With Me In Seattle: Bundle Two (18 page)

Instead, they got a ride home in a box and an American flag.

“Be happy,” Jules whispers. “Enjoy her. If she can’t handle it, she’ll tell you. Christ, Caleb, Brynna is one of the strongest women I’ve ever met.  She can handle just about anything you throw at her.”

I frown as I watch Nate and Craig with Brynna. Her scowl as she concentrates on what they’re trying to teach her. Her smile when she gets it right. Her exasperated sigh when she gets it wrong and ends up on her magnificent ass.

She’s mine.

Craig whispers something in her ear, making her laugh, her eyes shining. A light sheen of sweat covers her face and chest, and my breath catches.

And then the bastard does what any red-blooded American man would do while that close to a woman like Brynna.

He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear.

And I see red.

***

~Brynna~

How in the hell am I supposed to concentrate on not getting my ass kicked when I’m in the ring with Nate McKenna?

I know he’s married. To one of my best friends. And I’m in love with his brother-in-law. But for the love of all that’s holy, he’s in a black tank that shows off perfectly toned muscles that stretch beneath that delicious tattoo that runs down the length of his arm. His hair is pulled back at the nape of his neck, showing off his square jaw and bright gray eyes.

Everything about this man screams sex.

Screams. Sex.

And it doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met, and to top it all off, he’s completely in love with his wife.

Is there anything sexier than a hot man in love with his wife?

No.

“Remember, if they manage to get their arm around your neck, you pull your arm up and jab down,
hard
,” Nate murmurs in my ear from behind me. His arm is wrapped around my neck, as if he’s surprised me from behind.

“Right,” I confirm, not sure that I’ll ever remember any of this later.

“Okay, I want to show you some fighting techniques.” Nate smiles reassuringly and turns to the side of the ring. “Hey, Craig! Come up here and help me out!”

The man named Craig easily pulls himself up the side of the ring and through the ropes and walks confidently to our side.

“What can I do?” he asks with a grin. He’s handsome in a boyish kind of way. His body is hard and bulked-up, but he has a young face. I bet he was called babyface all through school.

He’s good-looking, but not what I want.

What I want is standing at the edge of the ring with his sister.

I glance over to find Caleb scowling down at Jules, who has her arms wrapped around his waist and is hugging him close. I wonder what they’re talking about.

“Pay attention, Bryn,” Nate says and motions for Craig to move behind me and show me how to place my feet and hands.

We go through several minutes of instructions, with both Nate and Craig laying their hands on me, showing me how to hold my arms, spread my feet, tilt my hips.

“Okay, are you ready for me to hit you?” Nate asks.

“I’m gonna die,” I whisper, earning a laugh from Craig behind me.

“I won’t let him kill you,” he murmurs into my ear. “Besides, you know how to deflect this. Just remember what he told you.”

Nate comes at me, and just when I think I’ve outmaneuvered him, he sneaks in with another jab, and I’m flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me.

“Shit!” Nate and Craig both squat beside me and take my hands in theirs, helping me up to a sitting position.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Nate asks.

I nod and drag air into my lungs. “Knocked the wind out of me.”

Nate steps back, but Craig smiles gently at me and tucks my hair behind my  ear and glides his knuckle down my jawline, sending goose bumps down my arms. “Nothing sexier than a sweaty woman,” he mutters.

“Sweaty women are not sexy,” I respond with a wrinkled nose, smiling up at him, and then quickly glance guiltily around for Caleb.

“I think that’s enough for today,” Caleb announces as he bounds into the ring, his face tight with anger. He glares at Craig, who immediately backs away, and takes my hand in his, helping me to my feet. “Are you okay?” he asks me.

“I’m fine. I can keep going.”

“No, that’s enough for today.” He shakes Nate’s hand. “Thanks, man.”

“Anytime.”

“I want to play, too!” Jules announces as she pulls herself into the ring. “C’mon, Bryn, I’ll spar with you.”

“No!” Both Nate and Caleb yell at once.

“She won’t hit me hard,” Jules mutters with a pout.

“I’m not hitting you at all. You’re pregnant, for God’s sake.” I shake my head at her and laugh. “You can go nine months without kicking ass, Jules.”

“Nine months.” Her eyes go wide before they land on Nate. “You’d better get ready for lots of verbal ass-kickings if I can’t kick your ass in the ring.”

