by Sienna Snow
Chapter Twenty-One
Amelia
* * *
“Ms. Thanos, your car is outside on the tarmac and will take you to Mr. Lykaios’s home as instructed,” said a man in a three-piece suit as he guided me to the waiting car mere steps from Sylvia’s private jet.
“Thank you,” I said as I waited for the jet doors to open.
Immediately, I was hit by the unbearable, dry Vegas heat, and a sheen of sweat formed on my brow.
God, it was only nine in the morning and it had to be over a hundred and ten today.
Quickly as possible, I rushed down the steps and slipped into the waiting SUV, releasing a deep sigh and dropping my head back onto the headrest.
It had been a whirlwind five days.
I spent my days handling business related to Thanos International and Thanos Sports and my nights with Sylvia, planning for the future and learning about the woman behind the empire.
I was still in a bit of a haze from all that I’d discovered, about Sylvia herself and the history of the man who held my heart. It was something I’d have to discuss with Pierce.
There could be no secrets between us if there was any hope of making our relationship work.
When I’d called to check up on Christopher, both Mama and Pierce insisted they had everything under control Stateside, Christopher-wise, and fight-wise, and that my focus should be settling things in Greece. Even when I touched base with Penny and Henna, they closed ranks, giving me only enough information to keep me from worrying.
Thank goodness for Emery. His updates via phone, email, and text kept me from going crazy with all the unknowns about Apollo and my other fighters. He’d also helped ease the guilt I felt for missing the weigh-in. According to him, the news outlets had tried to make the friendly rivalry between Apollo and Hugo into a war-of-the-continents thing. Neither fighter had corrected the assumption, since it meant more media coverage and viewers.
At least the American media was staying focused on the fight for the most part, instead of my personal life.
The European press hounded me nonstop as soon as they learned of my arrival, but thanks to my security as well as the extra personnel Sylvia and Pierce had arranged, no one could get within ten feet of me without approval.
At times I thought it was overkill, but it was better than being swarmed by the media. Whenever someone got within shouting distance of me, they’d ask questions I wasn’t ready to answer and insist they had a right to know. The press wasn’t anywhere as invasive as they were in America, and it made me wonder what Pierce was dealing with.
He could handle anything. I’d missed him more than I’d expected. And even more so after I’d accepted my plans for the future.
Pierce made me feel safe, loved, owned.
The last part had my body tingling. A surprise yawn escaped my lips followed by my stomach growling.
God, I was sleepy, hungry, and horny.
We still had a good thirty minutes before arriving at the hotel. A little power nap was in order, especially since I couldn’t do anything about my latter two problems.
I tucked my sweater around me and closed my eyes as I drifted off to sleep.
Pierce
* * *
I paced as I waited for Amelia to arrive. This week had felt like the longest of my life. Yes, I was thankful to have one-on-one time with Christopher. It had given me an opportunity to get to know the little boy who I learned was more like me than I could ever imagine. He had no fear and when riled had a temper that could have rivaled mine as a child. I knew I’d surprised him when I reprimanded him for his temper tantrum after Marie had come to take him home one evening.
That day, Christopher’s view on what a dad’s role was changed. He knew he could have fun with me, but I’d tell him off when it was warranted.
I never imagined how overwhelming and amazing it would feel to be a father. It gave me perspective of how devastating it must have been for Collin to hurt Hagen, Zack, and me in order to protect us.
My interaction with Christopher and his pure love for Collin had also pushed me to call him and see if he wanted to meet. Instead of accepting as I expected, he’d declined, worrying that if we met, it would cause problems for me with Zack. But I’d felt the emotion and longing to connect.
God, I was literally living through a Greek drama.
I pushed a hand through my hair.
The doorbell rang, making my pulse jump, and all thoughts disappeared but those of the woman on the other side of the door. I wanted her, needed her more than ever before in my existence.
The second I opened the door, I grabbed her, pushing her against the nearest wall.
“Well hello to you too.” Her breath came out a hard gasp.
“Answer one question. Do you want to talk or fuck?”
The flush on her skin and her dilated caramel gaze told me the answer, but I waited for her response.
“Fuck. I want to fuck.”
“Excellent.” My fingers fisted into her hair as my mouth covered hers.
She tasted of the sweet-and-sour candy she liked to eat by the bagful.
Her tongue pushed past my lips, deepening the kiss and igniting the need burning in my blood into a raging fire. Cupping her ass, I lifted her against my throbbing cock and carried her to the dinner table, setting her on the edge.
“What are you doing?” she asked between kisses.
Her fingers gripped the T-shirt I’d thrown on when I’d gotten the call she was coming to the penthouse.
“What does it look like? I’m going to have my breakfast.”
She touched my face. “Okay.”
I set a hand on her throat, sliding it down to her beautiful hard-peaked breasts and lower until I reached the hem of her blouse. I lifted it over her head and threw it behind me. Next went her bra, followed by her pants and underwear. When she was gloriously naked, I took two cloth napkins and tied her ankles to the legs of the table, giving me an unfettered view of her needy pussy.
