Knock Down, Drag Out / Book One

Chapter Six

Maddox watched as Darcy struggled to budge Elijah from his attackers stance and felt a smile tug at his lips. They agreed three days ago when she got the latest package from her stalker that she needed to learn a bit of self defense, just in case she got caught off guard.

Lylah let out a snort from beside Maddox as she watched her sister before letting out a banshee cry and rushing them both, sending all three of them tumbling to the ground. Elijah let out a muffled curse when Darcy's knee accidentally made contacts with his groin and Maddox's lips twitched before blooming into a full smile.

"For the love of God woman, I'd like me family jewels to stay intact!" Elijah's Irish accent got thicker thanks to his pain, causing both women to giggle and kiss him on the cheek in apology.

"Hey now, the only one you're allowed to kiss is me," Maddox teased, walking over to where Darcy had flopped onto her back and hauling her up when she stuck her hand out to him.

"I suck at this. Remind me again why I have to do this to Elijah instead of a normal sized person?" Darcy asked, reaching up to tighten her droopy ponytail. Maddox brushed away the stray hairs that had escaped and Lylah pretended to gag when he dropped down to press a kiss against her lips.

"Because your stalker could very well be his size, or yours. If you can take down a larger opponent then you can take down a smaller one. Try again."

Darcy stuck her tongue out at Maddox but allowed Elijah to grab her again so they could continue to practice. Maddox grabbed Lylah by the ankle and dragged her to the end of the mat so she wouldn't get hurt by accident. He sat down beside her and allowed her to prop her feet up in his lap.

"So you and my sister, huh?" Maddox looked at the small woman beside him and gave her an easy grin. "Is this the grilling she was warning me about?" Lylah winked at him and reached out to poke him in the side.

Maddox resisted the urge to laugh at the situation. Darcy had warned him as soon as they got back to his apartment three days ago that Lylah would give him hell since she knew that they had sex, and being a big brother that was used to having these same type of talks with Landon's girlfriends himself he was okay with it. Siblings were supposed to look out for each other.

"You don't have to worry about her with me, I'm not going to hurt her. We're just two adults who enjoy having sex with each other. Having met because of a stalker aside, I really do enjoy spending time with her."

Lylah moved her feet off of his lap and sat up, glancing at Darcy to see her still struggling with Elijah before leaning close to Maddox.

"She was engaged before, you know. Crazy about the guy. Until he decided that she wasn't enough for him and he tried to sleep with me. And when I turned him down he went after her best friend, who said yes. And she went on dates with other guys, but she never clicked with any of them. She didn't want to have her heart broken again so she swore off men. Hasn't slept with one in two years, until you. So there's something special there. At least for her. Don't break her heart, or I'll have to hurt you."

Maddox chewed on that bit of information while Lylah got up and joined her sister, the two of them ganging up on Elijah and tackling him to the ground. Darcy looked so carefree playing around that it knocked the air out of his lungs when she turned to grin at him, her sapphire eyes sparkling.

Two weeks of being with her, of spending every waking moment getting to know who she was underneath her terror, was having an effect on him. He wouldn't say he was in love, but the thought of Darcy getting hurt or the spark fading from her eyes made his stomach shrink and chills erupt all over his body. He'd rather face Elijah in a heavyweight fight.