eyond Desire Collection

by JS Scott, M Malone, Marie Hall, et al

  Not wanting to argue with him, I said, “You’re probably right.”

  “And yet I doubt you’re actually going to listen to me.”

  “I’ll try.”

  He harrumphed and changed the subject. “Have you heard from Trevor or his lawyer?”

  I shook my head. “I expect him to contact me today.”

  “The sooner that situation is neatly tied up, the better.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Why don’t you take a shower and get dressed? I’ll take you out for breakfast.”

  “To talk business? Yuri, I don’t have it in me this morning. Frankly, the whole damn company could implode, and I wouldn’t give a shit.”

  “I know.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “That’s why it’s good to be the boss. You can’t get fired for skipping a day of work.”

  I laughed. “So what? We’re playing hooky? And do what?”

  “Do you like miniature golf?”

  “Are you serious?” I honestly couldn’t tell.

  “Get dressed, and you’ll find out.”

  Befuddled by the strange turn my morning had taken, I trudged back to the master suite. It wasn’t until I stepped into the bathroom and spotted Kelly’s forgotten toothbrush on the counter next to mine that a fresh wave of agonizing heartache engulfed me. Turning on the shower to mask my ragged sobs, I hastily stripped and stepped under the hot blast of water.

  Even there, in the confines of the shower, I couldn’t escape the memories of my fleeting relationship with Kelly. With tears running down my face, I remembered the feel of his rough, strong hands gliding over my naked skin. The things we had done in this shower!

  And I would never experience them with him again.

  I hadn’t been kidding when I said goodbye. Standing there in that living room and realizing that he didn’t have any faith in me was too much. In that moment, I had known what it truly felt like to be alone.

  I could already feel my heart hardening toward him and any other man. To go from the utter joy of love to this despondent ache of heartbreak was a sensation I never again wanted to experience. In time, I hoped to teach myself that I didn’t need anyone. I had built a multi-billion dollar company on my own. I could build a life on my own too.

  But as I combed my wet hair and gazed upon my reflection in the mirror, I understood that my angry vows were empty. I could no more live the rest of my life alone than I could go without breathing.

  And I missed Kelly. I missed him terribly.

  ***

  Kelly missed Bee so damn much. The knotted, throbbing ball of pain in his gut hadn’t eased once in the week since he had walked out of the penthouse. So many times he had picked up his phone or driven by the downtown skyscraper. Some cowardly impulse stopped him from following through on his desire to contact her. He didn’t know what to say to her.

  The very real possibility that they couldn’t move beyond this goat-rope of a situation paralyzed him from acting. The smallest bit of hope that someday, somehow, he could figure out how to fix this prevented him from tracking her down and confirming that their relationship was broken beyond repair.

  As he hopped from foot to foot inside the sparring ring, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Unable to concentrate on his opponent, he missed a signal and took a nasty hit to the jaw. Blinking hard, he stumbled backward. His opponent hooked Kelly’s ankle and tripped him.

  Dazed, Kelly was vaguely aware of Alexei shouting for the other guy to stop. The Russian trainer stalked across the ring and crouched down next to him. He pried Kelly’s mouth guard off his teeth and stared down at him. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Kelly pushed up onto his palms and waited for his vision to clear. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re a bad liar.” Alexei dropped his mouth guard onto his shorts. “We’re done for tonight.”

  “We don’t need to stop. I just need to clear my head.”

  “I suspect it’s going to take more than a few minutes to clear your head.”

  He stared up at his coach. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you’re thinking about your girl—and that’s dangerous.” Alexei held up four fingers. “You fight in four nights. You need to get your shit straight or else you’re going to get hurt.”

  He didn’t tell Alexei that he was already hurting.

  “You want my advice?”

  “Not really,” Kelly grumbled.

  Alexei chuckled and lightly kicked Kelly’s foot. “Let it go until after the fight.”

  He glanced up at his trainer. “Let it go?”

  “You love this woman, yes?”

  Even after everything she had done, he still loved her. “Yes.”

