Claim (Fury Brothers #5)

15. Bell

15

BELL

I t had been a busy day.

Gio had wanted some deep cleaning done, so he’d put me to work. He had let me work out in the gym during my lunch break. The guy acted tough but was a marshmallow inside.

I’d only had a few glimpses of Beau. I bit my lip. I’d kept waiting for him to say or do something all day.

I hated that he’d seen the notes.

I wiped down some equipment. The women’s self-defense class had just finished up, and Shay had just left. Karina had stopped by earlier for a quick workout and brought me cookies she’d made from carrots. They’d been disgusting, but I’d choked one down. She was so nice, and I didn’t want to upset her.

The gym was closing soon. The rings were almost empty, and I spotted Beau talking with one of the boxers on the far side of the gym.

“Girly, I’m going home.” Gio pulled a light windbreaker on.

“Okay, Gio. Night.”

He eyed me for a long moment, then nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

I smiled. I liked the crusty, old guy.

I moved to the reception desk, and tidied up the surface. The door opened as someone entered.

“We’re just about to close.” I looked up.

Oh, God . My stomach dropped. It was the beautiful brunette, Klara. God, had Beau made another date with her?

Was all the stuff he’d said to me bullshit?

“Um, hi. I’m not here to work out.” Klara fiddled with her hair. “Is Beauden available?”

I forced myself to act like a human. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Let me check.” I swiveled. I really didn’t want to look at her perfect face and perfect hair.

I headed back into the main part of the gym. I saw Beau and he smiled at me. Then he saw my face.

“What’s wrong?” He gripped my arms. “Did you get another note?”

I shook my head. “Someone’s here to see you.”

He looked over at reception, and his face evened out. He blew out a breath.

“Another hot date?” My tone was sharp.

His fingers squeezed my arm. “Bell, one thing I’m not is a liar.” He shook his head. “I should go out with her. She’s close to my age.”

“And beautiful and accomplished. And like I said before, she probably has no baggage.” Even I heard the misery in my voice.

Beau touched my jaw. “I’ll talk to her, then it’s training time. Go and get ready.” He let me go and stalked off.

I didn’t stay to watch them. I needed to train.

Carr would eventually find me, and I had to be ready.

After getting changed, I headed for our training ring and got busy putting my wrappings on.

A little while later, Beau appeared. “I’ve locked up, so we’ll have no interruptions.”

I glanced at the front door and saw the lights were off. “She’s gone?”

“Yes.”

I shifted on my feet. “Why did she come?”

He sighed. “To see if we could salvage things. I told her no.” He picked up the focus pads. “Now, let’s train.”

I climbed into the ring. I knew we wouldn’t be visible from the front windows.

With just the nearby light on low, it felt like it was just the two of us—like no one else existed.

He held the pads up. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

I hit the pads, warming up. After a few combos of hits, my muscles felt warm and fluid.

“You really don’t want to go out with her?” Shit, I hadn’t meant to say that.

His stormy gaze hit mine. “No. I don’t want her.”

I bit my lip and nodded.

“No distractions,” he said, waving the pads. “Now, get back to work.”

I rammed punches into the pads, circling around Beau. He barked out commands at me.

“Wait.” He paused and touched my elbow. “Keep this strong. You need the power.”

I nodded.

We kept going, and I lost myself in the fight. Well, not completely. I was conscious of Beau—his big body and tattoos, his commanding presence.

He lowered the pads and nodded. “Good work. Let’s call it a night.”

My muscles felt like jelly, and my tank top was soaked with perspiration. “I can go longer.”

“That’s enough for tonight. You don’t want an injury.” He pulled a pad off one hand, and touched my shoulder. “You’re a fast learner, and doing well.”

Pleasure washed through me and I nodded. I slipped through the ropes.

“You ready to tell me about him? The man hunting you?”

I froze, my muscles going tight. I stayed silent.

Carr was my horror. If I talked about him… It felt like I’d summon him, or something. I knew it was silly, but it was hard to shake.

