He took advantage of her being distracted by her task to stare at her shapely legs, which disappeared under a short skirt barely longer than her small apron. Her skin was delicately pale and smooth, and he wondered what it would feel like to slide his fingers up the length of those legs. His eyes traveled up her body, disappointed that the thick, blond ringlets dangling halfway down her back were also hiding most of her face as she leaned over the bar. He wanted to see her perfectly sloped nose, catch her eyes with his, and see what her small pink lips would look like when they smiled.
Something about this woman was intriguing him, although he couldn’t pinpoint what.
Her work completed, she exhaled loudly and plopped the empty bucket at her feet, taking a breather. Rory chuckled lightly, finally grabbing her attention.
“You laughing at me?” She put her hands on her hips, daring him to make fun of her.
Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, but he was still able to catch a glimpse of the dazzling emerald color that contrasted against her light skin and golden hair so perfectly.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, mhuirnín.” A smile spread across his face as he watched her saunter over to him, her full, pink lips tightly pressed together in irritation.
“What’s that mean?” she asked when she reached him, standing across the bar with her arms folded across her chest and one hip tilted higher than the other. Her tone was defiant and he loved the feisty spirit she exuded.
“Mhuirnín? You’re all questions today. I’ll answer your question, if you answer mine.” Rory concentrated on keeping his speech normal and not slurring his words. He might have had a bit more to drink tonight than he had intended.
She turned away from him, looking back down the length of the bar and drumming her fingers on its surface.
Rory could sense her nervousness. He already missed her green gaze and silently begged her to turn back to him. There was something about her that stirred a protective instinct in him, a feeling entirely foreign toward anyone that wasn’t family. She was smiling, but there was an undercurrent of pain breaking through her friendliness.
He didn’t like it.
“I guess that’s fair,” she relented, turning back to him and leaning against the wall.
“I haven’t seen you here before. What’s your name?” His question was simple, but the desire in his eyes was not as he licked his bottom lip and admired how perfectly her uniform hugged her curves, even on her small figure.
“Clare Ivers. I’m new in town. Needed a job.” She shrugged, not divulging much, but he felt a sliver of hope when he saw that the smile on her face had yet to disappear.
He knew that she could feel his attraction toward her when he saw the blush creep up her cheeks. The smile she couldn’t push away told him she was enjoying their banter as much as he was.
Despite her clear interest, there was a hint of disapproval as he watched her eyes roam over his torso. It was a look he was way too familiar with from the last year. Rory worried he might be slurring his words or sounding more drunk than he felt.
Wouldn’t be the first time, he thought.
“Your turn.” She pointed at him, biting the corner of her lip in an attempt to hide her smile.
“Mhuirnín means sweetheart. If you’re going to work in Woodlawn, Clare, you gotta learn some Irish.”
“Is that right? I guess I’ll have to find a good tutor then,” she taunted, before turning on her heels and sauntering off.
Rory felt his jaw drop slightly as he watched her, his interest piqued. He wasn’t normally one to let a girl walk away without snagging her phone number, but something about her told him that she wasn’t the type to give that away so easily.
“Already hitting the latest talent?” Quinn came up beside his older brother and handed him a beer.
“Fuck off, Quinn,” Rory ribbed, surprised at how light he felt at the moment. It had been some time since he had laughed at all, he realized, as he downed the beer Quinn gave him.
A third brother, Kane, appeared behind Quinn a few seconds later, nodding at Rory. No one would know those three were related if it wasn’t for the famous Kavanagh name.
Quinn was the odd man out in the group of brothers, with his straight black hair, clean-shaven face, and snakelike black eyes. Quinn had even added to his differences by covering his arms and chest with tattoos that peeked out from under his sleeves and shirt collar, along with piercings on both ears and several other places.
“You coming to Ma’s tomorrow?” Kane asked Rory, leaning his back against the bar.
