As Theo shuddered, Harbor shoved him firmly against the wall and rutted hard against him. Arching his back with a moan, Theo looked over his shoulder, locking lust-dazed eyes with Harbor. That was all it took. Harbor erupted. He had only a moment to enjoy the way the stripes of his cum painted Theo's back and ass before he collapsed against him.
"Holy shit." Theo laughed, the rumble of it jarring Harbor out of his stupor. Holy shit was right, and even while he told himself to just enjoy this for the casual sex it was, Harbor felt himself tense. This wasn't like him. He didn't let his dick dictate his actions. But logic, common sense, or the fact he may very well have to fight Theo in the future hadn't been enough to make him keep his hands, and other parts, to himself tonight.
Theo huffed and twisted around until they were face to face. His gaze slid over Harbor's face before tracking lower and stilling. He lifted a hand and grazed the barest touch at the top of Harbor's left pec. "It transferred to you."
Harbor frowned, confused, before he looked down to see the smudged but visible outline the excess ink from Theo's tattoo had left on his skin. Theo drew his finger through it, slashing a line directly above Harbor's heart.
Theo smiled a little. "It's like it found the only bare place on your chest. I didn't realize it would bleed like that."
Harbor had to swallow before he could speak. "They normally do. Bleed, I mean."
Theo pursed his lips, but didn’t lift his eyes from where he was tracing shapes in his own ink on Harbor's skin. "You think you can put off your freak out for the next, I don't know, fifteen minutes or so? Wash my back. I'll wash yours. Maybe a good-bye kiss. No strings. No ulterior motives—just two dudes who got some fucking awesome news today and just enjoyed, very much by the way, getting each other off in the shower?"
Instead of answering, Harbor leaned in and claimed Theo's mouth before pushing them back under the spray. Theo was right. He might as well enjoy it since it was going to be the last time.
Chapter Six
July had come in like a thunderclap, filling the sky with heat storms and Harbor's life with a never-ending sequence of fight drills, endurance training, and homework. So much homework. The list of the eight fighters invited to the tournament had been made public a week after Harbor had gotten his invite and signed all the paperwork, but the organization decided it wasn't releasing the fight card until four weeks before the first round of the tournament. Which meant Harbor should know who he was slated to fight by the end of the day, and he could stop analyzing the fight tapes Rory sent him for all seven fighters and focus on one. The man who would be standing across from him when the cage door shut on his first professional fight and the first obstacle to knock out to get where he wanted to be.
Theo's face flashed through his mind, sated and smiling, and he shook his head and forced himself to focus on the rhythm of his feet against the concrete running path and the burn of air pumping in and out of his lungs. It was one of the last outdoor runs he'd take before his cardio moved to the stationary bike or elliptical which were both easier on his joints and offered less chance of injury. Any number of small injuries could and did occur during training, and most he'd fight through, but a badly sprained ankle could put him out of the fight. It wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
The sun was streaking brilliant pinks across the sky with its slow morning ascent when the park's parking lot came back into view, and he slowed from his cool down jog into a walk. The day's heat was already an oppressive weight against him, and he was grateful for the water bottle and towel he kept stowed in the saddlebag of his Harley Softtail. Riding was one of his greatest joys in life. He loved nothing more than to hop on his bike, fill up the tank, and see where the road might take him.
It didn't happen as often as he'd like, but many a Saturday had found him discovering country roads and small towns he hadn't known existed. Maybe after the fights, he'd get the chance to pack up for a longer adventure and ride to the coast. He'd always wanted to ride to the Atlantic, maybe start in Boston, and then travel up the coast of Maine eating as much seafood as he could stomach along the way. He just never seemed to find the time. Again, his mind turned to Theo and how often the man made it seem like he was away from home. For Harbor, getting away was great, but then so was the coming back. He'd gotten the feeling that "home" didn't mean the same thing for Theo.
