Heart of a Fighter (Rocky River Fighters 1)

Maybe he was having intense daydreams. Because that’s all that could be. Nothing else made sense. But that still didn’t explain the one before this, because why the hell he’d daydream about that, he’d never know. He didn’t know what else it could be, though.

His racing heart slowly calmed down as he worked on taking steadying breaths. He thought back over the daydream and felt his lips curl up. It was basically wish fulfillment to a T, but it was a beautiful dream. Him and Cammie, moving into their own home, in love with a baby on the way. Nothing would make him happier than what his mind had dreamed up.

The smile slowly faded from his face and a frown took its place as he replayed the dream over. Some parts of it made no sense. He called her Camilla, and he didn’t think anyone had ever called her that in front of him. He didn’t even know if it was her real name or not. And the bits about her calling their baby a fire breather, and calling him mate. He had no idea where to begin figuring those out, or why his mind would place stuff like that in his dream.

If it even was a dream. But it had to be, right?

Exhaling heavily, he sat on the edge of the bed, slumped over with his elbows planted on his knees. Nothing was making sense, and he rubbed his temples with his fingers as he thought through it all again. It was useless, though. Both times this happened were out of the blue and filled with unrecognizable nonsense.

Except the part about him getting to be with Cammie forever. That wasn’t nonsense. That was everything he could ever dream and hope for come true.

Chapter Six

“No, no, no! What are you doing, you stupid thing?” Cammie asked in frustration as she banged her fingers futilely on the keyboard.

She glared at the blank computer screen. She’d been halfway through an exam for one of her online courses when the screen suddenly flickered and went black. She tried everything she knew to do, but nothing fixed whatever was happening. She was screwed, because she was the only one in the house who knew anything about computers, so if she couldn’t fix it, no one here could. She’d have to take it to a repair shop, and she couldn’t afford the lost time.

“Need some help?”

Closing her eyes, she suppressed her groan. She’d successfully avoided Alex for two days now, but it looked like her reprieve was at an end.

Standing up from the desk, she gestured him forward. “I’ve tried everything and it didn’t work, but if you think you can do better, please, be my guest.”

Lips quirking at her sarcasm, he took her empty seat. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. It was working fine, and then the screen flickered and went black.”

She watched as he put his fingers to the keys and started typing out commands. She moved closer, staring in fascination as the codes he was inputting raced across the screen, his fingers moving faster than she could keep up. Within moments, the webpage her test was on popped up, and Alex was sitting back in the chair in satisfaction.

“How the hell did you do that?

More importantly, how did you know to do that?”

He frowned, cocking his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t think about what I was doing when I sat down, I just seemed to know instinctively what to do. Maybe that’s what I do for a living, or something.”

Stepping back so he could stand up, she searched his face, but the truth was there in his voice. He really didn’t know how he did that, it just came naturally to him. Whatever the reason, she was grateful he was able to fix her computer.

“Thanks. I was panicking there for a minute. I have a deadline I have to meet.”

He glanced over at the screen. “Are you taking online classes?”

“Yeah, and I was in the middle of an exam when it acted up. I didn’t want to turn the test in late.”

“What degree are you going for?”

“I’m going to be a CPA.”

He blinked at her in surprise before laughing. “An accountant, huh? Just try to stay out of prison while you’re at it.”

“I’ll do my best,” she replied, laughing with him.

He looked at her closely her as his smile slowly faded. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

Freezing at the change in subject, she looked at him in silence for a moment while she tried to decide on what to say. “I just want to avoid a repeat of what happened last time we were together.”

Moving closer to her, he studied her face intently. “Do you really, though? You seemed to enjoy it in the moment.”

She swallowed hard as he stopped in front of her, close enough for her to feel the heat of his body. “It doesn’t matter if I enjoyed it. What matters is that it was a bad idea.”