Page 21 of Last Round

“Sound good to you?” Sean asks.

What is he talking about? I just agreed. It’s then that the icy breath of death kisses the back of my neck.He’s not talking to me.

“I’d love to.” The simple statement drips off her tongue like sex, the sound smooth as whiskey.

I take a deep breath.Don’t turn around.If I can’t see her, she isn’t there. Right?

“Great, I’m gonna text Jess. She’s going to be so excited. There’s a bunch of wedding stuff she’s been dying to talk to you about.” Thankfully, that curse was cast on Molly and not me. “Let me get these back to the kitchen.” Sean takes the container that’s obscenely overflowing with wedges. “See if we can figure out something to do with these.”

She’s still standing behind me. The sweet scent of jasmine is too strong to just be lingering. Yes, I figured out what intoxicating scent she wears. Ma and Da—well, just Ma now since he gave her the business in the divorce—have run a flower shop my whole life. Helping out was mandatory when there were huge orders. So, yes, I’m intimately aware of the different floral scents. More than I’d like to be.

Why won’t she leave?

Wait, I’m fucking K.O. Murphy. I took the world by storm. Was a welterweight champion, defended my title four times without a loss. Packed on thirty pounds of muscle and then fucking made light heavyweight my bitch. Fought and kept that title five glorious times before the blow that took it all away.

I’ve faced off and defeated some of the biggest and baddest men in the entire world.

Then why am I afraid of a girl who’s a buck twenty soaking wet?

Sucking in a ragged breath and manifesting my fighter spirit, I pump myself up to face the greatest challenge of my life. Mentally preparing myself to ignore whatever tempting outfit she wore today. I’ll be a man, apologize, and forget the temporary insanity ever happened.

Oh no. Danger, danger! Code red!

Molly is some sort of sorceress. Because I never thought a woman wearingmoreclothes could ever out-sex a half-naked walking temptation, who’s been prancing around my bar for the past week. Yet, here she is, in a snug-fitting conservative K.O. t-shirt. Her denim shorts are skin tight, highlighting the most perfect ass I’ve had the privilege of being teased with. She’s got her hair pulled back into two braids. A new fantasy of fucking her from behind and holding them like handlebars is now seared into my spank bank. She’s got on simple black eyeliner. None of that caked-on foundation she’s been wearing. The constellations of her freckles are visible.

I lick my lips. Imagine tracing all the patterns I’d discover with my tongue. Like the small cluster near her eye that looks almost like a heart.

With her worn-down, black and white checkered Vans, she looks like Molly. The girl I knew. But she’s not. It’s more than that now. Her emerald gaze hypnotizes me, roots me in my place. I’m unable to turn away. Just like I had with her brother, I struggle to get a read on her mood.

“Hi.” The greeting is simple enough. But the smile she flashes at me is anything but innocent.

I clear my throat. “Hi.” What’s she playing at? Obviously, she hasn’t told Sean about the incident. Which begs the questionwhy?

I hate this. With Sean, I know what to watch out for. With her, I’m fucking clueless. My body tenses, when without warning, she squats down in front of me. Her wide gaze looks up at me and my dick immediately rises to the occasion. She sucks her plump pink lip between her teeth and leans forward. Dreams mix with reality as the fantasies I’ve allowed myself while jerking it bleed through. I’m so hard it hurts. Piercings are all fun and games until you’re sporting a full fucking woody in jeans with no room for them to breathe.

“There,” she whispers and stands, a rag and bottle of spray cleaner in her hands. “Back to work. Would hate for my boss to ride my ass.”

The image of doing just that becomes more vibrant as she walks away, swaying her hips as she goes. Then she makes a show of bending over a nearby table. Those itty-bitty shorts shift, flashing me a glimpse of all that succulent flesh I’m salivating to sink my teeth into. Like an idiot, I believe this is innocent. That I’m just a dirty fucker turning this simple moment into something it’s not. Because this is Little Miss Molly. She’d never taunt me like this. But as she looks over her shoulder and winks, I realize I’m beyond screwed. Clearly, the sadist gene that makes my best friend an expert in torture is a fucking family trait. Because here’s his sister, making my life fucking hell. And not by accident, like I originally assumed.

No, this time, shots have been fired. And if Molly’s half as cunning as Sean, I’m as good as dead.

K-fucking-O

Killian

Lingeringoutsidethewornmetal fence, I stare up at the horrendous two-toned paint job. For whatever damn reason, Sean refuses to update this place. My gaze wanders a few houses down to what used to be my home. It’s almost unrecognizable anymore. After the divorce, my parents sold it. Which made sense. All of us kids are grown, moved out, two live in a whole other town. It wasn’t large by any means. However, it was too big for a single person.

The new owners have made some nice improvements. The exterior got a major facelift with all new, modern, charcoal-gray siding. Ma’s garden is still intact and has been expanded. They’ve even started building a treehouse.

Seeing how different everything is, I guess I’m glad Sean hasn’t made any updates. It’s a reminder of where we come from, something I tried hard never to forget. Even in my prime. It might not exactly be my childhood home, but I did plenty of growing up here. Some of my hardest life lessons were learned while living under this roof.

“Showtime,” I whisper to myself before taking a hit from my flask. This is just dinner with my best friend. No reason to be nervous.

So what if Jessica hates me? The feeling is mutual. I know she’s looking to use Sean, and unless I can prove it, she’s about to legally sink those greedy talons into him.

Then there’s Molly, the little temptress. The devil only knows what tricks she’ll have up her sleeve tonight. With any luck, she’ll let it be, seeing as Sean’s here to witness her antics. There’s no way she’d fuck with me while he watches. The past couple of days, I’ve noticed she only plays her little games at work when big brother is nowhere to be seen.

I enter the front door without knocking. “Honey, I’m home,” I call out.

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