by LK Collins
Logan glares at me and interrupts her, “He’ll take a bottle of water. Krane, you agreed to let me manage you. I’m not going to let you go into the biggest meeting of your life drunk.”
“What’s the difference? Drunk or not, we’re not prepared to do this. Have you read any of this?”
“Yeah, every page, and I spoke to ACM about some concerns I already have. That’s why I want to go over it with you now.”
“Regardless of concerns, we need someone with a legal background to look over anything before I sign it.” I glance at Ivy and she nods her head in agreement.
“They will have an attorney present to work out everything, they are prepared to negotiate and are dead serious about bringing you into their fighting family. If you would stop being so fucking difficult and trust me, you’d see that I can do this and am prepared to make sure you get a sweet deal.”
“Umm, an attorney for their side, not mine, but I’ll trust you. And what about Ronnie?”
“He has nothing to do with your deal. It was an unfortunate outcome, but you’re not liable in any way. Would you let that go, man?”
I take Ivy’s hand and wrap it in mine. I move my eyes to the window and zone out Logan’s stare. It’s not that I don’t want to. I can’t. My head is all over the place…maybe I’m not ready to do this.
_____
I just need five minutes alone with Ivy to set my head straight.
After the plane landed in Vegas, a private car picked us up to take us to the meeting with ACM. Logan and I discussed things the entire flight, but nothing he’s said has sold me on doing this. I feel like I am about to sign my life away and that scares me. What if I end up like Ronnie?
“You okay?” Ivy asks, kissing my neck. I nod my head looking at her for something, anything to get me through this.
“Okay, they are all ready for us,” Logan says hanging up his phone. The car comes to a stop and the driver opens the rear door.
“I need to talk to you,” I whisper to Ivy. Then Logan gets out first and I follow.
“Hey, man, can I have a few minutes alone with Ivy?” I ask before proceeding.
“Sure, I’ll let them know we’re here.”
Logan walks off and I guide Ivy out of the car, she takes my hands looking into my eyes as they follow his back. “What’s going though your head?”
“How do I know this is the right thing to do?”
“Look at me,” bringing my face to hers. “You know as well as I do that nothing is guaranteed in life, everything could end tomorrow. This might be your only opportunity at a real fighting career, so you’ve gotta go in there with an open mind and at least explore the options.”
“I hear ya, but what if I sign a contract and get injured fighting or they require me to move somewhere to train?”
“You know that this job comes with a great risk, but you’ve got the best angel watching over you. I believe that Zoë will keep you safe. And if you move, I move. I’ll go where you go. That should be the least of your worries. You gotta have faith in us, in me. Stop thinking stupid thoughts. Are you in this for the long haul?” I nod my head, taking in her words of encouragement. “Well, you know I am. This deal could change your life for the better, it could give you the future that you’ve always dreamed of. Zoë would want you to do this. So listen to me when I tell you that I am not going anywhere and I will support whatever you decide, because I fucking love you, Krane Hensley.”
Logan opens the door and whistles for me, “Let’s go, man.”
Leaning in, I kiss Ivy, knowing that no matter what happens, I’ll have her in the end.
Chapter 25
“How are you gonna tell Ivy?” Logan asks me as we walk to the elevator in our hotel.
“I’m not, my face will tell her everything.”
He presses the elevator call button and I exhale. “Damn, I need a drink,” I say as we step inside.
“You and me both.”
“You know, if we’d brought our own attorney that would have probably been done in half the time.” It’s after eight; the meeting lasted over three hours. Thank God the girls checked into the rooms rather than sitting there and waiting for us. As the doors open to the twenty-second floor, Logan points to the direction that we are headed and says, “Here you are, twenty-two eleven,” as we approach my room.
“Thanks for today,” I tell him as he walks off.
