The Fighting Series (Books 1-5)

by Nikki Ash

  Tristan and I get home and take showers. I cook us dinner, and we watch some television until it’s nine o’clock, which his bedtime.

  When I walk into his room to tuck him in, I notice his room is plain. It doesn’t look like a kid’s room. It still looks like a guest room.

  “Hey, bud. What do you say after we get back from the tournament we have your room decorated how you want?”

  “Really? Can I have UFC stuff?”

  “Sure.”

  “Wait! Does that mean I can go to the tournament with everyone?”

  “I signed you up today. You’re good to go!”

  “And we can go to Disney with everyone, too?”

  “Of course.” I ruffle his hair, then kiss his forehead. “Night, buddy.”

  After doing the dishes and rotating a load of laundry, I sit down to go over some bills, when I see a recent transfer of fifteen million into my account. I immediately call my grandfather.

  “Kaden, how are you, my boy?”

  “I’m good, Grandfather. Really good.”

  “And how is Ashley?”

  “She’s good. She’s the reason for my call.”

  “Okay, talk to me.”

  “I saw the money you transferred to me. I don’t want the money you offered me to marry someone. I’m marrying Ashley because I love her and I don’t want it tainted with a bribe from you.”

  “There’s my grandson. Welcome back, son. We missed you.”

  I chuckle softly. “I must admit, your bribe did give me a reason to pursue her and get her to come with me to Colorado. I have a feeling if it wasn’t for you twisting my arm, we’d still be here, dancing around our feelings for each other.”

  “I am very happy for you, Kaden. The truth is, we always planned to give you your trust fund. I was just hoping it would push you to find love again. The money was wired a few days ago, and if you recall, I originally said once you’re married. You aren’t married yet.”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me? I always assumed I would just get some money in your will.”

  “We wanted to make sure you earned your way in this world first. We always planned to give it to you once you turned thirty-five but held off when you appeared to still be lost.”

  “Damn, Grandfather, that’s a lot of money. Are you sure?”

  “Your grandmother and I have had that set aside for you for many years. You’re our only grandson. We love the man you’ve become. Now continue to be that man for Ashley and Tristan.”

  “I will. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, my boy. Goodnight.”

  “Night. Tell Grandmother I said hello and I love her.”

  “Will do. You’ve made her very happy finding Ashley and bringing her to Colorado with you. She loves Facetiming with Tristan. Goodbye.”

  “Bye.”

  I make note to call my accountant in the morning. While I plan to spend my life with Ashley, I know first-hand anything can happen, and I need to make sure she and Tristan are taken care of. I also need to get ahold of her account info so I can transfer some money over to her. I hate the idea of her only having the money she makes at Assets to spend.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Ashley

  It’s been four months since Kaden and I officially became engaged for real, and everything has been going great. I’ve been managing the club full time, which makes Kaden happy, even though he’s let me know several times I’m welcome to stay home. I know the money I make is nothing compared to the money he makes and has, but it’s important to me to work and be independent in some way. I look at the employment ads daily, hoping maybe I can find something else I might enjoy, but nothing jumps out at me.

  Hayley gave birth to a beautiful little girl the day before Thanksgiving. 7lbs 4 oz., 21 inches. They named her Mackenzie Colette Michaels. Mackenzie was Caleb’s mom’s name, who died years ago from cancer. Colette was his sister’s name, who was tragically killed. Caleb and Hayley wanted their names to live on through love. She is a perfect mix of the two of them.

  For Christmas, everyone decided to go to Bentley’s cabin in Breckenridge. Since his parents’ place only has four bedrooms, when the home next to theirs went on the market, he snagged it up. Six bedrooms and four bathrooms, the place is stunning. Kaden and I spent the week skiing with Tristan. Kaden insisted on him taking lessons, and after a couple days, he was skiing like a pro. Kaden also had us check out a couple places in the area. We would love to make coming here for Christmas a yearly tradition.

