A Fighter's Desire

by L. P. Dover

  He was pretty hot with his dark hair, sea green eyes, and tattoos down his tanned arms, but he wasn’t exactly one of the good guys. I didn’t know many of the fighters, but his reputation was widely known; he was bad news.

  Gabriella shook her head, clearly not wanting me to say anything. I wonder what happened. “The guy at the bar said it was a hurricane. I have no clue what that means or what’s in it, but it looks good. Anyway,” she said, holding out one of the cups for me, “bottoms up, baby.”

  Taking the cup, we both gulped ours down and almost immediately I could feel the warmth of the liquor seeping its way into my blood. Two drinks were definitely going to be my limit if they were that potent. The last thing I needed was to get drunk around a bunch of people I didn’t know, especially Ryley and his brother.

  Setting her cup on the mantle, Gabriella grabbed Tyler around the waist and shouted, “All right, you guys, it’s time to get out there and dance. Let’s go!”

  “Oh hell, I’m in trouble now,” Tyler teased, putting his arm across my shoulders and hers.

  Pushing through the throng of people, we stopped in the middle of the floor; Tyler against my front with his hands around my waist, and Gabriella to his back. Some kind of techno song played over the surround sound, so I went with it and started to dance. If there was one thing I was good at, it was dancing.

  Rolling my hips against Tyler’s, I linked my hands around his neck as he held me firmly by my hips. I could feel a set of eyes watching me, and when I looked up at the top of the stairs, Ryley was there leaning over the banister, with his hardened gaze fastened on me. Smiling, I winked at him and waved before he stormed off.

  Once the song was over, Gabriella and I switched places, which put me grinding against Tyler’s ass while Gabriella took his front. I had to admit, Tyler had a very sexy backside.

  Another thing I noticed and felt was the tension between him and Gabriella. I knew right then and there that they wanted each other. It was a shame they couldn’t do anything about it because of her brother, especially since he and Tyler were best friends.

  Smiling, I waved at Gabriella over Tyler’s shoulder and left the dance area so I could get something to drink other than alcohol. The kitchen was just off to the right, through a set of double doors, and there were people everywhere milling about and talking. Thankfully, there were chilled bottles of water lined up on the bar.

  I grabbed one and started to walk off … but I didn’t get very far. I heard Ryley and Camden’s names being whispered among a group of women at a table in the corner, so needless to say, I sidled in closer to eavesdrop on what they were saying.

  “Who do you think they’ll pick tonight? They always try to find someone new to play with on fight nights,” one of them whispered. She had way too much makeup on, and wore a dress that was so short her ass cheeks began to show as she leaned over to talk to the other women; she had beautiful sleek blonde hair, though.

  So the twins wanted someone to play with, huh?

  There was another girl with curly, red hair wearing a green tank top and denim shorts that spoke up next. Her voice was quieter, so I moved closer to listen. “Well, you know what happened to April, don’t you? Ryley let her go because he didn’t like the way she sucked his dick. Yeah, she left all pissed off. Talk about crazy, right? I wish they would give me a chance. I would love to see if I could handle them both at the same time.”

  “Excuse me,” I said, cutting in. “I’m sorry to barge in on your conversation, but I couldn’t help overhearing. Are you saying that Ryley and Camden look for women that’ll sleep with them both … at the same time?”

  The girl with the red hair nodded her head. “Yes, it’s like a game to them. Every Saturday night at these parties they both find a girl they’re interested in and proposition her. My friend April was picked last week, but she was let go.”

  There were five of them huddled together and I couldn’t help but wonder …

  “So, is that the reason why you are all here tonight? Hoping you get picked?” I asked curiously. It had to be the saddest thing I’d ever heard.

  “Of course that’s why we’re here,” the red-haired girl replied incredulously.

  Taking my bottle of water, I backed up slowly and smiled, even though I really wanted to tell them how stupid they were. “Well, all right then. You ladies have a wonderful night and I wish you luck.”

