She was lying face down, her arms curled beneath her head, but it wasn’t enough to hide her curves. She had them in all of the right places and Ace couldn’t remember ever seeing a woman that beautiful. She was stunning.
Ace rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath. He was used to sexy women in his bed, but he hadn’t had time for one in months. Maybe it was just the need for sex that had him infatuated with her, but the pleasure he experienced the night before was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
She was just what he was looking for in the bedroom, and now, in the harsh light of day, she looked even more beautiful. Ace pulled himself out of bed. He needed a shower and a coffee to wake him up properly.
His life wasn’t stable enough for a woman anyway- he’d learned that the hard way. Besides, there was no guarantee that she’d want to stay with him. He stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water, letting it warm up. Then he stepped in and let it wash away the pleasure from the night before. Afterwards he shaved and stepped out of the shower feeling better than he had when he stepped in.
His head was clearer now. He’d get Christie some breakfast and coffee, and send her on her way. He’d probably never see her again, and that would be okay. He ignored the stirring in his pants as he got dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt. He walked into the kitchen and brewed some more coffee, trying to forget the way she had wrapped around him last night, the way she had felt bending over for him…
He shook his head and grabbed two cups of coffee and some toast. He didn’t know how she liked it, so he threw some cream and sugar on a tray. He chuckled as he realized he was technically bringing her breakfast in bed. It was such a romantic gesture and it felt unnatural to him. He thought he really should just get her out of his apartment as soon as possible…before he did something he would regret.
When he opened his bedroom door, she was already dressed. He wasn’t sure how she did it, but she managed to make her dress from the night before look as though it was perfectly acceptable day-time attire. Her hair was twisted back into an Updo.
She looked polished, and Ace realized she’d even done her makeup. This was no walk of shame and Ace felt a surge of desire in his stomach that went deeper than the lust he’d felt last night.
This woman had her life together. She wasn’t going to scurry out of his apartment with a walk of shame. This had been a two way street, and he had a feeling she’d be just as proud of her conquest as he would be.
It was refreshing. Ace hadn’t met many women like that. When she noticed him, she smiled instead of looking away. She looked him up and down and then her eyes landed on the tray.
“Is one of those cups for me?” She teased.
“Nope. I was going to drink them both. But since you asked so nicely.” Ace handed her a mug and she smiled.
“By the way, I take it black. Two sugars.”
Ace grinned, “Do I need to keep that in mind for future reference?” The banter came so easily with her and he found himself falling for her more than he’d meant to.
Christie shrugged with a smile, “I don’t know.” She stood and set her coffee down, moving towards him, “Are you in the mood for seconds?”
Ace felt himself blushing, a desire stirring within him at the sight of her, “I didn’t think that’s what we agreed on.”
“It wasn’t.” Christie’s hands were on his belt and Ace couldn’t help himself. He pulled her in and kissed her with a burning ferocity. She moaned and melted into him, returning the kiss with unbridled passion. She knew what she was doing and it was driving him wild.
Christie undid his belt buckle. Ace felt himself get hard beneath her touch, “You shouldn’t have bothered doing your hair.” Christie grinned.
Ace tangled his hands in her hair as she sunk to her knees in front of him. Her dress clung to her body in all the right places, showing off her legs, her great butt and her gorgeous breasts.
She was driving him wild and she hadn’t even done anything yet. When she pulled his underwear down, and pulled his girth out from the fabric, she gasped. He smirked with a surge of pride and Christie moaned softly, “I knew that you felt big but…”
She trailed off and Ace gasped as her hands, delicate and soft, wrapped around his shaft. She started stroking him slowly, her hands moving just right, making him shudder. Her strokes were driving him wild, as she looked up at him with gorgeous blue eyes.
Then she flicked out her tongue and Ace thought that he was going to come undone right then and there. Her tongue felt fantastic running along the tip of his shaft. When she enveloped him with her mouth, Ace involuntarily gripped her hair a little tighter.
She was good. Ace had always prided himself on being able to last if he needed to, but Christie was quickly making him question that. She felt amazing and if she made him cum quickly, he knew he wouldn’t be embarrassed in the slightest. She stroked him and took him in her mouth and licked and sucked in ways that made Ace’s head spin.
He groaned and gripped her hair a little tighter as she sucked him off. She was moaning too and Ace shivered in pleasure at the sound. Such a delicate, polished woman with such innocent eyes. But damn, she knew what she was doing and she didn’t take crap from anybody.
It was all too much, and enough to make him climax, his hot load shooting repeatedly into her willing mouth. Christie moaned, swallowing him like it was nothing. He shuddered as she swallowed it all before she pulled away and licked her lips.
It was the most seductive sight that Ace had ever seen and it made him want to take her right there any then, again and again. Instead, Christie slowly stood up and fixed her hair. With a smirk, she grabbed her coffee and took a deep sip.
“Now you have to see me again.” Ace was doing up his jeans and looked at her with curiosity, his senses still flooded with pleasure.
“Well, you didn’t finish me off this morning, so you owe me some fun.” She winked and grabbed her bag from the floor. Such big, innocent blue eyes. Ace wondered if she did this often.
