The bright lights shine down on him, making the thin coat of sweat on his forehead glisten. His blue eyes scan the rather large crowd and every now and then, his lip will twitch with the beginnings of a smile. I’ve always enjoyed watching live bands play. I like the way they all wear their passion on their face—much like Seth when he’s in the cage. Nothing in this world is as striking or as captivating as Seth when he’s focused. Right now, he seems focused on ignoring Don by picking apart an innocent coaster. I can feel his tension radiating off him and he’s not the only one who’s bothered by Don’s sudden appearance. You know that heavy feeling that presses into the pit of your stomach when someone you don’t like is in the same room as you? That’s what I have, and Seth is undoubtedly feeling the same way.

A loud, sarcastic laugh catches my attention and I allow my gaze to flick between the stage and the bar, where Don is chatting to a less than impressed Maddi. She stands in front of him with her hand on her semi-exposed hip. She looks great in her tight, black tank top and denim skinny jeans—Don clearly thinks so, too. He reaches out and pinches the thick strand of straight, black hair that drapes down her chest and curls over her breasts. She quickly swats him away, but I see the telltale blush that heats her neck and blushes her cheeks. My brows furrow as Maddi shakes her head at him. Her lips move fast as she tells him off and I bite back a smile. She pushes past him and rolls her eyes at me as she passes by before disappearing into the crowd.

“Would you look at that?” Seth says, shifting in the booth. “My sister does have a brain.”

“She has good taste in men.”

Seth scoffs. “Let’s not go as far as to claim Don and Kye as men.”

I choke on a laugh. “Don, maybe not, but Kye is all right.”

Seth surveys me, his eyes thinning. I guess I hit a nerve. “You think Kye’s attractive?”

I shrug, suddenly regretting what I said. “Sure. I mean, he’s definitely not unattractive.”

He laughs once, nudging me in the ribs with his elbow. I flinch, leaning away from him. “What?”

He pauses, all traces of amusement gone. “You’re serious?”

Since I started this conversation, I might as well finish it. I’m in too far to say ‘just kidding’ and hope he lets it go. “Of course I am. Are we looking at the same Kye? He’s hot as hell.”

Seth blinks at me in that adorable way only he can before he grips my shoulders and pulls me into him. I eat a mouthful of his shirt and some of his shoulder as he squeezes me tightly against his torso. His body vibrates under my face as his laugh fills my ears. I push off of him, only managing to separate his body from mine by an inch or two. I’m glad he finds it so funny.

“I can’t believe you,” he says between gasps of air. It pricks at me, slowly spiking my annoyance levels. “Him? Really?”

He laughs a little more, pushing me higher and higher.

“What’s so funny?” I demand. “He has dirty blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a killer smile. Ask any girl in here and they’ll tell you he’s hot.”

His laugh fades and his eyes flare as his brows draw closer. He’s jealous… I can see him imperceptibly working his jaw. “Is that what you want? Blond hair and blue eyes?”

I’ve had my fun with him now. Seth’s not the kind of person I like to see jealous. I’ve seen him get all King Kong ‘mine’ type of jealous with Mason and Blade and it wasn’t pretty. Besides, it’d be unfair of me to release a jealous Seth on Kye when he hasn’t done anything wrong, and Seth is just looking for an excuse to destroy Kye. Anyone can see that.

“Absolutely not,” I say. “I’ll take funny and annoying over hot as hell any day.”

I wink and he pulls me in again, squeezing me relentlessly against his stone-like body.

“You’re not as funny as you think you are,” he tells me and I can hear a smile in his voice.

“I think I’m hilarious.”

“I know you do. That’s the problem.”

I open my mouth to protest, but Maddi appears out of nowhere, planting her hands on the table. “Do either of you want a drink?”

Seth releases me and I sit upright again, pulling my shirt back down over my tummy. My stomach churns at the thought of drinking alcohol so I shake my head, making yet another mental note to never touch another drop. Ever.

