“You don’t know dick about it,” I reply tightly.
“Well, if you guys would tell the rest of us what’s going on, I’d know dick about it!” She responds and then sighs heavily. “There will be a lot of people at the concert.” I glance down at her briefly, registering the concern on her pretty face and I square my shoulders and look away.
Too many fucking people.
I give her a jerky nod and she swears under her breath.
“Hey, Craig! Come up here and help me out!” Nate calls out to a muscle-bound guy at the other side of the ring. Craig jumps up through the ropes and joins Nate and Brynna with a grin.
“What can I do?” he asks, looking Brynna up and down, and I feel my hands clench into fists.
“Craig’s a nice guy,” Jules mentions deceptively casually.
“Hmm,” I grunt.
“They’d make a cute couple.” She taps her lip with her finger. “I should set them up.”
“I should kick your ass,” I growl.
She turns her gaze to mine and a wide, knowing smile spreads across her face.
“You’re not setting her up with anyone, Jules,” I warn her.
“You don’t seem to want to claim her,” she shrugs.
“I’ve claimed her,” I mutter and swear under my breath.
The little brat won’t stop until I spill my guts.
Jules whips her head around to watch me, her blue eyes wide and mouth dropped open.
“You love her,” she whispers.
More than anything.
“I can’t have her,” I whisper back and push a hand through my hair.
“Why?”
“She deserves so much better, J.” I shake my head, watching the amazing woman up in the ring with my brother-in-law and a muscle-head who would give his left nut to fuck her.
“What in the hell are you talking about?” She’s keeping her voice down, but I can tell she’s pissed as hell.
“I’ll end up hurting her. Physically. Emotionally.” I shrug again and glance down into Jules’ angry eyes.
“So, what? You’ll fuck her while you’re staying with her and then ride off into the sunset when it’s all said and done?” She glares up at me with her arms crossed over her chest and I feel like an asshole.
Because when she puts it like that, I am an asshole.
“I don’t know,” I respond and suck in a quick breath when Nate pushes Brynna onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Both Nate and Craig squat beside her, helping her up. “I just don’t want to bring my baggage into her and the girls’ lives.”
I feel Jules’ eyes on me, so I glance down to find tears in them.
“Caleb, life is too short for this. She and the girls love you. You love them. Be happy.” She wraps her arms around my waist and holds onto me, pressing her cheek against my chest. “Just be happy. All of those guys whose lives you saved, and even those who lost their lives beside you, would want that for you.”
How does she know? I don’t deserve what Brynna and her girls are offering me. I couldn’t protect my guys to ensure they had the kind of life I can see myself having with these amazing girls.
Instead, they got a pine box and an American flag.
“Be happy,” Jules whispers. “Enjoy her. If she can’t handle it, she’ll tell you. Christ, Caleb, Brynna is one of the strongest women I’ve ever met. She can handle just about anything you throw at her.”
I frown as I watch Nate and Craig with Brynna. Her scowl as she concentrates on what they’re trying to teach her. Her smile when she gets it right. Her exasperated sigh when she gets it wrong and ends up on her magnificent ass.
She’s mine.
Craig whispers something into her ear, making her laugh up at him, her eyes shining, a light sheen of sweat covers her face and chest, and my breath catches.
And then the bastard does what any red-blooded American man would do while that close to a woman like Brynna.
He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear.
And I see red.
***
~Brynna~
How in the hell am I supposed to concentrate on not getting my ass kicked when I’m in the ring with Nate McKenna?
I know he’s married. To one of my best friends. And I’m in love with his brother-in-law. But for the love of all that’s holy, he’s in a black tank that shows off perfectly toned muscles that stretch beneath that delicious tattoo that runs down the length of his arm. His hair is pulled back at the nape of his neck, showing off his square jaw and bright gray eyes.
Everything about this man screams sex.
Screams. Sex.
And it doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met, and to top it all off, he’s completely in love with his wife.
Is there anything sexier than a hot man in love with his wife?
No.
“Remember, if they manage to get their arm around your neck, you pull your arm up and jab down, hard.” Nate murmurs in my ear from behind me. His arm is wrapped around my neck, as if he’s surprised me from behind.
“Right,” I confirm, not sure that I’ll ever remember any of this later.
“Okay, I want to show you some fighting techniques.” Nate smiles reassuringly and turns to the side of the ring. “Hey Craig! Come up here and help me out!”
The man named Craig easily pulls himself up the side of the ring and through the ropes and walks confidently to our side.
“What can I do?” he asks with a grin. He’s handsome, in a boy-ish kind of way. His body is hard and bulked up, but he has a young face. I bet he was called baby-face all through school.
He’s good looking, but not what I want.
What I want is standing at the edge of the ring with his sister.
I glance over to find Caleb scowling down at Jules who has her arms wrapped around his waist and is hugging him close. I wonder what they’re talking about.
“Pay attention, Bryn,” Nate calls me to attention and motions for Craig to move behind me and show me how to place my feet and hands. We go through several minutes of instructions, with both Nate and Craig laying their hands on me, showing me how to hold my arms, spread my feet, tilt my hips.
“Okay, are you ready for me to hit you?” Nate asks.
“I’m gonna die,” I whisper, earning a laugh from Craig behind me.
“I won’t let him kill you,” he murmurs into my ear. “Besides, you know how to deflect this. Just remember what he told you.”
Nate comes at me, and just when I think I’ve outmaneuvered him, he sneaks in with another jab, and I’m flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me.