She’d been tight and Ace had a feeling that it had been a long time since she’d had any kind of fun. Despite her gorgeous appearance and the great time they had just had, Ace knew that he should say no and send her on her way like he’d planned to. But he couldn’t resist her.
“Sure.” He found himself saying, “Want my number?”
Christie shook her head and smiled, “No, but you want mine. She fished a pen out of her bag and wrote it on his arm with a smile.
Then she set down the empty coffee cup, “Now, I’ll be late for work. Will you be so kind as to show me out?”
Ace obliged and she walked out of his apartment like she did this kind of thing every day. What thrilled Ace the most was that he was fairly sure she didn’t. The combination of her being both innocent and confident turned him on.
He turned to go inside. He had to get ready for work too, and he didn’t want to be late. Still, he entered her number into his phone before he washed it off his arm. Maybe he would call her. He was always one to settle his debts, after all.
Chapter 5
When he arrived at the club an hour later, Ace felt an odd sense of dread fill within him. He wasn’t used to the feeling and he tried to push it out of his mind, but it persisted. The club was his livelihood, but he was gradually feeling more and more smothered.
It had a dingy atmosphere, even now, when it couldn’t have been past twelve. Ace felt nausea in his stomach but he shook it off. There was no time for that.
Ace had been working there for years, since he was legally allowed to do so, and probably even before that. It was, put simply, an underground fighting ring. Fights that people would watch and pay good money to see. Fights that were bet on with heavy outcomes and thousands of dollars on the line.
Big money was traded down here and it rested on the shoulders of the guys in the ring. You were paid good money to lose the right fight at the right time, and paid good money if you won others. The fights were
hard and brutal and would make most people feel sick. Ace had lost track of how many broken bones had been exchanged in that ring, how many times his skin had split open and left him bleeding and in pain.
Ace was a fighter and he’d been a fighter since his younger days. He’d never done well at school and with the alcoholic of a father that he had, he had to find a way to make money somehow and quick. He started by cleaning up after the others who were in the ring, but when the boss saw his potential as a fighter, he suggested he give it a try.
And that’s where he had stayed ever since. Now, years later, he was one of the best fighters in the underground. He won almost every fight and he got paid well to do it. He got paid even more on the rare few fights he inexplicably lost. Big money, after all.
Everyone bet on him winning. If the tables turned on a strategic bet, you’d be cashing in big time. It was all rigged and Ace knew that it wasn’t legal, but his boss handled it all: the medical insurance, the penthouse suite that he lived in, and the flashy lifestyle.
All Ace had to do was fight, lose when he was told, and save up his money for the day he was knocked out of the ring for good. He sighed and looked around. The boss wasn’t there yet and the place was almost deserted.
Ace stared into the distance, taking in the place that he had called home, more than anywhere else, for the last ten years of his life. He felt a sense of dissatisfaction lately. He remembered when he had once planned to attend university, succeed and get a real job. It all seemed like a pipe-dream now.
Even if he had the money saved to both study and live, it would be a stretch, especially at his age and what he’d gone through. He frowned and shook his head. If he threw two more fights, and didn’t spend a dime, he’d probably be set. It would be rough, but he’d had it worse.
Still, leaving the club wouldn’t be the easiest decision. They paid for everything, after all, so not only would he lose all of the perks but he knew for a fact they would insist that he didn’t spill any trade secrets. It seemed like so much to lose and Ace began to consider all of his options.
The thought of spending the rest of his life fighting until he was no longer the golden boy, and kicked out on the street with nothing to his name made him sick. Thankfully, he didn’t have much longer to dwell on it as his boss finally arrived.
“Hey Cruz.”
Cruz grunted and pushed some paperwork across the table, “Your next big fight.”
Ace looked over the paperwork, skimming the words to find the dollar amount he was fighting for. It was a lot of money. Predictable, easy money he thought to himself. He nodded.
“Got it. Is this what you wanted to discuss?”
Cruz shook his head, “Of course not. This is the one you need to gear up for.” Cruz pushed paperwork into Ace’s hands. He took it and scanned it, feeling a strange mix of dread in his gut. It was a big fight, one of the biggest of the season and he was rigged to lose it.
Ace could live on that money for quite some time. He felt sick, an uncomfortable guilt rising within him. All he could think of was Christie, with her beautiful blue eyes, and how she had looked at him.
Was he the kind of man that would take a women like her to bed and then cheat on a fight this important? He’d never had to make the choice before. He pushed thoughts of her out of his mind and nodded.
“I understand.”
“Good.” Cruz lit up a cigarette and gave Ace a hard look, “Because there’s a lot riding on this one, you know. If you mess this up, it'll cost us big money.” Cruz frowned, “In fact, if you mess this up, you’re done.”
Ace felt the gravity of his words swirl in his head. Yes, it had always been high stakes, but this was different. If he messed this up and won this fight, he’d be down on his luck, with no job and nothing to get him through the madness that was life.
“And make sure that you win the one coming up. Make it look easy, Ace. We need people to bet on you for the next fight.”
