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“I think I can live with that.” I grab his hand and hold it over my heart. “Two: I feel so bad we broke your fight day rule.”
He rolls to his back and lets loose a belly laugh. “God, Angel, I’m not.” He links our fingers, still holding his hand to my chest. “Sex with you is spectacular. Always has been. Always will be. The testosterone rush will keep me going all day until we can do it again tonight.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” He kisses my cheek and rolls out of the bed. “Now, I’ve got to piss and get some food in you before you feel the need to worship at the altar of the porcelain god.”
“Yes, please feed me. Besides, there’s only one deity in this room I’d kneel before.”
He stops in his tracks. “You mean me, right?”
I giggle.Lord, since when do I giggle?“Yeah, Big Man. I mean you.”
His toothy grin has me laughing again as he slips into the bathroom.
It’s a heady feeling to be in his presence, to feel his appreciative gaze, his words claiming me with every syllable.
It’s an amazing thing to be loved by Gabriel, my avenging angel. He deems himself the devil, but I see the purity of his soul, the integrity of his beliefs, and the strength it takes to come from nothing, expect nothing, yet offer up everything you have.
Yeah, I’m a lucky girl to feel the pull of his heart tied to mine.
SITTING ON THE COUCH IN OURsuite, my knee bobs with nerves as I wait for Donovan and Lili. The fight is hours away, but Gabriel is getting ready to meet up with Cap, Coach Long, and Jonah, leaving me in the capable hands of Rowdy, who arrived a few minutes ago.
Gabriel’s mom and sister are meeting us at the stadium. Our seats are on the same row, but all of the guys are here too. So, I don’t know if I’ll end up next to his family or in the middle of mine. It’s Gabriel’s biggest fight to date, and definitely the largest fight venue I’ve ever attended.
I’m nervous as hell. He’s calm as a cucumber but still buzzing with excitement, revved up, ready to fight.
He pulls me aside, sequestering me in our room. “You okay?” His brow pinches together as he stills my hands.
“Yeah. Just nervous.”
A quick kiss and a squeeze of my hands is all it takes to ease my nerves. “I got this, Angel. Don’t worry.” He hugs me close, his nose buried in my hair. “You’ll come see me once you arrive at the stadium, right? I want to see you before I go out. Don’t forget.” His adamancy makes me second-guess my opinion of him not being nervous.
There’s no place I’d rather be, but—“I’ll be there as long as you don’t think I’ll distract you.”
He gives me a lingering kiss, his mouth confirming his words. He wants me there. “I’ve waited a long time to have you in my corner on fight day. I want to see you before the fight. I want to know you’re sitting in my seats, reserved for my team, my family.” His hand covers my baby bump. “You’re my family now, Angel. You and our little one. I can’t lose with you on my side.”
I rest my head against his chest, saying a silent prayer for his safety. “Don’t get hurt.”
“I won’t be the one hurting.” He rubs my back, his mouth pressing to my temple.
Meeting his eyes, I grip the lapel of his suit jacket. “You show himno mercy. You hear me? Only I get your mercy. Not him.”
He chuckles his response. “I hear you, Angel. No mercy. I got it.”
I had my weigh-in for the fans hours ago after leaving Frankie in our suite in the capable hands of Rowdy. I left shortly after Donovan and Liliana arrived, and I gave them grief for keeping the pregnancy secret from me. I understand where my Angel was coming from—she didn’t want to sidetrack me from my goal of winning this fight. What she fails to understand is, fighting is no longer the most important thing in my life. She is.Theyare.
I can see how it might be hard for her to understand, since neither her father nor Austin managed to put her needs first. Rowdy, who’d only known her a few months, did what they couldn’t. He put her needs and those of my baby above his own when he asked her to marry him. I’m sure he didn’t see it as a great sacrifice. He’s attracted to her, after all, but I don’t believe he’sin lovewith her. He loves her, and as Frankie pointed out, there’s a marked difference. That difference is the only reason I haven’t put my fist through his face.
If I had known she was pregnant, Frankie would have doubted my love for her over my obligation to our baby. A fact I’m quite sure Donovan considered as well, and why he only spilled the beans about Rowdy’s proposal and not the fact my girl was growing a bean of her own in her womb.
Changed and warmed up, Jonah rubs my muscles, keeping me loose as Coach wraps my hands. Jess, Sloan, Walker, Patrick, and Landry linger around the door keeping watch for my Angel and Rowdy. They’ll take their seats when she does. I’ve tasked them with looking out for her, but I trust Rowdy to protect her as if she were his own, as he has been the last few months. I owe him a lot. More than I can ever repay.
When the guys start glancing my way and back down the hall, my heart rate picks up. I know my Angel has arrived. I can feel her in my bones. I always have. Always will.
“You gotta calm down, darlin’.” Rowdy pulls me into his side, facing away from the hallway where the fighters reside. “You go in there crying and shaking, you’re gonna mess up his mojo. He’s a tough motherfucker, but he was ready to throw this fight for you. You give him one reason to doubt your desire to be here, and he’ll forfeit in a heartbeat.”
“I know.” I shake my hands, roll my shoulders, loosen my neck. I gotta get ahold of myself.
