Hard Knocks: An Ultimate Novella by Lori Foster Read Free Book Online Page A

his own. “I was trying to focus.” Saying it out loud, he felt like an ass.
    But Harper nodded. “That’s what I’m saying. There will be times when I need to stay out of your way so I don’t mess with that focus.”
    He hated the idea of her avoiding him.
    Almost as much as he hated the thought of ever leaving her again. Yet that was a reality. He was a fighter; he would go to other camps to train, travel around the country, around the world.
    He’d go where the SBC sent him.
    “You have to know, Gage. I’d never get in your way, not on purpose.”
    He almost groaned.
    “I’m serious! I know how important your career is and I know what a nuisance it can be to—”
    Suddenly starved for the taste of her, for the feel of her, Gage took her mouth in a firm kiss.
    But that wasn’t enough, so he turned his head and nibbled her bottom lip until she opened. When he licked inside her warm, damp mouth, her breath hitched. Mindful of where they were, he nonetheless had a hell of time tempering his lust.
    Damn it.
    The next fight started. Cannon would be after that.
    In a sudden desperate rush, Gage left his chair, pulling her up and along with him as he headed toward the dimly lit hallway. He couldn’t wait a second more. But for what he had to say, had to explain, he needed the relative privacy of a back room.
    Luckily she’d seated them at the end of the back row. In only a few steps, and without a lot of attention, he had them on their way.
    Tripping along with him, Harper whispered, “Gage.”
    “There are high school boys out there,” he told her. He glanced in the storage room, but no, that was too close to the main room and the activity of the group.
    “I know. So?”
    He brought her up and alongside him so he could slip an arm around her. “So they don’t need to see me losing my head over you.”
    She stopped suddenly, which forced him to stop.
    Looking far too shy for the ballsy woman he knew her to be, she whispered, “Are you?”
    This time he understood her question. “Losing my head over you?” Gently, he said, “No.”
    Her shoulders bunched as if she might slug him.
    Damn, but he adored her. “I lost it a long time ago. I just forgot to tell you.”
    Suspicious, she narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean exactly?”
    Not about to declare himself in a freaking hallway, he took her hands and started backing up toward the office. “Come along with me and I’ll explain everything.” This particular talk was long overdue.
    She didn’t resist, but she did say, “The fight you should have been in is next. And Cannon will be fighting soon after that.”
    “I know.” At the moment, seeing the fight he’d missed was the furthest thing from his mind. As to Cannon, well, he’d be in a lot of fights. This wasn’t his first, wouldn’t be his last. If all went well, Gage would get her commitment to spend the night, and more, before Cannon entered the cage. “The thing is, I need you.”
    She searched his face. “Need me...how?”
    In every way imaginable. “Let me show you.”
    Her gaze went over his body. “Sounds to me like you’re talking about sex.”
    Did lust taint his brain, or did she sound hopeful? They reached the office door and he tried the handle. Locked, of course. Trying not to think about how the night would end, he said, “Seriously Harper, much as I love that idea, we’re at the rec center.”
    “So?”
    Damn, she knew how to throw him. He sucked in air and forged on. “I thought we’d talk.” Digging in his pocket, he found the keys he’d picked up earlier when he shut off the lights.
    Sarcasm added a wicked light to her beautiful blue eyes. “Talk? That’s what you want to do? Seriously?”
    “Yeah. See, I need to explain a few things to you and it’s better done in private.” The door opened and he drew her in.
    Typical of Harper, she took the initiative, shutting and locking the door, then grabbing him. “We’re alone.” Her mouth brushed his chin, his