Текст книги "Breaking a Legend"
Автор книги: Sarah Robinson
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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 18 страниц)
Chapter 3
Rory slammed his fist down on his alarm clock with such resentment that it went flying off the nightstand, crashing loudly against the wooden floor. He groaned and rolled over, annoyed that the fall still hadn’t stopped the devil machine from screeching at him.
He slid his legs off the side of the bed and reached over to the wall, yanking the chord right out of its plug. Silence finally greeted him as he yawned and considered the sharp, early-morning sun peering through his window. It had been a while since he had been up this early.
Opening his nightstand drawer, he pulled out one of the many bottles of pills he had stashed everywhere and downed several capsules, using a glass of water from the nightstand this time. He felt the bed shift behind him and turned his head to see a somewhat attractive brunette asleep and sprawled across half of the bed. One leg was below the sheets while the other was on top, making it pretty clear she was fully nude.
Standing, Rory pulled on some boxers he found on the floor and a pair of sweatpants hanging on the back of a chair. His dog stretched as he rose from the small, round dog bed in the corner of the room. Rory found a dress and a bra at the end of the bed and shuffled over to where the woman was sleeping, tapping her shoulder gently to wake her up. She startled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she yawned and sat up.
“It’s early, Rory, come back to bed,” she purred seductively, letting her forearms push her breasts together for his viewing pleasure.
“Can’t, Molly. Have to head to the club.” He handed her the clothes, giving her chin a tiny squeeze of affection.
He hoped to see something in her eyes that pulled at him, anything that could make him feel the things he knew he was supposed to feel for a woman he spent the night with. But nothing came.
He was empty.
He turned away and headed to the kitchen with Ace right on his heels, feeling Molly’s eyes boring a hole through him. He knew he was disappointing her just as much as he was everyone else in his life. Molly was always there anytime he called, both of them needing some companionship.
Lifting the lid from a large container of dog food next to the kitchen counter, Rory scooped out enough for Ace, dumping it in his bowl. The dog quickly pounced on the food, loudly smacking his lips with his face plunged into the metal bowl. Rory smiled in amusement before he began preparing his own breakfast.
Despite any misgivings Rory had about his life, Ace was one of the bright parts of it. He had rescued the dog from a shelter over in Queens the day before he would’ve been euthanized. The shelter had a policy of putting down any dogs considered aggressive, and Ace’s background fit that category.
Rory knew that the hulking black-and-white mutt just needed some love and attention, so he intervened and brought him home. A local rescue in Woodlawn that focused on ex–fighter dogs helped him rehabilitate Ace. Ace had been shy and quiet at first, afraid that every new person would be as cruel as his previous master. As time went on, Rory convinced Ace otherwise and the dog became fiercely loyal to him, as well as much more affectionate.
In his sink, Rory found a bowl that wasn’t completely dirty and rinsed it out, then proceeded to fill it with some bran cereal and milk. Leaning against the counter, he scooped the first bite into his mouth just as his overnight guest slowly found her way out of the bedroom. She was now fully clothed, albeit slightly wrinkled.
“What?” he questioned between bites, wondering why she was just standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, giving him a sad look.
“Is this it?” she spoke softly, her voice full of sorrow.
Rory was silent. He wanted to say something, anything, but everything went blank. He couldn’t tell her what he knew she wanted to hear. What every woman who passed through his doors wanted. Something that he didn’t have to give anyone anymore.
He had been in relationships before, but he had wanted to concentrate on his career as a fighter. He wanted to become someone worthy of a great woman, like his father had become for his mother. Bedtime stories often centered around the story of a famous boxer who caught the eye of the daughter of a prominent Irish family. His father had earned his spot working for his future father-in-law, earned his way into his mother’s heart, and earned the wealthy lifestyle and success he had achieved.
Rory wasn’t his father; he was a failure.
He had earned nothing.
Molly stalked past him to the front door, her face twisted up in pain. She stopped for only a second to reach down and pet Ace, but quickly decided against it when the dog barked at her. Rory snapped his fingers, commanding Ace to back down.
