Knockout Love

by Susan V. Vaughn

  “You are a terrible houseguest.” Maggie walked over and began sweeping up his dirt. She looked disgusted with his behavior, which only increased his anger. He didn’t want her looking at him like that. He wanted her to swoon.

  Sean pulled the broom from her hands and tossed it back into the kitchen.

  “Why did you do that?” she demanded, eyes wide with alarm.

  “So I could do this.” Sean pulled her against him and kissed her long and hard, forcing her to feel his desperation for her approval.

  “Stop, Sean!” Maggie struggled in his embrace, smacking his nose in the process.

  “Ow!” He let go, rubbing his throbbing face.

  “Serves you right,” Maggie yelled, hands on her hips. “You are acting like a complete animal. I don’t understand.”

  Sean didn’t understand himself, only that he was beyond upset and was about to take out his frustration on the woman making him feel that way. “You want an animal.” Sean grabbed Maggie and threw her over his shoulder. “You’ll get an animal.”

  “Sean!” Maggie pounded her fists against his back, attempting to break his hold. “Let me go!”

  He tightened his grip, resting his hand directly on her perfect, round backside, and headed into the bedroom. There was no stopping this

  “What are you doing?” Maggie cried as he put her down. Her eyes were still wide, but instead of fear, he saw excitement. This only turned him on more.

  “Whatever I want,” he growled before taking her lips savagely and crushing her under his weight.

  Maggie moaned, her lips hardening beneath his as she grabbed his T-shirt and pulled him closer. He ran his arms around her back and deepened the embrace. Her lips tasted sweet and silky, like warm honey. Tantalizing, addictive, and dangerous.

  Sean ran his hands down to her hips, nipping and licking at her mouth. His body was on fire. He was unable to pull back, unable to do anything but this.

  ***

  Maggie could not struggle, could not think. The world became Sean and his warm lips. She moaned against his mouth, her nipples hardening against her bra. He deepened the kiss, running his hands down her back to rest on her hips. His tongue flickered against her lips before he cupped the curves of her backside and squeezed.

  Maggie cried out as heat shot down her body, making her ache. She pushed back against Sean only to remove his shirt, so she could enjoy the feel of his bare skin, then she pulled him back into their kiss. He groaned, tangling his tongue with hers, deepening their embrace.

  Maggie relaxed against his heat, running her fingers down his chest. Sean moved on top of her, pinning her hands above her head, running his lips down her neck. “I want you, Maggie.”

  She looked up into his sexy, blue eyes and smiled. She was not in a position to make him stop. Not when everything felt so right, every part of her felt so alive. “Then take me, Sean.”

  He groaned with pleasure before recapturing her lips and running his hands down her waist to lift her shirt. Sean pulled back to take it off and unhook her bra. She heard him suck in a breath, almost as if the sight of her pained him. His eyes swam with intensity as he looked at her bare chest as if ready to devour it.

  “So perfect.” He cupped her breasts, and her nipples hardened against his calloused fingers, creating delicious friction. “All mine.”

  Maggie cried out with sizzling pleasure, her head falling back on the pillow. Sean gripped her harder and lowered his lips to her skin. Slowly his tongue circled one nipple before he sucked it deeply into his mouth. Maggie arched her back, moaning with pleasure, her sex throbbing with need.

  He took the other nipple deep in his mouth as he moved his hands to the zipper of her skirt. Maggie’s breaths came in long, surrendering moans while Sean worshiped her chest, making her ache from his kisses and slow licks. She got lost in a world of pleasure and was so absorbed she didn’t hesitate when Sean lowered her skirt and dropped it to the floor.

  When he pressed her aching sex through her panties, delight rippled up her spine. “Oh yes, Sean!”

  “Wicked girl.” He pulled his lips from her chest, eyes dark and wild. “Do you want me to touch you here?” He increased his pressure against her core, causing more ripples of desire.

  “Yes!” Maggie grabbed his head and pulled his lips to hers. She kissed him deeply, pressing her need farther into his hand, showing him how desperately she wanted his touch.

