The Fighting Series (Books 1-5)

by Nikki Ash

  The fact is, Kaden has been a godsend this past week. I don’t even know how I would have fed Tristan and me. And just like he promised he would, every night he has watched Tristan on the nights I have had to work. I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t once asked me to quit my job, but I’m hoping he has realized my money issues are my problem and it’s not his place to tell me where to work.

  While Tristan has been at camp all week, I have spent every day in search of another job. I have filled out hundreds of applications, but I haven’t gotten a single bite. When I run out of places to apply to each day, I head over to Assets to learn more about the club and restaurant business. Caleb has been walking me through all the specifics of running a club, getting me acquainted with the ins and outs of the business, such as scheduling, hiring, and ordering. Liz covers all the payroll, Daniel, the chef, covers the menu items, and Jevon, the bar manager covers the bar ordering, but he wants me to learn it all so I when I take over, I’ll be able to know what it is I am supervising.

  Now it’s July twenty-first and I have less than twenty-four hours to move all mine and Tristan’s stuff out, but instead I’m at work. I’m well aware my being in denial is completely irresponsible and stupid, but I don’t really know what else to do at this point. This is the first time in my life I feel completely out of control and helpless. Even when Tyler walked out the door, I handled my shit.

  Since I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the house, or when they’ll be showing up to lock me out, I told Kaden I needed to bomb the house for bugs and asked if he could please watch Tristan at his place. He agreed without questioning me.

  Before going into work, I moved our clothes and photo albums into my car the best I could until I figure it all out, but I’m at a complete loss as to what choice I should make. If I move to my parents’ house, I’m too far to commute to work. If I don’t move there, we’ll be homeless. I’ve already told my mom Tristan will be going back to her house for the rest of the summer. She clearly knows something is going on but has learned I need to handle it myself. Thankfully, she always agrees to take Tristan without asking questions.

  I’ve considered asking Caleb if I can sleep on his office couch on the nights I work but decided against it. I have put the poor guy through enough.

  What I do know is if all my shit isn’t out of the house soon, the doors will be locked and I won’t be able to get any of it. Unfortunately, I can’t deal with it right now because I’m at work and need to focus on making money.

  “Hey boss.” I knock once and enter Caleb’s office. He’s rolling his neck from side to side in a circular motion.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Oh yeah, it’s just great. My very hormonal pregnant wife has decided she’s going to hold a grudge for not forcing you to become my manager and has stuck my ass out on the couch for the last week. I think my neck has a permanent kink in it.”

  “I’m so sorry, Caleb. I can talk to Hayley. She didn’t mention it when we were hanging out the other day.”

  Caleb waves me off. “Don’t worry about it. It’s all good.”

  “Okay, well, I was just checking in before I go on the floor. I checked on Daniel’s order and realized he forgot to place it. I added it to the calendar so it will alert him every week. He always seems to forget, so hopefully that will help him remember. I also moved some of the girls around because Kora is running late, and Annalise’s daughter has the stomach bug, so she might be out for a couple days.”

  “Thank you, Ashley. Any more thoughts on hanging up your dancing heels and taking over full time?”

  “Not yet, but I appreciate your confidence in me.”

  “This might be a personal question, but I have to ask. Are you going back to teaching in August?”

  “No, my teaching career is over.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry about that, but let’s keep working on you managing this place. Hayley is due in November so that only gives me four months to train you fully.”

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  “Hey Ashley!” Bianca pokes her head into the office.

  I turn around to give her my attention “Yeah?”

  “Your shift technically doesn’t start for five more minutes, but you have a private dance request.”

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  I turn back to Caleb. “Duty calls.”

  After quickly changing into my dancing costume, since I’ll be dancing tonight and not waitressing, I head to find Bianca. She’s the hostess and sets up all the private rooms as well as handles all the restaurant’s reservations.

  “What room number?”

  She glances at the sheet. “Room A.”

  “Thanks, girly. Any requests?”

  “Actually, yes. He requested a pole dance and a lap dance.”

  “Ay, ay, Captain.”

  I give her a mock salute as I head upstairs to room A, hoping whoever is in this room will be a good tipper. I’m still a little short to pay Giovanni and only have a couple more days until the end of the month. Knowing I already lost my house, I gave up trying to pay my bills and have just been focusing on paying him. The last thing I want is to be owned by a man like Giovanni. I have enough trouble taking my bra and shorts off when I’m stripping, I don’t even know how I would handle being required to have sex with strangers.

  After picking out the music, I turn the lights up on the stage and down on the floor and then begin my performance. Thanks to the lighting, it’s almost impossible to see whoever is sitting there watching me, and to be honest, I prefer it that way. Once I’ve made it halfway through my performance, I remove my bustier. Then a few moves later, my shorts are removed, leaving me in only my G-string and high heels. The song, and performance, ends, but I don’t bother collecting my clothes yet. Bianca said the guy requested a lap dance, so I might as well leave my clothes off and get it over with.

