Fighting Love: the complete series

by Nikki Ash

  I know I told him we needed to take things slow, that we need to focus on our daughter, but it was easier to say that when I was in the hospital. Living in the same house as Marco is downright torture. The guy hasn’t worked out in almost a year and still looks hot as hell. Then add the fact that he cooks for us, helps take care of Micaela, and does laundry. A woman only has so much self-control.

  He hasn’t left once to hang out with friends, despite me telling him he can go. He attends his meetings a few times a week but always comes right back. And when he’s home, his attention is focused entirely on me and our daughter. I couldn’t ask for anything more, right? Then why do I feel like there is still this void? When we are watching television and he’s sitting close to me, I feel the butterflies deep inside me. When he smiles at me for no reason, my heart skips a beat. I know I shouldn’t rush things. I’m the one who said we need to take things slow, but dammit if I don’t daydream about this man pushing me onto the couch and making my body feel good.

  The truth is, I can count the amount of times I’ve had sex on one hand and they have all been with him. The only pleasure I’ve ever known has been at the hand of Marco or my own. But Marco, on the other hand, has been with a whole slew of women. Lots of hot, sexy women. There’s a reason why he ran from me all those times. Sure, he said he felt it was wrong, but if I was enough, if I was undeniable, unforgettable, wouldn’t he have had no choice but to stay? He was with that blonde bimbo, Janell, more than he was with me. What if I’m just not enough for a man like Marco?

  A loud grunt knocks me out of my insecure inner monologue and I remember my parents are here. They pulled up at the same time I did to visit me for my birthday and to see Micaela.

  “I didn’t realize we were having company,” Marco says. “I’m sure there’s enough for all of us.”

  “Oh no! I have an idea,” my mom jumps in and says. “Why don’t we take Micaela for the night? Do you have some bottles you’ve pumped?”

  “I do, but are you sure? What if she wakes up and is scared I’m not there?” I begin to panic. My baby girl is only six weeks old.

  “Bella, honey, I have raised a few kids. I will give her a bottle when she wakes up and you will be over first thing in the morning to pick her up. We can even do breakfast.”

  “Is that okay with you?” I nervously ask Marco, silently hoping he will be the bad guy and say no.

  “I’m sure she’ll be okay with your mom, Belles.” Damn traitor!

  “Or we can stay and eat here,” my dad says dryly, earning him a smack in the chest from my mom.

  Marco secures Micaela into her car seat while I pack up her stuff, packing enough for a week when she will only be with them for roughly twelve hours, most of which she’ll be sleeping.

  After giving our little girl kisses and reminding my parents of things like making sure her diaper is dry and which cry means what—like they didn’t parent three children—they leave out the door, taking my heart with them.

  “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “What?” Marco laughs, earning him a glare. “I’m sorry.” He wraps me up in a comforting hug and gives me a chaste kiss on my forehead. “She’ll be fine and if you really can’t handle it, we’ll go get her. But for right now, let’s enjoy your birthday. You hungry?”

  “I’m starved.” After Marco reheats the clam chowder and potatoes, we sit down and eat, watching There’s Something about Mary in a comfortable silence. After we both finish, he pauses the movie so we can clean up. Then he brings me out a couple of cupcakes, mine with a lit candle in the center.

  “Happy Birthday, Belles. Make a wish.” The first wish that comes to mind is—well, I can’t say it out loud or it won’t come true. But let’s just say it involves the man standing in front of me smiling.

  After we eat the sugary goodness, we move to the couch to continue the movie.

  “Oh my God!” My hand comes to my mouth.

  “What?”

  “I haven’t seen this movie in years. I had no idea that stuff she sticks in her hair is… is…” Oh my God! How did I not know?

  Marco laughs hysterically. “You didn’t know she uses his cum to do her hair?”

  “I can’t believe my mom let me watch this movie! This is so inappropriate! Micaela is never watching this movie.”

