Mace (Cocky Cage Fighter #4)

by Lane Hart

  Back in my room, I have nothing lying around to put on other than wet boardshorts, so I have to dig through my duffle in the closet to find a pair of cargo shorts. After they’re on and zipped, my erection finally ebbing, I unlock the door and yank it open.

  “Oh, this…this is your room? But I thought I heard…” Claire’s light blue eyes go wide when she looks back and forth from my room to the one with a closed door on the other side of the living room.

  “I’m up. I heard you loud and clear,” I tell her, hanging on the door to keep me upright. “Fishing. Sounds fucking awesome. Can’t wait.”

  “Yeah, I can tell. Don’t be a grouch, Mason,” she warns. “It’s almost noon, so it was time for you to get your lazy butt up anyway.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t know it was so late,” I tell her honestly.

  “Yeah, it is. What were you doing last night that kept you up?” she asks with a raised eyebrow. A knowing smirk and raised eyebrow. Shit.

  “I drank too much,” I lie while reaching up to rub the sleep from my eyes.

  “I didn’t see you drink anything, and I was paying attention since you’re not legal and all,” she rebukes my story, crossing her arms over the chest of her long black, hippie dress.

  “I had a stash of Jack down here that you didn’t know about, sis. Mind your own damn business,” I warn, shoving my fingers through my bedhead.

  “Well, I think it’s great,” she replies with a smile.

  “What, that I’m a closet alcoholic?”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she says with a poke to my bare chest and then two places on my neck. Looking down I realize Hailey marked me. Oh fuck. When did that happen? Maybe while I was thinking of all the reasons why I couldn’t fuck her.

  The door across the way cracks open and Hailey’s head, including her just fucked, tangled golden locks, appears with her breathless, “Sorry I overslept. Almost ready,” and then she disappears into the room again.

  “Oh, you’re fine,” Claire says, and then slaps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing when she walks over to her room. I start to go get a shower when the two come right back out together; Hailey with her hair up, cheeks blazing red, wearing a faded pair of jeans and a snug, yellow tank top.

  “See ya later, Mason,” my sister tells me over her shoulder on the way to the stairs. “Oh, and by the way.” She pauses to giggle. “Your clothes are still on the floor in her room.”

  Hailey freezes and looks at me with a wide-eyed, open mouth “Oh shit” expression. I gesture with a wave of my hand for her to go on while I walk over to stupidly retrieve my belongings. Good thing it was Claire and not Linc or Senn who caught us. I’m pretty sure our secret is safe with my sister.

  …

  Hailey

  “Please, please, please don’t say anything to anyone, especially Linc,” I quietly beg to the back of Claire’s maxi dress on the way up to the main floor.

  “Say anything about what?” she asks softly before pushin’ open the door to the livin’ room and walkin’ through. I reluctantly follow and find Linc, Senn, Kylie, and my mom standin’ around apparently waitin’ for us. I feel my face heat up a few more degrees with the weight of their stares.

  “About time,” Linc says with exasperation. “Didn’t you go to bed at, like, eight last night? What’s with sleepin’ all day?”

  “Linc, give her a break,” Claire says when she walks into his arms and places a kiss over his Adam’s apple. “She’s been sick. Those stomach bugs can take days to recover from.” I blink in surprise when Claire comes to my rescue, relieved that she’s gonna keep quiet on the fact that she just found me bunkin’ with her younger brother. I am such an old maid slut.

  “Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot,” my brother apologizes; and when he becomes distracted kissin’ his soon-to-be-wife, I know we’re out of the woods where he’s concerned. The problem is still Senn who I feel watchin’ me, and my mom whose forehead is wrinkled in confusion like she’s trying to solve a difficult math equation. Nothin’ is ever that difficult for my mom to figure out since her and my dad are not only gorgeous, but both are practically geniuses. No, I obviously didn’t inherit their big brains. I almost laugh out loud thinkin’ my brother clearly didn’t, either. I ignore Senn’s gaze since I’m still pissed at the giant quitter. Pussy.