  I’m sauntering down the steps of the stage as a new songs transitions, when I notice the guy sitting at the table in one of the chairs is Kaden and he looks delicious. He’s wearing dark wash blue jeans and a powder blue button down collared shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair is still wet like he recently showered and is all messy like always. He’s lounging in the chair with his legs spread wide like he doesn’t have a worry in the world. His beautiful green eyes are piercing into mine and it causes my breath to catch. I suddenly remember I’m standing in front of him in nothing but a scrap of fabric and heels. Feeling extremely vulnerable, my hands go up to cover my breasts.

  “Why are you covering yourself? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” Ouch!

  “I didn’t expect to you to be here. Where’s Tristan?”

  “He’s at my house with Kayla.”

  “Okay…” I’m not sure what Kaden’s intentions are, but I’m not going to question it. It’s not a secret that while this man is my best friend, I would give almost anything to have one night with him. However, Kaden has made it clear he has no desire for us to be anything more than friends so why he’s here is a mystery to me. One I’m sure he will reveal soon.

  “Where’s my dance?” Kaden places his hands on the curves of my hips and tugs me toward him. Okay… so he really wants a dance from me. The same guy who wanted me to quit stripping… I need to figure out what his end-game is here.

  “Nuh-uh,” I say, backing away and removing his hands from my body so we’re no longer touching. He tilts his head to the side in confusion, and his bottom lip juts out, making himself look adorably sexy.

  I move my pointer finger back and forth to push my point. “No touching the dancer. It’s the rule.”

  Kaden gives me a smirk but doesn’t argue. The song transitions into Na Na by Trey Songz and I begin teasing him. Since he’s sitting in a chair, I circle around the back of it, running the tips of my nails across his chest, shoulders, and back, then up his neck. I feel him shiver under my touch, which makes me smile inside. Once I get to the back of the chair, I
lean forward so my breasts rub up against his neck as I trail my fingertips up his body, starting from his hard abs that I can feel even through his shirt.

  Moving to the side of the chair, but without taking my hands off him, I begin dancing next to him lightly rubbing my body up against his side as I move back around to the front. Once I’m in front of him, I drop to my ass and kick my legs over from one side to the other. He looks down at me on the floor, his eyes widening at the sight of my pussy only being covered by a thin piece of almost completely see-through fabric. I swear I hear a growl come from deep within his chest, and I have to hold back my grin.

  I stand, parting my legs just enough so his leg is nestled between mine, and continue to dance. My eyes close, and I get lost in the feel of the music, rubbing against his jean clad thigh. A soft moan escapes from my lips as an orgasm slowly builds. Before I can even open my eyes, I feel Kaden’s hands on my hips once again lifting me up onto his lap so I’m straddling him.

  I grind down on him, the area between my legs sensitive and wanting. His hands go to my breasts, and my back arches forward, encouraging his touch.

  “Fuck, baby,” he growls, taking both my breasts into his mouth, one at a time, sucking on each one as I continue my grinding. My fingers are tangled in his hair and I’m pulling his face closer, forcing him to suck harder. Between the sensation his mouth is causing and the grinding of my pussy on him, an orgasm overtakes me, and before I can stop it, my entire body shakes with pleasure.

  Kaden, still sucking on my breasts, picks me up and carries me over to the couch. My back hits the cold leather and I remember where we are.

  At a strip club.

  In a private room.

  Where I work.

  Where I’m getting paid to dance.

  I push him off me and sit up, covering my chest before I quickly walk to the stage to throw on my clothes.

  “What’s wrong?” Kaden says as I grab my bustier top, then walk to the other side of the stage to grab my shorts. I put them all back on, but I still feel completely underdressed. I walk back over to the couch and sit next to him.

  “I can’t do this… We can’t do this. We got caught up in the moment. This is where I work. I don’t do this with guests. You and me… We’re friends. You are literally my best friend. I can’t become your next one-night stand.”

  Kaden flinches at my words. “You could never be a one-night stand, Ash. You know that. But you’re right, this isn’t the time or place to be doing this. I only came here to see you. I was hoping if you saw me here, you wouldn’t want to strip and you would agree to quit. The last time I was here at the bachelor party you said it embarrassed you for me to see you. I’m probably grasping at straws, but I just didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t plan on it going this far. I’m sorry.”

  I’m stuck on the words you could never be a one-night stand. Does that mean he wants more? Does he want to be with me for real? The thought gets me excited until I remember I’m a stripper and I’d never date a guy while working here. It wouldn’t be fair to him. I know it’s technically not cheating, but I just couldn’t do it. It would feel like cheating to me and I care about Kaden too much to disrespect him in that way. Plus, I need him in my life too much to take the chance that after one time he won’t dump me like he’s done to all the rest of the women he’s been with.

  “I’m not quitting my job here, so you can leave now, if that’s all you came for.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Kaden

  The night I found out Ashley was stripping to make ends meet, we went back to her house and I started to pay close attention. First red flag, her Wi-Fi wasn’t working when I went to get on the internet. Then when we went to watch TV, I noticed her cable wasn’t working either. We would only watch DVDs. The next red flag was finding the foreclosure notice while looking for coffee. To solidify my suspicions, when I texted her the next day and she ignored me, only to blame it on a broken phone, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. I’m not sure what trouble Ashley is in, but I know one thing for sure. She’s in over her head.

