Finally, the corners of the senator’s lips quirked just a little. “I see I underestimated you, Ms. Jones. I have the feeling that people do that a lot.”
“All the time,” I answered. “It’s my greatest asset.”
The senator chuckled. “Well, I’m impressed. And intimidated, if I’m being honest. Obviously, I’m not interested in having my name on a piece that pits me against veterans. In the hearts of Americans, vets will win over politicians every time—as they should.” He clasped his hands. “So, I think you should write that I’ve changed my mind. That in light of new evidence, I’ve seen what a great boon this would be for our state, and I’m ready and willing to fight for the social changes that will pay back our vets for all they’ve given us.”
My heart leapt into my throat. My stomach felt like it was dancing. I blurted out, “Really?” before I could stop myself, then covered it up with, “I’m exceedingly glad to hear that, Senator MacFarlane. Now, if there’s nothing more to discuss…”
I stood up and he followed suit, reaching over to shake my hand. “You’re a damn good reporter, Ms. Jones. I’m looking forward to reading your article, and to hearing more from you, someday.”
I allowed myself a little smile and took his hand. “Likewise, Senator. You’re doing a lot of good.”
Then I walked out of our private dining area, through the main hall of the restaurant, and once I was outside, I sprinted to my car. Shit. Kellan’s fight had started almost ten minutes ago. He was up there getting bruised and bloodied, and I was nowhere to be found. I could only hope he hadn’t noticed I was gone, and that I wasn’t too late to give him something to fight his heart out for.
We did it, Kellan, I thought as I leapt into my driver’s seat and turned the key. We won!
I couldn’t wait to tell him to his face.
~ TWENTY-ONE ~
Kellan
I was dying out here.
Tutera was the most vicious fighter I’d ever encountered. It was like once he saw blood, he developed and undying thirst for it. He had to have more. Besides myself, I’d never seen anyone go so crazy over inflicting harm. Was this what my opponents felt like when I beat them? Was this gnawing dread, this unbearable sense of impending doom, the same thing they’d experienced when they looked into my eyes?
I didn’t have a whole lot of time to contemplate it. Tutera was on me like a fly on shit, and I could just barely move fast enough to avoid the worst of his blows.
The crowd around us was howling. There was enough of my blood on the mat to make it slippery in places. Some of it was Tutera’s too, but not nearly enough. My strength and endurance were waning. I could hardly manage to keep my hands up.
Don’t drop ‘em, I reminded myself through the bleary haze of pain tearing through my body. The second you drop ‘em, he drops you.
Maybe that was for the best. Maybe I should just give up, let Tutera win. The longer we went at this, the longer I felt like all I was doing was prolonging the inevitable. I was exhausted, covered in sweat and blood, and at this point, only fighting for my ego.
Parker’s not even here to see me. It’s not like she’d care if I threw in the towel.
Tutera responded to that thought with a kick to my hip that brought a new stab of agony to those ribs I kept fucking up. I snarled and my knee gave way on the same side, bringing me down to the mat where Tutera pounced.
We rolled, and I kicked and thrashed as he tried to get me into an arm bar. Fuck. This was bad. Tutera was strong and way more energetic than I was. He could hold out and stay the course. I was flagging, my confidence and will to see this through sinking faster than the Titanic. If he got me into position, I was doomed.
Why fight it? that voice in the back of my head reasoned as I slipped out of Tutera’s hold, only for him to grab me again. You know this isn’t going to end well. Just lie still and let go. Let him have his win. You were always the sacrificial lamb, Kellan. You were born to lose.
And let Vic have the last laugh? No. No way. Not without giving it my all, at least.
I got a lucky break when I jammed my elbow back at Tutera’s face. He wasn’t expecting it and I smashed him straight in the teeth. Blood gushed down his chin and I struggled free, panting and stumbling once I was on my feet, waiting for him to get back up.
He did. Slowly. And he looked pissed. There wasn’t even a splinter of pain in his eyes. Tutera wasn’t feeling anything tonight. Fuckin’ coke!
