by Jayne Blue
Was that what Estelle was growling at? Raleigh walked toward the corner. Was there another dog out here? A nocturnal squirrel? The sun was well behind the horizon and dusk meant they were walking in somewhat dimly lit part of her block.
They turned the corner and did not see anything. She heard footfalls, she swore she did, and the rustle of a nearby hedge. But no one appeared.
“We call that a shadow cat little ones. Right? ” Estelle was calmer and Andrew’s barking had stopped.
Whatever had them edge was quickly forgotten. She did not have the heart to leave Andrew at her place alone so Mace was going to get two guests at his slumber party she decided.
Raleigh turned the corner again and they found themselves back at Mace’s door. Music was playing softly, the air smelled good enough to taste, and Mace was there waiting.
Vive La France…
Mace
The idea of eating off Raleigh’s taut stomach took root and he could not dislodge it. They ate the dinner he had prepared and her praise and moaning during the food made the idea of having dessert on her an eventuality.
He came over to her side of his table for two and unbuttoned the blouse she had worn back to his place. He carefully slid it off her shoulders and then leaned her back to drizzle chocolate syrup he had prepared right between her breasts.
He let a spoon trail down to her stomach and then let his tongue follow the trail. Her giggle was almost as lovely as her moan and for the first time he could remember Mace left the dishes on the table and the pot on the stove to clean for later. Raleigh Gibson had his undivided attention.
Later she lay in his arms in his bed. The two dogs had found a resting place in his spare room. The sight of little Estelle and her giant Andrew together was comical. Estelle was in charge of their activities it was clear.
In the quiet space, Raleigh tried to connect to him on a deeper lever. He wanted to let her in.
“So how long do you plan to fight under the table and spar with pros before you hang it up? It’s a pretty dangerous job right?”
“I do not plan. I stay organized, execute my day and cook.”
“Oh. I heard you were an undefeated fighter.”
“Ah, so Googled me did you? That is how you say it right? Googled.”
“Yes. And I did. Needed to be sure you are not a wanted serial killer before I let you lick chocolate out of my navel. I have standards.”
“Exacting I see.”
“So what’s the deal? Why’d you stop fighting professionally?” That American directness was not his favorite quality at that moment. Perhaps he could distract her with his fingers. Mace slid them down her stomach and toward the juncture of her thighs.
“It doesn’t seem like you want to talk right now.” And he tested his theory. She let out a breath of air and he felt her hips move with his fingers.
“Oh, oh.” He watched as her questions fell away and she gave in to the sensation. It was mesmerizing watching her.
He had never been with a woman so open, so responsive to him, and so able to make him forget he was supposed to be a lone wolf, as Sawyer had called him.
She grabbed the pillow behind her head and she arched her back, her lovely neck beckoned him to kiss it so he did.
He had never been this addicted to a woman before. Because that was what it felt like, an addiction, she was chocolate, wine, cocaine, pick your pleasure. He found he could not go very long without touching her and then making her sigh or moan.
Mace felt off his bearings. He kept pushing the concerns he had to the back of his mind and just let himself be with her, one night, and then tomorrow he would close his heart. On purpose. He would push her away.
One night lasted two weeks. Mace did not look at the calendar nor did he examine how he’d totally broken his won rules with her. He was in sweet denial.
They slept at her place and at his. He cooked for her and she brought a joy to his heart that he had not felt since before Nadya.
His Nadi.
He had not allowed himself to think her name. And there it was in his mind. It was his fault she was gone, his fault.
If he had done what they said, thrown the fight, she would be alive. Would it have been so bad to lose, to cheat? If, in return, she was still alive?
It was a young love with Nadi, different from what he was feeling with Raleigh. His love with Nadya was a first love.
This connection with Raleigh he could not let it be love. Love was pain. Love was a weakness. Love was death.
Chapter Six
Raleigh
Her nights were all about Mace and her days too, in between she squeezed in work for her clients.
Raleigh was pretty damn happy. This was a feeling she hadn’t had since her crash.
