normal person, not Trix ‘the Dragon’ O’Hara who might beat you up, but just Trixie the neighbor from a few floors down.
I was dressed and putting on a nice, shiny lip gloss by the time he buzzed back.
Lip gloss wasn’t too much, right? It wasn’t show makeup, just normal, nice girl-next-door makeup.
Right. Because I’d ever be the nice girl next door.
And he was Horse. I wasn’t interested. Except that I couldn’t stop remembering how he felt. And those shorts.
His text read: Yeah. I’m on the top floor, under the penthouse suites, 6201 on the right side of the hall from your elevator.
Okay. Not a big deal. I was just going to take an elevator up a few floors and then borrow some sugar.
Not a big deal, but my stomach was doing weird things.
Horse lived on the sixty-second floor. Apparently.
Happily, the Providence had several banks of elevators in the building, and the long-term tenant suites weren’t in the same area as the majority of the tourists. So not much traffic in the off-season.
I stepped through the gold doors and into the luxurious box.
So clean. As soon as I pushed the screen for sixty-two, the elevator hummed and then went directly to that floor.
These were the Lino 1200. I’d like to look at the engine that drove these.
When they’d first gotten them in, I’d taken them up to the roof pool a few times just to check them out.
Yeah. I was thinking about the engine, not the wall exactly like the wall where I’d…
The doors slid open soundlessly, and I stepped out.
There were several dusty blue doors along the hall, just like my door.
I knocked on 6201 and it opened almost immediately. Horse was wearing wet swim trunks, an open robe, and had a tray with six sugar canisters on it.
He handed it over with a polite smile, skin still damp from his swim.
I took the tray, barely getting a chance to glance inside his room and at the velvet Elvis poster before he closed the door, leaving us in the hall together, his bare feet soaking the carpet.
“You were swimming.” I frowned at his chest, tan skin, swirls of dark chest hair. When I realized what I was doing, I yanked my eyes to his face. “If you were busy, you could have told me.”
His smile was crooked as he looked at me like I were the only woman in the world. “Cannolis are sacred.”
I swallowed hard. “Well, yes, but you’re swimming. And what are all of these canisters?”
His teeth flashed in a full grin. “Sugar. You can drop them off at the front desk on your way to work when you’re done, and then I can pick them up on my way home. So you don’t have to go out of your way to return them.”
I stared at him, the tray of sugar between us, droplets of water sliding over his tan pectorals.
That drop was definitely between us. I ripped my eyes off his chest and up to his eyes.
They were bright, maybe overbright, like he was on drugs or a rush of endorphins.
Right. He’d been swimming. And he wanted me to leave the sugar I didn’t use on the desk so I wouldn’t come back to his room.
He really wasn’t a manwhore in real life.
Was this disappointment I felt in my chest? Absolutely not. It was indigestion.
On second thought, dropping off the sugar at the front desk was the best idea I’d ever heard, particularly when another drop of water slid down his collarbone.
“Um, yeah. Good plan. How long has Janice worked for you?” Right. Subtle was my middle name. At least I’d managed to bring her up this time.
His brows went down, banking the light in his eyes. “A little over six years. Is Nix looking for an event planner? She’s very good.”
I cleared my throat and gripped the tray of sugar canisters.
What was I even doing here? Had anything ever been weirder?
Probably the next sixty seconds would be.
I braced myself and then spoke quickly before I could chicken out.
“I wondered if you could ask her to take down the video of me assaulting you. It can’t be good for business. ”
He stared at me for a long beat before he inhaled and pulled out his phone. He frowned at it as he pulled up the scene I’d been trying to forget about and avoid, but it was everywhere, and so were the angry women heckling me.
His hand clenched, and then the phone was glittering fragments of metal and plastic. Useless. He’d broken his phone? And his fingers were bleeding.
He laughed a little and dropped the phone into the pocket of his robe while he gave me a wry smile. “I can’t ask with that phone. I didn’t see it until now. It’s…”
“Are you okay? Also, how did you not see it? It’s everywhere.” I wanted to check his hand, but I was holding the sugar.
He kept his hand in his pocket while his deep blue eyes soaked into me, intense, reminding me of the elevator, the way he’d look right before he kissed me.
“I’m good at avoiding things. Like dealing with some employees.
” He gave me a taut smile. “The video feed will come down. Sorry about that.” His low voice was so sincere and angry.
That’s what he’d been in the elevator, angry after I stole his motorcycle.
I needed to say something before I put down the sugar and pinned him to the wall. “Do you see her often?” Awkward. It made it sound like I cared if they were dating.
He stared at me, brows coming together in a perplexed line. “Often?”
“It seems like she’s fixated on you.”
His confusion transformed into anger, only icy anger that reflected in his cool blue eyes.
“Actually, you. She’s been targeting you for years.
I thought she was over it, and her attacks got more subtle, but apparently not.
” This was not the elevator angry. This was something else, something I’d never seen before.
Serious. Calculating. A lot more like Nix than I expected.
I frowned down at the pretty sugar canisters.
They were all glass, high quality, with clasps to seal them so the sugar wouldn’t dry out.
Good canisters. Like he didn’t know how to accept mediocrity in anything.
“The video isn’t linked to any of her official accounts.
I could be wrong. There’s no reason for you to trust me over her. ”
“Really? But we’re neighbors. Who can you trust if not your neighbor? I’ve got to get this bandaged,” he said, backing towards his closed door.
“Do you want me to help? I’m not as good as Jezebel, but I can?—”
“No,” he said, cutting me off before he flashed his traditional manwhore grin. "You should definitely get back to making your cannolis. Let me know how they turn out. Or not. You just enjoy your Sunday all by yourself. Or with whoever. See you later.”
I took a step back. “Okay.” That was a dismissal.
I couldn’t stand there and prolong his bleeding.
I turned and went back to the elevator bank, holding the tray of sugar and feeling like I’d just fallen through a trapdoor.
He’d crushed his phone with his bare hands.
Singular. He was so powerful. I wasn’t sure if that was more attractive or unsettling.
But the important thing was that I’d given him a heads-up about Janice, even if he didn’t believe that she was obsessed with him.