  Turning around quickly, I waltzed out of the room and past the gigantic living room where Gabriella and Tyler were still dancing. There weren’t as many people outside, so I decided to go out there and sit by the pool to get some fresh air.

  Now that the sun was gone, it was chilly—especially when the brisk wind blew across my bare skin—causing steam to billow up from the pool. Once I sat down on the edge and lowered my feet inside its warm depths, I sighed and leaned back on my hands, gazing up at the clear night sky.

  It was quiet and I loved it, at least until …

  “We could go for a swim if you’d like,” a voice called out behind me.

  Groaning, I turned my head and watched Ryley walk down the steps toward me. He was dressed in a pair of ripped denim jeans and a white T-shirt with a navy baseball cap covering up his blond hair. However, there was something different about him in the way he carried himself and in the way he spoke; his tattoos were also on the wrong arm. Then it dawned on me … it wasn’t Ryley. It was his brother, Camden.

  “Let me guess, your brother told you to come out here and talk to me?” I asked dryly.

  Narrowing his gaze, he held out his hand and I let him help me up. He was about six foot tall, but once I slipped on my red heels I was only shy of that by maybe an inch. “Actually, I haven’t spoken to my brother,” he responded truthfully. “I take it that you have, though. What did he say to you?”

  Keeping his hold on my hand, he led me back up the steps toward the house, but stopped in front of the doors. “He wanted me to be his date tonight,” I told him. “I assumed you both talked it out before approaching your prospective conquests.”

  Camden lowered his head and chuckled, but when he looked up I almost faltered. He had the same damn hypnotic blue eyes and smile as Ryley. Holy hell, they were going to kill me.

  “I take it you’ve already heard, huh?”

  “Yeah, it’s kind of hard not to considering you have a house full of women salivating at the chance to have sex with you two. They told me about the little game you and your brother like to play,” I replied snarkily.

  Camden moved closer and tilted my chin up with his warm fingers. “You don’t sound like you’re down for a little fun. It’s sad, really. After watching you tonight, you’re the only one here that I think would be able to handle us … and enjoy it.”

  Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and lifted my lips to his, but stopped once I could feel the heat of his breath brushing across them. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in tighter, his hard cock pressing against my stomach. I had to hand it to him and his brother; they didn’t waste any time.

  “I’m going to tell you what I told your brother,” I whispered, sliding my thigh in between his legs, torturing him.

  Groaning, he lowered his hands to my ass and squeezed. “Please tell me you said you’d be ours tonight. If he wants you as bad as I do then it’ll be a night you won’t forget.”

  Grabbing his wrists, I pried his hands away from my ass and took a step away. “And that right there is one of the reasons why I told him no,” I admitted forcefully.

  Camden lowered his arms and furrowed his brows. “So are you trying to say that’s not something you’d want? That makes no sense.”

  “I didn’t say it’s not something I’d want, but you see, you make it sound like it’s a privilege to have sex with you. Haven’t you ever thought about how it might be the opposite way around? What if you were the ones lucky enough to have the one woman for the night? I’m not a one night stand kind of girl, and believe me, if I was you wouldn’t
know what the hell to do with me.”

  Eyes wide, his mouth dropped open, and on that last note, I opened the glass door and marched inside. The five girls that I talked to in the kitchen had all seen the interaction between me and Camden, and of course, I was met with lethal stares as I walked past.

  “Don’t worry, ladies, he’s still up for grabs,” I said in passing as I headed toward the front door.

  Gabriella caught up to me and laughed. “Oh my God, Ash, you should’ve seen his face when you walked off. Everyone was watching you two, and even Ryley was speechless when he saw you walk away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.”

  “Yeah, well, I can’t say that walking away was the best option. Now I’m going to wonder for the rest of my life what it would’ve been like to be with them. I’ll admit, I wanted to give in.”

  Wrapping her arm around my waist, Gabriella walked me out the front door and down to her car. “I think you might be the only female in existence that’s turned them down, Ash. It was a smart move, though, and I have to say that you definitely put them in their place tonight.”

