The Fighting Series (Books 1-5)

by Nikki Ash

  Giving me a look that says she’s up to no good, Kayla says, “First we get changed. Then we part-ay!”

  Two

  Liz

  As we walk up to one of the hottest clubs in Miami—according to Kayla—we immediately see the line going down the street and around the corner. There is no way we’re going to get in there. Not even as hot as Kayla says we look. I look down at my dress, remembering earlier today when she surprised me with this outfit.

  As we opened up our suitcases, I realized Kayla had been shopping without me. I should have expected this, as none of my clothes are up to club standards as she puts it. Of course, she had us both completely taken care of and wasn’t taking no for an answer. When she pulled out the dress, I thought for sure it couldn’t be for me because that dress didn’t have enough material to be something I would wear. I was wrong. Between the dress, heels, makeup, and hair, I prayed we would both pass for twenty-one.

  Once we make it to the end of the line, I look down at myself wondering what the heck I was thinking letting Kayla play dress up with me. Remember when I said Kayla and I are complete opposites? Well that extends to our body types as well. Kayla is wearing a silver sequin dress that is way too low up top and way too short below, but of course she looks hot. She’s skinny but toned in all the right places thanks to her many years of surfing, and she has perfect size breasts that are spilling out of the top of her dress, which is completely formfitting and shows off her amazingly long legs that go on for days. She has topped off her outfit with matching silver fuck-me heels that have got to be at least five inches tall. I have no idea how she is even walking in them.

  I, on the other hand, am curvy all over with large breasts, and while I’m not fat, I’m definitely on the thick side with an ass and hips. Kayla surprised me with a simple spaghetti strap black dress, telling me every woman needs a LBD (little black dress) for her first time in the club—it’s apparently a rite-of-passage. Thankfully, she provided me with a pair of cute heels that aren’t nearly the height of hers. My feet will definitely be thanking her later. Still looking down at myself, I must be frowning because Kayla immediately snaps me out of my own head.

  “Stop overthinking the dress, Liz.” She looks at me with one brow raised, giving me the I know what I’m talking about look that she always gives when I begin to doubt something she thinks is amazing.

  “You look hot as hell! Every guy in here is going to want to dance with you. Maybe tonight you’ll finally live a little and do the dirty-dirty with someone.” She waggles her brows, and I can’t help but laugh at her silly facial expression and the fact that she’s referring to having sex as the dirty-dirty.

  “I’m not going to lose my virginity to some strange guy here in Miami,” I whisper-yell while looking around to make sure nobody overhears me in line. Yes, I’m still a virgin. I know, how cliché. The nerdy girl graduates from high school with a four-point-five grade-point-average and has never even been kissed by a guy.

  While I spent the last several years focusing on school, Kayla spent them being a social butterfly, and that includes having plenty of casual sex she has no problem describing to me in full detail. Let’s just say I’ve been living vicariously through Kayla the last few years.

  Don’t get me wrong, she isn’t a slut by any means, but she’s definitely had her fair share of guys in her bed when her parents are away on business. She has mentioned numerous times she doesn’t want a relationship and makes sure to keep it strictly casual.

  Unlike my stay-at-home mom, Kayla’s parents are both attorneys for a large firm. According to Kayla, her parents’ relationship is more of a business partnership than an actual marriage. Because of their demanding careers, they’re rarely ever home, which means Kayla has plenty of time and opportunity to have fun. You know what they say, when the parents are away the kids will play. Hell, if it were possible, Kayla would major in playing.

  Just as I begin to think we’re going to be stuck in line all night, the bouncer comes walking up to us. He’s huge. I’m talking muscles on top of muscles, and he’s wearing shades even though it’s dark outside. I’m going to assume it’s a scare tactic, because otherwise, why would someone wear shades when there’s no sun?

  In a bored, flat tone he tells us one of the VIPs has invited us to join him. Looking around to make sure he’s speaking to us, I begin to ask if he has the right girls, when Kayla immediately jumps in.

  “Sounds fabulous!”

