by Rye Hart
It was the best feeling in the world. It felt like all the stars were aligned this very moment. There was no way not to love Hugh Maddox.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX : HUGH MADDOX
We spend the next two days jumping each other’s bones every chance we get while preparing for the move.
Yep, that’s right. I’ve decided to go back to New York. When we got back from the hot springs I kind of lost it for a couple of hours in a flurry of activity. First of all, I shaved. Then I drove into town where I had cell service and called my agent. He could not believe it was me. We hadn’t spoken in years.
I told him I was coming home and it was time for him to find a new fight for me.
Not surprisingly, given that this would be the biggest comeback story in mixed martial arts history, he was overjoyed.
Sam loves the idea even more than he does. She knows I have all the money we’ll ever need, but she’s a city girl. I know she would stay out here if I asked, but I’m not going to ask. She has awakened something in me and I’ve got the urge to go back and take what’s mine. I never lost that title, I just gave it up.
Oh, and she’s going to write it up as the climax of the whole story. This might be a career maker for her.
She says her place is big enough for us both, but we can look for somewhere new if we want. I honestly don’t care about any of that shit. I’m just happy that I get to be with her.
Someone said once that if the people you love love you back, then you’re a success. That made sense to me then, and it makes way more sense to me now.
There really wasn’t too much to do to get out of the cabin. I was going to hold onto it, and leaving didn’t mean much more than locking the doors and driving away, which is exactly what we did.
Now we’re on an airplane headed back to New York.
“Everyone knows who you are,” says Sam. “You should have shaved that beard ages ago.”
“Why? For the deer?”
She’s right, though. I’ve been away, but I might still be the most recognizable fighter in the world. But the attention I’m getting—most of it meant to be subtle, most of it actually turning out to be anything but subtle, particularly from women—feels weird now. I’m not used to it anymore and in all honesty my cup is full with Sam, and knowing that she’s all mine.
“Oh my God, I love the way women are looking at you,” she says when we hit cruising altitude.
“What? Why?”
She squeezes my arm and leans her head on my shoulder. “Because I know they can’t have you and I’ve got you all to myself. Is that bitchy of me?”
“Yes. You’re absolutely awful. Never change, little monster.”
That night we crash at her place, exhausted, but not too exhausted for thirty minutes in the shower and another hour in her bed, which is just a little too small for me. I worried that the noises of the city might bug me after my years of solitude, but they’re surprisingly comforting. I needed to leave for a while, but it looks like I didn’t need to leave for good.
I feel like I’m home - in my town and with Sam.
They are both my home now.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: SAM WASHINGTON
The week we get back is a blur. Hugh spends a lot of time meeting with the upper brass at fighting headquarters and setting up a new training camp. He says he only needs about fourteen weeks to get through a full fighting camp. Apparently they’re going to let him challenge for the title right away.
I can’t wait to see him back on top. I almost forget about my own job. Trinity is absolutely bonkers for this story. She’s wants me to write it all long form, from the first meeting we had about it, to searching for the missing fighter, to finding him, to the sex, to the falling in love, to the return to New York and the road to the title fight.
If you ask me, The Inner Eye has already made too much of a mark on the world, and I’m no longer so concerned about pleasing my boss. I reject the idea of a full story that reveals the one on one moments I had with Hugh; instead I tell Trinity I will only write it if our private moments are left out. I was still holding my end of the bargain and I wanted to keep those beautiful memories between Hugh and I just that – between us. Trinity has no choice but to accept my ultimatum because Hugh won’t allow anyone to write his story but the person who knows him the most - me.
After the first week, things settle down a little. I take some time off from the office to write from home. Hugh puts in two training sessions a day at the gym and is otherwise at home. Sometimes we cuddle. Sometimes we treat each other’s bodies like jungle gyms. Sometimes we sit and work in companionable silence and it all feels perfect.
One night he says he’s got a big surprise for me. “Dress up, kiddo,” he says. “I’ve got something that’s going to blow your mind.”
I put on my nicest dress—one of the perks of having Hugh around is that I have someone to model for, and now. I don’t even have a guess as to what the big surprise might be.
The reality turns out to be far more surprising than anything I could have imagined, however. We take a cab to an address that sounds like nothing to me. When we get out, Hugh gestures at an ugly warehouse and says, “Voilà!”
There’s a sign out front that says “Coin Convention. Numismatists only.”
I start laughing so hard I almost fall out of my high heels. “Stay upright,” he says. “If you mess up that dress you’re going to miss the chance to blow these guys’ minds.”
I don’t know what he’s up to. I don’t even care. Every moment with him is surprising, and I know how rare that is.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: HUGH MADDOX
Earlier that morning, I couldn’t believe it when I saw an advert for the coin convention outside the gym. It was on one of those terrible circular pamphlets, tacked to a telephone pole next to ads for missing cats and vegan meetups.
