Page 17 of Simon Says

Unwilling to press her luck, Dakota snatched her shoes from the corner and left the ring in a barely veiled hurry. Once on the ground again, she turned back to Simon. “Same bat time, same bat station?”

Frustration, confusion, and antagonism all flashed in his gaze.“What?”

Dakota fought back her grin. “I take it you’re not a Batman fan?”

The antagonism took over. “No.”

“Figures.” She sat to pull on her boots. “I was asking if you’d be here tomorrow at the same time.”

“Why?”

Simon’s responses had fallen into one-word clipped replies. Dakota wondered if that had any significance for anything. She didn’t know him well enough to decide.

Lacing up her boots took a minute and gave her a good excuse not to look at him. “I still need to talk to you, that’s why.”

“You want to talk, then talk. I’m listening.”

“No way. This isn’t a good time.”

“Why not?”

Did he hope to convince her to finish her business now because he didn’t want her coming back tomorrow? Oh, no, she wouldn’t let him off that easy. “You’re too busy beating your chest and playing Tarzan, which makes me want to clock you for being a jackass, and I need a liquid pick-me-up in a bad way before I put up with any more of your macho bullshit.”

Dakota spared a quick glance his way, but couldn’t tell what he thought of her deliberately abrasive statement. She finished her boots and stood again. “So, is tomorrow good for you?”

For about fifteen seconds, Simon stood undecided, and she held her breath. Then he crossed his arms on the ropes and nodded. “I’ll be here.”

“Great.” Relief revived her as she pulled on her coat. “I’ll bring a thermos of java. We can share.”

“I have my own drinks.”

“Protein junk, I bet.” After wrinkling her nose, she buttoned up her coat to ward off the fall breeze. “To each his own.” Anxious to leave while she was still ahead, Dakota gave a negligent wave and headed for the door. She could feel Simon’s gaze boring into her back, but rather than uncomfortable, it felt…exciting.

Once outside, cold air stung her face and cut through her layers, making her shiver. Steaming, fragrant coffee sounded better and better by the second.

Halfway down the block, Dakota still felt the tingle of interested attention. She couldn’t resist looking over her shoulder.

All three big men stood in front of the gym, watching her departure. When she grinned at them, Gregor waved—until Dean slugged him.

Now that she’d seen them, they all went back inside. Huh. Maybe she hadn’t been such a pain in the butt, after all. Maybe she’d been a novelty instead.

And maybe Simon was as anxious to see her again as she was to see him. Dakota didn’t know if that’d be good—or very, very bad.

SIMONdidn’t know he was grinning until Dean shook his head at him.

“What?”

“You look moonstruck.”

Simon shrugged that off. “She intrigues me, that’s all.”

Gregor threw an arm over Simon’s shoulders, almost knocking him to the floor. “Sorry, bud, but you’re trainin’ and that means no nooky for you. You gotta save that juice for fightin’.”

Simon laughed and shoved him away. “So Jacki’s out of luck tonight, is that what you’re telling me?”

A slow smile spread over Gregor’s face. “Jacki never takes no for an answer.”

“And that’s more than enough on that subject,” Dean insisted, since Jacki was his little sister. “But he is right, Simon. A brief fling is one thing, but you can’t afford to get played by some skirt right now.”

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