Garnet Flats (The Edens)

Jasper’s gloved fist connected with my face.

My head whipped to the side, a burst of pain spreading through my cheek. Motherfucker. That was the third time he’d hit me today.

“What’s with you?” He jabbed again. “You’re distracted.”

“Sorry.” I worked my jaw, moving around the ring. My hands were up to guard my face, but yeah, I was distracted.

Jasper dropped his arms to his sides and frowned, pulling out his mouthguard. “Are you going to be able to do this fight with Savage?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, taking out my own mouthguard and tucking it in the waistband of my shorts. “Fuck, I don’t know. My head’s not in it.”

No, my head was at Talia’s house, along with my heart.

It had been nearly a week since we’d left her place. Kadence and I had packed our things and returned to the gym on Saturday. The furnace was new, the heat working perfectly and quiet as a mouse compared to the old one.

We’d spent last weekend in the apartment, cleaning and lazing around. Kadence had made slime from a kit I’d picked up at the grocery store. Jasper had come over on Sunday with pizza and we’d watched football on the couch while Kaddie had played her Nintendo Switch. It might have been an enjoyable, relaxing weekend.

Except, as my daughter had pointed out, Talia’s house was way better than the gym.

And I missed her.

I hadn’t seen her since we’d left her place. We’d texted. Yesterday, I’d been so desperate to hear her voice I’d called her after Kaddie had gone to sleep.

This was progress. Good progress. We were taking it slow. Talking. Texting. Rebuilding what I’d broken.

So why couldn’t I shake this feeling that everything was about to fall apart? That I’d lose her again?

The doubts had made it nearly impossible for me to focus on anything, including this upcoming fight.

“Maybe this has to be the last one,” I told Jasper.

He raised his eyebrows. “You want to retire?”

I shrugged and walked to the corner, picking up my water bottle and taking a long drink. “Honestly? Maybe. I’m not getting any younger. Montana is a hell of a long ways from Vegas. It’s been easier out here to detach.”

And that was the problem. Because the last thing I wanted to do was fly to Vegas. Maybe that was why I couldn’t shake this feeling. I had this fear that if I left Montana, I’d lose Talia.

Jasper dropped to the mat to stretch. “You told me when you came up here that you needed something to fight for. A reason. You’ve always needed that. Some specific motivator to latch on to.”

That was exactly my problem. I had enough money to last a lifetime. I’d won the belts. My name was synonymous with victory. What now?

My fight wasn’t in Vegas, not anymore.

My fight was here, for Talia’s heart.

“What happens if you lose?” Jasper asked.

“I’ll be pissed.” Maybe I didn’t need to win, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed losing.

“You need to ask her to go with you.”

“Who? Talia?”

Jasper nodded. “You’re worried about leaving here, aren’t you?”

“Get out of my head.”

He chuckled. “I get it. You came up here, threw everything into this place. You put it all on the line, hoping she’d take you back.”

And she had. Sort of. Probably. I’d told her I loved her and she hadn’t been able to say it back. There’d been some hesitation, indecision, in her eyes. But she just needed time.

“What’s your point?” I asked.

“If Talia is here, your head will be here. So it’s pretty obvious. You’ve got to convince her to come to Vegas and be there for the fight. I’m guessing that if your girl is sitting front row, there’s no way you let her see you lose.”

Fuck no. I wouldn’t let her see me lose. A grin stretched across my face. “I’m not paying you enough.”

He laughed. “No, you are not. Did you see the temperature this morning? Five below. I’m not made for five below.”

“Come on.” I walked over and extended a hand to help him to his feet. “It’s my turn to punch you in the face.”

“Not a chance.” He smirked, putting in his mouthguard. Then he walked to the timer we kept in the ring. As soon as the beep sounded, Jasper lifted his hands. “Five minutes.”

A full round.

It was like a fresh wave of energy had infused my body as we faced off. My head snapped into place, everything beyond this ring becoming a blur. And that uneasy feeling was gone.

I’d bring Talia to the fight. I’d beat Scott Savage if only to see Talia’s face when I emerged the victor. Then we’d come home. We’d come to Montana. And if I had another contract in me, I’d negotiate it. And if not, well . . . retirement would be a damn nice consolation prize.