  “And she loves you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Alexei studied him. “If she does, she’ll forgive you for whatever mistake you’ve made.”

  Kelly frowned up at him. “Whatever mistake I made?”

  The Russian shrugged. “Call it a hunch.”

  “She lied to me.”

  “So?”

  Kelly blinked. “So she lied. She made up this whole story about a stalker and—”

  “And you came running to save her, yes?”

  “Yes,” he groused.

  “And this made you feel good? It made you feel like a man? It made you realize how much you love her?”

  Kelly swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

  “So what’s the problem, Kelly?”

  Alexei’s line of question shook him right up. “Take my advice, Kelly. Let it go for a few days. Finish the tournament, and then go find her. Once she sees that someone else already beat the shit out of you, she’ll forget how mad she is and forgive you.”

  Kelly wasn’t so sure that taking romantic advice from Alexei was a smart idea. Of course, he’d already fucked things up so badly himself he was grasping at straws here.

  “I’ve already spoken to Jack about your morning workout. We’ll start weaning you down every morning until the fight, okay? I want you limber and conditioned but not tired. Tonight was the last sparring session.” Alexei bent down and clapped Kelly’s back. “Get a good night’s sleep.”

  “He’s right, you know,” Finn said as he helped Kelly out of his gloves and helmet a short time later. “Whatever mistakes Bee made, they aren’t important. You two have loved each other for years. Forgiveness is a powerful thing, Kelly.”

  “Jesus,” Kelly said gruffly, “don’t start on that Twelve Steps forgiveness bullshit, Finn. I can’t take it tonight.”

  Finn slapped the sparring gloves against his chest hard enough that Kelly winced. “I understand why Bee threw you out on your ass now. You can be such an asshole sometimes.” Walking away with his slight limp, Finn called over his shoulder, “It must be nice to be so fucking perfect, Kelly.”

  Feeling lower than mud, Kelly watched his brother disappear into the office he shared with Jack. The quip about Twelve Steps was way out of line, especially after everything Finn had overcome to find sobriety and peace after losing his leg.

  “Man, you are on a roll this week,” Jack announced with a bit of sadness in his voice. “You better watch it, brother. You’re going to wake up one of these days and have no one left in your corner.” Taking the sparring gloves and helmet from him, Jack quietly added, “Take it from me, Kelly. It’s a lonely place to be.”

  Alone in the gym, Kelly felt like a boat lost and adrift at sea. There was no course correction he could make that would fix things.

  The sudden yearning to speak to Jeb knocked the breath right out of him. How long had it been since he’d wanted to hear his best friend’s voice this badly? In those months following Jeb’s death, Kelly had secretly listened to a saved voicemail a thousand times at least. It was nothing more than Jeb chastising him for being late to a pickup football game, but it had brought him such peace.

  He’d finally let that recording go almost two years earlier. Now, more than ever, he wished he had kept it. The comfor
ting sound of Jeb’s voice would have been priceless tonight.

  Thinking of Bee’s older brother, he wondered if this was why that unspoken rule about dating little sisters of friends existed. Bee had counted on him to be her support, to be her rock, after Jeb had died. After tempting fate and crossing that line, Kelly had taken away her last remaining tie to Jeb.

  Berating himself for not being stronger when it came to Bee, Kelly gathered up his things and left the gym without stopping in to say goodnight to his brothers. He would see them in the morning, over breakfast, and make his apologies then. As for Bee?

  He decided to go with the Russian on that one. Alexei had made one point very clear to Kelly. If he went into this tournament all torn up inside, he was going to make an even worse mistake than the one he had made sparring earlier. Except there wouldn’t be padded gloves and a helmet to protect him on Friday night.

  If he went to her tonight, and she rejected him or refused to let him try to make things right, he didn’t know if he could get his head right again before that first fight. He could get hurt—seriously hurt—if his head was all messed up with Bee.

  Deciding it was time to go into survival mode, Kelly started to compartmentalize his emotions. He stowed away all the troubling, painful thoughts of Bee. As the numbness spread through his belly and filtered through his chest, Kelly prayed she wouldn’t give up on him before Saturday night.