They’d been together two weeks. She wondered what he was doing when they were apart, their time together would replay in her mind, and she knew she was falling hard for Mace Alois.
She let the worries about his past fade into the background She hadn’t told him everything either. He didn’t know about her worst day so she didn’t push anymore. She felt like there was a lot she needed to learn about Mace but that was the fun too. Wasn’t it? Finding out new things about him. Getting him to open up.
And the sex. That got her blushing every time she thought about it.
But she did have to focus on work. Raleigh had rent to pay and a life to try to restart. She’d been seizure free the entire time they’d been together and hadn’t had a massive one in three months. But still, that seizure three months ago meant she had another year before she could get behind the wheel. If she ever did again.
Her newest client was on his way to her place. Most of her work was with Grand City Tech Services. They’d given her a good reference and a new client had reached out to her.
A Mr. Yuri Dubroff had needed security tested at several of his companies and Grand City told him she’d be perfect. Her doorbell rang and she brushed a stray Andrew hair from her skirt.
She opened the door to find a burly man in a business suit at her door.
“Mr. Dubroff thanks for meeting me here.”
“It is fine. Daniel at Grand City Tech explained you do not go far from home.” He had an accent. Not French like Mace, Russian maybe? What was it lately? She must be some kind of accent magnate.
“Medical issue, yes, I cannot drive and travel too far.”
“It is lucky your profession allows you to work anywhere.”
“Yes, anywhere there’s a computer and wi-fi. Come in Mr. Dubroff.”
Raleigh had her home set up to take the occasional meeting in her kitchen, but a Russian in a business suit still looked a little out of place in her apartment.
“Can I get you some coffee?” She’d learned how to brew coffee in the last two weeks so she was confident she was not serving “swill” as Mace had described what she used to make.
“No thank you. I will not trouble you for long.”
“No trouble.”
“Here are the websites we need you to test.” He handed her a packet.
“Okay, you know you could have emailed them to me? I probably should have an email for you.”
“I am not on email. I do my business in person.”
“Oh.” It would be weird not to do email with this client but Daniel Martin, her contact at Grand City Tech, vouched for Dubroff.
Dubroff had spoken with her on the phone and insisted on delivering the sites to her instead of email. He was paying top dollar for her services so a little eccentricity could be overlooked.
“Your initial payment is in the folder as well.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll need the standard tests done, anything else you find, please report on. And no email or trail about your findings.”
“Do you want me to call you when my analysis is complete?”
“Yes and I will return for hard copies. No trail. That is non-negotiable.” The guy was odd, but it wasn’t unheard of to be wary of comp
uters when you were investigating computer security. The more you knew, the more you understood that security on your computer system was tenuous and ever changing. It was a moving target.
“Okay, well thank you for hiring me. I’ll get started on it right away.”
“You’re welcome. Would it be rude if I asked to use your restroom?
“No, not at all, right down the hall, second door on the left.” He disappeared down her hall and she broke the seal on the packet he’d handed her. She heard the flow of water. Sure it was a little weird he used her bathroom but maybe it was how they did it in Russia? He returned and offered a formal handshake.
“I will await your telephone call.”
“Sure thing.” And Yuri Dubroff left her apartment. What an odd one she thought. But the thought was quickly replaced with awe as she saw what he considered and initial payment. It was 10-grand!
The odd Russian had nearly given her enough money to pay her rent for a year.
Raleigh was feeling more confident and assured than she had since before her accident so she decided to take her check to the bank and herself to visit Mace.
Raleigh had been out a total of eight times in the last year. Always with the girls, never alone, and never behind the wheel. Her what- ifs kept her within her own four walls.
What if she had a seizure in public and no one would help her?
What if she drooled, vomited, or anything else that could happen in front of strangers?
What if it happened and she couldn’t remember where she was? Who she was?
What if it happened in the middle of the street she was trying to cross?
Her worst what it? What if she hurt someone else?
One year ago she’d had her first seizure and it was devastating. It changed everything in her life. It was as if she was on one path and someone had snatched her up with dangerous claws and dropped her on another.
