by Carly White
Now it was almost time for our son to be born and I was putting the finishing touches on the baby room. The furniture was put together and everything was set. I heard a noise in the other room and I stopped for a second. It didn’t sound like Laney. She was large and loud at this point in her pregnancy and would usually call out to me when she was home.
I hadn’t wanted her to go out alone, but she insisted. Laney was a hard woman to get along with, so used to doing things her own way. A touch could usually tame her. But it wasn’t her that was making soft noises as someone who didn’t want to be heard did.
The hairs went up on the back of my neck and I moved to the side of the wall. I saw the gun before I saw the man and grabbed it out of response. He pulled a shot off and I hear the loud ringing in my ears from it being discharged so close. The bullet went into the wall behind to me because I ducked in time.
I didn’t need to see the shooter to know who they were or at least, who had sent them. It didn’t matter how loyal I was, I knew once I left the gang, the boss would send people out looking for me. It was just too soon and I was racking my brain trying to figure out how they found me there. I moved back behind the wall and waited.
“Come out Grady. Loch has decided to give you a slide this one time if you come back now.”
Loch didn’t let anything slide, so I knew it wasn’t true. The fact that he had already squeezed off a shot was a good indication that what he said was a lie. Loch wanted me dead. I knew that.
I would have waited him out if it wasn’t for the familiar sound of Laney in the hallway, coming up the stairs. I moved out in front of him, knocking the gun out of his hands and putting my hand over his mouth. The last thing I wanted was for Laney to walk in on it. I didn’t want her to always be looking over her shoulder. Ignorance was bliss in this scenario.
Dragging the other man to the kitchen, his struggles were lessening and by the time she made it to the front door, he was out of sight. I didn’t know if he was dead, but he was out of the equation for the moment.
“Grady? Why is the door open?”
I put a smile on my face and shut the door on the incapacitated would-be attacker. “Sorry love. I was just about to check the mail when I had to use the restroom. How was your day? Did you get any shopping done?”
She smiled back at me and waddled towards me. She looked ready to pop and there had never been anything more beautiful that I had seen in all of my life. Laney practically glowed. The kiss got heated quickly and I had to push her away before I forgot what was going on.
“Is smells strange in here. Like something is burning.”
“Oh, I just put a candle out. I know how you like the smell of the cookie one.”
“Yes, it’s making me hungry and I have to pee.”
“I steered her away from the bathroom. “Why don’t we go out? I know you don’t feel like cooking and it’s been a while since we went out just because.”
Laney was happy with the surprise. “Sure that sounds good.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I ushered her out the door. She stopped and looked back for a minute at the wall in front of her and then walked towards the car. Laney waited for me to open the door and then got in. I closed it and went around to the driver’s side. “So are you really not going to tell me why there is a bullet in the wall or why there was a gun shot in the house?”
I looked over at her stunned. How did she always know? “Laney, I…”
“Was it Loch that sent him?”
I nodded and started the car. “So we have to move again?”
I shook my head again and she sighed. “Well I really liked that place. How many times is he going to make us move? The baby is going to be here soon, we need to take care of it.”
She was scary sometimes. There was no other way about it and I couldn’t help but think that she would have been someone I could have worked the business with. There was something sexy when she acted tough. I knew that I was part of the reason I had been drawn to her no-nonsense way and I loved what Laney had become. “I will take care of it. You don’t worry about anything.”
Resting her head on my shoulder, I heard her sigh. “With you next to me, how can I worry about anything? I know you take care of what is yours.”
Choked
A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Sports Romance
By: Carly White
Chapter 1: Denise
“Come here baby.”
I felt a hand grab my butt and I turned around. Antony Frost had his hot hand on my ass. He was one of the fighters that had just fought in the octagon. I was just there to congratulate my uncle that had just had his last fight of his career.
“Hands off. I am not one of the groupies.”
His dark eyes twinkled, but he removed the offensive touch and let me walk away. “You could be.”
I looked back and shrugged. “Looks like you have enough.”
There were girls lined up to see the two stepbrothers. Since coming to the MMA scene the year before, Antony and Mike Frost had made a name for themselves. The women loved them for their ripped abs and tattooed biceps. I had been around those types of men my whole life and while they were impressive, I wasn’t that impressed.
Uncle Ray moved out of the changing room and I gave him a big hug. He had a few girls following him too like a fly to honey, but I ignored them. “You looked good tonight. Are you okay?”
I knew that it would be hard for him to give up the spotlight, but his body was not made for the abuse anymore. He had sadness in his look, but he covered it quickly with a smile. I knew that he would miss it, but I hoped that his charity work would keep him busy. He had teamed up with several charities to be their spokesperson now that he had no contracts with the MMA. Ray was going to miss the action, but he had earned a break from it.
“So did you want to get something to eat? How long are you in town for?”
“Of course, I am always hungry. I’m here for a week, but I was hoping to check out some internships while I was here.”
He shook his head. “I just can’t believe that you would want to get into this business.”
