“No, I guess not,” he replied, honestly.

“There’s no guarantee that you would be picked up by sponsors even if you win, and if they’re going to be at tomorrow’s fight, then they’ll be at other fights. Even if you don’t make it, fighting isn’t your only option, you know. I’m sure that Kieran could get you another construction job, and if that doesn’t make you happy, at least it will give you an income. You could always do some night classes while you decide what else you want to do.”

He sighed. “I’m no good at book learning stuff. I don’t have any qualifications.”

“Don’t be afraid of something different. If you need to go back to school to be who you want to be then I’ll help you.”

He put his hands around my waist and pulled me toward him as he leant his head against my stomach. Doing what I had wanted to do to his messy, dishevelled spikes since I’d known him, I ran my fingers soothingly through his hair, and he groaned.

“And if I fuck this up between us?” he asked.

“I can’t think of anything you could do that would make me want to call time to our friendship. But you and I have absolutely nothing to do with what goes on in that ring tomorrow. There’s just him and you and nothing else outside of that, okay? You’re in a good place. If nothing else, think about the fact that he’s trying to take that away from you, and you know what you said you’d do if anyone tried that, right?”

He lifted his head to look at me, and grinned. “I’ll decimate them.”

I smiled, pleased that he was in the right frame of mind to fight again. I leaned down slightly and kissed the top of his head, though I didn’t have to lean far. Even sitting down he was almost as tall as I was. Letting him go, I took off my coat and went to hang it on the back of the door.

“You kissed me,” O’Connell called after me. “Friends don’t kiss.”

“I’m reliably informed that’s not the case. Kieran and I kiss all the time,” I called back deadpan.

“You’re fucking kidding me.” He frowned, looking perfectly ready to get in the ring and go a few rounds. I leaned back and smiled at him to let him know that I was joking.

“Oh, baby. You’re in so much trouble if you’re gonna start using all my lines.”

I giggled when he looked like he was going to come after me.

“Please...,” I begged, “I’m starving.”

He relented at that, and I knew he’d never let me go hungry.

“You get a free pass for now, but any more winding me up about Kieran, and I plan on finding out how many parts of that gorgeous body of yours are ticklish.” A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of his hands all over me, but then my stomach growled and ruined the moment.

“Behave,” I warned. “Besides, if you’re nice to me, I might have a present for you.”

At the look of pure shock on his face, I’d almost be willing to bet that he’d never been given a present before.

“BABY, IT’S FUCKING FREEZING in here,” O’Connell shouted to me, as I was having a shower. As much as we’d wanted to splurge on takeaway, O’Connell had to stock up on carbohydrates before a fight, so he’d offered to cook us up some pasta while I showered and changed into my pyjamas. He said it with his eyes firmly planted on my tits, so I was guessing he hoped that I would change into his favourite boy short pyjamas.

“I’ve turned the heating on. If it’s not working, try giving the radiator a bang,” I called back.

I was rinsing the conditioner out of my hair and relishing the piping hot water, when I heard his voice next to my ear.

“What was that, baby?” he asked and I screamed, trying to cover up as much as I could with my hands despite being behind an opaque shower screen.

“What are you doing in here? Get out!” I ordered, and he only chuckled.

“Relax, baby. I just couldn’t hear what you said,” he replied, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.

“I said, bang the radiator to get it going. Now, GET OUT!” I ordered.

“I’m not sure,” he teased, “this is the warmest room in the apartment. Surely, you wouldn’t let me freeze out there when it’s so warm in here. It’s not like I can see anything.”

No one had ever seen me naked before and there was no way that this cheeky fucker was getting an invitation. It didn’t surprise me that he walked around like he owned the place. He appeared to be railroading my decision that we remain friends and part of that was stomping around my place and sharing my bathroom, like I suspected a boyfriend might. I rushed through the rest of my shower, not enjoying it anymore now that I was worried about him coming in again and embarrassing me. I towel dried my crazy mop of hair as best I could then changed into my favourite pyjamas, which, fortunately, covered most of my body. The flat did seem cold as I walked out of the steam-filled bathroom.

“I can’t believe you did that!” I complained, as I hunted around for one of O’Connell’s hoodies. He stood right in front of me and rested both hands on the desk behind me, trapping me against his body. He dipped his head to the crook of my neck and inhaled as he smelt my newly washed hair.

“What are you embarrassed about, baby?” he murmured. His warm breath against my neck sent heat straight through my body, making me achy and wet. As though he knew exactly how I felt, he pressed his rock hardness against me, which only made the ache worse. When he ground his pelvis, I moaned, and he captured my bottom lip between his teeth and nipped it. He ran his tongue over the bite to relieve the sting and ground against me again. I gripped his t-shirt in my hands, not sure if I was pulling him toward me or pushing him away. Letting go of the desk, he reached back and pulled his t-shirt over his head so that my hands were left resting on rock hard perfection. The sensation of feeling his cock pressed against my core, combined with unbelievably soft skin over steel abs beneath my fingertips, made me even wetter. When I moved against him, he hissed and pulled away from our kiss.

“Fuck, baby,” he muttered breathlessly. “Even in those God awful pyjamas, you are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I just want you to be more confident in your own body, okay?”

I nodded, though I didn’t think that I’d ever be comfortable with him looking over my naked body. Wanting to end the exquisite torture building inside me, I pulled his head toward me for more. Our kiss became almost violent, as he lifted me effortlessly to wrap my legs around his waist and carried me to bed. Laying us down, I cried out in delicious agony as his weight pressing against me had me arching off the bed. I was struggling to remember why I should be panicking about now, or maybe taking this a bit slower. This was O’Connell, and I was safe. He was making me feel amazing. So, how could it be anything but normal, to not want this to end? The first fluttering of panic only set in when his fingertips crept down inside my pyjama bottoms.