  Because once he had settled his father’s debts, broken bones, black eyes, and a concussion wouldn’t be enough to stop him from seeing her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Perched on a crate behind the hastily arranged DJ station inside the airplane hangar, I watched the wild crowd dancing to Coby’s music. To reward my team and celebrate the offer for LookIt I had accepted earlier that morning from Insight, I had rented out the empty hangar and arranged the sort of party that could only be described as epic. It was nice to see my hardworking employees cutting loose with their friends. They all deserved it.

  As I sipped some tequila sweetened with a bit of pineapple juice, I caught sight of Ty Weston weaving his way toward me. He indicated that he wanted to chat, so I hopped off the crate. Before I left Coby’s side, I made sure to replace her empty can of that caffeine crazy energy drink she loved so much with a new, cold one. She bumped my hip in a sign of thanks.

  Out on the makeshift dance floor, I let Ty drag me into a dance. The slight buzz from the tequila lowered my inhibitions enough that I didn’t feel as self-conscious as I normally did when dancing. Unlike some of the couples around us who were rubbing together in ways that were absolutely scandalous, we managed to dance without being trashy.

  Laughing and breathing hard, Ty gripped my hand and dragged me off the dance floor to a quieter spot in a corner. “I’m so happy for you, sugar. Really. I’m thrilled this deal went through for you.”

  Teasing him, I smacked his arm. “You’re just excited about the big fat bonus check your firm is about to receive for helping me through that crisis with Trevor.”

  He didn’t even try to pretend that wasn’t the case. “So maybe I went window shopping for a private jet earlier…”

  I rolled my eyes. “Your bonus is going to be nice, but it’s not that nice.”

  When his laughter died, he more seriously asked, “Did Trevor’s lawyer call you today?”

  “He did.”

  “And?”

  “And he said the contract and the hard copies of the emails and photos Trevor had managed to salvage from Jeb’s account showed up at his office via a courier. He’s tried calling him, but Trevor doesn’t answer. He’s basically vanished.”

  “But you hadn’t paid him yet, right?”

  “Right,” I confirmed. An uneasy feeling invaded my chest. “It’s weird, right?”

  “Very,” Ty agreed. “Maybe he finally grew a conscience.”

  “Doubtful,” I replied dryly.

  “So,” Ty said carefully and rubbed my bare upper arm, “how are you doing?”

  “I’m doing okay.” I figured okay was the best way to describe my current state. I hadn’t had a crying jag in nearly two days, and I considered that a huge improvement.

  “He still hasn’t tried to contact you?”

  “No.” The reminder of the way Kelly had so easily cut ties with me was like splashing acid on an open wound. “I don’t think he’s going to, either.”

  “I’m really sorry, Bee. I thought…well. I guess it doesn’t matter what I thought.”

  I shrugged as if I didn’t care and pasted a smile on my face. “That’s life, I guess.”

  “First love is a bitch,” Ty said sagely. “It’s always the hardest one to get over too. Give it some time. You’ll wake up one day and realize he no longer has any hold over you.”

  I didn’t think that was possible. I had been head-over-heels crazy for Kelly for so long that the fleeting taste of love with him was enough to crush my freaking soul.

  Desperate to change the subject, I asked, “Where’s that Russian bear of yours?”

  “Oh, Big Poppa is hanging out with his people tonight.”

  Ty’s nickname for Vasya made me giggle. “His people, huh?”

  Ty hesitated before admitting, “He’s watching the fights.”

  “Oh.” My stomach clenched with dread. “Has he said anything?”

  Ty shook his head. “He knows I don’t approve of them.” He paused. “I could text him and see how it’s going.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’m actually in touch with Finn. He promised to let me know how it goes later tonight.”

  “Good.” Ty tugged on my hand. “Come on. You need to dance more.”

  “Why? Is that part of a cure for a broken heart?”

  “Well—that and tequila, sugar.”

