Nico Chavez doesn't get lucky breaks. He's from the roughest part of Boston and has been dealt a shitty hand. With two younger sisters to care for and no one to help him, he turns to underground fighting to make ends meet. When a match lands him up against the area's top fighter, Rhett Jaggar, he knows he has a shot at fighting full-time. When Rhett retires from the ring, he takes on Nico as his protégé, the opportunity of a lifetime. After a year of training under the watchful eye of Rhett and the legendary Coach Barry, Nico is ready to enter his biggest fighting circuit yet. He's determined to make a name for himself and his sisters. Meredith Barry has been acting out. From drugs to bad boys to skipping class, she's hellbent on making all the wrong choices. When she gets suspended from college for the semester, her mother sends her to live with her estranged father, a veteran boxing coach in Boston. Meredith is already angry at the world, but the thought of leaving sunny California to go live with a dad she barely knows has her feeling all kinds of insecure. When the beautiful redhead sets foot in her dad's boxing gym, all heads turn. Well, all but one. Nico Chavez. The focused, energetic fighter isn't looking for trouble. He's worked too hard for his one shot at salvation. But when someone from Meredith's past comes back to haunt her, Nico may find that this is one fight he can't ignore. Can be read as a standalone fighter romance, or as a follow-on story to In His Corner. 50,000 to 70,000 words. #2 #secrets / 99.2k stories #3 #enemiestolovers / 22.1k stories #5 #underground / 4.4k stories #1 #underdog / 790 stories #4 #steamy / 10.2k stories #2 #underground / 4.3k stories #95 #fighter / 7.9K stories

She's a wild, free spirit who sees the good in everyone, and he's the hardened, bad-tempered loner who wants nothing to do with her-yet no matter how hard he tries to push her away, she's the one temptation he can't escape. *** He's never met someone with such a bubbly personality. Not to mention the wildness and odd phrases she says every five minutes. He hates it. He hates how he can't stay away from it. He hates what she does to him; it's not like him to chase after some girl. She gets under his skin like no other. She's never met someone with such a bad attitude. He's ill-mannered and menacing. The glare never seems to leave his face. Considering it all, she can't help but feel the attraction toward him. Dangerous attraction toward a seemingly dangerous man. Maybe it's the tattoos on his arm that gets her attention. Or maybe it's because she can tell there's hope for good under his rough exterior. And she's about to find it, whether he likes it or not. It's no secret that the two of them are complete and total opposites. *** "You like being called Sugar, don't you?" I tease, placing my toothbrush back after finishing. He does the same and gives me a side-eyed scowl. He grips my chin harshly and kisses me. My body temperature raises a good ten degrees and my right leg goes all wiggly. He pulls away. "You like it when I kiss you, don't you?" He teases the same way I did to him and I'm left blubbering. "I think both of our questions are rhetorical," I lower my voice up at him. His lip curls up into a smirk. *** #1 in Young Adult #9 in Badboy #1 in Cold #3 in Goodgirl #1 in Sweetheart #14 in Love *** *Warning* This story contains mature themes (language, scenes, etc.)