Slowly, I pushed her back onto the table and then proceeded to lick, suck, and worship every inch of her soft skin, purposely avoiding the one spot where she wanted my touch. By the time I was done, she was writhing with need, legs straining against the ties, pussy weeping for attention.
“Do you want more?”
“Yes. Please, Pierce. I want to come. It’s been seven days. P-p-please,” she moaned, tossing her head side to side and gripping my shoulders.
“How do you want to come, baby? With my mouth, my fingers, or my cock?” I blew on her slick, swollen cunt, making her shiver.
Fuck. I could smell her desire. It was a heady mix that had my head spinning and body raging to bury myself balls-deep in her dripping heat.
She arched up, breasts heaving. “Yes, yes, yes.”
I sucked one nipple into my mouth, biting the berry-shaped tip. “Yes to what, baby?”
“Anything, everything. I don’t care, just do something,” she demanded as her fingers twined in my hair, gripping it in a hard, commanding hold.
I captured her hands and pinned them to the table. “Hold the edge and don’t let go.”
Her fingers dug into the polished wood, and I had no doubt she had permanently marked the expensive furniture.
I slid down her body, dropping to my knees. I stared at the delicious juices coating her sex and licked my lips. Leaning forward, I took a long deep swipe, from back to front.
Immediately her back bowed and a whimper escaped her lips. I repeated the motion two more times before I dived into her delicious cunt. I gorged on the taste of her, pressing deep into her quickening channel in a rhythm I knew would drive her insane and push her to the release she craved. A second before her orgasm exploded out of her, I pinched her clitoral nub, giving her the extra surge of pleasure-pain that would heighten her release.
“Pierce. Oh, Pierce.”
As she began to come down, I dropped my lounge pants and positioned my cock at her still-spasming entrance.
I hissed as I pushed inside her, stretching her with shallow thrusts until my girth worked its way inside the swollen, pulsing tissue of her sex.
She lifted her hips to meet my movement, grinding down on me, trying to suck my dick back into her.
“Fuck me harder, Pierce.”
Her demand caused something to snap in me, releasing all the pent-up need I had for this gorgeous woman. I gripped her thighs, tugging her partway off the table, and began to pound. I fucked her like a madman, loving the feel of the way her muscles gripped and relaxed with each thrust. Never was there a woman more perfect for me, and I’d be dammed sure she knew she was mine.
“I’m never letting you go,” I said between thrusts.
“Why are you talking? Just fuck me.”
I stopped moving, and she cried out, “Nooo.”
“If you don’t want me to stop, then pay attention.”
I sank back into her liquid heat.
“You’re mine, Amelia. Time and distance haven’t changed it. But this time—”
I pulled out and slammed back in, making her gasp.
“—I will chase you around the world.”
Thrust.
“And I won’t ever let you go.”
Thrust.
“You belong to me.”
Thrust, thrust.
I clenched my teeth, trying to hold in my orgasm. Neither of us was going to come unless she accepted how I felt.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she screamed. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”
At her admission, I worked my fingers between us and strummed her clit until her orgasm imploded and spurred mine. I began to shoot deep in her, calling her name and knowing this woman owned my heart.
As my heart calmed, I untied her and carried her limp body to my bedroom. After cleaning her, I crawled in behind her, drawing her to my body.
“So are you staying, or is this going to become a long-distance thing?”
I meant what I’d said. I’d chase her across the world, but we weren’t going to end. Then one day she was going to marry me, another child or not.
I waited for her answer, and then heard the heavy sound of her breathing and realized she was sound asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Amelia
* * *
Twelve hours after the mind-blowing sex in Pierce’s penthouse, I entered the holding area where Apollo and our team waited for the cue announcing the athlete procession. There wasn’t an empty seat, and the pay-per-view revenue was going to set a historic record. It boggled my mind to think about how much money was exchanging hands today. The world’s eyes were on Vegas, specifically the center ring in Lykaios Arena.
So far the winners and losers were evenly matched. Pierce’s fighters had taken half of the lower-level fights and mine had the other half, with a sprinkling of winners from other organizations. The one cherry for me was that Neya had all but made dust of her opponent. Her win was unanimous across the judges, and there was a buzz about coordinating a fight where women were the main attraction of the night.
I knew it would be a long time before a women-only fight could bring in the dollars the men brought, but this was a step in the right direction.
“I’m glad you could make it to the fight,” Apollo said as I walked up to him. “For a woman who likes to be early, you were cutting it close.”
Apollo sat on a bench, clenching and unclenching his taped hands. He was nervous, despite the confidence he liked the world to see. There wasn’t a fight he’d entered where he didn’t have the same reaction.
I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “You know me. I have to make a fashionable entrance.”
I greeted Emery and the rest of the training staff and then turned my attention back to Apollo.
When our gazes caught, he gestured toward the women’s locker room. “How is she?”
“Flying high. A few of the kicks will leave healthy-sized bruises, but nothing a long vacation won’t do wonders for. Maybe you can join her. You could use a little R&R.”
