Defying the Odds (26 page)

Clay was too tall. This wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t for the high heels. Even still it took some maneuvering before they found the right position. Clay wrapped one hand around her hip, pulling her back against him, and Melody pressed her cheek against the glass, eyes still closed as she trembled in anticipation.

He guided himself into her, using his hold on her hip to help the thrust. Nothing could ever prepare her for that first push of his cock inside her—it was a dizzying rush every time. Melody took a shuddering breath against the pleasure. He was so big it’d hurt if she wasn’t so wet, so incredibly needy. As it was he stretched her, the head of his cock pushing against the spot inside her that Clay had found with his fingers not long ago.

“God,” she gasped, trying to breathe past the pleasure. He was moving agonizingly slow, making her feel everything. She curled her fingers against the glass, and her legs shook. She opened her eyes, desperate for a distraction against the ecstasy that was almost too intense. She looked down at the lights once more, forgetting there was ground beneath her. “I think I’m
gonna
fall.”

“I won’t let you fall.” Clay’s voice was
tight,
making it obvious he was torturing himself with the slow melding of his body into hers. “I promise.”

He wrapped one strong arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him just as he thrust hard, forcing Melody to take all of him. The slide of his cock inside of her was harsh, demanding, a stark contrast from the gentle claiming a few seconds ago. She cried out, her body shaking from the current of pleasure. She felt full of him, surrounded by him, and she loved it.

Knowing Clay wouldn’t give it to her unless she asked, Melody managed to fight the bliss long enough to choke out one word. “Hard.”

Fortunately Clay understood; he pulled out and pushed back in, taking her hard like she’d asked. He groaned in relief, making it obvious this was what he needed too. It felt amazing. The rocket fire of ecstasy gave Melody the thrill of mindlessness she needed. She was desperate to get lost in it, to surrender to every stroke of pleasure.

Still shaking, she fought to find her voice.
“Again.”

“Fuck,” Clay growled, a shudder going over him before he grabbed her hip once more, his grip nearly bruising. His other hand fisted in Melody’s hair, tugging her head back as he leaned in and breathed against her ear. “Is this what you want?”

“Yes,” Melody choked out, shocking herself as much as him. “I need it. Please.”

She never knew she was supposed to be this woman, one comfortable enough with her own body and desires to make
herself
vulnerable to him like this. She wanted to be claimed, owned, fucked from behind until she came, screaming Clay’s name. If she wasn’t already in love with Clay, she would have fallen for him just for giving her this freedom. She wasn’t nervous and jumpy; instead she was uninhibited and sexual. From the first time she met him, Clay had been slowly freeing her from her past and the stereotypes everyone, even Melody had believed. She could be wild and sexy; she’d just been waiting for Clay to come along and help her blossom into the woman she was always meant to be.

Clay gave her exactly what she needed. He fucked her hard from behind—the position forcing his thick cock to brush against that sensitive place inside her over and over again. Small sobs of pleasure burst out of Melody, and her body shook as the precipice rose.

She would have worried about falling when she was this out of her mind. She surrendered completely to the rise of pleasure, but Clay promised he wouldn’t let her fall and she believed him. It gave her free rein to just enjoy the strokes and savor the way Clay sounded as he fucked her. Low grunts of pleasure burst out of him, the tug on her hair and the grip on her waist growing tighter the closer they got to oblivion.

She felt suspended in that place between heaven and hell. The pleasure was all
consuming,
the attraction between them powerful and irresistible, but the release was beyond her reach. Already completely uninhibited, Melody had no problem reaching between her legs.

“Oh shit,” Clay gasped, his hips pushing against hers with another stimulating stroke. He released his tight hold on her hair, his hand slamming against the glass next to her head. “Fuck, you turn me on. Touch yourself. I like that.”

Melody rubbed two fingers against her clit. Her head fell back against Clay’s shoulder, and she moaned from the dual stimulation. She was going to come. She could feel the climax building to the point that resisting it was almost impossible. She was too turned on, too incredibly grateful to be liberated from past demons, too wanton and free. She fell over the edge, giving in to the flash of pleasure with Clay’s name on her lips.

The pulse of her orgasm was consuming. Everything faded to a white haze of bliss. The thrill was electrified when Clay reacted to her coming and pushed her against the glass. He fucked her harder, faster, drawing out Melody’s pleasure with every push of his cock into her pussy, which was clenching from the force of her release. Then he tensed behind her, crying out her name with the same feral passion, and shuddered with his own climax. They were lost together, flying over a sea of lights, trapped in the space between, and Melody wanted it to last forever.

But nothing lasted forever.

Melody got a bizarre mental whiplash when the pleasure faded to a hazy hum, jarring her back to reality. She found herself breathless, sagging against the window and blinking at blurred city lights. Clay’s arm wrapped around her waist was the only thing keeping her on her feet because her legs had stopped supporting her weight somewhere along the way. Her ankles hurt. Sexy or not, those high heels had to go.

Clay groaned behind her, making it obvious she wasn’t the only one feeling the crash from euphoria to reality. “I’m sorry.”

“What’re you sorry for?” Melody asked, still dazed.

“I was too rough.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and used his hold on her waist to pull her tighter against him. “I think I’m an asshole.”

“Nah,” she said, unable to resist grinning. “I liked it. With you, rough works.”

“Does it?” he asked, his voice gruff with sex but still hesitant.

