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.

I have

“Why? Why are you willing to pay

as he’d applied a little pressure to her reasoning, she’d gone and said the last fucking name she

the address?

know the truth? Was her plan going to fall apart before it

if it disgusted him. That made two

who she could ask about that. She

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 next best thing a few months ago.” His tone told her he resented

already since she’d last

“So what’s it to be, do we have

when suddenly two more giant men came waltzing from the back. Their laughing banter died as soon as one of them saw Lita. That man turned to face her and immediately it felt like he overshadowed everything. She forgot about the gym, about her reason for being there. Lita even forgot about the annoying conversation she’d just had with Gymhead as she shifted

the life of her, Lita couldn’t say why. She stole a brief glance down at herself and came up empty. Yea, she looked like shit, but nothing about her should

than the Gymhead by another half foot. She could see the bulk and definition of his body—every bit built for fighting—even in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

Lita 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 wasn’t

have a deal?” she asked, her voice shakier than she would have liked. She turned to Gymhead and waited. 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

So, you’ve gotta go.” Gymhead grumbled as he turned his attention back to her, trying to backtrack his way to

and there was a tiny petty part of her that wanted to just give up. But

he was one man. It wouldn’t be hard to avoid him. However, being surrounded by these other muscular men helped her emotions. She felt