Tyler's Undoing (Gloves Off Book 3)

by Dover, L. P.

  I wasn’t desperate enough to date a fighter. I wanted more, something deeper than a thug who used his fists to earn money and a dick to screw women. I was ultimately looking for Mr. Right, not Mr. Right Now.

  All I had to do was keep my distance.

  “Everyone here is so nice,” Bree whispered before we reached the desk.

  The woman behind the desk looked to be in her early sixties, and had sandy-colored hair, mixed with a little gray. Her head was down, looking at a magazine, but when we came into view she looked up and smiled at Bree. “Why hello, Bree, how are you?” She glanced over at me. “I see you brought a friend. Do you want to use one of your friend passes today?”

  Bree shook her head. “Actually, Kacey wants to get a membership. Do you mind getting her set up?”

  “Certainly.” The lady pulled out a clipboard and placed a couple sheets of paper on it before grinning over at me. “Thank you, Kacey, for joining. My name’s Mary Rushing and my husband owns the place. I don’t usually work the front desk, but as of right now, I’m the only one capable of doing it. I think he and my son would be lost without me.”

  Grinning, I said, “That’s usually how it goes.”

  With a warm, genuine smile she handed me a clipboard and pen. I took it to the edge of the desk and started filling it out while she and Bree caught up.

  After I paid my membership fees, Bree took me over to a vacant corner with several treadmills and some high-tech stair climbers. Give me a road and sneakers and I was good to go. I didn’t usually spend my time in gyms, because I knew I could work out just as well at home, if not better—and for free.

  “All right, Kace, let’s get started on the treadmills. Then we can hop on the stair climbers before we move to weights. Cole gave me some amazing tips on changing up my workouts to give me the ultimate toning.”

  Cole Bennett was the guy she’d been interested in for the past few weeks, but so far nothing had come of it, much to her dismay. I hadn’t met him yet, so I had no idea if he was at the gym or what he looked like.

  “Is he here?” I asked, looking around. Climbing on the treadmill, I started off with a brisk walk.

  Pursing her lips, Bree glanced around the gym and shook her head. “Nope, he’s not here yet. Usually, he comes in around two o’clock, which only gives me thirty minutes to talk to him before I have to leave and get ready for work. Hopefully, he’ll be in today so you can meet him. The guys have been dying for me to bring in some of my girlfriends.”

  I snorted and rolled my eyes. Yeah, I’ll bet. However, this brought up a question. “So, is Cole an MMA fighter?” I asked. “I don’t think you ever mentioned anything about that. Surely, you know better, right?”

  Narrowing her eyes, she picked up her pace and glared at me. “What’s that supposed to mean? Cole’s a good guy and he’s funny as hell. Why would I not want to date him just because he’s a fighter?”

  Because they were all worthless, I wanted to say. “So he is one,” I stated instead.

  “Yeah, and a good one too. I’ve watched him spar with the owner’s son plenty of times.” She looked off toward the ring and pointed. “There he is, Tyler. He’s the one with the bright blond hair.”

  I followed her finger and froze. Holy mother of pearl. Was he—? Yes. He’s the one who fought against my brother in the video that was spread all over the internet.

  “I think you’ll like that group of guys down there,” Bree chimed.

  I wouldn’t count on it.

  “So what does Cole look like again?” I asked. “Does he pump steroids like the other raisin nuts down there?” Not all of the fighters had overly huge muscles, although most were deemed questionable. I loved strong, athletic bodies, but too much muscle wasn’t sexy—on men or women.

  Bree rolled her eyes and groaned. “Kace, they’re not allowed to take steroids if they want to compete, and no, Cole doesn’t look like that. He has muscles, don’t get me wrong, but he competes for the Light Heavyweight title. Also, he has the most gorgeous jet-black hair I’ve ever seen, and his eyes . . .” She fanned herself with her hand and smiled. “I have never seen anyone with the same color eyes as his. They’re a bright blue with a ring of gold around the pupils. At first I thought they were contacts, but he says they are his real color.”

