Holding Strong

by Lori Foster

She must be a masochist, because his denials only made her want him more. “Not until three.”

  “I’ll be at the rec center then.” Watching her closely, he shifted and slid one hot hand into her pants, now doing all that tantalizing touching without any material to blunt the heat of his warm, rough hand.

  And then he talked some more.

  “Want to come there?”

  Barely biting back a groan, she said, “I’d rather come here. Right now.”

  He squeezed her cheek. “Gage will be there, so odds are Harper will be, too. You can hang out until I finish, then we can go to my place where there’s more privacy.”

  She’d never been to Denver’s house and the idea appealed to her. “You don’t think this is private?”

  He shook his head. “Fighters come and go here more than at the rec center.” He leaned down, his forehead to hers. “I need at least a few hours alone with you.”

  “If you don’t want to have sex now, then why are you doing all this?”

  “Seriously, girl?” He angled his head to study her while his fingers did some especially tantalizing exploring, making her breath catch. “You think I can be this close to you and not touch you?”

  He said that with a straight face as if he expected her to agree! Swatting at him, her temper frayed, she stepped out of reach. “If you aren’t going to do anything about it, then you can damn well keep your hands to yourself!”

  Satisfaction glittered in his mesmerizing eyes. “I’ll try.” Raising both hands, palms out, he offered compliance.

  And damn it, she already missed his touch. “Are you sure I can’t convince you—”

  “We both need some rest and I’m not into quickies. Not with you.”

  Clearly, it was for her that he wanted to wait, no matter what excuses he gave. And that bit about visiting him at the rec center—he wanted her where he could keep an eye on her to know she was safe.

  He didn’t yet understand that having her there would only endanger everyone else.

  But she’d pushed him enough tonight. She wouldn’t beg for sex. She put her chin in the air. “Fine—but I’m agreeing under duress.”

  “Noted, and I promise to make it up to you later. So.” Tentatively, as if he expected her to smack him again, he reached for the waistband of her sleep pants. “Mind if we lose these?”

  She didn’t see the point, but only shrugged.

  With a half smile, he said, “Thank you.” Pushing them past her hips, he let them drop in a puddle around her ankles. Holding her shoulders, he looked at her body with fixed absorption, as if this was the first time. After a deep breath that he let out slowly, he took her arm and led her to the bed.

  Still peeved, Cherry crawled over to make room for him, turned her back and tugged the sheet up to her chin. He got in behind her, stretched out one long arm and killed the lamp.

  Dark silence filled every inch of the room.

  Never before had she thought about the quiet, but now it smothered her. Maybe because she’d let things end on a tense note. But how to fix it?

  The bed dipped when Denver turned and slid an arm under her pillow, wrapped another around her waist, and drew her into the strong cradle of his big body. “Okay?”

  Now that he couldn’t see her, she closed her eyes to relish the moment. “Yes.” Better than okay.

  Heat, scented by his skin, enveloped her. After a few minutes, drowsiness set in. Maybe he was right. Maybe she did need to sleep. Too much had happened, with an ominous dread leaving her splintered. She yawned wide enough to hurt her jaws.

  “Do you mind if I touch you?”

  Her groan, long and dramatic, made him chuckle. She honestly didn’t know how much more teasing she could take.

  “Like this.” Giving her time to object, he scooted her closer, fitting his strong legs to the backs of hers, tucking her so close that problems faded away.

  If she could sleep like this, safe in Denver’s arms, it wouldn’t be too bad.

  Time drifted by, but she didn’t doze off.

  “You’re not sleeping,” he murmured.

  “Not yet.” She curved her fingers over his forearm. “I’m keeping you awake?”

  “No. I was just thinking. When did you paint your toenails?”

  Surprise got her eyes opened wide. “You noticed?”

  “That you changed the color?” Husky and low, he said, “I notice every damn thing about you, girl. You should know that by now.”

  “Oh.” Well, that was nice because she noticed every single thing about him, too. “I got antsy midday and didn’t have anything to do.”

  “Except worry?”

  “And paint my toenails.”

  He squeezed her in a quick, gentle hug. “I wish I could have been here with you.”

  Somehow, she knew that talking with him like this in the quiet dark was deceptive. It felt like nothing bad could happen, like the future held only promise.

  A false illusion.

  “No.” She turned her head enough to kiss his bulging biceps. “I don’t want to interfere with your routine.” More than I already have.

  “You won’t.” He nipped her earlobe. “I can multitask.” A warm kiss behind her ear had her brain wandering to sex again, until he added, “It’s going to take some juggling, fitting everything in—and no, I’m not talking about the size of my pipe.”

  She closed her mouth, but laughed.

  “Brat.” Another kiss, this one on the side of her neck. “Weekends are mostly free,” he continued. “But the weekdays start early and run late.”

  In case he made assumptions, she offered tentatively, “I’m nine to five, so I’m happy to adapt to your schedule.”

  “We’ll work it out.”

  He fell silent after that, giving her thoughts room to roam. “Denver?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Why didn’t any of you ask to date Vanity?”

  She felt his grin against her shoulder. “Most of us don’t do a lot of steady dating. You know that. The other guys are like me. None of us has the time.”

