by Alexa Davis
“Karli!”
“Oh, hey, Dad. I didn’t know you were in there.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I think your attention was elsewhere.”
“Don’t start, please, Daddy. I told you what he did for Michaela.”
“I’m glad he was there, but confused about why you were out with him when you’d just assured me the two of you weren’t dating.”
“We’re not dating. We’re just friends, and Michaela and I were both damned lucky he was there. I wish you’d give him a break.”
“I haven’t said a word to him.”
“That’s my point. Maybe you should at least thank him for protecting me.”
Dad got up from behind the desk and said, “I pulled up the billing sheets that need to go out. If you can just print them off and send them out for me, I would appreciate it.”
“Dad…”
“I’m going to thank him, okay? Then, I’m going to kick his ass into shape. He has a Halloween exhibition match at MGM on Sunday he needs to get ready for. Don’t distract him.”
I shook my head at him as he left the office. Men were so funny. I’ve seen my dad when he didn’t know I was looking ogle the card girls and the scantily-clad, adoring fans. But let one man show interest in his daughter and he declares war.
With a heavy sigh, I dropped my purse and sat down behind the desk. I worked until lunchtime, and by the time I left the office again, Nick was lying on his back on the weight bench, lifting three-hundred-plus pounds over his head while Dad spotted him. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and no shirt, and his body was covered in sweat.
My hormones went absolutely crazy. This man was killing me. There were at least six other guys working out in the big room, but as far as my eyes were concerned, there was only Nick. With a shaky breath, I walked over to where they were. I saw Nick look at me out of the corner of his eye and try to smile just as he let out a grunt and Dad took the weights out of his hand and sat them down in the bar. “I was going to run out and get some lunch; you guys want anything?”
Nick sat up and Dad tossed him a towel. I tried not to be obvious as I watched him rub the towel over his chiseled chest and abs. My mouth was practically watering. I was not sure when I turned into a gigantic pervert. “Yeah, will you get me one of the turkey sandwiches from the deli?” Dad asked. “You know how I like it.”
“Sure. Nick?”
Now I could see Dad looking at me out of the corner of my eye. I ignored him and kept my eyes on Nick’s face. He smiled again, this time all the way down to his dimples. “Yes, please. I’ll have the same as Charlie. Could you grab me a Red Bull, too?” He got up and reached for his bag.
“It’s okay; I got it. I’ll be back.” The fresh air cleared my head and by the time I got back, I was sure that I had Nick’s hot, sweaty body out of my system…but I was only half right. He’d showered by that time and now his body was only hot. He was wearing a crisp, white t-shirt and a clean pair of red basketball shorts. I handed him his lunch bag.
“Thank you. Are you sure you don’t want money?”
“I’m sure. You paid the other night. Besides, Michaela and I still owe you big time.”
He waved his palm at me. “You don’t owe me anything. Your dad said to tell you that Lenny called and he had to run out for a while. He’ll be back in about an hour.”
“Oh…okay. Lenny’s my uncle. Did he say what he needed?”
“No, sorry.”
“It’s okay. His health isn’t good, but I’m sure if it was anything important, Dad would have called me. I’m going to eat my lunch in the break room. Do you want to join me?”
“Sure.”
As we walked toward the break room, we passed Kevin and two of the other young guys Dad was training. They stopped what they were doing and watched us. I knew from experience that these guys gossiped more than any women alive. By the end of the day, rumors about Nick and me would be flying. I’d never tell Nick, or Dad, but I almost wished there would be at least a little bit of truth to whatever they were saying. He was killing me.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NICK
Charlie was kicking my ass today. He hadn’t said anything, but I got the feeling it was about Karli and I going out to dinner the other night. I wasn’t too worried about it, though. In the long run, it would get me into better shape and help me win and Karli was treating me great, which was what really mattered.
I followed her into the break room as everyone’s heads turned and watched us. I didn’t doubt Charlie would hear whatever rumors these guys would start, but at the moment, I didn’t care about that, either. I was going to have lunch with Karli – alone.
She opened the door and I followed her in, letting it close behind me. She took a seat at the table. She was wearing a pair of jeans that fit her like they were made for her sexy body and an off-white tank top. Her arms were fit and muscular, but in a feminine way. I’d been with women that took good care of their bodies and women that surgically enhanced theirs, but never with one that had the kind of muscle tone Karli had. My fingers itched to touch her. I sat down with her at the table and while we were eating, I asked how Michaela was doing.
“She’s doing okay. She’s so grateful to you. She wants to come down and thank you herself when she has a day off. She went into work yesterday, even though I tried to get her to stay home.”
“What does she do?”
“She works for her dad. He owns the Pink Dragon Resort.”
“Oh wow, nice.”
“Her dad’s not nice. That’s one reason why she insisted on going to work. She didn’t want him to know anything about what happened that night. He’d just give her a hard time and make her feel like it was her fault those creeps tormented her. He ignored her most of her life and now, he wants her to be a perfect lady.”
