Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
If he’d bothered to stick around, he would have seen a look of pure guilty embarrassment pass between Kage and me. But he didn’t, thank goodness.
“Guess we weren’t as discreet as we thought,” Kage mumbled as we took our seats on the bench. He rested his sweaty head on my bare shoulder, and I put my arm around his waist. His sweatshirt was sopping wet.
“Just fifteen more minutes, Kage,” I said, slipping my arm around his waist, alarmed at how soaked his sweatshirt was. “You’re doing great.” I said, wishing I could do more than be a lame cheerleader.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to do a fight on such short notice,” he groaned, sounding unsure of himself for the first time. “Maybe I should have waited. This was so stupid. Wearing myself down before the biggest fight of my entire life is not fucking smart.”
“Well, stop beating yourself up on top of it.” I squeezed closer to him, feeling his heart pounding through his chest. “Yeah, it’s short notice. Yeah, it’s not ideal. And yeah, you’re not at the very top of your game right now. But it’s just for a few minutes more. Then you can lie down and relax until the weigh-in. Marco said after that we’ll take you back to the room, get an IV in you, feed you, and fluff you back up. I guarantee you’ll be perfect tomorrow. Better than perfect, because you’ll know that you just made it through the toughest part. Then you can do your thing. Do what you do best. You’re gonna kick that guy’s ass into next week, and then you’re legit. You’ll get that contract you’ve been training for. Don’t let this stupid weight cut cheat you out of what’s rightfully yours, Kage. You were born to be a star, and I don’t doubt for one second that you will be.”
He nuzzled into my sweaty throat, and I could feel his smile when he pressed his lips against my skin. Then his tongue darted out and he licked me. “Mmmm, salty,” he said.
“Yeah, I think we’re pretty much made of sweat at this point.”
“I don’t know if my deodorant is working anymore,” he admitted.
I barked out a laugh. “Oh, I can assure you it’s not. You smell like a construction worker in the middle of July.”
“And does that turn you on?” He tried to stick his underarm in my face, but I pulled away.
“No.”
He started tickling me halfheartedly.
“Maybe,” I said through laughter. “Okay, yeah, it kinda does.”
He stopped tickling. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Does that mean you have a thing for construction workers?”
“Never have before.” I leaned in close and looked up at him from beneath my lashes. “But picturing you in nothing but a hard hat and steel-toe boots makes me wanna fuck.” I reached out and cupped him through his drenched sweats.
“Don’t!” His voice hoarse from alarm and dehydration. He pushed my hand gently away. “Sorry, it’s just that it wouldn’t take much to set me off right now, and I can’t nut this close to a fight. It’s bad luck, you know? Built-up testosterone give athletes a competitive edge. You blow it all the day before a fight, chances are you’ll lose.”
“You believe in that old superstition? I’m an athlete, and I never did it.”
He gave me a pointed look. “And you never really excelled at sports, either.”
“Ouch.”
“I mean that in the nicest possible way,” he said. “You’re perfect just the way you are. You’re my smart college boy who can hang with me during workouts.”
“Your smart college boy?”
“Yes, mine. With your sexy glasses, and your sexy ass, and your IQ of four million.”
“Now I know you’re delirious from the heat. You’re actually being nice to me. And I’m not that smart. In fact, I’m clueless. You said so yourself.”
He chuckled. “You are completely fucking clueless. But that has nothing to do with your IQ and everything to do with common sense You’re just sheltered, that’s all.”
I huffed. “This coming from the guy who lives in an ivory tower and has never wanted for anything.”
Kage leaned back again, looking weary, emotion tugging his face into a deep frown. “Yeah, well you don’t know everything.”
I didn’t argue. Kage had some secret wound that he was either reluctant or unwilling to share with me, and somehow I kept inadvertently sticking my finger in it. I wanted to know what he was keeping from me, wanted to try to help him deal with it, but now was not the time to press for information. Maybe after the fight, when we got back to Vegas, I could ask him. For now, I just needed to be whatever he needed to get him through Saturday night in one piece.
So I sat back shoulder to shoulder with him, silently swapping sweat for the longest, hottest ten minutes of my life. Then we trudged out, and Kage stepped onto the scales. I could tell by the relief on his face and the way his shoulders relaxed that he’d made weight. I wondered if I looked as relieved as he did, because I damn sure couldn’t stand watching him torture himself anymore.