Protect and Serve: Soldiers, SEALs and Cops: Contemporary Heroes from NY Times and USA Today and other bestselling authors

by J. M. Madden

  Steel’s fist connected with the side of my head, and I fell against the side of the cage—dazed for a split second—before coming back at him with a roar. My shoulder slammed into his gut, right where it needed to be to knock the wind from the bastard. Fuck, my dick was overriding my ability to fight.

  I kept my forward momentum going, driving Steel across the center of the cage, and when I had enough force behind me, I lowered my stance and sent him careening over my shoulder. There was an excited roar from the crowd, and I turned on my heel. Steel was on the ground, gasping for air while trying to push himself back onto his feet. Stubborn prick.

  Crowbar had been an easy enough fight, but tonight was working me hard. Steel was a tough contender and had me running in circles, until now. I had a chance to end the fight before he could end me.

  I came round back and kicked his weight from underneath him. He’d gotten in some good hooks while I was fantasizing about fucking Charlotte, and I’d have the lump on my skull to prove it tomorrow.

  Shoving a knee into his back, I raised a fist for the knockout, the crowd smashing their feet against the bleachers and rattling the cage.

  Tap Steel, I thought. Fuckin’ tap.

  He struggled underneath me, his pride driving him to what would be a painful end. He left me no choice.

  I struck, my fist slamming hard against his head, and he went limp.

  KO.

  ***

  It was part of the scene, but I never liked knockouts. Those were the rules The Underground flew by, few though they were, and I had to abide by them. Fight until someone taps or can no longer continue. Fighter’s code.

  Out back, the noise from the arena was muffled, which was heaven for my aching head. It throbbed where Steel had clocked me one, but the headache tablets were already doing their thing. He would be cursing me until the day he died or until he managed to get me back. Fifteen minutes later, he was still out on a stretcher, dead to the fuckin’ world.

  Yeah, we all got hurt here, some guys got hurt beyond repair, but we all knew the risks when we signed up. Willing participants only. Still felt bad when I had to punch a guy into darkness.

  Splashing water on my face, I gave myself one last look in the mirror before I pulled on a shirt and left the change room to go claim my prize.

  Charlotte.

  It had been a good win. A really fucking good win.

  Stepping out into the hall, my gaze collided with the woman herself. All five-nine, blonde hair, blue eyes, legs up to her armpits, inch of her.

  She was standing in the exact same place I’d found her the other night, and it got me to thinking that it wasn’t a coincidence. She was looking for something, but who knew what. A pretty thing like her had to be trouble if it was more than fucking she was after. I wasn’t even sure she wanted that despite her body telling me otherwise. People with motives in this place were a dangerous combination.

  I stood behind her, and she jumped, turning to face me with a hand over her heart. She was definitely up to something.

  “Again?,” I asked, watching her reaction.

  “I was looking for you…” she said, trailing off. “Double or nothing, remember?”

  I saw right through her lie, but I still wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She had an agenda, but I wasn’t sure if I was a part of it just yet.

  “No runnin’ this time?” I drawled.

  She shook her head, her blue eyes never leaving mine. Bold little thing. Seemed to have grown in her overnight.

  My gaze dropped to her lips before returning to her baby blues. “Who are you, Charlotte?”

  She swallowed hard. “Call me Charlie,” she said. “Nobody calls me Charlotte.”

  I edged closer, positioning my body right in front of hers. We were close enough to touch, the air seeming to charge between us…a promise to what was coming. I didn’t make a move, letting the anticipation do all the work.

  “Why did you come to The Underground, Charlie?” I let the sound of her name wrap around my tongue and let it wash over her. There was a great deal of power in a name. A great fucking deal.

  Her breathing began to quicken. “I wanted something more.”

  Raising my hand, I picked up a lock of her hair and twisted it around my finger. It looked like gold. “More?”

  “I was unhappy,” she said in a rush.

  “Boyfriend treat you bad?” I asked, my gaze rising to meet hers.

  She shook her head. “There is no boyfriend.”

