Chapter 11
Eleven
MATEO
Idon’t want to look skinny, I want to look like I can kick your ass.
I smirk at the writing on the back of Violet’s hoodie. Christ, my girl is funny. And watching her lift weights for the past hour has been, well, a cocktease.
And also the best thing I’ve ever had my eyes on.
When she arrived at my gym, one of the businesses I actually own, I was at home, and the man tailing her texted me, telling me where she was.
I immediately pulled up the security footage on my home computer and watched her.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I knew that she had to work hard to have the muscle definition that she has, but watching it in action was another thing entirely.
I hopped on my bike and booked it over there so I could see her before she left. I have work tonight, but I have a few hours before I need to meet up with my brothers.
But when I walked in, I saw her at the ring with Danny, and my eyes narrowed.
Hell no.
After she walks to the locker room, I approach Danny, and he lifts a brow when he sees me.
“What are you doing with her?” I ask him.
“She needs a sparring partner, and I usually work with her. She’s damn good.”
“Not today. I’ll take it.”
He swallows and frowns. “I don’t mind—”
“Go.”
Without another word, Danny walks away, and I climb into the ring.
Not five minutes go by before my savage girl walks back out here, sans hoodie now. She’s just in the little shorts and a loose black tank over a sports bra, and I’ll be fucking damned if anyone else will spar with her ever again.
She crosses to the ring and then stops when she sees me. Her lips pull up into that beautiful smile.
“Where’s Danny?” she asks.
“Not here,” I reply and make a come here motion with my hand. “Get in the ring, Violet.”
She hops in as if she does it every day. Her hands are already taped, and I want to fuck her, right here in the middle of this ring.
And I plan to.
“Let me guess. You own this gym.”
I cross my arms over my chest, and her eyes dip to my biceps. My girl likes the bulk, so I’ll do everything in my fucking power to keep it.
“I own this gym,” I confirm.
“I wonder why I’ve never seen you here before.”
Unable to stay away from her, I close the distance between us and cup her cheek. “I don’t know, but I’m here now. You wanna fight, Savage?”
“Yeah. I do.” She takes a breath that’s too shaky for my liking.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
She shakes her head, but I tip her chin to keep her eyes on me.
“You’re nervous, and you never have a reason to be fucking nervous, baby. Just tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll tear it apart for you.”
She licks her lips and then shrugs a shoulder. “I’m okay. I just need to punch something.”
I’ve never had to have so much patience in all my life. This woman doesn’t bend to my will, she doesn’t do as she’s told, and she absolutely has secrets that she’s not ready to share with me, and it’s making me fucking crazy.
“Haven’t heard from you in a couple days,” she says, and then closes her eyes, like she didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“Did you miss me, pretty girl?”
“What? Psh.” She shakes her head and stretches her arm across her body. “Sure, like I miss a rash that won’t go away.”
“You wound me.” I whip my shirt off and toss it aside, and her jaw goes slack as her eyes move over my torso, eye fucking me.
Yeah, baby, I’ve missed you too.
“Are we going to talk all day, or do I get to kick your ass?” she asks.
“You can try.” I can’t keep the smile off my face. Fuck, she’s amazing. “What style are you doing?”
“I’ve taken kickboxing classes for about ten years,” she says as she lifts her fisted hands and assumes the fighting stance.
Jesus, I’m getting hard. Her arms and shoulders are flexed, and I want to bite the muscles there.
“Stop fucking me with your eyes and do something,” she says with that determined look on her perfect face.
“I don’t attack women. You get the first move.”
She doesn’t say a word, she just advances, and she’s fucking fast. I evade two right jabs and manage to get her arm behind her back and press her to the mat before I get up and gesture for her to go again.
“You’re holding back,” she accuses me.
“I’ve killed men in the cage, Violet. Of course, I’m holding back. I won’t hurt you.”
That makes her pause. “But I need you to make me try. I know I can’t beat you, but if you’re not going to make it hard for me, get Danny back in here.”
“I will not hurt you. I won’t hit you.” Just the thought of it makes my stomach turn. “But come at me again, and let’s see what we can do.”
She’s damn good. Her jabs are fast, her kicks powerful, and I let her get some hits in so I can use my body weight to throw her off balance, to make it tough for her, and after about thirty minutes of this, we’re both sweaty and her breath is heaving.
“Yeah, that’s better,” she says with a nod, pacing away. “That’s what I need.”
“Why did you start doing this?” I ask her.
“My parents died, and it made me feel safer.”
Well, fuck.
