Fighting for a Second Chance (Fighting #1)

by Nikki Ash

  “A-ha! Got it. I found my favorite book. Will you read it to me?” She hands me the book and climbs up into bed.

  I look at Liz to make sure it’s ok and she nods her head that it is. I walk over to the bed unsure of where to sit when Bella looks up at me smiling and pats her hand on the bed next to her. Damn, this little girl has officially stolen my heart.

  I sit awkwardly on the bed next to her and begin reading the book. She snuggles up next to me to see the pictures while I read. The pages and images are in black and white but that doesn’t stop her from enjoying this book. Several times I hear her recite the lines along with me. I don’t think she can read yet but she must have heard this book so many times she has the words memorized.

  About fifteen minutes later I hear a light snore and look down to find her fast asleep. I look over at Liz smiling and say, “She sounds just like you the nights we spent together five years ago. You snore the same.”

  She narrows her eyes at me clearly not taking my comment as a compliment. I just laugh as I set the book down and gently move Bella’s head off my side and then slowly move off the bed.

  Liz turns the light off and the night-light spreads a soft glow over the room. She leans down and kisses Bella on her head and then we both head towards our room.

  Once inside I decide to jump in the shower. I don’t expect her to join so I am pleasantly surprised when I see her enter the bathroom right after me.

  * * *

  Liz

  I swear my ovaries just about burst watching Cooper read our daughter The Giving Tree. After she falls asleep and we head to our room he goes right to the bathroom and a few minutes later I hear the water turn on. Flashbacks of our first time at the resort in Miami up against the shower wall come to the surface and I am instantly turned on.

  I don’t know what has come over me, but without even thinking I brazenly enter the bathroom, remove my clothes and join him in the shower. He turns around and after runs his eyes down my body I can see his dick begin to harden. He grabs my hand and pulls me closer to him putting us both under the water and then moves the wet tendrils out of my face.

  In a thick voice he says, “Baby girl, I want you so bad. If you aren’t ready you need to tell me now because having you in this shower, naked, and wet. I will not be able to control myself.”

  I don’t respond. Instead, I squat down so that I am right in front of his hard erection. I look up at him and see his chest rising and falling with deep breaths. I love that I haven’t even touched him, yet he is already completely turned on. He doesn’t say anything so I take his dick in my hand and start stroking it from the root to tip. It is thick with a few veins popping out as it points straight at me, only centimeters from my mouth. I can’t be this close to it and not taste it. Placing my hands on his thighs I steady myself and then take his full length into my mouth until it almost hits the back of my throat.

  “Oh, fuck. Liz, that feels incredible.”

  His words spur me on as I continue to lick and suck before going deeper and taking more of him. Cooper is leaning back against the wall with his hands in fists like he is trying to control himself. I don’t want him controlled. I want him to let go.

  So, I move my hands to his cock and pump it up and down while continuing to suck it. This does him in and a few seconds later he is trembling and warning me he is about to come. I don’t stop; I want to taste him. I want him to come undone because of me.

  If I am honest with myself, remembering all those girls shouting his name makes me feel like I need to remind him why he wants me and not them.

  He let’s out a loud grunt and then I can taste his seed on my tongue and then down my throat. I take it all until he finishes and I feel him start to go soft in my mouth. His lips lazily stretch into a smile as he looks at me with awe and maybe something else. Could it be love? No, he’s just received good head. That’s all it is. But I can’t deny that it makes me happy that I am the one to put that look on his face.

  We finish showering and make our way back into the bedroom to get dressed with comfortable silence. Before I can grab my clothes from my bed, Cooper pulls me against him, my back to his front. Every time he touches me I swear my body comes alive.

  I look up and can see him in the dresser mirror staring at me with lust filled eyes. Taking both of my breasts in his hands, he begins to fondle them. I should be embarrassed that we are both watching him touch me like this but I’m not. Instead, I just feel wanted and turned on. I squeeze my thighs together, failing to quell the ache.

