by Izzy Sweet
“I’m not a fucking a baby, and I’m not a little girl. Stop treating me like a fucking kid,” I say, turning angrily away from him.
He has the nerve to grab me by the arm and stop me again.
Oh, if it was anyone but him…
“Christy,” he starts and I don’t let him finish.
“What part of ‘I want to stay with Alex’ are you not getting?” I ask.
“But he’s…”
“He’s not too old!” I nearly scream now. “How much older are you than Avery? Ten years? Twelve?”
“That’s different,” he says defensively, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that I’ve dinged him.
“And now you sound just like everyone else,” I mutter, turning away and pushing past the guy in front of me.
“How’s that?” he asks, following on my heels.
“Like a fucking hypocrite!”
“Fine!” Chase bellows but I don’t stop.
Finally, after stepping around one last guy, I reach Alex. I’m so fucking happy to see him I could throw my arms around him and kiss him.
Alex looks up from the guy he’s talking to and his eyes alight as they land on me. He looks just as happy to see me as I am to see him.
“Get the fuck out of here, both of you!” Chase says with some disgust, and he couldn’t have hurt me more if he’d punched me in the heart with his massive fist.
Alex’s already dark eyes blacken with anger but I step in front of him to stop him.
“Can we please get out of here?” I ask softly, unable to keep my voice from cracking. If we don’t get out of here soon, I’m afraid I’m going to start crying. If I start crying in front of all these guys, I’ll never be able to show my face here again.
Alex shoots me a look of alarm, his eyes scanning over my face, and it only takes him a moment to make his choice.
With a nod of his head, he uses my arm to pull me closer and we walk out the front door together.
Chapter Fifteen
Christy
Stepping out of the gym, the night air is cool, crisp, and immediately goes straight to my head.
I didn’t realize how smothered I was inside there, surrounded by a group of guys reeking of testosterone, B.O. and sweat.
Alex opens my door for me, and still buzzing from all the oxygen, I slide into his car without really thinking about it.
It’s not until we’re roaring down the street, taking a sharp turn at a high speed, that everything that just happened really sinks in.
The pain, the humiliation, and shame of it all is more than I can withstand.
Alex is staring forward, his hands gripping the steering wheel like he wants to crush it in his grip.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he says without even looking over at me.
I wish I could believe that. I wish I could feel blameless but the guilt of it all is squeezing my chest in a vise grip.
“It’s all my fault,” I choke, unable to hold the tears back.
Now that I’ve been kicked out of the gym, my life has truly gone to shit. All because some asshole grabbed my breasts.
“The fuck it is,” Alex growls, glancing over at me.
“I’ve gotten you kicked out of the gym and now you’re going to lose your match,” I sob like a pathetic wimp and turn away from him.
“You didn’t—“ Alex starts to argue then suddenly stops. There’s a pause and then he’s cursing softly, “Shit.”
I hold my breath and pull my knees up, but nothing will keep the sobs back. I feel the car starting to slow and wrap my arms around my head.
I don’t want to break down in front of him. I don’t want him to see how weak I truly am, but I can’t help it.
I’m utterly pathetic. I’m a complete sham.
I should have known this would happen. I’m such a selfish bitch. I shouldn’t have let him help me. I knew sooner or later I’d bring about disaster—it’s the story of my life.
The car comes to a complete stop and then my seatbelt clicks.
“Christy,” Alex groans, pulling me across the space between our seats and hugging me to his chest. “Don’t cry. Nothing that happened tonight is your fault.”
His arms around me are more than I deserve but I can’t stop myself from reaching out and clinging to him.
“It’s all my fault,” I insist again through my sobs. “I’m cursed. Everything I touch turns to shit.”
“No, don’t say that,” he says, sounding tortured.
“But it’s true. I destroy everything I come in contact with. My mom, my step-dad, my stepbrother, and now you…”
“What are you saying?” he asks, tipping my chin up to look at him.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have never dragged you into my mess.”
“I haven’t done anything I didn’t want to do.”
“You’ve been so good to me; you don’t deserve this.”
“Stop fucking talking like that,” he says with some anger. “You’re fucking wonderful, and you haven’t destroyed me. We’ll find another gym.”
“But your fight is in less than two weeks…”
“And I’m going to fucking win,” he says so adamantly I instantly believe him.
His hands come up and his fingers start brushing my tears away. I look down at my lap, unable to meet his intense gaze. I know he says none of this is my fault but I can’t stop feeling like it is. Like I’ve done something, even unintentionally, to cause all of this to happen.
“And you’re going to win, too,” he says after a moment.
I start to shake my head. His hands tighten around my face to stop me. “You are. Because you’re fucking awesome.”
He tips my head back up and I have nowhere to look but at his face. “You’re the strongest, most capable woman I’ve ever met, and you’re going to crush your opponent.”
My heart skips a beat at his compliment.
“You’re smart,” he says, his voice deepening as his eyes capture my eyes, holding me. “And resilient. And beautiful. And sexy.”