  While she doesn’t have the income coming in from teaching anymore, there is no way she isn’t making enough to pay her bills working at Assets. After I calmed down and spoke with Caleb, he told me how much the girls make on average dancing there, and it’s enough to pay her bills.

  Every day I made sure Tristan and Ashley were fed, whether it was ordering in, bringing food with me, or asking them to join me. I knew if I tried to give Ashley money, she wasn’t going to accept it, so I had to figure a way to go around her. I was hoping sometime this week she would mention having to be out of her house by tomorrow, but she didn’t mention it at all. If it wasn’t for the notice stating the date and details, I wouldn’t even know.

  Then my grandfather texted me asking if I had found a potential wife and it was like a light bulb popped up on top of my head like it does in the cartoons. Ashley needs money, and I need a wife. What could be better than fake marrying your best friend? So, I put a plan into motion. I spoke with the guys and their wives, letting them know that Ashley needed to move out of her house and, to make it easy on her, I was going to move everything to my place. They all knew there was more to the story but also knew if I wanted them to know I would have told them.

  So, once Ashley left for work, we all began moving her stuff into my garage, minus Caleb since he had to be at the club. After the place was emptied, I texted Caleb to see what time Ashley would be off, and when he said not until two a.m., I decided to go to the club. I needed to talk to Ashley and was hoping maybe if she danced for me, she would get embarrassed and it’d make her want to quit. Also, if I’m honest, I was a little curious to see her in action. Okay, maybe a lot curious. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one hundred percent against her stripping, but when we went to the club for the bachelor party, I threw her over my shoulder before I could see her dance. Plus, if she’s dancing for me, that means she isn't dancing for somebody else, and since she’s refusing to quit, I might as well be the one to reap the benefits.

  And holy fucking shit, did I! Watching her ass dance on that stage, the way her body glided with natural grace across that pole, had me painfully hard. And when she removed her clothes I thought I might come in my pants. When the girl asked me if I had any requests, I said I wanted it all hoping to have extra time with Ashley. What I didn’t know was ‘it all’ consisted of her sexy-as-sin body grinding on my own until she fucking came right there on my leg.

  The orgasming on my leg part better be a bonus only I get.

  If she wouldn’t have pulled the brakes, I would have been balls-deep in that woman within seconds of throwing her ass on the couch. When she accused me of simply wanting a one-night stand with her, like I do with other women, I wanted to throw up. How could she ever put herself into the same category as those other women? She’s my best friend for God’s sake. I love her. And if I was capable of giving my heart to someone, it would without a doubt go to her. She and her son are the two most important people in my life. I will never do anything to lose them, which is why I’m glad she stopped us before anything really happened.

  I’m not stupid. I know there’s no way I could go into a fake marriage with Ashley objectively after having been inside her. She only orgasmed on my thigh and I just about lost it.

  This was not exactly how I planned to bring my proposition up to her. The issue is, if I don’t tell her, she’s going to leave work and head home to an empty house. So, it looks like I’m going to have to just bite the bullet and throw it all out there for her.

  “There’s something I need to talk to you about.” I look at her and can’t help but glance down at her pebbled nipples poking through her practically see-through top. Needing to cover her up so I can focus on what I need to say and not her perky fucking nipples, I unbutton my shirt, which leaves me in just a white undershirt. I hand her the shirt and she puts it on, covering herself without buttoning it up. She faces me on the couch an
d sits Indian style giving me her full attention.

  I need to lay this out in a certain way to reel Ashley in, so she doesn’t think I’m trying to save her or some shit. “You know how my grandmother is turning eighty next month?”

  She nods.

  “Well, I have a feeling she isn’t doing so well. My grandfather kind of insinuated she might not live much longer.”

  “Oh, Kaden. I’m so sorry.” Hook.

  “He asked me for a favor… I guess she has a dying wish, but I don’t think I’ll be able to grant it for her.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Line.

  “Actually, there is… You can marry me.” And sinker.

  Her eyes bug out like marrying me is the worst thing that could happen to her. So, I quickly add, “For pretend, of course.”

  Her face morphs from concerned to angry in point-two seconds, and I have a feeling I’m about to lose my fish—figuratively speaking—if I don’t say the right thing.

  “She wants to see me get married before the year is up. And if I do, my grandfather will give me fifteen million dollars. I don’t care as much about the money as I do seeing her happy, but I sure as hell won’t turn it down. And I’ll split it with you. I’ll pay you to marry me. To make my grandmother’s dying wish come true.”

  I hold my breath, waiting to see if she’s going to take the bait…

  And then she storms out of the room.

  I guess I lost that one…

  I take off after her, down the hallway to the stairs, down the stairs to the restaurant. Holy shit, this woman can haul ass in heels! I almost catch up to her when I see the guy from her porch the other day. Giovanni? He’s in a three-piece suit that’s tailored to fit him. He’s clean shaven and his hair looks professionally cut. The guy screams money.