Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Rage
After three more rounds of mind-blowing sex—two in bed and one more in the shower—I prove I can absolutely get her off quickly.
She has the same effect on me, though, and it’s a huge bonus to find a woman whose libido rivals mine.
I think she was sore toward the end, so I eased up on the intensity and that was the right move because she came almost instantly the moment I did.
I could have spent all day in bed with her, but I made plans with Garth and it feels impolite to cancel because I want to spend more time in bed with the new woman in my life.
So, now we’re walking into a trendy downtown café, Luna’s hand in mine, and I spot Garth right away.
There’s a young woman sitting next to him and I almost do a double take because she’s not a day over twenty-five.
Garth is twice that old. And she’s too old to be his daughter.
Well, he was always a ladies’ man, and he liked them young.
That’s why I was so surprised when he got married—back then, I just figured it was time.
“Hey, man.”
He gets up and immediately shakes my hand before turning to Luna. His eyes rake over her appreciatively, and I feel a vein start to throb in my temple. I know that mildly predatory look—and Luna is not up for grabs.
“Who is this delightful lady?” he asks, reaching for one of her hands.
“This is Luna. My girlfriend.” I say it bluntly, letting him know I’m not messing around, and I catch his look of surprise.
“Very nice to meet you, Luna.” He smiles at her and then turns to the young woman at the table. “This is Candy. We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of months. Honey, this is Rage the Cage and his girlfriend.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” She smiles politely, and we exchange pleasantries.
We sit down and a waiter immediately brings us menus. I order a beer and Luna asks for a wine spritzer, but Candy orders a double martini and Garth gets a margarita with a tequila chaser.
“A little early in the day for tequila, eh?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light.
He shrugs. “You only live once, my friend.”
“What do you do, Luna?” Candy asks her.
“I’m an administrative assistant for a security firm,” she replies smoothly.
“Really more of an office manager,” I interject. I hate that she has to minimize her responsibilities and skills, but Daniil says it’s easier not to draw attention to herself.
“So, you work with a bunch of hunky bodyguards all day?” Candy asks.
“I do.” Luna smiles and bats her eyelashes at me. “But I only have eyes for one.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.”
“Besides, there’s only one guy that’s single now, and he’s an independent contractor so he’s not around a lot.”
“You thinking about settling down?” Garth asks curiously.
“If that’s what she wants.” I slide my arm around the back of her chair.
“I’m not ready for all that,” Candy says, shaking her head with a playful smirk at Garth.
“Dee’s a model,” he says with what appears to be a patient smile.
Of course she is; back in the day, Garth was always hooking up with models and actresses.
“She’s going to be on next year’s Sports Illustrated cover,” Garth adds proudly. “She’s going places. Unfortunately, it means a lot of time apart for us.”
“That’s why we’re keeping things casual,” Candy reminds him.
“So, tell me about the charity event,” Luna interjects, deftly changing the subject.
“Oh, it’s going to be a blast!” Candy says, her face lighting up. “I’m helping Garth organize it. So far, we’ve got five fights lined up.” Her eyes twinkle. “And hopefully, after today, it will be six.”
I figured that’s what this meeting was about, but I didn’t expect such a hard sell. “Well, I want to know more details,” I say.
“How would you feel about fighting Bronco Guerin?” Garth leans forward on the table, his face filled with excitement.
Jesus.
Ben “Bronco” Guerin is badass.
I’d break him in half in a street fight, but in the ring? With judges and points and rules? He’s a beast. And he just retired last year. So he hasn’t been out of the game very long. I’ve also heard a lot of rumors about him.
“Is he still juicing?” I ask quietly.
Garth’s gaze darkens. “Look, this isn’t a UFC fight—I don’t have control over what everyone does in retirement.”
“Maybe not, but it could be dangerous. For me and for him.”
“Jesus, you’re still a Boy Scout, aren’t you?”
