The Fighting Series (Books 1-5)

by Nikki Ash

  I can’t help but get choked up, and when I look over at him to tell him how much his essay means to me, he looks unsure of himself. “Marco, this is the best essay I have ever read. The things you wrote about me…” I have to swallow the lump in my throat so I can continue. “Can I keep this, please?”

  His face lights up. “You want to keep my essay? You like it that much?”

  “It’s the nicest thing anybody has ever written about me.” I lean over and hug him hard, not wanting to let go.

  “How about we go surprise Hayley at work and steal her away so we can go do something fun?”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  We get to the gym and I look for the guys to say hi to, while Marco runs over to a couple kids who are about to begin a class. I find Cooper, Bentley, and Kaden bullshitting near the locker rooms with Alex and Stephen and a couple other younger guys who train here as well. They’re all laughing and making digs at Kaden.

  “What’s up?” I ask, fist bumping everyone.

  “We’re all going out tonight and Kaden is acting like a little pussy not wanting to go out,” Stephen says with a laugh,

  “Yeah,” Alex chimes in. “I get those two not wanting to go out,” he nods toward Bentley and Cooper. “They’re pussy whipped with kids, but supposedly Kaden isn’t even getting any from Ashley because they’re just friends, yet he’d rather go sit on her couch and hang out then try to catch some tail. What happened to the playboy you used to be?”

  Kaden laughs it off. Only a few people know Kaden’s story and why he acts the way he does. “First of all, keep Ashley’s name out of your mouth and second, I’m getting plenty of pussy, you dick. Worry about your damn self.”

  Just as he says this, he looks over my shoulder like a deer caught in the headlights as Tristan comes running past us toward the class, and trailing behind him is Ashley. She clearly heard his last comment.

  She looks hurt but quickly smiles and laughs, playing it off. “Yeah, don’t worry. Kaden hanging out with me is only slightly putting a damper on his little black book. Feel free to go out tonight. I have to work anyway.”

  She walks away without saying a word and Kaden runs after her not giving a shit that they’re about to argue in front of half the gym.

  “What do you mean you’re working tonight? I thought you only worked two days a week.”

  “Things changed. I have… bills to pay.”

  “Do you need me to watch Tristan? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on. And no, I have a babysitter watching him but thank you.” She smiles softly at him and then stands on her tippy toes, giving him a kiss on his cheek before walking away from him. Kaden doesn’t go after her this time. He just stands there with his jaw clenched. I’m not sure if he’s mad at himself for the comment he stupidly made or mad at her for blowing him off and acting like she didn’t care. But either way, it’s the most emotion I’ve seen from him since I’ve known him.

  I say bye to the guys and call Marco over to join me. We find Hayley in her office where she’s typing away on the computer not realizing we’re watching her. I clear my throat and she jumps.

  “Jeez, boys! You scared me.”

  “We’re here to steal you,” Marco says.

  Hayley laughs at the excitement in his voice.

  “And where are you going to take me?”

  “Caleb said to do something fun, but he didn’t say what.”

  “Well, okay then. I’m all yours.” She shuts down her computer and we take off. While I’m driving I hand her the essay Marco wrote. When she’s done reading it, her face is wearing a matching expression to how I feel—complete love. Words don’t need to be exchanged to know how much we both love that little boy.

  We pull up to GameWorks and its clear Marco and Hayley have never been here. It’s a huge state of the art arcade that also has a five star restaurant and a bowling alley. When we enter through the doors I buy the biggest package possible that includes dinner, a ridiculous amount of credits for the video games, and a game of bowling for the three of us.

  Once I hand Marco and Hayley their cards with the credits on them, we walk inside. Marco stops and looks around taking it all in, and Hayley looks at me, grinning wide, knowing what I’m up to. Marco thought the tiny arcade was so amazing—well, this place blows it away. They aren’t even in the same league of arcades.

  “We can play any game we want?” Marco asks in shock, never having seen anything like this before.

  “Anything you want, and you earn tickets that will let you pick out prizes at the end. Now lead the way, kid.”

  His first stop is air hockey. He and Hayley team up against me. Within minutes I’m kicking their asses but they’re both cracking up laughing. Hayley tries to put her arm across the goal to block the puck.

  “Really? You’re going to resort to cheating?” I taunt her.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, leaning over the goal and giving me a tiny peek at her ample cleavage.

  “Okay, but when the puck bruises your arm I don’t want to hear it.” I grab the striker and line up the puck, pretending like I’m going to hit it across the table. Hayley’s eyes narrow and her head tilts slightly, daring me to try it.

  I hit the puck to the left, knowing Marco will hit it, and sure enough he does. He knocks the puck into my goal and they both jump up and down giving each other a high five. They lost miserably, but it doesn’t stop them from cheering about Marco’s goal. Hayley walks over to me and gives me a peck on my cheek.

  “I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”

  Taking her by her waist, I say softly so only she can hear, “The only thing I ever want to do is bring you happiness, baby.”

  Her lips curl up into a gorgeous grin that makes my heart melt.