  He continues to palm my breast with one hand but moves the other hand straight down to my mound. Thank god! He separates my pussy lips with his two fingers and inserts one finger deep into me. At the same time he leans down and starts planting kisses on my neck and up to the sensitive spot below my ear. He moves his lips up to my ear and gently bites down on my lobe causing my body to shudder and tighten. It feels like sensory overload.

  “Oh my god, Cooper. Please.”

  I can see him silently laughing at me in the mirror and he makes eye contact with me, again.

  “Please what, baby girl? What do you need?”

  “I need you. Now. More. Now.” I know I am not making any sense but surely he gets the damn point.

  Of course he laughs at my incoherence but at least while he is laughing at me obeys by sticking another digit into my hole. He stops palming my breast and instead begins to tweak the nipple between his fingers. The sensation shoots straight to my core. I moan loudly at the feeling he is invoking in me with his fingers and mouth.

  Cooper takes his fingers out of me and walks around to face me. Before I can ask what he is doing, he places my hands against the dresser on either side of him and then gets down on his knees. I have no idea where he is going with this but I will trust that he knows.

  I am looking at the mirror at my self when suddenly I feel something soft and wet on my clit. I look down to see Cooper’s tongue lapping at my pussy. Holy. Shit. That feels good. He puts two fingers back inside me while he gives my clit plenty of attention. He is amazing at multi-tasking.

  While fucking me with his fingers, his mouth is feasting on my pussy. At first he licks, and then he laps, and then he bites, and then he sucks. I can hear the slurping sound coming from my pussy while he drinks up all my juices. I can’t stop watching him. I have never witnessed something so intimate and erotic in my life.

  He continues to suck and lick while fingering me deep. His fingers start to hit that spot, the one that I know will have me coming in no time. Then his tongue hits my clit in just the right way and I know I am about to experience the biggest orgasm to date.

  He takes his mouth off of me for just long enough to say. “Baby girl, look in the mirror. Watch yourself as you come all over my tongue and fingers.” And with those words, pleasure detonates.

  My body begins to spasm and shake as I ride out my orgasm. His tongue and fingers never stop until I have completely come down from what I can only imagine heaven on earth feels like.

  “Damn, baby. That shit was so hot, you coming all over my tongue. You taste so fucking good.” He stands up and licks his fingers clean, and I want him all over again.

  We both clean up in the bathroom and then get dressed. As much as I want to lay naked with him, I can’t chance our four-year old running in here in the middle of the night or in the morning, and seeing us without clothes on. He flicks the light off on the nightstand and spoons me from the back.

  No words are spoken for a few minutes so I think he has fallen asleep when he says, “I want Bella to know I am her dad, Liz.”

  I know it’s only been a few hours but I am all in. Watching him tonight with her, I can’t deny him this chance. All I can do is hope and pray he doesn’t break our hearts.

  “I know, Coop. We will tell her tomorrow. I promise.”

  I can feel him relax into me and then we both let sleep overtake us.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cooper

 
I wake up to the smell of vanilla and it makes me smile. I look down and my beautiful girl is next to me, wrapped up in our blankets, she is still a sheet-hogger. I don’t know how I got this lucky to be given this second chance but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure Liz never regrets it. I start to stretch and remember today is Sunday which is my day off of training. I am hoping we can tell Bella about me being her dad and do something as a family. What do families do?

  Not knowing the answer to that simple question reminds me of the fact that my parents never did any family stuff. My dad was either traveling for fights or at the gym training. My mom was always home with me but we didn’t really go anywhere as a family. She always seemed upset my dad was gone. Eventually she would leave me with a sitter and go out by herself.

  And those thoughts start to make me panic. I am home right now but soon I am going to have to be away from home training long hours. I will have to start traveling again to promote the upcoming title fight. There will be press releases and conferences and then the fight itself. Bella is in school so Liz will have to stay home. Will she regret giving me this chance? Will she turn to someone else who can give her more attention? I feel my anxiety rising up and it’s hard to breathe. I need to calm myself down. Liz is not my mom and I am not my dad. We will get through this.