Rory knew Ace wasn’t aggressive, but he didn’t warm up to anyone except Rory and his parents. He liked Casey a bit, but didn’t even let Rory’s brothers pet him. Ace’s sheer size made people nervous when he made any sort of sound, though.
Molly huffed at the beast, crossing the last few feet to the front door before pausing to turn back to him.
“One day, some woman’s going to change your mind. I just wish it could’ve been me.” Her words were almost whispered, but he heard them as if she were shouting at him.
The door closed with a thud, and Rory turned back to the sink to deposit his empty bowl. Surprising himself, he found Clare’s face crossing his mind. Just as quickly as it entered, he brushed her image away.
He knew who he was, and he wasn’t worthy of a woman like Clare.
–
Never one to be late, Clare waltzed into Legends exactly fifteen minutes before class on Monday morning. She was wearing a brand-new outfit she had purchased yesterday for the occasion, eager to treat herself to something nice for once. She headed past the counter, which was currently unmanned, and wondered where Casey was, before continuing to the locker room.
Quickly putting her things away in a locker, she straightened the light gold spandex tank top that hugged her torso, topping black yoga pants that stopped right before her ankles. Similarly, the stretchy pants accented her curves without showing too much skin. Despite the cold weather outside, the gym itself was warm enough to wear lighter gear. She laced up her sneakers and then headed out into the big open room of the gym, turning right to head toward the back where the classrooms were.
Despite the early-morning hour, almost all of the rings were occupied with fighters, and the deafening sound of weights dropping sang all around her. Reaching the classroom, she found Casey stretching and chatting with several other women who were of varying ages. When Casey saw Clare come in, she waved and quickly excused herself, jogging over to her.
“You made it!” the perky redhead exclaimed, wrapping her in a quick hug that immediately caught Clare off guard. She wasn’t used to affection, or friends.
“We’re about to start—find a spot near the front so you don’t miss anything.” Casey smiled at her before prancing away, seemingly oblivious to Clare’s discomfort.
“Okay” was all she managed to squeak out as nerves began to get the better of her.
“Let’s get started, class!” Casey shouted with more energy than any one person should possess on a Monday morning, and began leading the class through different exercises to warm them up.
An hour later, Clare had worked up a pretty good sweat and learned a technique that involved freeing her wrist from an attacker by forcing his arm backward in such a way that he’d be unable to keep her wrist captive. Even though she had ignored Casey’s initial advice and stayed in the back of the room, she still left smiling and feeling more in control, maybe even powerful.
She smiled to herself as she thought about that, knowing that the last few years of her life had been colored in fear, thanks to her ex-boyfriend Travis Creighton. Today had given her a glimpse into a future where maybe she wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore. There had been countless times that he had held her prisoner by her wrists and left bruises she would try to cover with long-sleeved shirts. She knew that she hadn’t been fooling anyone with that disguise, and in only one class, she had already learned a way to never fall prey to that again.
Every new day here in Woodlawn, she felt like she was becoming someone different. Or maybe she was just finally being who she wanted to be, instead of who she had been told to be. She had spent so many years being told she was incompetent, stupid, and incapable of living without Travis that she had begun to believe it. With each new thing she learned, even something as small as breaking out of a wrist hold, she could feel herself taking back control of her life, and she loved it.
“Whoa, watch where you’re going,” a gruff voice spoke, and a hand suddenly gripped her wrist as she paraded directly into a brick wall.
At least it felt like a brick wall.
Shocked, her mouth parted slightly, she stared up into shining silver eyes that she recognized as belonging to Rory Kavanagh. Blushing, she stepped back, but he still held her wrist in his large hand.
She wondered why it didn’t frighten her for Rory to be holding her in the same way she had just practiced defending herself against, and particularly after she had just been thinking of Travis.
“Clare,” he acknowledged before she could respond.
“Oh, hi,” she awkwardly stammered as he released her, and she wrapped one arm around her waist, as if to hug herself.
