Page 17 of Rush
I pointed to the mesh cage at the back of the warehouse. “Yeah. Can’t be a fighter without training hands on.”
She made a face, and when she saw Ash messing about with some equipment, her eyes widened again.
“Do you fight him?”
This time, I laughed, slapping my hand against my stomach. “First, that’s my coach, and yeah, he’s decked me a few times, and second, there are weight classes. When I’m pro, I’ll only fight guys of similar size.”
“When you’re pro?” She tilted her head to the side. “I thought you already were?”
“I am, it’s just… I’m not really until I front up for my first fight.”
“When’s that?”
“What’s with the cross-examination, J?” I asked, her line of questioning hitting an inevitable sore spot.
She rolled her eyes and sneered. “Just asking.”
“Yoga is through there.” I pointed to the first room along the right wall. Inside, the lights were on and several women, including the instructor, were already setting up.
Jade craned her neck. “So how does this work? Who do I pay?”
“I’ve got you,” I replied.
“I’m not poor, you know.” She let out a littlehumph, and I was surprised she didn’t put her hands on her hips and stamp her foot. Looked like her cushy life with trust fund wanker Hunter Ballinger had softened her edges.
“Are you always this prickly, or are youhangry?”
“Hangry?” she repeated, her voice becoming almost an octave higher. “What’s that mean?”
“So hungry you’re angry.”
“Ugh,” she declared with a pout. “Some things never change, do they, Harper?”
“Doesn’t look like it. You still have a little princess in you.”
Her mouth fell open, and she slapped me on the arm, her palm cracking against my skin.
“You’re too easy,” I said with a laugh. “Besides, you’ll have to hit harder than that.”
“Maybe I’ll take a boxing class and use your ball sack to practice my right hook on.”
My lips curved, and I shook my head. There she was. The Jade Forsyth I remembered with the face of an angel and the mouth of a devil.
“You were baiting me!” she almost shrieked.
I shrugged and turned, striding across the gym and leaving her hanging.
Changing into my training kit, my mind went over the night before. Sleeping one room away from the woman who’d ruined me without even knowing she’d had the power to save me. Jade had never looked twice, and now I’d gone completely insane and offered my home to her. To this day, she still didn’t know.
When I reemerged on the gym floor, Jade had disappeared into the studio where a dozen women were setting up their brightly colored yoga mats. Cracking my knuckles, I watched as she made herself at home, rolling out her mat and stretching her arms over her head. The movement made her tits stick out, and my gaze dropped.Fuck me…
Cole stood beside me and followed my line of sight right into studio one.
“Dude,that’sJade Forsyth?” he asked, watching her mingle with the other yoga-loving women. “The redhead?”
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“Damn.” He whistled. “What’s she doing here?”