  Marco continues to laugh. “You were so innocent. Shit, you still are.” For some reason, his comment rubs me the wrong way, reminding me that I’m nothing like the women he’s used to.

  He must notice the sudden change in the mood because he says, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being innocent. It’s a good thing.”

  I know he isn’t saying this to hurt me, but I bite out, “Just not what you were looking for, right?”

  He looks at me incredulously, the movie suddenly forgotten. “Where is this coming from?”

  “Well, it took like three different attempts before you actually had sex with me, then you regretted it afterward, and the only reason why you even had sex with me again was because you were high. I mean, you didn’t even remember it. Meanwhile, you were with that blonde model-looking chick for like ever. I was never enough to keep you like she was.”

  Marco gives me a look indicating his confusion, but I don’t care. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ve been carrying those words and feelings around for too damn long. Marco stares at me for a minute, making me uneasy. Did I piss him off? Did I remind him of Janell? Shit! Does he still want Janell?

  I open my mouth to say something—what I have no clue—when Marco stands from the couch and then leans over, scooping me up into his arms. My legs instinctively wrap around his back. Without saying a word, he looks at me while walking us to his bedroom. Then he sets me on the bed, sitting in front of me, leaning in so close, his mouth is only inches from mine. I can smell the peppermint he must have popped into his mouth after having dessert. The mint reminds me of the days before everything went to shit. My eyes lock on the wall next to him, afraid of what he’s about to say.

  “Look at me, Belles.” He grabs my chin gently and tugs it so I’m looking at him. “The day I met you I fell in love with you. I might have only been twelve at the time, and it was a different kind of love, but I felt it. You were my best fucking friend. For that first year before Caleb and Hayley saved me, you were the bright part of my dark as fuck days.”

  “But that’s….”

  “No, you need to listen. At home, it was drugs and drinking, and fuck, so much bad. Yes, I had Chloe, but she was a baby and she cried and had needs that a twelve-year-old shouldn’t have had to take care of. But for those few hours when I was with you at the gym, sparring and laughing, they were everything to me.

  “And then one day you grew up. You were still you, but you were more, so much more. And I knew I was well and truly fucked. And then we kissed and I knew it, I knew I could never go back to the way things were before that kiss. I had to leave before I fucked it all up.”

  Marco leans in closer and gives me a soft kiss, his teeth grazing my bottom lip as he pulls away.

  “The night we made love in the cabin, I knew I crossed a line. Your dad has always been so good to me, treated me like his own, and I never should have had sex with his daughter. It was wrong of me and it was a slap in your dad’s face.”

  “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Just because I said it wasn’t right, doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it or want it. Wanting you has never been the problem.”

  “But being with Janell was right?”

  “I thought doing the right thing meant staying away from you. And as far as Janell goes, she was my drug connection. I was in a bad place and she had no problem joining me there. I can’t take back what I did or how I acted. I hate myself for having sex with you and not being able to remember it, but I’ve always wanted you. You are all I want.”

  Marco grabs the curves of my hips and pulls me onto his lap, moving us up against his headboard. Straddling him
with one leg on either side of him, I feel his dick twitch from under his shorts and my face heats up.

  “See what I mean by innocent? You feel my cock poking you and your face turns the most beautiful shade of pink.”

  “Yeah, like a little girl.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Have you seen your body?” Marco pulls my shirt over my head then expertly unsnaps my ugly nursing bra, taking it off. “You see these full, perky tits?” He gently holds them in his hands, his tongue darting out to lightly lick my pink nipple. I whimper at his touch. “These are all fucking woman, Belles.” He moves to my other one and licks the nipple.

  Keeping my breasts in his hands, he places open-mouthed kisses all over them, leading up to my collarbone and neck, eliciting chills all over me. Then cupping my ass with one hand, he pulls me even closer to him, changing our positions so I am lying on my back with Marco hovering above me.

  “This neck, all woman.” He sucks on the sensitive skin just below my ear for a second, causing me to let out an embarrassingly loud moan, before he works his way over to my face.

