FORCE: Alpha Badboy MMA Romance (11 page)

He engulfed her with more than his physical prowess; his possessive energy made her feel safe and trapped at the same time.

“Let go.” She moved her hands to push away. His scent filled her nose and making her feel slightly drunk.

The softness of his t-shirt over the harsh granite of the twitching muscle below beginning a low vibration between her legs.

“Come on. You can’t miss Asher’s fight.” Victoria tugged at his sleeve, dragging her other forearm over her cheeks.

They walked down the dim hall in silence into the echoes of the gym.

“Fuck.” Cameron took a deep breath as the gym floor opened up around him. His shoulders pulled back as Asher’s eyes met his.

He wanted to cheer on his little brother, but his even stronger urge to shove his foot up the asses of both men that flanked him in the ring was going to be hard to contain.

13

Asher bounced up and down in place as his opponent did the same. It was a sparing fight, but both of them looked like they were ready for UFC fight night on HBO. Larry and Roger spoke low instructions and rubbed his face with Vaseline as they shot daggers over to where Cameron stood.

A fight’s a fight whether or not it is in the center ring with spotlights and an arena of screaming fans. Every time you stepped up and knock knuckles with an opponent, sooner or later, someone was the victor and the other the fallen.

Cameron could see Asher darting his eyes toward him, making sure he was watching. He was more nervous than usual, and his opponent stood stone still now, his eyes locked onto the youthful enthusiasm across the ring.

“He really wants you to be proud of him.” Victoria leaned her head and looked up. Cameron’s eyes were already shining as he watched the younger brother he’d took on as his ward for most of his years.

“I am proud of him. How the fuck he turned out so good is a miracle.”

There was no ref, it was supposed to be a sparring match.

Sure, Asher was dancing around like a butterfly that stings like a bee, probably just more hyped than usual because Cameron stood watching. His opponent outweighed him by at least 30 pounds and about ten years’ experience.

“He ever sparred with this dude before?” Cameron leaned lower toward Vic, his experience and sixth sense had his hackles raised already.

“No. He’s fairly new, came from Boston I think. I’ve watched him a few times. He’s hard, strong, but not well trained or controlled. A cowboy.”

A ‘cowboy’ was a term to describe a fighter than didn’t really follow the unwritten code. Prone to fighting with a win-at-all-costs motto, they didn’t fight pretty and more often than not ended up getting kicked out of club after club.

Her arms crossed over her chest, the crease where her chest came together raising the ire of his inner perv.

If she let him, he would have her back against the wall, holding her still and straight, his face firmly planted between her legs tasting every drop of her flavor until she coated him.

“Cam…hey!” Victoria’s voice admonished him. “You watching? You are Captain ADD. Every two seconds your brain sort of wanders off into your own world. Focus.”

She punched his arm and Cameron heaved out a breath trying to clear his mind.

Sure, fighters fight, but they also had a code, an unwritten set of rules that honored the sport and hopefully kept everyone from serious damage. Cameron felt the thick muscle along his shoulders and back ripple and harden. Something here wasn’t right. This guy was older, stronger, and he looked at Asher like he was his next meal.

Before Cameron could take a step to give Larry a shot across the bow and stop the fight, Roger clapped his hands. He drew back behind the ropes, with a thick, hard cough and a strange glance passed between Roger and Larry.

“Something’s not right,” Cameron spoke to no one in particular as he took two steps forward.

He smelled the sweat and the sickening sweet scent of whiskey and beer from the night before emanating from Larry as he leaned into the ropes.

Asher bounced forward, tapping knuckles with the red wrapped hands of his opponent. The sound of their feet made soft thumps on the mats as they circled each other felt like the drumbeat before a sacrifice.

Victoria felt the wave of tension pass from her and through Cameron as the first three jabs hit the meat of Asher’s cheeks in quick succession. The space close to them filled with the smack of fist on flesh, the moans of sympathetic pain and Larry’s voice.

“Get in there boy! Low, get in low. Don’t let him get his lock on you! MOVE! MOVE!”

