Chapter 242.

"Is this your idea of a date?"

Christian’s voice came out higher than usual as he leaned toward Kylie, trying to make himself heard over the crowd.

Someone behind him shouted at the ring. A man to his left was arguing with a bookmaker, and two sweaty strangers squeezed past them, nearly knocking the drink out of Christian’s hand.

The entire place smelled of sweat, beer, old concrete, and money changing hands.

Kylie looked around with the satisfied expression of a woman who had brought a man into a situation he was woefully unprepared for.

"We’re not on a date."

Christian stared at her. "You dragged me into an underground boxing ring."

"I invited you somewhere."

"Somewhere that appears to have been built beneath a condemned building."

She glanced up at the exposed pipes running across the ceiling. "Technically, it’s a basement."

"Oh, thank God. I was worried about the structural integrity of the condemned building."

She laughed.

He turned, and looked at her as if he were genuinely reconsidering every decision that had led him to this moment.

Kylie only smiled wider.

"I asked if you were free tonight. You said yes. So I brought you here."

"Without telling me where we were going."

"Would you have come if I’d told you?"

"No."

"Exactly."

Christian stared at her for another second.

Then he laughed.

It was a helpless, disbelieving laugh, the kind that escaped him whenever Kylie reminded him that being in love with her was going to cost him whatever remained of his peace.

"Wicked," he muttered, shaking his head. "That was wicked."

She tilted her head. "What was?"

"That entire operation. The invitation. The secrecy. The way you sat in my passenger seat looking innocent while I drove us into what I’m fairly certain is a criminal enterprise."

Kylie pressed a hand to her chest. "I would never."

"You’re a terrible liar, Blue."

"I’m an excellent liar. You’re just annoyingly observant."

He looked down at her.

She smiled up at him, bright-eyed and entirely too pleased with herself.

Christian had spent the better part of the afternoon wondering what she had planned.

He looked toward the ring.

A boxer landed a punch to his opponent’s ribs.

The crowd erupted.

Christian winced while Kylie cheered.

She jumped on her toes, clapped her hands, and shouted something that was swallowed by the roar around them.

Christian turned to stare at her.

She was having the time of her life.

Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders in loose waves, and her blue eyes shone beneath the harsh overhead lights. She had traded her usual polished, expensive appearance for something a little more dangerous tonight. Black leather, dark lipstick, gold hoops, and boots that clicked against the concrete whenever she shifted her weight.

She looked like trouble. Like Kylie.

And Christian, who had once thought he understood the difference between wanting a woman and being ruined by her, found himself falling a little more helplessly in love.

He leaned down. "You’re enjoying this."

She turned toward him, breathless with excitement. "Obviously!"

"Why?"

She stared at him. "Because it’s fun?"

He looked around.

A man near the ring had just lost a bet and was swearing loudly enough to attract attention from three different directions.

Another man was holding a wad of cash in one hand and a beer in the other.

Somewhere behind them, someone was laughing so hard that he had to lean against a pillar.

Christian looked back at Kylie.

"Your definition of fun concerns me."

"And is your definition of fun sitting behind an insane technology development while men in expensive suits argue about numbers that could buy a small country."

"Former boardroom, former expensive suits, and former empire."

"Congratulations. You’re free." She teased him.

He smiled. "Thank you, Blue."

"You’re welcome."

A roar went up from the crowd as one of the fighters staggered backward.

Kylie turned immediately.

Christian watched her face instead.

There was something almost childlike about the enthusiasm with which she followed the fight.

She wasn’t performing for anyone. She was simply enjoying herself.

She shouted when a fighter landed a good punch. She groaned when he missed. She laughed when the man beside her spilled half his beer while trying to cheer.

Then she leaned toward Christian and began explaining why one of the fighters was making a mistake with his stance.

Christian blinked. "You know about boxing?"

She looked offended. "Excuse you?"

"I asked a question."

"And I answered it."

"You haven’t answered anything."

She pointed toward the ring. "Look at his feet."

Christian looked.

"He’s putting too much weight forward. He’s leaving himself open whenever he throws a right."

Christian watched the fighter throw a right. His opponent moved aside and landed a punch against his shoulder.

Kylie made a triumphant noise. "See?"

Christian looked at her. Then at the ring, and back at her. "Who are you?" He asked with a soft smile.

She grinned. "Your worst decision."

He laughed. "Without question."

She leaned closer, her mouth near his ear, and joked. "I won’t break your heart."