  The rest of the night passed in a blur of dancing and tequila. When I finally managed to extricate myself from Ty’s clutches to sneak behind the DJ station with Coby, I ducked down under her table of equipment to grab my cell phone from my purse. I had a message waiting for me from Finn. All that tequila sloshed around in my stomach as I tapped at my screen. Even though Kelly had broken my heart, I prayed he was safe.

  Two wins. One K.O. One tap-out.

  Relieved, I noted the time stamp on the text. It had arrived on my phone half an hour earlier so I went ahead and replied to Finn.

  Glad to hear he won. Is he okay?

  While I waited for Finn to answer, I swiped one of the bottles of water from Coby’s stash and took a long drink of the cold, refreshing fluid. Wearing a crop top and skirt had been a good choice. With the summer heat and the bodies packed into the hangar, the temp was getting uncomfortable in the huge metal building even with the air conditioner blasting.

  My phone vibrated in my hand.

  He’s good. Bruised but nothing broken. Except his heart—the hardheaded bastard.

  Smiling at Finn’s reply, I allowed the tiniest glimmer of hope to spark in my chest. Maybe, in time, Kelly and I could get back to the way it was. Forgiving him for doubting me wasn’t going to be easy. I mean—he was going to have to do some serious groveling.

  But I wanted to try. I really, really did.

  My phone buzzed again. Thinking it was Finn, I glanced at the screen and noticed it was from a different phone number. I tapped the screen and waited for the message to load. My fingers tightened around my phone, and I glanced around anxiously.

  My stalker was somewhere in the crowd surrounding me. The photo on my screen had been taken only a few seconds earlier. He had captured me taking a drink of water while standing close to Coby.

  You look so hot, baby. I’d love to help you cool off.

  Gulping nervously, I let my finger hover above the keyboard before finally working up the courage to make the next move. Sick and tired of being hunted like prey, I thought of the loaded handgun in my purse. I didn’t want to take it that far, but I wanted this to end. I wanted to vindicate myself. I wanted my life back.

  Certain I could protect
myself, I decided it was time for a face-to-face with this creep. I want to meet you.

  You pick a time and place. I’ll be there.

  The safest place I could imagine popped into my head. After I sent the time and place, I dropped my phone back into my backpack and joined Coby behind her equipment. She shot me a questioning glance, but I smiled at her to set her at ease.

  Looking out over the dancing crowd, I wondered if my stalker was staring right back at me. Was he watching from the shadows?

  A chill raced down my spine. What the hell had I done?

  ***

  Trying to think about anything but the low, throbbing ache permeating every single cell in his already bruised and battered body, Kelly mentally psyched himself up for his third fight. He had been insanely lucky on Friday night. The two fighters he had drawn were damn good, but they were sloppy.

  Facing off against them, he had been incredibly grateful for every minute of the agony Alexei had put him through during the preceding three weeks. The first man he had managed to put down within the first minute. One perfectly placed punch had dropped the paunchy man to the concrete floor and saved Kelly from the punishment of a full five rounds.

  The second man, one of those lightning bolt tattooed freaks from the white supremacist camp, had taken considerably more effort to beat. They’d gone three brutal rounds in the cage before Kelly had seized upon an opening and taken him down to the ground. A submission hold that put extreme pressure on the man’s leg had been enough to make him surrender.

  “Shit!” Kelly hissed as Jack massaged the knotted muscle running between his shoulders.

  “Sorry, bro.” Jack didn’t stop working the tender spot. After his warm-up, Kelly still struggled with tightness there. “You’ll thank me later.”

  “I doubt it.” Kelly watched Finn check and recheck their bag of supplies before he filled the sinks with even more ice to chill his body between matches. If he won against his next opponent, he would end up fighting Sergei—and he needed to be in the best shape possible if he had any chance of winning.

  An uproarious cry from the crowd exploded in the abandoned meatpacking plant. Kelly’s gaze drifted to the open door of the room where they had been stashed by the organizers. Right now, Sergei was in the ring. That sound could only mean one thing.