  He walks us to the podium and puts wristbands on us after barely checking our IDs. He notifies somebody over his walkie-talkie to escort us to VIP, and Kayla is practically jumping out of her skin with excitement. Before we go in, she asks the bouncer to please thank whoever invited us in for the invitation.

  “His name is Cooper and you can thank him yourself once you get up to the VIP area.” With that, he points us in the direction of the hallway and goes back to manning his post.

  We’re immediately hit with the pounding bass of David Guetta and Akon singing the lyrics to Sexy Bitch, and I can’t help but sway my hips to the music as we walk toward the dance floor. Dancing is my guilty pleasure. We dance at the house parties our friends throw, but I love nothing more than to turn the music up in my room and get lost in the lyrics and rhythm.

  The hostess attempts to show us where the VIP area is, but Kayla and I head right toward the gyrating bodies. On our way toward the center of the club, I take a second to look around and am enamored with the scene in front of me. To the left is a huge bar that wraps around the corner with the entire back wall full of mirrors, stacked with at least three levels of liquor. I wonder how the bartenders get the liquor down. Up ahead on the second floor is a huge deejay booth with a young guy spinning a turntable. Surrounding the dance floor are high-top tables for people to stand at with their drinks.

  I look up and spot what must be the VIP section. My eyes trail to the ceiling to find strobe lights everywhere in various shades pulsing over all the bodies. It’s all so mesmerizing. I can easily see how people can get addicted to the clubbing scene. This is nothing like the house parties we’ve been to throughout high school.

  Watching the sweaty bodies rubbing up on one another has me getting this tingly feeling in my stomach. I know we should go thank whomever this Cooper guy is, but all I want to do is dance.

  Kayla takes my hand and we move through the sea of hot bodies that are grinding one another to the center of the dance floor. She begins swaying her arms above her head to the rhythm of the song while moving her ass back and forth as I do the same. Locking her eyes with mine, she gives me her signature wink. We both turn around, facing away from each other, and as Akon sings about the girl’s booty and not being able to take no more, she grinds her ass against mine while we continue to sway our hips and dance like nobody is watching. She turns back around and grinds her pelvis into my ass with one hand in the air and the other resting on my hip. I grind back while swaying both my arms above my head.

  The song ends and the next one begins. The sound of Snoop Dog fills the club, along with The Pussycat Dolls as they begin to sing Bottle Pop. I crouch lower and begin to pop my ass out, loving this song. I feel Kayla’s hand move from my waist, but I don’t bother to turn around—I’m in my zone.

  Suddenly, I feel hands on my hips once again. I’d assume they’re Kayla’s except the hands feel too large and too strong, holding me too tight to be her tiny hands. I feel the front of this person’s body up against my ass and it confirms it’s definitely not Kayla, as this body has a bulge in the front. As it rubs up on my ass, I can’t help but softly moan at the feeling of this man’s body rubbing up against mine. It just feels so good.

  Angling my face, I see the most beautiful bright green eyes staring down at me while still holding his hands tightly on my waist. He’s also sporting one hell of a smirk, as if he knows exactly what he’s doing to my body. I would bet my life this man is no virgin. Because of how far I have to look up, I would say he has to be a good six
foot three at least. Once he lets go of this pull he has on me, I’m able to look at his entire face, and it feels like my heart stops, then begins to beat again at a rapid pace.

  His piercing green eyes aren’t the only beautiful part of him. This man is downright gorgeous. He has golden-brown hair that is styled like he just got out of bed and ran his fingers through it, but it works. His skin is golden-brown like he’s been in the sun recently. His nose is crooked, like it’s been broken and wasn’t set right, but it fits him and for some reason it makes him even hotter.

  As I move my head down, I notice how big he is. Not big like fat, but big like built. He’s not overly muscular like the bouncer, but fit. It’s pure perfection. His shirt isn’t tight, but it still accentuates his muscles. He’s wearing a light blue button-down collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and as I run my eyes down his body, I can see the muscles in his forearms. I’m not a tiny girl, yet it feels like he dominates me as he stands over me, continuing to check me out.

