Fighting for Keeps

by Grace Brennan

  He led her to the front door, and she resolved to take a peek in those later. She wanted to see where he spent so much of his time, where he made her gorgeous table. They walked in the house, and she let out a breath when she saw that the living room was empty. She’d have to socialize eventually, of course, but after already making a fool of herself once in front of them, she was nervous about it.

  So many times since meeting Seth, she’d made a fool of herself. He didn’t mind, even found it endearing, but that didn’t mean the fighters would, as well. These were his friends, his family really, and she wanted to make a good impression, something to counteract the night at Cocky Pete’s. And her track record since arriving in America was pretty dismal, so the odds seemed stacked against her.

  She followed him to his bedroom. It was fairly minimal, no pictures, or any decorations other than wooden animals and woodland scenes scattered throughout the room.

  “This used to be Cammie’s room, but I took it after she moved out. It has its own bathroom, through that door there,” he said, pointing it out as he placed her bag on the bed. “That door over there is the closet. Ian and his daughter Shelby have rooms at the other end of the hall, and Jax’s room is in the attic. It’s usually pretty quiet up here, especially since Ian and Shelby are way on the other end of the house.”

  Nodding, she walked over to a carving of a forest scene, and carefully picking it up so she could study it. “Did you make all these?”

  “I whittled them, yeah. It’s pretty easy, and the turnaround is fast on them. I sell a lot in town and online.” He hesitated for a moment, looking nervous, and then he opened a drawer in his bedside table and removed another carving. “I made this with you in mind. I even painted it, and I don’t normally do that. I don’t even know if you like cats, so if you don’t and you don’t want it, don’t be shy in telling me. I can make you something else.”

  Curious, she put the woodland scene back down, and turned to face him as he walked over. He held his carving out, and she took it, letting out a soft gasp when she realized what she was holding. It was a leopard, and the detail on it was exquisite. He might not paint often, but even that was perfect, each spot precisely placed. It was incredibly lifelike, and it was gorgeous.

  Freezing with realization, she looked again at what she was holding in her hand. Glancing up, she met his gaze, taking in the nervousness in his muddy gold eyes. She searched his eyes for a moment, and then dropped her gaze to the leopard in her palm again. Her fingers started trembling, and her breath was hitching, though she was trying hard to appear normal. But she understood the significance of his gift.

  Even though he wasn’t coming out and telling her the truth of what he was, he was giving her a hint, a piece of himself. He was a leopard. She was holding in her hand a whittled statue of his animal. She bet it was accurate, and this was exactly what he looked like in animal form, down to the placement of the spots.

  “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said softly, gazing into his increasingly lightening eyes, willing him to hear the truth in her voice. “I love it. Leopards are my favorite.”

  Also a truth. Although, if she were asked an hour ago, the answer might have been different. Relief filled his golden eyes, and he exhaled with a smile.

  “I’m glad you like it,” he said softly, stepping in close to kiss her.

  She returned his kiss, and when he pulled back, she immediately looked at the leopard in her palm again, running her fingers over the smooth surface in a soft caress.

  “Later tonight, I want you to touch me with that same kind of reverence,” he said huskily, eyes filling with heat.

  Answering heat filled her, but she smiled impishly at him. “I’ll pet you any time you want.”

  “I have the perfect spot for you to pet,” he replied with a wink.

  She tried to keep a sultry look on her face, but it wasn’t long before she was laughing. Feeling more at ease, she gently put the leopard on the dresser, and took a breath as she turned to face him. “Ready to go back downstairs? I can cook dinner if you show me where everything is.”

  Taking her hand, he laced their fingers together as they went downstairs. “Cammie left us a casserole, so all we need to do is put it in the oven. Don’t look so disappointed. I’ll gladly let you cook for me tomorrow.”

  He had a point there, but she’d been hoping to get a head start on impressing his friends by cooking a delicious dinner. Though, to be honest, there hadn’t been many opportunities to cook in her life, so the amount of meals she knew how to cook was astonishingly small.