“You can buy me a drink later,” he says from down the hall. I knock on the door of the hotel room and wait for Ivy to open it. It’s not but a few seconds and her sparkling eyes meet mine. I step inside and she beams from ear to ear in excitement, waiting for me to tell her the news. But I don’t do that and my flat expression changes everything. She scrunches her eyebrows at me and asks, “What happened, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say, pulling her body to mine and brushing my lips tenderly against hers.
“Nothing happened, or nothing’s wrong?” she asks pulling her head further back looking me in the eye again. I smirk holding her closer, and press my lips to her neck.
She pushes me away, her demeanor filled with concern, and grabs my hand lifting up my right sleeve and then the left. When she finds the diamond-encrusted watch on my left wrist, she about slaps me. “You got fuckin’ signed?”
Slowly I nod, watching how she absorbs the news and how right away it makes her ecstatic. A huge grin breaks out across my face. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I was playing. Plus, I needed to make sure you wouldn’t run for the hills.”
“Jesus Christ, Krane, you are such an ass.” She slaps my chest and I hold her wrists, her eyes getting wide when I control her like this. Looking down at my hundred-grand watch, it gleams in the light. I wasn’t even looking for a hundred-grand contract. I just wanted enough to survive, but ACM is no joke – they are the top of the top and gave me way more than that.
“Well, I’m your ass.” I slip the watch off and put it on her.
“You are,” she says smiling and flattens her hands on my chest, staring at the diamond Rolex. I let go of her wrists and she says, “Give me all the details.”
“Everything?” I ask.
“Yes, especially all of the important parts.”
“Umm, my first fight is in two months.”
“Against who?”
“Some new up and comer, should be easy from what Logan knows of him.”
“Where will it be?”
“They said Toronto, so you better get your passport ready.” She raises her eyebrows at me, liking the idea of traveling. “Logan will stay on as my primary trainer, I’ll fight out of Ethan’s gym, and if I want, ACM could get me set up with one of their camps to try out. But I told them that right now I don’t want to move, and they don’t have any camps in New York.”
“Wow, it sounds like you got everything you wanted.”
“Yeah, I mean, the money is gonna change our life, and the small things like the appearances and required fight apparel, I’ll learn to deal with.”
“So how much did you get?”
“A half a million fucking signing bonus baby, plus I’ll get fifty thousand for every fight to start. If I win, there’s a bonus too.” Ivy’s eyes gloss over with tears hearing the news.
“I’m so proud of you,” she says.
“Thanks, and the real bonus is it sounds like Ronnie is gonna be okay. He started to move his toes today and the feeling is coming back in his legs.”
“Thank God.” She hugs me tightly.
“I can’t wait to give you the world, baby.”
“You already have.”
“I couldn’t have done any of this without you. Thank you for pushing me.”
She reaches down unbuttoning my shirt and says, “Any time. So why don’t you pay me back?”
“I’d love to.”
“You know, I like you dressed like this.”
“I bet you do.” I guide her backwards with my body and hover over her, grinding my cock against her sex. �
�Don’t get used to it though ‘cause it’s not gonna last.”
She removes my shirt and I push hers upwards. Never getting tired of seeing her gorgeous body. I growl at the sight of her nipples and pinch one of them hard before clamping it in between my teeth. “Oh fuck,” she whines in pleasure, unzipping my pants.
I push against her hand; my cock needs the friction. I need to be inside of her. I want her. Finally, she gets my pants undone and I kick them off. Pulling her underwear to the side, I don’t waste one second before I clench the base of my shaft and slam into her.
Growling as her warm pussy accepts me, I work our bodies, stroking myself in and out of her. “Take my cock, baby.”
She grips for the sheets to try to hold steady, which sets me off. The way her body twists and moves, her noises, my cock riding her, it all puts me into overdrive and then I realize there is no need to rush. Yes, I can be rough, but in my own way. So I take my time, slowing things down a bit.
Pulling out of her, she looks at me concerned. “Come here,” I tell her and guide her to her knees. As we both kneel facing each other, I take the hem of her shirt and slowly lift it over her head. She watches my hands and how I undress her.