  For New Year’s, we visited my parents. They have an annual New Year’s party and we missed it last year for Kayla and Bentley’s wedding. At the end of the night, Tristan ended up staying with my parents and Kaden surprised me with a romantic night at a resort. I smile at the memory of us on the balcony…

  “Close your eyes.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do it, woman.”

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I rely on Kaden to walk me to wherever we’re going. I already know we’re at the Palms, a luxurious resort in the area.

  I hear a door click open and we walk a little farther. Another door opens… or maybe a slider?

  “Okay, open.”

  “Oh, my God! Kaden! This is amazing.” We’re standing out on a balcony on the top floor. It must be the penthouse of some sort. There’s a beautiful mini-pool that’s just ours to use. The balcony railing is see-through glass, creating an illusion of the pool water flowing down over the balcony. There are candles spread out around the perimeter of the pool, and in the corner is a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice with two glasses.

  “It’s beautiful. What is this all for?”

  “Well, aside from it being New Year’s, it’s also our four-month anniversary. You agreed to marry me four months ago, today.”

  Reaching up onto my tippy toes, I give Kaden a kiss. “Thank you.”

  “There are bathing suits in the bathroom. I had our stuff sent up while I was checking in.”

  “Can anybody see us in the pool?” I look to both sides and there’s a concrete wall. I glance down and see the beautiful city of Las Vegas.

  “No.”

  “Then I’m pretty sure we don’t need bathing suits.” Giving Kaden a flirty wink, I remove my dress, bra, and panties, then walk into the heated pool. “Are you joining me?”

  “Hell, yes.” He throws his shirt over his head, then pushes his jeans and briefs down. He saunters toward me with a mischievous smirk, and before I can consider why, he walks right into the pool and picks me up, wrapping my legs around his body.

  “I love you, Ash,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to mine. Suddenly, his soft kisses aren’t enough. What was tender between us becomes more ravenous and soon we’re both all hands and mouths and tongues and teeth. Kaden sits me on the edge of the pool, then leaves me to grab the champagne from the bucket. After popping the cork, he spreads my thighs.

  “You know what would taste even better than your pussy?”

  “Hmmm?” I ask, distracted by the fact that he’s about to eat me out.

  “Ashley with a side of champagne. Lie back.”

  I do as he says and a few seconds later, cold champagne is running down my breasts. Kaden is hovering above me, sucking the champagne off my nipples. Then he pours some into my belly button, eliciting a shiver out of me from the coldness.

  “Damn… This is some good champagne. Want some?” he taunts.

  “Yes,” I moan. He’s sucks the champagne out of my belly button and the feeling of his tongue on my body sends sparks straight to my core.

  “Sorry, you’ll have to wait. I’m not done drinking yet.”

  I lift my body up a little bit so I can see him. He’s back on the steps of the pool and his face is parallel to my pussy. He spreads my lips, then lifts the champagne above my mound, pouring the cold liquid over me. Keeping the bottle in one hand, while holding my lips open with the other hand, his face disappears between my thighs, slurping the champagne off my clit. />
  My body ignites from the pleasure.

  “So. Fucking. Delicious, baby.” He pours some more over my clit. He sets the bottle down then disappears again, eating my pussy like he’s a starved man.

  Just as I’m about to come, Kaden lifts my ass up slightly and pushes a finger into my tight hole, causing my body to detonate. My eyes close as my climax hits and fireworks go off in the back of my eyelids, my body shaking from the intense orgasm.

  When I no longer feel Kaden’s mouth and hands on me, I open my eyes and see him smiling at me.

  “What?”

  “It’s a beautiful sight watching you come.”

  Taking my hand, he guides us over to the lounge chair. “Come ride me, baby.”

  I admire him for a few seconds. His cocky smile. The couple days of scruff on his face that, without a doubt, left red marks between my thighs. His toned pectoral muscles and tight six pack of abs that I love to run my tongue down. His throbbing dick that’s standing at attention waiting for me.

  “It’s my turn,” I say.

  Kaden looks at me quizzically, lifting one eyebrow.