My only plan tonight is to make her laugh, and that’s already going swimmingly. But I don’t want to make anyone feel stupid, so when we step onto the coin expo floor, I do my best to look respectful. We all need our obsessions. We all need something to keep us off the streets. These guys … need coins.
Then Sam grabs my arm and hisses. “Oh my God! That’s Owen!”
It’s too perfect.
“Where?” I say.
“He’s over in the corner at the table with the blue awning. Look! Not so fast! Be subtle!”
Being subtle isn’t working. Even in this crowd, it’s obvious that everyone knows who I am. My face is plastered all over building-sized billboards all over the city. The upcoming fight is getting even more press that my agent had predicted. It’s going to be huge.
Sam takes my arm and starts walking towards Owen’s table. He looks like a smart guy. A little rumpled. A little…little. Definitely smooth-handed, callus free, and probably decent, but I can’t forget that this guy made Sam question her worth and run all the way out to Washington to get away from her thoughts. Still, that led her to meeting me, so I owed him in that respect, I guess.
Sam surprises me when she strides right up to him. “Owen!” she says, putting a little snarl in her voice.
He looks up quickly.
“Sam, what are you doing here?”
I stop walking and observe. I don’t like the tone this dweeb is taking.
“I just, um,” Sam stammers.
“We’re not getting back together. You need to give me my space. That was always your problem.” Owen continues, “Well, one of your problems. Honestly, I don’t know where to begin…”
“That’s enough,” I say, stepping in between him and Sam.
His eyes dart to me and his mouth drops open. It’s like something you only see in comic strips. His jaw practically hits the floor.
“Hugh,” he mutters. He looks at Sam. “Did you bring him here to hurt me?”
Sam doesn’t know what to say. She’s baffled by the entire exchange.
“No, Owen. Of course not. I’m not mad at you,” she says.
&
nbsp; “Owen,” I begin, “I don’t want to kick your ass. I want to thank you. I would never have met the most amazing woman in the world without you,” I say with a big grin plastered on my face. “I honestly didn’t think a woman like Sam could exist,” I add, pulling her to me.
Owen’s mouth is still hanging open as he looks from me to Sam and back to me.
“Uh, sure,” he stammers.
And with that, Sam and I make our exit.
“I love you. That was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I’ll show you something sweeter when I get you home,” I say.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: SAM WASHINGTON
When we get home I drag Hugh into the bedroom.
“Do you want to see the greatest thing?” I say.
“Sure, show me what you’ve got there little lady,” he says with a mischievous grin.
“Mhmmm...there will be plenty of time for that after- first I want to show you something I’ve got locked away.” I get out of bed and go to the hallway closet. I take out the box with Owen 2.0. I tiptoe back to the doorway. “Close your eyes,” I say.
“They’re already closed.”
“Keep them closed, then.” I silently stalk across the floor until I’m at his side. When he opens his eyes I wave Owen 2.0 wildly in his face.
“What the hell?” He sits up and puts a pillow over his face. “Keep that thing away from me!”
I feel like if I start laughing I’ll never be able to stop, so instead I swat him across the thighs with Lacey’s gift.
He doesn’t even try not to laugh. He throws the pillow away, grabs the vibrator out of my hands, goes to the window, and dangles it outside. He’s laughing so hard that I’m worried he’s going to fall out. “Get away from the window!” I scream. “You’re going to die!”
He looks at the vibrator. “You really want it that bad?”
“No! I just don’t want you to die, you oaf!”
“Then come clean, quick. Why did I open my eyes to find you wielding this thing at me?”
“Come back to bed. I’ll tell you. You can leave him there.”
“Him?” Hugh smiles, drops the vibrator on the bedroom floor, and comes back to bed. He pulls the covers up to his chin. “I’m just protecting myself, in case you have any more surprises in store for me.”
“No, but I’ll give you the story. Right after I dumped Owen, I had drinks with Lacey.”
“You don’t say.”
“I do. And Lacey, to help me get over my problems, caring soul that she is, gave me a little present.”
“And that’s it, I presume?”
“Oh yeah. Want to hear its name?”
“I assumed it was named Hugh.”
“Close. That was the gadget formerly known as Owen 2.0.”
Hugh snorts. “I bet Owen would love to hear that. We should have taken it tonight. You could have waved it in his face like you did in mine.”
“But that’s not the real story,” I say. I love it that Hugh can joke this easily. There is nothing like a man who is so secure that he doesn’t need to flaunt or exaggerate his own masculinity.
“Do tell.”
“I’m getting there.” I lean over and give him a kiss. He sighs and burrows deeper into his pillow. “So, you know that night at the cabin when you were out hitting the bag? The first time when I was there?”
“I remember it well. I was out there because there was a woman in my bed upstairs. I wanted to sneak in and do something savage to her.”
“Oh, I could tell. What you might not know is that I was feeling the same way. I watched you from that window for a long time while you were out there.”
“Okay. And what was it that you saw, fair maiden?”
“I saw a lot. I saw everything you did to that bag, and then I saw you touching yourself.”
“Ha! You little pervert. You enjoyed the show, then?”