He sprung at me like a tiger, and in my weakened state, I couldn’t block the body blows. All I could do was keep my face and my head covered as Tutera pushed me back onto the ropes, landing shot after shot on my ribs, my kidneys, everywhere that would hurt the most.
Pain blinded me for an instant, but it felt like an eternity. And in that moment, everything around me dimmed and slowed. The world took on a gray pallor, and I could feel the shockwaves from Tutera’s fists spreading through my whole body, penetrating my bones. I was brutally aware of my ribs cracking again, splintering, threatening to break in half. I couldn’t take much more of this. No human body could.
It was over. I had to make it stop.
Knowing the consequences, I raised my head for one last look at the cheering crowd. They weren’t yelling for me. They were yelling for Tutera. This crowd had never been mine. They’d always been his. They’d come here explicitly to see him drop me.
Better give ‘em what they want.
And that was when my gaze snagged on the single, radiant face I’d been anticipating all night. My lips parted as her blue eyes met mine, her fist raised in the air, a pained smile on her face. Parker Jones was out there watching me, cheering me on, dressed in a fucking silk blouse and a skirt and looking for all the world like the ace reporter I knew she was.
Concern wrinkled her face. Worry clouded her pretty eyes. She could tell I was losing, and about to give up.
No. Fuck that. I couldn’t let her keep looking at me that way. I couldn’t let her see me fall. Not like this.
Parker had fought tooth and claw for me, and now I had to do the same for her.
Tutera, noticing I’d lifted my head, got in a good hit to my cheek. This time, I didn’t even feel it. Seeing Parker had given me the adrenaline rush I needed to get my second wind, and with all the force I had in me, I launched myself at Tutera and wrapped my arms around him, dragging him to the ground.
Off-balance, he fell and landed hard on his side. It was easier to deal with him when he wasn’t swinging at me, and as he turned to get up on his knees, I jumped on his back and pulled him back down. I had him on top of me on his back, and sliding across the mat in my own blood, I used it to my advantage to get one of my legs over his face.
Tutera grabbed at me, but in a second, I had my other leg across his chest and under his arms. Then my fingers were around his wrist, pulling his arm hard toward me, my ankles locked, and I had no intention of letting go.
The crowd around us went berserk. I pulled hard on Tutera’s arm, bending it back in an arm-bar I knew had to hurt. Even as coked up as he was, there was no way Tutera could ignore this agony. Arm-bars hurt like a bitch no matter what you were on. I could tell by his snarling and struggling that he was feeling it.
Good. Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it, kid?
I held onto him tight while he bucked, trying to push me off him, but there was no point. I had his arm locked good and tight, and the more he flailed, the more pain he caused himself. Bending backward, I yanked, feeling his joint strain. Tutera froze, his whole body contracting in a spasm of excruciating misery, then with his free hand, pounded the mat. The ref came to our sides and knelt down.
“Tap out, you bastard,” I gritted. “It’s over. I got you.”
Before the ref could call it, I gave another hard yank and Tutera pounded the mat again, grabbing for the referee. He blew his whistle and I let go, Tutera rolling onto his side to cradle his nearly broken arm.
I lay there on my back as I heard those sweet syllables I neve
r thought I’d hear again.
“Killer Kellan wins!”
Holy shit. I laughed, covering my face with my hands as the world exploded into chaos around me. Lights flashed, people cheered, and above it all, I could hear them chanting: Killer! Killer! Killer! Killer!
When I let my hands drop, the ref was offering me his hand. I let him help me to my feet and leaned on him bodily, raising one fist in the air the same way Parker had when I’d seen her watching me. Everyone else in the room faded away until there was just her face again, smiling broadly, cheering, her lips moving in a way that let me read them. Out of everyone gathered around me, she was the only one who was actually calling me by name. Kellan! Kellan! Kellan! Kellan!
And then, shaking her head, tears sparkling in her eyes, she screamed something else: I love you!
Warmth blossomed inside my chest, nullifying all the pain I’d been keeping there. I couldn’t wait for the winner’s room to be with her. I had to have Parker in my arms. Now.
