Restrained: A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Romance (Warrior Zone Fighters Book 4)

by Tia Lewis

  “Okay,” I answered against my better judgment. I was getting in way deep with this thing between us. He leaned down and kissed my lips lightly before letting go, crossing the room. “Come on, it’s sleepover time.”

  I warily climbed on the bed fully clothed, pulling the comforter up over my body as Amelia squirmed between us. This was how it was supposed to be, my life, with a child in the bed and a husband who was my everything. Not that Tom hadn’t been my everything during our marriage. Looking over, I saw Benji watching me, Amelia curled up next to him. “That looks comfortable,” I said lightly, rolling over to my side to stare at the pair. “You shouldn’t start this as a trend, or you will never have an empty bed.”

  He reached over and touched my hair with his fingers, tracing it until he touched my cheek. “I’d rather this be you tonight Danielle. Don’t get me wrong, I fucking enjoy the fact that she’s seeking out her daddy but if I had it my way, you would be curled up against me.”

  Whoa, he knew how to turn a girl’s cheeks red. I would have loved to be curled up next to him, skin to skin, my body sated from our hot romp in his bed.

  But tonight it hadn’t come to fruition, and I was okay with that. Amelia was far more important than my needs, and if anything ever happened to her, he wouldn’t be the only one that would go crazy. I reached up and grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together. “I would like that,” I finally said. His lips curved into that grin again as he gave me a squeeze, looking down at Amelia once more, who had finally fallen asleep. “This is my world right here,” he said softly. “I never thought I would love someone more than I did myself, but she’s my everything Danielle.”

  “She’s your daughter,” I said, emotion clogging my throat. “And you will be her everything for a lifetime.”

  Benji visibly swallowed, his other hand touching his daughter’s hair lightly. “Thank you, Danielle.”

  “No problem,” I said with a yawn, my eyes drifting closed. I just hoped I could be around, in one fashion or another, to watch their relationship grow and mature. Benji had no idea what kind of precious bond he was going to have with his daughter. She was going to irritate him, scare him, and make him the happiest man on the planet. She was going to depend on him, look for him to be the shoulder to cry on and above all else, be there when she needed him the most.

  As I drifted off into the black hole that was sleep, I thought about how much I would like to have him be the same for me.

  Benji

  I carefully touched my daughter’s face with my hand, glad to feel that the fever was gone, the crisis over. I had never been so fucking scared in my life when Amelia had been handed to me with that fever, unsure of what to do and trying to tell myself there was nothing to panic over. I hadn’t listened very well.

  But the woman currently hogging all the comforter had handled it like a pro, knowing exactly what to do at the moment. And for that, I was going to be eternally grateful. I hated the fact that we had been interrupted, but of all the people I could think I wanted there at that moment, Danielle was the only one that made me feel calm. She had that effect.

  Shifting, I withdrew my arm from under Amelia and climbed out of bed, looking down at the both of them in my bed. An unexpected tightness burst in my chest, everything feeling so fucking right at that moment in time that I would have moved heaven and earth to make it last a lifetime. How had both of them gotten under my skin so quickly? I had been a loner before the both of them, enjoying the fleeting encounters I had with women but none of them holding my attention for every long.

  Until Danielle.

  She had fucking turned my world upside down and even without Amelia in my life, I felt like it would still be the same way. Or would it? After yesterday, I doubted it. She had made me feel like a kid again wanting to get to first base. I had rounded those fuckers with amazing speed, and if Amelia hadn’t arrived when she did, I would have hit that damn home run again.

  But the next time was going to be even sweeter. Now we knew what was capable between us and when we did get a moment alone, she and I were going to burn up those sheets together.

  I groaned as I looked down, seeing the tent I had made in front of my shorts. Damn. I hoped that was sooner rather than later or I was going to suffer or get used to cold showers. Running a hand over my face, I took one last look at my girls in the bed before walking out of the bedroom. We all could use some coffee and breakfast.

  I was nearly done with the eggs when Danielle appeared in the kitchen, a smile on her face. “Breakfast?”

  “And coffee,” I grinned, handing her a mug.

  “You are a godsend,” she said, taking the cup and pouring the black stuff until it nearly brimmed the rim of the cup. “I’m not normally up at this time in the morning.”

  “Nightshift, right,” I said, scooping the eggs out of the pan and sliding them onto the plate, pleased that I could throw together a decent breakfast. “When do you work again?”

  “Tonight,” she said with a frown before taking a sip. “There will be a nap in my foreseeable future.”

  I cut off the stove and turned to face her, a grin on my face. “You can nap all you want here if you would like.”

  She blushed prettily, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I doubt I would get a lot of sleep.”

  I laughed. “You’re right. Amelia would be keeping you up.” I reached for her, pulling her flush against me so she could feel my pain this morning. “And I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t either.”

  “Benji,” she breathed as I kissed her neck. “I can’t.”

  “Can’t what?” I said on her skin, breathing the scent of her. If I knew Amelia was going to remain asleep, I would take her right here and now, amongst the coffee and eggs, but I didn’t want to be interrupted the next time I had Danielle writhing against me.

  “I can’t think when you do that,” she finally said.