His smile softened. "Hopefully."

She pinched his side.

He caught her hand, brought it to his mouth, and kissed her knuckles. Then he tucked her closer, leaned down and kissed the side of her hair.

Kylie went still for half a second.

Not because she was surprised about the kiss, but because she was getting used to that.

She was surprised by how easily he did it here, surrounded by strangers and noise and the kind of atmosphere he would once have avoided without a second thought.

He didn’t seem embarrassed.bHe didn’t seem concerned that someone might recognise him.

He simply wanted to kiss her, so he did.

She turned her face toward him. "You’re getting clingy."

His arm slid around her waist.

He simply brushed his lips against the side of her head again and kept his arm around her waist.

She could have made a joke.

She almost did. Instead, she slipped her arm around his middle and leaned into him.

"Don’t get used to this," she murmured. "You’ll be doing yourself a solid."

He smiled against her hair. "I did not employ you for reminders, did I?"

She rolled her eyes, but her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt.

The fight continued. And Christian barely noticed as Kylie told him about how she had discovered the place when she was sixteen.

She remembered the first time she had come here. She had been furious about her father, and her mum just got newly admitted.

She had heard the noise before she found the entrance.

She heard men shouting, and music vibrating through the ground. The unmistakable sound of a crowd reacting to violence.

She had followed it.

At sixteen, Kylie had possessed more confidence than sense. She had found a narrow stairwell behind a building, walked down it without asking questions, and arrived in a basement full of men who looked at her as though she had taken a wrong turn.

One of them had asked whether she was lost.

She had told him that if she wanted directions, she would ask.

"It’s the only story you’re getting for now." She laughed and shook her head. "I’ll tell you more if you join me next time."

Then she turned toward the ring.

Christian followed her gaze for approximately two seconds before looking back at her.

Kylie caught him. "The fight is happening right there. Not on my face." She pointed at the ring.

He said nothing. Rather, his gaze softened as she stared at him.

A slow, wicked smile spread across her face. "Are you bored, Baby?"

"Extremely."

"You’re at an illegal boxing match, surrounded by men who would probably sell their grandmothers for a decent bet, and you’re bored?"

"You’re the only interesting thing here."

For one ridiculous second, Kylie forgot how to speak. Then she recovered. "That’s a very dangerous thing to say to me."

She turned to face him fully.

The crowd pressed around them. The air was warm, and the music had grown louder between rounds.

Kylie pulled away, stepped closer in one breath.

Christian’s eyebrows lifted. "What are you doing?"

She flashed him a seductive grin.

Then she took two deliberately exaggerated steps forward, rolling her hips with enough theatrical confidence to make it clear she was doing it to provoke him.

Christian stared at her.

For one second, he looked genuinely stunned. Then he laughed. A slow smile spread across his face.

"Oh, you’re evil."

She took another step. "Am I?"

"Absolutely."

She stopped directly in front of him.

He moved toward her.

His arm slipped around her waist, drawing her close enough that she could feel his laughter against her body.

He bent his head and kissed the side of her hair.

"You’re going to forever be a magnetic force to me, Blue."

She tilted her face toward him. "Promise?"

His laugh broke into something softer. "Don’t tempt me."

She grinned, then she kissed the corner of his mouth. "You’re welcome."

He caught her chin gently and turned her face toward his. "You’re a menace."

"And yet you followed me into a basement full of criminals."

"I was under the impression we were going somewhere romantic."

"We are."

He looked around.

A man screamed as a fighter landed a blow against his opponent’s ribs.

Christian looked back at her. "This is your idea of romance?"

Kylie smiled sweetly. "You’re here, aren’t you?"

He shook his head, laughing. Then he kissed her properly. It was a warm, affectionate press of his mouth against hers, with his hand resting against her waist.

When he pulled away, she was smiling.

He brushed his thumb over her cheek.

Kylie glanced toward the ring, andlooked back at him.

He smiled.

She forgot to be afraid of how much she liked him.

She simply stood there with her boyfriend’s arm around her waist and the sound of a crowd roaring in her ears.

Then the bell rang.

Kylie turned immediately. "Oh, they’re starting again!" She caught his hand and pulled him toward the railing. "Come on!"

"Blue, I can see the ring from here."

"Not properly!"

"It’s approximately six feet away."

"Yet you’re missing everything."

He let her drag him forward. He was smiling. He would have followed her anywhere.