Takedown

by Nikki Ash

  “He won!” Alec screams. “Let’s go see him!” Bella and Marco move so we can make our way up there to congratulate Mason. We flash security our passes and they let us through. Mason’s sponsor throws a hat onto his head as Tristan hands him a water bottle. Mason is answering questions when he spots Alec and me. Pulling us into his side, he gives my temple a kiss.

  The man I now recognize as Daniel West says to Mason, “For a second, I think everyone thought Wilkens was going to be successful in his takedown. At one point he almost had you on the ground, but then you turned it around. What were you thinking when you decided to end the fight?”

  Mason looks down at me and gives me his signature smirk. “I was thinking the only person who will ever successfully perform a takedown on me is my wife.”

  Epilogue

  Mason

  Two years later

  I open my eyes and roll over to spoon my wife, only she isn’t there. I hear the shower running and my dick twitches in excitement. Throwing the covers to the side, I hop out of bed and head into the bathroom to join Mila. For a second I question where Alec is and then remember he’s at his dad’s and will be home later.

  The bathroom door is unlocked and I push my boxers down and throw them to the side as I make my way to the shower. Before I open the door, though, I stop and watch my wife through the glass door. It’s blurry from the steam but I can still make out her silhouette. Her head is tilted back as she washes her hair. The water raining down on her perky tits and cascading over her belly and down toward her warm pussy. The pussy I need to be inside of.

  I swing the door open, and she startles for a second before she grins. “I was hoping you would wake up and join me.” She pulls me under the cascading water with her and kisses me deeply. “I am so horny,” she groans. I chuckle at how direct she is as her hand finds my dick and she begins to stroke it slowly, getting it hard for her.

  My mouth goes to her nipples and my lips wrap around each one, sucking gently. She lets out a moan telling me how good it feels. I move my way down, kissing each breast and stopping at her belly, where I place several kisses until she pulls me up. “You need to fuck me now,” she demands, turning around and jutting her ass out.

  I swat her ass playfully and she squeals. “You know better than to wiggle that ass in the air unless you’re going to let me in the backdoor.”

  Mila looks over her shoulder and moans. “Yes, please.” She slaps one hand against the shower wall and the other hands reaches for the bottle of baby oil. When she parts her legs, I notice a pink jewel shimmering between her ass cheeks.

  “Did you put this in yourself?” I don’t know why I even ask. Of course she did. The woman has been insatiable the last eight months.

  “Yes, now pull it out and fuck me please.” My fingers run along the curves of her ass and under her until I get to her sweet cunt. I stick a couple fingers in and find she’s already wet. Circling her clit a few times, I damn near bring her to an orgasm. I pull the plug out and she groans in pleasure. Squirting some baby oil into my hand, I coat my fingers and then push them into her puckered hole. Mila lets out a sigh of pleasure as she pushes her ass against my fingers.

  My wife is needy as fuck these days but you won’t find me complaining. Angling her ass just right, I push my dick into her slowly, and she once again pushes back. My hands grip her sides to hold her steady as I slowly pump in and out of her tight ass.

  “Mason, please. Fuck me harder.”

  “Not in the shower. I’m not taking a chance of you falling.”

  “Mmmm,” she moans as she tries to get me to fuck her harder, deeper. I continue my steady rhythm as I work us both up into a frenzy.

  “Baby, massage that clit,” I demand.

  “I already am.” Her breathing becomes labored, and I know she’s close. Her ass tightens, and she cries out in pleasure. I thrust several more times and then I’m coming as well. I pull out slowly, and she turns around, her face all smiles.

  “Good morning,” she murmurs and I chuckle.

  “Good morning.”

  “I better get washed up before everyone gets here. Out you go.”

  “Jesus woman, you use me and abuse me and then kick me out when you’re done with me.” I rinse off and step out of the shower, wrapping my towel around myself.

  I can hear Mila laughing through the door as she yells out, “Don’t be upset because I’m better at this game of catch and release than you.” I tug the door open and pull her into a searing kiss.