His body was turned to face Rory, but he was obviously scoping out the bar as his dark blue eyes peered around the room. Rory followed Kane’s stare, noticing more than a few heads turned in their direction. He didn’t bother rushing to answer his brother, since Kane’s attention was clearly elsewhere.
The Kavanagh brothers were well known in the Bronx, especially Woodlawn, but even if they weren’t, the group of athletic men was hard not to stare at. Several women on the other side of the bar were giggling, batting eyelashes, and attempting flirty glances as they openly gawked at the three men.
Rory knew Kane was a notorious ladies’ man; he watched him smile eagerly at a woman passing by. Everyone had always told him that Kane resembled Rory the most out of all the Kavanagh brothers, which was ironic since Kane was one in a set of twins. Rory wasn’t as close to Kane’s twin, Kieran, who was currently serving time in prison. They had had a falling-out before Kieran landed up in jail and not gotten around to resolving things between them yet.
Considering their similar dark brown hair, scruffy beards, and muscular build, the biggest difference Rory could see between himself and Kane, aside from their eye color, was that Rory liked to let his hair grow to chin length, leaving the wavy locks down to frame his face. He liked his longer style versus Kane’s short hair, and most of the women he found himself around seemed to share that opinion.
One woman had even told him he appeared medieval, as if he could be her knight in shining armor. That was a comparison that still eluded him, since his refusal to settle down or be in any type of serious relationship usually had women calling him much different things, none of them very pleasant.
Pulling back his attention to his brothers, Rory purposefully stayed noncommittal, though he knew Sundays at the Kavanagh house really weren’t optional. Not if their mother had anything to say about it.
“What about Monday, coming to Legends?” Quinn asked, nodding suggestively at one of the women watching them, as he referred to the MMA club and gym that the Kavanagh family owned a few blocks over.
“I can’t start training yet.” Rory pushed his hand through his hair, wanting to avoid the topic.
He was suddenly feeling a lot more sober than he liked, wanting his brothers to leave so he could slip a few more pills out of his pocket undetected. The numbing feeling they had brought earlier was already wearing off.
“It’s been over a year since the fight, man. The hell you can’t train—you’re Rory “Knockout” Kavanagh, best MMA fighter in New York!” Quinn said sarcastically and slightly louder than was necessary.
“New York? Try the entire nation, Quinn,” Kane added, a swell of pride in his voice as he beamed at Rory.
“Was, guys. Past tense.” Rory spoke through gritted teeth as his hand touched his own knee, feeling the thick scars through the fabric of his pants, gruesome evidence of the injury that had ended his mixed martial arts career. The bottle of pills was now burning a hole in his pocket as he thought about how badly he wanted some relief.
“Maybe it would be present tense if you didn’t reek of booze all the damn time,” Kane said, daring him to counter the statement. Rory took a slow, deep breath to calm himself. He loved his brothers, but he didn’t need their pity.
“Rory! It’s been a while, man!” The tall, skinny male bartender strolled over, already filling up a tall Guinness on his way.
He slid the drink in front of Rory and then crossed hi
s arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation as to his absence.
“Sorry, Cian, just been busy.” Rory picked up the glass and began to chug, glad his brothers had wandered over to the table of women in the corner and finally left him alone.
“Shit, Rory. It’s one o’clock in the morning and you waltz in here, unable to walk a straight line, and now you’re slurring your damn words.” Cian rolled his eyes at Rory as he watched him polish off the glass. Their interaction was going very quickly from friendly to not so much.
“What the fuck do you know about where I’ve been? I’m a paying customer— give me another damn drink.” Rory’s voice was gruff and deep as he pulled out the large, folded stack of cash and threw some bills onto the counter.
His previous life as a professional fighter had set him up financially for quite some time, giving him the luxury of not having to work even though he still helped out at Legends on occasion. The bartender shook his head and pushed the money back to Rory, refusing it.
“I’m not giving you another one tonight, Rory. And that last one was on the house. I won plenty of money, thanks to you—when I bet on Santiago.” An arrogant sneer crept over Cian’s face.