“Yeah, you scare me.” Nate smirks and pulls her into his arms.

“You’re sweaty,” Jules complains and tries to squirm away, but Nate holds strong.

“C’mere,” he mutters and buries his face in her neck, making her giggle.

“I’m out of here,” Caleb announces.

“Hold up,” Nate calls out and kisses Jules’ head before sauntering over to Caleb. “If you have time, I’d like some one-on-one time with you in the ring. You look like you could use something to take a swing at.”

I look up in surprise to see Caleb considering Nate’s invitation. He glances down at me with hot blue eyes and then back at Nate.

“Yeah, I’ve got time.”

“Don’t hurt him too much, ace.” Jules grins and kisses Nate’s cheek before taking my hand and leading me to the side of the ring.

“Have they done this before?” I ask her.

“I don’t know.” Jules shrugs. “I don’t think so, but Caleb comes to this gym when he’s in town, so they might have.”

“Helmets?” Nate asks.

Caleb shakes his head no and reaches over his shoulder, grips his T-shirt and pulls it over his head and tosses it my way.

“Damn,” I whisper at the sight of him. Every time I see his bare skin is like the first time.

A crowd has gathered around the ring to watch the two athletes go at each other. They circle each other, both the same height, broad-shouldered, but where Nate is dark, Caleb is fair.

It’s quite possibly illegal to have two amazingly hot men in the same ring together.

Suddenly, Nate leans in and jabs, and it’s on. For several minutes, they punch and deflect, kick and push and throw each other on the floor, only to bounce right back up.

Their faces are feral, eyes hot and trained on the other, and it’s the hottest damn thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

“They’re going to kill each other,” I mutter in awe.

“Maybe.” Jules nods. “Jesus, look at them!”

Nate takes a swing at Caleb’s face, but he grips Nate’s fist in his hands and twirls, picks him up on his back and slams him to the ground, his elbow in Nate’s throat.

Nate kicks out of the hold, and they continue, heaving and sweating. Bleeding.

Nate has a trickle of blood coming from his nose, and Caleb is bleeding near his left eye.

And neither looks ready to stop.

Finally, after Nate kicks Caleb in the ribs and follows up with an elbow between his shoulder blades, Nate’s dad rings the bell.

I didn’t even notice that he was here.

“Enough!” Mr. McKenna yells out. “If you have more aggression to get out, take it up with a bag. Not each other.”

Nate and Caleb are both bent at the waist, panting and sweating, catching their breath. Jules and I are both holding ours.

“What the hell was that all about?” I ask.

“Testosterone?” Jules asks with a bewildered shrug. “It was kind of hot, though.”

I nod in agreement and watch as Nate stands upright and approaches Caleb, shakes his hand and pulls him in for a man-hug. He talks low for a few moments, and Caleb’s eyes narrow before he pulls back and nods, offers Nate a half smile and pats him hard on the shoulder.

They both come down off the ring and smile at us.

“Feel better?” Jules asks.

“Yeah.” Nate shrugs and offers her a cocky smile. “I could have taken him down.”

“In your dreams, McKenna. I was going easy on you,” Caleb retorts and pushes his arms through his shirt and pulls it over his head.

Oh, don’t put the sweaty muscles away yet!

“We should go,” I murmur and smile at Caleb. He’s still a bit reserved and quiet, and I can’t figure out what’s wrong with him.

“We should go, too,” Nate agrees and pulls Jules to him, knowing how sweaty and grimy he is.

“See you tomorrow night!” Jules waves at us, laughing and halfheartedly trying to fight Nate off.

Caleb leads me to the car, opens the door for me without saying a word and then climbs into the driver’s side. After driving for more than ten minutes in complete silence, I decide to clear the air.

“I didn’t flirt back,” I blurt out.

“What?” he asks, barely sparing me a glance.

“With Craig. He flirted with me, but I didn’t flirt back.” I cross my arms over my chest and look out the window, not paying any attention to the sights of downtown Seattle, or the rain as it rolls down the window in ribbons.

“I don’t give a shit about that guy,” Caleb mutters and turns down my street.

“Then what’s wrong?” I ask with a frown.

He swallows and glances at me, rubs his fingers over his lips and looks like he’s going to say something, but changes his mind.

“Nothing.”

He’s lying.

