Her bottom lip thrusts out in an irresistible little pout. I hate when she makes that face. Every single time, it makes me want to give her everything, kiss her, snuggle her, whatever the fuck she has going on in her nutty little head, I want to do to make her smile.

"I don't hate you," she whispers. "Why would you say that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I suggested we try being together and you ran out of here like I tried to set you on fire." Fuck, as soon as the words leave my mouth, I wish I could take them back.

She shrugs off my thoughtless comment. "Well, you haven't always been super nice to me either, you know."

"I fucked up. I'm trying hard here, Trin."

"Why are my fuckups still topics of conversation?"

"What are you talking about?" To my knowledge, Trin never admits to fucking up. She's a tough little bitch.

There's that fucking pout again. This time she glances at the floor. Something's weighing on her. "The way you're always telling everyone what a slut I am."

Aw, fuck. "What are you talking about? I've never called you that."

"No, but you've implied it and worse." She lifts her gaze, piercing me right down to my soul. All my shitty behavior over the years and especially the last few months comes rushing back.

Then she spills what's been bothering her for the last eight years. What we've never acknowledged or spoken about. "You know what MCs normally expect of girls like me. But here, you could have said I was off-limits and they would have respected it. But you said nothing. I didn't expect a property patch or anything more than what you were capable of giving me at the time. I didn't think you wanted me. It wasn't fair for you to be mad at me when you never said anything."

Each one of her brutally honest words burns like acid. I'm not sure if we're getting somewhere or if this will end up pushing us further apart. "Trinity, you know that's not entirely true. I asked you not to do that for the club. We both know no one pushed you into being club ass." I say it as gently as possible, because I'm really not trying to hurt her feelings. "I toldI'm not going to lie, it fucking hurt, Trin."

My mind flashes back to the night all this shit got fucked up between us for real. All I can see is Teller pulling her up the stairs. Trin's questioning eyes. And I sat there like an asshole and let it happen because I was too proud and pissed off. After my spectacular display of how little I cared, she went with Z not long after. That stung, because we've been friends forever. Still I said nothing. She and Teller got tight for a while. Then she, Teller and Murphy. I stopped paying attention after that. It hurt too fucking much. Because it was my own fault. I couldn't be mad at my brothers because of the reason she said. I never opened my stupid mouth to stop it.

These last few weeks, working with her has been fucking awesome. I love getting up and finding her waiting for me downstairs every morning. Love having her around at my gym all day. We're finally getting back to where we were before things went to hell. No. Actually it's better. I don't want to lose her.

I can't fuck this up again.

Tears silently track down her cheeks. In the past I would have said something nasty to cut her even deeper. Never again.

Pulling her into my arms, I use my thumbs to wipe her tears away.

"I'm sorry," she sobs against my chest. "I didn't-"

"Shhh. It's in the past now, okay?"

Her head tips back. "Is it? Can it ever really be in the past? Because sometimes I can't close my eyes without seeing you and Ginger together. Or Cherry, or-" I place my hand over her mouth to stop her.

"I understand what you're saying." I pin her with a hard stare. "I do. I'm sorry I tried to push you into something you're not ready for. But I want you to understand, you mean more to me than just sex."

She shakes free of my hold but perches next to me on the bed, keeping her feet on the floor. "That's how I felt when we first met. You kept coming back and I didn't understand why."

Laughter rumbles out of me. "It surprised me too. But I couldn't stay away."

"Then, it hurt the way youdidn't care enough to-."

"I'm sorry." Using two fingers, I press them against her cheek and turn her to face me. "You don't trust me yet."

Her hand reaches up, grasping mine and pulling it away from her face. "It's not just you. I don't trust myself."

I know exactly what she means and it doesn't piss me off the way it would have a couple years ago. I understand her better now. Hell, I don't trust myself either.

I bring her hand to my face and brush my lips over her knuckles. "We'll work on it together, okay?"

Instead of giving me the answer I want, she blows me away with a question I'm not expecting. "Why didn't you tell me nothing happened between you and Cherry?"

Fuck, how long was she gone? What'd she do, play dick detective the entire time? "What?"

"You never told-"

I sit up straighter and put my back against the pillows. "I didn't want to make excuses. I still fucked up. I brought her up here intend-"

"But you didn't? Why?"

Because I don't want to get it up for anyone else. "She's not you."

"Yeah, but you thought I was across the hall with Z"

"It wasn't worth it."

She stares at the wall as if trying to make sense of that.

"That night I spent like ten minutes gushing to Z about how you and I were getting along so wellandI ended up feeling like such an idiot."

It takes a second to absorb all that information. "Wait. What did you tell him?"

She shrugs and refuses to look at me. "I don't know. That it was like when we first met."

Reaching out, I brush my hand over her cheek. "Is that bad?"

Finally she looks at me with so much hurt in her eyes. "Yeah, because too many bad things have gone down for it to ever be like that again."

She's wrong. She doesn't know it yet. But she's wrong.