“If you wanted to see me again, you could have just asked for my number the other night.” A cocky smile spread from ear to ear above his scruffy short beard.
“I figured stalking you and then plowing right into your chest would be a more memorable experience.” Clare grinned, still blushing as she tried her best to force away her nerves.
Rory gaped in surprise for a second, then burst out laughing. Her anxieties eased as her body relaxed in response to his raucous laughter. Ace, Rory’s dog, was standing at attention beside him, his eyes boring holes through her. Stretching out one hand toward the dog, she offered Ace the back of her hand to sniff. Reluctantly he did so while Rory watched the two of them.
“Careful, he doesn’t like people much.” Rory put his hand up to stop her, but she just pushed him away.
“Nonsense, all dogs love me. All dogs love anyone if you just show them respect,” she countered, waiting for Ace to finish his assessment of her hand and give her permission to pet him.
The dog peered up at her and began wagging his tail, which made Clare smile as she turned her hand and scratched behind his ear. Ace leaned his head into her hand as Rory scrutinized them, stunned.
“Great, now I’m jealous of my own dog.”
“God, Rory, you are seriously losing your touch. That was the lamest pickup line I’ve ever heard.” Casey made a sudden appearance between them.
“How do you know? I haven’t seen you on a date in years, Case,” he jested, using her nickname.
“Just because you haven’t seen me on one doesn’t mean I’ve been celibate, dear cousin,” Casey tossed back, her hands on her hips.
“What are you even doing bothering my student?” she continued, which caused Rory to pivot between the two women in confusion.
Clare snickered at the interaction between the two. “I’m taking her class, Rory.”
“The self-defense one?” he asked, and she nodded in response as Casey grabbed her hand and started pulling her to the locker room.
“Let me know if you ever need any extra tutoring,” he called after her, and she blushed, recalling their previous conversation.
Casey rolled her eyes and then pushed Clare into the locker room. The interaction wasn’t easily forgotten as Clare showered and got ready for the rest of her day.
–
“That might work for an offensive strike, but what are you going to do if your opponent has the upper hand?” Rory asked Kane, less than an hour after his encounter with Clare.
“How about I learn enough offensive techniques that he never gets the chance? Just ground and pound the fuck out of him!” Kane fooled around as he rewrapped his hands.
“I’m not going to train you if you’re going to be a cocky son of a bitch.” Rory glared at Kane.
“All right, all right. Have it your way.” Kane put his hands up in surrender, seeing Rory was in no mood for bullshit.
Kane moved past where Ace was sitting on the sidelines lazily watching them, and bent under the ropes, climbing back into one of the many fighters’ rings located throughout the expansive main floor of Legends. The building itself was open, like a giant warehouse filled with fighting equipment, rings, televisions, punching bags, weight machines, and all other types of gym equipment.
“I’m coming at you hard, about to jab. What do you do?” Rory asked, putting his wrapped fists up and squaring off with his brother in the ring.
Kane looked uncertain, then raised his fists as well, unsuccessfully fending off Rory as he came at him with a jab. Rory slammed him into the ground with one jab and a sweep, causing his brother to tap out immediately.
“Fuck, Rory. You don’t have to go so hard.” Kane rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the ground.
“If you can’t handle a simple takedown in practice, then you’re never going to make it through the first minute of a fight. Now come on, use my weight against me. I’m coming at you—move out of the way, then get me with an elbow strike. I’ll be off balance and not expecting it. You have to use the opponent’s own moves to your advantage instead of trying to counter them.” Rory squared off with him again, this time going more slowly and allowing Kane the opportunity to move out of the way of his jab, turn on him, and land an elbow right between Rory’s shoulder blades.
“Easier, right?” Rory pushed himself up off the mat and turned to Kane, who was clearly proud of himself.
He bit back a groan as the pain from Kane’s strike radiated through his body, almost intoxicating in its intensity. He had missed the sensation of a fight, missed being in the ring. He hated to admit that his father was right, but his adrenaline was pumping already and his muscles were begging to be let loose on an opponent.
