Passing His Guard

This was taking too long. A week had come and gone, and they were still no closer to a resolution. His days were spent at the office, his evenings were busy training for his next fight, and his nights were spent making love to Rya

The one thing he’d always loved, the one place he’d always found solace, was in the gym. Leave it to Moralli to steal that from him, too. Aiden no longer fought because he loved the sport. He fought because that bastard hadn’t given him any choice. Rya

The only silver lining in this cloud was that Rya

Aiden was almost back to the condo when his cell rang. He glanced down at his caller ID and uttered a foul curse.

“What?” he answered, his voice a strained growl.

“Bored with the lovely Rya

Fuck . . . Well, that didn’t take long, further proof he was ru

“Rya

Moralli’s answering chuckle grated on his nerves, making him wish he could reach through the phone and choke the life out of the son of a bitch. “Aiden, do you know what I prize above all things?”

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me . . . He closed his eyes, trying to summon his nonexistent patience. “Is this going to take long? Because I got—”

“Loyalty.”

“What?”

“The thing I prize above all else. Don’t make me test yours, Aiden. You won’t like it very much.”

With that warning, the line went dead.

“Does this feel too firm to you?”

Nikko’s brow arched in question. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Well, you’re not going to know unless you touch it.”

“I don’t want to touch it.”

“Oh, come on, Nikko, quit being so stubborn. Just squeeze it.”

“I don’t even know what I’m feeling for.”

“It should be soft with just a little firmness.”

Nikko defiantly crossed his arms, putting a lot of intimidating muscle on display. She smiled sweetly, trying not to laugh at the sight he made. He was all scowl and brawn, pushing a shopping cart through the produce aisle, arguing with Rya

She was nervous about her meeting with Henry tonight and had decided to cha

“Listen, I am thirty years old, and I have gone my entire life not knowing a thing about avocados. And you know what? I’m all right with that.”

“You never know . . .” she teased, deriving sadistic pleasure in torturing the tough-as-nails MMA fighter who looked hilariously out of place partaking in such a domestic chore. “What if you meet a girl who loves guacamole?”

“I don’t think that’s go

“What won’t happen? That you’re not going to meet that special someone or that she won’t love guacamole?”

“Both.”

“Why not?”

“New topic.”

“Oh, come on, Nikko. Are you seriously trying to tell me there’s no one special in your life?”

“Look, Rya

It wasn’t by mistake that he used her given name. He was getting pissed. He leveled her with a defensive scowl, but that look had lost its effect after nearly being joined at the hip for the last few days. A coincidence? She thought not, but Nikko always had more than enough excuses why he wanted or needed to accompany her.

“You hardly know me well enough to be having this conversation.”

“On the contrary.” She poked him in the chest with her avocado. “I’d be willing to bet that I know you better than just about anyone, except maybe Aiden.”

Those silvery-gray eyes stared her down, but she was immune to his intimidation. “I know you act like a hardass, but deep down you’re really a sweet guy. You keep your demons closely guarded, but I suspect they torture you more than you let on. You don’t like to let people in because you don’t want to care about them and you don’t want them to care about you. You like your life simple, and the more people in it, the more complicated it becomes, so you work hard to shut people out whenever you can. You hate to talk about yourself, you’re rigidly disciplined and extremely intelligent. Oh, and you never leave the toilet seat up, which I very much appreciate, by the way.”

He stood there a moment staring at her, the expression on his face giving nothing away. She could be right or way out in left field for all he let on. But she knew she wasn’t wrong. There weren’t a lot of guys that would put their life on hold to help a friend. No, Nikko gave 100 percent to the few people he did care about.

“You finished with your assessment there, Dr. Phil?”

“I think so,” she said, feeling rather pleased with herself.

“Good, then hurry up and finish your shopping. And for the record, I’m not a hero, Rya

“Would you take a bullet for me, Nikko?” It was a hypothetical question, but Rya

“Of course I would.” His response was immediate and without hesitation. Nikko was serious. Huh . . . well there’s a twist.

“Well then, that makes you my hero, and that is what qualifies me to ask you about your personal life.”

“I’d rather squeeze your avocado,” he grumbled.

Rya

“Ooo . . . Nikko,” Rya

“What about her?” he grumbled.

Seriously? The man seemed completely impervious to the woman’s beauty or her subtle interest. “Is she your type?” she prodded, elbowing him in the ribs.