The door slammed behind me, but I kept walking. In the kitchen, I opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. The whole time, I kept my back to Howler, but I could feel his eyes on me. I could practically hear the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out what to say.

  “What did you and Judge talk about?” he finally asked, and I closed my eyes.

  “Ellianna’s summer visit,” I told him. Not a lie. We had discussed it.

  “That’s all?”

  Opening my eyes, I turned to face him as I placed my water on the island. “Why? Is there something you don’t want me to tell my brother?”

  “No, of course not. I was just curious.”

  “I told him about us. I know he called you.”

  And I knew he hadn’t been ready for that. I’d heard it in his voice, just as I saw it on his face now. My heart clenched painfully, and I turned away from him again. “Let’s face it, Howler. This isn’t going to work out. We both know it, so why are we even pretending otherwise?”

  “No,” he groaned, wrapping his arms around me from behind and locking me against his hard body. “No, Lyla. We will work. Just give us a chance, baby.”

  A single tear fell from my eyes, and I was thankful my back was to him. “If he makes you choose, you won’t pick me,” I whispered.

  “You’re wrong.” He tried to deny it.

  “You didn’t pick me in the past, and you won’t now.” I covered his hands that were over my waist, stroking my fingertips over his scarred knuckles. “It’s okay. I know where we stand. Let’s just…enjoy this while we can. Okay?”

  “Lyla,” he breathed, his lips brushing over my ear before touching my neck. A delicious shiver went down my spine, and I leaned back into him. “Baby, I want to be with you.”

  “I want to be with you too,” I answered honestly. But I wasn’t stupid.

  This wasn’t going to have a happy ending for us.

  But we could have a happy now, and that was enough for me.

  At least that was the lie I kept telling myself as I wiped my eyes and turned to kiss Howler. He tried to say something more, but I didn’t want to hear his empty promises. Not when we both knew the truth.

  Keeping my lips on his to stop him from talking, I started tearing off his clothes. Who knew how long this would last? So I needed to make every moment I had him alone count.

  When I got to his belt buckle, I finally pulled back. Panting, I carefully released the buckle then slowly lowered his zipper so I could reach in and wrap my fingers around him.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, pressing his forehead into mine. “Bed. We need a bed. Now.”

  Laughing, I released him and took off running. The sound of his feet pounding up the stairs behind me was my reward. No sooner had my feet touched the landing on the second floor than he was lifting me from behind without pausing and racing into his room.

  We landed on the bed together, with me beneath him and his hands already tangled in my clothes, getting rid of every obstacle keeping us from becoming one.

  And then he was inside me, his cock so deep, for a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

  “Fuck,” he cursed savagely. “I forgot protection.”

  My nails bit into his sides. “Do you have a condom?” I panted.

  “No. Don’t keep them in the house, and I didn’t stop at the store either.”

  “Guess we’ll just chance it because I’m not letting you stop.” I locked my legs around him. “Now shut up about the damn protection and just fuck me.”

  Grinning, he pumped his hips harder. “Yes, ma’am.”

  I felt ultrasensitive. “Are you bigger today than you were last night? Good God, man, you’re huge,” I moaned.

  “Ah, poor baby. Are you sore?” He nuzzled my breast with his nose before kissing it.

  “Not sore. Just… Ah fuck, that feels good.” Humming my pleasure, I tried to remember what I was saying. “Just tender.”

  His thrusts changed, becoming gentle instead of rough like he’d been the night before. Every time he pushed into me and then carefully pulled back, I felt every inch of him. It was the most intense pleasure I’d ever felt in my life. My inner walls clamped down on him, hugging his girth and welcoming him inside, clinging to him when he would pull back.

  “Better?” he murmured.

  “It feels so good,” I whimpered. “I don’t want it to stop.”

  “Me either, baby. Being bare inside you is amazing.” Sweat began to roll down his face and chest. “Maybe you can get on the pill, and we won’t have to deal with condoms.”

