Author: J.D. Tyler

After she left, Aric pulled his clothes out of the small closet across from the bed and dressed in sweats and an Alice in Chains T-shirt, trying to ignore the slight soreness in his muscles. How long would he be able to hide his condition from his friends? Not long enough, knowing those guys. They were too damned perceptive.

On his way out, he stopped to see Micah despite his hurry to put the infirmary behind him. Easing into the room, he was struck by the awful stillness from the man on the bed. The drugs were doing their job to keep his friend quiet. He'd almost rather see the guy go for his throat again than this. But either way he was suffering.

Aric went to stand by the bed and rested his hand on the side rail, not sure what to do or say. Nothing seemed adequate, so he settled for what he was best at-the blunt truth.

"Hey, man," he told his sleeping friend. "This is a load of bullshit, huh? But I happen to know you're too tough to let this keep you down. Don't let those assholes win, you feel me? Get well for your sister and your team. Everyone is pulling for you. And when you get out of here, we'll go kick some ass."

That was about as good a pep talk as he could manage. Especially with his sudden emotions threatening to strangle him. Damn it, he might not even be around by the time Micah recovered. But his friend didn't need to know.

"I'll be back, buddy," he promised.

He started out, waving to Noah and the bigger nurse, and kept going, trying to decide what to do. He probably should inform Nick he'd been sprung, but he didn't want to see the boss just yet. The man was too weird with that PreCog shit, and if he didn't already know what was up with Aric, being alone with him might prompt a vision. Or something. No need for him to find out sooner than necessary.

He wasn't hungry, either, and didn't feel like watching TV. The last thing he wanted was to be alone in his room. That left the gym. Might be a good idea to get some exercise while he still could. Blow off some frustration.

Liking this idea, he jogged straight there, glad when he arrived that he wasn't the least bit winded. So what if he was a little sweaty and warm? That wasn't too remarkable when he'd been running. Slowing, he walked inside and took a look to see who was hanging around.

Jax and Zan were sparring on the mats, going at it like two warring gladiators instead of best friends. They appeared to be enjoying themselves. Hammer was doing bench presses, working on the stomach that already boasted an eight-pack, being spotted by Ryon. But it was the sweet thing doing sit-ups in one corner that got his undivided attention.

Rowan wore black spandex workout pants and a matching sports bra, both of which showed off her sleek, toned body and generous breasts. She was no small, scrawny woman like Kira. No, sir, she was built like a brick shithouse, every muscular, kick-ass inch. He practically drooled watching her abs scrunch and her hips flex every time she sat up.

Damn, she's just about perfect. How could I have ever thought I was attracted to Jax's mate?

He'd been observing for at least a couple of minutes before she noticed and eased up one last time, then reached for a hand towel at her side. She wiped her face and then tossed it down, elbows on her knees.

"Are you spying on me?" Good-natured humor laced her tone.

"Nope, flat-out ogling. Spying implies I have something to hide." He almost winced at his choice of words.

"Everybody has something to hide, Savage." She arched a brow.

Yeah, including himself. Just not the way she might think. "I guess you're right about that."

"The doc cleared you to be out running around?"

"Do you see a posse chasing me this time?" he pointed out.

"No." She grinned. "How about going a round on the mats, then? I still want my sparring match and none of those guys would cooperate." She flicked a hand at the others and made a disgusted face.

Damn, she was sexy. The thought of any of his friends laying a hand on her, even for an innocent wrestling match, had him smothering a growl. "Probably didn't want to hurt a woman."

"I'm not some helpless female," she said with a hint of challenge.

"We're not regular guys, though. But in the spirit of fun, I'll take you on."

"Human to human?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want things to be more uneven than they already are."

She shot him an evil little smile, and the glint in her brown eyes gave him pause. "Let's do it."

He offered her a hand up and she took it, getting to her feet with a bounce. Together, they walked over to the mats and Aric yelled at the two combatants. "Give it a rest, knuckleheads. The cop wants to kick my ass." He said the last with a touch of sarcasm, as if to imply she'd need a lot of luck.

All four of his buddies hooted with laughter, Jax and Zan pushing to their feet and getting out of the way, wiping sweat from their faces. A round of encouragement ensued as the jerks gathered, for Rowan to smear him all over the floor.

"Yeah, yeah. Root for the girl, see if I care." Kicking off his shoes, he walked to the center of the mat and bounced on his toes, motioning Rowan forward. "Come on, sweetcakes, let's see what you've got."

"You can't have what I've got, Red."

"Ooh, can't I?" He was thinking of their mutual dream, and saw that she got his meaning.

Though his friends didn't know the full story behind their exchange, it caused them to hoot even more, but Aric ignored them. He focused on Rowan as they circled each other, each sizing up the opponent. He had no doubt the woman was tough, given her occupation, but he was confident of his ability to best her. Even if he held back, which he refused to do out of principle, he was a former SEAL. A highly trained operative. She just didn't have his skill.

He waited for Rowan to make the first move, his strategy for learning hers while holding his close to the vest to start. As he expected, she took a few jabs with her fist, feinting left and right, feeling him out. Grinning, he thought she looked too frickin' gorgeous, eyes narrowed, all serious about their match, completely oblivious to the whistles and catcalls from the cheap seats.