  “Yeah, that’s great and all,” I said, “but looks aren’t what’s important. Is he nice? Would he be faithful? Because frankly, those types of guys down there aren’t what I’d consider relationship material. Dating is one thing, but getting serious with one of them is another.”

  Shaking her head, Bree chuckled. “I swear, Kace, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. Whatever Cole’s intentions are, I honestly think he’s a great guy. I have no doubt that you’ll think so, too.”

  After I finished up my two mile run on the treadmill, I moved over to one of the stair climbers and stared helplessly at the buttons. There were so many options I had no idea which one to press. Since Bree was still on the treadmill, I figured if I pressed some of the buttons, one of them would make the machine work.

  Before I could start pressing random buttons, a gloved hand reached over my shoulder and pushed one for me. Immediately, I stiffened. Seeing the glove and the tattoos circling up his arm could only mean one thing.

  I took in a nervous breath. Hopefully, he won’t know who I am. The heat from his body radiated across my skin, and instead of moving away from the flame, like I knew I should, I shivered with the sheer closeness, especially when his voice came out right above my ear.

  “Not that you needed any help, or anything,” he explained cautiously, “but I figured level three would be perfect for someone with your muscular tone. It’s a tough routine, but I’m curious to see how you match up against Bree over there. She claims to be the best.”

  When I turned around, I just barely held in my gasp. It was Tyler. He was standing on the machine next to mine, leaning across the hand rail, smiling at me. Before I could say anything, he winked and hopped off, making his way toward the back of the gym and through another door. If he recognized me at all, he sure didn’t give any indication that he had.

  As soon as Bree got done with her treadmill run, she rushed over to me with a mischievous grin on her face. I had already started on my routine, so I was trying to concentrate on my breathing when she gasped.

  “Oh my goodness, what did Tyler say to you? Isn’t he just the hottest thing you’ve ever seen? Like sex on a stick.”

  Sure, he was a good looking guy, but I refused to think about him anymore. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “Not really, Bree. All he did was show me which button to push. I’m sure a guy like him tries to help all of the girls that come in here.”

  “Actually, he doesn’t. When I first started coming here, I tried to play dumb so he would come and help me, but he never did. Cole ended up being the one to show me what to do. You’re the only one I’ve ever seen Tyler approach.”

  “Please, you’re not here every hour of the day,” I pointed out. “I’m sure he helps out his fair share of women. Anyway, you’re reading more into this than you should. I’m here to work out, not meet guys.” Especially the fighters.

  Bree snorted. “I think what you need is some fun in your life, sweetheart. Even though you have a million responsibilities weighing you down, you still need to take care of yourself in the process. You haven’t gone on a single date since I’ve known you. My company alone can’t be giving you what you need.”

  It was true, there was something missing. I just didn’t have time to meet anyone and go on dates. At least, not while I had so many distractions. After I finished the thirty minute stair climbing program, Bree only had a few more minutes left on hers, so I decided to get us both a bottle of water while I waited.

  Ignoring the catcalls coming from some of the guys as I walked past, I disappeared around the corner to the drink machines. I’m so ready to leave this place. Getting our water, I turned around and jumped in surprise. Tyler was le
aning against the wall, arms crossed at the chest, and a huge smirk stretched across his perfect face. I didn’t hear him come up behind me.

  “I see you survived level three. I knew you could,” he announced.

  I flashed a fake grin and quickly let it disappear. “Yeah, level three wasn’t that difficult,” I gloated. “Thank you for helping me, though. I’m sure next time I’ll know what to press.”

  I tipped my head and strolled past him, ready to get out of the vacant corner. Much to my dismay, he followed alongside as I made my way back to where I’d left Bree. When I rounded the corner, I found her happily talking to a guy by the stair climbers. I assumed it was Cole, judging by the dark hair and blue eyes Bree loved so much. He had his shirt off, wearing a pair of navy workout shorts, flexing his muscles as he talked to her.

