Ryan could see I was hovering over my decision.
“Do you want me to go and get her?” he asked, sensing my apprehension.
“Do you mind?”
He nodded and stood up, giving the other three a look that told them they needed to make themselves scarce.
“Good luck, mate.” Ryan stalked past me and patted my shoulder. “I know you won’t need it though. Show these tossers what us Sandland boys are made of.”
I watched him leave, and he beckoned for Zak and Kian to follow him. Finn stood up and grabbed a water bottle from the floor, handing it to me.
“I… I…” He stuttered over his words, so I bypassed his nervousness and gave him a brotherly hug. Actions always spoke louder than words where Finn was concerned.
“You don’t need to say anything. I already know.” The lump forming in my throat wasn’t a good sign, and I swallowed it down. I needed to switch into fight mode, not get in touch with my emotional side.
He nodded, staring at the floor as he broke away, and then he turned to leave. As he opened the door, I saw Harper standing on the other side. Even in her red hoody and black ripped skinny jeans she looked fucking stunning. Her long blonde hair was tied up into a high ponytail and she was biting her lip like she shouldn’t be here.
“Don’t just stand there, get in here.”
This woman could shatter any wall I put around myself. She fucking owned me. Forget dampening down my emotions, I wanted to wrap her in my arms and show her how much I loved her. The minute I laid eyes on her, every feeling inside me intensified. I stalked over to where she was and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the room and slamming the door behind her. I need to touch her, smell her, feel her in my arms to quieten the angry voices in my head.
In the privacy of my changing room, I held her close to my chest, buried my face in the warmth of her neck, and let the softness of her breath and her steady heartbeat focus me. She clung onto me like this was the last time we were ever going to see each other. When we eventually parted, she ran her fingers lightly down the hardened muscles of my chest and stopped when she got to my lion tattoo.
“I’m only gonna say one thing, Brandon.” She traced her finger over the bumps of my scar and then looked up at me through her long lashes. The hurt she held behind them almost crippled me. “Come back to me.”
Damn. Hearing her say that tore a hole down the centre of my heart.
“I’ll never leave you.”
I pressed my forehead against hers. If I could find a way to tuck her inside of me I would. Sounds weird, I know, but she was so much a part of me that it didn’t feel right when she walked away. I needed that constant contact. I wanted her with me, always. She was my lifeline.
“I probably shouldn’t say this.” She bit her lip again, and I reached up to pull it free, then lifted her chin. I wanted to kiss her so badly. I wanted to take her mouth with mine and steal every breath, every word. But I held back, letting her say her piece.
“What is it? Come on. Don’t ever hold back on me.”
She breathed deeply before she spoke again, taking a steadying breath so she could get her words out. No doubt she was deciding whether what she was going to say was right or not. But I never wanted her to second guess anything, not when it came to me.
“I lost one soulmate to this sport. I don’t want to lose another.” Her eyes glazed over with the tears she was desperately trying to hold back. “I shouldn’t have said that, should I? I’ve made things worse.”
I held her face in my hands and looked her in the eyes. I needed her to not just hear what I was about to say but feel it too.
“You could never make anything worse. You make everything better.” She nodded, but I could tell she wasn’t convinced. She tried to shift her gaze to the floor, but I wouldn’t let her. I needed her to listen, to accept what I was saying. “When this is all over, I’m taking you away somewhere. Just you and me. I’m gonna treat you like the queen you are. Everything is for you, Harper. Every fucking thing.”
She smiled and shook her head.
“I don’t need fancy holidays or nights away, Brandon. I just want you. Maybe you could send your nan away, though. So we can have a bit of privacy.”
I threw my head back and laughed at her cheekiness. Not that I didn’t agree. My nan, God bless her, could be a thorn in my side at times.
“And that’s why I love you so fucking much. You’re the only person in this God damn world that wants me for me.” I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead as she grinned and wrinkled her nose.
“And I’ll kick anyone’s ass if they take advantage,” she said proudly, looking up at me from underneath her long eyelashes.
I loved that about her. My firecracker. My little warrior. She wasn’t scared of anyone, and she probably would kick their asses. She had become my biggest cheerleader, and I don’t know what I’d ever do without her. I hoped I’d never have to find out.
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I grabbed the backs of her thighs to lift her up and her legs locked firmly around my waist. I slammed my lips over hers, pushing her back against the wall and plunged my tongue into her mouth. Tasting and teasing, sliding my tongue over hers and feeling my need for her grow as our teeth clattered together and we panted out the same breath. Kissing her was everything, and yet not enough. I needed more. I needed to be inside her.
I pushed my hips into her so she could feel what she did to me, how hard she made me. Even when I faced an important fight, this woman had managed to blindside me and make me her prisoner. The switch in my head that turned off most of my humanity, the one that made me the machine I needed to be to stay focused in the ring, it didn’t work around her. She’d ripped the wires out and short circuited my system. I was still feral, but I needed something else to quench my thirst now. I needed her.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door that pulled us from our lust-filled bubble. The door swung open, interrupting our moment, and Pat’s head appeared from behind it, shouting at us.
“Showtime, lad. Put her down and get your head in the game. I’ve got a lot of money riding on this one.”
Harper wriggled out of my hold. Her lips were red and swollen from our kiss and she smoothed her hair to try and control the stray wisps that had fallen free from her ponytail. She’d never looked more beautiful than she did now. I ran the back of my hand down her cheek and she held my hand and kissed inside my palm, then reached up on her tiptoes and placed a delicate kiss on my lips. A gentle goodbye kiss. Only it would never be goodbye, not where she was concerned. I meant it when I said I would never leave her. This was forever.
“Knock him out. For me,” she whispered and then walked out, not once acknowledging Pat’s presence. She slid past him like he was nothing and left me without a backwards glance. Pat and his mates stood in the doorway like a pack of hyenas ready to feast on the spoils of my victory. From heaven to hell in a matter of seconds.
I jabbed my arms out in front of me, punching the air and getting myself psyched up. As I did, I spotted Ryan, Zak, and Finn a little way down the corridor. Then my head almost fucking exploded when I saw who they were talking to.
Jensen Fucking Lockwood.
Only he wasn’t dressed like the rest of them. He had his hands taped up and he was wearing a pair of blue shorts. The peace and serenity that’d cloaked me when Harper had been here was swiftly and cruelly stripped away. All I felt was pure, unbridled anger.