Worth the Chance

by Vi Keeland

  After class is over, the woman gives me a hug, thanking me for making her day. Totally out of character for me, I kiss her on the cheek and tell her it’s me that should be thanking her for making my day. Packing up the last of my things into my duffle bag, I’m not surprised to hear Nico’s voice. I haven’t earned his trust back yet and he still feels the need to check up on me every time I’m scheduled to teach.

  “You’re in a good mood today.”

  “Guess I am.” Giving nothing away, I pull the strap for my bag diagonally across my chest, anxious to get my ass back home. The thought of what’s waiting for me makes me salivate.

  “You have the key to the back door? Elle took off with both sets of keys and I want to lock up the garage before I head out for a few hours.”

  “Sure.” I reach into my pocket to pull out my keys and don’t even notice that something tumbles to the floor.

  Nico’s eyes point downward, directing me to the scrap of lace material lying on the floor. “Think you dropped something.”

  I quickly scoop up the lace at my feet and feel a tightening in my chest. It pisses me off that Nico’s seen anything that belongs to Liv. “Fuck off.”

  Nico’s taken aback. “Since when are you protective of some GIMPs belongings?”

  “It’s not some GIMPs.” Anger resonates from my every word as they’re spoken through my clenched teeth.

  Nico looks confused for a minute, and then seems to come to some sort of understanding, even though I haven’t offered him an explanation. He slaps me on the back and walks with me to the door. “Glad to hear it. Now get out of here and go enjoy Liv.”

  How does he know?

  ***

  I stop on the way home and pick up lunch and the paper. It’s been years since I bought a freakin newspaper. The only time I even glance over at one is when I see a picture of myself, an ad for an upcoming fight. And then I read from the back page forward, stopping before I get to any real news. But it’s Liv’s paper, the one she works at, and I figure she probably reads it every day.

  It’s quiet when I walk in. For a minute I think she might have left. Then I walk into my bedroom and catch sight of her. She’s lying in the middle of the bed wearing the shirt I had on last night. Her face is so peaceful as she sleeps, I almost pull the door closed and let her rest. Almost. But then she shifts in her sleep, one leg already bent at the knee lifts higher, taking the hem of my shirt with it revealing her porcelain, naked ass. And I just can’t resist.

  I strip out of my clothes, my eyes never leaving the curve of her half naked ass. The way it rounds as it meets her thigh, toned muscle shaping the sides into a heart that leaves me salivating. There’s nothing I want to do more than turn that silky white skin a hot shade of red with my hand. It’s hard to resist as it peeks out at me, taunting me to slap it. Hard. So that she feels the sting on her ass as she sits down. So that she remembers me inside the hollow of her empty pussy when I’m gone. Remembers who put it there. Who taught her to enjoy the pleasures of a little pain…

  I’m two seconds away from waking her with the sting of my hand, followed by ramming myself into her for another round of hard, deep penetration, when her eyes flutter open and she looks up at me with a smile. It’s sweet and innocent, and an expression I’m not used to. One that I can’t remember seeing from another woman directed at me. Not ever. Not by any woman. I watch as her eyes come into focus and drift down to realize I’m naked. And hard. Her eyes look at my body with appreciation, but then our eyes meet again and she smiles even wider. Women usually don’t find my face again after their eyes drop below the neck. That works for me. Usually.

  Pulling the sheet to the side, Liv rolls onto her back and reaches up her hand without words. So I take it, forgetting the pain I was so ready to inflict and following her lead instead. There’s always later…

  Chapter 20

  Liv

  I split the paper in two offering Vinny the sports section as I delve into the business section. Sitting with my back against the arm of the couch, my legs lying over Vinny’s lap, he begins to rub my feet.

  “Oh my god, that feels so good.” My voice drops, doing little to disguise the pleasure of his touch. My body instantly remembers the feel of his hands on other parts of my body. I close my eyes, releasing the paper I was intent on reading, completely forgetting the topic of the piece within seconds.

  “I’m here to service.”