  “Baby, the day you hooked me and reeled my ass in, you knew there was no getting rid of me. Ever.”

  “Mason! Can you tie the balloons onto the fence, please?” Mila calls from the kitchen as I walk inside from lighting the barbeque in the backyard.

  “Yes, ma’am.” I grab the balloons and bring them outside, tying them around the wooden fence next to the gate.

  “Well, well,” Tristan says, coming up next to me. “The irony of this picture isn’t lost on me.”

  “The irony of what picture?” I ask, double knotting the balloons so they don’t fly away.

  “When I met Charlie and freaked out. You talked me down and then said you couldn’t ever imagine wanting the family or the kids or…how was it you worded it? The white picket fucking fence.” Tristan laughs. “Now look at you…the family, the kids…” He points to the fence. “The white picket fucking fence.”

  I chuckle, remembering our conversation. “Yeah, I remember,” I admit. “But at the time I was telling the truth. I couldn’t picture it because Mila wasn’t in my life yet. The family, the kids, the white picket fence. I wouldn’t want any of it without her by my side.”

  “I completely understand,” Tristan agrees. “Now, you ready to party?”

  “Hell yeah.”

  The music is pumping through the speakers in the backyard. Everybody is talking and laughing and eating. The kids are playing in the bounce house and on the waterslides. I spot Tristan and go over to him.

  “Quite a gathering.”

  “Hell yeah, it is. It should be. It’s like six parties in one.” Tristan ticks each celebration off with his fingers as he lists them. “Mila’s baby shower, Charlie’s baby shower, Mila’s birthday, Mother’s day, your housewarming party, a welcome to the neighborhood party.”

  “Speaking of Mother’s Day, where’s your mom?” Charlie comes to Tristan’s side and asks, looking around for my mom, her hand rubbing up and down over her swollen belly.

  A year and a half ago my mom found her passion: helping widowers and single moms get back on their feet after losing their spouse. When she asked what I thought, I told her it was a great idea, and so the charity, Keeping Kids Off the Streets was created. Since then, we’ve built a center for single parents and their children to go to. We offer services to help parents find income restricted housing and jobs, and we raise funds for kids who want to go to camp or participate in extracurricular activities their parents can’t afford.

  “She’ll be here in a little while. She texted me that she’s meeting a single mom who needs help finding a safe place to stay. She’s getting them settled and then will be over.” And just as I finish my sentence I see my mom and Mila walking out the back door and toward me. My wife is wearing a beautiful black sundress with bright pink and blue flowers all over it, and she’s laughing at something my mom is saying as they approach us.

  “How did it go?” I ask my mom as I pull Mila into my side.

  “It went well. They’re safe.” She smiles softly and I think about how far we’ve come. Our relationship was strained at first, but with plenty of counselling, we worked through our issues. She’s become the mom I always prayed for as well as an amazing grandma to Alec. When Mila and I decided to purchase a bigger home for our growing family, my mom took over Mila’s townhouse.

  “Mom! Can we have cake yet?” Lexi comes running over to ask Charlie.

  “Not yet, sweet girl. We need to eat first.”

  “I can’t wait t
o have cake!” Georgia yells. “Then we can finally know what the babies are.”

  Charlie and Mila both giggle. When they found out they were both pregnant, only a month apart, they were ecstatic. They decided it would be fun to make everyone, including all of us, wait until their baby showers to reveal the sex of the babies. They had the bakery bake two cakes, one for each of them and inside each cake is the color of the gender.

  “Our baby is a girl,” I insist, and Mila groans.

  “Not this again.”

  “You’ll see.” And I know it’s going to be a girl because after researching the topic, I found out having sex with the woman on top is the best way to ensure the baby is a girl.

  “Three months of me riding you does not mean it’ll be a girl,” Mila whispers.

  “Yes, it does, and once the cake shows pink you will see I was right.”

