Fighting the Fire (Warrior Fight Club 3)

She glared at him.

But he was grinning like an idiot. And his good humor was freaking appealing. Which she was sure had nothing to do with the way he was holding her and how close their bodies were. It would be such a little thing to turn into him, to straddle him, and to make this day about something entirely else…

“You want to punch me right now, don’t you?”

“Very much.” She bit the words out more sternly than she’d intended, mostly because she was so thrown off guard by the direction of her own thoughts. If only her brain didn’t know how freaking good this man was at scratching an itch.

He winked at her. “Good. You’re channeling some serious Peggy Carter right now. That’s perfect. That fighting spirit will put you in good stead for ‘Captain America’.”

“Who’s Peggy Carter?”

Sean let her go, and she sat back in her own spot. “That question kills me. Literally, I might die sitting here. So let’s get started and you’ll see. Also, if you cross the demilitarized zone again”—he indicated the space in between them—“I won’t be held responsible for my actions.” He arched a brow. One that held a hint of something beyond humor.

It held a promise.

Dani was almost tempted to test it. Consequences be damned.

Instead, she rolled her eyes, but the gesture was a lie. She was neither annoyed nor unaffected. Oh, no, the heat in her body indicated she was very much affected by the good-guy, playful, nerdy, super-hero-loving version of Sean Riddick. The one who was also freaking hot. And the one who’d laid out snacks and compiled a spreadsheet. For her.

Looking away, she grabbed some popcorn. What was going on with her today? The other day, she’d felt guilty for having slept leaning against Sean. Now today, she was half ready to attack him. She was all over the place.

And it wasn’t the only thing her emotions were all over the place about, either. July third was seven days away. And the closer it got to the anniversary of Anthony’s death, the more her emotions seemed to be riding a roller coaster. One moment, she’d feel the grief of his loss into her very bones. Then in another, she’d move from grief to feeling sorry for herself, not just for his loss, but for not having someone to share life with. Even though she didn’t want that. Not anymore. And then she’d feel mad at herself for the whole mess of it.

Finally, the movie started.

Eyes on the big TV, she whispered, “How many movies are there?”

“Sshh,” he whispered. She bit back a smile.

This movie wasn’t funny like ‘Deadpool’, but she was enjoying it well enough. And then there was this scene where the main character, Steve Rogers, jumped on top of what he thought was a live grenade to protect everyone else, while they all tried to hide or run. It raised the hair on her arms, because she’d seen that kind of maybe-stupid-but-definitely-selfless courage more than once while she was deployed. And it made the movie immediately relatable to her on a visceral level.

Now, she was hooked.

It definitely did not hurt that once Steve received the super-soldier serum, he turned into a six-foot-tall god with ripped muscles and mad fighting skills.

Hmm, like someone else I know. Though Sean was taller than six feet…

Seriously not helping yourself here, Dani.

Right.

Then there was Peggy Carter, a resistance fighter and soldier who fought alongside Captain America. She was a badass. And Sean had compared Dani to this character, which now struck her as sorta flattering. Proving that Dani was all the way ridiculous.

But then came the end. “Wait. What?” Dani said, peering over at Sean. “This is sad! This isn’t okay with me.”

Sean nodded. “I know. Just wait until ‘Infinity War’. But did you like it?”

“Yeah.” She looked back to the screen as the end credits rolled. “It was really good, actually. But I’m feeling a little emotional about that ending over here.”

“The next movie will make that better. I promise.”

Which was how she and Sean ended up sitting on his couch all day, eating a crap-ton of popcorn, pausing only to heat up a lasagna for dinner that Sean’s station chief had dropped off for him, and now found themselves starting their fourth movie.

Dani was having fun.

Like, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d just hung out like this. No agenda. No rushing around. Just hanging out and relaxing with a friend.

She lived her whole life around the idea of Keep Fucking Going—but shouldn’t that be about more than just clocking in and doing a job? However important that job might be? Life wasn’t just about making a paycheck or even making a contribution, it was about finding joy along the way. About finding connection and meaning. All of a sudden, Dani wasn’t sure she’d been doing a great job at the living part of life. The thoughts sat uncomfortably on her shoulders.