  Vinny presses his thumb into the arch of my foot with one hand as the other kneads the ball of my foot, the part that carries my weight most days as I wear high heels to the office. “Mmmmmm.” The sound escapes me as my eyes roll into the back of my head. My shoulders slump, tension easing, even though his touch is at the other end of my body.

  “Jesus, Liv. I can’t be responsible when you make that sound and you look like that.”

  “Sorry, can’t help it. You have really good hands.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  Like being plucked from a blissful dream as you sit on fluffy white clouds, my body tenses and I rip my feet from his grip. My voice hardens as I respond, “It really doesn’t interest me to hear about the opinions of your Krissys and Missys.”

  Eyebrows drawn, Vinny has the audacity to look annoyed at my response, when it was his words that were a slap in the face. “I’m a fighter, Liv. Remember? I’ve been told I have good hands by trainers and opponents.” He drags a hand through his hair. “Nice to know you think so little of me that I’d brag to you about other women.”

  “I, I...I’m sorry…I thought you meant…”

  “Yeah, I know what you thought I meant.” Abruptly, he stands and it looks like he’s going to walk away, but then he stops and turns back to speak again. “How did it make you feel to think I was talking about being with other women?”

  “I…I don’t understand, the question.”

  Vinny leans down, his hands pressing into the couch on either side of my face, caging me in. “Simple question. Simple answer. You’re the smart one.”

  Not wanting to admit the truth, I go for vague and deflection. “I thought it was rude. How would you feel if you thought I was talking about another man while I was touching you?”

  I watch as the dark pupils in the middle of the pale blue grows wider and wider in his eyes, leaving only a thin shadow of color as the darkness takes over. Jaw clenching, the anger resonates from his body. “Like I want to rip someone’s head off. Answer the damn question, Liv.” His eyes narrow with anger.

  “Jealous. Okay? Are you happy?” I yell my response.

  “Good.”

  “Good?” You’ve got to be kidding me. “You want me to be jealous?”

  “I want you to stop finding reasons to run away from me every few hours. Jealous at least means you give a shit.”

  I open my mouth twice to respond. But each time I realize I have nothing to throw back at him. Vinny’s eyes watch me and wait. They say so much. Dear Lord, they say everything as they blaze into me with so much intensity it takes my breath away. “You scare me, Vinny.” I pause. “We scare me,” I whisper, feeling embarrassed at what I feel. But I’m honest. Finally.

  Vinny’s eyes close for a minute and I watch as his throat works as he swallows. When he opens his eyes, they’re different, less angry, yet still full of emotion. Lifting one of his hands from the side of my head as he still looms over me, he gently cups my jaw. “You scare me too, Liv.”

  I turn, leaning into his touch and kiss the inside of his hand. Returning my sight to his face, a thought dawns on me that makes me grin. “I scare Vince ‘The Invincible’ Stone?”

  Vinny returns my smile. “You’re really asking for it today, aren’t you?”

  One eyebrow arched, I can’t help myself…he’s left himself so perfectly open. “And what if I am, does that mean you’re going to give it to me?”

  He groans, and before I can even protest, I’m lifted out of my seat and flung over his shoulder as he stalks into the bedroom. The next f
ew hours we alternate between reading my new book and Vinny giving me what I asked for.

  ***

  It’s almost midnight when Vinny drops me back at my place. There’s no parking near my building, so I tell him to drop me off, but he insists on walking me to the door. We don’t even notice Ally sitting in the living room while we spend ten minutes making out like teenagers in the doorway before I actually have to push him out of my apartment. Shoving him through the door was for his own good, as much as mine. We both have to work tomorrow. At least mine is mostly sitting. His is physically demanding.

  I close the door and lean my head against it. “Looks like you had a good time.” Ally’s voice startles me.

  “Do you sit there in the dark waiting for me to come home just to scare the shit out of me?”

  “Maybe.”

  “You need help.”

  “I need one of those.” She motions to the door that I’ve just closed behind Vinny.

  Laughing, I walk into the kitchen. “I was going to go to bed. You want to have a glass of wine first?”