Jesus, look at that rack jiggle in that tiny sports bra.

Which was why he was totally unprepared when his opponent shifted her stance, and in a move worthy of the Karate Kid, delivered a high kick to his jaw that fucking knocked him into the middle of next week. The blow reverberated through his skull and he felt himself falling backward, then hitting the mat with an undignified grunt. The loud consensus from his so-called friends was "Holy shit!" and he agreed.

"Not fair," he mumbled.

Her faces appeared over him. All three of them. "Which part? My foot in your face, or the loss of your pride?"

"Both." Blinking, he tried to get all the tripled figures to merge again while the idiots around him almost choked on their laughter. "Shut up, needledicks." The order didn't help.

"Beaten by a woman," Zan observed with a snort.

"By a cop. Got his butt served up, too!"

"That's 'cause he was too busy ogling the package to see the dynamite!"

The four bumped knuckles and Aric sat up, glaring at the group. "Who wants to take her on next? Nobody? That's what I thought. Losers."

"Are you all right?" Rowan asked.

"I'm great." To prove it, he stood. His brain swam, but damned if anyone would guess.

"Why don't we go again, and this time keep your attention where it should be." she suggested, flicking her ponytail over one shoulder.

Fuck if she didn't make him half-hard! Thankfully, the loose sweats hid his problem. "Whenever you're ready, officer."

Determined to save face, he concentrated on her stance, how her muscles bunched. Anticipated her move before she stepped into his body and pushed, trying to unbalance him and get a foot hooked behind his ankle. Instead, he grabbed her hands and using her momentum as leverage, pressed the outside of his left knee to the inside of her right leg and twisted his upper body to the left. She was thrown off balance and easily overpowered in this type of hand-to-hand contest. He put her on the mat, but hung on to one hand to lessen the impact when she hit. No matter their deal not to pull their punches, he wasn't capable of unleashing his full strength on his mate.

Oh, God.

"Way to go, dude," Ryon said, and the others echoed the sentiment. "Go for the best of three."

Suddenly all he wanted was to be alone with her, away from all these curious eyes. "Nah," he said, giving her a hand up. He focused on Rowan, who dusted off her seat. "How about we go for a run?"

She brightened. "Sounds good. Then I won't have to let you win again."

The guys laughed and Aric rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Come on, let's ditch the idiots."

He let their comments and speculation roll off as they put their shoes back on. They were whispering, but he heard. Already, they wondered what was up. None of their biz. Aric led her from the gym. In the corridor, he absently rubbed his jaw.

"Is it bruising?"

Meeting her gaze, he saw the concern in her eyes, and he'd have been lying to himself if he pretended not to like it. "Maybe some, but it'll heal pretty fast."

"I'm sorry. I only meant to take advantage of catching you off guard, not really cause any damage."

"You played by the rules we set, that's all. Stop fussing."

"Okay." She sighed. "I'm not typically a worrier. Seems I've done nothing but worry since I've been here, though."

"You've had good reason."

"That's the understatement of the universe. I never dreamed any of this existed," she said, waving her arms to indicate the compound and its inhabitants. "It's a bit much, even for an L.A. cop, and I've seen some weird shit."

Then and there, he knew he'd made the right decision. He could never add to her stress, tie her to this life or the dangers in it. She could not find out about the mating bond waiting to be forged between them, and he would never claim his mate.

The truth stabbed his gut, but he didn't let his despair show. All his life he'd been good at hiding his sorrow behind a mask, and he just had to keep it up until she left for L.A.

"As strange as that?" he asked, pointing to the end of the hallway.

Rowan stopped dead at the sight of Kira and her furry little friend coming their way. "What the freaking hell is that thing?"

Aric chuckled. "That's Chup-Chup, or just Chup for short. Kira named him after the noise he makes when he's happy. We're not really sure what he is, so we call him a gremlin."

"He looks like something from a Steven Spielberg movie."

"I suppose."

As Kira approached them and stopped, the gremlin turned rounded eyes to Rowan and Aric, scuttling behind Kira and clutching at the leg of her jeans with tiny paws.

"Cute!" Rowan said, smiling. "Does he bite?"

"Only when he's afraid," Kira replied. "Want to meet him?"

"I'd love to."

"Okay." Bending, she picked up her charge, who immediately nestled into her arms with a contented chup. From the safety of his perch, Chup peered at Rowan curiously. Kira spoke softly. "Reach out, nice and slow, and let him smell you. Like you would with a strange dog."

Rowan did, curling her fingers inward to present the creature with the back of her hand. Aric thought that was pretty smart, to reduce the risk of losing a finger if the little thing got scared. He'd bitten Jax once, and according to his friend it had hurt like hell.

Chup stretched forward as far as he dared, clinging to Kira for safety. Then he sniffed for a few seconds and, apparently liking his new acquaintance, rooted under her hand with his head, making his demand clear.

"Someone wants a scratch," Rowan cooed. Chup ate up the attention like honey, purring and making his funny noises. She looked at Aric. "Want to try?"