“Aaaaah.” I shriek and step back into his chest, but he drops his arm to my waist and holds me tight. “The more you move, the more it will pinch. Now be a good girl and stay still.” He repeats the process with my other nipple, rolling it first, then affixing the clamp carefully just below where the piercing was. I give a small murmur of appreciation that he has remembered it is still tender, and then I gasp as a zing of pleasure pain shoots straight to my clit.
“Look at yourself,” Ray whispers in my ear as he points to the window. “So beautiful, I want everyone to see you. So precious, I will never let you go.”
Trying to ignore the throb in my nipples, I change my focus and catch a glimpse of myself in the window, my soft, curvy body against the hard planes of Ray’s chest, my skin pale against his darkness—and the twinkle of silverwork dangling from my nipples, brighter than the stars.
“I’m gonna fuck you against this window.” His voice drops to a husky growl. “And you’re gonna think about everyone watching. And it’s gonna make you hot. And it’s gonna make you wet. And when you come, you’re gonna scream so loud, everyone will hear you.”
“Soon?” I wiggle my ass against him. “I need to come so badly, I ache.”
“I know.” He strokes his thumb over my cheek. “And I know it hurts. But you’ll have to wait. You aren’t ready yet.”
A whine escapes my lips. “I’m so wet, it’s dripping down my thighs.”
“And it’s a beautiful sight.” He twines his hand through my hair and pulls my head back, then leans down and takes possession of my mouth. Hard, demanding, his kiss melts my body and my knees tremble. He tightens his fist, and his tongue plunges deep as he tugs gently on the right clamp with his free hand. With every tug, a bolt of lightning shoots straight to my core and my vision blurs.
Ray releases my hair and slides one hand over my throat, resting a finger in the hollow of the base as he continues to play with the clamps with his other hand. My breath catches as he increases the pressure ever so slightly.
“Easy, beautiful girl. It’s a lot to take. I’ll go slow.”
His erotic words spark a slow burn between my legs that spreads through my body like wildfire. I rock my hips, but all he does is turn his attention downward, cupping his hand over my sex and stroking along my folds, avoiding the one place I so desperately want to be stroked.
“You are mine, Sia. Mine to play with. Mine to love.”
“Yours.” Arousal rushes through me. The feeling of his hand on my neck, possessive and controlling, and yet safe and protecting, sweeps away the last vestiges of my anxiety about our show in the window and my body softens against him.
“That’s right,” he says. “Give it all to me.”
“Make me come.”
Ray laughs. “As you command, but I’m gonna take the clamps off first, and I won’t lie, it will hurt more than when they went on.”
He takes one off.
He does not lie.
I gasp as blood rushes to my breast. Ray leans down and draws my burning nipple into his mouth, soothing it with gentle licks of his tongue until I’m panting with need. Reaching down, I cup the steel of his erection in my palm, stroking him through his pajama pants, hopefully into a painful, desperate need to come. Like me.
The removal of the second clamp is even worse, his tongue even more arousing, and within moments, I am writhing in his arms, my only thought how I can get him inside me.
“Ray. Please.”
A slow, sensual smile spreads across his lips. “There we are. We’re gonna take back the night.”
He strips off his pajama pants and kneels naked in front of me, his erection huge and heavy between his legs. With infinite patience, he traces lazy circles along the sensitive skin of my inner thighs in a slow, tortuous tease, then parts my folds, holding me wide open. “I like to see your pussy all pink and wet and dripping for me.”
“I like to see your cock thrusting into my pussy,” I say, my usual reticence giving way to desperation. “I like to see it hard and hot and throbbing, sliding in and out, making me yours in every way you can take me.”
With a low growl, he shoots to his feet, cups my ass, and lifts me against him until I am braced between the window and his body, his shaft pressed tight against my clit. “You want me to fuck you against the window? You want everyone to watch me claim you, make you come?”
My body tightens, and I grind my clit against his shaft. “Yes, Ray. Like this. Love me like this with the whole world watching.”
