Reese

ChapterFour

Vega has always been the epitome of cool, calm, and deadly. He looks like a surfer with his golden tan skin and messy blond hair, his crystal blue eyes much like the ocean from my vacation. But whereas surfers are often thought to have a laid-back vibe about them, Vega is intense with an air of menace about him.

He was always an anomaly to me. I’d never fought him. He had very strict rules about fighting women. There were other men who wouldn’t fight me because they feared hurting me, sexist dicks. But Vega never saw me as weak. No, his mama—if the rumors are to be believed—raised a man who felt it abhorrent to raise a hand to a woman. It was that black and white for him.

Okay, I might have had a little crush on the man, but he was always out of my orbit. He’s older than me by six years and had this whole aloof bad-boy vibe thing going on that has only strengthened over time. The dark ink that now covers his body only adds to it.

I climb to my feet as he walks toward the ring, the gathered crowd parting to let him through.

Blink gets to his feet and steps up behind me, one of his large hands resting on my shoulder. Normally this kind of thing would make me bristle, but it doesn’t feel proprietary, more protective.

“I couldn’t believe it without seeing you with my own two eyes. Little Malice is all grown up.” His voice is soft and silky but in a lethal way, like dark chocolate laced with poison.

“Looks like time was good to you, Vega. Real good,” I say, acting blasé about his appearance before I turn back to Blink.

“You gonna be here for a while? I want to pick your brain about something.”

“I’ve got all the time in the world for you.” His eyes flick up to the clock on the wall before dropping back to mine. “I have a newbie coming in for some training in twenty minutes, so how about we make it four-thirty, and we’ll have an early dinner?”

“Sounds good. I have a few things I’ve gotta do, but I’ll meet you back here.”

I hold my fists up for him, and he bumps them with his before I pull away and slip out of the ring, aware of Vega’s gaze on me like a forbidden caress.

That man is like a flame—mesmerizing to look at, but stand too close, and you’ll get burned.

I head to my locker when a hand wraps around my forearm. One second I feel the pulse of heat flair between us, and the next, Vega is on the floor with me straddling him.

He blinks up at me in shock while I look down at him and grimace.

“Shit, sorry. Force of habit.”

His face clouds with anger. “And why would that be a habit, Duchess?”

I flush at the nickname. I’d asked him once why he called me that, but he just licked his lips and walked away. At the time, I wasn’t sure if it was an insult or a compliment, but whenever he used it, I couldn’t help but feel special. Shame I’m not the same little starry-eyed girl I once was.

“You don’t need to growl at me, caveman. If you’re worried I have some dude at home wailing on me, you’re way off track.”

“Good. I can see you’ve changed. I was worried for a minute how much.”

His hands slide up my thighs, making me shiver. When he smiles knowingly, I shake it off and climb off him.

I’m not going to be possessed by his cock voodoo. I’m older now. Wiser. Hornier. No, dammit.

Giving myself an internal bitch slap, I reach my hand out to Vega, who takes it after a beat, letting me help him up.

“So, what brings you back? It’s been, what, six years?”

“Seven.”

He keeps hold of my hand as he looks at me, his eyes moving over my face as his thumb slides over my pulse point.

“So why now?” he murmurs, closing the distance between us. “I thought you were dead. You just disappeared.”

I close my eyes at the hollow-sounding note in his voice.

“I looked for you. When you didn’t come back, I searched everywhere I could think of, but you were a ghost.”

“I still am.” I shrug, feeling oddly guilty even though I didn’t owe him anything. We’d only exchanged a handful of words before I left.