  I grab the champagne from the ground where he left it. Then, sitting on top of his legs, I pour a small amount of champagne over his dick and watch it trickle down his thick shaft and balls. Leaning down to take his balls into my mouth, my hard nipples brush up against his thighs causing me to shutter.

  I suck the champagne off each of his balls, then lick my way up his shaft to the head. Pouring a little more champagne over the top of his dick, I swirl my tongue around the hole before taking him all the way into my mouth.

  “Fuck, Ash. I need to be inside you.”

  I continue to fuck him with my mouth, until he pulls my head up by my hair, his tell-tale sign he’s about to come. Lifting onto my knees, I hover above his dick then impale myself right onto him.

  “Fuck, baby!” Kaden growls, throwing his head back. I rise up until only the tip of his dick is touching me, then sit back down again, his dick hitting my cervix.

  I lift up once more, but this time when I come down I keep moving up and down riding Kaden. His dick hits that spot deep within me over and over and over again, and it feels so good. Kaden’s hands hold my hips tightly as his lips close on one of my nipples. My eyes shut and seconds later I’m climaxing.

  Before I can open my eyes, Kaden has me flipped over so I’m underneath him, my back flat on the lounger. His hands are on either side of my face and he’s gazing into my eyes as he enters me. Slowly but deeply he thrusts inside me, his eyes never leaving mine.

  His dick is rubbing my clit just right and I can feel an orgasm already starting again. “C’mon, baby. Give me one more.” His thrusts are done with purpose, rubbing my sensitive clit repeatedly. His mouth comes down, sucking on my bottom lip. Then he moves to my neck, sucking on my sensitive flesh right below my ear. The friction between his dick and my clit is too much and my body spasms around him once more, this time bringing Kaden over the edge with me.

  He thrusts still and presses his lips to mine, giving me a soft kiss. “Maybe this is the time we created a mini us.” He smiles wide and I laugh.

  “And if it’s this time, which sex will it be, oh wise one?”

  “A girl, of course. Missionary is a girl.”

  Bringing my thoughts to the present, I shake my head with a laugh. It’s been four months since I stopped taking birth control and I haven’t gotten pregnant yet. The doctor said it can take several months so we aren’t worried, but Kaden always jokes, wondering which time it’ll be when we create a baby.

  His silly behind researched baby-making and found some ridiculous site that showed statistics on which positions will create which gender. He swears he’s keeping track to see if they’re correct, but I don’t see how. As often as we have sex, I don’t think he’ll know which position was the one that made the baby.

  “What are you smiling about?” Kaden asks. I didn’t hear him come into the room.

  “I was remembering New Year’s Eve. The champagne.”

  “Oh, you were, huh? Does my dirty girl want a repeat of that night?” Kaden wraps his arms around me and suckles my neck.

  “Mmhmm.”

  “We can definitely make that happen, but not right now.” He smacks my ass and laughs, walking over to the luggage.

  “Not cool.” I pout.

  “If we don’t leave here in the next fifteen minutes, we’re going to miss our flight to Orlando.”

  “I seriously doubt Bentley is going to let the plane leave without us.”

  The Newbreed tournament is this weekend, so we’re all flying to Orlando. The tournament will be all day Saturday, then Sunday and Monday will be spent at the Disney parks. Kaden and Tristan will be flying home Tuesday, but I’ll be flying to Colorado to go dress shopping with Sandra and Rose.

  We’ve decided to get married the weekend before spring break, so we’re planning to stay the week in Colorado to take Tristan skiing again. The kid is obsessed!

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Kaden

  These last few months with Ashley and Tristan have been nothing short of amazing. The moment I pushed the guilt of my past away and accepted what I already knew, that I’m in love with Ashley, everything seemed to just click into place. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Gabrielle and our son, but I’ve learned I can love and remember them and still be happy. I’ve also learned my girl has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen.

  I came home one day to find Ashley cleaning out the room I use for storage. We discussed turning it into a playroom for Tristan, and using the guestroom for a future nursery. She was staring down at something in her hands and crying softly…

  “Ash, you okay?”