  All the women say their goodbyes to the guys and we are almost in the clear and out the front door when Mason comes strollin’ up from the basement. Everyone turns to look at him when the door shuts. There’s no way to keep my eyes off of him, not when he’s only wearin’ a pair of cargo shorts and is actually dancin’, complete with sexy hip rolls, into the kitchen singin’ TLC’s song “Creep” about keepin’ an affair on the down low.

  “What?” Mason asks innocently, freezin’ with his coffee mug in his hand after he turns around and notices all of us watchin’ him belt out the lyrics. “Let’s go catch some fucking fish.”

  “Holy shit,” my mother says, makin’ me cringe when her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline, conveyin’ her knowledge of our dirty little secret. Since I’m behind her, I nudge her forward, out the door with a hand on her back and don’t stop until the four of us reach my parents’ SUV.

  “Spill it, Hailey,” my mom says before startin’ the car. I don’t even have my seatbelt on yet, sittin’ in the backseat behind hers, tryin’ to avoid her probin’ eyes.

  “Spill what, Mother?”

  She exchanges a glance with Claire, who Kylie and I forced into the shotgun seat. “They so are,” my future sister-in-law rats me out, and the two hens start laughin’.

  “Who are?” Kylie asks. Then, she turns to me and says, “What am I missing?”

  “Nothin’,” I assure her at the same time my mom and Claire say, “Hailey and Mason hooked up” like a couple of gossipy teenage girls.

  “Nuh-uh, really?” Kylie asks me with a smile.

  “Can we please just go? Aren’t we runnin’ late?” I ask, strummin’ my fingernails impatiently on the door panel.

  “Yes, because someone was up late canoodling last night instead of sleeping,” my mom responds, makin’ me groan and hide my burnin’ face behind my hands.

  “Seriously, you all have to keep your mouths shut. Linc warned Mason not to touch me-”

  “Which worked oh so well.” Claire laughs. “Linc thinks my brother is a slut, but I know Mason, and he actually has a really big heart. He was devastated when we lost our mom and then Mandy last year. I’m pretty sure he has…abandonment issues, and is scared of getting close to just one person and then losing someone else he loves. That’s why I think he has the harem.”

  “Did you say harem?” I ask gettin’ hung up on that particular word, even though my heart breaks a little hearin’ about all the loss Mason’s had to deal with in his young life.

  “Oh, um, you didn’t know about them?” Claire asks, hunchin’ her shoulders, soundin’ embarrassed on his behalf.

  “Them? This harem, it’s a real thing? Like Mason’s very own personal harem?”

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds.” Claire turns in her seat to assure me.

  “Really? Cause it sounds pretty damn bad,” I reply.

  “Mason’s been dating several women for months, maybe even years. They all know he sees the other women, so he’s not sneaking around behind anyone’s back.”

  “Several women? How many is several?” I repeat in astonishment. What the fuck? He admitted he dated a few girls, but a harem?

  “Three or four maybe?” Claire offers with a cringe.

  “Three or four!?!” I repeat in a supersonic squeal. How am I supposed to compete with three or four other women? And knowin’ Mason, they’re probably all beautiful and petite. Maybe they are, and I can go all Bigfoot on their asses. Months together? Years? I can’t begin to comprehend something so crazy.

  “Mason just doesn’t want to put all of his…eggs in one basket, sweetie,” my mom says, eyein’ me in the rearview.

&n
bsp; “So he puts his cock in three or four baskets?” I exclaim. Most mothers would threaten to grab the soap for a mouthwash if they hear such foul language. My mom, on the other hand, has always been more like one of the guys. A Hollywood beautiful and petite, video game playin’, computer genius, tomboy who will usually drop at least a few f-bombs a day. “And I’m supposed to be what? Content and happy to be lucky number five?” I ask indignantly. “I don’t want to have to share the man I’m sleepin’ with!”

  “I know one of them, Lena, and she says some girls even share him at the same time,” Kylie interjects helpfully, causin’ my jaw to drop open. This must be what Senn meant about all of Mason’s threesomes. My mind is blown. I could never…especially not with another woman…

  Tryin’ to stop the unpleasant monsoon of truths rainin’ on the sunny happiness I felt when I woke up this mornin’, I try to steer the conversation into another direction. Sittin’ next to Kylie, I can’t help but wonder about all of Senn’s twosomes…especially since Mason made a comment about her and Senn hookin’ up in the past.