  “C’mon, guys!” Marco yells over the noise of the arcade.

  We work our way through the various arcade games. We race each other in Mario Cart, challenge each other shooting hoops in Super Shots Basketball, play the classic Skee-ball game where I know Marco distracts me so Hayley can run up and put her ball into the highest slot, and after we’re done playing probably every game imaginable, we take our cards and Marco picks out several dozen crappy prizes that he believes are the best prizes ever. We take a gaming break for dinner and afterward, we take Marco bowling for the first time.

  When there is nothing left to play or win, we head home and Marco thanks us no less than a dozen times before he passes out in bed.

  Hayley and I cuddle on the couch and partake in a hot make out session while watching The Bachelor.

  “Thank you, Hayles.”

  “For what? GameWorks was all because of you.”

  “Yeah, but this life… my newfound happiness… it’s all because of you.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hayley

  It’s Friday evening and everybody’s decided to meet at a club on the strip for drinks. While I’m at work I can’t help but think about where Caleb and I stand. We haven’t had sex yet, but it feels like everything we’ve done has been even more intimate. The late night talks that lead to the late night kisses and cuddling. If he’s able to make my body feel that alive without bringing me to an orgasm, I can’t even imagine what will happen when we finally do have sex. My pent up sexual needs are at an all-time high for sure. But I’m letting Caleb run this show even if I die from sexual frustration in the process.

  Since I knew I had a late meeting with one of the fighters, I brought a change of clothes with me, and Caleb is dropping Marco off at Bentley’s parents’ house. Kayla and Ashley are both dropping their kids off there as well. Liz and Cooper are coming out, but his mom is watching their two little ones, wanting some grandma time. As I’m unlocking my car door, I text Caleb to let him know I’ll meet him at the club. I’m getting ready to drive off when I notice a piece of paper on my windshield. Ugh! It’s probably one of those advertisements to lose weight or for a free dental cleaning.
I swing the door open and hop out to grab it from underneath the windshield wiper and shove it into my purse.

  I get to the club and valet park. The guy hands me a ticket and I thank him. I spot Caleb waiting for me near the front door and walk up to him. He pulls me into his embrace, giving me a kiss that ends far too soon. We go straight to the bouncer and Caleb must know him because they shake hands and we go right in without having to wait in line.

  When we get inside, I see everybody is already here. Kaden and Ashley are sitting together laughing, Bentley has Kayla on his lap, and Liz and Cooper are slow dancing next to the booth. I also notice Alex is there with a couple other guys from the gym. I invited my sister and her fiancé, Gavin, and they’re both there talking to Kayla and Bentley. Kayla and Liz both know my sister from her visits over the years. I met Liz and Kayla while working at a bistro with them years ago when I was in medical school.

  Caleb and I walk up and everybody’s eyes turn to us. I look down nervously, wondering if maybe I have my dress on backward or inside out, but it seems fine. Then I notice Caleb’s hand is still in mine, and everybody is staring at our hands. I go to pull my hand away from his, but he grabs ahold of it tighter, giving me an I don’t think so look. Nobody is sure what to say, so they choose to ignore what is happening and greet us.

  Hannah gets up to hug me, but it’s a one armed hug since Caleb still won’t let go of my hand.

  We walk over to Gavin and make introductions. After everybody knows everybody, we find an empty seat and order drinks from the waitress. I go with my favorite, a Lemon Drop martini, and Caleb orders a beer.

  “C’mon girls, let’s dance!” Kayla yells over the music. She grabs my hand and Liz’s with Ashley and Hannah following behind us. We get to the center of the dance floor and the song is one I love. Somebody by Natalie La Rose is pumping through the speakers making me want to dance that much more. I get into the song with Ashley. While I can definitely hold my own, this woman has got some serious moves. We’re grinding up against each other playfully when a couple of guys come over and ask us to join in. We look at each other, laugh and politely decline, continuing to dance with each other.

  After a few minutes I see some of the guys have joined. Kaden steals Ashley away, and since I don’t really want to dance with a stranger, I turn to go back to the booth when I run right into Caleb smirking at me. He pulls me close, and even though the song is one people are gyrating to, he slow dances with me.

  “The way your body moves is fucking sexy, Hayles,” he whispers into my ear. “I want you… tonight.” His words send a shudder down my spine. I back up a little to look at him and see the lust in his eyes. I nod and put my head against his chest, continuing to slow dance in the middle of the fast song, not caring about anything other than how much I want this man. His hands go to my ass and he grabs ahold of me pulling me closer into him. I can feel his hard-on rubbing against me making me want to grind on him. When his leg hits my center I can feel how turned on I am as sparks fly straight to my core. I don’t just want this man. I need him, like now. He chuckles softly into my ear as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

  When the song ends and the emcee announces some drink specials before playing the next song, we head back to the booth to get another drink. We all hang out for a few hours, but I don’t drink anymore. I want to be fully sober tonight. I want to remember everything. Then I get nervous… We haven’t discussed what we are to each other, but hopefully tonight won’t be a one-time thing. How should I act? Do I just lie there and let him do everything? I’m probably overthinking this, but I don’t want to screw it up.

