Trick (A Cocky Cage Fighter Novel Book 7)

by Lane Hart

  “Yeah, that must have been when his ‘business trips’ first started,” I mutter. “He’s such a fucking asshole.”

  “You have no idea,” Mina whispers against my lips. Her tongue plunges hungrily into my mouth, stopping any further conversation as she slides her pussy along the length of my cotton covered, semi-hard cock that quickly salutes her. I slip my hand between our bodies, down her stomach, heading between her legs to get her ready to take my cock when she intercepts it, grabbing my wrist and pressing it down on the mattress beside my head. Once she tugs my boxers down my legs, she lifts and places my other arm on the opposite side of my head before intertwining both sets of fingers with mine.

  Letting her dominate me, have her way with me is hot as fuck. Her mouth returns to mine, kissing me deeply while she keeps teasing me with her wet slit rubbing along my cock. Judging by her staggered breaths, she’s getting close to an orgasm thanks to nothing more than my hardness pressed against her clit.

  “Ah! Ah! Ah!” she moans softly when she comes, squeezing my fingers tighter with hers. Her arousal floods my cock while she trembles against me.

  “Ride me, gorgeous,” I tell her. “I thought we were coping, not torturing tonight.” And Mina does help me cope with…everything. She somehow manages to soothe and repair my tattered soul.

  Sitting up shakily, Mina fists my cock and then impales herself down my length.

  “Ugh, God!” she moans as our bodies join, mine invading, hers weeping in welcome. “I never knew sex could feel so good,” she says as she starts to move while returning her fingers to interlace them with mine again.

  “That’s just you and me, gorgeous,” I tell her. “We’re good together.”

  Her lips cover mine, kissing me with a hunger for more. More of this, more for us. She is so damn close to breaking, I just know it. We’re both close, so fucking close. I barely hold off until she gasps and tightens around my cock; then we’re coming together so hard the room spins.

  A bright light explodes behind my eyelids, and it takes me a second to realize it’s the ceiling fan lights shining down on us.

  “Oh shit,” Mina says as she starts to scramble off of me.

  Reaching down, I quickly yank the bed covers up over us while rolling on top of Mina to block her from view before I even glance at the doorway to see who caught us.

  Fuck.

  My father is beyond pissed. His face is so red and angry that I wouldn’t be surprised if he strokes out.

  Mina clutches my shoulders to her tightly with her head turned away, facing the opposite wall to avoid seeing his wrath.

  “Get out,” my father eventually snarls at me through clenched teeth.

  Well, I expected more of the “What the hell are you two thinking?” type response from him rather than just tossing me out on my ass.

  “Get out!” He bellows the words this time when I don’t move.

  “Okay, fine,” I say. “Leave so I can get dressed.”

  “No,” Mina exclaims, her fingernails digging painfully into my bare back, keeping me in place above her.

  “Come with me,” I look down and urge her. Her icy blue eyes tell me her answer before she says the words.

  “I-I can’t.”

  “What’s going on?” I hear Mina’s mother ask from the hallway.

  “Go back to bed!” my dad barks at her.

  “Mina, please,” I beg.

  Tears form in her eyes, and she shakes her head.

  Fuck. I hate hurting her, but I don’t have a choice. Time’s up. I’m all out of options.

  “He’s paying that asshole to be with you,” I tell her. “Derek’s car, house, law school, Mike paid for it all. That’s the only reason he’s marrying you.”

  “No,” Mina says with an adamant shake of her head. “That’s…there’s no way. Derek loves me. He would’ve told me…”

  “He doesn’t love you, and you sure as fuck don’t love him either. I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I didn’t want to have to tell you, but you’re so damn stubborn you left me no choice!”

  “He’s lying to you, Willow,” my dad says. “Don’t let him drag you away. Your sister needs you here. And so does your brother.”

  “What the fuck!” I shout, whipping my head around to glare at my father. “That’s bullshit! Why would I make any of this up?”

