Page 10 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

Chapter Three

Matt glanced at the paper gripped in his hand. This was definitely the address his lawyer had given him. He’d been expecting a residential area, probably a rundown one. Steven had said that Darcy Butler was into all sorts of bad things—drugs, and God knows what else.

His fury had risen on the drive over here. Then he hadn’t been able to find a parking space, and his temperature had shot up even further. He’d ended up having to park ten minutes away and it was eating into his two hours. Though what he had to say to Darcy Butler would not take long.Stay the hell away from me and Lulu.

He’d come to a halt at what he thought was the right place. He glanced around—not a residential area at all, but a wide, prosperous-looking street lined with businesses. The one in front of him was a gym, but a smart one, with a big glass window—the sort of glass you couldn’t see through—withButler’s Gymin black letters above the glass door. So he was in the right place. It just wasn’t what he’d been expecting, and that knocked him off balance.

After pushing open the door, he stepped into a light, airy reception area. There was a counter across the wall across from him and a blonde sat behind it. She wore a black polo shirt withButler’s Gymon the breast pocket, and she had a polite smile on her face.

“Can I help you?”

He took a step closer. “I’d like to see Darcy Butler.”

“Is she expecting you?”

“No.”

“Take a seat. I’ll call through and let her know you’re here.”

“I’d rather just go through.” He didn’t want to give her any warning. He’d rather catch her by surprise, the way she had him. “I’m her brother-in-law,” he added when the woman looked doubtful.

“Oh. Well, go on in, then. She’s in the main room, sparring. Through there”—she waved a hand at a door off to the side—“and first on the right.”

Matt strode across and pushed open the door, finding himself in a corridor with several doors leading off. He took the first and entered a large room. There were probably about fifteen people, some working on punching bags around the edges, but most just standing, watching the couple in the central ring. They were doing some sort of freestyle mixed martial arts. Matt had been trained in hand-to-hand combat himself, but this was a whole different level. Almost like an art form.

For a second, he didn’t recognize her; she looked totally different from the woman he’d met that morning. She was dressed in black leggings and a black tank top that left her flat midriff bare and showed off the red and black ink of tattoos snaking down her left arm. Her blond hair was no longer smooth but spiked up, and she wore a stud in her nose and a fierce expression on her face.

And she was fucking hot. If he’d been attracted to her the night before, it was nothing compared to the heat that zipped through him now. And that just pissed him off even more.

Deep down, he’d always had a hankering for bad girls. Maybe that’s what he’d sensed in her last night, a hint of what she was really like. It was the one aberration in his orderly existence. And he’d always ignored that hankering, because that’s not what he wanted his life to be about.

She was barefoot, and she moved with grace and strength, whirling, kicking out, moving fast, so a fine sheen of sweat glowed on her pale skin. Her opponent was a man half a foot taller than her and twice as wide at the shoulders, with dark skin and dreadlocks. But despite his extra size, she was more than holding her own. In fact, she was winning, and the man was falling back from the continuous assault.

Matt came to a halt below the ring. He wanted to stop the fight, because watching her was doing weird things to his insides. At the same time, he couldn’t make himself move. He swallowed, then shifted. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on her—she was all lean, graceful limbs. She’d gotten her opponent against the ropes now and wasn’t letting up. Then she glanced down, and her gaze locked with his. Her eyes widened, and she stopped for a moment. Her opponent took advantage of her distraction, pushed off from the ropes, and swiped her legs out from under her so that she crashed to the floor.

Matt stepped closer, but then stopped himself. And waited. He could see the rise and fall of her small breasts.

Her eyes blinked open. “Shit,” she muttered.

Her opponent had come to a halt above her, staring down, a frown on his face. “What the hell happened? You never let me get the drop on you. Are you okay?”

She pushed herself onto her elbows. “I’m fine. I just got a little distracted.” Her gaze shifted sideways to settle on him, but she didn’t meet his gaze. The man looked at him, eyes narrowed, then held out a hand to her. She ignored it and pushed herself to her feet. She crossed to the corner of the ring and picked up a towel from the ropes, wiping her face, no doubt giving herself time to decide what to say, how to defend what she’d done.

Finally, she climbed out of the ring and came toward him. Her opponent followed, like some sort of bodyguard. As she came to a halt in front of Matt, she turned to him. “I’ve got this, Sam.”

“You sure?” His dark gaze flicked suspiciously between the two of them.

She gave a shrug. “This is Emma’s brother-in-law.”

“The asshole’s brother?”

What the hell did he know about Steven?

“Yeah,” she answered.

“Then maybe I should stay.”

“IsaidI could handle it.” Now, she sounded pissed.

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