by JB Salsbury
“Please, Caleb. I need to kiss you.”
“Not done.”
A long groan bubbles up from my throat as he ramps up his attentions. I bite my lip to keep from making too much noise, but I can’t help the animalistic sounds that come from my chest.
I fist my hands in his hair, roll my hips in time with him until the tightening becomes too much. A burst of euphoria wracks my body. My nails rip against his scalp. He moans low and long, and the vibration sets off another round of explosives between my hips. My womb contracts as I throb against his mouth, rubbing myself against his teeth. Just when I think I’m going to come again, he rips his mouth from me and climbs up my body.
“Fuck, I’m gonna blow, baby.” He quickly slides on a condom and plunges inside me in one firm thrust. “Your pussy is gonna suck me dry.”
“Yes.” I love it when he’s like this, when he’s so lost to the feelings, so drunk on lust and love that he drops his gentlemanly ways and gives it to me dirty. “Hard and filthy, Caleb. Please. I need it.”
He presses his forehead to mine. “You’re gonna get fucked, Honor.” He powers into me with such force it moves my body up the bed.
I brace my palms on the headboard, pushing against it, anchoring myself. My knees fall so wide they hit the sheets, and he sits back on his knees, tilting my pelvis to go as deep as he can.
I’m stretched so wide, filled to the hilt, and nothing has ever felt so right in the world. Over and over again, he pounds at my hips, and a sick part of me hopes he leaves marks, bruises as a permanent reminder of this night: the night I let go, gave it all up, and put my future in the hands of one man.
“I love you.” He’s breathing heavily as his pace quickens. His own words seem to fuel him on.
“Caleb . . .” I love you too. I want to say it, but until he understands, truly feels it, will he believe it? “I’m close.”
“Me too, baby.”
He drops down on top of me, his mouth covering mine. I taste myself on his tongue and suck and lick at the flavor like a sex-starved woman. He fists my hair, tightens his grip until the pain shoots down my spine to gather with my impending orgasm.
“I . . .” So close. So, so, close.
“Say it.” He pounds harder. “I know you feel it, so fucking say it!”
“Caleb—”
He pulls at my hair. “Right fucking now, Honor.” Another thrust of his hips. “Say it!”
“I love you!”
His tongue pushes through my lips. Not a kiss. An invasion. A take-no-prisoners fucking of my mouth. My orgasm rips through me. From my toes to the top of my head, every cell in my body detonates. Demolishes. Never to return to its original form. Forever changed.
He stills on top of me. His arms quake. His muscles lock up, rock solid against me as I float back to earth, feeling like a completely different person. He shakes with fatigue and collapses, giving me all his weight for the few seconds I can handle it before scooping me in his arms and rolling to his back.
I’m sprawled out on top of him, my hair a mess of tangles around his shoulders and chest. Our hearts are punching against our ribs, against each other, as if they’re trying to leap out to be joined together.
This isn’t sex. This isn’t a relationship.
This is soul-binding.
His fingers trace up and down my spine. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. Not at all. I loved it.”
He stops breathing.
“I love you, Caleb.”
He blows out the breath he was holding and wraps me up in both arms. “Are you sure? I feel like . . . I mean . . . I may have pushed you too hard to say that.”
“No, I mean it. But rather than say it, I wanted to show you, the way you’ve shown me.” I’m grateful my face is in his neck so he can’t see my vulnerability. If he only knew the power he has now to destroy me if he wanted to . . .
“We’ve got plenty of time for that. After I win my fight tomorrow . . .”
I can’t help but grin at his unwavering confidence.
“. . . you can show me all you want for as long as you’ll have me.”
Forever. I want you forever.
There’s a banging on the wall.
“Alright, you two!” Blake’s voice comes through loud and clear. “Great show, but it’s night-night time.”
“Oh, my God,” I whisper and bury my face in Caleb’s chest.
He cups my head and holds me there, his body shaking with silent laughter.