Every other sound and sight in the room suddenly shut off in Rory’s mind as he instantly saw red. He clenched his jaw as fury flew through him and pulled him right up out of his seat, his breathing suddenly erratic.
He lunged across the bar and grabbed Cian’s shirt with one hand, slamming him forward into the wooden barrier between them, while his other hand balled into a fist and flew through the air. The cracking sound as his knuckles made contact with Cian’s nose echoed through the bar and Rory savored the pain coursing through his hand, secretly loving the feeling of bones crunching under his fist again.
“Rory!” Hands were on him instantly, yanking him away from the bar and over to the front of the pub.
Cian fell from his grasp and slid to the floor, screaming as he held a hand over his nose. Blood flowed down his face, dripping onto his clothes and the ground, giving the bar a slight scent of copper. A string of curses flew out of his mouth as he wailed in pain.
Rory dropped his hands in surrender, letting his brothers shove him to the exit. As he left, he caught sight of Clare standing a few feet behind Cian, her mouth open and her green eyes wide in shock.
An unfamiliar wave of guilt washed over him when he saw the fear on her face. He cursed at himself silently, wondering if he had ruined his chance with the one thing that had made him smile today. In fact, she was the only thing that had made him smile in far too many days.
He brushed it off almost instantly once he trekked outside though. He told himself it was a good thing, because he didn’t want a relationship—he just wanted to screw and move on. Exhaling slowly, he thought about it as he felt the cold air outside wrapping around him. He had enough baggage of his own to deal with and he wasn’t sure why he had ever entertained the possibility of Clare in the first place. She didn’t strike him as the kind of girl to be fine with a one-night stand, and he didn’t have more than that to give.
“Shit, Rory! What is wrong with you?” Kane shouted at him, shoving him hard, as they reached the sidewalk.
He ignored his brothers, instead turning to head home. His back was to them and they didn’t even try to follow him, knowing that he needed space at that second. He flexed his hand and examined the scrapes on his knuckles. He wiped the blood off on his pants, then grabbed a few more friends from his pocket and savored the feeling as the small pills slid down his throat.
“Rory, come on!” Quinn shouted at his back.
They finally trotted after Rory, continuing to talk to him even though he was throwing out every sign possible that he wanted to be alone. They caught up with him quickly, still trying to get his attention.
“Damn, let me call Jimmy. Make sure that asshat of a bartender doesn’t press charges.” Kane pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“I would have fucking decked him if Rory hadn’t. You heard what the idiot said about his last fight,” Quinn countered.
“Shut up, Quinn.” Rory’s mouth was pressed into a tight line.
“Obviously the cocksucker deserved it, but I think one Kavanagh in jail at a time is all Ma can handle,” Kane ribbed. He put the phone on speaker, waiting for Jimmy, their youngest brother who was also a police officer, to pick up at the other end.
“Shit, Kieran would have probably killed the fucker.” Quinn grinned, pushing his hands through his short, black hair as he spoke. Kane’s twin brother, Kieran Kavanagh, was serving time upstate for aggravated assault.
“I’m glad murder amuses you assholes.” A voice chimed through the phone and both Kane and Quinn started crowing with laughter. Rory rolled his eyes, but didn’t admit any expression as he paused to see what Jimmy would tell him.
“Get the stick out of your ass, Jimmy,” Quinn shouted into the phone even though Kane was holding it.
Kane ignored them both to explain the reason for his call. “Jimmy, you need to be the first to get down to O’Leary’s. There’s probably already a call coming through the radio about it.”
“What the hell did you do, Kane?” Jimmy lamented into the phone. Rory held back a smile as he pictured his only redheaded brother frustrated, as he normally was.
“Wasn’t us, asshole. Rory’s here.”
“This shit is getting old. I can’t keep covering for all of you. Pop’s going to be pissed.” Jimmy hung up.