  “What’s got you frowning?” Kayla asks nudging me. I confide in her since she knows about Caleb’s past.

  “You know what you have to do, right?”

  “Umm… no… what?”

  Her face lights up with mischief. “We need to leave early and handcuff you to the bed!”

  I’m unfortunately taking a sip of my drink as she says this so my water sprays all over the place.

  “Excuse me?” I whisper, looking around to make sure nobody else heard her.

  “Handcuffs… If you’re handcuffed, you’re giving him one hundred percent control, and then you don’t have to worry about what you should be doing. He’ll be doing it all.”

  I hate to admit it but she has a point. “Where would I get handcuffs this late?”

  “Oh, I have them in my glove box,” Kayla says like it’s perfectly normal to have handcuffs in one’s glove box. I raise my eyebrows up in question, but she just tells me it’s a long story.

  She whispers something to Bentley causing him to laugh then she announces our departure, saying she needs me to give her a ride somewhere before I head home. She grabs my phone and texts Caleb to meet me at home in a half hour before dragging me along behind her.

  We get to my house and it’s pitch black. Caleb must have forgotten to leave the outside light on. I walk inside, flip the light on, and step back outside to make sure it’s working when I see that same car parked down the street. I need to remember to let Caleb know. Something is definitely off, and he mentioned getting a threatening note when we got back from Boulder. What if it’s the same people? Before I can think any more about it, Kayla dangles the handcuffs in front of my face making me nervous.

  “C’mon! Strip down into nothing but your bra and underwear.”

  “WHAT??” I squeal out.

  “If you’re handcuffed he won’t be able to take your clothes off,” she says like duh!

  I quickly rinse off in the shower and then after taking several calming breaths put on my sexiest bra and panty set and get onto the bed to be handcuffed.

  Kayla takes the handcuffs and puts them around the bedpost and then locks them around my wrists loosely. I look at them and see they’re made of pink feather-like material so they won’t rub my wrists raw.

  “I don’t even want to know why you have pink feathered handcuffs.”

  Kayla laughs. “Looking at you all sexy on this bed, if I swung that way I would totally be having my way with you right now.”

  I crack up laughing. “Get out! I’m going to lose my courage.”

  “Sorry, girly, but it’s a little too late for that. I’ll leave the key on the nightstand though.”

  “Oh God! I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  Kayla laughs again, shaking her head. “Since Caleb has a key, I’ll lock the door on my way out. Good luck!”

  “Wait! How are you getting home? We took my car.”

  “Bentley is outside waiting for me.” She winks and then turns off all lights, leaving only the glow of the nightlight from the bathroom. A few seconds later, I hear the door close, leaving me here by myself to do nothing but second-guess myself.

  Chapter Twenty

  Caleb

  When Kayla said she needed Hayley to take her somewhere I thought maybe Hayley was trying to get out of being with me. I made it clear to her that I want her tonight, but instead of going home, she’s running errands with Kayla? After they ran out, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

  Hayley: Meet me at home in thirty minutes ;)

  Okay, I’m not sure what is going on, but I will definitely be meeting her at home in thirty minutes. Bentley says he needs to get going, but not before slapping me on my back and laughing. “Good luck tonight, bro.”

  I hang out with everyone else for a few more minutes and then excuse myself for the night. The drive home feels like it takes forever wondering what the hell Hayley is up to.

  I get home and walk into the dark, quiet house. “Hayley?” I call out but don’t hear anything. I turn on the living room light, so it’s not pitch black and make my way to her bedroom first. When I open the door it’s dark, but there’s a small light shining through, and on the bed I see the most exquisite image laid out right in front of me.

  Hayley is spread out on the bed in nothing but a tiny black bra and matching panties. They are nothing more than scraps of materi
al barely covering her, and as I get closer the faint light shows me they’re see-through. Her nipples are hard and poking through the cups of her bra and her legs are closed tight together. She looks absolutely breathtaking… and nervous.

  “This was Kayla’s idea. We thought it would give you control, you know, so I can’t touch you. You can touch me and do whatever you want to me. But while I’ve waiting for you, I started to think, what if me lying here isn’t giving you control because I’m initiating the sex by lying here in the first place, but you did say you want me tonight, so technically you initiated it…” She’s rambling on, afraid I’m going to push her away, and all I have stuck in my head is the part where she said I could do whatever I want to her. My dick twitches at the sight of this woman handcuffed and willing to make herself completely vulnerable and uncomfortable just to make me comfortable.

  I step up next to the bed and lean down to kiss her, mostly to stop her from second-guessing herself, but also because I need to taste her. She tastes of toothpaste with a hint of lemon from her drink earlier. She tastes amazing, and then I wonder what her other lips taste like. My dick twitches again at the thought.

  When I break the kiss, she opens her mouth to say something else, but before she can speak I put my fingers to her lips to quiet her, shaking my head.