Meeting my gaze for a heartbeat, he lifts me and thrusts his way deep into my sex. His thickness thrills me, fills me, and my overly sensitized tissue swells against his hardness.
“Harder. More.”
With a chuckle, he pulls me closer, opening me to him as he pulls out and thrusts in again. And then he is everywhere—warm lips on my nipples, firm fingers on my clit, and his cock so beautifully thick and hard pounding into me in a ceaseless rhythm.
Sensation builds on sensation, until I am thrashing against him, clinging to his shoulders, as I teeter at the edge of release. When he finally pinches my clit, I overload. My sex contracts and convulses, my body tightens, and I come so violently, I shriek his name.
Ray hammers into me, drawing out my orgasm, and then he climaxes, his shaft becoming impossibly hard before he swells and throbs inside me. With a shuddering breath, he leans forward and rests his head against mine, his breathing hot and hard, his heart pounding against my chest.
“Think of that tomorrow, when you’re pretending no one is there.”
“Think of how you loved me without any pain.”
Ray smiles. “It seems my plan was a double success.”
My lips curl into a smile. “This was your plan? Make me think of sex instead of worrying about what I’m going to say?”
He nuzzles my neck and pulls me closer. “Man sees his woman standing by the window, her hair tousled, her beautiful long legs bare, wearing his shirt, he gets a little emotional. He finds out that she’s worrying about something when she should be resting, ’cause she’s carrying his child, he’s gotta do something about it.”
“So kinky sex was your solution?”
“Loving you was the solution.” He kisses the sensitive dip between my neck and my shoulder. “Sex was a bonus.”
“Promise you’ll be there tomorrow.” I brush a kiss over his lips.
“I’ll be there tomorrow,” Ray says. “And every tomorrow after that.”
* * *
Party time.
The Redemption boys love to party. And tonight is no exception. After Tag and I testified earlier this week, his other witness came forward and testified too. Luke is in jail. His family is under investigation for threats. The trial made the evening news, and more women are coming forward. Justice is done and served on a silver platter. And Redemption wants to celebrate.
After christening Phoenix Ink, now managed by me, Torment shouts that protein shakes are on the house. Fighters stampede toward the little café, and the owner’s eyes widen in fear. Lucky for him, Shayla and Doctor Death have offered to help out, and they run the blenders like there’s no tomorrow.
Glancing quickly around the gym, where fighters are dancing, chatting, and, of course, fighting, I lean against a lat machine, slide my hand into my handbag, and pull out a handful of contraband potato chips. One whiff of greasy goodness and my mouth waters.
“Bad.” Ray snatches the chips out of my hand. “Chips are full of unhealthy fats and chemicals. My boy needs good, healthy food.” He waves to Rampage and shouts, “Get Sia a whey protein shake. Extra wheatgrass.”
My lips tighten into a thin line. “First, your boy may be a girl. And second, I’m not a dog, Ray. Or a small child. If I want to eat potato chips, I—”
“Won’t.” He clasps my hand and kisses my palm. “’Cause you don’t want your man to worry. A man who isn’t worrying is a happy man. Happy men buy sexy presents. Sexy presents lead to sexy times.”
Ray leans in and kisses me. “Wrong. It always winds up being about you.”
Rampage joins us and hands me a protein shake. I don’t ask how he managed to get the shake before the fifty people lined up at the café. Maybe it’s because Rampage is the ears, eyes, and heart of Redemption. He is also the café owner’s cousin.
“So we’re gonna have a kid running around the gym,” he says.
Ray hisses out a breath, and I look up and frown. “How did you know that? We only just told my parents and Tag today.”
Rampage shrugs. “I know everything that goes on at Redemption, and we need a few kids around here. Liven the place up. Fuzz can teach some junior MMA classes and make the kiddies cry.”
“Hey.” Homicide Hank joins us, with Blade Saw and Doctor Death on his heels. “I got kids. Two of ’em.”
“Everyone knows they aren’t yours,” Doctor Death says, winking at me. He is fully recovered from his fight with Ray and, surprisingly, holds no grudge. In fact, he caught us one night on our way out of the gym and apologized for his behavior. Ray said he understood. His girl did, indeed, have a damn fine ass. But if Doctor Death ever touched her ass again, he’d break all his fingers.