  Sean raised his mouth and dragged her panties down her legs with one hand as he locked his gaze on hers. The wild look in his eyes told her there was no going back. Sean was a man possessed. He would take everything from her now.

  Sean recaptured her mouth, rubbing his warm hand up and down her core. Maggie’s breath hitched as two fingers found the entrance to her heat and entered with piercing pleasure.

  Sean fed those fingers in and out of her sex—slowly, carefully—making her scream. Her body was already tightening and shaking around him, and her breaths became fast and frantic. She pulled on his hair, crying out in pleasure. Sean found one of her peaks and grazed his teeth against it while plunging his fingers deeper into her heat.

  “I’m coming,” Maggie cried out with delight, releasing around his fingers as her body exploded with pleasure.

  Sean took her through her release savagely, matching her cries with his heady growls. When her body finally relaxed, he pulled out of her heat and stood. She watched through heavy lids as he removed his pants, and his erection sprang forth—large and hard. Maggie swallowed hard. Her mouth had gone dry.

  Sean held her gaze, raising his chin proudly. He stood tall and strong—muscles rippling down his body—looking even more powerful than he had in her fantasies. “Do you want to continue, wicked girl?”

  Maggie nodded, unable to speak, unable to resist. She watched as Sean bent down to pull a condom out of the back pocket of his jeans. He protected his manhood and turned back to her, waiting for a response. Maggie licked her lips and beckoned him closer with one finger. She wasn’t nervous, only extremely curious and ridiculously aroused. She needed to feel him inside her with a desperation she had never known.

  Sean walked toward her as if in a trance, eyes burning with wicked intent, making her moan. He climbed on top of her and recaptured her lips. His kisses became deep and heated as his cock pressed into the entrance of her sex. Maggie placed her hands on his hips and pulled him the rest of the way, needing to feel more.

  “You feel so good, beautiful,” Sean cried out, his face strained, as though he was already on the edge of release. Maggie gasped at the size of him. She had underestimated just how well they would fit. She grabbed his face, seeking more kisses until her body adjusted, and the force of him felt good.

  Sean began to feed himself in and out of her, sending pleasure shocks through her body. He was careful to make each plunge slow and torturous, enticing her hips to rise and meet his, seeking more of him. She needed the connection between them to be harder, stronger. Maggie pulled back from his lips and held his gaze, silently pleading.

  “You want more?” Sean looked pleased and completely insane as he pushed into her harder, setting an intense rhythm. Each plunge created ripples of delight throughout her body. Never had sex felt this good; never had she felt so free.

  Soon Maggie was tightening around his shaft, her body on the edge of another release. In tune with her need, Sean began thrusting wildly. “Maggie!”

  He pumped and released into her fast, and her body shook and received him faster. It was a dance of pure ecstasy as spasm after spasm of pleasure passed between them.

  Sean recaptured her lips in a soft kiss as their bodies relaxed against each other, sharing one heartbeat.

  “That was amazing.” He chuckled loudly, pulling her head against his chest.

  “It was something all right,” Maggie agreed quietly and then pressed a soft kiss right above his heart. She had a feeling Sean had no idea how much that something meant to her. The moment they’d shared had changed everythi
ng inside her. Her heart felt heavy and strange.

  Maggie lowered her ear to his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat. His was slow and content, as if he had received what he needed to rest. Meanwhile, hers raced away, knowing she would never get rest again—not while lying in Sean’s arms, not while feeling like this. Maggie knew she needed to say something, and yet she was lost for words to explain this feeling, this vulnerability. Sex with Sean had been the best experience of her life.

  She looked up into his relaxed face and realized his eyes were closed, his breaths soft. “Sean, we need to talk.”

  He placed a gentle hand on her cheek and pulled her back to his chest. “Not tonight.”

  His voice sounded so sleepy, yet so desperate, she couldn’t deny him. She had no idea what had happened to Sean when they walked into his friend’s condo, only that something had upset him. He looked at her with hurt in his eyes before they were intimate, as if she had done something wrong. She didn’t understand it and wasn’t sure she was ready to hear him explain—even if he could. And considering his determination to sleep now, the truth seemed to be obvious.