  “O-okay. I’ll do it tomorrow. Just don’t stop doing what you’re doing. Please, Howler.”

  “Baby, I couldn’t stop now even if I wanted to,” he said between gritted teeth, and I knew it was taking everything in him to hold himself back from taking me as hard as he had the night before. “Fuck, it was like this pussy was made just for me. Nothing has ever felt this good, Lyla. Fucking nothing.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him it was the same for me, but my orgasm snuck up on me. And the only thing that left my mouth was a cry of pleasure as my body began to shake.

  Minutes later, he dropped his full weight on top of me, and I mewled my pleasure at having him there. “I love you so damn much, Lyla. We’re together. Not just for now. For-fucking-ever,” he rasped at my ear.

  “Howler—”

  “Say it,” he ordered, lifting his head to meet my gaze. His eyes begged me to say the words.

  “I don’t—”

  “Lyla!” he snapped. “Fucking say it.”

  “We’re together…” He made a growling noise when I hesitated. “Forever,” I whispered, wishing with everything in me that it was the truth.

  Chapter 11

  Howler

  Lyla was originally supposed to go to New York with her roommate, Mia, but when we found out Gwen had hurt Josie, Lyla had backed out so she could be with my daughter. Now that Josie was staying another night with my mom, that left us with an open Friday night.

  Lyla wanted to go to the Underground, and I wasn’t about to say no to her. Even if I did have to deal with Judge, I would give her what she wanted to make her happy.

  As a Son of the Underground, I got to park behind the old warehouse where the fight was taking place that night. Judge owned them all, and I’d helped him convert them into Underground locations with a little help from my construction crews. What had started out as the occasional fight in Judge’s basement when we were in high school had turned into a kind of cult following that was now the worst-kept secret in Northern Virginia.

  I wasn’t even completely sure why the fighters were called Sons of the Underground. It was just something Lyla had joked about one night before a fight when she was fifteen, and it stuck ever since.

  Judge didn’t fight much these days, but when he did, it was something the entire region came out for. And tonight was no exception. It was almost impossible to get to the warehouse with as many people as were already there. I honked my horn to get a group of girls out of my way and then drove around back to park close to the rear entrance.

  “Let me get your door,” I told Lyla as I opened my own.

  “It’s only a door,” she muttered, yet she didn’t move to open it herself. Grinning, I walked around the front of the SUV and opened her door.

  Offering her my hand, I waited for her to place hers in it and then lifted it to my lips. “You look beautiful. Did you wear this for me?”

  She glanced down at her red and black dress paired with knee-high black boots. They made her legs look even longer than they were. When she’d come downstairs wearing them earlier, I’d had to bite my knuckles to keep myself in check or I would have fucked her up against the wall then and there.

  “I wore it for me, actually,” she informed me, but that damn smirk on her luscious lips suggested otherwise.

  As she stepped out, I put my arm around her, glancing around to make sure no one was following us. She still wasn’t taking Gwen’s buying a gun seriously, but I sure as hell was. My crazy ex was becoming unstable, and I was sure it was because of all the drugs she’d been using recently. If I’d known she was frequenting the drug dens, I wouldn’t have even let her near Josie. The fact that she had been abusing my baby girl was driving me crazy.

  Downtown was working the back door, making sure no one who wasn’t supposed to be there got in. I got a chin lift from him, and he grumbled a greeting to Lyla as we passed.

  “Who is he fighting tonight?” she asked me as we bypassed the locker room her brother was in and joined the crowd.

  “No clue. Haven’t talked to him today,” I told her as we approached the bar. “But whoever it is, I feel sorry for the poor sonofabitch.”

  She pressed her lips into a tight line as she nodded. “He’s been acting weird as hell, don’t you think? And yesterday, it was like he saw a ghost, and then he just shut down and dropped me off at your house. After arguing with me that I should go home with him.”

