Wrestling Desire by Michelle Cary Page A

shoulder.  “Whatcha up to?” His deep voice rumbled through her body like an earthquake making her insides instantly quiver with desire.
    Standing a little over six feet tall, with long blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a body girls drooled over, Holt ‘The Heart t hrob’ Hendricks was EUW’s sexy boy.  Fantastic as a singles wrestler , he’d made a name for himself early and continued to prove his ability in the ring time and again.  Of course with a stellar win/loss record and dashing good looks Holt also carried an inflated ego.
    At least that’s how it appeared to those who didn’t know him.  In truth Holt could be very sweet, considerate , and caring when he wanted to be, which made her situation even more difficult.  While she was more than a little attracted to him, his reputation with the l adies combined with her brother Derek’s hatred for Holt, made keeping her distance a necessity.
    She ducked out from under his arm and did her best to glare at him.  “I’m trying to do my job, which is hard enough without having to keep track of you two juvenile delinquents.”  She stopped and angled her hands on her hips.  “Why wasn’t I informed of that little stunt you two did for the promo?”
    Holt shrugged and exchanged looks with his partner in crime. “We thought Gene or Mark told you.”
    “Well they didn’t.” She turned on her heel and continued to walk toward her work station.  “I bust my ass to keep this roaming circus running like a well-oiled machine.  When I’m not informed of stuff like promo tapings and such, it throws my schedule out of whack.”
    “Look.” Garrett stepped in front of her , blocking her path.  “We didn’t mean to knock you out of whack.  Honestly, we thought Mark or somebody would have told you.  From this point forward we promise to tell you ourselves before we tape a segment that’s going to disrupt the backstage workings.”
    Emma arched a brow.  “How about you two try to behave and not disrupt backstage workings at all?”  She sidestepped Garrett and continued on her way.  “Now that would be a novel idea.”  She raised he r hand and wagged a finger at them as she walked toward her work station.  “You two are both pushing thirty, yet you both act as if you’re still teenagers.”
    “You’re only as old as you feel, Emma baby.”
    Garrett’s statement stopped in her tracks and she turned to look up at him .  “Emma baby?”  It didn’t matter if Garrett was quite a bit bigger . No way would she allow anyone to talk to her like that.
    Holt immediately jumped between them and placed his hands up in mock surrender.  “Um…what my misguided and somewhat idiotic friend is trying to say is that we’ll make sure to keep you informed of all future pranks.”  He clasped his hands together in prayer. “Please don’t kill him, Emma.  I need him for our match tonight.”
    Emma couldn’t stop the smile pulling at her lips.  The sincerity in his look and the desire to keep her happy seemed genuine and she relented as she shook her head at them.  “You’re a complete nutcase, you know that?”
    He grinned and dropped his hands.  “That’s true, but admit it Em, that’s what you love about me.”
    That wasn’t the only thing she loved about Holt.  “Don’t you have someplace to be?”
    He chuckled and the rich warmth of his voice filtered through her system causing goosebumps to form on her skin.  “You would know.”
    Remembering her lis t, she quickly checked her sheet.  “It’s time for you both to head to hair and makeup.”
    “Then we’ll get outta your hair and let you get back to work.” Garrett turned to go , but Holt remained in place. 
    “Admit it, Em.  Deep down you thought our prank was funny.”
    She rolled her eyes skyward and gave him a small smile.  “Maybe it was a little funny.”  She pointed a finger at him.  “If you tell anyone I said that I will emphatically deny it.”
    He snagged her