  “You should go,” Mina says on a sob from below me.

  “Fuck that! I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You’ve got five minutes to get your shit and get out,” my father warns me.

  While I want nothing more than to go over and get in his face, if I move off of Mina she’ll be exposed. So, I go the verbal, slightly childish, route.

  “Make me, old man.”

  A moment of dead silence.

  “I-I’ll call the cops,” he threatens.

  Goddamn him.

  I kiss a tear on Mina’s cheek before I climb off of her, quickly pulling up the sheet to make sure she’s covered before I yank on a pair of boxer briefs. Then, I stroll over until I’m toe to toe with my father, who’s only wearing the same amount of clothing. Crossing my arms over my chest, I look down at him for a few seconds from my several inches of height advantage.

  “If you call the police, it’s gonna be to report my fist smashing into your fucking face,” I tell him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You’re a worthless piece of shit. That’s all you’ll ever be, with no more than the clothes on your back. So don’t even think of dragging her down into the gutter with you!” my father snarls.

  His words are brutal, but I’ve heard them all before when I was an eighteen-year-old scared little boy. Back then, I would’ve given anything to be more than a disappointing castoff to my father. That kid wanted to earn some sort of respect or approval from this man, but now I know that nothing I do will ever be good enough for this asshole. No, his insults are not what push me from stewing to boiling over. That happens when his dark, greedy eyes look beyond me to where Mina is still lying in bed, naked and vulnerable underneath only a thin sheet.

  “Stop looking at her,” I growl at him while shoving his chest, forcing him back into the hallway. His back hits the opposite wall with a loud thud, and he nearly loses his balance. “You got an eyeful when you barged in on us, and for that alone, I want to gouge your goddamn eyeballs out. Don’t give me another reason to blind you,” I say in warning before I slam the bedroom door in his face.

  Since the lock obviously isn’t worth a shit, I drag Mina’s heavy dresser over in front of the door to block it.

  My chest is still heaving from anger and exertion when I turn back around to face Mina. With the overhead lights still on, her ivory skin is noticeably paler, her blue eyes wide in fear.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her when I walk over and climb back on the bed. “I hate that he saw you…”

  She shakes her head. “It was probably my fault for, um, being too loud,” she says.

  “Do you really want me to go?” I ask her.

  “No,” she whispers. Reaching for my face, she pulls me down on top of her. “And don’t let him take away your pride or dignity or self-respect. He doesn’t deserve anything from you,” she tells me against my lips before kissing them. “What he said…none of that’s true. You’re a better man than him. So much better.”

  “You think so?” I ask her between kisses.

  “Yes.”

  “But other than a few fucks, I’m apparently not good enough for you either,” I angrily point out to her.

  Chapter Twenty

  Mina

  But other than a few fucks, I’m apparently not good enough for you either.

  “You’ve got it all wrong. It’s not about you or me,” I try to explain to Patrick, who’s looking down at me so dejectedly and furiously that it sends a stabbing pain through my heart. “If I could choose for myself, I would choose you.”

  “You can choose for yourself!” he argues. “And I swear I’m telling you t
he truth, Mina. Ask your asshole fiancé. He’s scared shitless of losing his bankroll!”

  That’s impossible. I refuse to believe Derek would keep something like that from me. He loves me and would never do anything so horrible, knowing how much it would hurt me. While I may not be in love with him, I know he’s a good guy and trust him not to stoop so low.

  And, God, I wish I could just be honest with Patrick, tell him the truth about everything. But Patrick was ready to beat his father bloody just for looking at me. If he ever finds out what he’s done, how many times he’s hurt me, Patrick would likely kill him for it. I sure as hell don’t want Patrick to end up spending his life behind bars for a past that he can’t change. He’s been through his own miserable hell and deserves to be happy, even if it’s not with me.

  “Please don’t be angry with me,” I tell Patrick, stroking my palm over his soft, bronze beard covering his jaw.

