He flashed me a grin. “You’re going to train with me and Noah.”

I snorted and threw the clothes back to him. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” His grin turned wicked. “I think it’d be good for you to learn some moves, just in case.”

“I have how many bodyguards?”

The grin faltered. “Guards can die. You should still learn how to defend yourself.”

“Oh.” There went that argument. “Noah is my boss and an MMA champion.”

“So?”

“So. It’s awkward. And inappropriate.”

Okay, I was grasping for straws here.

He shook his head, but tossed the clothes back to me before he pulled off his own shirt.

Oh. Consider me distracted. I sighed as I watched his back muscles bulge and stretch when he pulled a different shirt on. This was a tight tank but torn down the middle as if someone had grabbed for it and ripped it. Then he pulled on some pants and I was even more distracted. His obliques stuck out, rippling under his skin, and when those workout pants covered him, they clung in all the right places.

The throbbing began again. My mouth went dry. I wanted a different workout.

“Noah is the same boss that you’ve given love advice to and have gone drinking with. If anything’s inappropriate, that’s inappropriate.”

I sighed. “He’s my boss.”

“And you’re my woman.” He stopped and glared.

A thrill went through me. A primal possessiveness was in his gaze. His lips flattened, though my own still tingled to touch his.

He continued, “I just think it’s smart for you to know how to fight. And I want to make sure you learn the right way. I trained Noah, Emma. I’d like to train you as well.”

All fight fled as he looked at me like that. His wolf-like eyes were tender and loving. My desire for him only magnified, but I contained it. Carter was waiting for me in the basement garage after I finished dressing. A car was already there so I slid into the seat beside him, and he reached over for my hand, kissing the back of it. “Thank you.”

I sighed. He was so damn wonderful.

It was nearing six in the morning, way too early, and when we got out of the car in another basement garage and went through a single black door, I saw that we had it to ourselves.

Carter crossed towards a fighting ring, but I lingered behind. The entire front hallway was covered in pictures of Noah. Most of them were when he was an MMA fighter. He stood in his bright red shorts with other fighters. Some pictures were with other people, whom I assumed were his family. I recognized Brianna in a few and Theresa in others. There were even photographs of Noah and Carter. One caught my eye. It was dated a long time ago, six months after AJ died.

“Carter?”

“Yeah?” He straightened from stretching.

I pointed to the picture. “How long have you known Noah?”

He came over and stood behind me. One of his hands rested on the side of my hip, but he didn’t pull me in. It was just there. His chest skimmed against me lightly as he took a deep breath. “That wasn’t long after-”

“After AJ died.”

“Yeah.” He sounded sad. “He was some punk kid coming in, looking for a job.”

“Really?” I glanced over my shoulder.

His eyes were lidded, going through past memories. He laughed, a hollow echo to it. “I was there when he approached one of the new guys. It was a bakery downtown. That was where some of the product was hidden. I was collecting money for Farve, who laughed when he saw Noah. He pulled up in a fancy car, wearing khakis and a purple vest. He looked ridiculous. Rich punk with daddy issues. That’s what Farve said when he pointed him out.”

“What’d you do?”

“Nothing. Well, nothing to him. I told our guy not to give him a job. Then I was notified a month later that Noah was back demanding a job, so I told the guys to bring him to me. I think Farve thought I’d lost my mind. I wasn’t high on the ladder yet, but high enough with enough clout by then for people to do what I said.”

“What happened?”

He laughed again. Fondly. “They brought him to me and I told him if he wanted a job, he needed to take me down. He mouthed off, said he could do whatever he wanted. That’s when I told him that I was the guy who’d be coming after him if he didn’t make the right payments so he better know what he was getting into.”

“Did he take you down?” I grinned as I asked. I already knew he couldn’t, not then.

He chuckled and shook his head. “No. He still can’t. He can overpower me, but I’m quicker.”

“Like hell you are.”

Noah stood there, a wide smile stretched over his face, as he held a gym bag over his shoulder. He wore a similar shirt like Carter, ripped in places and looking like something he bought from a thrift store. His pants were even worse. Gray, faded in places so much that his skin shown through. The pockets looked like they’d been ripped out long ago. A deep chuckle reverberated from him. “Those are fighting words, my son.”

Carter chuckled. “That’s what I said to him all those years ago.”

It took a moment before I realized Carter had addressed that to me. He nodded towards Noah, who stood next to me now. “She asked about this picture. I was telling her how we first met.”

“Yeah.” A dark haunted look appeared over Noah as he sighed. “That was around the time Theresa’s parents died. I was close to her dad and was f**king angry at the world. I wanted to do damage. I don’t know if it was to myself or to others. Anyways,” he blinked a few times and the darkness disappeared. He forced a smile instead. “Don’t matter now. This man never let me anywhere near that lifestyle.”