All at once my emotions veer off in another direction. Sadness becomes confusion. Then confusion swells into hope.
“You’re not a fucking curse,” he says huskily, his face looming closer, bigger. “You’re a blessing.”
“Alex…” I start to say but I’m cut off as his mouth covers my mouth.
A jolt of electrical sensation shoots through me, traveling directly to my belly as soon as our lips meet.
The sensation is so strong, so overwhelming, I jerk a little in surprise.
He drags me closer, nearly crushing me in his embrace. But it’s not uncomfortable. No, there’s something about the way his arms tighten around me that feels just right. Like I know he will hold me, he will protect me.
I’m safe inside the cage he has made with his body.
Slowly, gradually, I become aware of his touch, his taste and his smell. The scrape of his cheeks where he needs to shave. The heat radiating from his chest.
The possessive way he holds me like he’s afraid I might try to escape.
He groans a deep rumbling sound in his throat as he presses forward, deepening the kiss while pushing my head back.
My breasts flatten against his chest as I arch and I don’t know where to put my hands so I just end up grabbing and clinging to the shirt at his sides.
Back, he continues to bend me until I feel like I might break against him or snap in half.
His lips open, his mouth now trying to devour me.
His tongue traces the seam where my lips meet and his teeth nip, tugging on my bottom lip and urging me to open for him.
I gasp, feeling a clench deep inside my core as the sting sinks in and his tongue sweeps inside my mouth, pressing his advantage.
As his tongue meets my tongue, all the little nerves in my body seem to become alive at once.
I’ve never felt anything like this and I struggle to process a
ll the sensations.
The taste of his mouth. He’s bitter, sweet, and deep, reminding me of whipped cream mixed with dark chocolate.
The feel of his skin touching my skin. I can’t stop touching him, exploring him. My hands slide under his shirt, my fingers drawn to him as if we’ve become magnetic.
His hands grab me, lifting me even closer until he’s turning me and settling my weight on his lap.
My thighs spread wide then something hard grinds against my sex. His tongue plunges deeper into my mouth before coaxing me into his deep, rhythmic dance.
One big hand goes to the back of my head. His fingers tangling in my hair as he helps support my neck against the force of his kiss. His other hand slides down my back then I feel my shirt lifting and his callouses scratching against my stomach.
Up, his hand pushes, sliding up my ribs until it’s cupping around my breast. My nipple tightens and deep inside I feel another clench.
“Fuck,” he growls, his lips vibrating against my lips.
His hand squeezes my breast and I moan into his kiss.
“You taste so fucking good,” he groans and then his kiss becomes hungry. More desperate.
My bra is pushed up as I struggle to keep up with the pull of his lips.
With nothing between us, I gasp into his mouth as his hot skin molds around my breast. His rough palm scrapes against my flesh and then his fingers squeeze.
The constriction creates a throbbing pressure between my thighs.
Rocking his hips up, something hard grinds against my clit.
My muscles tense. I feel stiff on the outside yet my insides are fluid like liquid. The duality only intensifies the throb.
An answering hunger rises in me as his fingers flex and squeeze, flex and squeeze. My tongue tangles against his tongue, and I make needy, whimpering sounds in the back of my throat.
Forgotten is my lack of experience, or my lack of control over the situation. I just want… no, I need to feel more.
I roll my hips forward, operating on pure instinct.
There’s an immensely gratifying sense of satisfaction as he curses into my mouth.
Together, we rock against each other. The rough friction causing something incredible to build deep inside my core.
A high, shrill laugh punctures the still of the night. We freeze, waiting, hoping that was all, but the moment has already been ruined.
I feel him start to pull away just as someone wolf whistles and makes a lewd comment.
His fingers loosen in my hair and his hand slides out of my shirt.
Reluctantly, I open my eyes to find him looking at me with such intensity I don’t know if he despises me or desires me.
Perhaps it’s a mixture of both.
“We should probably get going,” he says, his voice coarse and grating like he has sandpaper in his throat.
I nod my head, getting the hint, and awkwardly climb off of his lap.
Settling into my seat, I lean back, closing my eyes for a moment as I try to understand what the fuck just happened.
The car roars to life and gruffly he tells me, “Put your seatbelt on.”
Blindly, I reach out and grab the seatbelt, stretching it across my chest. His hand covers my hand and my eyes fly open as he helps me click it into place.
Leaning back into his space, he grins at me and shoves the car into gear.
I’m so confused.
Especially when he says, “You don’t have to worry anymore, Christy,” as we pull out into the street. “I’ve got you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Alex
I should be freaking the fuck out right now. I just lost my training gym, and almost went toe to toe with Chase.
Fuck, I should be fucking feeling anything besides the almost uncontrollable need to claim the woman beside me. To bend her to my will. To take her as mine and make sure she never needs to look for another.
That kiss is still burning across my lips as I push the shifter into a higher gear. I want to get home as fast as possible. No more pussyfooting around. I don’t want to leave us any time to have second thoughts. I need to be between her thighs and buried deep inside of her tonight.
