Fighting for Desire by Sarah Bale

breath out slowly. “Wow. Is he still here?”
    “No, he left around six to take care of some last-minute
business. I believe your plane leaves at seven tonight.”
    “Plane?”
    Mrs. Ingram’s eyebrows lifted. “Didn’t he tell you? The two
of you are leaving tonight for Las Vegas. He has a fight there in a week and
they need him to do some press rounds.”
    Shannon suddenly felt very out of the loop but she tried to
cover her discomfiture by saying, “Of course. I must have forgotten.”
    “Mr. James also arranged for me to keep your sweet, sweet
puppy while you are away.”
    “I’m glad Alice made a good impression on you. My neighbor,
Buddy, claims she is a hellion,” Shannon replied with a laugh.
    Mrs. Ingram giggled. “I must confess…Alice chewed up one of
my house slippers but it was my fault for leaving them out.”
    “Oh no! Let me give you some money to buy a new pair!”
    Mrs. Ingram held up her hands. “Don’t be ridiculous. It was
time for me to get rid of them. Your sweet puppy just helped me along.”
    Shannon grinned. “Well if she does it again, then I insist
on buying you new ones. It’s the least I can do.” She glanced at the clock and
then asked, “Do you know if Dev has arranged for any type of transportation for
me to use while I’m here?”
    She needed to find a way to get the money she owed to the
club before Johnny showed up there for work today.
    “He didn’t specifically mention it but he always allows his
guests to use one of the Land Rovers. Would you like me to have it brought
around?”
    “Yes please.”
    “It will be ready for you in ten minutes.” She pointed to
the tray. “Now eat up, young lady. You are far too thin!”
    Shannon smiled and walked over to the tray. Picking up one
of the warm croissants, she took a bite. The fluffy bread melted in her mouth
and she could taste honey in the butter. Talk about sinfully delicious !
    She finished the croissant and drank most of the juice. She
couldn’t remember the last time she had indulged in drinking real fruit juice.
Her heart slammed against her chest. No, that wasn’t true. The last time she
had drank juice was over eight years ago.
    She set the glass down and grabbed her purse. If she were
lucky, she could make it to the bank and then to the club before Dev knew she
was gone. And if she were really lucky, she could get to the club before Johnny
did.
    * * * * *
    Dev laughed as Marco shook his hand, making sure there was
no damage. Even with the protective pads on, Marco still felt each kick or jab.
Muay Thai training tended to get a little out of hand but Dev couldn’t help it.
There was nothing more liberating than kickboxing and he was damn good at it.
    As a kid he was always getting into fights. Sometimes over
lunch money but most of the time he got into brawls with other kids because he
was angry. Learning Muay Thai had been the best thing that happened to him, he
realized. He learned how to harness the hate he felt and release it through
fighting.
    Marco put the protective pad back on. “Again.”
    Dev made a circle around his friend and then kicked at him
with his left leg. He tended to strike with his right and wanted to train until
he used his left just as often. When he climbed into the ring for a fight he
didn’t want his opponent to know what to expect.
    “Do it again. I could see you thinking about it before you
struck.”
    Dev ground his teeth. He jabbed with his right arm and
kicked with his left leg at the same time, knocking Marco to the ground.
    “Good. If you keep that up, you will win.” He pointed to the
jump rope. “Cardio for ten minutes and then we can spar some more.”
    Dev picked up the black jump rope and hung it over his
shoulder while he squirted water into his mouth. He wiped the sweat from his
face on the sleeve of his shirt and then began turning the jump rope.
    He actually enjoyed this form of cardio. It gave him time to
think, which was sometimes hard to come by.