  “Does Vince Stone make women drool?”

  Shaking my head, I pull two crystal glasses out of the cabinet. There are plenty of nights that we do takeout, sometimes eating our delivery straight from the carton. Yet our wine is always in crystal. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  “Damn straight.”

  I can’t help but smile at Ally’s excitement as we sit on the couch facing each other. “That man is so into you.”

  “He certainly was a few hours ago.”

  Eyes widening, Ally smiles and claps her hands together. “Now that’s the stuff I want to hear!”

  I sip my wine and lean back into the couch with a dramatic sigh. “Jeez, Ally, he’s just so...so…intense. It’s like he can see right through me. There’s nowhere to hide.”

  “Well why do you want to hide anyway?”

  “I don’t know. I just feel like I need to go slow. Keep some of what I’m feeling to myself. But he’s hard to refuse. I can’t explain it.”

  “He hurt you once, Liv. You’re being cautious,” Ally winks and smirks. “Just enjoy the sex and see where it takes you.”

  Finishing my wine, I feel the effects go straight to my head. I’m a lightweight normally, but even more so when I’m sleep deprived. “Oh, I’m definitely enjoying the sex.”

  “Hate you.” My best friend smiles.

  “Hate you too.” I smile back and lean in to kiss her cheek before standing to turn in for the night. “Sweet dreams, Al.”

  “Just tell me one thing,” Ally yells as I reach my doorway. “Is he a take control kind of partner in bed?”

  Smiling, I don’t turn around when I respond. “You have no idea.”

  Chapter 21

  Liv

  Sitting at my desk staring blankly at my computer screen, I shift in my seat to find a comfortable position. My body still aches from the long weekend of sexual escapades with Vinny, and I find myself replaying his words over and over again. I’m going to bury myself so deep inside of you it’ll leave you feeling hollow when I’m not with you. Fidgeting in my chair, I realize he’s done it. It’s only been three days since I’ve last seen him, yet I feel empty this morning without him.

  As if on cue, my phone rings and I smile lifting it to my ear. “I was just thinking about you.”

  “Oh yeah, what were you thinking?” Sex exudes from Vinny’s deep raspy voice.

  “I…” Remembering where I am, I look up and find Summer’s eyes glued to me, waiting for my response. “Ummm…I’ll have to tell you later.”

  “Oh no you don’t. You started it, you’re going to finish it. None of this leave me hanging crap, Liv.”

  Lowering my voice, “It was just something you said.”

  “Who’s sitting so close to you that you have to whisper?”

  “A co-worker.”

  “The princess?”

  Laughing, I respond, “Yes.”

  “That’s even more reason to tell me. Come on, Liv. Let me hear it,” he says, his voice low and enticing. “You know you want to.”

  Lord, this man is impossible to keep things from. I really need to start watching what comes out of my mouth in the future. “It was about feeling hollow.” I whisper and look up at Summer, finding her wide-eyed. Guess I didn’t whisper low enough.

  Vinny groans. “You feel hollow without me buried inside of you, Liv?”

  I hesitate, feeling my face flush. “Yes.”

  “Say it.”

  “Are you crazy? I can’t. I’m at work.”

  “I’ll pick you up at twelve for lunch.”

  “Vinny,” I warn.

  “See you in a bit, Liv.” He hangs up before I can respond again.

  Looking up, I find Summer still staring at me. If eyes could shoot daggers, I’d look like Swiss cheese about now. “Sorry,” I shrug my shoulders and offer, my voice as thick and sweet as maple syrup, matched perfectly with my over the top fake smile. It’s clear that neither is sincere.

  I struggle through the next few hours, my eyes constantly checking my phone for the time. By the time twelve rolls around, I’m anxious and equally excited. After our weekend together, being apart for a few days feels like a lifetime. But my work schedule took me out of town for two days and then Vinny was busy doing promotional stuff for his upcoming fight.