Jasper faked a kick, raising his knee fast. But before he could throw a jab–reverse punch combo, a move I’d seen him do a hundred times, I did my own fake like I was going to do a round kick, but shifted my hips in a flash, changing the kick to a hook.

My foot tapped him on the side of the head, just a touch before I pulled it away. Then it was my turn to smirk. “See? I’ll be fine.”

Scott Savage was a brute. He didn’t have my speed or technique. I preferred to fight on my feet, and my biggest worry was that he’d get a lucky takedown and we’d spend most of our fight grappling on the mat. Even then, I could take him.

I’d be relying on my training. Years of boxing. Years of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And I’d be relying on my heart. Because Jasper had nailed exactly what I needed.

If Talia was sitting front row, no way I’d let her see me lose.

Jasper and I danced around the ring, both light on our feet. When the timer beeped at the five-minute mark, we were both sweating and breathless.

I was headed for the corner to get another drink when the door opened, a gust of cold air sweeping inside. Then I had to press a hand to my chest to keep my heart from leaping out as Talia walked inside.

She’d come to me for a change.

I fucking liked that. A lot.

“Hi.” She waved and walked toward the ropes. “Am I interrupting?”

“No.” I crouched down, waiting until she was close enough. Then I hooked my finger under her chin and pulled her in for a soft kiss. “Hi.”

“I didn’t know if you’d be training or not.” She glanced over my shoulder. “Hey, Jasper.”

“Hey.” He jerked up his chin.

“I don’t have to stay,” Talia said, lowering her voice. “I wasn’t working today and—”

“You missed me.”

Her cheeks flushed. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too, love.”

Talia’s gaze raked down my bare chest. “I forgot about this.”

“About what?”

She waved a hand toward my body. “You. How sexy it is when you’re fighting.”

Good thing she thought it was sexy. Hopefully that would make her accept my invite to Vegas. “Kiss me.”

She obeyed instantly, rising up on her toes. And instead of a brush of our lips, I reached through the ropes, fisted the lapel of her coat, and held her to me as my tongue swept inside.

Jasper’s throat cleared behind us but I licked and sucked and didn’t let Talia go until her cheeks were thoroughly flushed.

Talia bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back a smile.

“Think that’s my cue to leave.” Jasper walked past us, laughing as he climbed out of the ring. Then he went to a bench, snagging his sweatshirt. He tugged it over his head before trapping his sweaty hair beneath a baseball hat. With his shoes on, he walked for the door. “Have fun, you two.”

“You doing okay?” I asked as Jasper left.

She lifted a shoulder. “I’m fighting with Lyla. Sort of. I don’t know. But I haven’t talked to her much and it’s weird.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Sister drama.” Was it nothing? Before I could ask, she changed the subject. “In other news, my mom wants to meet you.”

“I’d like to meet her too.”

“It might be awkward.”

I shrugged. “Awkward won’t last forever. They’ll get used to me eventually.”

“Yeah.” There was hesitancy in her voice. Either she didn’t want me to meet her family.

Or . . . she still didn’t believe I’d stay. She doubted me.

Unease swam in my veins like a poison.

The Talia from before hadn’t held back. She’d given me her all. Trusted. Believed. That woman was still in there. Somewhere. And somehow, I had to coax her out. Prove to her this was real.

“What time do you need to get Kadence from school?” she asked.

I shoved my fears aside, glancing at the clock. “About an hour. Why?”

“You need a shower.” She raised an eyebrow, then walked away, out of my reach. By the time she’d strutted to the apartment door, her winter coat was on the floor. One hand worked free the zipper on her hoodie, shaking it from her arms and dropping it on the floor. And when she reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, I leapt over the ropes, jogging to catch up.

My hands went to her hips, shuffling her toward the bathroom as my mouth latched on to her pulse, giving it a good suck.

“Foster.” She moaned, reaching back, her fingers threading into my hair.

“Get these off.” I flicked at the hem of her jeans. “Now.”

She freed the buttons and shimmied them down her hips as I shoved my own shorts to the floor, kicking them away.

My cock sprang free, throbbing as I pressed it into the crack of her ass.

Talia hissed, arching into me.

“Are you wet for me?” My hand drifted over her hip, across her belly. I dipped into her folds. Soaked. “You’re fucking soaked.”