“Caleb—”

“I’m fine,” he cuts me off and shoves the car into park when we reach my house. “Don’t worry about it.”

When we get inside the house and Caleb checks the alarm and the windows and doors, he stops in the kitchen, not meeting my gaze. Bix greets us, happy to see us, and enjoys scratches on the head from Caleb, who is still sweaty and dirty from his vigorous workout with Nate.

“Do you want to join me in the shower?” I ask.

He shakes his head and gestures toward the backyard. “I’m going to go out back and work out. Call me if you need me.”

And with that, he marches out back, dog in tow, and straight to the ropes attached to Natalie’s studio, working them vigorously. By the time he stops, his muscles have to be singing in protest, but he moves straight over to the bar he had installed for pull-ups, jumps up and immediately begins raising and lowering himself on the bar.

Bix lies on the deck, keeping watch.

What the hell is going on Caleb’s head?

“Mommy! Mommy!” The girls come racing through the front door, coats and backpacks on, excited to be home from school. Matt grins from the doorway.

“Did you have fun at the gym today?” he asks.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I respond with a chuckle. “I can do that now.”

“Good to hear.” He nods and then frowns. “Where is Caleb?”

“Out back. He’s cranky,” I reply with a sigh and relieve the girls of their backpacks.

“In that case, I’ll go. See you all later.” Matt waves and leaves, and I kiss the girls in turn.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask them.

“Yeah,” Maddie responds. “Why is Caleb cranky?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s go work out with him,” Josie suggests to Maddie, who grins, and they both make a beeline for the door before I can tell them to leave him be.

I put their bags away and pull the ingredients for dinner out of the fridge just as I hear high-pitched squeals of laughter coming from the girls in the backyard.

I look out the sliding glass door to find Caleb holding onto Maddie’s waist, holding her up to his pull-up bar, helping her raise and lower herself in pull-up form. She tries to look over her shoulder at him, a huge smile on her face, full of trust and love, as Josie and Bix run circles around them, laughing and barking.

“Let me down!” Maddie calls out, and Caleb complies, lowering her to her feet and then tackles both girls in his arms, falling to the ground, making sure the girls fall on top of him, while Bix barks and bounces around them, smiling his doggie smile with his tongue flopping out of his mouth.

It’s the sweetest picture I’ve ever seen in my life.

Chapter Fourteen

“The show was ah-mazing!” Stacy exclaims as she settles into Isaac’s side, drink in hand, smiling widely.

My cousin is well on her way to getting her drunk on.

“It was.” I nod and grin and can’t help but gaze over at Will and Meg, who are wrapped up in each other on a couch nearby. “Will,” I call to him, “that was quite possibly the most romantic proposal I’ve ever seen.”

We are all at the after-party for Nash’s first concert in their Sunshine Tour, where Will surprised us all by taking the stage and asking Meg to marry him in front of thousands of screaming fans.

“I’m a romantic guy.” He shrugs and grins.

“You’re a lot of things, babe,” Meg responds with a loud laugh, “but romantic isn’t one of them. Did Luke give you pointers?”

“Hey! I have my romantic moments!” Will frowns at her and then whispers something apparently inappropriate in her ear, making her blush furiously.

“Oh yeah, that’s right.”

“I don’t want to know.” Matt shakes his head with a laugh and then glances at Caleb, who hasn’t commented all evening, or even looked my way twice.

I wore this sexy outfit, and he hasn’t even noticed. Instead, his body is tense, and his eyes are narrowed, watching the room, the people around us, and just generally pissing me off.

I know he’s trying to keep me safe, but for the love of Jesus, I have more muscle surrounding me right now than the president.

“You okay, man?” Matt asks him.

“Fine,” Caleb answers with a nod.

“Are you sure?” I ask, resting my hand on his arm.

He doesn’t spare me a glance, just tightens his jaw even more, if that’s possible. “I’m fine,” he repeats, his voice hard and firm.

“Hey, Sam.” Jules approaches Sam from across the room. “Leo was just looking for you a few minutes ago. You must have been in the restroom.”

Samantha is dating Leo, the lead singer of Nash, and I couldn’t be happier for her. They make a great couple. Leo is all tall and tattooed and sexy as all get-out, but Sam keeps him grounded and isn’t afraid to cut him down to size when his ego gets a bit out of hand.