  “These lips.” He sucks on my lower lip first, then my upper lip, and then deepening the kiss, Marco’s tongue seeks out mine without needing an invitation, our tongues colliding with such force, it just about takes my breath away. Before I can bring my hands up to touch him, he pulls away. “Fuck, baby. These lips are all woman.”

  I pout when he backs up farther. “Don’t pout, baby.” He gives me a quick peck then pulls his shirt over his head. His body is perfection. I can’t even imagine how fucking hot he will look once he’s working out again. He sees me ogling him and gives me a knowing smirk before moving downward.

  He stops at my chest again and I think he’s going to give my breasts some more attention, but instead he places a single kiss just above my left breast. “This heart, baby. How selfless you are. How much you give to those around you. The way you love our daughter. It’s all woman.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Marco

  After giving Bella a soft kiss over her heart, I move downward, landing on her soft belly. Her belly button ring is back in and sparkling in the light. She told me she got it with her friends her freshman year in college and fuck if it isn’t a turn on. I give it a small kiss. “This belly, that carried our baby, it’s one hundred percent woman.” She squirms slightly, and I chuckle at how responsive she is. I’ve barely touched her and she’s already completely turned on.

  I peel Bella’s shorts and panties from her body and swallow thickly at the sight in front of me. How she doesn’t get she’s all woman, I don’t understand, and her thinking she isn’t enough for me is ludicrous on so many levels. I’m about to move down her body and devour this woman, but before I do so, I need to make sure we’re on the page.

  “Belles, tonight wasn’t supposed to go like this. I know that sounds cliché as fuck, but it was just supposed to be dinner for your Birthday. Are you all right with this?”

  She gives me a small smile and nods.

  “Babe, I’m going to need the words. Are you sure you’re okay with what’s about to happen?”

  “I’m definitely okay with it. But Marco…” Bella’s eyes cast down like she’s nervous.

  “Bella, talk to me.”

  “Please don’t leave me, again.” Fuck! This woman.

  “I promise, Belles. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Then yes, I want you, Marco. I want you so damn bad.”

  My cock twitches at her words as my mouth waters at the thought of licking and sucking and nibbling on every inch of this woman. She attempts to close her legs when I stare too long at her naked body, but I’m not going to let that happen. She has absolutely nothing to be embarrassed or shy about.

  “Fuck, Belles.” I spread her legs open. “This bare, perfect cunt, baby. It’s all woman.” My finger starts at the top and works its way down the middle. She’s so soaked, my finger is covered in her juices, and I haven’t even stuck it in her yet.

  “See how wet you are for me?” I show her my glistening wet finger and she nods slowly. Sticking my finger in my mouth, I suck on it, tasting her essence. “This is definitely all woman.” She writhes under my touch, so I swipe up some more of her juices and bring my finger to her mouth.

  “Taste yourself, baby.” Her eyes go wide, but she opens her mouth for me, allowing me to push my finger into her hot mouth. Her lips close around my finger and my cock jumps as I picture her mouth wrapped around a different part of my body.

  Pulling my finger back out, I ask, “Does it taste good?” Her lips twitch unsure of what to say as her cheeks turn a beautiful shade of crimson. She has no idea how much of a turn on her innocence really is.

  Without waiting for a verbal answer, I return to her sweet cunt and give it a kiss, my touch causing her to jump. Spreading her wide open, I run my tongue along the middle starting from the top and ending in her pussy hole.

  “Oh God,” she whimpers.

  “No, baby, It’s Marco.”

  She laughs at my playfulness and I can feel her body relaxing.

  Sticking one finger inside, then two, I start to fingerfuck her, slowly building the momentum until I’m three fingers deep. Bella’s Oh God’s turn to Oh, Marco’s, and then as my tongue joins the party, massaging her tight nub, her words turn into incoherent screams.

  “That’s it baby,” I say, sucking on her clit and sending her into an orgasm that has her ass coming off the bed.

