Hard Love: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance (10 page)

Kurt smiled with satisfaction.

He let go of one of her hips in favor of
freeing up his hand to pleasure with her clit. That was enough to get her
writhing like an earthquake underneath him and it wasn’t long before her
muscles tensed up again. He felt her body tighten around his cock as she
reached her second orgasm. He didn’t hold back. He took the opportunity to hold
onto her waist and start pounding her faster, harder. It only took another
moment for him to topple over the edge with her. He clenched his eyes and
everything was pure bliss. He felt his hips instinctively jerk forward as he
orgasmed. When he was finally done, he opened his eyes to see Claire lying on
the bed with her eyes open, chest heaving with short breathes.

Claire was watching him as he came inside her
all while still struggling to catch her breath. He pulled out and rolled over
to his side, looking up at the ceiling and panting. It was real. He had really
just had sex with her. He had brought her to orgasm twice before finishing
himself. This wasn’t one of his fantasies from his teen years, not that any of
those had ever been this involved. No, this was real in every single way. After
a few minutes they were both finally breathing normally again and coming down
from their pleasure highs. Kurt turned to his side to face her and admired her
beauty.

He reached out and placed his hand flat on her
tight stomach. Her skin was incredibly smooth. He leaned forward and placed a
gentle kiss to one of her nipples before kissing her on the lips. It was a
long, lazy kiss. They both wanted it but there wasn’t enough energy to commit.
Finally, he pulled back and saw immense satisfaction in her eyes, something he
imagined she could see in his.

“Wow,” Claire breathed out before shutting her
eyes. “I think I need a little nap before I make you that dinner.”

“
Mhm
,” he responded
with his lips against her cheek.

“Sounds good,” he said before rolling onto his
back.

 
The next
feeling washed over him like nothing ever had before as he stared at Claire by
his side. It was a pivotal moment that changed something deep inside of him.
All his life he wanted to leave his hometown behind. He always strove to be
independent and adventurous. And in many ways that helped him become the man
that he was.

But there was something about Claire that made
that life less appealing now. For a moment he thought the small hometown life
wouldn’t be so bad; not if it meant he could be with her.

As his mind raced with a million emotions his
eyes traced over her face and a smile crept along his lips. Claire’s eyes lit
up as she smiled back at him.

He knew what he wanted in life; he wanted her.

He had always wanted her.

Alyssa’s long blond hair
flowed freely in the wind as she pedaled her bike faster and faster. She wasn’t
in a rush to get anywhere or trying to get away from someone; she was on her
Saturday morning bike ride and her hair tie had just snapped.

 
Luckily, she was pedaling downwind so her hair
whipped about behind her rather than cutting across her face. She was nearing
the end of her ride around the park’s bike track so she pedaled at her fastest
before slowing down gradually. A couple minutes later she casually rode out of
the park toward the parking lot to secure her bike on the back of her mini-SUV.

She hopped in her car and
drove off toward her house to shower, have breakfast, and get ready for the
day. She had made a long to-do list, but had shortened it in favor of having
dinner and drinks with her friend Jessica. They had not actually hung out in a
couple weeks due to insanely busy work schedules that were vastly different.
But that was a rare occurrence. She usually saw Jessica at least a couple times
a week.

After showering and drying
her hair, Alyssa walked over to her closet to pick an outfit. They were going
to one of their favorite restaurants, a French Bistro in the heart of the
downtown, and then heading to a chill bar for a couple drinks before calling it
a night. She wasn’t much interested in getting too done up since she hoped it
would be more of a low key night out with her friend.

So she opted for a pair of
tight, black skinny jeans and a red silk tank paired with some basic black
wedges. The silk tank clung to her round, pert breasts enticingly, but showed
little cleavage. She looked at her reflection and was pleased with her
appearance so she applied some light makeup and threw on a few bracelets before
walking to her living room to watch some television. Jessica would be by to
pick her up soon and she wanted to relax before heading out.

The night out was uneventful,
but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. Their dinner was delicious, as
expected, and they caught up with a couple old bar buddies where they went to
get drinks.

 
“I can’t believe we used to be regulars here,”
Alyssa told Jessica over the rim of her margarita. She wasn’t looking to get
wasted so she had ordered something delicious that wasn’t all that strong.