  After putting the casserole, which looked about a hundred times better than anything she could make, in the oven, they went to the porch. Ian was in a rocking chair, watching a small girl play on the tire swing, and Jax was in a chair, ballcap pulled low as he plucked at the strings of his guitar. She greeted them, sitting down in the chair Seth pointed out, enjoying the moment.

  The notes of the song Jax was playing registered, and she paused, frowning as she tried to place it. It was something she’d heard on the radio, but she couldn’t remember the name.

  Snapping her fingers as it came to her, she turned to Jax. “Is that Fire in My Blood? It sounds like it. I’ve heard it a lot on the radio since I’ve been here.”

  Jax nodded. “It is.”

  “You play it really well,” she said, enjoying it. Frowning, she glanced to Ian and Seth as they chuckled in unison. “What’s so funny? What am I missing?”

  “He should play it well. He wrote it,” Ian replied, still chuckling.

  Eyebrows high, she looked at Jax. “You wrote that? It’s really good, and I swear the radio stations play it every five minutes.”

  Shrugging, Jax continued to play as he muttered, “Thanks, but it’s no big deal. I have a lot of songs on the radio.”

  Amelia couldn’t help staring at him, surprised by the flippant answer, and the way he just continued to play, like it truly wasn’t a big deal to him. “Well, now I have to get your autograph, so I can say I met someone famous.”

  Over the sound of Seth’s laughter, she heard him reply, “Hardly famous.”

  Shaking her head, she turned to watch the little girl playing on the swing. “That’s your daughter, Ian? Shelby, I think Seth said?”

  Expression softening, Ian looked at his daughter and nodded. “Yeah, Shelby. She’s eight, and is finally starting to be a handful.”

  Puzzled once again, she looked at him in confusion. “You say that like you’re proud.”

  Exhaling, he nodded once, never taking his eyes off Shelby. “I am. Her mother, and her mother’s family, weren’t kind to her, and it made her timid. I finally got custody of her a few months ago, but the damage had been done. She’s finally starting to come out of it little by little now.”

  Heart clenching at the tender look on Ian’s face as he watched his daughter, she just nodded, not saying more. She would have given anything for her father to look at her like that, and Shelby was a very lucky girl to have a father who loved her so much.

  Clearing his throat, Ian pulled his gaze back to the occupants of the porch. “What kind of casserole did Cammie drop off?”

  “Chicken, broccoli, and cheese,” Seth answered, all but licking his lips.

  “That’s one of her best,” Ian answered, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Any dessert?”

  “Not tonight,” Seth answered with a shake of his head. Shooting her a teasing look, he said, “Too bad Amelia didn’t make a run to Mansfield’s to pick up some cookies. They have the best recipe I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Oh, they’re closed indefinitely. I stopped by there yesterday to get the donuts, and ended up having to get them from the grocery.”

  With a discordant note, Jax abruptly stopped playing, looking directly at her for the first time since she came out. “Closed? They’re never closed unless it’s Sunday.”

  “Apparently the owner passed away. The lady I talked to said the granddaughter was co
ming back to town, but they weren’t sure if she’d re-open the store, or sell it and leave again. What was her name? Penny? Poppy?” Frowning, she thought back over the conversation she had with the elderly lady yesterday morning. “No, Piper! The granddaughter’s name is Piper.”

  Jax suddenly stood, the screech of his chair against the wood making Amelia jump. Startled, she watched him stalk into the house. Even from the porch, she could hear the stomping of his feet as he went upstairs.

  “Did I say something wrong?” she asked, looking back and forth between Seth and Ian. Seth looked clueless, helplessly shrugging, but Ian shook his head, a grim expression on his face.

  “No, it was nothing you said. Don’t worry about it. He’ll be okay.”

  She wasn’t sure that was the truth, but she said nothing as they all sat in silence. Seth reached over and took her hand, squeezing tight and giving her a reassuring smile when she glanced over. Moments later, the fast, heavy beat of drums split the air, the sound unrelenting and furious, making her jump in surprise. Though she couldn’t see anything beyond the roof of the porch, she still cast a concerned look upward, understanding that it was Jax pounding the drums.