It wasn’t the first time I had heard that. Ray didn’t understand why I loved entertainment so much. I had spent my childhood watching him as a wrestler and then as a MMA fighter. I used to cherish the tension and the way the audience held their breath in each fight. I wanted to make people feel the same way and having him as my uncle, opened doors in the sports entertainment region and I would be a fool not to take advantage of it.
“You know I have always loved it. Besides, I won’t be the one flinging myself around. Behind the camera producing it is much better.”
“Fine, but I don’t like you around all these guys anymore.”
I had to giggle. He was just like my father, always looking out for me, whether I liked it or not. “You used to love bringing me here before.”
“That’s before you grew up. Back then, you would recite stats like you knew them by heart. It was cute. Now…”
“It’s not that bad. Just a few gropes today.”
His eyes narrowed and I wished I hadn’t said anything. “Who?”
I was tempted to rat out the man, but I didn’t want things to get ugly. “No one Ray, calm down. Let’s go get something to eat.”
***
When we got to his favorite restaurant, there were several fighters there from the fight. I wanted a nice, quiet meal, but I soon found myself at a huge table with the guys I had watched fight in the octagon earlier in the evening. Antony and Mike were there and I caught them looking at me, Antony saying something in his stepbrother’s ear. It became clear that they didn’t know who I was by the way they kept looking at Ray.
Going to the bathroom, when I came back out, Antony was standing there. His dark eyes looked down at me as if I were a meal.
“When you said you weren’t a groupie; I didn’t realize that you meant not one of mine. How does an old guy like Ray get a hot chick like you to chase
after him?”
This guy was insufferable and I tried to walk away before he grabbed my arm to stop me. “Get your hands off of me. I thought we went through this before?”
“Just tell me why him?”
“Uncle Ray invited me here for his last big match. Why him, because he is my dad’s brother. Now get your hands off of me.”
He did, almost immediately and I could see regret in his eyes. My uncle may have been older, but there was no way that anyone wanted to mess with him. He was known for being mean and protecting his family was one of his great causes. He had gone to jail several times for fighting with people that messed with his wife. He would do no less for me and I knew that.
“Sorry I didn’t know that you were his niece. Why didn’t I ever know about you?”
“I can think of a few reasons. Now if you are done, I need to go.”
He let me walk away, but I could feel the burn in the back of me from his gaze. I looked back once and he had a look of surprise on his face. I didn’t know if it was because of who I was or that I had turned him down. I doubted that many people told him no.
When we got back to the table, Ray was looking passed me towards Antony. “He didn’t bother you, did he?”
I shook my head that he hadn’t. I didn’t much care for his style, but Antony was too pretty to fight Ray. I was sure that he would ruin his pretty boy face.
“No, he seems pretty harmless.”
Ray laughed. “I’ve never heard anyone describe him as harmless. Just be careful around these guys, you are too pretty for your own good. You don’t know what they would do to you if they got ahold of a good girl like you.”
I nodded like I understood, but there was a hint of a smile on my face. It wasn’t the first time I had been called a good girl.
Chapter 2: Denise
I had an interview the next day for the production crew that produces most of the west coast MMA fights. I knew it was a long shot, but even an internship would be a step in the right direction. My parents weren’t too keen on me going into that line of work, neither was my uncle, but it was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make great television, great entertainment. So to say that I was nervous about the interview was an understatement.
I had done my homework and I knew that the man doing the hiring had a thing for younger women. I used that to my advantage, making sure that I wore something tight and short. It was a low blow, but I knew that men couldn’t think when there were tatas on display.
Finishing up my makeup, I made my way down to Cross Productions. It was located in the same building as one of the larger MMA sites and I ran into a couple of familiar faces while I was there. I nodded towards Antony and he gave me one of those disarming looks. Ignoring him, I moved into Wesley’s office after I talked to his assistant. “He’s on the phone, but he will be with you in just a moment Miss. Lace.”
Thanking her, I waited in the small chair that faced him while he spoke quietly into the phone. I crossed my legs and looked at some of the awards and degrees on his wall. He had more than most people and I took it as vanity. The way he looked at my legs, told me all I needed to know about him.
Finally he hung up and gave me and my legs, his full attention. “Denise Lace, right?”
I stood up, leaning over slightly and shaking his hand. I knew where his eyes went next and I had to thank the pushup bra that had been stupefying men for years. “It is so nice to meet you Sir. I have always loved the sport and you make it so entertaining.”
He nodded his head like he was used to hearing compliments. I waited for him to say something else, but he was lost in his lustful look. I started to think that maybe I had went too far with the shirt because he had lost all train of thought it looked like.
“So what makes you qualified for this internship?”
Wesley had my resume in front of him, the answers were right there, but it looked like he was wanting something else than what was on the paper. “I’ve been a fan for a long time Sir.”
“A fan? We have plenty of those, what makes you the right one for the job?”