  The minute I push through the revolving glass door, I catch sight of him. He’s leaning casually against a half concrete wall to the right, his legs casually crossed at the ankle. He stands as I make my way to him, but makes no attempt to come to me. Instead, he watches my every move with a devilish grin on his face.

  As I stand before him, neither of us says a word. Vinny hooks one arm gruffly around my waist and pulls my body to him as his head lowers and he takes my mouth in a kiss. It’s so powerful, I literally lose track of where I am for a minute as we both come up breathless.

  “Hey.” He leans his forehead against mine.

  “Hi.”

  His eyes dart over my shoulder and then quickly return. “I think we have an audience.”

  Turning around, I find Summer gaping. She’s stopped in her tracks, her mouth actually hanging open. Embarrassed, I turn back to Vinny to hide my face. God forbid he follow my lead and try for low key.

  “Hey, Summer.” The hand not around my waist raises in a casual wave and I want to kill him for making it worse.

  “Ummmm…hi.” She scurries off, completely frazzled.

  ***

  We spend the next hour catching up. Vinny tells me about his promotional photo shoot and pokes fun at the photographer, a man who made no secret of his crush on Vinny and spent four hours calling him “Mr. Sweet Muscles.”

  I’m ten minutes late by the time he walks me back to my office, so there’s no time for games when Vinny locks me in his grip and demand I tell him what I was thinking about earlier.

  “Do you really need your ego stroked that much?” I tease.

  “If you’re not stroking something else, I do.”

  Rolling my eyes, I try for serious. “I’m late coming back from lunch.”

  “Then you should hurry.”

  “But you’re holding me.”

  “You know what you need to do to get released.”

  “You’re such an arrogant ass.” Playfully I smack at his chest and try to pull out of his grip.

  “You knew that seven years ago.”

  Smiling, I can’t help but laugh. He’s so right. He’s always been confident, the pendulum leaning towards the side of arrogant on the full of himself scale. “Seriously, I need to get back.”

  “Say it.”

  Lord, this man is not going to give in. “Really?”

  A huge grin on his face, he nods his head. “Really.”

  Rolling my eyes, I give in. “I was still a little sore this morning from, you know, from our weekend. And I was thinking about something you said.”

  “Go on,” he says, his smile wide and eyes
sparkling.

  “Fine. You told me you were going to bury yourself so deep inside of me that I’d feel hollow when you weren’t inside of me.”

  “And do you?” Vinny beams, clearly delighted at being quoted.

  “What?”

  “Feel hollow?” he says, a cheeky dimpled grin on his face. He clearly already knows the answer.

  “Yes, Vinny. I feel hollow without you inside of me. There. I said it. Do you feel better now?”

  “I’d feel better buried inside of you.”

  “You’re impossible. You know that?”

  “Whatever, hollow woman.”

  “Mr. Sweet Muscles.”

  “I kinda like it coming from you.”

  Laughing, he almost makes me forget how late I am. Almost. “Seriously, I’m so late. I have to go.”

  He kisses me chastely on the lips, not yet releasing me. His voice low and sexy, “I got tested a week ago during my pre-fight physical. I’m clean.” Leaning his forehead against mine, he offers and waits, searching my eyes cautiously for a response.

  Barely able to swallow, my mouth dries up as I try to form the words to respond. “I’m on the pill. No partners since my last physical.”

  A mischievous grin spreads across his face. “You aren’t gonna be hollow for long then.”

  The heat from my blush spreads from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. Vinny chuckles, clearly enjoying my embarrassment. “Tomorrow night?”

  “Tomorrow night.” I walk away feeling his eyes keen on the sway of my ass.

  ***

  Back at my desk, I’m greeted with a scowl from Summer. Jealousy doesn’t befit her. It makes her normally pretty face contorted and mean, ugliness crawling out and making its way to the surface.

  “Guess I know why Vince requested you. He wanted someone easy.” Looking down at her manicured nails, she tries to act like it doesn’t bother her, but I know better.

  Before I can respond, Sleezeball comes out from his office and beckons us both to his lair with a leering smile that makes my skin crawl.