  “How do you expect me to just stand there and watch you marry another man in two days?” he asks, and I feel the angry tick in his jaw.

  “The same way I plan to get through it,” I tell him. “Pretend he’s you.”

  “God, you are so fucking confusing,” he growls, lowering his forehead to mine. “Do you want me to be the asshole who speaks now instead of forever holding his peace? Is that what you want me to do? Embarrass myself in front of a church full of people? Because I will. I don’t care who it pisses off.”

  “No,” I reply, fully aware that I’ve given Patrick nothing but mixed signals. It’s not fair to him that I’m being a selfish bitch, wanting what I can’t have for as long as he’ll give it to me. Trying to lighten the mood, to take back the words I mean but can’t own up to, I tell him, “I would rather you hide underneath my dress with your tongue between my legs during the entire ceremony.”

  My sexually charged words work. Patrick chuckles.

  “Your way is much better. Then you’ll be the one screaming, unable to hold your peace,” he tells me.

  “How scandalous,” I reply with a giggle.

  “Tonight’s my last night here,” Patrick says, which quickly sobers me up. Now, instead of an immeasurable amount of sadness, there’s panic bubbling up inside me.

  “What? No. Tomorrow night –” I try to explain, but he interrupts.

  “Mina, I can’t. Every second I spend with you makes it that much harder to think about leaving. Watching you walk down the aisle…” He shakes his head. “Not gonna happen. Besides, my dad’s gonna stroke out if I don’t go.”

  That wouldn’t be a bad thing. In fact, it would solve all of my problems…

  I watch as Patrick climbs off the bed to go and flip the switch, turning off the lights. Once the room is dark again, he crawls back into bed behind me, wrapping me in his strong arms.

  “Let me just hold you for a few more hours,” he says, looking down at me with an intensity that makes me feel cherished and loved. “That’s why you came in here, right?”

  “Yeah,” I answer on a sigh. “You make me feel safe.”

  “At least I’m good for something,” he says with a kiss to my shoulder. “I would never let anything or anyone hurt you.”

  “I know,” I reply as a few tears slip down my cheeks.

  Patrick has no idea what he’s been protecting me from or what monsters I’ll face after he leaves. And I’m certain I won’t ever be able to tell him because he’s too good of a man to serve a life sentence behind bars for me. Patrick’s suffered enough for several lifetimes, and this isn’t his burden to bear. He not only deserves a normal, happy life, but he’s earned it.

  That doesn’t mean I’ll be able to forget him or stop thinking about him every second after he’s gone and my nightmare resumes. For now, though, I’ll fall asleep and dream of the fairy tale, the one where my fighter rescues me from my wicked stepfather and then promises to keep me safe forever instead of for just one last night.

  …

  I wake up to the birds chirping happily outside my window, the sun shining brightly while I lie alone in a cold, empty bed. My heart stutters with the realization that Patrick is gone. I already miss his arms around me, his golden gaze looking at me like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him.

  Rolling over, I find a handwritten note on his pillow, scribbled words on a cardboard box that says, “Just because I have to leave now doesn’t mean I won’t come back if you need me. Here’s my phone number and address. Please give it to Michael and Bridgette and tell them the same goes for them. I can’t leave you my heart, but I’ll leave behind all that I am or ever will be.”

  Underneath the note with his contact information is the ball chain necklace with his two metal dog tags, his proudest accomplishment.

  I slip the necklace over my head, and either the cool aluminum on my bare chest or the significance of everything it stands for sends cold chills up and down my arms.

  Patrick’s gone for good, just like I knew all along would eventually happen.

  And that hurts worse than anything his father’s ever done to me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Trick

  Just as the sun was coming up, I wrote my goodbye to Mina before pushing her dresser back against the wall and sneaking out of the quiet house. Like my father said, my duffle bag and the clothes on my back are pathetically everything I own.

  As I walk down the street, I call information to get the number for a cab company and wait for them to pick me up at a nearby service station.