I broke away from the ref and made my way over the ropes, then jumped down from the mat and pushed my way through the crowd. Most of them parted for me, but not before touching me, totally in awe of the nobody who’d beat Johnny fucking Tutera in an illegal match. I could hardly believe it myself, but that wasn’t what I was focused on right now. Right now, all I could see, all I could think about, was Parker. My Parker.
I reached her and swept her into my arms, swinging her around heedlessly, pressing my damaged face into her beautiful, golden locks of hair and inhaling her scent. That was the only thing I wanted to smell for the rest of my life. I could die happy, here in her arms. But I wanted to live. For the first time in damn near forever, I wanted to choose life over death, pleasure over pain. I wanted to be the man Parker believed I could be.
I leaned up for a kiss, closing my eyes as I tasted her sweet breath on my tongue. Then I cradled her in my arms bridal-style and pushed my way through the crowd again, this time toward the hall that would take us to the winner’s room.
“Wait!” she laughed, gingerly touching my bruised and bloodied face. “Don’t you have to get your winnings from Vic?”
“Trust me, I didn’t forget,” I told her, kicking open the door. “But you and me have something to settle up on, first.”
Parker blushed, and I grinned back as I stepped inside the room and shut the door.
~ TWENTY-TWO ~
Parker
Kellan’s face was a mess. He looked more like he’d been through a meat grinder than an MMA fight. But that didn’t stop him from kissing me, from running his hands all over me, from pulling off my clothes at lightning pace and pushing me onto the bed so hard it took my breath away. And I didn’t care that I was covered in his blood—there was time for a shower later. And I wanted him now.
“I need you, baby,” Kellan mumbled between kisses. I ran my tongue over his lips, tasting his blood, shivering as he exposed my breasts to the cool air. “I need to feel you. I need to know this is actually happening. That this is real.”
Kellan crawled on top of me and I used my feet to slide his shorts down off his waist. “Then take me, Kellan. I’m yours.”
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked my head back, my lips parted, throat exposed. His snarl was wolfish. “Say ‘please,’ ” he demanded.
“Please,” I breathed, very gently touching the side of his face. “Please fuck me, Kellan.” I bit my lip. “Claim your prize.”
Kellan chuckled. Without letting go of my hair, he situated himself between my legs. “You’re not a prize, Parker,” he said. “You’re the best goddamn thing that’s ever happened to me.” Then he pushed inside my pussy without any warning, thrusting right up to the hilt, and I cried out in both pleasure and pain as his girth stretched me wide.
“Oh, fuck!”
“Come on, Parker,” Kellan rasped, pulling my calves over his shoulders. There seemed to be some pain in his voice, too. It was amazing what he could do once adrenaline flooded him, how he was able to push past his injuries to take me the way he was clearly aching to. “You can scream louder than that.” Then he rammed into me again, bucking into me so hard and fast I saw stars.
I writhed all over Kellan’s cock, arching my back and screaming for him like I knew he wanted me to. It wasn’t just for his benefit, though. The things he did to my body deserved this kind of volume. The pleasure was so intense I almost wanted to get away from it. I couldn’t handle it. It was driving me crazy.
Spreading my pussy lips with his fingers, Kellan spit on my slit and spread it around my little bud, coaxing it from underneath its hood. Then he rubbed mercilessly, smirking as he felt my toes curl, angling his dick up so that it crashed into my inner sweet spot with every stroke.
“You remember the first time I made you squirt, baby?” he asked, picking up the pace on my clit. My eyes rolled and I wailed, clawing at the sheets. “Well, I’m gonna make you do it again, only this time, you’re gonna make a real big mess. I’ll make sure of that.”
I moaned and babbled as he spread his knees to pound into me harder, the sound of our flesh slapping sending shivers up and down my spine. I raked my nails down one of his arms and he grimaced, grabbing that hand and pinning it next to my head.
“Bad girl. This body is mine. It does what I want it to. And right now, baby, I want you to squirt on my big, fat dick. Come on, Parker. Drench me. I know you want to. I can feel you fighting it.”
