Brutal by Jenika Snow

He’s loved her his entire life.

AXEL
She’s my best friend, my everything.
She’s been the girl I’ve loved since I knew what that meant.
I box—fight bloody—for a living, and at every fight she’s there, cheering me on, being mine whether she knows it or not.
I’ve never been with a woman because for me she’s it. Roxie is the only one I’ll ever want.
Enough time has passed. It’s time I told Roxie how I feel, because there’s no way I can hold in my feelings any longer.

ROXIE
I want to think the looks, the possessiveness that comes from him means he wants me the same way I want him. He’s been in my life for longer than I can remember, and I never want that to change.
I’ll be with him until the end. My love for him runs so deep, so strong I can’t breathe at times.
I watch as he pushes other girls away, his gaze locked on mine as if he’s trying to tell me there isn’t anyone else for him.
But I’m afraid to turn our relationship from friends to lovers. I’m afraid of crossing that line that could ruin what we have.