  If there was, he was a fool for letting her come to a place like this alone. She was a baby fucking lamb in a den of foxes. Best I devour her before they did.

  I closed the inch of space between us, my hand burying into her hair, and crashed my mouth against hers. Her lips parted in a gasp, and I curled my tongue around hers, taking. I was in command, and right now, she was mine.

  NINE

  CHARLOTTE

  Rebel kissed me hard, like a man who’d been starved of the taste of a woman for a long time.

  He dominated like he did in the cage, taking without permission and devouring. He tasted like salt and copper…like a man who fought.

  Normally, I would’ve been offended by his brazen attitude toward women, but I liked it. I liked it so much I clutched onto him, moaning softly against his mouth. No man had ever kissed me as thoroughly and with as much desire as Rebel.

  When he pulled away, I gasped and ran my hands up his hard chest, wrapping my arms around his neck. I didn’t want him to stop. A smile tugged at his lips, and he leaned closer, pressing a chaste kiss against my mouth.

  “Want to get out of here?” he growled, pressing his hard-on against my lower belly.

  It was a question, but I was smart enough to understand that it was rhetorical. He already knew he had me—hook, line, and sinker. I was being a fucking idiot, risking my life and career, but I couldn’t give a damn. The only thing I wanted right now was this man…in me.

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. My entire body was alive, aroused, primed…and all it took was one kiss.

  I allowed him to lead me from The Underground like a lost little lamb. I could hardly see the world around us as his fingers tightened around mine. I was a hundred dollars richer because of his fight, but I didn’t give two shits about the money.

  I walked through the darkened street, my hand firmly lodged in Rebel’s, my thoughts absolutely scattered. He stopped us beside a car and unlocked the door for me, gesturing for me to get inside. This must be his. I got inside, trusting the guy more than I probably should, and sat in silence as he drove us through Melbourne’s streets.

  Every so often, he’d let his hand fall from the steering wheel and rest over mine, his fingers stroking my skin. It felt good to have a man’s hand on me again, and the promise of what he was going to do to me once we arrived at his place was heavy in the air. I squirmed in my seat, and Rebel caught my eyes, his lips quirking. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, and when I glanced at his crotch, his smiled widened.

  Guess I wasn’t alone in that one and the thought made me feel powerful.

  Pulling the car off the street and into a block of apartments, he parked out back and led me up a set of stairs to number ten. Deftly unlocking the door, he pushed inside and turned to pull me in behind him.

  The moment the door closed behind us, Rebel had me against his chest, his lips meeting mine. His tongue was hot and wet against mine as he walked me backward down the hall, his hands exploring my body through my clothes. Massaging my breasts, he moaned softly into my mouth, forcing his hardening cock against my clit.

  “Longest drive ever,” he growled.

  “I’ll say.” There were way too many clothes between us for my liking.

  We finally stopped out backward walk and he shoved the jacked from my shoulders and curled his hands into the hem of my T-shirt, tugging it upward and off. Without a word, his fingers unhooked my bra, and I allowed the straps to slip from my shoulders. Cool air hit my h
eated skin as I reached out for him, wanting to feel his naked chest against mine.

  He shook his head, curling his fingers around my wrists. Pinning my hands behind my back, his tongue swirled around my nipple, and I pushed into him, wanting more. Teeth grazed and then bit hard. Breaking free, I thrust my hands into his hair, closing my eyes as sensation overloaded my brain.

  “So beautiful,” he murmured, kissing a trail between one nipple to the other before repeating the process with the other.

  Fisting his hand into the back of his T-shirt, he pulled it over his head and shoved down his shorts until he stood before me in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. My gaze drank him in greedily, following every muscle over his chest and abs before settling right on the money shot. He was hard, I could see it through the material.

  Pushing me gently on to the be, he climbed on top of me and pushed my legs open, kissing the inside of my thigh.

  “What do you want, Charlie?” he murmured, his chocolate eyes holding mine.

  “You. In me.”