“Rum and Coke,” Seth says, bunching up the remnants of his coaster and squeezing them in his large hand.

With a nod of her head, Maddi turns from the table and stalks toward the bar. As she passes Don, she keeps her head down and angled away from him, but that does nothing to deter him. She could be wearing spikes and escorting a Rottweiler on a chain and he’d still have a go at her. I’ve come to learn that Mr. Don Russell isn’t exactly the smartest man on the planet.

As she steps by, he hooks his finger through one of her jean loopholes and tugs her into him. As soon as it happens, I’m startled to my feet. The entire booth rocks as Seth leaps from his seat. I turn into him, blocking his path. Thankfully, the only way he’s getting out of here is through me and I’m not about to step out of the way.

“Move,” he growls, not taking his eyes off Don and his sister.

I shake my head and extend my palms to him. I bring them close to his chest, careful not to touch. “Relax. I’ll handle it.”

His intense, volcanic eyes flick onto me and my heart slams into my ribcage over and over. “Like hell you will.”

“Seth,” I tell him, my voice low and stern. “I said I’ll handle it. I’m going to go over there and let Maddi know that we’re leaving. If she has any problems with Don, I’m sure Kye can handle it.”

Kye can’t handle it. I know that. Don is at least twice his size and I doubt Kye’s pretty face has ever taken a decent punch before. I may hate what Don stands for, but he has heavy hands, I’ll give him that. Seth clenches and unclenches his fists as he ponders what I said. My heart pounds in my ears like a bass drum. I’m nowhere near big enough to stand between Seth and Don, and I can’t stop Seth even if I try, but I’m hoping he has his wits about him. I know he’s been drinking and I know he gets a little amped up when he drinks, but he needs to listen to me.

“I’ll give you thirty seconds and then I’m coming over.” He throws his torn coaster across the table and it scatters as he drops back into his seat and folds his arms tightly over his chest. Not wasting a second, I quickly make my way over to the bar as Maddi tries to slap her way out of his hold.

“Maddi, can you tell your brother to go get the car. It’s getting late and I want to go home.”

Don’s seedy green gaze falls onto me, and with a victorious smile, he immediately releases Maddi.

“Thanks, asshole,” she mutters at him before slipping away and over to Seth.

“Who do you think you are?” I snap at Don, planting my hands on my hips. “You can’t go around tugging people wherever you want.”

I almost laugh at the idiocy of telling a fighter not to tug people into them. They all do it. They all break the personal bubble rule without so much as a sorry. With most, it’s sexy, but with Don, it’s the complete opposite.

“Jealous of baby Marc, sweetheart?” He pinches the fabric of my shirt and pulls me closer, exposing the bare skin on my belly. There he goes with that tugging shit again. “Don’t worry, the whole time I do her I’ll be thinking of you.”

I snatch my shirt back, making space between us again and I even manage it without looking helpless.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to touch me?”

He smirks. “Until you finally beg me to touch you.”

I snort and roll my eyes. I wonder if he can hear how stupid he sounds? “When hell freezes over, then?”

“It doesn’t have to be that long. Tonight works for me, too.”

I narrow my eyes. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”

I turn on my heel. I’m done bantering with him, it gets me nowhere. He exists only to piss people off and he doesn’t see it, but he’s a pawn in Matt Somers’ game to increase his own bank.

I barely make one step before his large, warm hand snatches my wrist.

“Don!” I hear Seth shout from the table. I also hear Maddi begging Seth to sit down. A pounding in my ears intensifies, completely drowning out Kye’s unique voice. I have to get out of this and fast.

“You keep playing this game, baby, but I know you’re into me. I can feel the sexual tension radiating from your tight little body.”

I glare at him. “You’ve obviously never experienced sexual tension.”

Bickering with Don is not grounds to claim sexual tension. I’ve had sexual tension, and trust me when I say this is nothing. When Seth and I were getting to know each other, that was sexual tension. Although I hated him, I wanted to eat him. I wanted to wrap my legs around him and lick him from head to toe. It’s not like that with Don… with him my insides dry up at the thought of his mouth anywhere near mine.

