“Remind me again why you’re so confident your brother’s not going to get his ass kicked?” I murmur.
“Because I know my brother. He doesn’t take a fight unless he knows he’s going to win.”
Nibbling on the edge of my thumb, I hold onto her words when I notice him.
Jagger Harden in all his bad boy glory. Basketball shorts showcasing his toned calves. Skintight black T-shirt hugging his broad shoulders and biceps, leaving his corded forearms in sight. Taped fists that have no right being as hot as they are. I swear, the testosterone rolls off him in waves. He looks good. Really good. Not like he’s ‘roided up. More like he knows the meaning of discipline and enjoys his time in the gym. Sexy. Powerful. No cauliflower ears, either. I hate how I notice. Iwonder if his balls still hurt. Probably not. Karma hates me too much to leave a reminder of our little run-in.
Gripping the collar of his t-shirt behind his neck, he tugs the fabric over his head and tosses it on the ground behind him. I take it back.Here’sJagger Harden in all his bad boy glory. Tan skin. Corded muscles onfulldisplay. Black tattoos swirling across his chest and down his right arm, stopping right above his elbow. Yeah, they’re hot. My gaze flicks over every exposed inch until I realize what’s happening, and it doesn’t matter how much I hate the asshole, I’m still a red-blooded female and, uh, yeah okay, the guy is sexy as hell. Part of me wishes I’d misremembered him. That my mind had somehow misconstrued his good looks under the guise of…I don’t know? Delusion? Stress? A mental breakdown, maybe? But nope. He looks even better than I remember, and it’s clear I’m not the only one who notices.
Lexie whistles beside me. “Damn, Vi.” I cut my glare to her. “Hate him all you want, but the man is gorgeous.”
“Yet your brother’s about to pound his face in, right?”
With a slow nod, she clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “It’s a shame, really.” She pauses to check him out even more. “Maybe Ethan will stick to his torso and leave the pretty face untouched. What do you think?”
I scoff. “Doubt it.”
“Wanna bet?” she quips. “Five bucks says first hit is to the ribs?”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, because I have so much spare cash lying around.”
“You still have the three hundred,” she reminds me, as if the money is burning a hole in her pocket instead of mine.
She’s right. Witnessed it firsthand. The way I couldn’t spend Jagger’s cash when I was purchasing the clothes I’d found at the thrift shop earlier. I haven’t had it in me to spend the money. Itstill feels…wrong for some reason. Spending money that doesn’t belong to me even if it was a gift. Okay, gift is a bit of a stretch, but it’s not like I stole it, and I sure as hell didn’t earn it, so what else can I label it? A bribe, maybe? To keep me away? I look around my surroundings and bite back my amusement. If that was Jagger’s goal, it clearly didn’t work.
“You think he knows you’re here?” Lexie asks.
“Not sure why it would matter.”
“Spite? Revenge? Maybe a sprinkling of vindication?” she offers.
“A sprinkling?” I laugh.
With a wink, she lifts her hand and rubs her manicured fingers together as if spreading pixie dust. “Just a sprinkle.”
I smirk back at her. “I doubt it.”
“Why?”
“Because there are at least a hundred girls here,” I explain. “He has plenty of distractions worthy of his time compared to the girl who kneed him in the balls last night after begging for her money back. I doubt I was anything but a blip on his radar. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even be able to pick me out of a lineup.”
Lexie grins as her attention drifts from the ring to me and back again. “You sure about that?”
I glance up at the stage just in time to witness Jagger staring back as the ref introduces both fighters. His look is heavy and pointed and makes me want to squirm in my own skin. My teeth dig into the inside of my bottom lip as I fight the urge to look away. There’s something about it, though. His stare. It’s so dark, it’s like I'm looking into a black hole, but instead of feeling empty or hollow, all I feel is…heat. Like I’m burning up from the outside in.
Okay, so maybe he does remember me.
Perfect.
8
JAGGER
Seriously, where does Ford find these guys? My opponent for the night stands across the ring, his arrogance so strong I swear I can taste it. Yeah, it’s gonna be fun knocking this asshole down a few pegs. I wonder what his name is? I probably should’ve checked the fight sheet, but I’ve never cared before. To be fair, I don’t exactly care now, either. They’re all the same. All angry. All cocky. All with something to prove. Sometimes I wonder if I fit the same bill. If it’s a commonality we all share, and a reason to drive us into the ring.
My opponent raises his chin at me, then raises a hand, flipping me off. “Come on, motherfucker. Let’s do this.”
Well, all right, then. He’s a prickly little bastard, isn’t he? I tug off my shirt and toss it on the ground at the edge of the ring when my gaze catches on a blur of gold in the crowd. I do a double-take, my balls aching at the sight. What the hell is she doing here?