  His top teeth pull at his lower lip, releasing it, and his smirk gets even bigger while he raises a single brow. Oh yeah, he definitely knows what he’s doing to me, and it doesn’t help that he just watched me totally check him out while my ass is still rubbing against him.

  I attempt to step forward, out of the line of his dick, but before I can, his hands grip my waist tighter as he pulls my ass closer to him. I don’t know what it is about this guy, but I let it happen. Turning my head to face forward, I raise my arms up and continue to dance against him. We dance together for some time, our bodies rubbing against one another. I’m getting sweaty from the warm contact and the lights hitting down on us, and it feels good.

  After a little while, his fingertips glide from the top of my arms, slowly trailing a path down the inside, toward the side of my body, stopping just under the curve of my breasts. His face is so close to my ear I can feel his breath on me. It smells like whiskey, making me want to suck on his tongue to see if I can taste it.

  He whispers the lyrics into my ear, asking if it’s true that I’m wet, and that is all it takes. My nipples pebble through my bra and dress, and I swear my panties are instantly soaked. This man is a walking billboard for sex. He continues to dance slowly and sensually against me, until the song ends and the next one transitions into the mix. Once again, he whispers into my ear, calling my ‘baby girl’ and telling me he could dance with me all night. I know he’s only repeating the lyrics, but it doesn’t stop the butterflies from fluttering in my belly.

  Taking me by my hand, he leads us off the dance floor. I look around for Kayla and see she’s still dancing her ass off with a couple of cuties. She makes eye contact with me, grins, and gives me two thumbs up. I smile and look back at this sexy creature who’s holding my hand and pulling me toward a set of steps.

  The guard standing in front of them gives him a small nod and he raises his chin in response. As we begin to ascend the steps, I realize this must be the VIP area. I glance back at Kayla to make sure she sees where I am heading. We once again lock eyes, and I know she knows where I’m going, which makes me feel a lot better. I am completely out of my comfort zone right now. While this guy is sexy and makes my body tingle all over, I have no idea who he is. He can be an axe murderer for all I know.

  Once we get up to the VIP area, I look around and take it all in. It’s similar to the bottom floor, but definitely not as packed. There is a small dance floor in the main area with several booths surrounding the outside perimeter that are roped off so people can sit and relax.

  As he drags me along the outside of the dance floor toward the booths, I’m able to check him out from the back, and let me tell you, his backside is as sexy as his front. He’s wearing jeans that fit perfectly across his nice ass and has on dress shoes, which are clearly expensive. He’s wearing a silver watch with a logo I’ve seen before, but could never afford. Looking at his rolled-up sleeves, I spot a bit of tattoos peeking out. What I would give to take a closer look at those tattoos. He’s dressed nice, yet still casual, as if he takes pride in how he dresses but isn’t out to impress anybody.

  When we finally come to a stop, there are several people hanging out. I count three large men similar to him—all of them good looking, dressed up, and full of tats as well. With each guy, there are at least two women—that I can tell right off the bat are out of my league—hanging on to each of them. These women are dressed to the nines in tight, sexy dresses, and have the sex appeal I could only dream about. My little black dress looks like something a nun would wear compared to what these women have on.

  Spotting a couple of the women giving the guys lap dances, I wonder if they’re getting paid, but then I really look at these guys and see how hot they are—there’s no way they would need to pay any woman to dance for them. There are several bottles of liquor covering the table with tumblers and shot glasses all over. One of the guys—who has only one woman dancing on his lap while he grabs her ass with one hand and drinks something that looks like vodka from his other hand—sees us walking over and nods his head to the guy I’m with.

  We approach the booth and one of the other guys pats the girls on their asses to move them out of the way so he can let my guy sit down. Hmm… my guy? That has a nice sound to it. What the heck am I thinking? I’m only here for seven days and this guy is way out of my league. I have college to focus on for the next four years. Sure, I would like to date, but something tells me this guy is nothing like the college guys I’ll be meeting at ULV.

