Deserve (19 page)

“I’m ready,” I announce as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

Sean already has his car keys in hand and after a quick
kiss, we exit the apartment.

As we drive through the city, I pepper him with questions
about our destination, but Sean only responds with a chuckle and admonishes, “Have
some patience, missy.”

“We’re going to Brooklyn?” I ask excitedly when we get on
the Manhattan Bridge.

Groaning theatrically, he says, “Now I remember what
Christmas was like at your house.”

I giggle at the memory of me hounding him for hints about my
presents. “It served you right for always wrapping things in decoy boxes.” The
more I pleaded, the cagier he got until it became a game between us. “Remember
when you gave me earrings, but you put it inside a fake football. You made it
impossible to guess.”

“I wasn’t going to be a
wuss
like
Cael
and give it all away at the first sad puppy look,” he
scoffs.

“It wasn’t my face. It was the relentless questions he
couldn’t take.” I smirk at how easily I could push my brother’s buttons. It’s a
talent little sisters inherently possess. “I think the longest he lasted was
two days.”

“
Wuss
,” he proclaims with a grin
on his face. Sean reaches over and clasps my hand. “Is there anything you want
in particular this year?”

Your
heart.

I cut away my gaze to look out the window, not wanting him
to see the pathetic neediness in my eyes.
Patience indeed, missy.
It’s only been two weeks.

“Not really,” I say. “I’m sure I’ll like whatever you get
me. Nothing expensive though.” The costlier the gift, the more aware I am of
the gulf between us.

“We’ll see,” he says mysteriously and I look back at him, shooting
him a severe frown.

“Let’s agree we won’t spend more than twenty bucks.”

His mouth drops open. “What the hell can you even buy for
that?”

I point a finger at him and accuse, “You’re being a snob.
You can get lots of great gifts on a shoestring.” My tone turns sarcastic.
“Ever heard of a budget, Mr. Moneybags? Some of us live on student loans.”

He turns his head and narrows his eyes inquiringly. “I
thought
Cael
was paying for your tuition.”

“He wanted to, but I need to do this on my own. He’s already
sacrificed so much for me and I don’t want to dip into his savings.”

Sean snorts. “You know your tuition is just a drop in the
bucket for him, right?”

“It’s the principle of it,” I counter. “I’m an adult and I
need to pay my own way. I don’t want to rely on my brother for the rest of my life.
My independence is important to me.”

He touches me gently on the cheek. “You’re something else,
you know that, angel?”

I turn pink at the admiration in his voice. “So do we have a
deal about the budget?”

He makes a noise in the back of his throat, but it doesn’t
sound like an agreement. Just when I am about to argue, we pull into a private
parking lot.

I swivel my head around, trying to spot any signage, but the
grey brick building has no identifying marks. “Where are we?” I ask, puzzlement
in my voice.

“You’ll see in a second. Come on.”

We get out of the car and walk to a nondescript metal door.
Sean pushes it open and the sounds of male grunts and shouts reach my ears. The
air smells like stale sweat and other less identifiable, funky odors.

“What is this place?” I step into the dark interior
cautiously. “Is this a gym?” The place is huge. Unlike the gyms I’ve been to,
there
are
few machines other than some treadmills.
Several men are lifting weights in the corner, but almost everyone else is
focused on the two sweaty men sparring in one of the rings. They dance around
each other, throwing lightning-fast jabs, kicking their legs in almost balletic
movements.

“This is one of the best private training facilities for MMA
fighters. A buddy of mine owns it.”

“Rowan!”

At the shout, I glance over to see a man in a black tank and
nylon shorts start toward us. With every step, his muscles undulate and I gape
at the beauty of his body. He looks like one of those models on the cover of a
fitness magazine. His arms and neck are covered with swirling tattoos. I glance
at his face and note he’s not classically handsome like Sean, but he has
compelling masculine features, enhanced starkly by his shaved head. His dark
brown eyes are the color of dark chocolate. I imagine he must draw feminine
attention wherever he goes.

“You’d better stop staring, angel, or I’m going to have to
take him out.”

I jerk my gaze to Sean, shocked and thrilled by the hint of
jealousy in his voice. I open my eyes wide, trying to look innocent. “What? I
was admiring his haircut.”

