Teague felt her before he saw her. That tingling only she brought him skated up his spine. Moving farther into the room, he found her with his gaze. A smile flitted across his face.

Of course. Where else would you be at 3:30 in the morning, Erin, but in the ring?

He padded closer, watching her dodge and jab with an imaginary opponent. His gaze lingered over the fact she only wore a white sports bra that zipped down the front and black low-rise boy fit shorts.

A groan escaped him. Her dark skin shone with a sheen of sweat. Her hair was up in a ponytail and it moved in tandem with her graceful motions. He skimmed over the muscles in her legs and arms as she worked out.

Amazing.

Beautiful.

Tempting.

Tantalizing.

He didn’t stop until he neared the ring. Standing tall, he allowed his bag to hit the floor with a loud thud. That got her attention.

Her eyes widened in surprise before she got her emotions under control. Standing in the middle of the ring, she stretched her neck and shook her shoulders, trying to stay loose. “Here for a workout?”

“Wanna spar?” Teague asked, leaning against the rope.

“Why not?” She did a bit of in place jogging while he slid under and climbed into the ring. “Do you want some gear?”

He looked at her, her hands were wrapped but she was gloveless. “No. I’ll be fine.”

She shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Her dark eyes watched him telling him she was waiting for him to make the first move.

Teague bounced around, finding his footing and balance. He almost lost them both as the sparkle he remembered seeing in her eyes when they were together appeared. Erin Watford loved to box.

He took the first swing and then it was on after that. They feinted, dodged, and tossed punches back and forth. Teague never had to check his swing because he knew he wouldn’t be landing any direct blows on her.

Watching the pleasure on her face, sent a wave of longing through him. He was still in love with her. Deliberately, Teague allowed her to land some punches on his stomach and when she did, he wrapped his arms around her and took them both down to the mat where after he took the brunt of the hit, he rolled them over so she was beneath him.

“What are you doing?” she hissed even as her eyes showed him her desire.

“What I should have done yesterday when you walked in here, back into my life.”

Teague kissed her. Wrapped one hand around her ponytail and swept his tongue through her mouth like a wildfire. He groaned as her familiar taste assaulted him. His body responded violently. He wanted her.

Copyright © Aliyah Burke, 2008.