“Sure does.” Melody’s smile grew broader at the realization. “Everything works with you. It’s like magic. You make me feel normal, and I love you for it.”

Clay was quiet for a long moment before he whispered, “Ditto. Love you too, Mel.”

Melody let herself soak it all in, wanting every aspect of this moment committed to memory, even the sticky aftereffects of sex and the dull sting between her legs. She let herself feel the ache in her feet and the knot in her back that came from having a six-five, two-hundred-and-sixty-pound heavyweight champion draped over her.

The good and bad, she wanted it all, because this was the moment Melody realized the slots had stopped spinning. The rush of not knowing was over, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing when she considered the outcome of the gamble.

She’d won.

“Why are they calling it a knockout if he wasn’t knocked out?”

Clay looked up from his breakfast, giving her a smile. “It was a technical knockout.”

Melody frowned. “What’s the difference?”

“The ref calls a technical knockout,” Wyatt explained, pointing at her with a sausage at the end of his fork, “’cause, see,
Wellings
was to the point that he couldn’t tap and he was getting clobbered.”

“Seems unfair,” Melody said, stabbing at her breakfast. They were eating at one of the big buffets that seemed to be everywhere in Las Vegas. Though their hotel was fancier than most, the buffet was casual, which had become a requirement. “What if he could’ve bounced back?”

“He wasn’t bouncing back.”

“
Ain’t
no
way,” Wyatt agreed. “That fight was over five hits before the ref ended it.”

“He could’ve done something. You never know,” Melody argued and then took a bite of her eggs, which weren’t half bad. She chewed her food, giving Clay a look. “I think it’s unfair.”

“Well, I can’t help you with that.” Clay laughed. “I don’t make the rules.”

“I feel bad for him.” Melody sighed, her mind still on the fight. “’Cause you got a whole collection of those tacky belts and he
ain’t
got one.”

“That is true.” Clay surprised her by agreeing. “If the fates were kind, they’d have probably let
Wellings
win.”

“Are you shitting me?” Wyatt snapped. “That slick bastard’s ’bout as cocky as they come.”

“And you
ain’t
?” Melody couldn’t resist asking.

Clay choked on his food, his face turning red as he coughed and wheezed. Finally a barking laugh burst out of him. He turned to Melody, his eyes watering. “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

“Oh God, I’m
gonna
puke.” Wyatt growled, rolling his eyes at the two of them. “First everyone’s fucking jolly for Christmas; now I
gotta
deal with this. If there’s a hell, I’m pretty sure it’s got tinsel and a lovesick Clay Powers in it.”

“How come you don’t like Christmas?” Melody asked curiously.

“’Cause he’s
hungover
,” Clay said, still laughing. “Just ignore him.”

“He
ain’t
the only one. I should’ve stayed in bed like Tony and Jasper. I’m ’bout as green as grass in June.” Jules sat on Melody’s other side, putting her plate in front of her. She leaned in, her arms resting on the table as her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “Did y’all see
Wellings
behind you?”

“What?” Wyatt turned around to look at the table behind them. He stiffened, his light eyes narrowing in defensiveness. “Having fun eavesdropping on our conversation?”

“Hard not to.
Half the restaurant can hear that big mouth of yours, Conner.”

Melody turned around to see Romeo
Wellings
glaring at them from his seat behind them. Surprisingly he ate alone. Melody wasn’t expecting that after glimpsing the big crew of people he’d had with him yesterday at the promotional event he attended with Clay and Wyatt. She hadn’t gotten a close look at him the day before, but today she could see the evidence of the fight with Clay, and she winced over it. Between the two of them, Romeo was certainly the worse for the wear.

“Hey, buddy, sorry to bother you.” Clay reached out in a rare show of goodwill and hit the back of Romeo’s chair. “We’ll keep it down.”

“Sure.” Romeo nodded. His eyes, a light shade of green that was vibrant against his tanned skin, darted to Clay, then to Melody sitting next to him. The tension seemed to slip out of his broad
shoulders,
and a smile quirked the corner of his mouth. “Keep that one, Powers. She calls it like she sees it; I like that.”

Clay grinned back at him. “Yeah, I like that too.”

Melody smiled, feeling pleased. They all turned back around, an uncomfortable silence filling the air because they knew Romeo could still hear them. It seemed silly to pretend he wasn’t there. So when Melody got up to refill her plate, she leaned down to Romeo.

“I’m happy you’re okay,” she said with a smile. “I was worried ’bout you.”

“Oh yeah, I’m good,” he said, giving her an embarrassed laugh. “I got a hard head. I’m a New Yorker; we’re all hardheaded and thick-skinned.”

“Good to know.” She laughed before she turned to go back and get more food.

Even with Melody’s attempt at goodwill and Clay being generally ambivalent toward his rival sitting behind them, breakfast wrapped up quicker than it would if it weren’t for Romeo listening to everything they were talking about. They didn’t have any obligations for the rest of the day, and it was strange for all of them. They walked across the hotel, passing the casino on their way back to the elevator. Aside from sitting in their rooms doing nothing, no one could come up with a good plan of action. Though Clay seemed on board with camping out in the suite, Melody felt like they needed to get out and see something on their last day in Las Vegas.

“We could go Christmas shopping,” Melody suggested, feeling excited at the prospect. She had a small stash of money that she’d brought with her. She had been going to use it to set herself up in a new town, but now that she’d decided to stay, Christmas shopping sounded like a much better idea.
“Could be fun.”