It was obvious Karli had strong feelings about that. I didn’t blame her. It reminded me of my relationship with my father…who had texted me earlier to remind me about Saturday. I really didn’t want to go now that I knew Karli would be out with her attorney date.
I was going to be grouchy just because I had to be there. Add the jealousy about Karli being out with someone else on top of that, and I knew I was going to be a son of a bitch. I’d have to warn Ethan to run interference for me with my dad. No one could piss me off like he did.
“Where’s her mom?”
“She worked as a showgirl at Bally’s for years. When she stopped dancing, she took a job as a choreographer at the Tropicana. She still works there and she’s still married to Michaela’s dad, but poor Michaela sees her even less than she does her father. She has had her own place for two years now and her mother has yet to visit once.”
“Wow, that sucks. Where’s your mother, Karli? If you don’t mind me asking.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mind. I don’t have any feelings about her the way I did when I was young. She was a dancer and Dad knocked her up when she was at the height of her career. He had to pay her not to have an abortion and then he was saddled with me for life.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t think of it that way,” I told her. “He seems crazy about you.”
She smiled. Charlie must have a much softer side than any I’d ever seen, judging from the look of love in her pretty eyes.
“He’s been an awesome dad. Even when he was fighting, we traveled together and he hired a tutor for me. Once we moved out here, he only fought for about a year before he retired and started training. But no matter what he was doing, he was always there for me. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t get too upset with him about poking his nose into my business and still treating me like I’m sixteen. He means well.”
I finished the last bite of my sandwich and washed it down with my Red Bull. “I can see why he’d worry about you,” I told her. I let my eyes roam across the top half of her body. I was not sure, but I thought she shivered.
“Thanks,” she said. “But I’m a big girl and I have good sen
se. I just have to keep reminding him of that. Hopefully, one day, he’ll get it.” She had only eaten a couple bites of her sandwich and she was picking at her chips.
“Are you not hungry?”
She looked up at me with a serious look on her face then and said, “Butterflies.” I waited for her to go on and explain what that meant. When she didn’t I said,
“Butterflies?”
“Damn it, Nick, you give me butterflies. I’m trying to do this friends thing with you because I really do like you. But it’s hard.”
She stood up and I watched her throw away her trash. I was trying to decide what the best way to respond to that was. When she turned back around to face me she said, “I didn’t mean to tell you that, but it’s even hard to hide.”
I stood up too. Her back was against the sink, so she couldn’t back away from me when I stepped in close. “Then why fight it, Karli? You know how badly I want you. You have to know.”
“Because I can’t get involved with you, Nick. I just can’t. I made a promise to myself.”
“To unload the sins of your past lovers onto every other man that tries to come into your life?”
“No. I’m not punishing you for his sins. I’m just protecting my heart.”
I reached out and brushed her hair back. It was so soft. I loved touching it. I wanted to wrap it up in my fists and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. But, I made a promise to her and I wasn’t going to break it…unless she asked me to. “I don’t want to hurt you, Karli.”
She nodded. “I know. But, I don’t want a boyfriend who has to fight off groupies. I’ve been there and done that on a much smaller scale than you. I don’t want to do it again.”
I didn’t have any idea what to do to fix that situation. Since I won my first title bout and picked up sponsors, I’ve had groupies. Las Vegas was not a big place. I couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized and accosted. “What if we tried things on a smaller scale?”
She smiled. “I thought that was what we were doing, with the friends thing.”
“Smaller than dating and bigger than friends.” I leaned down so that my lips were so close I could feel her breath on them, but I still wasn’t touching them. “How about friends with occasional benefits?”
“How occasional?” she whispered.
“As occasional as you want it,” I told her.
I felt her lips touch mine. For a second, I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or if she was trying to move around me. When I felt her arms go up around my neck, I had my answer.
We kissed hard and passionately, like we were both starving for it. I picked her up and without breaking the kiss, I carried her over to the vinyl couch up against the wall. I sat down with her in my lap. Her round butt was pressing down into my rock-hard cock, and it was beginning to ache as I slid my lips from her mouth down to her neck. I licked my way across it and kissed it and sucked on it until suddenly, she pulled away from me and stood up.
I thought that I might die right there if she walked out the door and left me here like this. But she didn’t leave. Instead, she went over and locked the door before she came back over and straddled my lap.
I pulled her chest against mine and we began to kiss again. While I held onto her with one hand, I slid the other one up underneath the back of her tank top. Her skin was warm and soft. When I felt the clasp of her bra, I unhooked it. I felt the release of her breasts against my chest and slid my hand around and let it play across her belly for a minute.
I felt her shudder into me as I finished lifting her shirt and bra up until they were nestled underneath her armpits and her amazing breasts were free. They were as beautiful as I had imagined them almost every day since I met her. I had to have a taste. I dipped my head down and took one of the hard nipples between my lips.