  Maggie settled against his chest, placing another soft kiss above his heart. The heart she did not understand. It was late, and she hadn’t slept well in days. Her body was finally coming down, finally feeling some sort of peace, and it was time to rest. They could talk tomorrow.

  Sean yawned before placing a kiss on top of her head. He pulled the covers over their bodies. “Sleep well, beautiful.”

  She closed her eyes and was surprised when her heartbeat slowed to meet his. Sean’s deep, woodsy scent was comforting; his strong, even breaths more so. For the first time since leaving Indiana, Maggie’s mind drifted away to a restful slumber.

  CHAPTER 11

  Sean woke up hungry, and not for food. He took one look at the beautiful, naked woman in his arms, and that was it. He had to have her. Without a second thought, Sean was running his lips down her stomach, parting her legs with his hands, and burying his face in her heat, feeding his hunger.

  Maggie’s light breaths became desperate pants as she tangled her hands in his hair, guiding him along. “Sean!” She shivered as he grazed her swollen mound with his teeth. “What are you doing?”

  “Tending to your needs,” he growled against her sex.

  “Well, don’t stop.” Her voice had gone husky and desperate. That was enough motivation for any sane man, and Sean was not sane.

  He ran his tongue up and down her core, circling her mound, sucking her in. She tasted so good, better than anything in the world. The sweet scent of her arousal was unbelievable, and it was all his. No man had ever made her this wet. No man ever would again. Sean licked up and down her heat possessively, determined to make her scream as she never had before.

  “Oh, Sean, please,” she begged, tightened her grip on his hair, guiding him back and forth. Maggie’s moans had become loud and frantic. She was close.

  Sean grazed her mound again with his teeth and buried one of his fingers deep inside her sex. She tightened around him, her breathing frantic, and he knew he had her on the edge. With careful strokes and determined licks, he forced the loudest, most desperate scream of pleasure from her throat he had ever heard. It was like heaven, listening to her scream, feeling her shake beneath him, and licking up the aftermath of her pleasure. Nothing could compare to the pride he felt in that moment. Maggie was his. No other man could touch her like this. No other man could make her this free.

  Maggie stopped shaking and pulled him to her, covering his lips with grateful kisses. He took those and more, managing to keep the smile off his lips as he positioned her on her hands and knees. Since the day they met, he dreamed of taking her like this. He could hardly pull on protection, his hands were shaking so hard with excitement.

  In moments, he was plunging into her from behind, feeling her warm passage receive him, listening to her greedy moans. Maggie pushed back against him, seeking more of him, lost in her arousal.

  “Wicked girl.” He slapped her backside with both hands and held her in place. Then like an animal, he plunged into her again and again, slapping their bodies together, bringing on more pleasure. He didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, until they were both screaming together, experiencing the most mind-blowing release a man and woman could ever experience.

  Only after he had pulled her into his arms to kiss her tenderly did reality set in. It was close to seven in the morning, and he needed to be at the training center in thirty minutes. He couldn’t spend the day kissing Maggie stupid. He had to remember why he came down to Florida. What he’d worked and sacrificed his whole life for.

  Sean raised his mouth from hers and smiled. “I have to get going, Wicked.”

  “Well, good morning to you too, Sean,” Maggie teased, pulling the blanket up to her chest. Sean fought the need to pull it back down and reveal those magnificent breasts.

  “I wouldn’t call what we just did a good morning.” He smiled again and placed a quick kiss on her nose. “I would call it a great morning.”

  “I bet you would.” Maggie rolled her eyes and sighed. “But great is so forgettable. I’m looking for magnificent.”

  “I’ll give you magnificent.” Sean growled, tackling her against the pillow and running kisses against her neck until she was squealing with laughter. Maggie was just teasing, but her words gave him another icky, inadequate feeling deep inside his chest. The woman was driving him mad. Sean pinned her wrists in one hand and stretched them over her head. There was no time for this, but he didn’t care. He captured her gaze and smiled. “Tell me you never had better, and I will let you go.”