Smirking, Sean kisses me hard, making me breathless. “You’re
such a smart ass.”

“This must be your girl, Maggie.”

Turning around at the low voice filled with amusement, my
heart races at being called Sean’s girl. I glance at Sean, but he’s grinning
and doing some sort of complicated handshake with his friend.

“Hart. Good to see you, man. Thanks for helping me out.” He
puts his hand at my lower back and nudges me forward. “This is Maggie Jackson.
Maggie, this ugly troll is Tyler Hart.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Tyler.” I shake his hand, noting the
numerous scars on his knuckles.

“Likewise. Please call me Ty.” He winks at me, eyes gleaming
devilishly. “Rowan here has always been jealous of my awe-inspiring physique.
Next to me, he looks like a twig.” Grinning, he flexes his muscles, making his
pecs
and biceps bulge. Up close, he is massive and the
tattoos seem to come alive.

“Cocky bastard. Stop flirting with her or I’ll shove a twig—”

Smile
widening,
Ty lifts his hands
up in a calming motion. “Whoa, whoa. There’s a lady present, Rowan. Didn’t they
teach you better manners at that fancy prep school you went to?”

I can’t help but laugh. Other than his interactions with my
brother, I’ve never seen how Sean relates to his friends. I can tell he and Ty
have an easy rapport. “How do you guys know each other?”

“Bastard arrested me.” Ty jerks his chin in Sean’s
direction.

“No way! What for?”

“Drunk and disorderly conduct. He started a bar brawl,” Sean
supplies.

“Totally trumped up charges,” Ty protests, a not-so-innocent
grin on his face.

I make a production of perusing Ty up and down and nod
solemnly. “I can see that you’re a man of peace.” I pause a beat. “I’m assuming
you kicked butt?”

Tossing his head back, Ty guffaws, drawing a few surprised
glances our way. It takes him a minute to regain his composure and even then,
he has to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye. “You’re damn right I kicked ass!”
He flashes a cocky grin and cracks his knuckles. “Fuck, Rowan. She’s a smart
one. You lucky bastard.”

Sean draws me close and kisses my temple. “Damn straight.”

My whole body flushes with pleasure. “So how did you guys
become friends?” A smile is already tugging on my lips, anticipating the story.

Rubbing his jaw, Sean answers, “Bastard punched me in the
face at the bar when I was trying to break up the fight.”

“By accident!” Ty interjects.

“After he was bailed out by his manager, he sent me two
tickets to his fight as an apology.”

“Won that fight in the first round,” Ty boasts.

“He invited me to work out at his gym and now I’m stuck with
him.”

Ty snorts and punches Sean in the arm. “You should have seen
this bastard before I got my hands on him. Skin and bones.” He waggles his head
mournfully and makes
a
tsking
noise.

I snicker at the exaggeration. As far back as I can remember
,
Sean has had the body of a Greek god. He may not be as
muscled as Tyler, but I prefer his leaner, more elegant form.

Before Sean can retort, a dark-haired man shouts Ty’s name.

“One minute, Bruce,” he yells back as his dark gaze sweeps
the room. Looking over my shoulder, he puts two fingers in his mouth and loud
piercing whistle emerges. He beckons someone with his hand.

I turn around to see a serious-looking woman approach us,
her movements spare and contained. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a French
braid, showing off her beautiful bone structure. I run my eyes over her body
and gulp.
God, everyone is ripped in this
place.
In a sports bra and tiny shorts, this woman is sporting muscles I’ve
never seen on a woman before in my life. I stare at her hard abs in envy.

“Hi!” She sticks out her hand. “I’m Serena Cabot. You must
be Maggie.” Her smile instantly transforms her face from severe to stunning.

“Nice to meet you, Serena.” I smile, somewhat in awe of her.

“Good to see you again, Sean.” The little spark of jealousy
dies a quick death when Serena only gives Sean a cursory smile.

“I’ll leave you in Serena’s hands. It was nice meeting you,
Maggie.” Ty pats my shoulder before heading over to Bruce.

Serena gestures vaguely to the back of the gym. “You ready?”

Bewildered, I look from Sean to Serena and then back to
Sean. “Ready for what?”