  “What about Senn? Does he date a lot of girls?” I ask Kylie, and she looks away, out her window.

  “Senn,” Claire starts, and then says, “Pardon my French, Lynn, but Senn fucks any and all willing and able-bodied females who come his way. No offense, Kylie.”

  “None taken. It’s the truth. I knew it and did him anyway.” The redhead nods in admission. “I mean, Senn is really freaking hot. But I’ve known Mason a lot longer than Senn, and if I had to choose between the two, well, it would be Mason every time. Only, he’s like a brother to me and Senn’s not, so…”

  “I’d pick Mason, too, sweetie,” my mom offers.

  “Harem shit aside, you do remember that I’m seven years older than him, right? And did you miss the part about Linc not approvin’? He threatened to kick Mason out of Havoc!”

  “Pfft,” my mom snickers. “I would love to see your brother try! Mason is one of the best fighters they have. Just ask Jude, who swears he’ll be the next champion. It’s half Jude’s gym, too, and I know for a fact that he wouldn’t stand by and let Linc get rid of Mason. Jude can whoop Linc in the cage, so your brother will listen to him, even if he won’t listen to anyone else.”

  “You think?” I ask, feelin’ a little of the worry ease. I need to talk to Jude to see if that’s all true, but still, it gives me hope that Mason won’t throw away his fightin’ career on me if Linc catches us.

  “Um, you ladies are forgetting one other little important detail here,” Claire says. “There’s no way my soon-to-be-husband would boot my brother from Havoc when he knows it would royally piss me off.”

  “That is true,” my mom agrees with a nod before puttin’ on the signal and turnin’ left into a small shoppin’ center. “Your brother is a slave to this woman and wouldn’t dream of doing anything to make her angry with him. Throw in getting disowned by his mother and sister, and well, Mason doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mace

  I’ve been roasting like a chicken on the pier for over two hours with my pole going untouched in the murky water. I haven’t had even a single nibble on the end of my hook. The smile on my face reappears for the hundredth time today when all the talk of my pole and nibbling make me think about how fucking hot it was to get it on with Hailey last night. In my cargo shorts, my chubby buddy nods his approval and his raging desire to take another dip in her mouth.

  God, and waking up with her this morning. Best. Feeling. Ever. I sleep with Sabrina all the time, almost every night, and never wake up this damn happy. Hailey was clinging to me like I was the only life preserver left in the icy aftermath of the sinking Titanic. I actually felt needed, as if I had to hold her or she would drown and I would, too. Unlike most starts to my mornings, we didn’t even have sex, but I still want to recreate that shit with her every day. And last night was so fucking hot…

  “What are you so happy about?” Senn asks from his perch beside me, interrupting my pornographic replay. The one of me eating the fuck out of his girl while she screamed and convulsed for me. I wonder if he’s ever had his tongue between her legs. Now I need to ask Hailey to make sure the fucker hasn’t, and if he did, make sure I licked her pussy better. What can I say; I’m competitive in all things.

  “We’re at the beach. It’s the happiest fucking place on Earth,” I reply. And that’s the damn truth. More specifically, Hailey’s bed in the basement. “What are you looking all pissed about?” I ask to change the subject, even though I already know the answer. The problem is that he’s a pussy. Even Hailey said so. I’m not, so she lets me eat her pussy. Ah, it’s a great world.

  Glancing away, out into the ocean, Senn finally admits the problem. “Something’s up with Hailey. She blew me off last night.” Yeah, well buddy, she blew me last night. Let me tie her up and fuck her mouth until I shot my load down her very willing throat.

  Damn if I don’t want to tell him all that, but I hold back. I’m trying not to mess up my pretty face this week. My sister would be pissed to see black eyes and a broken nose in all her wedding photos. And fuck me in half when, in the blink of an eye, the image of my sister in a white dress changes. Instead, I see a vision of Hailey wearing the same color, like last night, but a longer dress. Her long blonde hair is down and flowing around her shoulders, making her even more stunning and ethereal.

