Page 75
“Thank you for the ride,” Ari said as she slipped her key in the rickety door lock and opened the creaking door.
“I’ll see you soon, Ari. ”
“Don’t bother. I think we’ve come to the end of our short journey together. I hope you’ll respect me and yourself enough to let this go,” she replied while looking down at her feet.
Rafe backed her into the apartment, his meaning clear as they moved until she ran into the wall. He placed his fingers beneath her chin and tugged until she finally met his gaze.
“If all I saw was disinterest on your face then I would go away, Ari. Unfortunately for both of us, you’re far more interested than you profess. There’s fire burning in your eyes, and whether you like it or not, your body responds to me like a fiddle to its bow. When you stop the fight, I’ll be there to release those inhabitations you hold onto so tightly and you’ll have to hang on for the ride – because believe me, it will be wild. ”
Ari’s breathing deepened and Rafe knew he could take her right where she stood. He knew she wouldn’t fight him – wouldn’t do anything but cry out his name as her pleasure reached its crescendo.
He decided to let her suffer, even though he’d also be hurting. In the short run it was worth it, though tonight when he lay in bed aching, he may regret his decision.
“You have my number,” were his parting words as he walked out her door.
Needing to burn off energy, Rafe drove straight to the gym and changed, then headed to the boxing ring. As he did his warm ups, adrenaline began pumping through him. He’d feel much better after a good battle.
“Rafe, it’s been a while. You’re in luck, Sam’s here. ”
Rafe turned to find his favorite trainer, Mickey, leaning against the wall with a delighted smile on his face. Rafe just nodded his head. The man got a bit too excited at the prospect of blood spilling, and they both knew that was about to happen. Sam was a middle-weight champion boxer, and Rafe’s favorite sparring buddy.
They got rough, and by the end, both of them were hurting, but it was a good ache. Boxing was an outlet – it relieved his high levels of stress and calmed him. He was ready.
A crowd started to gather as Rafe climbed into the ring. They all enjoyed watching a good sparring match. Sam stepped from the locker-room and their eyes locked and his friend smiled.
“I didn’t think I was going to be able to kick some ass today. It’s been a while since you’ve been down here. Are you sure you want to go a few rounds with me, pansy. ”
“I think you’re just too damn chicken to fight me. Did you leave your big boy pants at home,” Rafe shot back.
“Nah, I left them at your mother’s house when I snuck out the window this morning. ”
Rafe laughed as Sam stepped into the ring and came over to give him a half-hug. They turned as Mickey joined them.
“All right, boys. You know the rules. No groin shots or any of that sissy hugging. If I have to pull you apart I’m going to get cranky. Keep it clean and knock the crap out of each other,” Mickey said as he patted them each on the shoulder.
Rafe and Sam hit gloves then went to their corners. The bell rang and they came out fighting…
“Rafe! What happened to you?” his mother exclaimed when he walked in the house. They were all supposed to be gone already. He loved them, but he was ready for their meddling visit to be over.
“I’m fine, Mom. I was just sparring at the gym. ”
“You have a black eye and swollen lip,” she exclaimed.
“Yeah, that tends to happen when I spar with Sam,” he said with a chuckle. “You should see what his face looks like. It’s never pretty, but it looks even worse now. ”
“That’s terrible. I didn’t know you were still into that awful boxing. I could just kill your father for introducing you to the sport. ”
“Yeah, you have to say that as my mother, but it looks a lot worse than it feels. As a matter of fact, I haven’t felt this good in a while,” he answered as he walked into his den and moved behind the bar.
He grabbed a cold bottle of beer and took a long swallow. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was a lot more sore than he should be. It really had been a while since he’d sparred. He was going to have to try and get down there more often – at least a couple times a month.
“We were planning on leaving tomorrow morning, but we can stay until you’re better. ”
“No! I mean, thanks for the offer, but I’ll be working night and day over the next few weeks, so you’d be wasting your time hanging out here,” he quickly said, hoping he hadn’t hurt her feelings with his insistence that she leave.