I bit my lip. He was right; I was. I’d never known I was a squirter before, not since that time at his apartment where it had only come out as a little dribble. But now Kellan was pushing me closer and closer to a bigger orgasm, one I wasn’t sure I could contain. The sheer power of it terrified me. I wasn’t sure I could come back from it, if he pushed me over the edge.
“That’s it, baby,” he cooed as I startled to whine. “Let it go. Cum for me, Parker.” He released my hand to flick his thumb over one of my nipples. “Now.”
Between his thumb dancing on my clit, his dick pummeling my G-spot, and his fingers tickling my breasts, I couldn’t take it anymore. The sensations were all just too much. Tears of ecstasy in my eyes, I threw my head back and screamed as I drenched Kellan with my desire, my pussy squeezing his cock tight, milking it for all it was worth.
Kellan slowed his strokes to draw out my orgasm, letting me feel every single inch of his cock as it slid in and out of me. He made a low, gravelly sound in his throat like he was just barely holding back his own climax, his gaze fixed on the mess I’d made all over his hips. He was soaked in me, and as I whimpered and flailed, he grinned. “That’s my girl, Parker. Now, bend over so I can fuck you right.”
He let my legs down off his shoulders and I quivered, trying to find the strength to get onto all fours. Kellan helped me, manhandling me like I was just a rag doll as he positioned me so that I was grabbing the headboard, my legs spread, my ass against his cock.
The harsh sting of his palm meeting one of my cheeks made me moan. “That’s for being a bad girl,” he snarled in my ear. “You were late, Parker. What happened to you?”
I licked my lips, savoring the rush of relief and desire that came after the pain subsided. “I was meeting with the senator,” I told him. “He agreed to champion the veterans’ bill.”
Kellan spanked me again, then pried apart my cheeks and sawed his dick between them. “Mm, then maybe you were a good girl, after all,” he said, pushing his tip against my tight little star.
“Kellan,” I breathed, turning over my shoulder to look up at him. I’d never let anyone do that before, and with as big and thick as Kellan was, I wasn’t sure I could take him. Kellan only smiled and brushed my hair behind my ear.
“Don’t worry, baby. I’m not cumming anywhere but that pussy tonight.” Then he pulled his hips back and slipped his tip inside of me, working it in and out of my cunt as I blushed.
“You… want to cum inside me?” I whispered.
Kellan nodded, dragging his teeth over his botto
m lip. I shivered. “Mmhm. I want to fill you up, Parker. I want to make you cum again so when that pussy starts throbbing around me, I can give it what it needs. What it wants. I know you want my cum, baby. And I know the idea of taking a risk turns you on.” He met my gaze. “You want this too, don’t you?”
Slowly, I nodded. I knew how rash it was, maybe even foolish, but I’d been suppressing my desire for Kellan’s seed for too long. When he mounted me like this, all I could think about was him filling me completely. I wanted him to mark me, to claim me as his. I wanted to be fucked hard by an alpha male, and only Kellan would do.
As soon as I gave my consent, Kellan pushed all the way inside me again, sheathing himself in my wet warmth. I moaned, my walls still pulsing from my previous orgasm, and reached down between my legs to rub my swollen clit as Kellan filled me with slow, even strokes.
I knew what he was doing. He was building it up, making sure that when he let go inside of me, it was the biggest load he could possibly unleash. Something about that turned me on even more, and I drummed my fingers harder on my clit, working it in circles as Kellan pressed his chest against me from behind.
“Fuck,” he muttered, his thrusts becoming a little more erratic. I could tell he was close; he was starting to buck. “Oh, fuck, Parker. You feel so good. I don’t think I can take it anymore…”
He laced his fingers around my throat with one hand, and with the other, he teased my nipples, alternating between the two. Kellan was already driving me toward another orgasm, and the way he panted and groaned in my ear only made me more eager to get there.
“I’m cumming,” I whispered to him, my voice hoarse from screaming his name. “Oh, Kellan. Baby, I’m cumming. Fill me up now. Please…!”
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