Jessica laughed and swallowed
the sip of martini in her mouth.

 
“Really?” She scoffed and looked around as she
took another sip. Alyssa knew just the thing she was going to say. “You used to
be a lot more fun so I’m not surprised.”

“Hey!” Alyssa blurted as she
shoved Jessica on the arm.

It was true however, she had
far outgrown her party phase but it had really been just that– a phase. At 27
years old, Alyssa was a relatively calm young woman who had always been that
way, except from the ages of 23 to 25 when she had let loose and have fun.

It was like she had wanted to
explore a different side of her when she first moved to the city and was
reunited with Jessica but, as enjoyable as it had been, she was past it.

“It’s not like I’m a
boring
person, you know.”

Jessica laughed and drained
her martini glass. She raised her arm to call the bartender for a refill before
turning back to face Alyssa again.

“I know. I’m just messing
with you,” she laughed. The bartender came back with her new martini and
Jessica immediately took a big gulp. Alyssa looked at her. It had been a long
time since she had seen her friend drink like that.

“Long week?” Alyssa asked.

Alyssa believed her because
she knew what Jessica’s schedule was like and she knew how stressful her job
could be. The expectations placed on her friend were rather extreme not to
mention her direct supervisor was beyond rude and condescending.

Jessica hated working for her
and was just holding out until she could transfer to a different department or
branch within the city. Alyssa nodded and then looked around. The crowd looked
to have changed since she used to frequent the bar, but then she thought it was
probably her who actually changed. Suddenly, she started to feel like she
didn’t quite belong there, but then thought it was probably ridiculous. It
wasn’t as if she didn’t like going out
at
all
any more, she just wasn’t a wild party animal by any measure.

They both finished their
drinks and decided to split a cab back to Alyssa’s place. “It’s closer so I can
just come back for my car in the morning,” Jessica said.

As soon as they got back
Jessica almost immediately fell asleep on the couch with the television droning
on. Alyssa laid awake in bed for quite a long time. She wondered about how it
was possible for her life just a few years ago to have been so drastically
different from what it was now. More accurately, she wondered how it was
possible
she
was so drastically
different now from then.

It had been a two-year fluke
and it wasn’t until Jessica had set her thinking about it now that she realized
just how insane it had been. She didn’t want to be a grumpy boring person and
she doubted she was, but in comparison to age 23, she felt she was well on the
way.

“You’re being ridiculous,”
Alyssa muttered to herself as she turned to her side and shut her eyes. She was
intent on getting some sleep that night and she needed to stop thinking about
such trivial things. It would do her no good in the end anyway.

The next morning, she walked
into the living room to find Jessica already gone. It was a breezy Sunday
morning so she opened up her balcony door and let the breeze flow freely into
her apartment as she made pancakes from scratch and listened to French music.
Jessica had always joked that was cheesy of her, but Alyssa didn’t mind it.

There was no feeling in the
world quite like listening to her favorite music and cooking as she enjoyed a
gentle breeze. And those types of days were rare so when they did come she took
full advantage of them.
 
It wasn’t until
breakfast, which she had chosen to enjoy out on her patio as the sounds of the
French music drifted out, that a realization hit her.

And it was with that
realization that panic ensued.

“Jessica!” Alyssa was
shouting into her phone’s receiver just moments later. “The gala is this week!
How on
earth
could I forget?”

Jessica stayed dead quite for
a moment before responding, “And you still haven’t even picked your dress, have
you?” Alyssa shook her head as if her friend could see.

“I’ll be over soon,” Jessica
said before promptly hanging up.

Alyssa stared down at her
cell phone screen. She wondered what exactly Jessica was going to do to help
her, but she would be finding out soon so she picked up her plate and mug to
wash it before Jessica arrived. After finishing cleaning up the kitchen she
went to her room to throw on some printed legging and a grey sweater so she
wouldn’t be slumming it in her pajamas when Jessica arrived, not that it really
mattered. Shortly after that there was a knock on the door and Jessica walked
in.

“I’m here to save your ass,”
Jessica told her with an air of importance as she walked straight past Alyssa
to grab her laptop off the coffee table and open it up.