“He thinks Pop is going to be pissed? Ma’s going to blow a fucking gasket,” Quinn said and chuckled.
Kane pushed his phone back in his pocket as he and Quinn turned to Rory, who had heard enough and had decided to storm off without a word, heading north on Katonah Avenue toward home.
Chapter Two
“I really appreciate it, but you don’t have to give it to me for free,” Clare’s brow furrowed as she took the membership card from the spunky redhead.
“Oh, please, girl. I used to work bussing tables at O’Leary’s Pub when I was in high school. Is Cian still in charge over there?” She smiled back as she continued putting Clare’s information into the gym’s computer system.
“Yeah, he’s my supervisor.” Clare nodded at the woman, slightly mesmerized by how piercing and blue her eyes were in contrast to the bright red wavy hair that flowed down most of her back.
“Then believe me, these self-defense classes can be written off as a work expense on next year’s taxes.” Both women snickered. Clare leaned against the counter, enjoying the interaction since she hadn’t made any friends around her age in the three weeks she had lived here. Clare felt a pang of regret slice through her as she wished that an irritating boss was the only reason she needed self-defense classes.
“I’m Casey Kavanagh, by the way.” The redhead reached out her hand to Clare, who accepted it happily.
“Clare—well, I guess you already know that.” Clare pointed toward the driver’s license that Casey was still holding. Casey just smirked and waved her hand nonchalantly.
“So—Kavanagh? You’re part of the family who owns this place?” Clare tried not to sound like she was prying, but she was curious. She’d heard that name all over town since she got here.
“Yeah, my uncle owns it. Started it up back in the late seventies. It’s been remodeled lately, but we definitely still have the old-school reputation.”
“Oh.” Clare nodded, not sure what that meant or what to say.
“Here, you can have this back. I think I have everything in here now.” Casey handed her the license. “The thirty-day trial membership begins today, and then we can talk about different types of plans after you’ve had a chance to try out our various amenities and classes.”
“Thanks. Do you think I could have a peek around? See where the locker rooms are and stuff like that?” Clare tucked her driver’s license back into her wallet along with the new membership card, then stuffed the wallet into the small brown purse that was slung over her
shoulder.
“Hell, yeah! Come on, let me give you a tour. Welcome—officially, this time—to Legends!” Casey popped out from around the back of the counter, motioning for her to follow.
Clare watched the bouncy, energetic woman in amusement as she followed her, feeling slightly overdressed in her knee-length red dress and thigh-high black boots, compared to Casey’s black yoga pants and neon-green long-sleeved tee.
“Okay, so here are the locker rooms. Men over there, women right here.” Casey started to point toward various doors they passed as the hallway opened up into a large room with an open floor plan.
“The entire far side of the room is pretty much for the fighters, not really anything but testosterone and ball sweat over there.” Casey slid her arm around Clare’s elbow to pull her along.
Clare giggled at Casey’s remarks and took in the view of dozens of men on weight-lifting machines, standing in front of weight benches, and in the rings. She had to agree, there was definitely a lot of testosterone in here.
“But over here is where things are a bit less noisy.” Casey led Clare to a side hall that opened into several small classrooms. A few of the rooms were filled with people doing group exercises; Clare recognized a yoga class and a spinning class.
“All the classrooms are walled in by windows, but the glass is so thick that you can’t hear all the noise from the rings.” Casey indicated an empty classroom that was at the back wall of the gym.
The door they entered through was set in a wall of all glass, just like the back wall of the room that gave them a view of the street. Clare strode toward the back wall, loving the openness and the view of pedestrians passing by.
“Yeah, that’s my favorite part too,” Casey said. “What, people watching?” “Of course! People are weird, which is fun,” Casey quipped, joining her at the
window as they stood side by side. “See, there’s an example of weird right there.” Casey pointed at a behemoth of a
man crouching on the sidewalk with a large dog next to him. “That’s my cousin, but he’s more like a brother. He works here sometimes, used