I dragged my fingers through her wetness, spreading it across her pussy. The moment we crossed the threshold to the bathroom, I swung her around, hoisting her up and planting her on the countertop.

My electric toothbrush toppled off its charger. A brush clattered into the sink.

I shoved Talia’s knees apart, hooking my hands beneath them to drag her to the edge of the surface, her hands coming to my shoulders to hold on tight, and then I lined up at her entrance and thrust home.

“Fuck,” I groaned as she clenched around me. “You feel so good. So fucking good.”

She cupped her breasts, her rosy nipples hard and begging for my mouth.

So I bent and sucked, pulling out to thrust inside.

“More,” she breathed. “Harder.”

“Tell me you missed me again,” I said, kissing across her chest to her other breast.

“I missed you,” she whispered as I sucked her nipple. Hard.

I let that bud pop free from my mouth and stood tall, reaching between us to place my thumb just above her clit. “Come to Vegas with me. For my fight.”

Her eyes flew to mine. “What?”

“My fight. Come with me.”

She leaned in, her lips seeking mine. “Do we have to talk about this now?”

Before she could kiss me, before I lost my nerve, I shied away and nodded. My thumb moved closer to her clit but still didn’t touch. “Say yes.”

“Foster.” She wiggled but I had her trapped.

“I need you with me, Tally. Come.” Slowly, I eased out, teasing her with just the tip. When her eyes were locked with mine, I eased forward, inch by inch, until I was buried deep. So deep that maybe she’d realize nothing would tear us apart. Not again.

A shudder ripped through her body, her inner walls fluttering around my length.

My thumb grazed her clit before I pulled it away. “Say yes and I’ll give you exactly what you need.”

“Yes.” She swallowed hard, her hands digging into my shoulders. “Yes.”

“Good girl.” I pulled out, then slammed forward, earning a hitch in her breath. Then I circled her clit with just the right amount of pressure to make her limbs tremble.

Talia’s hands moved to the counter, her arms braced as her head lolled to the side. Behind her, her hair flowed in rhythm with my thrusts. Her lips parted, and with each piston of my hips, I earned a quick inhale. Her breasts swayed, those nipples impossibly hard. Perfection. She was fucking perfect.

“Look at us. Look at me fucking you.” Shifting my hand out of the way, I rocked us together, my cock disappearing into her body. I watched her take me inch by inch. And when I was rooted to the hilt, I met Talia’s gaze. “You and me. It’s always been you and me.”

She took my face in her hands, hauling my lips to hers. The kiss was short. She tore away, panting as I picked up my pace. Then she cried my name, her mouth open and against mine, as her orgasm broke. She pulsed, harder than ever before, those inner walls squeezing me like a fucking fist.

“Tally. Yes.” My body tightened, that build in the base of my spine, until I snapped. I released inside of her, clinging to her as she clung to me. And when we were both spent, I pushed that silky, dark hair away from her face and let myself drown in those beautiful blue eyes.

“You’d better get in the shower,” she said, breathless, her fingertips stroking my beard.

I wrapped my arms around her, our bodies still connected, and held tight. “One more minute.”

One minute turned into two and finally I eased out, reaching to the shower to crank on the spray.

Except the faucet only dribbled a weak stream into the tub. “What the hell?”

Talia hopped off the counter, peering past my shoulder. “Um, that’s not good.”

“Son of a bitch.” I stalked out of the bathroom, buck naked, and out of the apartment.

The utility closet was in between the locker rooms. They’d been cleaned, but otherwise, I’d ignored them, concentrating on the gym and apartment. The rooms weren’t large, and since I had the bathroom in the apartment, they were pointless at the moment.

Talia followed in my wake, dressed in her bra and panties and shrugging on her sweatshirt as she rushed to catch up.

The noise hit me first, the sound of water hitting a floor. My floor. I was stepping through the door, turning for the men’s side and the source of that trickle, when my foot splashed in a puddle.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I waded through the water, so warm it was nearly too hot, until I reached the utility closet. I yanked open the door.

Water poured from the bottom of the hot water heater.

“For fuck’s sake.” I stretched past the cylinder, reaching for the shut-off valve. Once it was twisted and off, I stood and pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Oh, shit.” Talia met my gaze. “I’m sorry.”

I tipped my head to the ceiling. Would it cave in next? When would the disasters end?

“How would you feel about a couple of houseguests?”