She moaned, and it was the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard. I ran my tongue around the outside of her nipple and then licked across it, pressing down on it as I did. Her moan changed to a whimper as my free hand now dipped down between her legs and lightly rubbed her through her jeans. She had her head thrown back as I sucked and licked and nibbled and rubbed.
I’d never been able to get off on just getting a woman off before…but I had the feeling it would be easy with Karli. The way she was moving around on top of my cock, the sounds she was making, the way she smelled, and the sheer, beautiful sight of the ecstasy on her face all went straight to my head.
I pulled my mouth back reluctantly and pushed the tank top up over her head and tossed it aside. Then, I pulled off her bra and my shirt. I pulled her in tight so I could feel those sexy tits up against my chest as I kissed her again. She moaned into my mouth and I felt my cock jump in my shorts. I felt like it was going to explode as I continued to touch and taste her. Her jeans were wet through and I was dying to feel her soft, wet flesh.
“Karli?” I said, not completely taking my mouth off of hers.
“Yeah?” She was out of breath, and her voice was deep, husky, and sexy.
I pulled at her jeans. “Will you take these off, please?”
She looked unsure, but then stood up, and I felt my heart speed up to what felt like a dangerous pace. It was a new feeling for me with a woman. The only other time I ever feel my heart race was right before and after a fight.
My eyes took in her luscious body as she stripped off her jeans and panties. I put my hands on her hips as she stood naked in front of me and pulled her in so that my tongue could reach her slit. I ran it up and down, and she whimpered, whined, and moved her hips. It was so fucking sexy.
She arched her back to give me better access, and I let my tongue drive up into her. She was so wet, hot, and fucking sweet. I moved my tongue around inside of her before I pulled it out and pressed it into her clit, hard. She tried to pull back, but I held her tightly and sucked that swollen nub into my mouth.
She wrapped her hands up in my hair and when I slipped a finger up inside of her, she pulled on it. I slid in another one and moved them in and out, up and down, until I found her G-spot. I rubbed against it while she gasped and writhed in my hands. This was better than any fucking fantasy I’d ever had.
She breathed out my name every so often, and I fucking loved that, too. The way she was riding my face with her hips was hot and the faster I licked, the harder she pressed into me. Her breaths were becoming ragged and short, and I could tell that she was about to come. I moved my fingers faster in and out of her and clamped down hard on her clit with my lips until her entire body went rigid and she threw her whole body forward into me and clutched onto my shoulders.
She was making muffled sounds like she was biting her lip, trying not to cry out. I felt her cum, just as there was a fucking knock on the door. Shit.
“Karli? Are you in there?”
“Oh shit!” she whispered. It was Charlie. She looked terrified. I felt it all the way to my core. I pointed at the bathroom as I scooped up her clothes. As soon as I pressed them into her arms I started pulling on my shirt. I was breathing hard as I pulled on my shorts and ran my fingers through my hair. I wiped the moisture from my face, breathing her in one last time.
“Karli!” Charlie knocked louder. I tried to control my breathing as I grabbed the Red Bull off the table and pulled open the door.
“Where’s Karli?”
“She’s in the bathroom.” He looked around the room like he thought I was hiding her or lying. Then he looked me over suspiciously and said,
“Why was the door locked?”
I tried to look surprised. “I don’t know, was it?”
Karli came out of the bathroom then, fully dressed and looking pulled together. Charlie turned his attention to her and I slipped out behind him. Chicken-shit, I knew. But I figured she could handle him better without me in the way. At least, that’s what I told myself.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KARLI
“I can’t believe you had sex in the break room with Nick Storelli!” Michaela was sittin
g on the edge of my bed, watching me do my make-up. It was the first time we’d had a chance to talk all week. I hadn’t even been sure I was going to tell her about me and Nick until the moment I saw her and then it just came out.
“It wasn’t technically sex…”
“Oral sex! Dude, he made you come with his mouth!”
“Shh! Dad is going to hear you!”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re both legal.”
“Can you imagine how Dad would react if he found out I’d let Nick go down on me in the break room at the gym? He’d have a heart attack, or kill me. Or kill me and then have a heart attack.”
“I think he’d kill Nick first. So, have you talked to Nick since then?” I closed my left eye to line it and then opened it and looked at her reflection in the mirror behind me.
“I haven’t seen him, but he called last night.”
“Why haven’t you seen him? Who is avoiding who?”
“No one is avoiding. He has an exhibition match on Sunday that he’s been working hard getting ready for, and I’ve had classes. I went in super early this morning to clean, and I guess I just missed him.”
“You’re avoiding him. What did he say when he called?”
I rolled my eyes. “The same thing you did.”
“He’s right. I know you. You’re feeling guilty. Honey, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why do I feel like one of those cage whores who fuck the fighters at the after parties in the bathrooms?”
“You shouldn’t feel like that. You’re not his groupie – you’re his friend, and he really likes you.”
“I don’t know how he would possibly have any respect for me after that.”
“Oh, give me a break! This is not 1959, babe!”
“I’m embarrassed, Michaela, and on top of that, here I am going out with a different guy tonight.”