He felt a twinge of jealousy as he faced off with Kane, showing him another move. His brother was just starting his training, just beginning the life of an MMA fighter.
Rory knew his days were over.
That was the only part of fighting that really hurt.
–
The brothers repeated the same routine the next morning, ending up drenched in sweat and aching from their training in the ring. Finishing their session, Rory stepped out onto the club floor where Ace was waiting for him as always.
The duo marched over to the offices. Rory grabbed himself a towel and water bottle on the way, wiping the sweat from his face. He stuck his head in the office and smiled at his mother and cousin, who were busy working on the bookkeeping and membership of the gym.
“Hey, Ma. Casey, shouldn’t you be at school by now?” Rory asked. “Midterms and all that?” He leaned against the doorframe and took several swigs of water.
“My first one isn’t until tomorrow, and I spent all weekend studying.”
“Don’t get her more nervous than she already is, Rory. Hi, Ace.” Deirdre peered over her glasses at him, before reaching out and petting his dog, then went back to the papers she was sorting through.
“She doesn’t have anything to be nervous about. The smartest Kavanagh we’ve got.” He wasn’t being sarcastic, but Casey still rolled her eyes in response.
“That’s not much of a compliment since you guys don’t exactly set the bar high,” Casey teased.
“Oh, ouch. I’m wounded here,” Rory said in a mocking tone, bending over and clutching his stomach as if in pain.
“All right, both of you, out. I need to concentrate on these membership dues.” Dee motioned for them to go.
“We’re going,”
“Casey, help the client that just walked in, please,” she called out as the two filed away from the office.
Turning to the club entrance, they saw a young woman standing awkwardly in front of the door, glancing around. Casey waved a friendly greeting and headed over to her, smiling. Rory recognized the petite blonde immediately and his face lit up in response.
Casey was already chatting with Clare as if they had known each other for years, both women giggling. Rory pushed away the nerves he always felt stumbling around in his belly when he was around Clare and took a deep breath, mentally scolding himself for acting this way over a girl. Dismayed, Rory realized that Ace had already trotted over to Clare, begging her for some attention.
Ace’s friendliness surprised Rory, but it made him like this tiny blonde even more. If his dog was giving her the stamp of approval, then he knew she must be special. He forced himself to stroll over as calmly as possible, hoping to convince himself that the fluttering he felt in his gut was just a fluke.
Women fell all over him, never the other way around.
“Casey, need any help with this client?” He smiled at Clare, displaying a false bravado to hide his nerves.
Clare met his eyes when he spoke, blushing, as he noticed she always did around him. Heat flushed across his skin at the close proximity to her, becoming even more intense when her bright green eyes melted into a warm smile.
He unapologetically let his eyes roam across her small frame, stopping only to linger on her mouth as she nibbled her lower lip and stared down nervously. A signature move unique to Clare that he found adorable.
“She isn’t just a client, idiot. This is Clare, one of my friends now. Clare, I don’t know if I ever formally introduced you to my cousin when he was hitting on you in the hall yesterday. This is Rory.” Casey gestured between the two, unaware of the unspoken words passing between them.
“We met before yesterday, actually. Saturday night. I believe your fist was going through my boss’s face?” Clare’s taunting grin stretched from ear to ear as Casey’s jaw dropped and she turned to glare at her brother.
“Seriously, Rory? Dad was talking about O’Leary’s? We go there all the time!” She tossed her hands up in aggravation.
“If it makes you feel any better, it was Cian,” Rory told her, knowing how much Casey disliked him.
“Oh.” Her annoyed look changed at that revelation. “That’s forgivable then. Sorry, Clare, you know men. Complete asses.”
“Maybe other men, but not me. I’m a perfect gentleman.” He winked at Clare while he continued to needle his cousin.