  “Never.” Maggie squirmed underneath him, trying to break his hold. “I would never willingly inflate your ego.” He didn’t know why, but that icky feeling increased.

  “That’s right. All you do is deflate it.” Sean let go and stood up to pull on his pants.

  “What are you talking about?” Maggie sat up in bed, blanket around her breasts, wavy, red hair falling around her shoulders. She was too sexy to look at, so Sean turned to put on his shirt. His demons were playing with his head again, telling him Maggie was too good for someone as scummy as he was. He would never be good enough, smart enough, rich enough.

  “Sean?” Maggie’s voice had gone soft. “Why are you upset?”

  “I’m not upset,” he growled, confirming he was indeed extremely upset. Even worse, he had no idea how not to be. Sean sat on the edge of the bed and yanked his shoes on.

  “I don’t understand.” Maggie rubbed a hand down his back. “Are you mad at me? I was just joking around about the ego thing.”

  “Were you?” Sean turned to her, narrowing his eyes. “I think you like deflating my ego, telling me I’m not good enough. I know you think you’re better than me.”

  Maggie shook her head. “Sean—”

  “Why?” he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, as if she wasn’t in the room. “Because you were brought up to be rich, smart, and superior? Raised to look down at some piece of trash like me?”

  “Sean, I never said—”

  “It doesn’t matter what you say.” Sean stood up. He was off on some insanity trip and couldn’t find the brakes. “I see how you look at me—like I’m some pathetic wrestler with no money and no future.”

  “That’s not true!” Maggie stood up with sudden anger. The sheet had dropped, revealing all those perfect curves, and suddenly Sean could no longer think. Maggie didn’t seem to notice the hunger in his eyes as she made up the distance between them and poked her finger into his chest. “You are putting words in my mouth, making things up. You don’t have any right.”

  “I have every right!” Sean pushed her finger aside. The fact he was acting insane, and she was calling him out on it, only reinforced why he had become so insane in the first place. “I see how you look at me, and I don’t like it. I’ve received those looks my whole life, and guess what?” He leaned in, capturing her gaze with his,
forcing her to see the full extent of his crazy. “It doesn’t matter what you think, or anyone else. I’m going to make it, dammit! One day I’m going to prove the whole world wrong.”

  “Sean.” Maggie cupped his face. Her green eyes had gone soft and were swimming with compassion. “I don’t think any of those things, and I’m sorry if anyone else ever did.”

  He swatted her hands aside, turning away. Maggie might have been sincere, but all he saw was pity in those emerald eyes. Pity for the pathetic wrestler with no future. Pity for the man who was beneath her in every way. Sean had to get out of this room before he lost it completely.

  “I’m leaving.” He stomped out of the bedroom, grabbing the car keys off the dresser along the way.

  “Where are you going, Sean?” Maggie was trailing him naked—making him suffer more.

  “Training.” He ignored her beautiful skin and pulled open the front door. “I need to work out this anger.” He closed the door and knew it was the truth. Whatever happened to make him snap like this—whether it was Maggie or his past—he had to fight it back down with a good workout. Sean had spent his whole life chasing away these demons and moving forward with his dreams despite all odds. He was so close to meeting his goal, he couldn’t let anything get in his way—and that included the woman who felt so right in his arms.

  ***

  It took a long time before Maggie could stop staring at the front door while standing completely naked in some strange man’s living room. Sean had just left in a rage—a rage that was somehow completely her fault. She didn’t understand how he had gone from kissing her sweetly one minute to screaming at her the next. Sean was so angry, and Maggie was lost as to why he had directed his anger at her. All she knew was that he felt inadequate about everything, and something about her seemed to entice those demons to come out. This wasn’t the first time he had looked at her, in the last few days, with terrible hurt in his eyes, as if she had said something to break his heart. It wasn’t fair he felt that way, but it wasn’t her fault, either.