Swinging his leg over his bike for the short drive to his apartment, Harbor let himself remember that night in the locker room shower. Theo had asked him for a little more time before he closed himself off, and he'd given it to him. They'd ended up making out against the shower wall until the water ran cool. He could still feel the way Theo's stubble had caught on his beard as he'd plundered his mouth over and over again. He'd never enjoyed kissing so much in his life, even with the only other man he'd ever been with. Harbor didn't want to think about him though. He was older and wiser now, and Theo was so obviously nothing like the only other man he’d ever slept with that comparing them was laughable.
As he reached to start his bike, his phone vibrated from its place in his pocket. He fished it out and opened a text from Vidar. The fight card was up.
"This is good news!" Rory said from over Harbor's shoulder where he and Vidar were huddled together around Vidar's phone looking at the email from the MMAPRO fight coordinator. "Andre Harrison is a striker. We play this right, you can take him down and submit him before they ring the bell for the second round."
Harbor liked the sound of that. Maybe it wouldn't be the explosive fight the fans would want, but it would show the judges and the other fighters he was a strong contender without giving too much of his game away. And ending the fight as quickly as possible kept the chance for mistakes and fatigue low. When he'd gotten to the gym, Vidar and Rory had been waiting for him by the cage. The strangest sense of dread had settled over him before he'd gotten a look at the screen and seen the name listed beside the versus next to his own. Rory had already been rattling off game plans and tweaks they should make to his drills, but all Harbor had been able to hear was his own voice exclaiming the relief pulsing through him, thank god it's not Theo.
Vidar kept scrolling and that relief turned to stones in his gut when he saw who was listed beside Theo's name.
Fuck.
Gregor Matheson had been the number one contender for the title shot before the previous champion had the title taken away. Typically, that would have moved Gregor and whoever was next in line into the title match, but for whatever reason, the organization had chosen to do this tournament instead. Gregor was a mouthy asshole and had made it very clear what he thought about it and how he intended to plow through anyone that stood in his way to get back to what he claimed was rightfully his. Harbor could see his perspective, but at the same time didn't like the thought of all that animosity unleashed on Theo in the first round. He scrunched his forehead. He's a fighter the same as me. He doesn't need me to protect him.
"That's the angle we should work," Vidar added his agreement to Rory's plan, bringing Harbor's thoughts back to his own fight against Harrison. "Get in, take him down, and submit. The last fight footage we have of him isn't even a month old. Regardless of his training since then, there's no way he can match your ground game. Get him on the ground and you'll own him."
Harbor nodded, various scenarios already running through his head. "Agreed." He turned his eyes to Rory.
"Aye. We'll focus on takedowns from the clinch, and I'll make a couple calls. Maybe get you some fresh sparring meat." His smile was this side of vicious, and Harbor narrowed his eyes are him.
"Who?"
"You let me worry about that," Rory said as the phone in his hand dinged and he looked down to check it.
Vidar gripped Harbor's shoulder, drawing his attention away from Rory. "Congrats brother. I'll take care of getting travel arranged and request your itinerary."
"You're not staying to train?"
Vidar ducked his chin for just a moment before meeting Harbor's eyes
again. The barrier he usually reserved for others, but had become Vidar's norm the last few weeks, was back in place, leaving his face an expressionless mask. Even to his own brother. "I've got a couple things to take care of this morning, but I'll see you for lunch, and we'll work drills this afternoon." Then he was gone, halfway across the gym before Harbor could even reply.
Scowling, Harbor turned back to find Rory still looking at his phone with a half-smile on his face.
"What?" Harbor asked, eyes glancing at Rory's phone.
"Huh? Oh, just a video Theo uploaded this morning. Seems someone important to him just got home from a service tour," Rory said, angling the phone so Harbor could see. There was a video playing on a loop in a square in the middle of the screen. The top of the phone's screen had the word Instagram and under that a tiny circle with Theo's face and SweatinSmithy beside it. Whatever that meant.
