I felt every hard muscle of his torso, even though he held himself off of me with his forearms. Regardless, I felt pinned and at his mercy. I did not mind in the slightest.
“As for you—” His eyes met mine and I blushed. “—I take you to lunch.” He levered off me, stood and held out his hand. I took it and he helped me up, but didn't let go.
“Wow. Um, okay, I know what you’re talking about now.” I had to get my bearings. The feel of a man above me—specifically Gray—had me hot all over. “Chris used to go to a friend’s house because they watched the fights on Pay-Per-View. Does that sound right?”
He nodded. “Sure, that’s it, but I also fought back in the old days before cable.”
“All you did was take me to the mat. The choking and the arm bars, isn’t it really violent?”
He grinned. “Very.” He pointed to his ear, then his nose. “I got these along with my trophies.”
I took in the whole package and the scars and marks on his body from his career didn’t detract. Instead, it showed he had a past, a history and he survived. “As a nurse, I have a pretty good idea of how those injuries must have felt.”
His smile slipped a bit. “I’m sure you can.” He led me out of the ring with a gentle hand at the small of my back.
I walked over to one of the long punching bags, ran my hand over the black leather. “How did you get your start though? I mean, did you do karate as a kid or something?”
This time his smile dropped away completely. “No. Nothing like that. Let’s just say I learned early on how to defend myself and give as good as I got. After high school, I went into the Army and they honed that skill.”
My eyebrows went up. Earlier, he'd glossed over his childhood and downplayed how bad it must have been. The Army, perhaps, had been his escape, and it would have made him really skilled.
“You left the Army and became a professional fighter then.”
He nodded. “I did what I was good at.”
I looked around the space. “Looks like you were really good at it.”
“I’m not as interesting as the Internet says.”
“Now that I know your full name, I’ll have to look you up.”
He didn’t seem too keen on that.
“Does it say something like you fathered some movie star’s kid?”
He grinned again and I liked it. I liked knowing I could make him smile. “Something like that.”
My eyebrows went up. “I was only joking. You’re serious, aren’t you?” When he didn’t say more, but watched the boxers get back in the ring, I asked, “Was it the lady who stars in that sci-fi blockbuster? I take you more for an action-adventure type.”
He turned his head toward me and grinned. “There’s only one type I care about,” he replied, stepping closer.
“Oh?”
He nodded. “Emory’s type.”
I had no idea what to say to that. I had absolutely no comeback and I was flustered. Of course that made him grin even bigger.
“I love the way you blush.” He ran a knuckle down my warm cheek, which made my face heat even more. “Ready to get out of here?”
I could only nod, still stuck on Emory’s type. I followed him to the car and his gaze raked over my body as he opened the door for me.
“So, rowing?”
“It’s not MMA, but it’s a good workout,” I replied, getting in.
“I can tell.” Was his voice a little rough?
He climbed into his seat, turned on the engine to get the air conditioning going. His car was new and sleek. Sporty yet understated, and it matched Gray’s personality.