Resist (Sphere of Irony 3)

The two men in the cage immediately stop fighting to stare at us. Both of them hop down the small set of stairs and trot over. I have no idea which one is Damien, but I can’t take my eyes off of the fighter in the black and red shorts with the green eyes. He is beyond attractive—he’s positively stunning.

I feel the prickly heat creeping up my neck and face. I wish I could disappear. It’s humiliating to be standing here in front of these two hot, sweaty men while my blood drips on the floor. Not to mention the rest of the gym, which has gone silent to watch.

“Can you grab the first aid kit?” Bruce asks. “She fell on some ice out front. Cut her arm pretty bad.”

The man with the buzz cut and tattoos wearing black and yellow shorts nods and hurries off to fetch it. That must be Damien.

The other guy, the too-beautiful one, is eyeing me warily. Which, in turn, makes me even more uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” I blurt out awkwardly.

The man says nothing. Instead, he stares at me as if he’s afraid of me! I have no idea what to make of that, so I stand there bleeding since it’s all I can do.

“Here.” He hands me a small towel. “So you won’t drip everywhere.”

His voice is deep and smooth. When his hand brushes against mine to hand me the towel, a shiver goes up my spine. Fumbling from nerves, I wrap it around my arm the best as I can.

“Thanks.” I stare at the ground, glancing up to take a peek at his handsome face. He’s acting really odd, wary, like me. But I’m the one in the strange situation surrounded by men I don’t know. Why would he be uncomfortable?

Not knowing what else to do, I go for mindless pleasantries. “I’m Sydney.”

The beautiful man gives me another strange look before introducing himself… albeit reluctantly. “I’m Drew. So you fell?”

Either I’m so inept that he’s dying to get away from me, or this guy is really off his game. There’s no way a man who looks like that isn’t smoother at making small talk with women.

I shrug, which sends a burning hot spike of pain down my arm. “I fell. It’s no big deal, really.” I wince from the sensation, my voice coming out strained. “Nice to meet you, Drew.”

Bruce and Drew exchange a look. “Have we met before?” Drew asks hesitantly.

I pull down my brows, trying to place him. I don’t think I know him. Do I? Oh my god! What if he recognizes me because of my resemblance to m

y mother?

I need to get out of here before one of them figures it out.

“No. I don’t think we’ve met.”

Now Drew looks absolutely dumfounded. His perfect lips fall open in shock.

Let it drop, please let it drop.

I can’t have this guy to figuring out who my parents are, who I am. I’m pretty sure we’ve never met. There’s no way I would forget his unbelievable face and body if we had.

Damien jogs up to us with a large white box. “Got it.”

“I’ll do it,” Drew says, his green eyes penetrating mine as he snatches the kit from Damien’s hands. He doesn’t look away, that powerful gaze trapping me in place. “Bruce, thanks for bringing her in. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Bruce must be his driver, now everything makes sense. He’s most likely waiting for Drew to finish his workout.

“You sure?” Damien asks. Drew turns to scowl at him, Damien shrugging his shoulders in response, “Okay man, I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, I’ll be here.” Drew has that intense stare aimed back at me as he speaks. The noise of the gym starts back up, a cacophony of grunts and punches. Suddenly, I’m alone with this beautiful man.

“Here, sit down.” He points to a nearby bench.

Mesmerized, I do as he says and watch as he kneels in front of me. Still shirtless, I track his lean, sinewy muscles as they stretch and flex in front of me in a tantalizing dance. He’s close enough to touch. I want to lean in and lick every hard ridge of his body. It’s literally torture to sit this close to him.

Drew places the kit on the bench and opens it up.