“Excuse me?” Alyssa said. She
walked over to drop down on the couch next to her. She didn’t really care that
Jessica helped herself to her laptop. They were perfectly comfortable with each
other and Alyssa knew it was in her own best interest. Not just that, she knew
she could actually trust Jessica.

It was a couple minutes later
when she pushed the laptop onto Alyssa’s lap. Alyssa looked on the screen to
see a web page dedicated to dress rentals. Her jaw dropped as she turned to
look at her friend.

“Really?”

Jessica nodded
enthusiastically. Alyssa couldn’t believe a website like that even existed, but
Jessica had been absolutely right– she saved her ass.

It was Wednesday afternoon,
which meant Alyssa left work early so she could have plenty of time to get
ready for the gala. She had hung the dress up on the hook placed on the back of
her closet door and it remained there, untouched, until now.

She pulled it out and took a
look at it again before putting it on. It was splendid. It was floor length and
made entirely of purple lace layered over the purple slip beneath. All the
material was high quality and the design was amazing. It had a square neckline
that was flattering for her breasts without revealing so much cleavage to be
inappropriate for what was, essentially, a work function.

Alyssa particularly liked the
small back detail where it opened up to reveal a smooth expanse of skin. It was
the perfect combination of elegant and sexy and it suited her. She styled her
hair up in an elegant twist and applied her makeup with great care before
finally slipping on her stilettos. She looked in the mirror and was shocked,
but in a good way. She had never been done up like that before, much less
wearing a designer dress.

While Alyssa was certainly
not poor or even close to it, she wasn’t really in a position to buy gowns that
cost upwards of a thousand dollars. Besides, she never really attended events
or went places where such a gown would be necessary. She snapped a photo of
herself and sent it to Jessica. She was pleased with the positive and
enthusiastic response her friend sent back.

At precisely 7pm, Alyssa’s
doorbell rang. She took hold of her clutch and walked to open it. As she
suspected, it was the driver who was sent to pick her up and take her to the
gala where she would meet her boss.

The ride was comfortable and
smooth. She had been in luxury passenger cars before because of work, but it
felt different now that she was being taken to such a special event in one.
When she first moved to the city she could have never imagined attending such a
prestigious event one day in the future.

The sedan pulled up the
driveway where the attendees were being dropped off by their drivers. Alyssa
felt her stomach flutter as a man opened the door for her and escorted her
straight up to the man holding a guest list. As soon as she was inside she went
on the hunt for the boss, even though she really wanted to look around and
admire everything. But she knew it was best to find him first and then she
could have a look around.

It wasn’t long before she
found him as he had been thoughtful enough to wait for her near the entrance.
He was talking to a woman who looked to be about Alyssa’s age, only she seemed
to be quite used to wearing the expensive gowns to prestigious galas. Alyssa
walked over and her boss, Aiden, as he turned to greet her with a smile.

“Amanda, darling, this is my
associate. Her name is Alyssa McConnell.”

Alyssa stretched her hand out
to shake hers. Amanda smiled brightly at her and Alyssa was struck with how
beautiful and charming the woman was. She found it intriguing how a woman, or a
person in general, could ooze with so much charm even from such a simple
action. Amanda was a bit taller than Alyssa and gorgeous, but it didn’t make
Alyssa feel any less confident in the way she looked. As she met more and more
people who seemed perfectly at home in such clothing and the event however, she
started feel a bit out of place.

 
Alyssa wondered why her boss had asked her to
join when there were plenty of other people he could have asked. She started
feeling like she had at the bar when she felt suddenly out of place. It was
like she had been taken somewhere she couldn’t get a grasp of no matter what.
She swallowed hard, as if she could swallow away the feeling, and then took a
step in closer to her boss.

As he walked with her toward
their assigned seats he held out his arm for her to take. It was gentlemanly of
him and she didn’t think there was anything strange or flirtatious about it.

Once they were seated, Aiden
leaned over to her, “I’m glad you were able to join me tonight.”