  “This must be your first time here,” Tyler guessed. “I’ve never seen you before. I know there’s no way I could miss seeing that beautiful face of yours.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Please tell me that’s not your pickup line. Because let me tell you, it’s not going to work. Yes, this is my first time here, but it’s probably my last, too.” I didn’t want to sound offensive or rude, but I knew it came out that way by the look in his eyes.

  Tyler lightly grabbed my elbow and halted me before I could move any further. “Why is that?” he asked, genuine interest appeared in his stormy gray gaze. “If it’s what I said, I swear I wasn’t saying it to hit on you. You honestly and truly do have a beautiful face. I’ve been known to come up with some pretty ridiculous pickup lines, but I can assure you that wasn’t one of them. Besides, when did it become bad to tell the truth?” He stuck out his hand. “My name’s Tyler, by the way.”

  Shifting both bottles of water to my left hand, I closed my eyes and sighed, extending my hand to his. “Okay, fine, I was quick to jump to assumptions. My name’s Kacey,” I admitted, “and I guess it’s a good thing you weren’t trying to use your pickup lines on me.”

  Curious, Tyler lifted his brows and smiled. “Oh yeah, and why is that?”

  “I simply don’t date steroid-taking brutes who walk around thinking they’re God’s gift to women. You’re just not my type. Nice to meet you, Tyler. Have a good day.” With those last words, I turned on my heel and stalked off, leaving him to stare incredulously at my back.

  I had to say . . . his reaction was priceless.

  “DUDE, I THINK you lost your touch,” Cole teased, chuckling loudly. He was standing with Bree, so I walked over and joined them, after I watched the feisty, blonde-haired vixen walk out the front doors. So I’m not her type, huh? We’ll see about that.

  Cole Bennett was one of my closest friends and competing in his second year for the Light Heavyweight title. He also had a smart ass mouth, which I needed to make sure took a hard hit the next time I sparred with him. He was one of the good fighters, but his mouth was sure to get him into trouble one day. Most could say that about me too, especially when I joked around with my friends and their women. Pushing the limits was what I was good at, plus I had fun doing it.

  Bree smiled apologetically and shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry about that, Tyler. What did she say to you?”

  “Well, let’s see,” I started. “I commented on how beautiful she was. Then, she basically called me a steroid-taking douche bag. How’s that for a recap? I take it she got her heart broken recently?”

  “I don’t think so,” Bree replied, furrowing her brows. “She’s never said anything to me about it. I honestly thought she’d go for you, out of all the people here. I guess I was wrong.”

  Cole chuckled again and slapped me on the arm. “Face it, Rushing. You’re just upset she shot you down. You can’t always win them all you know.”

  “That’s not what I was doing,” I countered matter-of-factly. Then admitted to Bree, “I mean, yeah, maybe I was trying to subtly hit on her by giving her compliments, but usually girls go for honesty and all that shit. Also, I figured being your friend and all, she would’ve heard good things about us.”

  “I did talk you up,” she claimed wholeheartedly. “Kacey has a lot going on right now, so that’s probably what her problem is. I don’t know if she’d want me telling you her life story, but she has it kind of rough right now. She moved here about a year ago, and she doesn’t have many friends.”

  She paused and quickly glanced at Cole, then back to me, sighing. “We both work in the bar at AquaKnox. That’s how I met her. I thought getting her out and meeting other people would be good for her. I hope in time she’ll come around and start having some fun. It took me forever to get her to even come here with me.”

  I wondered what was going on with her. Not that I ever gave a shit about that kind of stuff, but there was something about Kacey that interested me. Maybe it was that she turned me down and I saw her as a challenge. I didn’t like to lose at anything.

  “Are you working this weekend?” Cole asked Bree.

  “Yeah, it’s our weekend to work. Why?”

  Cole glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and smiled. We were on the same page.

  “Because,” I cut in, “maybe we could all do something together, after you get off of work. Do you think Kacey would be up for that?”

  She bit her lip and peered hesitantly at us both. “I’m not sure. After the way she just acted, I don’t know what to think. What exactly do you have in mind?”

  Grinning from ear to ear, I quirked a brow. “Well, you said she just moved here, right? Meaning, she probably hasn’t seen much of Vegas. I think I have an idea on how to break the ice.”