  I chuckled and released her. “Is that necessarily a bad thing?”

  “No,” she said, her eyes shining with the same heat I felt in my body. “It’s not.”

  I gave her another grin as I turned back to the cabinets above the stove, pulling down two plates and one for Amelia for later. Something told me she was going to have an appetite when she woke. “So, working tonight. What about tomorrow night?”

  “I’ll be off,” she said as I piled her plate high with eggs and bacon before handing it to her. “Are you plotting your arrest?”

  “Only if you are doing the arresting,” I said, winking at her. “No, I want to do something for you, for us.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” she answered as I fished around for a fork in the silverware drawer. “I’m more than happy to help out.”

  I found one and handed it to her, looking into her eyes. “I think we need to finish what we started Danielle and this time, there will be no interruptions.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, but a cry filled the air, causing us both to laugh. “But not today,” she said cheekily as I rounded the hall, finding my daughter sitting up in the middle of my bed.

  “Hey sweetie,” I said, reaching for her and glad to find her skin still cool to the touch. “Is someone feeling better today?”

  She rewarded me with a toothy smile, and I felt some of the worry ease from my body. Another parenting lesson learned and I doubted this was going to be the last of them. “Come on, let’s get you some food.”

  Danielle was still standing where I had left her, her plate nearly empty as I strapped Amelia into her high chair and placed some eggs on her tray, not caring if she got them all over her. As long as she was eating and not throwing up, I was more than happy to go through some dirty clothes.

  “She looks better,” Danielle said as she set her plate in the sink.

  “Thank God,” I said, watching Amelia eat. “How can you be so calm when they are sick?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “It’s not like I had any practice.”

  I turned toward her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to stay.”

  She waved my words off with her hand. “No, I’m fine, really. I was glad I could help. Seems those parenting books know what they are talking about.” She then drew in a breath, her smile not quite reaching her eyes and making me feel like an ass. “Well, I better get home. Thanks for breakfast.”

  I didn’t apologize, but instead pulled her close, pressing a kiss on her lips. “Tomorrow night. Me and you. No one else. No interruptions.”

  Her fingers trailed over my collarbone lightly, sending a shiver down my back. “I, okay. I’m in.”

  I didn’t like the fact that she had to hesitate, but I wasn’t going to address it right now. All that mattered was that she had said yes. We could deal with the rest later.

  “Good,” I said, grabbing her fingers. “I need for you to do something with me first.”

  She eyed me, probably scared to ask. “What is that?”

  I swallowed hard. After receiving Marcie’s stuff the other night, it had been on my mind to exactly what kind of life Amelia had come from and how it was probably my duty to find out. “I got her mom’s stuff,” I explained, seeing the softness radiate in Danielle’s eyes. “I think I should at least ride to her place. Will you go with us?”

  She hugged me tightly, her warm body infusing with mine. “Of course I will. I think that it’s good to at least check it out.”

  “Thank you,” I said, inhaling her scent. I sure as hell didn’t want to do it by myself. I needed some support with whatever we might find.

  Danielle

  I stared at the flowers, my finger touching the delicate petal. I had never received flowers before, but when they were delivered to the station this evening, I knew who they were from. The card confirmed it. Meet me at the gym. It was not signed, but I didn’t need a signature.

  “Ooowee, Dannie has an admirer!”

  I rolled my eyes as I looked up at my desk partner, a young beat cop named Jamie. “How do you know they aren’t for you?”

  He laughed, plopping down in the chair next to me. “Because no one would want to spend that kind of bucks on me. Who is he?”

  “I’m not talking about my love life with you,” I laughed, pushing at his shoulder. I wasn’t even sure if it was a love life as much as it was a sex life. I had experienced more sex in the last few days than I had in two years and already I was itching to kiss, to touch Benji again. Did I want a relationship with him? I was scared to think so.

  “Well whoever it is, they got it bad,” he said, reaching for the phone ringing on the desk. I grinned, unable to help it. I kinda hoped so. Waking up in Benji’s bed, with Amelia next to me had been just a brief glimpse of what my life would have been like and what I was missing. But could I have that with Benji? I wasn’t sure if he was looking for that kind of commitment. We hadn’t talked about anything past having sex and Amelia.

  I placed my hand under my chin, staring at the brilliant colors of the bouquet. What did I want? I wanted love and affection, someone to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted to wake up with the same person next to me and see them smiling down on me. I wanted kids and the white picket fence still. I wanted excitement and fun. I wanted Benji.

  The thought hit me hard. I was in love with Benji Lomns. Again. Except for this time, it was far more than a young girl’s crush. This was a full-on woman in love with a gorgeous man, a man out of my league.

  Or so I thought.

  Could he fall in love with a girl like me? Did he want to? Benji had everything: a gorgeous body, a precious daughter, on the top of his career and his life. What would he want with a girl like me and if he didn’t, what was I going to do if he decided to say goodbye? It wasn’t going to be pretty, that was for sure.

  So I was going to ride this thing to the end, no matter the cost of my heart. I wanted to see what it was going to bring, even if it was heartache.