  I laughed and squeezed her tight. “You’re damn right I did, and it felt so freaking good, too.”

  Now I wonder what desperate female they’ll pick tonight since I turned them down.

  Once we got to the car and backed out of the driveway, I took one last look at Ryley and Camden’s home, wishing deep down that I could’ve gotten a small sample of what it would’ve been like to be with them. I guess I’ll never know, but I can always fantasize. Hopefully, we had a pack of batteries at the apartment … because I was going to need them.

  THE WEEKEND WAS over and it was time to get my mind back into books and school. That was easier said than done considering I’d been reading the same page over and over. Stop thinking about them, Ash.

  No more daydreaming about the dimples in their cheeks when they smiled, the way they smelled, or the way their blue eyes heated up every time they saw you. Oh whatever, Ashleigh, I scolded myself. It was probably the way they looked at every girl just to draw them in.

  I didn’t even realize that class was over until Gabriella shook me by the shoulders and hollered in my ear, making me jump. “Wake up, girl! Class is over.”

  The room was empty.

  “You got it bad, you know that? Maybe you should’ve let the Twins of Terror rock your world this weekend,” she teased.

  Rolling my eyes, I packed up my books and followed her out of the room. “Yeah, well, it’s too late now.”

  “I’m sure if you called them they’d be up for it,” she chuckled.

  Shaking my head, I snorted. “Screw that.”

  It was lunch time, so we walked outside to our favorite spot on campus underneath the giant black oak tree where Colin and Bradley sat waiting on us. Both guys were perfectly tanned and shirtless, which didn’t make it easy to concentrate around them.

  Every single girl that walked by couldn’t help but stare at them and give us evil looks in the process. The guys enjoyed the attention, especially Bradley who loved it even more when the girls would look at him when Gabriella was around. Unfortunately, she never seemed to care.

  Bradley had caramel-colored hair and the eyes to match with the cutest set of dimples in his cheeks. I didn’t let those dimples fool me, though; he may look innocent, but he wasn’t.

  I sat down next to Colin while Gabriella sat beside Bradley, trying her best to hide her smile. “Are you okay, Ash?” Colin asked, stealing one of my chips after I pulled them out. “You look like something’s wrong.”

  “Nope, I’m fine.”

  In my bag, I fetched the ham sandwich I’d made earlier this morning and broke it in half, eating only a couple bites of it. “Did something happen at the party?” he asked, his jaw clenched tight, waiting on my answer.

  Sighing, I handed him the rest of my chips and the last half of my ham sandwich; food was the last thing on my mind.

  “Oh, she’s fine,” Gabriella cut in with a smirk on her face. “She’s just a little … um … frustrated. She hung out with some of my friends this weekend, and it was very interesting might I say. Why don’t you give them the story, Ash?”

  Groaning, I leaned my head against the tree and looked up at the crisp, green leaves gracing the branches. “Trust me, they don’t want to hear the story. There’s nothing to tell anyway.”

  Colin tensed beside of me. “Ash, what did you do? You didn’t—”

  “No,” I blurted out, glancing over at him. “I didn’t do what you think I did.”

  “Nope, she didn’t,” Gabriella chimed. “In fact, she blew them off and it was so freaking funny. She made history last night.”

  I rolled my eyes and laughed while throwing a potato chip at her. “I wouldn’t exactly call it that, but it was kind of epic.”

  Colin smiled, but before I could return the gesture, something over his shoulder caught my attention. “Holy shit,” I growled, reaching for his baseball cap.

  His eyes went wide and he turned his head to peer behind him. “What is it?”

  Slipping his hat over my head, I pulled my ponytail through the back and grabbed one of my textbooks so I could hold it in front of my face. Ryley and Camden were on the opposite side of the quad, walking around the campus.

  I had no idea know how I spotted them so quickly with such a large crowd, but it was them … they were there. What the hell were they doing on campus?