  Bree tilted her head to the side. “Hmm . . . I don’t know if I like that mischievous look in your eyes, but I’m down for whatever you have in mind. We both get off of work at ten-thirty, so make sure you let me know what’s going on.”

  Cole bumped her in the arm. “I’ll text you and tell you what the plan is.”

  Giggling, Bree reached down to grab her gym bag. “I guess we’ll see you both then. Make sure it’s something fun.” Turning on her heel, she started to walk off, but I had one last request.

  “Bree,” I called out.

  She circled around. “Yeah?”

  “Don’t tell her I’m going to be there, okay? I’m pretty sure she’d bail if she knew.”

  “Tyler, I’m not stupid,” she exclaimed. “And believe me, she’d get out of it. Kacey is one of the most determined girls I’ve ever met. I hope you know what you’re getting in to. She deserves a good guy.”

  Unlucky for her, I wasn’t a good guy.

  “If you call me tonight maybe we can come up with a plan to break the ice before then. I have some ideas to get her warmed up.”

  “Sounds good,” I replied. “I’ll get your number from Cole.”

  Smiling one last time, she turned on her heel and stalked off. Cole didn’t say another word until she walked out of the building. “Okay, Rushing, what’s your end game? I’ve never seen you put out this kind of effort to get a piece of ass, not even for Gabriella.”

  Obviously, Kacey was going to make me work for it. “I don’t know. There’s something about her that’s different. Maybe it’s the outright loathing she has for fighters that turns me on. There’s just something about her that’s unattainable, and you know how much I like that.”

  Chuckling, Cole slapped me on the back. “Yeah, we all want the ones we can’t have. If you want to work at it, by all means, go ahead. Just don’t fuck with this one like you do the others. I actually like Bree, if you mess with her best friend she’s going to hate me by association. Don’t ruin this for me, bro.”

  “Wow, you must have it bad for her,” I joked.

  Cole shrugged and took a sip of water out of his bottle. “What can I say? She’s the first girl who actually seems interested in who I am and not what I do. You know how that is. Other than Gabriella, when was the last time you could say you met a girl who wanted you for you?”

  “Never,” I admitted honestly. Sadly, it was t
he truth. It was always the same type of girls sniffing around. They either wanted to fuck me or get recognition.

  “And that right there, is why I want someone like Bree.”

  Maybe it was the same reason I had the desire to go after Kacey. She had an innocence about her—something pure. I’d never seen it in any female I’d been with, not even Gabriella. Someone like her had always been unreachable, unattainable.

  Do I really want to taint her innocence with the shit I bring to the table?

  “You know what they say, Tyler . . . it’s not worth it, unless you have to fight for it. We might have done some stupid shit in our lives, but there comes a time when all of that must come to an end. My time is now. You just need to decide when it’ll be yours.”

  With a sly grin, he punched me in the shoulder and chuckled all the way down to the practice ring. “And if you call Bree tonight, you better not hit on her. I’ll seriously kick your ass if you do.”

  “Like you could,” I challenged. “I seem to remember every time we get in the ring it’s your ass that meets the mat.”

  Cole jumped in the ring and bounced on his feet, practicing his jabs. “That may be so, dickhead, but if you fuck with my girl, you fuck with me. One of these days, you’ll know how it feels to be on this end.”

  Maybe one day I would, but right now I had a challenge to face. Kacey wasn’t going to make it easy on me. If it was a fight she wanted, she’d better be prepared to lose. I loved a good challenge.

  And so it begins.

  “KACEY, WHAT’S WRONG with you?” Bree rushed out of the gym.

  I felt like an idiot waiting by her car, but I really needed to get out of there. “I’m so sorry,” I apologized. “I didn’t mean to leave you in there, but it felt like I was having a panic attack.” It was a lie, but she knew I had a history of panic attacks.

  Bree’s brown eyes softened. “Oh, Kace, I didn’t realize. I thought it might have been from what Tyler said to you. He asked if you were going to be okay.”