The Fighter's Fierce Temptation Read Online Free PDF Page A

that they no longer lived together—and didn’t even live in the same town. She continued to run while away at college, and she knew her dad had been keeping up his standard routine.
    On their last run together, the same morning he’d suffered his first stroke, they had run the six miles, one way, over the neighboring ridge to the lake and back. She missed those times with her father, and she was determined that he get well enough so he could at least follow behind her in the Gator with Tavvy.
    She had insisted they purchase the all-terrain vehicle when Tavvy had come on board and they had begun taking their trainees and the local teens with them on their runs. It had been the wise thing to do, and on more than one occasion had saved time in having to send someone back to the compound for transport when there was a twisted ankle, or if an athlete become too ill to complete the run.
    Please God, let Daddy get better enough to enjoy life once again.
    Her father’s voice interrupted her morose thoughts. “You train today?”
    Alice looked at him for a moment, hoping Marguerite hadn’t given away what they were doing. Her father needed to focus all his energies on getting better, not on worrying about whether or not Alice had gotten herself in over her head. “I thought I might spend some time in the gym this afternoon. These last few weeks I’ve gotten fat and lazy!” She smiled at him sweetly.
    “No. Not fat. And never lazy.” Her father gave her a crooked smile.
    “Well, whatever is causing my jeans to fit a bit snugger, I thought maybe I’d spend some time in the gym with Tavvy. He hasn’t had anyone around to beat him up for a few weeks now.”
    Her father tried to smile. One of their running jokes was that Alice could take Tavvy in the ring. At two twenty, the older man outweighed Alice by over a hundred pounds, and he was almost eight inches taller. But she had youth and speed on her side, and most days she managed to get the upper hand on him.
    “Be careful.”
    “I will.” She turned, hearing Marguerite in the doorway. “Good morning, Marguerite. How are you today?”
    “Just fine, thank you, Miss Alice. I’ve made you a recovery shake. It’s sitting in the kitchen for you.”
    Alice stood up and thanked the woman on her way out the door. She turned to her father again. “Daddy, I’ll see you later. The therapist will be coming by in a little bit. Don’t be too hard on him, he’s only trying to help.” She winked at him and headed back through the kitchen.
    Grabbing the shake from the kitchen counter, she took it up to her bedroom and finished it off while the water heated in the shower. Getting dressed after her quick shower, she happened to glance out her window and saw Bryant exiting his cabin and heading for the gym.
    He had showered and changed, and rather than wearing a shirt, he had it draped over one shoulder, giving her a perfect view of his smooth chest and muscles. God, he’s gorgeous. She spent long minutes at the window watching him walk, before shaking her head and refocusing on his reason for being at the compound.
    The money.
    She grabbed yet another cap and pulled the oversized T-shirt over her bound breasts before she headed down the stairs and out the back door. Tavvy had already been given his instructions for the remainder of the morning, and she would only be observing and making notes for the afternoon’s training session.
    I can handle this. Observation. Easy stuff, right?

Chapter 7
    Easy stuff? Who was I kidding? Alice held back a sigh and deliberately closed her fists, her now unpainted nails digging into her palms just short of drawing blood. What is wrong with me? I’m supposed to be observing his fighting style, not lusting over his body. Which just happens to be astonishingly gorgeous.
    Bryant Burton was truly poetry in motion when he moved. His athletic body flowed smoothly from one stance to another, and she couldn’t remember another fighter who had posed