  One of them was in a pair of navy Adidas gym shorts and a white tank top; the other was in a pair of jeans, red T-shirt, and navy blue baseball cap. Camden wore that same hat the other night, but there was no way I could tell them apart being so far away.

  I did know that Ryley was the one with the jagged scar at his hairline and that they both smelled completely different. However, I wasn’t planning on getting that close to tell them apart.

  “Gabriella, don’t you dare turn around. I don’t want them to see me,” I snapped, peering at her over the top of my book before glaring at the twins.

  She froze in place, but Bradley and Colin glanced in the direction of my glare. “Surely you’re not talking about the douche bag look-alike motherfuckers, right?” Bradley asked incredulously.

  Gasping, Gabriella put a hand over her mouth and quickly turned her head. “Oh my God, they’re here?” She swiveled back around and smacked Bradley in the arm. “And don’t talk about them like that. They’re my friends, and professional UFC fighters. I definitely wouldn’t call them douche bag look-alike motherfuckers to their faces.”

  Bradley scoffed, “I’m not worried about that, sweetheart. I can hold my own.”

  And he probably could, but that was the last thing we needed.

  “Why would they be looking for you?” Colin asked. “Didn’t you say you turned them down?”

  I groaned and hid behind my book. “Yeah, I did.”

  He sighed and tilted the book away from my face. “Are you sure about that?”

  “She did, Colin,” Gabriella chimed, smirking at me. “Although, I did tell her that since she turned them down they’d only try harder to get her. They’re not the type to give up.”

  Colin moved closer to me, his arms touching mine. “Do you need me to help you get rid of them?”

  “I’ll help, too,” Bradley stated excitedly.

  Eyes wide, I quickly shook my head. “No, don’t do that. They’re probably not looking for me anyway.”

  Yeah, right. You know they are.

  Ryley and Camden hadn’t seen me yet and I hoped that they wouldn’t. I had no makeup on, and was dressed in a pair of denim shorts, a green tank top, and a pair of brown Rainbow sandals. I didn’t exactly look glamorous at the moment.

  “Uh … I think they are because they’re headed straight this way, Ash,” Colin whispered, putting his arm around my shoulders. “I don’t think they’ve seen you, but they recognized Gabriella. Just play along with me, okay?”

  “Okay,” I whispered back, keeping the book in f
ront of my face.

  “Hey guys,” Gabriella squealed. “What brings you over here? I figured you would be training right now.”

  “We were,” one of them said, “but we wanted to find Ashleigh and we figured she’d be with you. Do you know where she is?”

  Please don’t tell them, I repeated over and over in my mind. My palms began to sweat, but I kept hold of the book in front of my face.

  Thankfully, Gabriella didn’t hesitate. “Um … no, actually I don’t. We had a class together this morning, but that’s the only time I’ll see her until the afternoon at the apartment.”

  Their voices were so much alike I couldn’t tell which one was speaking. “All right, well tell her we were looking for her. We need to talk to her about something.”

  “Oh-kay,” Gabriella drawled out slowly. “I can’t guarantee you that she’ll call you, but I’ll tell her you were looking for her.”

  “Thanks, Gabby. Tell your brother we said hey. We hate that he couldn’t come to the party the other night.”

  “Will do, guys. I’m sure I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

  “You better,” one of them called out, their voice sounding further away.

  “Are they leaving?” I whispered to Colin.

  He nodded, but kept his gaze forward. A few seconds later, he lowered the book and both Gabriella and Bradley smirked at me. “You’re safe,” she giggled. “They didn’t suspect a thing.”

  Colin slid his arm away from my shoulders and turned to look at me, his gaze concerned. “What exactly do they want with you?”

  That was a good question. I wanted to know the same thing.

  While quickly packing up my books, I sent a warning glare to Gabriella so she’d know I didn’t want them knowing anything about what happened over the weekend. “Nothing you would want to know, trust me. All right, guys, I’m out of here. I need to head to the library before my next class.”