“Fuck you, Death.” Homicide makes a rude gesture, and Doctor Death laughs.
“I do, in fact, get fucked over quite regularly, but that’s my love life. In the ring, it’s you who is going down.”
Homicide Hank takes a swing at Doctor Death. Someone yells “fight.” The fighters leave the café and run over to the mats, where the two miscreants are now going at it full tilt.
“So, this is a Redemption party,” Duncan says, coming up beside me. “Not quite what I expected. When you said most of them didn’t drink when they were training, I imagined the party would be more sedate.”
Ray snorts a laugh. “They’re just getting warmed up. Just wait until those protein boosters kick in.”
“He’s big into the health thing,” I say to Duncan. “He gets up at five every morning, goes for a run, then works out, makes a protein shake, cooks up a healthy breakfast, and he’s ready for work before my alarm has even gone off. It’s so annoying. I wish he’d warned me before we started going out. I’m so not a morning person.”
“You will be.” Ray winks. “I’m gonna whip my girl into shape so we can run together in the morning.”
Before Ray can start his lecture about the healthy benefits of starting the day with exercise, I excuse myself to look for Jess. Although she doesn’t train at Redemption, she never misses a party.
I find her sitting alone in the bleachers, watching Tag and Shayla talking over by the free weights.
“She has a crush on him,” Jess says as I sit down beside her.
“Yeah. For a long time. But Tag isn’t interested. She’s not his type.”
Jess shrugs. “Neither am I, apparently.”
“You’re wrong.” I squeeze her arm. “Now that Luke is behind bars and my parents are in their new condo, and he’s about to become an uncle, he’s changed. He’s happy.”
“I’ve never known him happy,” Jess says.
“If you liked him sad, anxious, and stressed, you’ll definitely like him happy.”
As if on cue, Tag looks up and smiles. He gives Shayla a pat on the back and then jogs over to us, climbing the bleachers two at a time.
“Hey, Sis.” He ruffles my hair. “I’m surprised Ray let you out of his sight.”
“I’m not out of his sight.” I roll my eyes and gesture toward the lat machine where Ray is talking to Blade Saw with his gaze fixed on me. “You think he’d take his eyes off me in a gym full of protein-boosted fighters?”
“Good point. If you were my girl, I’d be watching you too.” His gaze drops to Jess, and I catch the slightest reddening of his cheeks, so faint only a sister can see.
“You…still with Blade Saw?”
Jess freezes, and I poke her in the side.
“Uh…no. Didn’t work out.”
Tag smiles the devastating smile I haven’t seen for years, the one he used to charm his way into all sorts of trouble. “You want a protein shake? Everyone’s watching the fight.”
Jess gapes. I nudge. She stumbles on recovery. “Uh…yes. I like protein. In shakes. And out of shakes. Generally, protein is good. But not meat. I don’t eat meat.”
I cringe on her behalf, but Tag doesn’t seem to notice her sudden awkwardness. Instead, his face softens and he holds out his hand.
“I know.”
After being abandoned by Tag and Jess, I head back to the studio to lock up. Christos and Rose are making out on Rose’s desk, clearly visible through the glass door.
“Hey. Get a room,” I shout.
“That’s my line,” Torment says from behind me.
“Except you used Rampage to deliver it.” I knock on the door, and Christos and Rose break their clinch.
“Gotta keep Rampage out of trouble. He knows too much about what goes on here.” Torment lifts an eyebrow as Christos and Rose push open the door and murmur their apologies on their way out.
“Never got a chance to say congratulations.” Torment follows me into the studio and stands by the door as I turn off the computers and make a quick check to make sure all the equipment is off. Our new Phoenix Ink, Redemption logo—flames with a phoenix rising from the ashes and the studio and gym names in script below—is everywhere. Torment spared no expense.
“And I never said thank you for taking a chance on me.”