  Am I dreading leaving? Fuck yes. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, walking away from Mina when all I want is to be with her. I wanted her to be on the plane with me, heading back to Cary so we could start a life together. Instead, in less than thirty-six hours, she’ll begin her life with someone else. A man my father paid to be with her and who doesn’t love her.

  Not for the first time, I debate having the cab take me to the asshole’s house to kill him with my bare hands. But that wouldn’t be fair to him. It’s not his fault that Mina insists on marrying him. What bothers me is how much she trusts him when she shouldn’t, even after I told her the truth.

  Maybe my father is right, and despite what she said, this is about money. Financial security is the one thing I can’t give her, at least not until I sign the IFC contract and win a few fights. My bank account would never be as big as she’s used to; but for some stupid reason, I thought that if she cared about me, that wouldn’t matter. Guess I was wrong.

  After the cab drops me off at the airport, I go in and up to one of the airline counters to find out how long I’ll have to wait for a flight home. It turns out that the next flight to Raleigh-Durham International Airport isn’t until Sunday, the day I was originally supposed to fly back.

  Fuck.

  Now my ass is stuck in Daytona unless I want to rent a car and drive nine hours or take a bunch of connecting flights.

  Walking out of the airport, I have no idea where to tell the cab driver to take me. So I tell him to go to the boardwalk. When we get back in town, though, I see a sign that must have been destined, so I ask the driver to pull over at the Harley Davidson store. That’s right, I’m gonna buy a motorcycle. My Jeep is ancient but still manages to get me around. I’m thinking that if I’m gonna be fucking alone, I would at least like to drive around town in something a little more fun.

  Inside the store, I walk around and pick out a sleek, black street bike and a full-face helmet. Now, there’s one less thing I have to worry about. I can leave town right this second instead of waiting until Sunday with the temptation of doing what I threatened Mina with --- stopping her wedding.

  With only a little paperwork, since I’m paying cash from the tournament money, I call my insurance company, and everything is taken care of. Once I get back to Cary, I’ll need to go to the DMV to get my motorcycle license. In the meantime, I’ll just ride illegally and be extra careful on the road.

  Not that I’m heading home yet.

  Instead, I shove my duffle bag
into the storage compartment under the seat and then find myself driving back in a familiar neighborhood where I pull over on the side of the road close enough to watch my father’s house from the street. There’s no way to know for sure who is home without looking in the garage, but I’m a patient man. So, I sit and wait.

  I know I should turn my bike around and head north; but for some reason, I just can’t make myself leave. Everything with Mina still feels…unfinished. Or maybe I just want to stick around and see if she’ll actually marry the asshole or not tomorrow. Until then, there’s still hope that she’ll change her mind. Of course, I’m not gonna hold my breath waiting for that to happen, but I can’t let go of that small shred of hope left in me.

  A half hour or so later, Mina’s Mercedes pulls out of the driveway with the convertible top up today, and I follow a ways behind her through several streets until we reach some type of spa. I camp out in front of the place and take off my helmet, not really sure what I’m doing or why. All I know is that I can’t leave her yet.

  Or maybe I’m stalking her with the intention of waiting until she’s alone, throwing her on the back of my new bike and kidnapping her.

  It sucks that Mina didn’t believe me when I told her my dad had paid off the groom. Guess she doesn’t want to see the truth for whatever reason. It feels like I’m missing a huge piece of the puzzle, but the rest of the pieces I do have are too scrambled to even begin to figure out. There’s no way what we had was just a physical connection. I feel this growing need for her all the way to my soul. Since the moment I saw Mina Saturday night in a room full of people, it’s only been intensifying.

  She’s mine.

  Is Mina worried about what everyone would think about us being together because we’re related by marriage? So fucking what? It’s not like we planned for our parents to meet and get married. Being separated from Mina is an aching longing within my soul that’s becoming more painful the longer I’m away from her. Leaving her this morning was excruciating and bordering on regretful. Which is probably why I’m still in town, stalking her.