  She couldn’t say why, or how she knew, but the beat of the drums held sorrow, and helpless fury, and her heart felt sad as she realized Jax was playing what he was feeling.

  “Let’s go in and check on the casserole,” Seth said quietly. She was barely able to hear him over the beat of the drums, but she nodded, standing as he did and walking inside. It seemed that even when she wasn’t making an obvious fool of herself, she was still sticking her foot in her mouth.

  There was no way she could have predicted Jax’s reaction to what she said. And she didn’t know if it was the news of Mansfield’s closing, the death of the owner, or the granddaughter coming back that provoked that reaction, but she supposed it didn’t matter. Regardless of what caused it, she wished with all her heart that she’d kept her mouth shut.

  They walked into the kitchen, and she had barely finished shutting the oven door when Seth spun her around and pushed her back against the counter, crushing his mouth to hers. Blood instantly boiling, Amelia moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, arching her back and pressing into him.

  She was completely into it until he ran his hand up her side and cupped her breast. Pulling her mouth away, she grabbed his hand. “What are you doing?” she hissed. “We’re in the kitchen. Anyone could walk in and catch us.”

  Shooting a quick look around, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the pantry, flicking on the overhead light. “There. No one will come in and see us in here.”

  Unable to help her laugh, Amelia shook her head. “They could still hear us.”

  “So be quiet,” Seth replied with a wink. “Although I realize that’s a tall order, when I’m pleasuring you.”

  Rolling her eyes, she laughed again, but it cut off abruptly as he sealed his mouth to hers. Thrusting his tongue inside, he dueled it with hers, and she reached behind him, fisting his shirt in her hands. His hand crept under her shirt and slid up her side to her breast, and this time she moaned softly, encouraging him.

  Letting go of his shirt with one hand, she trailed it over his chest, down past the waistband of his jeans to his hard cock. She rubbed lightly before squeezing through the material of his pants, and he bit down on her bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth with a groan.

  Pulling his lips from hers, he found her ear, circling the lobe with his tongue before he breathed, “Playing dirty, hmmm? Two can play that game.”

  Pulling away, he popped the button of her jeans and shoved them down, urging her to step out of them. Once she was clear, he grabbed handfuls of her ass and lifted her, setting her back down on a solid shelf. She waited for him to unfasten his own jeans, but he surprised her by dropping to his knees, throwing her legs over his shoulders, and planting his mouth on her center.

  Letting out a squeak, she instinctively tried to close her legs as she pushed at his head, but he wouldn’t be budged. But her mortification swiftly turned to pleasure and desire as his tongue swept inside and found her clit.

  Goodness, the sensations were far better, and more intense, than she could have imagined, and she stopped fighting him. Her hips undulated in time with the strokes of his tongue, and she ran her fingers through his hair, gripping the strands tightly as he played.

  It took far less time than she imagined it could for her to come, and she pulled his hair with one hand while she slapped the other to her mouth, trying to muffle her cries. When he finally pulled back, she was dazed, her body shaken, and totally spent.

  At least she thought she was, until he unsnapped his jeans and lowered the zipper. Suddenly getting a second wind, she sat up, watching as he shoved his jeans down. Taking himself in hand, he came in close and rubbed his cock through her folds before lining himself up and pushing home.

  Eyes rolling back in her head as pleasure streaked through her body, she felt him grab her thighs and pull out before quickly slamming back home. She moaned, moving her hips to meet his.

  “Shhhh. You don’t want the others to hear, remember?” he reminded, voice strained and shaky.

  Bloody hell. Clenching her jaw shut, she clutched his shoulders as he pounded into her, the force of his thrusts rattling the cans of food on the shelf next to her. Pleasure spiked through her again as he hit a spot just right, and she clamped her teeth onto his shoulder as she came again, body convulsing.