“I don’t take business risks unless I’m fairly certain of the outcome. I know you’ll make this place a success.” Torment stands to the side as Ray pushes open the door. Ray’s got his leather jacket on, so I guess he wants to go.
“How?”
“Because once you find the path to Redemption, you never go back.” He nods at Ray and then disappears out the door.
“He’s a bit of an enigma.” I turn off the back lights and push in Rose’s chair. “Sometimes he just comes across as a mindless, ruthless fighting machine, and other times he seems to see into your soul.”
Ray scowls. “You’re mine. Only person who should be seeing into your soul is me.”
I slide my arms around his waist and pull him close. “Yes, I am yours. All yours. Only yours. Forever yours.”
“Good.” He kisses my forehead and then pulls an open bag of potato chips from the pocket of his leather jacket. “Got you something.”
“That’s very sweet.” I take the bag from his hand. “I know how hard this must have been for you. After all, they are filled with salt and bad fats.”
Ray shakes his head. “You got no idea. Eat them.”
Laughter bubbles in my chest. He seems so earnest, I hate to turn him down.
“I still have a bag of chips in my purse.”
“No. These. Eat them.”
I glance down at the bag in my hand. “Why? I thought you didn’t want me eating unhealthy food.”
Ray heaves a sigh. “Please. For me.”
“Okay.” I pull out a chip and eat it slowly, my cheeks heating under Ray’s intense scrutiny. “That was delicious. Thank you.”
He waves at the bag. “More.”
“Are they poison?” I lower the bag and frown. “Are you trying to get rid of me? Is that why you’re pressuring me to eat them?”
“Siahhhh.” He draws out my name, his voice a plea I can’t ignore. I put my hand in the bag and grasp something that is definitely not a chip.
“What’s this?” I hold up a ring bearing an oval-shaped diamond surrounded in a lattice of tiny diamonds that twinkle—nothing ostentatious but quietly different. Like me.
Ray beams, puffing out his chest like he’s just won the underground championship belt. Although now that he’s formally joined the Redemption team, it might one day be the state title.
“Ray Black.” I grab a
tissue from Rose’s desk and clean off the ring. “Are you proposing to me?”
“Man loves a woman, wants to spend the rest of his life with her, raise a family together, he asks her to marry him.”
“It’s beautiful.”
A smile spreads across his face. “Does that mean yes? ’Cause my mom said I’d better make an honest woman of you or she’d whup my ass.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “I didn’t know CIA agents were afraid of their moms.”
“Don’t know anything about CIA agents,” he says. “But I am afraid of my mom.”
“Well then, I’d better say yes.” I lean up and kiss his cheek. “If anyone’s ass is getting a whupping, it had better be mine, and I know just where I want it to happen.”
“Naughty girl,” he says.
“The naughtiest.”
Ray’s lips brush over mine. “My beautiful girl.”
“Yours.”
His smile lights my heart and truly sets me free.
* * *
Priority: Confidential
Bay Area Underground Fight Club (BUFC) Wedding Night
Redemption. 8 p.m.
Headlining: Ray “The Predator” Black and Sia “Phoenix” O’Donnell
Code Word: Forever
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks to all the MMA fighters who generously shared their stories, and especially Animal, Chainsaw, Rhino, and Blizzard—you rock! To my wonderful editor, Cat Clyne, who loved Ray right from the start, and my agent, Laura Bradford, who so patiently indulges my need for long, detailed explanations. To CaRWA and the Secret Group of Awesome for all their support. And to my family, who have all learned how to cook out of necessity.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sarah Castille writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer, she once practiced at one of the world’s largest law firms in London, England, during which time she traveled extensively, wrote moderately, and developed a taste for tea, satire, and hard-bodied soccer players. After her first book, Legal Heat, won numerous awards in romance-writing contests, Sarah traded in her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and an untrustworthy laptop. Her books have been named as Publishers Weekly’s “Top Ten Picks” and “Best Summer Books” and have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Sarah lives with her husband, munchkins, and a family of owls in the shadow of Canada’s Rocky Mountains, where she is currently working on her next novel.
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