Full Contact (Redemption #3)(10)
“Sure.”
“Gimme your phone and we’ll trade numbers. My line of work is not very predictable. Shit always comes up.”
“What is your line of work?” I hand him my phone, and he does the number switch.
He hesitates for just a heartbeat and then shrugs. “Private investigator. But I got a bit on the side.”
“A bit on the side?”
“A bit on the side.”
“What does that mean? ‘A bit on the side’?”
Ray chuckles. “Means I’ll take on the odd job that might go outside the boundaries of professional ethics, so it doesn’t count as official PI work. Mostly catching bad guys. Lookin’ for one right now, but let it slide tonight so I could come here.”
“I thought it meant you were having an affair. Not that you’re the kind of person who would have an affair, or if you were, that you would tell me. I mean, it could be uncomfortable if you chose to share that information because I know Shayla, although—”
“Sia…”
Wound tight, I let my tension spill out in a nervous babble. “Not well enough that I would feel the need to call her up and tell her you’ve got a bit on the side, but you know, it could be awkward since I do go to all the Redemption parties—”
“Sia.”
“And if I was talking to her and saw—”
He cups his hand around my neck, leans down, and kisses me. Soft and sweet, his lips press against mine, stealing my breath from my lungs.
“Oh,” I whisper when he pulls away. “Is that how you shut babbling girls up?”
“Only the hot ones.”
Stunned, I can only stare. I was kissed by the Predator. He thinks I’m hot. Fangirl swoon.
“I don’t do that shit,” Ray says, all cool and calm as if he hasn’t just rocked my entire world. “Two women is two times the trouble. Got enough to do with work and training.” He hands me my phone, and my stomach clenches when I see his name in my address book. Ray. No last name. But I’m not complaining. Until last week, I would never have imagined Ray’s name would be associated with mine in any way. And cool. He’s not into relationships. Neither am I.
“I don’t know how you work your job, your bit on the side, and train.” I regain my equilibrium and pretend his kiss didn’t just fry my brain. “Tag struggles with one, and he doesn’t really train anymore. He just teaches.”
“Passes the time.” He slides out of my seat and tucks his phone in his pocket.
“‘Passes the time’?” My voice rises in disbelief. “You’re an amazing fighter. I’ll bet you’d shoot right up through the amateurs if you got on the amateur circuit.”
Ray’s face tightens. “Underground fighting is more my style. A real test of skill and strength. Push yourself to the limit and let it go. Freedom. That’s where it’s at for me.”
“That’s how I feel about art,” I say. “I see pictures in things, and I have to set them free.”
Ray strokes a finger along my jaw, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “What about Fenrir?”
“Like I said, he wants to be free.”
Electric tension fills the space between us. Ray’s corded throat tightens when he swallows, and he drops his hand. “He’s not the only one.”
He leans down and for a moment I think—no, hope—no, pray he’s going to kiss me again. His breath is warm on my cheek. His lips brush over my ear. And then he whispers, “Tomorrow.”
Chapter 4
You scream sexy
“Hey, Sia! Long time no see ya!” Rampage ruffles my hair when I walk in the front door to Redemption, a converted warehouse in Oakland’s Foster-Hoover District—also known as Ghost Town—and one of the city’s premier MMA training facilities.
I give Rampage a hug and wrap my arms around his belly, clad in a yellow happy face tank top. “Boy, I missed this place. Tag—”
Rampage cuts me off. “Ring names only in the gym.”
“Sorry. I mean, Fuzzy banned me from coming here after what happened to Amanda. If it weren’t for the parties and the guys who come into the studio, I would have totally lost touch with what’s going on.”
Rampage’s face falls, bringing his scars into stark relief, and he leans his six-foot-two-inch super heavyweight frame against the wall. “Yeah. That was a rough time. Amanda hurt. Buncha idiots suing us for ten million dollars. But she sorted us all out, and sorted herself. You going to the wedding? Should be one hell of a party.”
My stomach clenches. “Uh…I’m not sure.” Amanda is marrying Jake a.k.a. Renegade, one of Redemption’s top-ranked fighters and yet another of my fantasy men. Things got awkward when Tag tried to set us up by asking Renegade to look out for me at parties when he wasn’t around. We definitely had chemistry, but after one kiss, I backed off. Not just because I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle more than one kiss from such an über alpha male, but because it was so obvious he was still in love with Amanda and didn’t know it.
Rampage gives me a sympathetic smile and walks over to the intercom. He knows everything about everyone at Redemption, and although he seems the most unlikely source of gossip, information always seems to find its way to him. “I’ll let Fuzz know you’re here.”