  “Hell, baby, he’s been acting crazy for a while. I don’t know what his deal is.” When we reached the bar, I ordered her one of her girly little fruity drinks with rum and a beer for me.

  Tossing down the cash, I picked up our drinks, but her gaze was locked on something across the warehouse. “Babe?” I nudged her with my hand still holding her drink, but she didn’t even blink. “Lyla?”

  Shaking her head, she finally lifted her gaze to look at me. “I think I know what my brother’s problem is.” When she tilted her head in the direction she’d just been looking, I followed her line of sight.

  “Ellianna? But I thought she went back to school.” Mabel’s daughter had spent the last three years at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. I’d never asked what she was studying, but I knew Judge had been footing the bill for her education.

  He may be a total dick to Ellianna, but he loved Mabel like a mother. Hell, the woman had practically raised him before either Lyla or Ellianna had been born. All Mabel had had to do was say she didn’t have the resources to pay for her daughter’s expensive college degree, and Judge was pulling out his checkbook.

  “Maybe she did go back to school,” Lyla murmured distractedly. “Just locally.”

  “But why?” I took a sip of my beer, still holding Lyla’s drink. “No offense, babe, but why would someone want to go to this school if they had a free ride to an Ivy League?”

  “I guess that’s something only Ellianna can answer.” Turning, she walked away. I stood there for a moment, entranced by the sway of her hips in that dress.

  Tipping up my beer, I swallowed the rest of the contents in two gulps and chucked the empty bottle in a nearby trash can before hurrying after my girl.

  I reached her just as she and Ellianna were pulling back from each other, both of them laughing. “What the hell are you doing here?” Lyla wasted no time in demanding, a happy grin on her face.

  Ellianna lifted a slender shoulder, her slightly upturned nose wrinkling a little. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” the other woman muttered. “Can’t a girl get homesick and want to be closer to her family?”

  Lyla crossed her arms over her chest. Staring her friend down, she waited. After only a few seconds, Ellianna tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder and huffed. “I got tired of being Zachary Bennet’s charity case. I’m home because it’s just cheaper for me to study locally.”

  “How are you Judge’s charity case?” Lyla demanded. “He’s an ass, but I’ve never seen him treat you like that. Did he say something to you? I swear, I’ll kick his ass—”

  “Lyla, I love you, but don’t get in the middle of this. Just leave it alone.” Giving her another hug, Ellianna stepped back. “I’m here with my roommates, so I need to get back to them before the fight starts.”

  “You realize Judge is the one fighting tonight, right?” Lyla called after her.

  Ellianna turned with a gasp, her face losing all color. “But he never fights anymore.”

  “Rarely,” she agreed. “Call me, Elli. We seriously need to catch up.”

  Swallowing hard, the blonde nodded before walking back to her friends. I watched as she stopped in front of a group of three other girls, all of them about her age, maybe a little older. Even from where I was standing, I could tell Ellianna looked physically ill all of a sudden.

  “I can’t believe she’s been here all this time and I haven’t seen her until now,” Lyla complained as she finally took her drink from my hand. “And seriously, why would she think she is Judge’s charity case? He must have run his mouth. I swear, he’s a great man until he gets near Ellianna, and then he turns into the worst kind of bully.”

  I kept my mouth shut while she finished her drink, but my eyes drifted back to Ellianna several times. She was a few months older than Lyla but looked younger. The twenty-one-year-old barely looked eighteen. She was slender, hardly any curve to her body at all, with the longest, shiniest blond hair I’d ever seen. Her facial features had an almost otherworldly quality to them, like one of those fairies or elves in the fantasy movies I could never get into, no matter how good the cast was.

  The girl was beautiful, I would admit that, but her beauty was different from Lyla’s. Ellianna was fragile, delicate-looking, as if she needed someone to protect her from the world. Lyla had an aura about her that screamed badass woman who could take on the world and win.