He loved the way Clare’s breath hitched slightly as she scanned his body. Her eyes blatantly traveled over the massive width of the broad shoulders, clearly defined chest, and sculpted abs that he knew were visible through his T-shirt.
He loved that she was ogling him so overtly, without seeming to realize he had noticed. When she did finally glance back up, her cheeks blushed into a deep crimson color. He didn’t let up on her though, because the way she squirmed beneath his gaze—yeah, he loved that. The corner of his lips tilted up.
Clare’s eyes wrenched over to Casey and he immediately missed the sense of connection to her. “Um, I was just popping in to ask you if you had any jumper cables, Casey?” she asked. “My car won’t start.”
“That sucks. Let me check around. I’m sure one of the guys in here does.” Casey shuffled off, leaving Rory alone with Clare.
“You live around here?” he asked her.
He could tell that she was nervous as she bit her lip again and focused on anything but him. Her reaction bolstered his confidence, or at least some small hint of it, that feeling he used to know so well. He had thought that feeling of assuredness was long gone, and yet somehow, Clare was able to bring it back to him. He felt like pieces of the old fighter Rory were coming back.
“Yeah, actually right around the corner. I’m supposed to start my shift at O’Leary’s soon, but I need my car to work. It’s such a piece of crap.” She kicked the ground with her shoe, another adorable gesture if ever there was one.
“O’Leary’s is only a few blocks from here. Woodlawn itself is no bigger than fifteen blocks, so why not just walk?”
“I would, but I don’t get off of my shift until one in the morning. Walking home at that time of day isn’t the best idea for a woman.”
Rory took a step toward her, which caused her to take a step back, leaving her trapped against the club’s wall. His eyes flared wide with desire as he noticed the nervousness sweeping over her as his second step brought him almost flush against her. Her mouth parted slightly. He held his breath and leaned down, loving the feeling of her heart beating rapidly against him.
“Something to be scared of, mhuirnín?” he whispered huskily, smelling a soft vanilla scent mixed with something delectable that he couldn’t distinguish.
Pressed up against her, he felt her legs wobble and her knees buckle. He quickly slid a hand around her waist, steadying her against him. Her hands smashed forward upon his chest and her eyes grew ever wider with anticipation.
Clare licked her lips and he almost lost control at that sight alone, feeling his entire body stiffen as he fought himself from crashing his mouth against hers right then and there.
“Careful, mhuirnín, can’t have you falling over me.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need your help.” She cleared her throat and pushed her hands against his chest, forcing him a few steps back. The sassy side of her that he loved was quickly returning.
He could have stopped her if he wanted to, but he wasn’t the type to force himself on a woman. He now knew exactly why he felt differently about her than he had all the other women he spent his nights with. She was feisty, not easy. Clare had spirit and pride; she wasn’t one to just take orders from a man. They were traits that he both respected and found frustrating.
“No luck, Clare.” Casey waltzed up between them, oblivious to the conversation that had just occurred. “Can’t find any jumper cables and none of the guys have any. Most everyone around here walks. I’m headed over that way; want me to walk with you to work?”
“All right, that sounds good.” Clare gave one last pat on the head to Ace, who had yet to leave her side, then turned and opened the club door. Casey was only a few steps behind her, but she turned around and pointed a finger at her cousin.
“Don’t even think about it, Rory.” She narrowed her eyes and spoke sternly.
“What?” He put his hands up, playing innocent.
“I like Clare, I think she and I could be good friends, and I also think she has had a lot of crap in her life. She doesn’t need more. Especially not from a man who doesn’t have his shit together, like you. I’m not losing another friend because one of my asshole brothers strings her along only to break her heart.”
“What if I don’t break her heart?” Rory jested, but at the same time, he wondered if truth belied his teasing statement.
Casey rolled her eyes and huffed, sticking her middle finger up at him as she traipsed out the door. Rory snorted as he headed back to the office. He adored Casey and definitely didn’t want to upset her, but he wasn’t one for taking orders, either.
He liked Clare, and he had no intention of breaking her heart.
What he wanted was to possess it.
