Fight for Me by Bethany Bazile Read Free Book Online Page A

pavement.” His voice was raspy and vibrated through me like the bike’s engine. I quickly pulled my hand off his warm flesh.
    Okay, Lexi, no more martinis for you.
    The last thing I needed was to be responsible for someone else’s death.
    My alcohol-blurred mind couldn’t decipher if it took five minutes or thirty to get to Ryder’s place, but I did know I enjoyed every second I got to hold his strong body as the powerful engine roared beneath us.
    We pulled up to a huge warehouse-like building. Hayes Elite Boxing, the sign above the entrance read. This must be the gym Ryder always talked about. The brick building took up half the block. In the front, two large glass windows were darkened on either side of the double-door entrance. Ryder pulled around back and into one of the three garage doors. He parked the bike next to an old car that was gleaming black but looked vintage. Next to the car was an expensive sports car. He helped me off the bike, then led the way across the garage toward a steel door. Behind the door was a long hallway with a three big glass cutouts in the wall, looking into the gym.
    At the end of the hall, an elevator slid open as soon as he pressed the button. He entered some numerical code into a box on the wall, the doors closed, and the elevator car began to rise.
    He stood at the opposite side, studying me. His thumbs hooked into the loop of his jeans, his booted foot rested against the wall, and his eyes were undressing me. He may have been pretending to be a perfect gentleman, but he wanted to do dirty things to me. I saw it in his eyes.
    His tattoo peeked out from under his shirt. His right arm was covered in a full tribal sleeve. I wanted to rip off his shirt and see what other artwork he had under there.
    Our eyes met, and he licked his lips, causing an involuntary shiver to run through my body. He was trouble, and I was the new toy he wanted to play with until it broke. I had no doubt it wouldn’t take much for him to break me, but I didn’t care. I’d be left with all the broken pieces with no clue how to put myself back together, but the tradeoff might be worth it. The elevator stopped, and he walked off without looking back. He knew I’d follow. My body wouldn’t allow me to stop following him. I hadn’t felt this much passion in so long, if ever. He opened the door to our right, and we walked into his apartment.
    The apartment was really chic and unbelievably neat for a bad-boy bachelor. The gleaming dark wood floors gave me an urge to take off my shoes— they were that spotless . A couple of sleek, gray couches were set up in front of a huge flat-screen TV that nearly covered the whole wall. Just beyond the living room was an open kitchen, with all white cabinets and gleaming black countertops. He was impossibly neat. He’d hate living with me.
    Wait. Did I just imagine myself living with him? Yup… way too much to drink.
    “Let’s get you to bed.”
    I took the hand Ryder offered me, and he led me around a half wall that ran along the back of the living room. On the other side of the wall was Ryder’s bedroom. The bed was hidden by the wall, but there was no door, so it was mostly just a huge studio apartment with a semi-private bedroom. A massive black bed dominated most of the space. A large closet with glass doors ran along one side of the room, a door leading to a spacious bathroom on the other wall. There was a wide array of karate belts, trophies, and three championship belts in one corner.
    “You’re pretty awesome, aren’t you?” I said as I admired his shelf of accomplishments.
    He shrugged it off, but any man with this many accolades had to be a pretty badass fighter. I wanted to see him in action, all sinewy muscles and graceful lunges. I pictured it in my head. He was probably as graceful in that huge bed. Why would someone need a bed that big? How many people does he have in it?
    Cut it out, Lexi. How many women he puts in his bed is none of your