  “Mommy, Cooper, can I come in?”

  I look over to the doorway to see my little princess poking her head around the corner. I look back at Liz to see her still asleep so I place my fingers over my lips so she doesn’t wake her mom up.

  I carefully get out of bed making sure not to jostle Liz. Taking Bella’s small little hand I give her a smile and say, “Why don’t we make your mom breakfast in bed?”

  She lights up at the idea and starts skipping down the hallway pulling me along.

  “Yes, please! Can we make chocolate chip pancakes? Oh! And bacon? And can we make cupcakes and cookies, too. Mommy loves all that.”

  “Bella, you sure it’s your mom who loves cupcakes and cookies for breakfast?” I ask chuckling. She is already trying to get one over on me. And the truth is, it makes me so damn happy. This girl already has me wrapped around her cute little finger and I am absolutely ok with that.

  “Ok, maybe it’s me that likes all that stuff but I bet my mom would eat it all. She likes junk food, too. Her and Auntie Kay always buy it and say junk food makes every woman happy.”

  “I’m sure they are right. Why don’t we start with pancakes and bacon, and we will see about maybe going out for lunch and dessert later?”

  “Ok.” She stops abruptly and turns around pointing her crooked pinky out at me. Damn, kids still do this shit? I give her my pinky and we hook them together for a good ol’ pinky promise. I hope Liz is ok with going out later because there’s no way I am breaking our first pinky promise.

  We get to the kitchen and I am glad I decided to go buy groceries once Liz agreed to move in here. I grab the griddle and plug it in, and then set about grabbing all the ingredients to make the pancakes. Bella grabs a chair and drags it to the counter and stands on it. Even on a chair she is still so tiny.

  “Can I put all the stuff in and mix it all up, please?” she looks up at me while batting her eyelashes.

  Fuck! Are all women born with the ability to make a man do whatever they want through their damn eyelashes?

  “Of course you can princess.”

  I put all the stuff out within her reach She begins pouring it all into the bowl carefully and then mixes it all perfectly together. While she is doing that I throw the bacon into the oven. I have to wonder if all kids are this cute and helpful. One thing is for sure; Liz has done a damn good job raising her. At eighteen I was fighting and fucking. Liz was going to college and taking care of a baby. I wish I could do something to show her how amazing she is but I can’t think of anything that is anywhere near equivalent to this amazing woman caring for our daughter for the last four years.

  I spoon the pancake mix onto the hot griddle, and listen to Bella rattle on about preschool and the mean boys who have cooties.

  “…And then I told Tristan if he touches me one more time and gives me the cooties I’ll punch him in the face.” Hmm… I don’t like this Tristan. I will have to ask Liz about this kid. I can’t have some little shit giving my princess any cooties.

  “Good for you, princess. Don’t take no one’s crap.”

  “Ehem. I don’t think it’s a good idea to encourage our daughter to punch anybody.”

  Bella and I both turn around to find Liz standing against the island giving us what I would imagine is the mom look.

  “Mom, you were supposed to be in bed. I can’t bring you food in bed if you aren’t in bed.” Bella is standing there looking all cute and mad with her hands on her hips just like her mom does, when she switches gears.

  “Wait, mommy. Am I Cooper’s daughter too? You said our daughter!”

  Liz’s eyes open as wide as saucers when she realizes what she just implied and I grin. Now is the perfect time to tell Bella she is my daughter.

  I take the pancakes off the griddle and pull the bacon out of the oven and set it all down on the center of the table. I pour everyone some orange juice and we all sit down at the table and Bella and I both look at Liz.

  “Bella, how would you feel if Cooper was your daddy?” I tense up waiting for her answer.

  Bella starts getting antsy in her seat as she grabs a pancake from the platters and says, “I would feel happy. Duh!” Hearing her say that allows my entire body to relax.

