“The hell I don’t. If I ever catch him near you again, it’s his fucking funeral. Now, grab your stuff and let’s go.” I pulled out a wad of cash and thrust it into Sara’s hand on my way to the door.

“Damn it, Ian,” Sophia said as she grabbed her purse, but she followed me out.

I never should have had her watch Sara’s kid. I knew Sara was a former “actress.” It was my own fault Sophia was here.

“You know what he does, right?” I asked Sophia as I drove her home.

“Yeah.” She looked at me like I was a total shit. She knew she was the only person who could look at me that way and get away with it. “He’s Cade’s adult film director.”

Sophia wiped her hand across her nose and turned to look out the window, her knee bouncing rapidly up and down. She did that when she was pissed off.

I left her alone and drove her back to her apartment in silence.

Eight

MacKenzie

I knew that, as a nurse, I shouldn’t enjoy watching two guys beat on each other so much, but it was cage fighting. All that raw testosterone being thrown around was a total turn-on. And let’s not forget that these guys were naked from the waist up, and totally built.

Um, and maybe I pretended they were fighting over me.

My eyes were fixed on the guy in blue shorts. Sweat dripped from his face onto his firm bronzed pecs. His body was already glistening. It was the final round, and he was still throwing punches and kicks. He’d lost some of the bounce in his step, but his opponent sagged on his feet, his eyes half closed. He was in a perpetual block stance with his hands in front of his face, probably just hoping he could stay standing until the final horn.

It looked like Sweaty Pecs was going to win this one. To be honest, it wasn’t the most exciting fight I’d seen.

I stifled a yawn and nudged Ty. “Watch, you pussy.” He was curled up on his folding chair, peeking through the cracks between his fingers.

“Kenzie, I can’t believe you can watch this. You are one sick chick.”

“Why did you come if you didn’t want to see them fight?” I asked. I knew why, but I still liked to tease him. Ty was so newly out of the closet that he had a hard time saying it aloud sometimes.

“I like watching them when they’re sparring. I thought this would be like that,” he said, his voice high and whiny.

“You just wanted to get your fill of shirtless men. Admit it. But why can’t you get into it? Pretend one of them is fighting for your honor.” I batted my eyelashes at him.

He bit his lower lip, and his gaze wandered as he considered the implications.

I laughed. The guys at the gym were gay friendly, but they were also mostly very straight. The idea of being in a relationship with a guy would probably make them get huffy pretty damn quick.

Ian entered the room and took a seat off to the side of the ring. His fight was up next, the main event. He sat up straight, his muscles relaxed even as he watched the fight closely, as if it was an important lesson. His eyes followed every move of each fighter. You could almost see him mentally taking notes of what the fighter was doing well, and more importantly, where his vulnerabilities were.

He was so intently watching the fight that I could safely look at him without him noticing. A hint of his eight-pack rippled under his T-shirt. His arms were tanned, but not yet sweaty. His skin looked soft, and I knew his muscles were rock hard.

The final buzzer sounded, pulling my attention away from Ian and back to the cage. Sweaty Pecs won by judges’ decision.

“Woo-hoo!” I shouted, nudging Ty, who’d managed to at least put his feet down on the floor.

“MacKenzie.” Chris smiled as he beckoned me up to the cage.

“That’s me,” I said and grabbed my medic bag, heading to the front.

Voices buzzed excitedly as everyone milled around, getting ready for the main event, and I moved to the side to do my post-fight check. First with the loser; sadly, he was one of ours. He was exhausted, dehydrated, and would be bruised as shit tomorrow, but he’d survive.

Next, I looked over the winner. “What’s your name?” I asked as I shined a light in his eyes to check for reaction.

“I’m Adam,” he said.

“Nice fight tonight, Adam,” I said as I took his pulse. This was all routine. As the gym medic, I checked all the fighters after amateur bouts like this one.

As I tracked the second hand on my watch, another fighter stepped up behind my patient. Nice abs. I licked my lips and looked up to see who it was, and tried not to show how annoyed I was as I inwardly rolled my eyes. It was Ian. Mr. Porn-star-dater himself.

“Hi, MacKenzie,” he said stiffly.

He sounded all formal. So irritating. If he didn’t want to be with me, that was fine, but I didn’t need this stupid professional crap between us.

I didn’t respond, instead turning back to my patient. “Do you feel like you sustained any injuries?” I knew from watching the fight that he would be sore tomorrow, but there was nothing serious.

“I think I may have pulled my groin muscle,” he said as he smiled and winked at me. “Could you take a look?”

Ian remained rooted to the spot behind Adam, his head cocked as he waited to see how I would respond.

What I did next was totally insane. “Sure,” I said as I smiled at him sweetly and slid my hand up his thigh.

What the crap am I doing? His thigh was rock hard but he wasn’t that hot, and we were in the middle of the gym. Chris’s gym. Chris, who I was dating.