Heart of a Fighter (Rocky River Fighters 1)

His frown eased as he nodded. “Okay, you have a point there. It’s not escaping my notice you didn’t really answer the question, but I’ll let it go. For now. We’ll come back to this when I have more time.”

Ian headed into the barn, and Cammie slowly followed. Damn nosy cats. And damn shifter abilities. They could hear lies, so she knew he wouldn’t believe her when she told him there wasn’t a reason she didn’t want to be around Alex. But she still hoped he wouldn’t call her on it. Should have known better.

Exhaling, she walked to where Alex was hovering by the doorway. So much for avoiding him. While she talked to Ian, Alex pretended to look at the fight space with intent focus, but she saw him sneaking quick glances her and Ian’s way. Luckily, he was too far away to hear their conversation. He had to know he was being watched closely by the fighters, but she didn’t want him thinking there was a solid reason for her ignoring him this week. She was hoping he just put it down to her being bitchy and flighty.

“You ready?” she asked briskly, already walking into the barn.

“Absolutely.”

Smiling a little at the boyish enthusiasm in his voice, Cammie led him up the bleachers to her preferred spot. There was a big crowd tonight and, once again, she found herself sitting far too close to him. Easing away as discreetly as she could, and already missing the warmth that had been penetrating her body, she pretended to be interested in watching the spectators.

“How many fights are there?” Alex asked.

Looked like she wasn’t going to be able to completely ignore him. Rubbing a hand over her chest where her dragon was perking up at his proximity, she answered, “Four. Two regulars are up first, then two out of towners, and then our boys have the last two fights. Seth and Ian drew each other, and the winner will fight Jax later.”

“So our guys only fight themselves?” he asked with a frown and what she thought was relief briefly flashing in his gray eyes.

“Every now and then one of the more proven regulars steps up and asks to be paired with them, but it doesn’t happen too often. The regulars know all too well how good our boys are, so it’s pretty rare.”

“Don’t they get tired of only fighting each other?”

“Nah. A fight is a fight. It’s what they need, so it doesn’t matter who they’re fighting, as long as they are.”

“They need it? How, exactly?”

“It just helps keep them steady,” she replied, wishing she hadn’t brought it up. It was true of some human fighters too, but it was dangerous territory, all the same.

“And what about you? Do you need it to keep you steady?”

She glanced over and locked gazes with him. The look in his eyes was breathtakingly intense, like he was trying to see into her soul. Uncomfortable with the thought, and not willing to risk that he really could see right through her, Cammie turned her head and watched as old man Anderson walked toward the ring.

“No, not like they do. I like to fight. I enjoy it, and I think it’s always a good idea for a person to know how to defend themselves. But I don’t need it.”

Alex took a breath to reply just as Anderson walked into the ring and began to announce the first round. Cammie blew out a silent breath, relieved. The timing couldn’t have been better.

They settled in to watch the first fight. These were the regulars, and while they were really good fighters, for humans, it still felt too tame. She’d watched her boys for too long to find anything the humans did very interesting. Although, the thought made her feel a bit like a shifter snob. The next fight was probably going to be a snooze fest. Out of towners were almost always way too watered down to be of interest.

She forced herself to watch. She was always on the lookout for new tricks, and sometimes the humans had some good ones. But not tonight, apparently. It was a good fight, but she didn’t learn anything new, and she was honestly a little bored by the time it was over.

“That was…” Alex paused, pursing his lips. “Well, it was…”

Cammie laughed. “Not like our boys, right?”

Chuckling along with her, he shook his head. “Nothing like them. I can see why they usually keep the fighting to their group. That would have been over in ten seconds with our guys.”

“This next one might be even tamer,” she replied. “Out of towners are usually the lightweight fights. I’m not sure why Anderson put them up second. They’re usually first to fight.”

They fell silent as Anderson announced the out of towners, Zane and Kian. They walked up to the ring from the back of the room, and Cammie frowned as she watched them. A trickle of unease crept down her spine, and she straightened, looking closely. There was something about them… their graceful, fluid movements, the power they exuded when they walked.

“Hey, are you okay?” Alex asked, placing a warm hand on her arm.

She looked down at where his hand was resting, barely able to keep in her gasp as a zing of awareness raced up and down her skin from the contact. Her dragon sat up alert in her chest, and Cammie squeezed her eyes shut, her desire to bask in the warmth of his touch warring with her desire to flee.

Easing her arm out from under his hand, she shot him wha

t she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Just interested in seeing if these fighters have anything new to offer.”

“Okay. I’ll look for new things, as well,” he replied, shooting her a wink as his hand fell to his thigh.