  He wraps his arms around my waist and settles into the booth pulling me into his lap with him. I fall willingly and cuddle up close, crossing my legs the best I can so nobody gets a peak up my dress. He begins to nuzzle his face into my neck, and a shiver goes down my spine. He must feel it because he laughs softly. Moving my hair off of my neck, he presses his mouth against my sensitive skin where my shoulder meets my neck. I feel the soft brush of his cool lips against my warm skin, and I sigh outwardly. If my panties get any more drenched, I’m going to need to excuse myself to go remove them in the bathroom.

  “Yo, Coop. How’s it going?”

  The guy who’s lap I’m in pauses what he’s doing to me to look up at the guy speaking to him. Coop? Is that short for Cooper? Where have I heard that name before? Holy Cow! This is the VIP guy… the special guest who invited us in.

  Looking around at the women once again, I wonder why in the world he’d invite us up here when he already has women like them surrounding him. Maybe he invited Kayla up. She’s pretty hot, but even she isn’t at the same level as these girls, though I would never tell her that. As he goes to respond to his friend, I cut in, giving voice to my thoughts.

  “Did you invite my friend Kayla up here?”

  “Whose Kayla?” He looks at me with genuine confusion. God, he’s so beautiful. A girl could easily get lost in this man.

  “The girl the bouncer invited in by a VIP guy named Cooper.”

  “I don’t know who Kayla is, but I did ask the bouncer to invite you, and whoever was with you, in. As I was getting out of my car, I saw you walking to the end of the line.”

  “Did you see my friend Kayla? She was in the silver dress. Are you sure you didn’t mean to invite her in?”

  He chuckles and moves his hand to my chin to bring my face closer. He smiles slightly and stares deep into my eyes. God, his eyes are hypnotizing. Focus, Liz!

  “No, baby girl. I meant to invite you in. To be honest, I didn’t even notice your friend, but she’s more than welcome to join us up here. I thought you would come up here when you walked in, but when I saw you head straight for the dance floor, I realized if I wanted you with me, I’d have to come get you myself and I’m damn glad I did.”

  He situates me closer on his lap and pulls my legs up and over his thighs while keeping his arms around my waist, and then looks back at his friend.

  “What’s up, Kaden? Didn’t see you here a little bit ago. Did you just get in?”

  His friend nods,
and they start talking about some fight they went to a few days ago. I attempt to listen to their conversation, but it’s hard to concentrate, because while Cooper is talking, his fingers are rubbing across my stomach in a way that’s giving me butterflies. He moves his other hand up to my face and pushes my hair from out of my eyes like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

  They stop talking and he looks back to me like he has something to say. His mouth opens then closes, and then he makes a face that has me falling into a fit of laughter.

  “You’re looking kind of confused. Are you trying to think hard about something?” I can’t stop laughing. How is it possible that a man so sexy can also be absolutely adorable at the same time?

  “I just realized I know your friend’s name, but I don’t know yours.” His brows are furrowed and he’s giving me the cutest pout with his bottom lip jutting out just a little bit. With this look alone, I bet he could a woman to do anything he wants.

  “My name is Lizbeth, but everybody calls me Liz,” I say, still grinning at his facial expression.

  “Are you from around here, Liz?”

  “Um, kind of. I live a little farther north, about two hours from here.” I decide not to tell him exactly where in case he is an axe murderer after all, and I also don’t mention the fact that after this week I’ll be living in Las Vegas. It doesn’t really matter at this point since I won’t see him again after tonight.

  “How long are you in Miami for?”

  “My friend Kayla and I are here for week. We’re staying right up the road at the Miami Beach Resort. It’s a graduation present from my parents.” I don’t mention it’s my high school graduation since I’m supposed to be twenty-one to be in this club, and if he knew I was only eighteen he might be completely turned off. I’m already in shock that he would want me when he could easily have his pick of women in this club.

  While we continue to make conversation, the entire time he’s touching me in some way—his hands caressing my arms, massaging circles into my thighs. They aren’t meant to be sexual touches, but they still cause the same reaction from my body. He looks past me at somebody walking over and tells me that I have company. I look behind me and see Kayla is walking over and sporting a huge knowing grin across her face.