Read Surge: (#7 The Beat and The Pulse) for Free Online

mountain than that to climb.
    “No, no, and no,” I said, putting distance between us. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m happy where I am.”
    “That’s a damn shame,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “A real damn shame.”
    As he walked away, totally ignoring the shouts from fans desperate for a autograph, I knew it wasn’t the last I’d be hearing from Gabe O’Connell. Guys like him had a track record of multiple attempts and they’d become more colorful as they went along. The circus was well and truly in town.
    “What did he want?”
    I scowled at Dean, who’d finally peeled himself away from his adoring fans to come see if I was okay.
    “So you finally noticed I was being manhandled by your opponent,” I drawled, still pissed at him.
    “He’s not a nice guy, Jo,” he said, wrapping his hand around my wrist.
    “Duh,” I shot back, ignoring the thrill that tingled through my body at the look in his eyes. “You think I was going to let him… Wow . I do have some class, Dean Hayes player extraordinaire. How many holes have you been in?”
    “What did he want?” he asked again, brushing off the fact he’d jumped to the wrong conclusion.
    “Thanks for the apology,” I hissed.
    “I didn’t think…” he began, focusing his green eyes on my blue like laser beams. “Never.”
    Damn, Dean Hayes was sexy when he smoldered like that.
    “Jo?” he prodded, making me blink hard.
    “He was tying to poach me,” I replied. “For a job, among other things.”
    His expression fell, and he tugged me closer. “What did you say?”
    “No,” I said, confused at his sudden protectiveness. “I said no.”
    His features softened, and his grip loosened around my wrist. “Good,” he murmured. “Good.”
    “What is this?” I asked, the question flying from my mouth before I realized what I was saying.
    His brow furrowed. “What?”
    “This.” I tugged my hand away from him, and he let me go, his gaze dropping like he only just realized he’d been holding onto me.
    He swallowed hard and returned his gaze to mine. “Rivalry,” he said after a lengthy pause. “With Gabe.”
    “Rivalry?” I tried not to sound disappointed, but I was pretty sure the word came out sounding like a needy wail.
    “I know I’m a dick,” he said, moving away from me. “And I’m sorry for most of it.” There he went being infuriating again. “But we need you, Jo. If you want more money, consider it done.”
    “What?” I asked, mirroring his step back. “I never asked…”
    “You’re valuable to us,” he said, oblivious to the insult he’d just inadvertently slapped me with.
    He was distancing himself, and I didn’t know why. Had he picked up on my stupid crush? That had to be it because he was still hung up on Monica Miller, no matter what happened between them last weekend. He’d never looked at me as anything more than his PR manager, and especially not in the way he’d looked at her. Maybe sometimes we were friends, but there was always that professional barrier. That’s all this was.
    Professional jealousy.
    “You have a fight tomorrow night,” I said, holding my bag close. “We better get going.”
    “Yeah,” he said, watching me hold the square of leather against my chest like a shield. “Let’s get outta here.”

6
    Dean
    F ight night was always a big deal.
    It was the moment all of us trained for. The money shot in front of an arena full of fans and television cameras. It was payday, mentally and figuratively.
    Hanging out back in my locker room for the night, I paced back and forth, trying to maintain focus. Linc and I had spent the day training and going over Gabe O’Connell’s fight reel a million times, and I now felt like I was on intimate terms with the fucker’s takedown strategy. And his nipples and ass crack.
    Last night, the moment I’d turned around and saw his hand on Josie, something changed. I didn’t know what, but something shifted, and it wasn’t just about me anymore.