  Judge normally went more for women of the latter type, but I could almost understand the appeal of someone like Ellianna. A guy’s instinct was to protect those weaker than himself. He would want to protect and take care of Ellianna, but he wouldn’t want to want her.

  Maybe he was fighting himself on everything with the girl. Whenever my best friend was conflicted, he didn’t handle that shit well.

  When Lyla’s drink was empty, I took the plastic cup from her and tossed it into the trash before pulling her into my arms and lowering my head. Brushing my lips over her sweet, fruit-flavored mouth, I completely forgot about Judge and Ellianna and the world in general.

  Lyla fisted her hands in my shirt, holding on as I deepened the kiss right there in front of everyone. “Wh-what was that for?” she panted when I lifted my head.

  “No reason other than I couldn’t help myself.” Kissing the tip of her nose, I nodded my head toward her roped-off VIP area. “Fight’s about to start. You ready to sit?”

  Licking her lips, she nodded, and I linked my fingers through hers as we walked over to the area Judge always left open just for his sister.

  We’d barely sat down before the lights were turned low and the first fighter was being announced. Lyla snapped her head up, and our gazes locked as we both grimaced. “Sledge,” she groaned. “He’s fighting Sledge.”

  I dropped my arm around her shoulders, cursing inwardly. Sledge was a mean sonofabitch. No one ever wanted to fight him simply because he was a dirty motherfucker.

  If Barrick hadn’t been busy, he probably would have been the one to ref. Instead, a nervous-looking official stepped into the cage behind Sledge as he bounced around, hyping up the crowd, getting boos so loud, the windows shook.

  Then Judge’s name was announced, and the entire building was suddenly trembling with the screams of the crowd. But Judge didn’t even seem to notice them as he walked purposefully out of the back and straight into the ring. As the cage doors closed behind him and the lights came back on, he locked his eyes on someone behind Sledge, and I watched my best friend’s entire face twist in agony for a single heartbeat before he shut down his emotions.

  Sledge shifted, and I saw who had caught Judge’s attention.

  Ellianna.

  Chapter 12

  Lyla

  Holding my breath, I watched as Judge tore his gaze off Ellianna.

  If I hadn’t been watching them both so closely during their brief exchange, I would have missed the look of pure torment on my childhood friend’s beautiful face. But when I looked at my brother again, it was to find his face totally emotionless. Which was completely unlike it had been only a moment before, when he’d looked at Ellianna like his life was flashing right before his eyes.

  I may not have been able to read what he was thinking right then, but this fight told me plenty. That it was Sledge in the cage with him spoke even louder.

  It told me that Judge wanted to cause someone pain, but with his choice of opponent, it said he wanted to bring the pain on himself just as much as he wanted to dish it out. And with Sledge, that was exactly what he would get.

  An inch shorter than my brother, Sledge made up for the small difference in height with the muscles that caused his body, which had been bean-pole-like in high school, to swell like the fucking Hulk. He’d graduated a few years ahead of me, and he’d left for two years immediately after. He’d returned looking like he’d spent the time in a cult that worshiped the steroid gods.

  Roids were strictly forbidden in the Underground, but by the time he came back, they must have been out of Sledge’s system because he’d passed the piss test he was required to take to become a Son—and, as far as I knew, every test since.

  Judge was not lacking in the muscle department, not when his freaking legs looked like tree trunks and his arms and back were roped with corded muscles that trembled with every step, every inhale, he took. But his muscles had been acquired the old-fashioned way, unlike his opponent’s.

  Sledge, who was perhaps the dirtiest Son in the entire Underground, landed the first blow. It was a sucker punch, striking the side of my brother’s head before the ref had even indicated the fight could begin. Sledge’s fists were like anvils, and the blow had Judge misstepping before he turned on the other man.

  With a roar, he tackled Sledge, taking him to the ground. With his arms trapped, Sledge was defenseless to protect himself against the blows to his ribs, kidneys, even his liver.