He only glanced at the words though; his eyes focused in on Theo with his feet lifted off the floor while wrapped up in a bear hug by a large man in what Harbor thought was a Navy uniform. A brief shot of Theo's face showed him smiling, and it hit Harbor like a glove to the chin. It had only been three weeks since Theo had stood right there by the cage and winked at him but seeing him again even on screen had the itch Harbor kept tamping down flaring to life right beside an unfathomable burn of jealously through his gut. The man could be a relative for all Harbor knew, but then, right at the end of the short video, the man's face pressed into the side of Theo's neck, his eyes closed like he'd been dying for the feel of the skin there against his own.
As if it were his own face cradled in the smooth curve leading from Theo's shoulder to the delicious skin of his throat, the memory of Theo's scent assaulted him, and Harbor yanked his eyes away. Turning on his heel, he headed for the cage. "Grab the pads," he growled, and pretended not to notice the knowing little smirk Rory sent his way.
"Gregor Matheson will be a tough fight," Alex Slater said over the spread of comfort food and beer bottles on the table between them.
Theo had cut himself off at two light beers but couldn't stay away from a second helping of Alex's sister, Angie's, mac-n-cheese. It was heaven on a spoon. Alex was looking relaxed across from him, back from a long deployment and several beers ahead. He’d surprised Theo and Angie both when he’d shown up at Slater MMA earlier in the day, a week earlier than expected. He’d changed out of his Navy gear and was lounging now in a pair of ratty old sweats and a t-shirt.
"You need to keep him on his feet," Angie said, walking back from the kitchen with two more beers for her and Alex in one hand and a glass of water for Theo in the other. "He's got a hell of a ground game. Takedown defense goes to the top of the training list starting tomorrow." She sat back down in her chair at the little four-seater, passing out their drinks. Angie was as beautiful now as she had been five years ago when Theo met her, flawless skin covering a toned and capable body. Being twins, even fraternal ones, she and Alex shared the same dark hair and blue eyes. She was also one of the only women he knew that could kick his ass as she'd proven the first time he'd walked into Slater MMA to teach a seminar.
"Puncher's chance." Theo smiled around a mouthful of cheesy goodness. Alex laughed, and Angie knocked her fist against Theo’s shoulder.
"Close your mouth, heathen."
Theo dutifully swallowed, feeling Alex's gaze on him. He grinned at his friend and was thankful he could still call him that. Theo knew Alex might still have a tender spot for him, but they both knew that this was how things should be between them. Still, Theo had been relieved when he'd gotten an email from Alex saying he'd met someone and would be spending part of his leave at home and the rest out on the west coast with his boyfriend.
He sat back in his chair and let his friend’s voices wash over him. He’d barely come up for air in the weeks after he left Ohio, and while it was good to be here and so good to see them, he was getting restless. Maybe it was how often he’d moved as a kid, but he was never content to stay in one place too long. It didn’t even matter if he only visited the same places over and over, as long as he kept moving.
His phone lit up with an email notification and he picked it up. He opened Insta just to see the response to the video Angie had taken of him and Alex earlier. There were already hundreds of comments. He smiled to himself as he glanced through, replying to a few from people he trained with at Slater’s. As was his habit, he checked out his new follower notifications. There were several since he’d checked it the day before. Only one that really caught his eye though, and he had to read it twice to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. HRourke was listed beside a profile picture of a familiar looking motorcycle. He tapped the screen name and held his breath as the user profile loaded.
The bio simply read: Fighter and Harley rider. There was only one post made so far, the image of a sunset over a parking lot and grassy field that Theo would bet money Harbor had taken standing in one of the open bay doors at the back of Rourke MMA. He hadn’t realized the room had gone silent until Angie touched his arm and he jumped.
“You okay?”
“Um…yeah.” He let out a little chuckle. “I’m good.” He tapped the blue bar at the top of the screen and just like that, he was following Harbor Rourke.