  True. They all kept grueling schedules, at least when prepping for a fight. Their social hookups seemed to happen in spontaneous ways and almost always on a weekend. “So forget dating. None of you tried to sleep with her, either.” Or had they? Maybe Denver had and she just didn’t know, and why would she? Until a short time ago, he hadn’t shown interest in her, either.

  He shifted, moving one leg over hers. “She’s Yvette’s best friend. She’ll be maid of honor at the wedding.”

  When Cherry tried to turn and face him, he held her secure. “So?”

  “So she’s too close for comfort if things go sour. That takes her out of bounds for casual sex.”

  Possibilities churned in her brain, keeping her so unsettled she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Toying with the soft hair on his forearm, she asked, “Did you want to go after her, though?”

  “No.”

  Disconcerted that he said nothing more, she nudged him. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Not quite satisfied with his one-word replies, she decided to go to the crux of her restlessness. “Did you consider me too close for comfort, too?”

  “Not really, no.”

  “Then why did you leave me hanging when I made it so obvious I wanted to be with you? Why did you always ignore me?”

  He growled, “Don’t fool yourself, girl. I could never ignore you, no matter how hard I tried.” He lightly bit her shoulder, then smoothed the spot with his hot tongue. “Anytime you were around, I knew it. I felt it. Clear down to my bones.”

  “Then why make us both wait?” Why make me so miserable?

  He held himself still; she could hear them both breathing, the tick of the clock.

  The beating of her own heart.

  “At first,” he whispered, “I hesitated because of the closeness. You live here with Merissa, and Cannon gets all big brotherly about any of us getting ideas.” Leisurely, his ha
nd cuddled her breast. “He tried to warn me off until he realized I wanted more than one night.”

  That was news to her. “Cannon told you not to date me?” If he was the reason for the long delay, Cherry just might smack him.

  Denver gave a gruff laugh. “I don’t think it was dating he had a problem with. When he and I discussed it, there was one point where Yvette thought we would come to blows and it scared her.”

  No way. Yvette had never told her!

  “I don’t take orders well, Cannon’s too damn watchful over his sister—and his sister’s roommate—but we settled it peaceably enough.”

  “You still didn’t ask me out.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  Fed up, Cherry demanded, “Why?”

  His long hesitation made her wish she could take the question back. Would he tell her something awful? Like she hadn’t appealed to him or her personality was annoying?

  “Truthfully, honey, you scared me.”

  She scoffed. Far as she could tell, nothing scared Denver. Even when walking into the cage to fight, massive crowds screaming and hot lights shining down on him, he looked rock steady, like it was just another day. “That’s a little hard to swallow.”

  “Don’t know why. From the day we met, you’ve been under my skin.”

  That didn’t sound all that complimentary. More like an aggravation—or an itch. “What does that mean?”

  “I liked you too much, and wanted you more than that. I’ve known plenty of chicks that just wanted to sleep with a fighter. I thought you were different, but then you flitted from guy to guy, and it made me nuts. Too nuts.”

  Now wait a minute! This time he couldn’t hold her back as she half turned while sitting up. “I did not!”

  With what sounded like a groan of annoyance, he moved away. Her eyes had adjusted enough that she could see the shadows of his large form as he settled onto his back and folded his arms behind his head. “Girl, you flirt with every man in sight.”

  Her mouth fell open. “I’ve been after you since I met you!”

  “Me, and every other dude in the room.” While she tried to absorb that insult, he added, his voice firm, “But that’s over now.”

  After that accusation, he wanted to dictate to her? She couldn’t see well enough to judge his expression and, by God, she wanted to see him while he spouted so much nonsense. Reaching over him—which made him groan as her breasts grazed his abdomen—she flipped on the light and then sat back on her heels.

  She’d totally displaced the sheet and, oh wow, Denver could so easily throw her off with his big gorgeous body. Never had her bed looked better than with him stretched out on it.

  “You going to give me hell or strip me with those pretty eyes?”

  “Both,” she snapped right back. He’d pushed his way into her private room, so he could damn well deal with her physical fascination. “Understand, Denver. Talk is one thing. Maybe I joke around a little—”

  “You flirt, Cherry. A lot.”

  Her brows came together. Stubborn, annoying man. “And you don’t? Every female fan you meet is the recipient of your flirting. But do I complain?”

  “That’s business,” he said as if it didn’t matter.

  “Ha! Don’t tell me you never slept with a groupie, because I’ve heard the stories.”

  He wisely kept silent.

  “But I haven’t been with anyone else, heck, I haven’t even kissed anyone else, since meeting you!”

  Going still, he asked, “No?”

  “No.” Her hand went to his abs, drawn extra taut with the way he reclined, and her fingers idly dipped over each and every solid ridge of muscle. She managed to stop short of going after the erection now straining his boxers, but it wasn’t easy.

  Cutting a glare to his face, she asked, “Insulting me makes you hot?”

  “Never insulted you. I just spoke the truth.” He caught her wrist and carried her hand up to his chest. “But angry girls near my jewels make me nervous, so how about we get this over with?”