  Mila

  “Okay! Charlie, your cake first,” Bella says, handing her the knife. Charlie does as she says and cuts through the cake. She plops the first piece onto the plate, and the cake is bright blue.

  “It’s a boy!” Everyone yells.

  “Oh no!” Lexi and Georgia groan at the same time. “But boys are gross!”

  “No, we aren’t!” Alec says, defending the male race.

  We all give Tristan and Charlie hugs of congratulations, and then Charlie says, “All right Mila, your turn.” She hands me the knife she just used.

  I slice down the cake and then lift the piece onto the plate, the pastel pink cake landing upright.

  “I knew it!” Mason yells, fist bumping Tristan. “All those months you accused me of being lazy when I insisted you ride me. I told you!” Everyone cracks up laughing, and I hide my face in embarrassment.

  “Ugh!” Alec groans. “I don’t want a sister. She’s going to be as annoying as them!” He points and glares toward Lexi, Georgia, Micaela, and Liza.

  “Wait! I got it!” Lexi shouts excitedly. “We can take your girl, and we’ll give you our boy!”

  “Yeah!” Georgia agrees. “We can trade.”

  “Really?” Alec asks, sounding hopeful. “Mom, Mason, can we trade?”

  “No!” Everyone yells through their laughter, and the kids all pout like trading siblings was seriously an option.

  The End

  Check out the other books in the Fighting Love series here!

  Tapping Out: Bella’s story

  Clinched: Tristan’s story

  Excerpt from Unbroken Promises

  Prologue

  Cole

  Ten years old

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  I hear the beeping of the machines before I even walk into the room. Beeping is a good sign, though, right? Beeping means she’s alive. I open the door all the way and immediately spot my mom lying in her bed. Her shoulders are shaking from crying. Tears are rushing down her face. When she notices I’m in the room, she looks up. I want to scream but I hold it in. Both of her eyes are bruised and her face looks like someone beat her up.

  “Mom?” I ask. “Are you okay?”

  “Oh, Cole, come here my precious boy.” She tries to hold her arms out for me but they fall to her sides, so I run over to her and wrap my arms around her belly. She makes a pained groan and I feel bad for hugging her too tightly. It’s just that I’m so glad she’s alive. Grandma told me on the way here that my parents were in a car accident. She said Dad died before he could get help but Mom was still alive.

  “Mom, are you going to die too?” I ask, but she doesn’t answer.

  “Come sit up here with me. I want to tell you something,” she says, her voice sounding off. I climb up onto the bed and carefully sit next to her.

  “I love you so much, Cole.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  “You’re so young.” More tears fall down her face and I try to wipe them up. I hate when my mom cries.

  “I’m not young.” I shake my head. “I’m ten years old.”

  She laughs softly, but when I look at her, she’s not smiling. “I know, sweetie, but you still have so much life to live. I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you will be happy. I want you to make good friends and enjoy your life. Go to college and find out what your passion is.”

  “What’s passion?” I ask, confused.

  “It’s when you’re so excited to do something, you always want to do it. Like how I love to make clothes. It’s my passion.”

  “I love basketball.” I play it every day—on a team and with my friends in my neighborhood.

  “Yes, you do. It might be your passion one day.” She kisses my forehead. “I want you to find that passion and hold onto it with everything you have. I want you to one day fall in love just like your daddy and I did.” Her voice cracks when she says my dad’s name.

  “I miss him, Mom,” I admit.

  “I know baby, I miss him too, and I know he misses us as well. But you know what? We might not be able to see him anymore but he’s looking down on us from heaven.”

  “Do you think he’ll be able to watch my basketball game this weekend from heaven?”

  “I would like to think so.”

  “Then I’ll make sure to score more points for him.”

  “Oh, Cole.” My mom cries harder. “Your father and I love you so much. You’re our entire world.” Mom’s hand comes down to mine and she squeezes mine. “I want you to promise me that when you’re older and you fall in love, you’ll never let her go. Love her and marry her and spoil her like your daddy did me.” She laughs even though she’s still crying.