Chapter Seven
It was taking Harbor longer than he would ever admit, even under pain of death, to figure out how to read the damn message the notification said Theo had sent him. It had been a long week, and when Rory had said, “Let’s go out tonight,” Harbor had been all for it. Of course, now Rory probably regretted it since they’d ended up at Magnus’s club, Viridian, with Dagen, Ollie, Kayla, and Niko. Vidar was doing mysterious Vidar stuff again, so he was a no go. Everyone else was dancing and having a good time, and Harbor was going to break his phone if it didn’t show what he wanted to see. Maybe he should go find Niko, he’d set the damn thing up for him after all.
“Brother.” Magnus appeared behind the bar across from where Harbor had taken up residence on the last stool on the end. He liked to be able to put his back to the wall and scope out the dance floor. Although, all he was going to be scoping was how much a new phone would cost him once he busted this one to pieces. “Let the phone go. It didn’t mean it, whatever it was.”
Harbor growled at him. “How do you get to your damn messages in this damn app?”
Magnus put a hand over his heart. “Has my little brother grown up and joined Grindr? Be sure you’re wrapping up, okay?”
That earned him another growl. “Not Grindr.” Harbor lowered his voice and leaned across the bar, “Instagram.”
“Instagram?” Magnus basically shouted, and Harbor sat back with a huff. Now he wanted to break his phone and his second oldest brother. “Since when do you have Instagram? You don’t have any social media. I’ve been on your ass about Facebook for years.”
“Yes, I’m aware. Now, are you going to show me how to work this damn thing or not?”
“You know,” Magnus reached across the bar and took the phone from Harbor’s hand all the while watching him with discerning eyes, “I can’t remember the last time I saw you this wound up when it didn’t involve our brother being in the hospital or your next fight. Since that’s still a month away, and I can see our youngest brother playing tonsil hockey with his boyfriend from here, either Vi has gotten himself hospitalized, and you’ve all neglected to tell me or…” Magnus handed the phone back after a tap to the screen. “That luscious looking man you dragged into the back room last month is named Theo, and this new social media endeavor is for him.”
Harbor grunted in Magnus’s direction, but his eyes were glued to the screen of his phone, and the little text bubble with Theo’s picture beside it.
Theo: I leave you alone for three weeks, and you’re stalking me on sm? You feelin’ ok over there, blondie?
Blondie? Harbor poked the return text bubble to bring up the keyboard and tapped out a message. Out of his peripheral, he saw Magnus move on to another customer and l
et out a little breath. Damn Magnus always could read him better than anyone. Except their mom. He was incapable of hiding anything from her. She saw right through him every time.
Harbor: Thought I’d see what all the fuss is about. If you don’t want me to follow you, I won’t, Theodore.
Theo: You sound grumpy enough to be Harbor, but I’m still not buying it. I’m going to need photographic evidence.
Harbor: I don’t do selfies.
Theo: You do now.
Fuck, he’s an asshole. Harbor pulled up the camera on his phone and glared at it. Why am I even doing this again? Oh yeah, because I wanted to maim some innocent soldier just because he nuzzled Theo’s neck. He snapped the picture and sent it.
Theo: Holy shit it really is you.
Another message came through right behind that one containing only ten digits and a two-word command, Text me.
Theo's phone lit up in the passenger seat. After the little Instagram exchange with Harbor, he'd decided to call it a night and left the siblings to catch up. Talking to Harbor, even digitally, had flared up the ache in his gut that had started that first night at Viridian and hadn't truly gone away since. His fingers itched to check his phone, but he kept his eyes on the road. This anticipation was a wholly new experience. He laughed at himself.
Getting excited over a damn text like a teenager.
Slater MMA sat on the south side of Indianapolis. Alex and Angie lived right next door to the gym, and the house that belonged to Theo was only twenty minutes or so down the road. He'd wondered more than once if he'd known them back then if his time here would have turned out differently.
Open Wounds: The Boxed Set Page 15
