Trey blinks and shakes himself like he's waking from a dream. Hopefully not a dream about bending me over, running his large hands up my legs and preparing me to take his cock in my...
Gah! Stop thinking about it.
"Uh, yeah. In the ring." He waves and I march inside the pen, glad for a chance to turn my back and hide my flaming face.
I've come to a realization in the last twelve hours since I saw him. Trey Robson is an itch, a big, annoying, delicious itch and sooner or later, I'm going to scratch. I know he's a player, I know it won't last. Twelve years ago he used up my love and threw me away.
But I'm a big girl now, and it's my turn to use him and walk away. I just gotta keep my pride and dignity intact. And, when it ends, my heart.
"Have you done this before?" he asks, coming into the caged area and closing the chain link door.
"Fought with you?"
"No." He frowns. "We fight all the time."
"Didn't used to though." I try to keep my voice breezy but fail.
"Whose fault is that?" He raises a blond brow. His eyes are ice cold.
I wrap my arms around myself to hide a shiver. "Fault goes both ways, I think."
"Yeah."
I'm surprised by his agreement, and we both look at the floor for a moment.
"How about this?" I walk to him and hold out my hand. "What's done is done. Truce?"
"Truce," he repeats softly and takes my hand. Just like that I'm falling, falling into the depths of his ocean eyes, falling for the magic of Trey. The touch of his fingers sings through me, pulling up all sorts of memories of when I wished he'd touch me forever. Twelve years after we walked away from each other, away from the ruin of our love, I wish he'd hung on tighter. Even after we hurt each other so completely, I could climb into his arms and never leave.
Trey drops my hand. The spell breaks. "Ready?"
"Yep." I bounce on the balls of my feet. If I can't hug him, I can hit him. I'd prefer that in the long run, anyway.
Then he pulls off his shirt.
"What…" My mouth is suddenly dry. "What are you doing?"
He drops his t-shirt at his feet, rubbing the tattoos on his arms absently. His lean muscles pop and flex, perfectly on display without him even trying. "Getting ready to fight, sweetheart."
I narrow my eyes. I want to call foul play, but then I'd have to admit the sight of him without his shirt affects me. "Should I take off mine then?"
His gaze darkens. "If you want."
I call his bluff, peel my shirt off and drop it on the floor next to his. My girls are stuffed into a hot pink sports bra, straining against the fabric, proudly on display.
It's Trey's turn to look dazed while I smirk at him. "Turnabout is fair play."
"Payback is a bitch," he retorts, but a smile dances around his mouth.
"Nope. Payback is a she-wolf named Sheridan." With fantastic tatas.
I turn from him and pretend to do some warm up stretches. I definitely don't bend and pause in positions that best showcase my butt. Of course not. That'd be cruel.
When I whirl back, he has his eyes closed and is pinching the bridge of his nose while taking deep breaths.
"Everything all right?" I ask with as much innocence as I can muster.
"Yeah. Just... yeah. All right." He drops his hand and looks everywhere but at my face, my hips, or my cleavage. "We'll start simple. I come at you, and you try to stop me."
"That's simple?" I ask dryly, but shrug. "Come on then."
"All right." He blows out a breath. Then he comes at me, eyes blazing. Muscles fill my vision and for a moment I panic-
Then my self-defense training kicks in. I step into him, grab his left hand, turn and pull him off balance, slamming my bottom into his hips and rolling him off my back. He slams into the ground. Before he recovers from the surprise, I drop a knee onto his chest, pinning him to the floor. "Yield!"
Trey stares up at me, making no move to try to fight me off or get the upper hand, even though I know he can. His nostrils flare, like he's breathing in my scent, and I see the flicker of silver in his eyes. His wolf is showing. After a beat, I lift off and back away.
"Where the fuck did you learn how to do that?"
"College," I shrug. "I took a few classes."
"Good thing you went, then." He winces right before I do.
I stare at him, something old and deep twisting in my gut. When he first broke up with me, I'd been sure it was to make sure I went to Stanford. So I wouldn't give up the opportunity for him.
But then he-
Ugh. Water under the bridge. I don't want to think about it.
"Sorry. I just can't believe you-" He looks around the cage like he doesn't know how he got here. I would offer him a hand up, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to touch his skin. To get used to the feel of his hand in mine. The air between us crackles. "It's like you're a different person."
"Nope. Still me." I don't tell him that after we broke up, I examined my life. On the surface, I went to college and did everything to be the perfect she-wolf my parents raised me to be, but underneath, I was digging deep and discovering who I really was. I had Trey to thank, or blame, for the journey. He was the first wolf in my life who saw me, the real me, and loved me all the same. In the end, our relationship was a disaster, but also a gift. I had to give Trey up, but I found myself.