Asher’s eyes were already wandering and unfocused. His arms flailed at the air, his opponent easily dodging and moving out of the way of his pathetic attempts to connect.

“STOP THE FIGHT!! STOP THE FIGHT!” Cameron growled like a grizzly; he jerked Larry by the arm, his voice rising above the reverberating sounds of the gym.

But, he was too late. With a smile that showed the crimson rubber of his mouth guard, the arms of Asher’s opponent swung twice.

“Uhhh…” A sickening grunt fell from Asher’s lips along with his blue mouth guard. The quick succession of hits resounded in a
‘thunk, thunk’
on Asher’s head.
The
powerful blows knocked Asher’s head from left to right and back again.

His brain bouncing around inside his skull like a helpless nut in a jar.

“Why the fuck is he fighting this fucking guy??” Cameron yelled. He threw Larry off the ropes and climbed into the ring, knocking the cowboy back with one elbow to his mouth. An explosion of cardinal red liquid immediately coursing down his chin as Cameron stood over Asher as he convulsed and shook on the floor of the ring.

14

“What the fuck was that? He shouldn’t have been in there with that fucking guy. What the fuck were you thinking? You could have gotten him killed you drunk fuck!” Cameron squared off with Larry as Asher laid asleep against the bright white pillow.

The beeps and whistles of sensors taped onto Asher’s chest and arms and the sound of nurses softly walking and talking in the background. The ball bearings in the track of the curtain scrapped along the track as it was pulled opened and closed as people moved in and out filled the small space.

“Come on.” Victoria tugged on his arm, but even her power over him was useless.

“Get out. Get him out. I’m the father, and I want him out!” Larry’s words were slurred and his eyes watery and red rimmed, but he still commanded his legal rights with the nurses.

“Cam — they’re going to call security if you don’t go.” Hers was the only voice that could break through the screaming in his head.

“Sir,” the voice of the dark haired young nurse turned from caretaker to enforcer, “I have to ask you to leave. Why don’t you come back later?”

Even through her professionalism, Cameron could hear a hint of sympathy.

Larry smiled.

The fucker’s smiling. Either he’s too dumb to live, or he’s more evil than I thought.

Victoria managed to get Cameron’s legs moving and take him out into the parking lot. The sky had turned to a mass of gray and white, clouds moving over one another in a race to get anywhere but here.

As her fingers touched his back, leading them both out the glass front doors with the word EMERGENCY in foot tall red letters, he felt his body warm. If it wasn’t that fucker of a man that called himself a father making his blood boil, it was her. Same result, very different reasons.

Her fingers barely touched him, and he felt like one of the doctor’s had just put the paddles to his chest. Even as Cameron fought off the urge to decapitate Larry, he couldn’t fight off the sweet scent of her perfume over the medicinal, antiseptic smell of the hospital.

She consumed him, even through the haze of this much anger; she cut through like a Katana and his hands twitched to wind into her hair and pull those blush pink lips onto his.

She was talking, but the buzzing inside his head wasn’t allowing anything else in quite yet. Cameron was overloaded, her smell was like a mist that wrangled his blood and sent it like a jet spray down into his cock.

Even now, with Asher laying in the hospital, Cameron felt the power of the only woman alive that could make him hunger for her like a rabid dog.

“At least he’s going to be fine,” Victoria said.

Cameron’s brain allowed the voice of reason to cut into the din.

“Fuck. I could fucking kill him. What the fuck was that? Are they really that incompetent? They’ve pickled their damn brains.” Cameron looked down at her with each question, not expecting an answer, but needing to see her face.

A jolt of cold breeze whipped a long sable lock of her hair over her cheek and nose; her eyes barely rising to meet his. The warmth of the earlier sunshine had quickly given way to a gust from the north that signaled winter was waiting for them just around the next corner.

“You know who. It was just a mistake. I can’t think that either of them would set up Asher deliberately to get hurt. Why would they do that?” She knew both men well enough and then again, not at all. Could they be capable of setting Asher up for some reason?

Because they’re fucks, that’s why. No other reason.

“I sure as shit don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.
Jesus
.” Cameron felt his heart slamming against his chest wall.