“I’ll be a washed-up retired fighter after this, so you never know.”
“You still confident about your decision?” I asked, wanting to make sure he was absolutely sure about the announcement he was going to make after the fight.
“Are you positive about your decision?” Apollo countered.
I smiled. “Without a doubt. I have to stop trying to fit into a mold meant for another woman and…forgive myself for the decisions I made as a scared teen.”
“It’s about time.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” I gave him a smile.
“So I take it your visit with Sylvia was productive.”
“More than you could imagine. Under that sweet-old-lady demeanor, she’s a woman who won’t think twice about shanking anyone who hurts her family.”
Apollo snorted. “You just figured this out? She’s as scary as she is loving.”
“She misses you. She said it enough times. I’d make sure to visit as soon as you get back home.”
“It’s one of the first things on my agenda. Plus no sane man would give up a chance to eat her amazing food.”
“Especially one who’s had to watch his diet like a hawk for the last few months.”
The music started, and I heard the entrance music for Hugo, which made me think of Pierce.
I’d slipped from bed before he’d woken, and I knew he’d wanted to talk. I hadn’t been ready. Before we had the conversation that was imperative, I had to make sure everything was in order for the plan to work.
“Time to go, champ.” Emery clasped Apollo on the back.
As he stood, I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Stay focused. Nothing is a sure thing. And don’t, let me repeat, don’t get hurt. You’re too important to me.”
Releasing him, I felt a hum of anticipation fill me, a mixture of butterflies and excitement. It was almost like what I’d experienced during that Olympic match so many years ago. I’d gone in thinking I was an underdog and came out a gold medalist.
“Ready to go see our boy make toast of Hugo?” Neya came up behind me. “Security has our seats waiting.”
“By all means, let’s go.”
The roar as we moved through the arena was deafening. Cameras, lights, and music overwhelmed the senses. I stood in front of my seat and searched the crowd for Pierce. He was positioned across the ring with Hagen, Penny, and Zack near him. Penny was tucked against Hagen’s side with a proprietary hand gripping her waist.
Then I noticed Draco. He was surrounded by three of his grandsons. To their right was a stern yet handsome man who had a Hagen-like hold on Lana. She waved to me, blowing kisses and jumping up and down. Pierce noticed the interaction between us and shook his head. There was a lift of his brow when his attention stayed on me, and I shrugged.
I guessed I was going to have to tell him I was Lana’s friend and that in the future we’d be flying to Bora Bora for a wedding.
“How are you, kopella mou?” I heard Collin say as he took his seat next to me. “I heard you’ve had a few interesting days. Took a trip to Greece, did you?”
His eyes twinkled with happiness as he smiled at me but then dimmed a bit as he looked across to his sons.
“I did.” I tucked my arm into his. “I wanted to say this now, and I won’t mention it again.”
“Go on.” There was a tone of concern in his voice.
“It’s nothing like that. I just wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“All that you sacrificed for your children and those who weren’t. You deserve so much.”
His eyes filled, but he kept looking toward the main stage. “Sylvia talks too much.”
“Only when she has something to say. Just know, it’s okay to forgive yourself. I’ve learned this.”
He lifted my hand, kissing my knuckles. “I will consider it, once my boys understand, especially Zacharias.”
It may be
a long time for that. I knew the wounds were buried deep in each of the men, especially Zack.
“Well, in the meantime, you have a grandson who adores his Pappous Collin. He wants you to take him for ice cream and tell him funny stories.”
A watery smile touched his lips. “Then that’s what I’ll do.”
At that moment, the announcer began to read the rules, and the crowd grew louder in preparation for the fight.
Pierce
* * *
“You did exceptionally.” I patted Hugo’s shoulder as we made our way into the locker room. “Next time you’ll have him.”
He blew out a breath, wiping the sweat dripping down his face. “From your mouth to God’s ears.”
My heart ached for the kid. He had given it his all, but it was a longshot for him to win. Apollo had too many years and wins under his belt to make some of the mistakes Hugo unexpectedly made. He was young, and I knew with some intensive training, he’d be ready when he had his next match.
“Go freshen up and we’ll hit the press circuit together.”
“So how does it feel to lose to your woman?” Hugo asked, watching me with sharp eyes.
“Not as bad as I thought it would. Though I’m sure I’ll hear about it for a while to come.”
The fact she would gloat wouldn’t bother me in the least. All that mattered was that she was mine.
I was still going to paddle her ass for disappearing before we could have any discussion about the future or what had fully transpired while she was in Greece. And neither of us had addressed the issue of the press that hounded us or the constant inquiries for comment on the paternity of Christopher. If I had a choice, I would shout it from the rooftops, but this was Amelia’s decision.
We should have had breakfast and talked when she arrived. Instead I jumped her. Then again, I’d spent nearly every night inside her for weeks, and going days without the touch, taste, or feel of her body had been torture.
God, the woman made me crazy. Crazy for wanting her, crazy in love with her.
