Lee stepped closer, so close I could smell him, soap and sweat and man. He bent his head to reply, “Hmm, I sense a wager coming on.”

Our gazes locked, and it was the first time that I noticed we had almost the exact same eye colour, except his were the tiniest shade lighter. A moment of insanity must have struck me, because there was something about his challenge that I couldn’t back away from. I was riled, and I wanted to show Lee Cross that boxing was bollocks when put up against a real martial art.

“What do I get if I win?” I asked, levelling him with a hard stare.

His smile was slow and sexy. “What do you want?”

“Hmm, let me think. How about for you to steer clear of this gym when I’m around.”

His mouth was inches from mine as he replied, “But there’s no fun in staying away.”

“Sometimes fun isn’t worth it.”

“Sometimes it is.”

I groaned. He really wasn’t going to let up. “We’re done here.”

He grabbed my arm as I turned to walk away. “Okay, fine. If you win, I’ll keep my distance, but if I win, you’ve got to let me come around to yours tomorrow and cook you dinner.”

I stared at him, incredulous. “You want to cook me dinner?”

Lee nodded firmly and held his hand out to me.

I grew flustered. Why did his end of the deal have to sound so…so romantic? A small part of me kind of wanted to lose, and that part began with a “V.”

After a moment of indecision, I finally shook with him. A couple of minutes later, we were both in the ring. I couldn’t use my eskrima sticks, because then it wouldn’t be a fair fight. It didn’t matter, though; I had a number of empty-hand techniques I could use on him. I got in position, and Lee stood less than two feet away, knees bent slightly, fists up.

“Just so you know, I’m not gonna actually hit you. This isn’t about hurting one another, it’s about submission. First person to achieve a takedown wins,” he said.

I sputtered a laugh, circling him. “It’s not a real fight unless you hit me.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want a real fight with you. Play fighting is sexier,” he said, flashing his teeth and swinging. I moved quickly, dodging the would-be strike. He swung again, and I coiled my hand around his arm, pushed his other hand out of the way, and locked his arm behind his back. He dropped his body and pressed his foot down on my ankle. I released him. He backed away a few feet.

“That was slick.”

I just smirked in response before asking, “So, we never really set the rules. Is kicking allowed?”

“Sure,” said Lee, and before I could react his leg shot out, making light contact with my upper thigh.

I shook my head at him. “Dirty move.”

“Hey, we just agreed to kicking.”

“Yeah,” I grinned. “We did.” Making sure I had enough space, I launched into a wheel kick. My foot got him right in the lower abdomen, and he drew back, winded.

“Hey, ease up, Mr Miyagi.”

“Mr Miyagi does karate.” I feigned offence. “Don’t insult me.”

Lee chuckled at my response and I went for him again, but this time he was quicker, and he caught my foot before it could descend. I lost my balance and fell to the floor, hard.

“Ah, would you look at that. Miyagi got taken down,” Lee teased, and I scowled at him, reaching around to rub the base of my spine.

“Thought you said you weren’t going to hit me.” I winced, pretending I was in real pain.

Lee’s smile fell and he hurried forward, holding out his hand to help me up. “Shit, did I hurt you?”

“I’ll survive,” I said, placing my fingers in his, but instead of letting him pull me up, I dragged him down, making short work of wrapping my legs around his shoulders and capturing his head in a lock. Grappling was kind of my forte, and I actually had a little experience with ground fighting. I squeezed my thigh muscles around his neck, and even though I knew he had to be hurting right then, he laughed.

“Is this what heaven feels like?” His chest rose and fell as he fought for breath.

I smiled wide, a little breathless myself from the effort it took to keep him down. “Pretty much.”

He struggled, moving his body and testing me, trying to find a way out of the lock.

“This is a good look for you, Snap.”

“I agree. I also think I just won.”

“Not yet.”

“Aw, that’s cute. You actually think you’re getting out of this, don’t you?”

In a shameless move, he turned his head to the side by the tiniest fraction and nuzzled his nose into my inner thigh. Electricity shot right between my legs, the shock enough to make me loosen my hold for a millisecond as he grabbed me and flipped me on my back. Before I knew it, he had my wrists captured in his hands as he straddled my waist.

“Well, what do you know,” he purred. “I managed to get out of it after all.”

I tried to kick my legs, but his body was pure muscle, and with the way he was holding me, I might as well have been weighed down by steel.

“That was another dirty move,” I complained, breathing heavily.

“Sorry, but you can’t complain about dirty moves when you use them yourself. I tried giving you a helping hand and you exploited my kindness.” He tutted, shaking his head at me smugly.

 I had no intention of giving in. “You do realise there are a number of much more efficient ways you could be restraining me right now, yet you pick the sexiest option.”

“Yep, I’m well aware of that.”

I grunted irritably, uncomfortably aware of the strength of his thighs locked around mine and the way our bodies were so conveniently aligned. Flicking my eyes up to his, I was sure he saw my frustration. There was a softness in his gaze, and I exhaled a breath when he loosened his grip and lowered his body so his entire weight rested on top of me. His pecs were hard planes, his abdomen a firm press against my stomach.

“What are you doing?” I whispered, conscious of every breath he took. The noise of other gym users and trashy workout music streaming from the overhead monitors was a distant reality. There were any number of ways that I could have gained the upper hand right then, but it didn’t feel like we were sparring anymore, and I couldn’t have moved a muscle even if I tried.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Lee whispered back, his nose dipping to the spot below my ear.

“You need to get off me. Somebody might see,” I said, desperate.

“I love that about you,” Lee continued to whisper, still nuzzling me.

“What?”

“How you act all tough, but as soon as I touch you, you melt and go all shy. It’s gorgeous.”

I was momentarily glad that this wasn’t a cop gym, and that none of my coworkers had a membership here. I could just imagine the crap I’d have to deal with if anyone I knew saw me in my current clinch.

“You need to get off me now.” I repeated my plea, trying to make my voice hard and failing. There was way too much air in it.

“If you want me to get off you, I will,” said Lee, moving his hips slightly. I felt something firm press into me and knew he was hard. This was so many levels of wrong, I didn’t even know where to begin. “Do you want me to?”

I closed my eyes for a second and tried to breathe. I’d never felt so weak, and we both knew I didn’t want him off me, not even a tiny bit. What I wanted was for us to be magically transported somewhere private where he could show me exactly what he planned on doing with the stiff length in his pants.

When I didn’t reply, Lee continued talking. “I can’t get your taste out of my mouth.”

The smallest whimper escaped me, and I felt myself grow wet at his words. I wanted so many things right then. In the end I opened my eyes, and I was sure he recognised the defeat in my expression.

“You win.”

I hated to admit it, but the way he smiled in response was beautiful. “Does this mean I get to come over tomorrow?”

All I could do was nod reluctantly. Maybe Alexis would feel like doing me a favour and sticking around the flat while Lee was there, like a buffer. She’d hate it, but hey, it wasn’t like I hadn’t done favours for her in the past.