Looking over at Christy, I stare at her almost too sharp features and think about how that’s what makes her so beautiful. It really is like looking at a Viking woman. Her deep blue eyes, full pink lips and thick blonde hair pulled back tight in a ponytail.
I can imagine grabbing that ponytail as I thrust deep into her from behind.
Fuck, those kinds of thoughts are going to cause me to wreck. My cock, though, doesn’t care as it keeps running through all those fantasies I’ve been having since she moved in.
Fuck, I can’t wait to see how good she tastes when I have her legs wrapped around my head.
Shaking my head, I have to keep my damn eyes on the road and not on her. She doesn’t look as confident now as she did when we were kissing just then, but with the way she did look at me I am sure she feels it too.
It’s now that I realize that we both have been wanting this. From the way she kissed me back, it’s obvious she’s wanted this just as much as I have. Those times that I caught her checking me out, I knew I wasn’t too much of an old man to turn her sexy young head. Shit, I just turned thirty. It’s not like it’s a huge difference.
Fuck, even if it was, I wouldn’t give two fucking shits. This woman is mine now.
With that fucking thought my phone starts ringing. Glancing down at the display, I shake my head and ignore it.
“Who’s that?” Christy asks.
No use in not telling her since she can hear the phone ringing through the speakers of the car. “Chase.”
“Are you going to pick up?” she asks.
“No, fuck him. I’ve had my fill of hypocrites today,” I say, and I’m not kidding.
Fuck them for letting a girl be molested like that in his gym. And that Avery is so much younger than he is? Fuck…
The phone soon stops ringing and goes to voicemail. That’s dampened our passion a bit, I think.
I can feel her hand still gripping mine tightly over the shifter. She is holding onto my hand but it’s comfort she is needing. I think her world has been completely flipped upside down just like mine was.
Whatever’s been going on in her life up to this point is seriously fucking with her, and it’s something we are going to have to talk about no matter how much she doesn’t want to.
Shit, it’s not like I don’t have drama in my life now. I’ve just lost my fucking training gym. I thought I finally found a place I could be at until retirement… and that shit’s gone in one fucking night. Thankfully, I only have two weeks until my next fight, and I’ve got my game plan finalized.
But Christy was really blossoming there, she was learning valuable skills. Now we have to look somewhere else to train.
What the fuck do we do? It’s not like this is the only gym in the city, but it’s surely the best one. Fuck, look at all the champions that train there, and up until now I was one of them.
Fuck. My phone rings again and I look down to see it’s Chase’s personal cellphone this time and not the gym phone.
“Chase again?” Christy asks, and then she’s startled by her phone ringing.
Looking down at hers, she says, “It’s Dale.”
“Fuck it,” I growl as I hit the accept on my phone. “What is it? We leave our belongings back there? Want us to come dragging ass back like some bad school kids?”
I know I am pushing Chase’s buttons when I hear him take several deep breaths. “Shit’s not like that. Can you two come back here in about an hour or so? I think we need to have a talk.”
“About what?” Christy asks loudly. We’re on speakerphone right now and she is hearing the same shit I am.
“We need to clear the air,” Chase says, and I can notice the difference in how he talks when he figures out he’s on my car’s Bluetooth system.
“Why? You kicked us out of the gym!” sh
e yells. I can hear her emotions about to spill over and I tighten my grip on her hand. She needs to know I’m there for her from now on. “You told me and the guys who were in your group that this was our home and you just kicked me out!”
Thank god I’m able to pull us over into a parking lot. Shit’s really fucking with Christy. Leaning over, I wrap my arms around her and I feel her let out a shudder.
“I just wanted you two to leave for a while. I wasn’t kicking you guys out. I needed to find out what the hell happened… Look, can you guys stop by in an hour and a half? Place will be empty and we can all sit down.”
Checking the clock on the dashboard, I calm myself as much as I can. I glance over at Christy, silently asking her what she wants. She nods.
“Yeah, we’ll go get something to eat. We’ll see you then.”
“Alright, thanks guys.”
Disconnecting the phone, I keep my arms wrapped around her. Her body fits so perfectly inside of my arms. It’s way too comfortable right now. I could just stay here in this car with her. We can’t do that, though. We need to eat and find out what the fuck’s going on.
Pulling back, she smiles. “You didn’t get a chance to shower, did you?”
Shaking my head, I frown. “No, sorry, babe. I didn’t even get close to it. Do I stink?”
“No, not really. You smell like deodorant and a man who’s been working hard.”
“You like my manly musk!” I snicker.
Pushing at my chest, she laughs. “Hardly, Old Man.”
“Old, my ass, you were just making out with this old man.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have good taste.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Me either, Runt.”
Pulling away from her, I take a long look at her. That damn smile of hers is making me feel way too good.
“Okay, this is a rarity, but it’s a cheat night.”
Her eyes widen as she asks, “Just what kind of cheat are you meaning? Like a little pussy cheat, or a we’re going to regret it in the morning cheat?”
“How about we get some pizza at Mikey’s?”
She beams at me. “Oh, god! Please! Please! Please!”