The Fighter's Stubborn Lover (The Burton Brothers Series Book 2) by Leslie North Read Free Book Online Page B

does this’ or ‘Mason says that’ and Avery knew Mason wasn’t just single, but was also out of fighting right now due to an injury he’d taken. And hadn’t he even told her a good fighter analyzed the competition? Well, Mason was now in the ring with her, but it wasn’t some stupid title at stake. No, it was Dustin’s future.
    Standing, she shimmied out of her pants. The sweat shirt hung down long enough to act more like a dress, and frankly the warmth from the fire felt good on her skin. She giggled and slapped a hand over her mouth as she sat down. Maybe the wine was going straight to her head.
    Coming over to her, Mason plopped down on the couch opposite her, his wine glass in hand. He glanced at her legs and his eyebrows lifted. She smoothed a hand over her bare calf. “It was getting hot in here.”
    “I’ll say.” Mason crossed his legs. “So tell me about the work you do?”
    Avery shifted so that she flashed a little more thigh. She saw Mason’s stare rivet on her skin and then he took a long drink of wine and tried to focus only on her face. She smiled. “I actually work for several different companies, handling IT.”
    “I what?”
    “You’re as bad as Dustin. Computer and network stuff—I keep systems running. I also handle backups and security.”
    He shook his head. “Sounds complicated. If I can turn it on, I can handle it, but that’s about the size of my skill with electronics. How’d you end up working with computers?”
    “Do you mean what’s a girl like me doing in a guy’s field?”
    “Nothing that sexist. I get my ass thumped regularly playing Assassin’s Creed against girls.”
    Avery laughed. “I’m more of a Mario World fan. But I love a good racing game, too.”
    “Is that what you do you in your spare time?” He shifted again on the couch, as if he was having trouble finding a comfortable spot.
    Avery lifted her glass. “Any more wine?”
    Standing, he headed into the kitchen and came back with the bottle. Avery moved to stand in front of the fire. She held up her glass for him to serve her. She also noticed he’d switched from wine to water—was she getting to him? Guilt tugged at her for using his interest in her like this. She bit her lower lip. But this was about Dustin—wasn’t it?
    Mason sat down on the couch again and Avery sat next to him. She noticed that he seemed to be trying to hold himself back. He clutched his water glass tight and shifted to put a pillow between them.
    “So, if Dustin was here, what would you be doing tonight?” She mentally chided herself for asking, but she needed to hear him tell her that he wouldn’t have a date with a local girl. Dustin had said Mason wasn’t seeing anyone, but she wanted to make sure she wasn’t going after another woman’s man.
    Mason lifted a shoulder. “Pretty much what we’ve been doing, but we’d have on some fight tapes. Have you ever seen Dustin fight?”
    She shook her head. “I couldn’t…it…I just couldn’t.” She shivered and stood to move closer to the fire.
    Mason watched her, his eyes hooded now and his smile gone. “You should. Your brother has talent. He could really go to the top.”
    Pulling in a breath, Avery moved back to sit next to Mason. She pulled the pillow away from between them and tucked it behind her back. She needed Mason to drop his guard, to start seeing things from her side—she needed him to really listen to her worries.
    And she didn’t think that was going to happen unless he cared at least a little for her. Setting her wine glass on a side table by a lamp, she turned to him and put her fingers on his arm. “Someone like that Shamus guy would kill Dustin—I’ve seen the previews from his last fight and it looked brutal.”
    Mason shifted. “Yeah, that was a rough one. The referee should have stopped the fight way before he did. But the producers probably wanted the fight to go at least two rounds. The crowds can get nasty if things end way too