It irked me, the way he said it. Like me going to a good school and graduating top of my class wasn’t enough. He was going to make me use the one upper hand that I had. The one I said I wouldn’t use, but I had a feeling he already knew anyways. “I am not just a fan Sir, but my family has been in the business for a couple of decades, so I have watched hundreds of matches, as well as knowing most of your current fighters. This will give me a rapport with them that you will find hard in another candidate.”
“There are no other candidates. I think everyone here knows who you are. You are Ray’s niece, right?”
I nodded my head, inwardly groaning at how he was acting. Of course he knew. I just hoped that he knew that the very fact that Ray was my uncle would make me off limits to him. He looked at me like I was a piece of meat and I can’t say that I liked it. If I got the job, which didn’t actually even pay, I would not be staying around him much. Wesley was a dangerous man, I came to realize in the interview. Maybe I didn’t want to work for a man like that.
“So if there is no one else, am I to assume that I have it?”
“Yes Denise. I can’t think of anyone that is more qualified for the job. We are a family here and you are already family.”
I stood up and shook the offered hand. There was a moment where his fingers played with the inside of my palm, but I ignored it. If he got too randy, it wasn’t like I didn’t know plenty of people to get him to calm down. He gave me a schedule for the next week and I told him I would see him in the morning.
Walking out, I felt giddy. It was the job that I had focused on for a long time and I couldn’t believe that I had gotten it. All I had ever wanted to do was make good entertainment. Seeing all the men shirtless and in their prime, was just a bonus.
I stopped to watch a couple guys that were sparring with each other. One of them was Mike and like his stepbrother, he was looking pretty good in the ring. The two both held titles, Mike in a heavier weight class. He was huge and was nicknamed the Beast for a reason. Watching him fight, it was hard to tell that he was almost 200 pounds. It was all muscle though and watching him work out was hypnotic at best.
“So I see you aren’t here with your uncle today.”
I looked over and it was Antony. “No not today. His big hooray was yesterday.”
“So are you here to see me?”
I shook my head that I wasn’t. “I was here for an interview. You should tell your brother to cover his face better. Wouldn’t want someone to mess up his pretty smile.”
“So you like my brother huh?”
“He is good in the ring. I am sure he will do well for his next title match. You have one coming up too, don’t you?”
“I do. But you didn’t answer my question.”
“Which was?”
“Do you like my brother?”
I shook my head. “I like him, he is a good fighter.”
“And me?”
“You are good as well.”
He moved closer to me and I took a step back. “That isn’t what I meant.”
“Well it is what I meant. I work here now, so my thoughts on the two of you will always be strictly business.”
“Then why are you shaking?”
I tried to stop, but it was hard not to around him. It wasn’t fear that drove me, but something else. Didn’t he know how he affected women? I smiled back up at him and moved away. “It’s a bit chilly in here. I guess you guys don’t realize it because you are moving around so much.”
“You want to spar, get you all nice and warm?”
I looked down at the heels and skirt. “No, but thank you for the offer Antony. Good luck at your match tonight.”
I walked away before I could get roped into anymore verbal sparring with him. I looked back once, I couldn’t help it and I wish I hadn’t. He had a smile that was both charming and disarming, but a little smug that made me nervous. Guys like hi
m were the ones to stay away from.
Chapter 3: Antony
I watched her walk away, still unsure what it was about her that made me want to take her and bend her over the nearest chair. Maybe it was because I couldn’t have her, but there was something about Denise that drove me insane.
“What are you looking at bro?”
Mike was done with his training and I was ready to go. He saw the young blonde woman leaving and that one last look that told me she was interested, even if she didn’t show it. There was a smile on her face and it gave me hope that there was a chance with her after all.
“That’s Ray’s niece, Denise.”
“I didn’t know he had a niece. She is hot. You going to hit that?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t sure if I would or not, but I wanted to. “Well if you aren’t going to Antony, I am going to give it a try.”
“Have you seen Ray in the ring?”
He shrugged. “Ray is an old man. I am not worried about him.”
“I think she works here now.”
Mike shook his head. “Well you know that it is Wesley’s then.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He only hires girls if they are easy and sleezy.”
I didn’t agree with him. Denise didn’t seem like either, if anything, she was the opposite of the women that we usually got there. She was definitely not a groupie, though I really wish she was.
“Trust me, she is neither. I don’t know why she is working here. Maybe it’s because of her uncle, but I think she is going to be in production.”
“You always did like those smart girls brother. I try to tell you that they are more trouble than they are worth.”
“Sounds to me like you don’t believe you can get in those panties.”
Mike smiled big. “Have you ever known me to not get what I wanted?”
I hadn’t. He was one of those people that always got what they wanted. Ever since our parents got married when we were young, I hated that about him. He could bat his blue eyes at pretty much anyone and it didn’t matter their age, if they were female, they were going to do what he asked. I felt a wager coming on and though it wouldn’t be the first time, it felt wrong in some way. I didn’t want him to even try, but I could tell that he knew that.