  When she calms down, I take my fingers out of her then sit up to remove my pants and boxers, kicking them off me and onto the ground. Moving back up her body, I can feel my hard-on pushing against her warmth. “Please Marco,” she moans.

  Once we’re face to face, I bring our lips together for a kiss. Taking possession of her mouth, I thrust my tongue inside, and swirl it around, making sure she can taste herself on me. She sighs loudly, and I know she can.

  Only taking my mouth off hers for a second, I ask, “Are you on birth control?”

  She nods and that’s all I need. My mouth crashes against hers, my tongue dominating hers. With one hand holding me over her, I use my other hand to guide my cock into her hot, soaking wet cunt.

  “Fuuuck,” I groan into her mouth, taking a deep breath, trying not to come this very second. It’s been months since I’ve been inside a woman, and to top it off, I’m inside the one woman I want more than anyone in the goddamned world. Our lips are still touching, but we aren’t moving.

  Once the need to come is somewhat tamed, I start to thrust inside her as I go back to kissing her. Our kisses get deeper, turning ravenous, as my thrusts get harder, more out of control. I feel my orgasm building, but I need her to get there first. Finding her clit with my fingers, I stroke her as I thrust into her.

  “M-Marco…Oh my God, Marco,” Bella yells, her head going back, breaking our kiss. I watch her eyes roll back before her lids close as she comes all over my cock. Her insides tighten, spurring me on, and a few thrusts later, I’m finding my own release.

  Her eyes open back up slowly, a small, satiated smile crossing her lips.

  “All. Fucking. Woman,” I say, giving her one more kiss before pulling out of her.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Bella

  I stir awake, and for a second, forgetting Micaela isn’t here, I freak out when I can’t remember the last time I checked on her. My breasts are sore and need to be relieved. Then I feel a different kind of soreness between my legs and the memories of last night come flooding back to me. After Marco made love to me, he asked if I wanted to shower, but I was too exhausted. Between the two orgasms he gave me and the last six weeks of not getting a full night’s sleep, all I wanted to do was cuddle up to Marco and pass out, and that’s exactly what we did.

  As soon as his arm came out and he pulled me into him, my head hit his chest and I was out. Marco’s body might be hard, but it’s my new favorite pillow. Speaking of which… I look next to me and see the bed is empty. I listen
for a second, and when I don’t hear anything, an uneasy feeling washes over me. There’s no way after the night we shared, he would leave me.

  I look over at the nightstand and see his cell phone is gone. Scooping up the shirt he took off last night from the ground, I throw it on. My mind is racing, and I can feel my body beginning to shake nervously. I tell myself to calm down, he is probably just in the bathroom or kitchen, but I can’t stop myself from getting worked up. I grab my phone and see it’s only five in the morning.

  I start to search the house, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, but there’s no Marco. When I get to the kitchen, I check the coffee maker to see if he made himself any coffee, since it’s the first thing he does every morning. The pot is still cold. I step out into the garage and switch the light on. My stomach plummets, the blood in my body draining downward. I clutch my chest, suddenly struggling to catch my breath.

  Marco’s car is gone.

  Gone.

  He left me. Again.

  I turn the light back off and close the door, then I pull up his name in my contacts and hit send. It doesn’t even ring before it goes to voicemail. I hit end and then try again. Voicemail again. I do this several more times. Each time it goes directly to his voicemail.

  I pull up our messages and send him a text. Waiting for it to go through, I hold my breath.

  I am not this girl.

  I am not this insecure girl, freaking out over a guy leaving.

  But I am this girl. Marco repeatedly leaving has turned me into this girl.

  And I hate this girl.

  The text message turns green, which tells me his phone is off. Running back to the room, I look for a note. I search behind the bed, under the bed, on the counter in the bathroom. Nothing. He’s just fucking gone.

  Needing to calm myself down, I jump into the shower. The hot water that would normally calm my nerves, does nothing for me right now. After I’m done rinsing off, I go back to my room to get dressed and head over to my parents’ house. Maybe Marco went to see our daughter.