He smiles reassuringly and explains, “Serena is going to
give you a quick and dirty self-defense lesson. There are a few tricks that can
easily deter or disable an attacker. If you want to learn more, we can come
back next week, but for today, you can pick up a few basic techniques. It’s
better if you learn them from a woman who’s closer to your weight and height.”

Serena adds, “I also studied aikido which is perfect for
people who don’t look like those behemoths.” She indicates the men scattered
around the gym.

I smile widely. I’ve never been an athletic person, but the
idea of being able to defend myself sends a thrill through me. Glancing at
Sean, I feel a tide of love wash over me. This incredible man had planned this
to help me overcome my fears. Forgetting our audience, I go onto my toes and give
him a deep kiss, trying to show him how I feel.

Hoots and whistles fill the air and I break away with hot
cheeks. Holding his gaze, I whisper, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replies lowly, his eyes darkened with
what I now recognize as desire. Warmth blooms in my core in response.

Fighting not to get sidetracked, I turn to Serena, who has
turned her face discreetly away from us, and ask, “Do you really think I can do
it?”

“Definitely,” Returning her gaze to me, Serena says with
confidence. “Come on. We’ll use the private room so we don’t have to smell the
sweaty socks in here.” She starts to walk toward the back.

“Are you an MMA fighter, Serena?” The idea of a female
fighter is fascinating to me.

“Nah. I don’t have the discipline for it. I’d have to lower
my fat mass and I’m not giving up my chocolate for anything. I’d need to train
for months before I would be fit enough to go into the cage. I help Ty run this
place when he’s not here.”

Staring at her muscular legs, I say skeptically, “If you’re
not fit enough, then the women in the MMA must chew nails for breakfast.”

“That’s the nicest compliment I’ve gotten,” she says with a
huge grin, opening a door to reveal an empty dojo. Following her example, Sean
and I take off our shoes. The floor gives slightly under our weight.

“So, the first rule of self-defense is to not engage your
attacker if you can escape. Run and scream. Do everything to call as much
attention to yourself as possible.”

Sean mutters from the corner of his mouth, “Not run toward
him.”

I glower at his snarky comment. “I get it, Mr. Know-It-All.”

A grin playing on his lips, he is smart enough to keep his
mouth zipped. He takes a stance on the sidelines while Serena run through some
basic pointers and moves.

“Aim for the most vulnerable spots. Eyes, nose, throat,
groin—they’re all good targets to disarm an assailant. Use your hands and
legs, but don’t forget you have your teeth and hard skull as weapons if you are
in close range. You don’t need to have physical strength to do damage. You need
to be smart,” she says.

I nod, trying to absorb every word.

“Okay, Sean and I will do a few demos and then you can try
them.”

Stepping back, I watch Sean walk up to Serena and grab her
arm. The next thing I know, there’s a loud thud and Sean’s on the floor,
grinning up at the ceiling.

“Holy shit! I want to do that,” I say excitedly, eyeing her
with awe.

Serena grins crookedly and helps a laughing Sean stand up.
“This guy is taking it easy on me. He can easily evade that move because of his
training, but most run-of-the-mill street thugs don’t have a black belt in
judo.”

“You have a black belt?” I ask, wondering what else I don’t
know about this fascinating man.

He dismisses it with a casual wave. “It’s not a big deal.”

Looking straight at Serena, I point at him. “How long do I
need to train so I can kick his oh-I’m-so-modest butt?”

Shouting with laughter, Sean pulls me in for a hard kiss.
“I’d let you take me down right now.”

Ignoring the melting sensation in my middle, I push away.
“I’m going to kick your ass, fair and square.” I turn to meet Serena’s amused
gaze. “Okay, Teach. I’m ready.”

For the next couple of hours, Serena patiently runs through
defensive techniques, showing me how to use my opponent’s weight and strength
against him. I feel uncoordinated and clumsy, but Serena assures me that I just
need more practice. I throw Sean onto the ground a few times, but I know it’s
because he lets me.

At the end of the lesson, I’m exhausted, but exhilarated.
“That was awesome. Can we come back tomorrow?” I ask Sean, still hyped up on
adrenaline.