With one of her tits so perfectly in my mouth, I reach beneath her panties where her tight wet cunt waits for me. Sinking two fingers inside of her, I pull away and watch how her eyes contract from being under my control. “I love you, Ivy.”
“I love you. Are you okay?” she asks worried by my change in pace.
“Yeah, I just want to show you how much you mean to me.”
She looks down at our bodies, me with my fingers inside of her and my hard cock dripping pre-cum as I wait to fuck her again. “I think you were. Why did you stop?”
I remove my hand from her panties and she glares at me. “Like that, why are you stopping?”
“I felt like I was rushing things, which maybe I do sometimes because I lost Zoë and am afraid of losing you too.”
“I’m not going anywhere, baby.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Thinking of the past, I guess I don’t. But if my time does come, I want to go after you’ve fucked me rough and dirty, the way that I like. I love it when you push my panties to the side or bite my nipples. Please don’t change who you are, okay?”
I nod and take my thumb, flicking it over her tit. She grabs my cock bringing my eyes to follow the movements of her hand.
Christ, she strokes me so good.
Tilting my head back, I close my eyes and grunt out.
Her soft lips find my neck where she kisses a trail up to my ear and then whispers, “Fuck me hard, Krane.”
Taking my hand to hers, I stop her from stroking my shaft. The blood pumps to the tip, making me so stiff. My breathing is ragged and with my eyes as serious as ever, I flip her over and land one hard smack to her plump white ass. She yelps and shakes it for me to do it again. Pulling her panties out of the way, I hover over her. My cock is lined up with her pussy and her breathing has stopped as she waits for me.
“Tell me what you want.”
“I want you to fuck me hard.”
“I bet you do.” I nudge my dick against her and she pushes towards me. I pull away, teasing her and ask, “How do you want me to fuck you?”
She’s breathing again and in between labored breaths, her head is hung low as she is on all fours and says, “Hard and rough, ‘til I come.”
With her words, I bury myself inside of her. Sitting back up, just on my knees, I keep ahold of her ass cheeks as I work her. The room is filled with the noises of our skin slapping together. Her outstretched body glistens with sweat and she screams my name.
Landing a firm hit to the other side of her ass, I tell her, “Let me hear you.”
My command sets her off and in this moment, we are both lost. Lost from all reality. Nothing matters right now, but satisfying her. As the noises echo in the room and I watch myself moving in and out of her, I know I’ve never been happier.
A knock on the door startles me, but nothing can stop us. Drilling her deep, I let go grunting low as she screams into the comforter. “Yesssss, come on my cock,” I murmur probably a little too loudly, but nothing that we are doing is a secret.
“Krane,” Logan says through the door and knocks again.
“One sec!” I shout, spanking her as I pull my pants back on. Ivy giggles and before I open the door to the room, I see her sexy ass run into the bathroom.
Chapter 26
“I want another shot!” Ivy yells, drunk off her ass and I can’t help but laugh at the fit she’s throwing.
“No!” I shake my head and pull her onto my lap. The club we are at is crowded and loud, but somehow Logan scored us a VIP table, which gives us some privacy.
“You know, you’re really controlling sometimes,” she says crossing her arms over her chest.
“You like it!”
She rests her head on my shoulder and settles back. “Is it because Zoë died after drinking a lot?” she asks.
“Stop it! It’s because I don’t want you to feel like shit tomorrow.”
“How could I, waking up next to you?”
“Oh you could, alcohol will make you feel like…” I trail off and get lost in her eyes as they stare at me. Pulling away, I look out at the dance floor. Logan and Victoria are in the middle of a swarm of people dancing away, which is not my scene. I prefer to be here, with Ivy in my arms.
“Like what?” she asks.
“Huh?”
“What will alcohol make me feel like?” she slurs, sitting back staring at me, her glossy eyes so gorgeous and tired.
Oh, she’s drunk.
I direct her to stand. “Come on, let’s get you some fresh air, beautiful.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Yes, you do.”