 
Alyssa turned to see a strange smile on his
face she had never seen before and her stomach did a little flip. That was the
first time she ever questioned one of his motives, but she smiled and nodded
before turning to look toward the podium. She didn’t want to think too much on
it or place any sort of emphasis on her sudden realization that, perhaps, Aiden
had some sort of interest in her as a woman and not only as his co-worker.

It wasn’t long before the
host started his speech. Alyssa was grateful for that. She wanted to be saved
from another awkward moment with Aiden. Although she knew it was possible to
have another one, or many more for that matter, once it was time to dine and
mingle at least she was safe from it for a while. Once the speeches were over
and the honors had been done, Alyssa found herself excited for the three course
dinner that was sure to be top of the line. Just as dessert ended and the
people were beginning to mingle, her eyes locked onto a handsome man approaching
their table. Right at that moment Aiden excused himself to go speak to a
business partner.

Alyssa’s attention, however,
was focused on the man walking towards the table. At first she thought he knew
Aiden, but when his eyes remained on her and he didn’t stop heading in her
direction after Aiden left the table, she realized he was going to
her
. She felt her stomach twist and her
cheeks run hot as gulped nervously. She had no idea why she suddenly felt so
rattled, but when the man sat at the table only one chair away from her, she
felt her heart beat a bit faster.

“Good evening,” he said in a
deep timbre that sent a shiver straight down her spine. He wasn’t smiling, but
he didn’t look stern either.

“Good evening,” Alyssa said
with a weak smile. Her mouth felt dry. Her eyes traced over his face rather
intently as she took in every detail.

He had a full head of silky
smooth light brown hair, swept back in a natural looking manner. His skin was a
lovely bronze that made his bright blue eyes pop even more. As he had walked
over she noticed he was tall, but now that he was closer she noticed his strong
broad shoulders. She tried to smile, but quickly stopped out of concern that it
looked awkward and forced.

“I know you’re not her
alone,” he said in a low voice so that even she could barely hear him. She
suspected that was his intention and she found it partly attractive and partly
irritating.

“But are you
alone
?” he asked with a heavy,
meaningful tone.

Alyssa knew exactly what he
meant. He wanted to know if she was with Aiden, together as a romantic couple.
She wanted to answer truthfully, but she also didn’t know him or the reasons he
was asking. As she continued to carefully look at his face, she had the
distinct sensation she already knew him even if they had never met.

That doesn’t even make any sense
, she thought.

But no matter what she
couldn’t shake the feeling.

 
“I, uh, I’m not his girlfriend.” She looked at
him, waiting for confirmation that she hadn’t misunderstood his question and potentially
made an ass of herself. The man smiled in what looked like satisfaction. Her
heart started to beat faster once again.

“Great.” He said pointedly as
he held out his hand. “My name is Philip Walton. And to whom do I have the
pleasure to be meeting at this moment?”

Alyssa felt like she had just
slammed into a wall.
Philip Walton
.
Now she understood why he looked so familiar. She felt even more nervous than
before and was truly terrified of doing or saying anything embarrassing.

“Alyssa McConnell,” she said
slowly. It was on purpose; she felt if she tried to speak quickly or even at a
normal pace she would end up stuttering and saying something completely
nonsensical. She saw the man’s eyes flick to the side and he straightened up
right away.

“Alyssa,” he repeated in the
same low tone as before. “I’d love to have dinner with you sometime,” he told
her. Her breath caught in her throat almost sending her in a coughing fit.

He handed her his business
card and politely excused himself. She watched as he exited the ballroom and
realized only then he was leaving the gala. Right at that moment she felt a
heavy hand land on her shoulder.

“Sorry about that.” It was
Aiden.
 
His voice sounded almost grating
in comparison to Philip’s. Alyssa was silently thankful he hadn’t been around
to ruin her encounter with Philip Walton. She looked up at Aiden and gave him a
fake, tight-lipped smile. She stood up and told him she had started feeling a
bit unwell and wanted to go home.

“I’m sorry. I’m just really not
feeling up for this.”

“I understand.” Aiden said as
he held out his arm so he could walk her to the front where her driver would
pick her up, only now it would be to take her back home.

Alyssa thanked Aiden and
stepped into the car, leaning her head back and staring up at the ceiling. As
the car sped down the highway and she neared her home, it felt as if the
enchantment was ending.