“Caleb’s got some ass to beat tomorrow, and he’ll be worthless if he keeps tappin’ yours! You hear me, Honor? I hope you’ve got something ugly to sleep in. Wool maybe? Granny panties? Whatever it takes!”
“Shut the fuck up, Blake!” Caleb says through his laughter.
“You keep your hands off her, asshole! You need to save your strength! Honor, I’m serious! Ugly it up, woman! Take one for the team!”
“I’ll, uh . . .” I raise my voice so he can hear me. “I’ll see what I can do!”
“Alright, you two, now put away the baby makers and go to sleep!”
“Goodnight, dickhead!” Caleb yells.
“You have the weirdest friends.” I slide off Caleb, and he groans at the loss and reluctantly releases me.
“You haven’t even met them all.” He sits up and heads to the bathroom. “You’ll have to come to Vegas with me soon and meet the rest. They’ll love you.”
“I’d like that.” I roll my lips between my teeth, fighting a smile. “I’d like that a lot.”
Fourteen
Caleb
“You gonna stand there and stare at her all day or you wanna get in the fucking truck so we can get to Atlanta for weigh-ins?” Jonah thumps me on the back of my head as he passes me in the hallway.
I’ve been trying to walk away—did a good job too until I hit the bedroom door and decided to take one last look at her sleeping. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
Jonah peeks into the still-dark room, a sliver of light just coming in from the window that overlooks the lake. He nods and claps me on the shoulder. “She’s perfect for you, man. Now quit being a creeper, and let’s get the fuck gone already,” he whispers for Honor’s benefit.
Blake comes up the stairs and looks between us. “I don’t want to know what you guys are doing, but I will say it’s making me uncomfortable.”
I close the door and turn the handle so the click shut is nothing more than a whisper.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, were you guys watching the woman?” he says as we pass him on the stairs.
“So what?” I shove him aside playfully.
He eyes Jonah. “Really, you too?”
He shrugs.
Blake lingers on the stairs, his gaze going up toward my bedroom door. “Well, now you got me curious.”
“Don’t you dare, asshole.” I snag my duffle from by the front door and grab the truck keys. “We’re late.”
“Fine, but at least tell me what I’m missing.” He comes down the steps and follows Jonah and me to the truck where Axel is waiting with a tumbler of coffee in hand.
“You guys ready?”
“Yeah, you gonna lead the way?” I toss my bag into the back of the truck.
“Yep. Cohen will be with Honor all day, and he’ll get her to the fight tonight.” He takes a sip of his coffee. “I hope it’s okay, but Izzy was thinking of reaching out to Honor today.”
“Why?”
He shrugs. “Girl shit.”
I swing my gaze to Jonah and Blake, who nod in understanding. “What kind of girl shit?”
“Shopping, eating, I don’t fuckin’ know.”
“Oh, right, um . . .” It seemed like Honor and Izzy got along great when they met. I know she doesn’t have a lot of friends; she might enjoy a day of girl shit. The only problem is . . . “Money. Whatever they do, it’s on me.” I pull my credit card out of my pocket and hand it to Axel. He waves over Cohen, who’s sipping coffee in the Yukon. “I’ll call the cred
it card company from the car and add her as a signer. Don’t let her refuse. And there’s no spending limit.” Not that Honor would go crazy. She’s not the type that’s driven by money and fancy things.
Cohen slides the card into his back pocket. “Got it.”
I shake the guy’s hand and Axel gets into his pickup. We climb into ours with Blake in the back since his legs aren’t nearly as long as Jonah’s.
“It’s on now, you son of a bitch.” Blake slaps me upside the head. “UFL history books will know your name after tonight.”
I crank up the music and skid out of the driveway, feeling confident that Blake is right, but also a little empty, like I’m leaving my heart behind.
~*~
Honor
“Are you sure you can fit it all in there?” I chew my fingernails, watching Cohen shove shopping bags into the back of his SUV.
Izzy rocks into my side. “Don’t stress out. Of course it’ll fit. We’ll make it fit, won’t we, Cohen?”
He grunts, and something about that makes us laugh. He’s been such a trooper, following us around from store to store while we tried on everything we could find.