We leave the club together, the music behind us muffles as the hot Vegas air wraps around our bodies and we walk down to a huge lake with a lit up water show. Standing together, I have my arm around Ivy, both of us watching the sight in front of us. Then her head starts to hang low, she’s quiet, and it makes me nervous. The world around me halts, taking me back to the subway ride home the night I lost Zoë not so long ago.
Lifting her chin, I look into her eyes, needing to know that she’s okay. But there are tears glossed over them. Pulling her close to my chest, I hold her tight and ask, “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, I’m just happy.”
“Then don’t cry.”
She nods her head and I catch sight of Logan and Victoria as they walk down the sidewalk. He has his arm around her and is whispering into her ear.
“I mean it, baby, enjoy every second we have together, don’t waste tears on any of it.” I glance over at Logan as he catches sight of me and he raises his chin. When they approach, he passes Ivy a bottle of water.
“Would everyone stop acting like I’m drunk?”
“We would, if you weren’t drunk,” he says.
She rolls her eyes and says, “You guys suck.”
“Yes, you do,” I tease her and she bumps me with her shoulder. “Ready to head back?”
We all agree and decide to walk.
“Have you guys ever been to Vegas?” Victoria asks us. We both shake our heads and she says, “Logan and I love it, we almost got married here.”
“Shut up!” Ivy exclaims, “I’d love a Vegas wedding!”
“You would?” I ask completely taken off guard by this bomb.
“Yeah! I wouldn’t have to take months out of my life planning it, not to mention how stress-free it would be.”
“Isn’t that what girls want, all the planning?” Logan asks.
“Some…maybe, but not me,” Ivy says.
I’m sure for Ivy a Vegas wedding would be better, especially since she lost her father as a teenager in a car accident and without Zoë around, I can see where she is coming from. Up ahead there is a wedding chapel. As a young couple emerges through the fron
t doors laughing and holding hands, it sparks something inside of me.
I’ve lived this life with too many fucking regrets. Too much lost time. I don’t want that anymore. If Ivy’s dream is to have a Vegas wedding, then I’ll give her one. With my hand wrapped tightly around hers, I watch the way her eyes sparkle in the light of the sign.
Turning her to face me, I get down on one knee. Logan and Victoria jolt to a stop, looking at us, shocked. Ivy’s hand flies over her mouth as she looks down at me and I push away the rest of the world.
“Ivy Amaranth Winslow, I love you more than anything in this world. My heart was broken for so long before you. But now I have a purpose. You’re my reason for existence; you have shown me what it’s like to love again. I know our love is just beginning, but we found each other for a reason. And I don’t want to miss out on starting our future.” With the biggest grin I’ve ever had on my face, I bring her sweet hand to my lips and ask, “Ivy, will you marry me tonight, right here and right now?”
She starts nodding her head before I can even finish my sentence and I kiss her soft ring finger, wishing I had a fucking ring to put on it. Standing up, she throws her arms over my shoulders and kisses me harder than I’ve ever felt. Then clapping and whistles ring around us, as a crowd gathered watching the proposal.
As I hold her tightly and inhale her sweet scent, I bury my face into the comfort of her neck, so grateful that for once in my life, everything is going according to plan.
Chapter 27
Stretching my arms high above my head, I let out a yawn. My hand hits the headboard and the sound of the metal hitting the wood, takes me back to last night. Blinking a few times, I take in the room and then lift my hand in front of my face.
Staring back at me is indeed a wedding band. The events all flood through my mind and each make me smile. From the proposal, to the cheesy Elvis impersonator, to Ivy walking down the aisle and then saying those two little words, I do.
Rolling over, she is passed out. The skin of her exposed shoulder draws my lips to it and I search for her left hand where an extravagant ring sparkles. Taking her hand in mine, I hold on to it and cuddle her close. As I fiddle with the diamond, she wrestles awake. “Morning,” I whisper into her ear.