  With a quiet curse, Seth jerked against her as his own orgasm hit him, his pulsing warmth coating her insides. When he finally stilled, they were both breathing heavy, and she could feel rivulets of perspiration snaking down her spine.

  Pulling away with a grin, Seth said, “See? No one walked in on us. You worried for nothing.”

  “Yeah, yeah. We just got lucky,” she replied with a soft laugh as he helped her off the shelf.

  Convinced there was a permanent mark on her bum from the edge of the shelf, she quickly pulled her panties and jeans back on as Seth righted his own clothing. Straightening her shirt and bra best she could, she smoothed her hair from her face.

  “How do I look?” she asked.

  Running his dark eyes over her, he replied, “Beautiful, as always.”

  “I mean, do I look like I just got done having sex?” She watched as his eyes glazed over, no doubt imagining round two, and shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll just run to the loo when we leave here, make sure everything’s in order.”

  “Loo. I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that,” Seth replied with a laugh as he opened the door.

  Peeking out, relieved when she found the kitchen empty, she walked out and turned to leave the room just as Ian and Jax walked in. Cheeks burning, she watched as the fighters took them in, and by their raised eyebrows, she knew they knew exactly what she and Seth had just gotten up to.

  “It’s obvious what you two were doing, and I just hope you kept that far away from any open food containers,” Ian said, laughter in his voice.

  Closing her eyes in mortification, Amelia prayed for a hole to open up and swallow her whole. Dear God in Heaven, this was more embarrassing than anything she’d done so far. So much for making a better impression with the fighters.

  Seth walked into Amelia’s house, calling her name. Voice muffled, she answered that she’d be down in a moment, and he looked around before plopping wearily on the new couch.

  She’d spent one night at his house, and then they came back here bright and early this morning. They’d been back for a couple hours, but he’d been tromping all around the house, making notes of everything that needed fixed. It was only around noon, but he was exhausted. Stretching out on the couch, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment, hoping to recharge a bit.

  “What are you doing, Seth?”

  “I’m tired, Trey. I was up half the night trying to catch up on schoolwork. Mother was having a fit because I was behind. I’m
just going to rest for a little bit.”

  Reclining all the way onto the grass in the field, Seth looked up at Trey’s torn face.

  “We’ll get in trouble—”

  “Go on back,” Seth told him. “I don’t expect you to stay with me.”

  “But you’re never supposed to be left alone.”

  “I’m seven now. I can handle myself. Besides, I’m only in the fields behind my house. Nothing is going to happen.”

  Watching as Trey reluctantly left, Seth got comfortable in the grass, just wanting to close his eyes for a while before he had to meet his father.

  He dozed off, and the next thing he knew, he was waking to a large hand covering his mouth.

  “Don’t scream, boy. We don’t want to hurt you, but we will if you draw attention to us.”

  Seth’s eyes popped open and he gasped as he sat up on the couch, rubbing his fingers over his eyes. Fuck. He hadn’t thought of that day in a long time. The day he was kidnapped, and his whole world changed.

  It was all your fault. If you hadn’t taken a nap, if you hadn’t disobeyed orders to never be alone, you wouldn’t have been taken.

  Seth took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, acknowledging for the first time that his leopard was right. For the past twenty years he’d blamed everything on how his family and clan had reacted. Blamed the strict and ridiculous rules of his clan for the way he was treated.

  All those thoughts were true. It was archaic to shun someone for leaving clan lands, especially when it wasn’t their choice. And that’s what happened to him. He was kidnapped by a rival clan, and carted off clan lands, and it made him tainted in their eyes. Made him less than the dirt on the bottom of their shoes. To them all, family included.

  He knew they didn’t want to do what clan law demanded. He’d seen it in his father’s eyes, and heard it in his mother’s sobs as they ordered him out of the house. But they were the ruling family, and they couldn’t make an exception for their son when they never made exceptions for others. But sometimes, that knowledge didn’t make him feel better. It only made him feel worse.