I told Izzy when she called me this morning that I’d never been shopping at a real department store or even a mall, and I could practically hear the switch flip in her head. What was supposed to be a leisurely day of lunch and shopping turned into a mission. I tried on more clothes than one person could wear in a lifetime.
Cohen explained that Caleb insisted on paying for everything and that there was no spending limit. Still, I turned down the designer shoes and handbags. I would feel sick carrying around a seven-hundred-dollar purse. I’d never put it on the floor! In total, I spent four-hundred sixty-seven dollars. Izzy did equal damage. It was exhilarating. At the time, I felt high, but now . . . I feel sick.
“It’s too much.” I nibble on the whites of my nails. “He’s going to kill me.”
Izzy takes my hand from my mouth, smiling. “If you hear me at all, hear me now. That eighty bucks you spent on lingerie? That’s for him. He’ll forget about the rest after seeing you in all that lace.”
Cohen loads his arms with more bags. “She’s not lying.”
“Trust me. Lingerie is a man’s kryptonite. They’re powerless around it.” She winks and leans in. “You’d be surprised by the things I’ve gotten Ax to do wearing nothing but a strip of lace.”
Cohen wrinkles his nose. “Thanks for the visual.”
“Does the idea of people over fifty having sex make you uncomfortable, Cohen?” She cocks a hip. “Because I’m here to tell you . . .” She winks. “It only gets better.”
He shoves the last of the bags in and turns toward Izzy, flashing a crooked smile. “You sure you want to head down this road? Wanna swap sex stories . . . Mom?”
She holds up a hand. “Point taken!”
“Good.” He hits the button to close the tailgate. “Let’s go. We’re burning daylight.”
“We have one more stop to make.” Izzy loops her arm with mine. “You’ve been chewing on those nails all day. Let’s hit up Sway’s and get you ready for tonight.”
I dig my heels into the asphalt. “No, I couldn’t. I feel bad enough—”
“Not taking no for an answer. This one is on me.”
Cohen opens the back door and we jump in. It feels weird having him here as it seems the media has finally backed off. The occasional onlooker has done a double take but nothing that’s been at all intrusive.
Izzy ushers me into the backseat. “Nails, hair, makeup, the works. When you walk into that stadium tonight, Caleb won’t know what hit him.”
~*~
Caleb
We’re a few hours away from fight time, and the crowds outside the venue are already forming.
Cam was here waiting for us when we pulled up just after eight o’clock this morning, wearing jeans and a UFL tee with a hanging bag slung over his shoulder for tonight.
Weigh-ins were just what I expected. Graham, that arrogant fuck, was strutting around the platform like a peacock with a hard-on. Such a joke.
He tried to push all my buttons. Called me every emasculating name a man could possibly be called, but none of it fazed me. Every time I felt like I was about to lose my cool, I’d picture Honor asleep in bed, her slender arm tucked under the pillow and her expression so peaceful it made her achingly gorgeous. I’m able to stay focused, moving through the fight I trained for in my head while people buzz all around me. My head is in the game, but my soul is with Honor.
Cam squats down in front of me, his eyes probing. “You good?”
“Great.”
“It’s a fucking circus out there.” He motions to the door of my ready room.
It’s a decent place, pads set up for warm-up, a big bathroom with shower, comfortable couches, and plenty of food for my camp. Jonah and Blake are in the corner, talking to tonight’s coordinator while Axel stands close to the door.
“We’ll start warming up in a couple of hours.” Cam’s face is rock hard, emotionless, as if this is just as much his fight as it is mine. “You need anything until then?”
I motion to my Beats and my protein shake. “I’m good, Cam. Thanks.”
“Honor. She coming soon?”
“Last I heard from Axel, Cohen was bringing her home to change and they’d be on their way.”
“Make sure he knows he needs to stay with her when he gets here. Soon as the paps realize who she is and why she’s here, they’ll lose their shit, and they won’t give a fuck about who stands in their way.”
I look around and then back at Cam. “You want me to focus, you’ll stop telling me shit that makes me want to go stand in the parking lot and wait for her.”