Cameron swooped his arm around the curve of her neck and shoulders, pulling and guiding her until he felt the warmth of her body lean into him as they walked. He could feel the tightening in his gut as she softened and met his stride.

He ushered her without question into his Camaro, the engine roaring as he guided it out of the hospital parking lot and down Lemont Street. He was done waiting, the Camaro knew the way and he thanked Christ she was sitting there quiet and just letting him drive.

After a few minutes, she shifted in her seat.

“Where are we going? Back to the gym?” Victoria’s voice hinted at a desire Cameron longed to hear.

A question underneath the question and he was three steps in front of her.

“Fuck no. I’m not going back there. Probably end up in cuffs if I look at Roger right now. I wanted to choke Larry right there in triage, his drunk-self, all self-righteous. No, I’m gonna show you my place. And, I need to feed the mutts.” Cameron turned his head to see just the very corner of her lips turn upward.

“Really? I figured you were sleeping in your car. The dogs get the front seats.” She turned that smile on, and Cameron felt his cock start to take the reins. “Not that anyone would be able to tell. You probably have all your belongings in the trunk, categorized and organized into perfect piles.”

“Naw. Vinyl isn’t good to sleep on. Besides, my legs are two feet longer than that back seat. I’d be hanging out the window.”

“Yeah. You are freakishly large. If I didn’t know you, I’d cross to the other side of the street when I saw you coming.” She hit him with that smile again, and Cameron’s jeans twitched visibly. He had to struggle to keep his head clear enough, so he didn’t get them both killed driving into a telephone pole.

It’s now or never man. Don’t fuck up.

He could barely keep his eyes on the road. She sat too close, crossing her ankles and angling her body sideways and his sidelong glance caught her heavenly, curvy form.

I’m fucking gone over this girl. GONE. God, please, if this goes where I’m hoping, please don’t let me destroy her first time out, okay? That’d be really cool of you because you gotta know I’m not a man known for my restraint. I’m going to fucking try, but she may need some divine intervention so be there for her, ok?

Even through her smile and the jokes, he could read her.

Too many years of disappointment and being on guard left her a little fucked up in the head. She played a good game, but Cameron knew her confidence was shot to shit. It was his job to re-build her, to be sure she understood just exactly how fucking amazing she was.

She fucking needed him; she was alone. And he was in it for the long haul.

Sure, she was tough as hell. The girl straddled the fence between beauty and brains like a rockstar.

But, growing up around fucks like him gave her an armor most battalions would covet. Around Cameron, it melted. It wasn’t something she thought about; it was natural, instinctual. Somewhere deep down in her DNA she knew with Cameron; her well-honed defenses were unnecessary.

He was her soldier, her champion, her bodyguard, her warrior. Nothing and no one could get through him to her, not as long as air filled his lungs. And as much as Cameron wore those duties as a badge of honor, he needed more.

He needed to feel her wrapped around him, body and soul.

She let out a breath, adjusted her hands to wrap around her belly and a spike plunged into his heart. He also knew her insecurities about how she looked. He needed to fix that shit.

She thought there was too much of her. Not every man wanted a stick figure; bones weren’t sexy. Size two wasn’t the standard that defined beauty. Especially not for Cameron.

It was a sick lie Roger and the magazines of the world had told her since she was young. Cameron made it his life’s mission to let her know how every curve, every swell and soft valley were exactly what fueled his wet dreams.

He couldn’t count how many times his hand tightened around his granite rod, his mind wandering over every imaginary centimeter of her alabaster skin. Pumping himself, dreaming that someday he would know what she felt like as her soft heat slipped around him like a tight silk glove.

Cameron knew if he was ever given the chance to feel her from the inside — to be given that blessed gift — there was a very real chance he may fuck her until they both needed a hospital.

The Camaro bounced on its stiff 1967 suspension as the smell of the newly covered vinyl seats and exhaust filled the car. Even those heavy scents were not enough to completely cover her soft natural aroma, but it at least gave Cameron a momentary break from going through every motion of her body underneath him.