Ace nodded again and Cruz stood up, “The first fight is in a few weeks. The next one is a month or so after that. I want to see you training.”
“You got it, Cruz.”
And with that Cruz was gone, leaving Ace alone with his thoughts. It had seemed so simple when he started. It had been the only choice for him to make. Now, he wasn’t so sure if he was making the right one anymore.
Ace sighed and decided he’d work through this later. He glanced at the clock. It was past twelve and he needed a drink.
Chapter 6
Christie felt giddy when she sat at her desk. She wasn’t used to being so bold and empowered, and it was a very strange feeling to her. She was usually shy, but something about Ace brought out her bravery and her playfulness, and it made her feel warm in ways that she didn’t understand.
Her ex had never made her feel this good. She found herself hoping that he would call her back and ask to see her again. Even the stress of her job somehow felt more manageable. She felt more motivated and determined than ever to get the big story she needed to stay there.
She was determined to succeed, and anyway she didn’t have a choice. With the memory of his hands on her skin, Christie got to work.
***
It wasn’t until the next day that Christie received a phone call from Ace. He invited her to go out for drinks. Christie felt a warmth inside her. She had been expecting nothing more than a casual call for sex, and was surprised that he had the decency to take her out for drinks first.
When she arrived that evening, he looked as handsome as ever and he even took her out to dinner. It sent butterflies through her stomach and a realization that maybe, just maybe, he saw her as something more than a one-night stand.
Sex that night was mind blowing, just like it had been the first time. And afterward, Ace was a perfect gentleman.
He even remembered how she liked her coffee. Christie knew he was dangerous. She saw the bandages on his hands and the bruises on his skin. She knew that he lived a dangerous lifestyle and found it odd that he wouldn’t talk to her about his job. She knew that he was a bad-boy, but she couldn’t help the way that she was drawn to him, like a moth to a flame.
He was everything that she wanted and so much more, and yet she knew that she was meant to stay away. Christie bit her lip and tried to ignore the feelings that he had ignited in her.
***
A week later and she was no closer to finding the story she was looking for. In fact, she had not received anything in way of help from anyone, and she was no closer to finding the lead that she so desperately needed.
She was trying to put it out of her mind but the deadline was closing in on her fast and she needed to think of something. She never expected the story to come looking for her.
Ace had invited her out again and they were having drinks at a bar. Christie was enjoying his company, but Ace seemed tense.
“I’ll have to go in an hour or so.” He muttered. Christie noticed that he hadn’t had much to drink tonight at all, and it wasn’t like him to end the evenings early. She looked at him with concern.
“Is something wrong?”
Ace shook his head, “Just work.”
Christie nodded slowly, “Just work? Well, is it something I can help with?” She was growing more and more curious about what he did for a living.
Ace shook his head again, “No way. It isn’t your scene.”
“No? Well, I don’t even know what you do.”
Ace looked at her with a dark, intense gaze, “You don’t want to know what I do.”
“What are you, a mercenary?” Christie bit back. When Ace didn’t answer he eyes widened, “You’re not, are you?”
“No, I’m not.” Christie felt a rush of relief, “Well, it can’t be that bad then.”
“You don’t want to know.”
Christie sighed and looked at him dead on, “You can tell me.”
Ace shook his head, and Christie persisted, “Come on. I see the bruises, Ace, I know you’re not teaching at a pr
eschool here.”
Ace let out a deep sigh, “Alright, but I warned you.” He looked almost resigned, “I'm a fighter.”
“You what?” Christie blinked, unsure what he meant.
“I fight.” He shrugged, “Get paid.” He looked at her intensely and the pieces fell into place. Unless he was a professional and Christie didn’t believe she’d ever seen him in television, then that meant it was underground fighting, which was technically illegal. The fighters didn’t usually get more than a slap on the wrist, but the men who ran the places could be facing serious time if they got caught. Christie swallowed, trying to find her voice, “You just fight, though, right?”
Ace nodded, “Yep. No killing, and I don’t run the joint.” Christie felt relief surge through her. It was followed soon afterwards by a massive burst of excitement.
An underground fighting ring in the city. That was the kind of story that could get Christie places. Okay, maybe not front page news, but enough to keep her job. It was a good, solid story. Christie felt giddy at the thought.
“Ace…” He seemed unnerved by her quick change in attitude.
“Ace, take me with you.” Christie paused and tried to think, “Do you want to keep doing this for the rest of your life?”
Ace frowned at the sudden and personal question and he shrugged, “Not sure.”
Christie nodded. If he wasn’t sure then he wasn’t committed to this as a career choice.
“The papers would love the story.”
Something changed in Ace’s eyes and he stared at her hard, “What do you mean?”
“I’m a reporter, I thought I told you that.” Christie rubbed her face, “And I need a story, and a good one, or I’ll lose my job.” She looked at him seriously, “I mean, if I did the story, I’d keep you out of it, and if you didn’t go back then you’d be okay, right?”
Anger flared in Ace’s eyes, “No, I most certainly would not be fine! That’s my job!” He seemed to be struggling to keep his voice even, “I lose that job, I lose everything. I need to fight!”
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