Now I want to cuddle her and assure her that she never has to feel unsafe ever again.
“Again,” she says, and we go through similar paces. She advances, and I deflect but make it a little more rigorous than I’m really comfortable with.
She falls on her ass and winces and then holds her hand up.
“I’m okay.”
I squat in front of her and rest my hands on her thighs.
“Take a breather, Savage.”
“If someone’s coming at me, I can’t take a breather.”
I tilt my head, watching her closely. “Who the fuck is coming at you?”
“It’s hypothetical,” she says but won’t meet my eyes.
“Violet, what’s going on?” Talk to me. I torture men to make them talk. I hate being in the dark, and this woman won’t let me in.
I’m going to make her my wife, and she won’t tell me why she thinks she needs this to keep her safe.
“Again, it’s hypothetical. No one is coming at me now. But people get mugged, they get cornered in bars, they get, I don’t know, in altercations.”
Not you, sweetheart. Never again.
“You get in a lot of bar fights, Savage?”
“You know what I mean. I’m a single woman living in this city, and I need to have some sort of skill to protect myself.”
“You’re not single.”
She blinks at that, and I cup her cheek.
“You’re not alone. I’m right here.”
“You’re not always right here.”
“I’ll assign a man to you.” She doesn’t need to know that it’s already been done. “And he’ll keep an eye on you when I can’t.”
“That sounds like prison.”
“You’re so fucking difficult.” But it’s said without any heat, and her eyes drop to my lips. “I’m going to kiss you.”
Her brows pull together. “There are people in this gym.”
“GET OUT!” I yell, and there’s commotion as weights are put away, and footsteps echo as they leave. I pull her to her feet and we wait for the last of the movement around us to fade. “Now we’re alone. You don’t like PDA, Violet?”
“I work out here a lot,” she admits. “I don’t want to lose the respect I’ve gained since I started in here. It’s not easy as a woman to be taken seriously, especially because this is a predominantly male gym.”
“You’re smart as fuck,” I murmur before I cover her lips with mine, soaking in the taste of her. “And so damn sexy I can’t breathe.”
“Did my hitting you turn you on?”
“Everything you do turns me on, Savage.”
She smirks, and then we’re tearing at each other’s clothes. I can’t get her naked fast enough, and her sports bra is not easy to wiggle off, but when it’s finally gone, I suck her nipple into my mouth and bite around the barbell, making her groan.
“Christ, I’m so glad I got those.”
I lift her and carry her to the corner, where I brace her against the mats, and she’s already so wet that I slide right inside.
“So good and wet for me.”
She tightens around me, whimpering. “That seems to be a—shit—side effect of being around you.”
“Good because you make me hard as fuck, and being inside you is my new favorite hobby.”
I bite her lip, and she fists her hand in my hair, and I start to fuck her hard.
“Jesus, yes,” she says, as I pound her into the corner. I’m going to leave bruises on her back, but I don’t fucking care. “You always hit the perfect spot.”
“Made for me,” I growl. My lips drift up her neck to her ear. “So fucking perfect for my cock.”
She tightens around me, her muscles start to quake, and I want to feel her lose control.
“Fucking do it.”
“So close,” she gasps, and then jerks in my arms as the climax moves through her.
I spin, holding her tightly, and lay her on the mat, spread her legs wide, and keep rutting into her.
“You make me lose control, and I never lose control.” I bring her legs up to my shoulders and press my thumb over her clit. “I need you to come again.”
“Oh God.”
“No, baby, just me. Fucking come for me.”
She cries out as she lets go, and I cover her, kiss her, and follow her over, making a colossal mess, which only grows when I pull out and my cum spills out of her.
I reach down, scoop it up with two fingers, and shove it back inside. “That belongs in here.”
“You’re kind of . . . intense, Mateo.”
“Look who’s catching up.”
She chuckles, and we both pull our clothes back on, and I reach out to brush my knuckles down her face.
“I want to see you tomorrow.”
She leans into my touch and closes her eyes, as if she’s soaking in my strength.
What the fuck is going on, Savage?
“Just text me. It’s my day off, but I don’t know what’s going on for sure.”
“Dinner, but I’ll pick you up early so I can spend as much time with you as possible.”
She laughs and then kisses my palm, which makes my whole chest ache, before stepping away.
“Text me,” she says again. “And we’ll figure it out.”
“I wish you’d let me help you.”
Her brows pull together. “I’m fine, Mateo.”
“You’ll eventually trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone.” She turns and climbs out of the ring and then walks to the locker room without looking back.