  She swivels around, her eyes growing wide.

  “Yes, I’m sorry.”

  “What are you sorry for? What’s wrong?”

  She holds out a picture frame for me to take. I take it from her and study it for a minute, the memory of the day it was taken. It was at the baby shower Gabby’s sister threw for us. We were holding up a onesie that read, “Daddy’s little fighter.” We’re both smiling happily in the picture. I place the photo back into the box Ashley took it out of.

  “I feel so guilty,” Ashley says. She blinks a couple times to let the tears spill out. Reaching over to her cheeks, I wipe them away. She swallows thickly and continues.

  “I feel like I was meant to meet you, like you were supposed to be in my life, be my husband. But then I see these pictures and remember that in order for you to have met me, you had to lose your wife and son, and I hate that. I hate that you had to go through that.

  “Thinking that if she and your son were alive, we would never have met and fallen in love makes me so sad, but if I could snap my fingers and bring them back to life for you, I would.” Tears stream down her face and I just want to kiss them all away. So, I do.

  Taking her by her waist, I kiss each of her cheeks, tasting the saltiness of her tears. “And I love you for that, baby. I love your heart. But we can’t think like that. You’re the one that reminded me that we can’t live in the past.”

  Taking a different photo out, one of a 4D sonogram of Gabe, she says, “I think we should frame it and put it in your office. You shouldn’t keep it hidden. You may not have gotten to raise him, but he was your son, Kaden.”

  I get choked up by her words, so I just nod. Then after swallowing the lump in my throat, I say, “That would be nice.”

  The next day when I got home from work, when I sat at my desk in my office to go over my schedule for the following week, right there on my desk was a simple silver picture frame and inside it was the 4D ultrasound picture. Ashley will never understand what that simple gesture means to me, or maybe she does, and that’s why she did it. I’m definitely one lucky man to have her in my life.

  “Hello… Kaden are you spacing out?” I look at Ashley waving her hands in front of my face. She’s the most captivating woman in the world, and
I can’t wait to make her my wife.

  “Sorry, just thinking about how much I love you.” I give her a chaste kiss before getting up to grab the bags we brought on board.

  “You ready for this tournament, bud?” I ask Tristan.

  “Yeah, but do you think we could go to the gym at the hotel and practice? I’m kind of nervous.”

  “Can I go, too?” Bella chimes in.

  “Yeah, I want to practice, too,” Marco adds.

  “Absolutely. And tomorrow we can get there early so you can warm up and practice.”

  After we all file out of the plane, we pick up our rental cars and head to the hotel.

  “Kaden,” Tristan says on our way to find the hotel gym.

  “Yeah, buddy?”

  “Tomorrow, at the tournament, will you stand ringside when I’m fighting.”

  “Of course! Just call me your personal trainer.” I give him a wink.

  “Umm… do you think when you and my mom get married you could be my dad and my trainer?”

  My breath feels like it’s been knocked out of me. “You want me to be your dad?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I would be honored to be your dad, Tristan.”

  He runs the short distance to me and gives me a hug around my waist. Bending down, I give him a kiss on top of his head. I would never wish Gabrielle or Gabe harm, and I know without a doubt if they were alive, I never would’ve met Ashley or Tristan, but in this moment, I feel like the tragedy that was out of my control brought the blessing in front of me. Tristan may have a shitty father, but I vow to do everything in my power to make sure he never lacks the dad he deserves.

  * * *

  It’s Saturday morning and we’re at the Newbreed tournament. The place is filled with hundreds of people. The competitors ages range from six years old to adult, and there are gi and no-gi competitions. Boys and girls under twelve fight each other. Because of the age range, even though Tristan recently celebrated his seventh birthday, there’s a good chance he and Bella will still be fighting each other. Marco will be competing in the teen competition with the twelve and thirteen-year-olds. All three of them are signed up for the gi and no-gi tournaments, so it will be a long day if any of them win their fights.