  Even though I’m getting way ahead of myself, damn if it doesn’t feel like a herd of elephants stampeding across my chest knowing there’s no way in hell I could ever be the one waiting for her at the end of an aisle. She’s ready for that whole wedding deal now at twenty-seven and I’m not even legally allowed to drink. Monogamy has never been my thing either, that’s for fucking sure. I like variety in pussy, tits and asses, and I love seeing girl on girl action up close and personal, and more often than not, participating. But when I remember Hailey trussed up and laid out before me last night and then holding her this morning…it’s possible that I could be convinced to actually sell my soul and sign away all the rights to my cock exclusively to her. As long as Linc didn’t kill me and boot me out of Havoc, and Senn didn’t kick my ass, and the IFC wouldn’t deny me a contract. Oh, and if Hailey didn’t live like a million miles away and I knew she actually wanted me, too. That’s a lot of fucking stipulations.

  “So you and Hailey have…” I ask Senn quietly so that Linc won’t hear. For whatever fucked up reason, I want to know the details, and I’m sure the asshole will indulge me.

  “Fucked?” he finishes for me. “Yeah. A while back,” he says. “But then she left the next day and I haven’t seen her until yesterday.”

  “Why not?” I stupidly inquire to keep him talking about their history. They only fucked once or one night? That’s a relief. Would it be weird if I ask him if he knows what her pussy tastes like? Yeah, probably so. Just for the record, she tastes even better than that heavenly peanut butter cake from the country diner.

  “Hailey lives in New York, and well…you’ve seen her,” he says. “She’s hot as hell, and Linc says she only dates like doctors and lawyers and shit. Not brawlers like me, so I figured what the fuck’s the point?” He shrugs as if not going after the most gorgeous woman in the world is no big deal. Idiot. He doesn’t deserve Hailey. Not that I do either if doctors and lawyers are her style, but whatever.

  “You know what you need?” I ask Senn. “A threesome.”

  “Fuck yes I do,” he says way too quickly. I know now, if I didn’t before, that he doesn’t give a shit about Hailey. “You’re a threesome magician,” he points out. “Abracadabra me two slutty chicks who will blow my mind.”

  “I’ve told you, it’s easy. When you’re at a club, look for the two girls who would rather grind on each other, then offer them what they’re duo is missing.”

  “A cock to ride on?” he asks.

  “Damn right,” I tell him offering the expected fist bump. This is all complete bullshit I�
��m feeding him, but I need him to back the fuck off Hailey. “We should all go out to one of the clubs in the city.” Yeah, I’m an evil asshole. And when Hailey’s upset witnessing his true slutty behavior, I’ll swoop in and kick his ass out of her mind for good.

  “Hell yes we should,” Senn agrees. “Yo, Linc! Let’s go out tonight.”

  “Okay, but I’m bringin’ Claire,” Linc yells back, flashing us a grin from further down the pier. That means this will be a guy and girl group outing, just as I hoped.

  “Will she let you take your balls with you or make you leave them at home, so she doesn’t have to carry around her purse all night?” I tease him, making Senn shake with laughter next to me. Linc flips us both off and things feel almost back to normal. The way we were all cool back before I started fucking around with my friends’ girl and sister behind their backs.

  …

  Hailey

  “Hey, Jude, can I talk to you for a second?” I call out across the pool to the younger Malone brother, the one trainin’ to do the impossible in a few weeks and take on his older brother Jax, who is a freakin’ undefeated MMA legend.

  “Sure, what’s up?” he swims over and asks after everyone hangin’ out around the the pool finishes singin’ the Beatle ballad that is also his namesake. Wipin’ the water from his face, we both tread water in the deep end of the pool.

  I glance around to make sure no one’s within earshot before I ask quietly, “What do you think of Mason? I mean, you know, as a fighter at Havoc?”

  As soon as Jude flashes a dimpled smile, I realize he’s another person who is in on what is supposed to be a secret.

  “He’s damn good,” he finally answers. “I’ve never seen someone improve as much as he has in such a short amount of time. Senn and the other top twelve light heavyweight fighters in the world better watch the fuck out.”

  I smile hearin’ that Jude thinks Mason’s good, better than Senn, even though I’m not sure why that makes me happy. “So, you wouldn’t want him to leave Havoc, right?”