Every time the car hit a bump, the impact translated immediately next to him, softly bouncing Victoria’s ripe double D’s and sending another flaming rush of blood down low into his crotch and clenching his back muscles so tight he felt like he needed to call the chiropractor.

Fuck, man, get a fucking grip. You’re going to scare the shit out of her; your cock is practically shooting up under your belt already.

For a moment, he thought about that last Trixie blonde. The one that had tipped the rock from the mountain and sent him flying back here to the urban beauty of Detroit.

He remembered that second as he held the tip of his cock at her soaking entrance, the way she cocked her ass up into him as he held her face down into the mattress. He didn’t want to see her or hear her voice; she was not much better than using his hand.

After he had shut her up and plunged into her like a bear, he knew at that moment no one would ever wrap themselves around his cock again until he had the ultimate prize. Every fuck before was a shadow; an assisted masturbation compared to when he finally found his way into the holy grail.

“Hey! Are you listening? Jesus, even when you’re here, you barely here. How do you do that? Just go for these little vacations inside your head, leaving the rest of us talking to ourselves. You should get an ‘Open’ and ‘Closed’ sign that hangs around your neck so we know when you might actually be available.”

Cameron blinked, took a deep breath and blew it out the side of his mouth as he turned down Lemont Street and toward the house he’d rented just a few days ago. Garbage cans blew across the asphalt and knocked against a steel blue, older model Cadillac with a missing front bumper and gold aftermarket trim.

God, this damn wind. Something is in the air for sure.

“What? Sorry, I was thinking about Ash.” He lied. “Fucking pisses me off. Something is going on. Larry’s a fuck, but he’s still got it when it comes to coaching. He would never have put Asher in the ring with that fucking animal. No good reason for it. What did Asher learn? How to get killed? Something stinks and I can’t put my finger on it yet, but you better fucking believe I’m gonna figure it out. Where the fuck are their heads? Up their asses farther than usual?”

He hadn’t been thinking about Asher, but as he changed the subject, he was stinging mad again, knowing there had to be more to the story.

“So you
weren’t
listening. Well, then, I’ll say it again. You need to stay away from the gym. I don’t know what is going on with your dad, but when you’re there, something changes. He gets dark, scary. I don’t think it has anything to do with the fight today, but I just think it is better if you just don’t come by. Things are crazy stressful already, so do me a favor and just keep your distance. Okay?”

Keep my distance. Yeah, that’s funny. You got mobsters coming around ready to collect a debt, and you’re sitting there like a cherub on the alter. Sure, yeah, I’ll stay away.

“Uh huh,” Cameron grunted as he downshifted, and the Camaro gave a low rumble in return.

He turned into the driveway of the duplex with faded blue siding and a gutter that was held up by a piece of brown twine.

“
Nice
. This is your place?” Her eyes were darting from the house to the empty lot next door.

A few charred tresses and a broken burned concrete foundation were all that was left of whatever used to stand there.

“Yup. It was all I could get on short notice and cash, no income proof, you know? It’s fine, come on. The garage is nicer than the house. And, it’s got a security fence all around the back yard so the dogs are cool. You know me, gotta take care of my own.”

“Lord knows you wouldn’t want to put car out on the street,” Victoria sniped with a smile.

“Damn skippy.”

Cameron slowed the Camaro into the garage. Victoria looked to see there was a steel bar that folded down across the automatic garage door and locked with a pad lock the size of her fist.

“Maybe we should hang out in here. Forget going in the house.” She gave him a cheeky smile as he opened his door and made his way around her side.

“Get out smart ass. The house is fine. I even bought furniture and had the interior painted.”

“Ohhh, well then, let me see.”

Cameron was meticulous. Most people would size him up and figure he lived like an animal. Much to the contrary, every book in his room stood organized by size from tallest to shortest.

His sheets were pulled tight enough to bounce a quarter and there was never a dish left in the sink. If he didn’t have such a violent aversion to authority, he would have been the perfect soldier. Navy seal or Special Forces would have made good use of his other skills, but he couldn’t seem to get the hang of blindly following instructions.