  His eyes darkened and he climbed over me, his lips kissing a path from my clit upward. I felt the trail of fire he left behind, aching to be taken all the way. I’d never been so damn turned on in my entire life. He’d gotten my juices flowing with nothing but anticipation. He was every woman’s dream, indulging in foreplay. My word.

  Running my hands down his back, I shoved them underneath his boxers and dug my fingernails into his ass cheeks. Rebel hissed, his mouth clamping down on my nipple and sucking hard.

  Pulling away, he sat back on his knees and rubbed his hands along my stomach, over my breasts, and back down again. He then his fingertips teased my clit, rubbing slow circles around the tiny ball of nerves.

  I cried out, palming my breasts, rolling my hips against his hand to work him harder.

  “Fuck, Charlie,” he murmured, shoving off is boxers. “I never thought…” Reaching off to the side, he came back with a condom and fisted his cock, rolling it over his erection.

  Pushing my legs wider, he opened me up, pulling me onto his lap, my back still resting against the mattress. He positioned himself against my opening, dipping just inside.

  “Rebel,” I pleaded, the slight pressure sending shivers through my entire body.

  He sighed, his chest rising and falling before he pulled me up and onto his cock, the motion almost sending me over the edge. Letting his head fall back as he took me, he rubbed his palms over my abdomen, covering my hands that were still clamped onto my breasts. His gaze found mine as he forced me to massage my flesh as his hips rotated, driving himself further into my body.

  I felt him slide deep, deeper than I’d ever felt before. I knew he’d be good, but this was better than I’d been expecting. Fighting and fucking.

  Changing position, he covered my body with his, pulled his cock back to the tip, and then thrust. We came together hard, pleasure spiking with a sharp echo. He didn’t stop, taking me again and again, and I came up to meet him each time he struck.

  We fucked in tandem, pleasing one another as equals, and it was the hottest thing I’d ever experienced. He wasn’t chasing his own orgasm, not like those other men I’d been with, he was chasing mine as well. He was caring for me because if I blew around him, he would feel so much better for it.

  “I’m close,” I gasped as I felt the unbearable wave of pleasure begin to crest. “Harder.”

  Rebel complied with a grunt, sweat beading on his forehead. His lips found mine, his tongue slick against my own as we moved, and all too suddenly, I was crashing over the edge, my entire body coming alive with sensation.

  God, this man could fuck.

  I felt his body tense as I clenched around him and he came, thrusting erratically until he buried himself one last time and held. Our chests heaved as he emptied the last of himself into me, my legs wrapped tightly around his back, my fingers digging into his skin.

  “Charlie,” he murmured, his lips finding mine. We kissed long and slow, our breath mingling as we returned to ourselves.

  Fucking incredible.

  Sliding out, he rolled to the side and disposed of the condom. I stared up at the celling, rubbing my hands over my body. Satisfied had nothing on it—it was something more like epic.

  The mattress dipped as Rebel settled back beside me, and I began to wonder if this was my cue. He’d said nothing about staying or what would happen after. We’d been too intent on working out the attraction between us. We’d fuck then… Maybe I should go before I fell in deeper than I already was. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea.

  Rolling over, I began to sit up, wondering where all my clothes had gone, but Rebel grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back down. My back was flush against his chest, his crotch hard against my ass.

  “Where are you going?” he asked, tightening his grip.

  “Home,” I replied.

  “Done with me already?” His lips brushed along my shoulder.

  Hesitating, I allowed myself to sink back against him for a moment. “I thought…”

  “You thought wrong.”

  “But—”

  He bit down on my shoulder lightly, flexing his cock against my ass. “No buts, Charlie. I want you to stay. I’ll want to go again before morning.”

  Oh… It was an alien notion, but then again, I’d always been with guys who’d turned out to be lackluster idiots. Rebel had already been put on a pedestal, what else did he want from me?

  “Stop thinking about it,” he murmured, letting his head settle back against the pillow. “It’s getting you into trouble.”

  Boy, was it ever.