  “Good, angel. Well, yes. Cooper is your daddy.”

  I am wondering if she is going to go into all the specifics. I mean, how do you explain to a four year old a thirty-hour stand? Yup! I am still sticking to that. Liz was so much more than a one-night stand.

  Apparently that is all the explanation she needs. “Cooper, can I call you daddy?”

  And there goes half my heart… gone. It’s now been handed over to the four-year old sitting across from me, and I pray she never gives it back.

  I have to take a second to control my breathing. I am suddenly choked up and there’s a lump in my throat. If I speak I am afraid I will start crying. She is looking at me shyly and I know I need to answer her before she thinks I don’t want that. Screw it… If I cry, I cry. If that makes me a pussy than so be it.

  Sure enough as the words come out so do the tears. I get up and walk around the table and kneel next to Bella turning her little legs to face me.

  “Oh, princess. I would love it more than anything in the world for you to call me daddy.”

  Bella reaches her hand out and swipes at my face to get rid of the tears.

  “Then why are you crying?” She asks in a sad voice.

  “These are happy tears. I know it doesn’t make much sense. But I promise you I am so happy right now.”

  I pull her into a tight hug never wanting to let her go. She is mine. This precious little girl is mine.

  “Daddy you are squeezing me so tightly my head is going to pop off!”

  I let go of her and we all laugh. I go back to my seat and look around as we all grab our food and begin to eat. This is my family. I am the luckiest guy in the world.

  * * *

  Liz

  After breakfast Cooper announces that it’s Sunday-Funday Family Day. What that entails I have no clue. When Bella and I ask him he tells us to go get dressed and be ready to head out in fifteen minutes. Ha! That’s funny. He clearly hasn’t spent enough time with women to know we don’t get ready in fifteen minutes. That’s ok… he’ll learn.

  An hour later we are piling into his Range Rover to head out. I go to grab Bella’s booster seat from my car but he tells me he already has one. Is there anything this man hasn’t thought of?

  The entire drive Bella keeps guessing where we are going. Cooper keeps laughing and saying he’s not telling her. About twenty minutes later we pull up to a grocery store and he insists we wait in the vehicle for him. When he ge
ts back I can see he has some bags and a whicker picnic basket. He loads the shopping bags into the trunk and then it sounds like he is filling the basket. When he’s done we get back on the road.

  A few minutes later we pull up to Town Square. Bella is trying to figure out where we are but she can’t see beyond the parking lot.

  “We’ve never been here. What’s there to do?” I ask as we get out.

  “You’ll see.” He grabs the basket, slams the trunk closed, and we all head towards the buildings. As we walk down the sidewalk, I see what looks like a bunch of playhouses. Bella starts walking faster wanting to see what’s going on. When we get closer sure enough there’s a huge park filled with sidewalks and playhouses everywhere. To one side there’s a huge Oak tree and connected to it is a tree house with a rock wall and a fort. Just past that there is a cool fountain that is shooting water up in the air. On the other side is the most adorable princess tower playhouse with slides coming out of the sides.

  “Oh my god! Mommy. Daddy. Can I go play?” Bella squeals in delight. She is looking every which way not even sure where to begin. I see a couple benches nearby and Cooper must notice them too because he heads straight for them. I think he is going to sit down and watch her play but he shocks me once again.

  He sets the basket down on the bench and says to Bella, “C’mon Princess! Let’s go play.”

  She is so excited he is joining her she jumps up and down, grabs his hand, and then pulls him along. Mom who?

  We both follow Bella through the playground. She runs from playhouse to playhouse and Cooper keeps up with her every step of the way. It is so funny to watch this six foot three inch man try to go where the barely three foot little girl goes. I have to give him credit, though. Cooper can barely fit in some of the tunnels and slides but it doesn’t stop him from trying. Where Bella goes, Cooper goes.

  I pull out my iPhone and snap a bunch of pictures of them running around, climbing up the rock wall, and going down the slides. I am sure he will love to see these later.