“You think you’re so special, don’t you?” he snaps, releasing my arm. “You think that you’re so damn special because you’re married to that—that asshole.” He shakes his head. “Let me be the first to tell you this, you’re not special. You’re a whore, like everybody else.”

“A whore?” I almost laugh.

He nods. “You are nothing but a gold-digging, cock sucking whor—”

I clench my jaw and swing at him. I swing with so much force my fist aches as I scrunch it. When I connect with his face, pain shoots through my hand and straight to my elbow. In the distance, I hear Maddi cheer. I want to scream, to kick him for hurting my hand, but I figure it’ll look more badass if I just grit my teeth and bear it. I hit him right in the nose and he quickly shields it with his hand, groaning like a little bitch.

“Fuck you,” I spit at him through gritted teeth.

I want to shout more things at him, call him all of the horrible names I’ve been wanting to call him for months, but strong arms seize me before I get the chance. They pull me into a hard, laughing body and I can’t see as I’m hoisted up and carried away. I want to see Don’s face—I want to see the damage I did. That should teach him not to disrespect another woman. Instantly, there’s a swirling mass of guilt in my stomach, but my brain counters it. I’ve put up with a lot of his shit—a lot more than I should have—and there’s only so much sexual harassment one girl can take before she stands up for herself. That’s what I did… I stood up for myself. I clasp my hand and manage to pull my face from Seth’s chest. He beams down at me, smiling widely. All traces of his previous anger are gone, replaced by absolute happiness and pride.

Crap.

I drop my head against his chest. I hit Don… in the face. I’m not a violent person… in fact, I hated violence of all kinds once upon a time. I’m different now… and hitting Don in the face was way too easy for my liking.

I don’t say anything as Seth carries me from the club, and I’m unable to say goodbye to Maddi or thank Kye for the performance. It’s all for the greater good, I guess. I can’t imagine my night getting any better sitting in there with Don a few feet away.

Outside the air is cool on my burning cheeks. It gathers my scattered thoughts, stacks them and neatly files them away in the ‘deal with it tomorrow’ drawer. All I want now is comfort and reassurance from my husband. I’m not a bad person… and I’m not a whore, either.

“Maybe I should send you into the cage for me. Killer swing you’ve got there, lady.”

I shake my head, wincing as I squeeze my hand. “I shouldn’t have done that… that was wrong.”

“Who cares? Don got what was coming to him.” Seth squeezes me harder against his body. “You did me proud, and let’s face it, he was going to get a smack in the nose tonight regardless. He’s lucky it was by you and your cute hands.”

People stare as he carries me down the street, but I don’t mind. We’ve been seen like this too many times to be embarrassed now. Don’s words weigh on my chest and I feel stupid, mulling over it. I shouldn’t put so much stock in his words. It is Don, after all.

“Do you see me differently now?” I ask, watching the dark concrete. “Now that we’re together… am I a different person than the girl you met?”

Deep down, it’s a question I’ve been pondering for a while, but I didn’t think anything of it until Don called me out. When I think about it, and I mean really, really, think about it, I feel different… Seth has made me different. He’s made me crave things I never really did before him. Is there a line you can’t cross, even when you’re married?

“Yes, I see you differently,” he says and my stomach ties itself up in knots. “I no longer see you as that weak girl everyone took advantage of.” He kisses me on the top of my head, sending pins and needles through my body down to the tips of my toes. “You’re a badass, independent woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. You’ve changed, but you’re still you. You’re still just as good, just as beautiful, and just as amazing as you were when I met you.”

I fight a smile and he squeezes me. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

Exhaling, I let my head fall firmly against his chest. He smells good, like a spring afternoon in the woods after a long night of rain. I cringe inwardly. Thank God thoughts are internal because that has to be the weirdest thing I’ve ever thought in my life.