“Oh, very much. And not only that, I masturbated the whole time I watched you. I couldn’t believe it was happening. That was the hardest orgasm I had ever had, until…you know...”
He raises himself up on one elbow and opens his eyes. “No, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
“Well,” I say, mimicking his posture and lowering my voice. “It just so happens that shortly after that, I ran into a big dicked freak in the basement who cured me of all my innocent ways.”
“He sounds amazing.”
“Oh, he is. And he was. That was a good lesson for me to learn that night.”
“And now you know it all?” he says, putting his hand on my thigh and sliding it upwards. I’m getting wet instantly.
“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I’m more confident and uninhibited than I’ve ever been, but…”
“But what?” he says, spreading my legs with his fingers and starting to stroke me.
I arch my back, wanting to purr.
“But I think I have a lot more to learn. He’s a patient teacher, though. I look forward to our next lesson.”
“Maybe we can go through that next lesson now.”
CHAPTER THIRTY : HUGH MADDOX
Feeling Sam’s wetness on my fingertips made me harden against my jeans so much that I felt like they were going to burst at the seam. I rolled onto my back and pulled her down to lie on top of me. She put her hands on my cheeks and swirled the tip of her tongue around mine. I wrapped my arms around her and moved my hands down to clutch her ass. She bolted up, straddling me as I pulled her closer. She had a look on her face that suggested she felt playful, but I knew she was far too eager to tease.
She sat up and pulled her dress overhead. She undid her bra and let it slide down her arms. Her breasts, large and milky white, were begging for my touch. I cupped them in the palms of my hands and squeezed her nipples between my thumbs and fingers. She moaned at the wonderful pain and pleasure of it.
My cock was rigid beneath her. She started sliding herself along the length of it as I rubbed her breasts. The heat was intense. I felt like I might explode any minute and I wasn’t even undressed yet.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes,” she said, tugging giddily at my shirt.
She got up long enough to shimmy out of her panties while I quickly pulled off my clothes. When I lay back, my cock stood straight up like the mast of ship, ready for her to impale her beauty on it.
She licked her lips as I wrapped my hand around it and stroked it to its full length.
“Do you want me give you another show like that night outside my cabin?”
“Yes. Please.”
I continued stroking, my hand is moving up and down in a rhythmic motion. I get a look of Sam’s face, full of lust, as if the sight of me pleasing myself in front of her has put her in a deep trance. It was enough to push me over the edge, but I needed to be patient.
“Now, I want you on top of me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE: SAM WASHINGTON
Hugh took my hips and guided me over his cock. I did just as he instructed. I straddled him, bending my knees and lowering myself until I felt the head of his amazing cock touch my aching center.
I couldn’t help but smile as I held his free hand and lowered myself onto him slowly. I felt myself grow warm and wet, welcoming him deep inside of me.
It felt amazing.
He never disappoints me.
He grabs my hips and starts guiding me in a rocking rhythm.
I let my head hang and slide my hips back and forth. Hugh moves in and out as he brushes my clit with every stroke.
“Yes! Yes! Hugh… I’m going to come…” I heard myself say the words aloud. I loved the way they sounded coming in gusts of breath from my lips.
Suddenly he starts to come with me, pushing me over the edge to my own climax. I see stars from the rush of ecstasy that falls over me.
We stayed in bed all evening, whispering sweet nothings to one another and planning our life together. It was in that moment I realized just how grateful I was for all of my past heartaches and p
ains. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to truly appreciate the gifts Hugh brought into my life.
Passion.
Desire.
Love.
Love in the truest form, unlike anything this history nerd could ever have read about. Not even in one hundred lifetimes.
In most fairytales, all the worst things happen when they enter the woods. But not this one. My lumberjack saved me from all of that and more.
And I intend to spend the rest of my life thanking him for it.
THE END
INFATUATED
INFATUATED
CHAPTER ONE
EMMA
“I can't believe mom and dad are letting you come back,” my sister Riley said.
She spoke without even looking up from her iPad as I walked into the living room, where she was sitting in her usual spot on the couch.
“I can,” I said. “I was always their favorite.”
“You should be in college,” Riley said with a sigh. “Or somewhere else wasting your life.”
“You should have some friends,” I retorted.
She rolled her eyes at me. “I do have friends,” she said. “At least all mine aren't away at college still. You know, where you should be?”
“You know I'm choosing to take time off, right?” I said, plopping down on the loveseat across from her. “It's not like I was kicked out or anything.”
“You should have stayed gone,” she said.
“You're just jealous because I'm moving into the family room, and you wanted that to be your room,” I said. “You always wanted it, and now, it's all mine.”
“It should have been my room,” she said, meeting my gaze for the first time.
Riley was two years younger than me and a senior in high school, but for whatever reason, most people assumed we were twins. We both looked like our mother, with our blonde hair and blue eyes. Typical Southern California girls, you might say. Riley was taller, thinner and less curvy than I was – she kept in shape by running track at her school.