I narrow my gaze at him. “I don’t know what the fuck that’s supposed to mean, but yeah, I have a thing about rules. Especially when my safety is on the line.”
“Love has made you a little soft, eh?”
I tense for a second, but then Luna surreptitiously squeezes my thigh, reminding me I don’t have to take the bait. I don’t owe him anything, certainly not details about my relationship. Because I can’t think about a single thing that could ever make me “soft.”
“Creeping up toward forty has made me conscientious about my health,” I reply slowly.
“I would think you, of all people, would understand that.” He retired because of multiple concussions.
The doctors warned him another one could cause permanent brain damage—he chose to walk away.
Now he’s suddenly acting like we’re all invincible.
He must sense my annoyance because he holds up a hand in a placating gesture.
“No, you’re right. I do understand. And there will be rules in place—we just haven’t gotten that far.
I’ll talk to him, on the down low, get a feel for what he’s been up to.
This is about raising money for charity.
Obviously, we don’t want anyone to get hurt. ”
“It’s going to be amazing,” Candy interjects breathlessly.
Then she launches into an explanation about everything they have planned.
The silent auction and all the donations she’s already procured, which would take place as a kind of meet and greet the evening before the fights.
The champagne brunch the morning after. The celebrities signing on with donations and appearances.
She drops a few names that are genuinely impressive. Maybe this isn’t a bad idea after all.
“It sounds wonderful,” Luna says warmly. “If there’s anything I can do to help, I’d love to.”
“Let me think about it,” Candy says eagerly. “I’m sure I could use you somewhere, especially in the days leading up to the event. There are going to be a million details to take care of.”
“Well, count me in.”
Things are more relaxed after that, and it reminds me of the days when Garth was mentoring me. Telling fun stories about fights, women he dated, and all the places he got to travel to. I note that he doesn’t mention his wife, and I wonder if that’s in deference to Candy or if it’s just too painful.
“Do you have children?” Luna asks at one point.
The expression on Garth’s face is hard to read, a strange combination of regret and…fear? It’s weird, because he’s not a man I’ve ever seen show fear. Then it’s gone and his lips thin sadly.
“No. By the time I met Marissa, I think it was too late. We didn’t know right away, of course, although the infertility issues should have been our first clue that something was wrong.
Then the cancer diagnosis and they had to take everything out.
It took a few years to kill her, but we never had the chance.
I guess that’s a blessing in disguise. I don’t know that I’d be a great single dad. ”
Candy reaches over and puts a hand over his. “You’d be better than you think. Most of us learn to dig deep for the important stuff.”
“Well, I’m too old now,” he says. “Any woman I’m with has to be okay with no kids. I can’t see starting over with an infant in my fifties.”
“I’m too busy for babies anyway,” Candy says. “Not to mention it would ruin my body, which is how I make a living.”
“Speaking of making a living,” Garth turns to me. “You happy doing the bodyguard thing? I could hook you up in the fighting world. You’d make a great agent.”
“I own part of the business,” I say with a shrug. “And this is what I do.”
“You and Grim?” he asks knowingly.
I nod. “Yup. We’ve put together a good team, with a great support network. I’m not going anywhere.”
“What about the fight? You in? Come on—it’ll be fun. And you know you want to.”
It’s a little disconcerting that freakin’ everyone seems to know how much I love to fight.
Because I do. The issue is that I have a job that requires me to be in the best shape possible—I can’t spend weeks recovering from bruised or broken ribs, kidneys or whatever other injuries are prevalent in those kinds of fights.
And Bronco could put a hurt on me if I’m not prepared.
“I’d like to,” I say carefully, “but I do have to check my schedule. There’s an actress who needs protection on a movie set in Vancouver next month, and a few other commitments we have to split up. Give me twenty-four hours to sit down with everyone and look at the schedule.”
“Absolutely.” Garth nods but I can see in his eyes he believes it’s a done deal.
And the worst part—he’s probably right.