  ***

  Rebel kept true to his promise, waking me for another round of obliterating sex. As he did in the cage, he dominated, but his pleasure was mine. If I came, he came harder. Win-win.

  I’d well and truly crossed the line, but when I looked back…I couldn’t even tell where it was anymore. Career had been everything to me up until the point Rebel had kissed me against that wall at The Underground. I could no longer see the way ahead, and it was terrifying.

  Opening my eyes, I drank in the sight of his features. He was still asleep, his face peaceful, innocent. Here was an entirely different man to the one I’d met. He looked closer to his age, maybe twenty-five or twenty-six, his dark eyelashes resting against his cheek—eyelashes any woman would kill to have. He was a fierce yet beautiful man.

  His leg was threaded between mine, but that’s the only part of him that touched my body. We were apart but still connected despite not being wrapped around one another. I liked it. A lot.

  Sliding my legs from his, I slipped out of bed and fished around in the pile of our clothes for my T-shirt. Not finding it, I pulled on his instead and breathed deeply. Rebel’s scent filled my head, and I found myself smiling, my body still humming in the afterglow of an amazing night. Fuck, I was a goner. I’d fallen for the guy and already there were a shit ton of lies between us.

  Standing, I tiptoed across the room and out into the hall, searching for the bathroom. It was a tiny place, I hadn’t really had a chance to see any of it last night, but now that it was daylight, I could see that it was a modest little apartment. One bedroom by the looks of it. I found the toilet down the hall, separate from the little bathroom. Once I did my business, I poked my head into the living room. There was a small kitchenette attached, and I frowned at the threadbare belongings that were haphazardly arranged in the small space.

  Rebel must be earning a great deal of money fighting at The Underground, yet he lived in modest surroundings seemed to forgo material belongings… Who was this man, and where had he come from? I was beginning to realize there was a lot more to this man than met the eye. Lori had said he was smart, but the fighters in that place didn’t seem to strike me as the intelligent type. Physically intelligent, yeah, but book smart? Rebel was beginning to worm his way deeper under my skin the more I uncovered.

  Shaking my head, I discarded my wandering thoughts. What exac
tly was I investigating here? The Underground or Rebel?

  Easing back into the bedroom, I stilled as I saw Rebel sitting on the edge of the bed. He was naked and holding something that was mine.

  He held up the little black wallet I kept in my jeans pocket and flipped it open. “Detective Croft.”

  I froze, my blood beginning to race in my veins as I began to have heart palpitations. I leaned back against the wall, clutching at my chest as he held up my badge.

  “What are you really doing here, Charlie?” he asked, his expression hard. The man who’d spent all night making me feel like the only woman who mattered in the entire world was nowhere to be seen.

  “I—” I didn’t know what to say. It was my job to know what to say, but right now, I was doing pretty shit.

  “Are you playing me?”

  “No.”

  “Then what is this? I haven’t got any patience to deal with this shit.”

  “I told you,” I said firmly. “I told you in that hallway.”

  “You were unhappy…” His eyes narrowed dangerously.

  I nodded slowly, still too wary to move away from the wall. Rebel watched me watching him, and I could see the cogs turning in his head. Lori was right, he was a smart bastard, and I feared he was about to work me out.

  “You’re mixing with the wrong people,” he said finally. “They have no problems cleaning up any unfortunate messes.”

  I knew exactly what he was getting at. “I know.”

  “Then why would you risk it?” He stood, unashamed in his nakedness. “A woman alone in that place?”

  “A woman?” I asked, scowling.

  “It’s a man’s world despite the women’s league. You saw it, Charlie. It’s not a nice place. Especially for a cop.” He shook his head, raising a big hand to rub at the back of his neck. “If they found out what you do…”

  My eyes widened as I realized that he was worried about me, not himself. “You’re not going to say anything?”

  “Depends on your motives.”

  He didn’t know what I was really doing. He didn’t know that I was trying to crack The Underground. He just thought I was walking on the wild side. Good. I could protect him from the fall out when it was time to take them down. The less he knew the better.