  “I’m never falling in love. Girls are gross.”

  Mom laughs even though she’s still crying. “Oh yes, you will. Girls won’t always be gross. Trust me. One day you will meet a pretty girl who is going to make you laugh and smile and she will make your heart beat faster.” Her hand comes up to my chest before it falls back down. Her eyes closing and then opening again. “Marry her and spend your life loving her. And one day, if the time comes and you two have a baby, I want you to remember to be the best daddy, just like your daddy was to you, okay?” I don’t understand why she’s saying all this but I don’t ask her. She’s crying so hard, and I remember one day when she was really upset and I wanted to ask if I could go to my friend Keith’s house, Dad said not to ask for anything while she’s upset. I waited until she was happy again and she said I could go. I’ll just wait until she’s happy again to ask her.

  “Now promise me. Promise you will love your life and your wife and your babies.” Babies? Does that mean I have to have more than one?

  “I promise.”

  “Good boy. Now give me a kiss.” I lean over and kiss her cheek, careful not to hurt her even more. “I love you, Cole, more than anything in this universe.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  “I’m going to rest for a little while. Why don’t you go find Grandma?”

  “Okay.” I scoot off the bed.

  “And Cole?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Give Grandma a big hug and kiss for me, please.”

  “Okay, Mom,” I say, climbing off the bed and running out of the room to find my grandma.

  PART ONE

  Chapter one

  Delilah

  “I don’t want to go.” My body drops down onto the oversized makeshift haybed that is covered with thick winter blankets to keep the straws of hay from poking through and pricking us. My arms cross over my chest and I let out a loud huff, well aware that I sound like a petulant child.

  “You say this every year, Delilah, and every year we tell you everything will be okay. It’s been four years, and every year you worry for nothing.” My best friend Cole plops down on the same haybed as me and pulls me into his lap. “Just go, get the news that everything is fine, and then come back so we can celebrate our eighteenth birthday and the fact that we’ve made it through our first week of school as high school seniors.”

  “Ugh! But I do
n’t want to go.” I pout, and my head falls into the crook of his neck. I inhale deeply, immediately feeling the calmness that I can only find in the arms of Cole. I don’t know what I would’ve done the last six years without him—without his positivity and comfort—and I don’t ever want to find out.

  “Well, you have to go,” another voice demands. “I have a rare twenty-four hours of no practice and we need to do your birthdays up right.”

  I lift my head and turn to find my other best friend, Xander, standing in the doorway of the old barn my parents should’ve torn down years ago but never did because they know how much I love this place. Pushing myself off Cole, I stand and sprint the short distance to Xander, and without warning him, I jump straight into his awaiting arms. He, of course, catches me—my legs wrapping around his waist and holding onto him like he’s my lifeline. Because he is—both he and Cole are. I feel his chest rise and fall as he chuckles over my dramatics. He may only be forty minutes away at Texas University but it feels like he’s moved to another planet. I can’t wait until the three of us are at the same school again. Only nine more months to go.

  “I missed you too, sweet girl,” he murmurs into my ear. I always smile when Xander calls me sweet girl. Anybody who knows him, knows he’s rough around the edges to say the least. While Cole is sweet and wears his heart on his sleeve for the world to see, Xander keeps his locked up tight to everyone besides me and Cole. I love that I’m privy to that small piece of Xander nobody else gets to see.

  Xander drops me back down and walks over to Cole to give him one of those weird handshake-hug things guys always give when they see each other. When they’re done, they both turn around to face me while I stand against the wall, facing the two of them, in a stare down that I already know I’m going to lose. This is the life I’ve been dealt and Cole is right. Every year I go and everything is okay, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling the nervousness in the pit of my stomach over the fact that it already happened once and it can easily happen again. As I glare at my two best friends, I remember the first time I met them. It was right here in this same building. I don’t think any of us knew it at the time, but the two of them stumbling into my barn would forever change all of our lives in so many ways.