  The next night, I looked at the line of cars that were along the street leading up to the gym, wondering what on earth was going on there. Benji had sent me a quick text this morning when I woke, but nothing to the extent of what we were getting into tonight. By the looks of it, we weren’t going to be as alone as I thought.

  Pushing open the door to the gym, I had to force my way through the crowd, the sound of grunting, punching, and cheers filling the air. The cage before me held two men as they punched and kicked at each other, one I recognized immediately.

  “Hey, Danielle! You made it.”

  I turned to see Hannah standing next to me, a friendly smile on her face. “Um yeah, I did.”

  Hannah laughed, looking at Benji in the steel cage. “He didn’t tell you he was fighting tonight, did he?”

  I shook my head, my nerves a jumbled mess as I watched him inside the cage. Had I known this was going to be our date, I would have prepared myself to watch him. But just walking in and seeing him fighting in there, I felt vaguely ill. I knew he could take care of himself, but as the other fighter landed a kick on Benji’s ribs, I felt the pain right to my toes.

  “Men,” Hannah huffed, threading her arm through mine. “They never think. Benji threw this together to show off before the big fight. The guys tried to talk him out of it, but he loves to show off.”

  That I didn’t doubt. “Isn’t he scared of getting hurt?” I asked, surprised he would take a chance like this.

  Hannah shook her head. “Darling, these guys think they are made of steel. What’s up with you and Benji anyway? Clearly, you are sleeping with him.”

  I blushed as I thought of the sex that we had in that storage room. “Um, well we are taking it slow.”

  “Slow is not in any of these guys’ vocabulary,” Hannah replied with a grin. “I’m sure you have realized that.”

  I had, very much so. In my previous relationship with Tom, we had known each other like the back of our own hands before doing some of the things that Benji and I had already done. “How do you get used to this?” I asked, nodding toward the cage where Benji was starting to get the upper hand or at least I thought he was. The other guy was pinned against the cage and Benji was wailing on him. That had to be a good thing.

  Hannah sighed. “It takes some getting used to, but it’s their life you know? He doesn’t gripe at me about being a baker, and I don’t gripe at him about his fighting. Besides, Tony is semi-retired now. He’s found more important things to handle, like me.”

  I laughed at Hannah’s cheeky grin, glad that she understood my concerns about Benji. I really didn’t know what I was getting into with him, but if he loved to fight, I wasn’t going to stand in his way.

  “He’s done!”

  I looked up to see Benji standing over his prone opponent, a smattering of applause as the referee held his arm up high. It was then that I noticed the press standing near the cage, snapping their pictures as Benji gave them that sexy grin of his. “This was more than just a show off isn’t it?”

  Hannah nodded as the crowd started to disperse. “Yeah. Tony told me that Benji was worried about not taking it serious about this fight and he wanted to show everyone that he could still do it. So, he invited all the local papers and the big promoters for the fight. Seems like he got his point across.”

  I just shook my head as Benji walked out of the cage, grinning as the microphones were shoved in his face. So, he was worried about his fight. I was sure that the other things in his life: Amelia and me, weren’t helping him out any.

  Finally, the rest of the people started to leave, and I walked over to my fighter, who was wiping his face. “Congratulations.”

  He looked up, and I was shocked to see the cut over his left eye, the swelling that was starting to become visible on his cheek. “Thanks. Sorry I didn’t tell you about the fight. I thought you wouldn’t come.”

  “Does it hurt?” I asked, nodding to his face.

  “What?” he asked a grin appearing. “Looking this good?”

  I rolled my eyes as another man came over and slapped him on th
e back. “Good show man. I thought you were a dumbass for doing this so close to the fight, but you were right. It is good for publicity.”

  “Joey this is Danielle,” he said, nodding toward me. “Joey is my trainer and Marcella’s father.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said.

  “You too,” he said, giving me a once over. “Don’t keep him out too late tonight. He’s got to get his beauty sleep before he turns butt ugly.”

  I laughed as Benji chuckled, pulling the guy into a friendly headlock. “Just don’t keep my baby up too late. She won’t sleep a wink at the house.”

  “You got it,” Joey said, giving me a wink before walking away. I turned my attention back to Benji’s battered face. “So we are staying out all night?”

  He grabbed me around the waist, pulling me against his sweaty body. “Maybe. You think you can keep me up all night?”

  I trailed my fingers down his pec lightly. “Maybe.” Pressed up against his body like this, I was already starting to feel the warmth creeping into my own body, wishing that we could find a private space right now. He did that to me. He made me a wanton, and I was secretly enjoying the hell out of it.

  “Minx,” Benji said, dropping a kiss on my head before pulling away. “Let me go get cleaned up and then we will go, alright?”

  I nodded, and he walked to the back of the gym, whistling as he went. Oh Lord, I thought as I watched him go. I was so in love with Benji Lomns. There was no doubt in my mind now. I craved him, I wanted him. I never wanted to let him go.

  Benji

  Hours Later…

  I watched Danielle as she slept, my fingers lightly playing in her hair. I had treated her tonight, taking her out for a nice dinner and dessert. After finding some movie on my TV, we had snuggled on the couch, just enjoying the fact that there were no interruptions in our time together.