His lips jump a little. “Ten-four.”
I pop on my Beats and turn the music up to drown out all conversation in the room. Unable to sit still, I stand and shadow box combinations.
As well trained as I am, I could still lose this fight. It could be one slip of my foot, one second where I’m not looking in the right place and miss the incoming hit. It’s the thing I love the most about this sport—how quickly it can turn.
That’s why I plan to go in strong and end it quickly.
I throw another fifteen minutes of punches then lie on the mats to stretch when movement across the room catches my eye. It’s not so much movement, but a gathering.
Every male in the room is huddled together. The faces that I can see look less than happy, and judging by the throbbing in Cam’s temples, I’d say he’s about to kill someone.
I turn away and stare at the ceiling, telling myself I don’t want to know. I don’t need to know. If something had happened to Honor, they’d tell me. Everything else can wait.
I peek over again, and Jonah and Blake are shaking their heads, Jonah talking and using his hands.
Don’t ask, Caleb. Don’t ask—oh great, now Cam is on the phone. This can’t be good.
I push to stand and hit pause on my music. “What is it?”
They all share a look, but no one speaks.
“What? Is it Honor? Because, if not, I don’t care.”
“It’s nothing, man.” Jonah crosses his arms at his chest. “Head in the game.”
“My head is in the game, but if something happened to Honor and you don’t fucking tell me, I’ll break your fucking neck.” Okay, so maybe the adrenaline is amplifying my aggression a wee bit.
Thankfully, Jonah doesn’t call me out on my ridiculous threat. The dude could squash me under his thumb if he wanted to.
“Just tell him,” Blake says.
Axel sucks in air through his teeth.
“Someone better fucking tell me, right now.”
Cam shoves a phone screen under my nose. “This just went viral.”
I look down at the headline.
Caleb The Destroyer Dean’s girl next door has moved on. Secret meeting with a stranger the night before UFL–Atlanta.
“What the fuck?” The p
hotos are of Honor and Roy in a wooded area. They look like they were snapped in quick succession following his hand as he touches her face. These photos were taken yesterday. I can tell by Honor’s clothes. I look up at the guys. “This is wrong.”
“Photos don’t lie.” Cam slips his phone back into his pocket.
The pity pouring off these guys is suffocating. Jonah and Blake stare at the floor and even Axel looks like he’s embarrassed for me.
“Uh . . . those photos sure as fuck do. There’s nothing going on between that dickbreed and Honor. I’d bet my life on it.”
“It’s cool, bro.” Blake stares at me through skeptical eyes. “Get through this fight and deal with it after. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”
“Of course there is.” Honor hates Roy. She’d never willingly meet him in the forest alone. Ever.
So what? They were photoshopped in the forest together?
I grip the sides of my head in hopes that doing so will make it stop spinning, but it’s no use.
She’ll be here soon. I’ll just ask her.
She’s never lied to me before.
Has she?
~*~
Honor
“Whoa.” Cohen steps back, his hand on his heart. “Honor, are you trying to get Caleb killed? Because if lookin’ at you doesn’t give him a heart attack, then thinking about you while in that cage will definitely get him killed.”
Izzy waves him off. “No way. When he sees what’s waiting for him after the fight, he’ll end it as quickly as he can just to get her alone, ain’t that right, Dani?”
“Mom’s right.” Dani, who I found out after seeing them share a very hot and wet kiss is married to Cohen, is also Izzy and Axel’s daughter. She fluffs my hair one last time, spraying it for good measure. “He won’t know what hit him.”
I can’t stop staring at myself in the mirror. My hair hangs around my shoulders in loose waves. With a fresh trim and added layers, it went from everyday drab to runway worthy. My makeup is heavier than I’d usually wear, dark around my eyes, even fake lashes. My skin glows, and my nails are shaped, clean, and painted a pale pink.
I feel . . . “Amazing.” I look at Dani. “Thank you so much.” For the first time in my life, I feel as beautiful as Caleb tells me I am.