In the Alpha’s Arms

Negotiations

“Oh, are we negotiating now?” He played it cool, but Lita could tell he perked up. The gym could obviously use the money to work on the exterior, she assumed. This was the pressure point she’d already planned for. Her parents were expecting her to pick an upscale gym anyway, they wouldn’t even bat an eyelash at the price, whatever it was.

“I want to join the gym—the fight club—and I’m willing to pay for it. Money’s not an issue.”

Lita really hated to play the money card. It wasn’t like she was one of those socialites that only cared about shopping and Instagram. And she wasn’t a snob like her parents. But money had its uses. It inevitably opened a lot of doors that would have otherwise remained closed for her. Especially when men wouldn’t take her seriously and that had happened more times than she could count. She often had to find ways outside of her temper to get things done.

“I don’t negotiate with terrorists, lady,” he smiled like he’d caught a fish on a hook. He didn’t see that he was the fish.

“I have done nothing. All I did was step foot in the gym and already I’m a terrorist?”

“You step foot in here and disrupted half the workouts—” he nodded his head to the larger gym and Lita saw that most of the men were watching. Some laughed, some nudged each other. But no matter what they were doing, it was clear they had all stopped working.

“The attention span of a man is not my problem,” Lita said plainly, “I’ll pay double the yearly membership fee upfront if you let me train here. C’mon, every gym has beginner classes. Or at least personal training?”

“Not us,” he shrugged, “This ain’t the place for beginners and this ain’t the place for a clueless girl with as much muscle as a chihuahua.”

That stung, and Lita didn’t suppress the flinch. He saw the reaction and softened a fraction, “Look, I can recommend another gym if you let me write it down.” He turned toward the desk outside the office area and Lita followed.

have

something suspicious, “Why? Why are you willing to pay so much? Why do you really want to train

here, right?” Lita had to think on her feet, and she wasn’t very good at it. As soon as he’d applied a little pressure to her reasoning, she’d gone and said the last fucking name she wanted anyone to know about. James was her reason for being

that’s how you got the address? You’re one

stomach clenched. Did he somehow know the truth? Was her plan

of those psycho fans, looking for a connection with a dead fighter?” he spat the words as if it disgusted him. That made two of them. “Or… are you

was a ring bunny? She wondered who she could ask about that. She was sure from his expression she wouldn’t be asking

approve of whatever he thought of her. But the suspicion melted from his eyes once he labeled her, “Triple the yearly fee. Man, I thought your kind moved on to the

had nearly brought her to tears. She couldn’t believe it had been nearly a year already since she’d last seen him. She lightly fingered the tattoo as an automatic reaction. She didn’t care what this gymhead called her.

“So what’s it

died as soon as one of them saw Lita. That man turned to face her and immediately it felt

and his eyes hardened, nostrils pinching angrily. It was apparent that he didn’t like her, though, for the life of her, Lita couldn’t say why. She stole a brief glance

see the bulk and definition of his body—every bit built for fighting—even in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. She made another mental note to cross-reference him with the photo

watched his face tighten as he glared at her, rubbing the side of his jaw in what seemed to be confusion. He made her palms sweat with an unfamiliar heat. This

Lita started getting more anxious. She couldn’t lose focus. Not for a second. Gymhead turned around to exchange a silent look with the other man. His expression seemed

do beginners. So, you’ve gotta go.” Gymhead grumbled

through. She hadn’t been sure about the absurd idea when she sat in the parking lot and there was a tiny petty part of her that wanted to just give up. But now that she was inside, she knew coming here was the right decision. Something about the place calmed her, drew her in, and

her feel calm. In fact, he made heat grow at the base of her spine. Definitely not calm, but he was one man. It wouldn’t be hard to avoid him. However, being surrounded by these other muscular men helped her