She was panting when I drew back and stared down at her, her fury dancing in her eyes, but her pupils dilated with the lust that ran between us. No matter how much she might want to deny it, the attraction pulsed from her skin to mine in a steady wave of sparks. She was already mine, even if I hadn't been inside her yet.
Her fury melted behind a mask of amusement that I immediately recognized for what it was. I knew, because I wore one of my own so frequently it felt a little like looking into a mirror.
How much of the wild child everyone else saw when they looked at her was for show, and how much was genuinely Sadie?
She took my hand, guiding me toward the bench where she wrapped her hands in tape. "Spar with me," she said.
I studied her adorable little hands, wondering how something so small could be so lethal. But there was no doubt, not after her quick reflexes grabbing my junk and nearly punching me in the face the night before, that she would surprise any opponent who didn't know what he was dealing with.
She was in full command over her body, claiming it as the weapon she trained it to be.
"The last thing I want is for people to know exactly what I'm capable of before I knock them on their ass, Carina. I'll pass on that." I watched as she climbed into the ring, holding out her hands like she was Rocky trying to challenge me. The smirk on her face was repayment for the challenge I'd thrown down when I kissed her.
She wanted to knock me on my ass. The problem was, she already had.
"Fine. You're no fun." She smirked, and her lips twisted like they might form a pout. Instead, the smirk turned to a full-blown grin, and she crooked her finger at one of the guys hitting the bags a few feet away.
He dropped his gloves on the bench on his way over, wrapping his hands up the same way Sadie had and moving to the ring. Flinging himself inside, he looked far too large with the added height. I hated every second of seeing him near my woman, but refrained from interceding.
His smile was too familiar as he grinned down at her. "Why no gloves?" I asked, instead of expressing my irritation. She gave me a knowing look, and I had to assume she knew exactly how much she was poking the bear when she stepped closer to the guy in the ring with her. I didn't want to feed into that energy or let her know how bothered I was.
I'd just show her later.
"He's not going to punch me. I know this is a boxing gym, but I'm not super big on boxing itself, personally. I let the trainers handle that part," she explained.
"Sadie mostly runs the business end and teaches women kickboxing and self-defense, but she's got more of an MMA style because she has an eclectic background, thanks to her dad," the guy in the ring answered. "She just enjoys taking men to the mat as part of a healthy breakfast."
I cast disinterested eyes his way, crossing my arms over my chest and standing taller. "And you are?"
"Mike," he said with a grin, and there was something in his expression that was too knowing as he studied me. "What'd you do to get yourself a Bellandi boy?" he asked, turning to Sadie with an eyebrow raised.
He shot an arm out towards her, his open palm coming only inches from her sharp cheekbone when she pulled her face back to avoid the strike. Grinning back at him, she danced on the balls of her feet like the bundle of energy she was. Moving constantly, she looked more in her element than I'd ever seen, and I begrudgingly had to admire Mike when he stood still and just watched her movements without so much as a twitch of nerves. "Oh, you know me. They caught me throwing used condoms at Bellandi properties to remind Matteo to wear one now and then," she teased, smirking at him as she feigned with her right hand. When he moved to the left, she lifted a smoothly toned leg up to tap at his abs in warning.
He didn't miss a beat, snatching the foot into his grip. He tucked it into his elbow, pressing his other hand down on the top and holding her steady.