  She snatched her hand away and crossed her arms tight beneath her breasts. “You hurt me, Denver.”

  “I would never.”

  “You already have! Too many times for me to count.” Maybe it was time for a little truth. She made herself look at him. “If it had been any man other than you, I’d have given up long ago.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  Fidgeting under his direct stare, she admitted, “I do like to talk, I can’t change that.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with talking.”

  “Carver and his brothers always made it impossible. I couldn’t smile at anyone, or even say hello, so you know I couldn’t flirt. I guess... I maybe sometimes go overboard. But only because I can now.”

  “That makes sense,” he agreed. “They never should have been allowed to stifle you like that.”

  Relieved that he understood, she touched him again. “If I seemed too familiar with the other guys, it was because you’d rejected me and I didn’t want you to know how bad I felt. I have my pride, too, you know.”

  A turbulent mix of emotions sharpened the color of his hunter’s gaze. “So because I didn’t jump fast enough, you wanted to make me jealous?”

  “No!” Indignation swelled until she almost vibrated with it. “You always think the worst of me.”

  That made his eyes darken, narrow. “Cherry—”

  “I never expected you to jump. But you were so disinterested it humiliated me. You gave me no reason to think you’d even care who I talked to.” She steadied herself with a deep breath. “But you can believe me, never, not once, have I wanted anyone else since meeting you. They know that.”

  “They?”

  “Stack, Miles, Brand...any guy I come into contact with.”

  “Leese didn’t know it.”

  “Leese was just...a few dances, some laughs.” It scared her, sharing so much of herself while Denver remained remote. But it was important for him to know. He wanted honesty, and so she’d give him what she could. “Cover.”

  Rubbing the bridge of his nose as if pained, he said, “I don’t know what that means, honey.”

  “It means I used the poor guy because I didn’t want anyone, including you, to know that I wanted to go home and cry.”

  They stared at each other, both breathing hard.

  Denver’s expression faded from annoyance to something else, something more acute than mere apology even though he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  “You should be.”

  Coming up on one elbow, he fixed his attention on her breasts. “Damn, you’re hot when you’re pissed.”

  She thought her head might explode.

  “Or maybe it’s knowing you were never really into anyone else that’s making me so horny.” And with that, he snagged her waist and pulled her down to sprawl over him.

  “Wha—”

  His mouth met hers, warm and firm. She reared back, “You—”

  “Want you.” He took her mouth again, moving until her lips opened and his wicked tongue could lick in, then do even more wicked things that made her unable to think straight.

  The leap from anger to lust left her heartbeat galloping. She didn’t know if she should give in or toss him out.

  “I’m sorry, baby.” His hands went to her backside and rocked her against his powerful erection. “So damned sorry.”

  “Mmmm...” Okay, so lust won out. Cherry sank against him, knotted her hands in his hair and held on.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  AS SOON AS she stopped resisting, Denver cupped one hand around her head, the other over her ass, and turned her under him, fitting his body to hers but keeping most of his weight off her. He kissed her again, deeper and hotter, wanting to consume her.

  He’d hurt her. Damn, that tore him up.

  But more devastating than that was her insistence that she’d never really been into any of the other guys...he couldn’t bend his brain around it. He had so much r
esentment built around nothing.

  Knowing she’d been as obsessed as him from the day they met started a slow burn that quickly grew hotter until all he could think about was getting inside her.

  He’d wasted so much time steering clear of her, protecting himself because he thought she’d be like his stepmother... No. He didn’t want Pamela intruding into his thoughts. Not now, not with Cherry kissing him like she needed him more than her next breath.

  The reality of how he’d hurt her made him determined to show her how much she mattered to him.

  It also filled him with a savage need to keep her safe. She was his, period. He would never hurt her again—and he damn sure wouldn’t let anyone else hurt her, either.

  All the reasons he’d given her for waiting—her illness, their early days—were still there. They just didn’t matter enough for him to resist her.

  Leaving her mouth, he kissed her slim throat and her narrow shoulder on a path to her lush breasts. God love the girl, she had a great rack, full and firm with nipples already drawn tight.

  When he played a thumb over one sensitive tip, she arched up, encouraging him. He put an arm behind her to keep her like that, offered up to him. “I should let you sleep,” he growled before closing his teeth around that small, taut tip.

  Her gasping sound of pleasure vibrated in the air between them, sweet and anxious. Gently, Denver tugged.

  Catching fistfuls of his hair, Cherry kept him close and bent one knee up alongside his hip. The adjustment left his boner nestled against her hot sex with only their underwear as barriers.

  His heart thundered against his ribs. He grew even harder, hurting with this sudden, crushing need to consume her.

  Carefully, he nipped at her other nipple, then tugged on it, too, until she cried out. “Denver.”

  He sucked her deep, stroking with his tongue and rocking against her while using care to untangle her fingers, one by one, from his hair.

  To keep her from rushing him, he pressed her hands up alongside her head. “Patience.”

  Lips parted, gaze smoky, she nodded. “I’ll try.”

  Grateful that she’d turned on the light, he rose up the length of his arms to see her, to soak up the sight of her in nothing more than itty-bitty panties, her breasts flushed and her hair tangled.