Right then, all I felt was a tight ball of fear and pain in my chest.

Behind me, Beau sighed. “Go and shower.”

I didn’t linger long under the hot water. It was late, and I figured Beau wanted to get home. When I walked back into the gym, there was no sign of him.

“Beau?” With only a few low lights on, there were so many shadows in the gym. “Beau?”

A force hit me from behind. I went down on the training mats with an oof . I was pinned.

Fear was like a spike in my chest. I started jerking.

“You need to know how to break the hold of someone bigger and stronger than you.” Beau’s deep voice in my ear. His warm breath brushed over my skin.

I relaxed, even as my heart hammered. It was just Beau.

“No, don’t relax. Think. This fucker, he won’t come at you from the front. He won’t fight fair.”

Beau was right.

I bucked and tried to shift my weight, but he was too big and strong.

“Reach back,” he said. “Poke him in the eyes, pull his hair.”

I obeyed and grabbed Beau’s thick hair, and pulled. He grunted.

I managed to get a foot up under me, and pushed. It gave me enough leverage to unbalance him.

I slithered out from under him, scrambled, and rolled.

But a second later, he was on me again.

This time, he pinned me down on my back. We were face-to-face. My heartbeat picked up for a different reason.

“Now what?” he asked.

I decided I needed the element of surprise. I raised my head and kissed him.

As my lips moved over his, his big body went slack.

I hadn’t kissed anyone in a really long time. Kissing Beau felt good.

That’s when I rammed an elbow into his side. He reared up enough that I wriggled free.

In a crouch, I grinned at him.

“Clever,” he said. “But you never use that move on anyone else.”

“I won.”

His gaze moved over my face. “I thought you didn’t do kissing?”

I swallowed. “I haven’t for a long time.” I paused. “I haven’t wanted to kiss anyone.”

“But you want to kiss me.”

Everything inside me tingled and melted. “Beau—”

Then he lunged.

I screamed and sprung. I tried to crawl across the mats.

He trapped me on the mat on my belly.

“Now what?” he murmured.

I swallowed. “I’m not sure I want to get away.”

“ Bell .” My name was a low groan. He pressed his face to the back of my neck.

Then I felt his hands pushing my shirt up. His beard and lips moved along my spine.

I gasped. I felt a rush of damp between my legs.

He growled, nuzzling lower. “I can smell your arousal.”

“ Beau .” It was a whimper, a plea.

Before I knew what was happening, he was pulling my leggings down, baring my ass.

“Look at you.” His voice was all grit. “Beautiful.”

Rough fingers delved between my legs. I moaned, and lifted my hips to give him better access. He stroked me, igniting fires everywhere.

“Got to eat your pussy, angel. That taste, it’s all I’ve thought about for a month.”

I made a sound, then he gripped my buttocks, and buried his face between my legs.

With a cry, I rocked forward. He licked me, his tongue doing things that made me bite my lip. He licked, sucked, and tasted. His tongue parted me, and I wished I could sink my hands into his thick hair. Instead, I gripped the mat.

“You taste like a goddamn miracle,” he breathed against me.

Then he went back to pleasuring me, eating me like a starving man. He paid attention to everything that made me gasp and writhe. Learning what I liked best, doing things I never even knew I liked. I chanted his name, and his tongue rubbed over me. He alternated between rough and gentle, licking and sucking until tears ran down my cheeks.

“Fuck, Bell. So sweet.” He closed his mouth over my clit.

I exploded. My orgasm hit so hard I couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but cry out his name. Sweet relief felt like pure heat washing through me, stealing the air in my lungs, making my muscles go lax.

Eventually, I flopped onto the mat, panting.

He pressed a kiss to the top of my ass. “Better than I remembered.”

I couldn’t think, I could barely breathe. I was just a melted puddle of pleasure.

Then he reached around and touched my cheek, my lips. “Come on. I’ll drop you home.”