As the fight approaches, the days we spend at the gym get longer and longer. I'm fine with it, but I sense Trinity's getting tired. It's not that I'm worried I'll lose-I'm not. But ever since Rock told me he's bringing Cinderella to the fight, I can't stop thinking about having Trinity there as well. And if she's going to watch, I want to make sure I'm one hundred percent.

"You can go home, babe. I'll ask one of the guys to come pick me up."

She pierces me with a hurt expression. "You want me to leave?"

"Well, it's late and I'm sure you're tired."

"I'm okay. How much longer do you think you'll be?"

"Let me finish this set of drills, I'll grab a shower and we can go, okay?"

"Sounds good. I'm going to use one of the ellipticals if you don't mind."

Do I mind? Trin getting all nice and sweaty in her tight little yoga pants and fitted T-shirt? No, I don't mind one bit.

So much for finishing any drills. I basically stand there hugging the heavy bag drooling over Trinity. Watching the gentle sway of her tits gets me stone hard, something that's hard to conceal in my loose gym shorts.

"Christ, you've got it bad for her," Jake says behind me.

I'm pissed that he managed to startle me and at how obvious I am.

"Why are you here so late?"

"Forgot my fucking cell phone. Can't function without it." He glances at Trinity again. "You gonna make this happen with her, or not?"

"Who are you, dear fuckin' Abby now? Get lost."

Jake isn't offended at all. He knows what a moody prick I am. "Why do you even know who Dear Abby is?"

I don't think explaining that my mother religiously read that column for years is going to make him go away fast enough. "Did you find your phone?"

He waves it in my face. "Yeah."

"Good. Lock up on your way out."

He laughs and slaps me on the shoulder before finally leaving. I approach Trinity slowly and get on the machine next to her. She glances over and smiles, then pulls out her ear bud. "Want me to finish up?"

"Take your time. I'm good."

She glances down at the timer. "I've got ten minutes left."

I nod and set my own clock, taking up a lazy pace next to her. We don't speak for the next ten minutes and when she finishes, she hops off, flushed, sweaty and so fuckin' pretty, I have to look away.

"I'm going to shower and change. Meet you in your office in twenty?"

"Sure."

I can't concentrate knowing there's only a door and a flimsy shower curtain between myself and naked Trinity.

On autopilot, I stalk over to the women's locker room. My hand flattens against the door and I take a second to consider what I'm doing. But then I catch Trinty's voice. Singing. She's singing in the shower and her voice pulls me inside.

She jumps when I push the curtain aside and peers at me over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"I thought we should conserve water."

One corner of her mouth kicks up. "Oh, really?"

"Yup."

"Is this the new 'Earth friendly' Wrath?"

"Yeah, sure." My hands go to the hem of my shirt and yank it up over my head, dropping it on the bench outside the shower stall. Trinity quirks an eyebrow at me.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?"

She's trying to act cool, but I definitely notice her breathing picking up. I keep my eyes on her as I kick off my sneakers and ease my shorts over my hips. "Not yet. The impressive part's coming right up."

Laughter bubbles out of her, bouncing around the tight confines of the shower stall. "God, you're cocky."

"You have no idea."

I make a good show of sliding my hand up and down my cock. "This is what you do to me."

"Me?" she asks with an innocently raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, you," I answer, taking a step into the shower. She backs up and I reach out to pull her to me.

"I thought you're not supposed to have sex before a fight?"

"That's an old superstition."

"You're not superstitious? Not even a little?"

Instead of answering, I wrap my arms around her slick little body and pick her up, pressing her into the wall. Her legs squeeze my hips, and her head falls back. My mouth finds hers and I kiss her until the air is knocked right out of me. She's panting when I pull away, soaking wet, with water falling down her face, droplets clinging to her plump lips.

I'm stuck. I want to fuck her hard and fast against the wall, but I also want to take my time and taste every inch of her. There's not enough room in the shower for the second option.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just want more than a quick fuck in the shower."

She cocks her head to the side like she doesn't believe what she's hearing. Slowly, she unlocks her legs from around my waist and holding onto my thighs, she kneels on the shower floor.

"What are you doing, babe?"

Instead of answering, she wraps her lips around my cock and swirls her tongue around the head.

"Fuck," I groan out and almost lose my balance. She grips my legs tighter and I lean forward, bracing myself on the wall so I don't fall. And because I need to watch her. My teeth sink into my lip as she keeps stroking, taking me deeper each time.

"Angel, I'm really close."

She nods and hums, only making things more desperate for me. Her hands squeeze tighter and move faster.

"Fuck. You're killing me."

The corners of her mouth turn up in a devilish smile and she peeks up at me.

That's it. I'm done. She takes me deep one last time, and I'm coming down the back of her throat. She keeps sucking and licking until I can't take another stroke of her hot little tongue, then giggles at me when I pull her up into my arms.

"Why'd you do that? I wanted to come in your tight, fucking pussy, babe."