She was about to begin her career. She was just starting to see what life outside of college was like. Doors were opening and she was excited to bravely walk through each of them.
That day the doors all shut and the brave Raleigh was pushed aside by the timid Raleigh.
She could remember only so much of the day. She knew what she had been wearing. She knew she was going to the mall.
It was the last time she was behind the wheel. Raleigh remembered gray spots began to appear in front of her eyes. She looked up at a traffic light but didn’t see red or green. Just gray. Looking up was the last thing she could remember with accuracy.
She didn’t know how much time passed, but she woke up to red lights not gray.
There were crumbling bricks, a screaming mother, she did not remember her own name in that moment.
Raleigh had crashed her little SUV into the worst possible place. She remembered looking at the swing set and wondering why it was upside down.
She knew something horrible had happened. She knew she was at the center of it and couldn’t control it.
At first she stayed with her parents. She let her condition turn her back into a child, dependent on them.
She knew they wanted to retire and she’d effectively ruined their lives too.
So she’d taken a leap and got Andrew. Living on her own, like she’d done without a care in the world in college, was now a huge step. But she was doing it. She had her own place. She paid her own rent.
And Mace helped her take one more leap.
It was time to stop living in fear.
Mace had helped her in ways she never could have predicted when she took a chance and kissed him.
Having a wild, lustful, and exciting affair did not fit in her safe and balanced world. But by knocking down one barrier at a time Raleigh was finding herself again. Epilepsy or not.
She pushed her what ifs aside and got on the bus that would take her to Mace’s gym.
What if she didn’t have to live in fear all the time?
What if her epilepsy was under control? She liked those what ifs a lot better.
Mace
“Mace!” Mace was getting ready to work the bag when Sawyer caught up with him.
“Yes.”
“We’ve got a big fight, sort of spur of the moment, going to happen here in the GWG. It’s a 21C sanctioned one and impacts rankings and seeding and all that.”
“When is this to be held?”
“Next week. Another gym was going to do it but can’t and 21C asked us to step in to host the event. There won’t be tons of money to be made in tickets since we’ll be breaking a shit ton of fire codes to pack people in here, but I want to offer you a bout.”
“I told you I’m not interested but merci.” Mace was about to begin his workout and wanted this conversation to end.
It wasn’t easy to ignore your passion. It had killed his soul bit by bit staying away from a sport he knew he could dominate. It’s why he stayed on the fringe. At least he could be a part of it from a safe distance.
“Okay, just wanted to offer it to you. We need someone at heavy.”
“Can’t help you out.”
“You could help me do something else though.” Sawyer put a hand on his shoulder to stop his next punch of the bag.
“I will try.”
“Beat the crap out of Darius Brown. He’s looking sleepy, sloppy, and slow. I need him to take that spot if you won’t and so how about you help me make sure he doesn’t get killed in our 21C event?”
“I am quite able to kick his ass into shape.”
Mace was happy to get in the ring. He was so frustrated with this part of his life. He decided as Sawyer requested, to do damage on Darius.
The fighter was good, a ranked amateur, and poised to be offered a 21C contract, but he was easy for Mace to handle.
He didn’t punch Darius hard enough to knock him out. Instead, he pulled punches that landed on the fighter’s jaw and temple to illustrate how weak his guard was. Darius got angry as his Mace revealed his weaknesses.
The angrier he got, the sloppier he got and Mace aimed to show him that too was a dangerous weakness.
Mace took him down.
He kicked Darius’ legs out from under the fighter and took him to the mat. They landed with a thud that shook the cage.
Darius struggled to get up but this was where Mace lived, on the ground, it was where he punished, outlasted and twisted his opponents into submission.
For a moment Mace forgot it was a sparring match and squeezed Darius as hard as he could, the man’s torso was trapped between Mace’s powerful thighs.
Mace didn’t hear bells or people yelling when he fought. He saw his own fists destroying tissue underneath it. He saw positions to exploit. The only sound was the one in his own head that compelled him to exert his will, his body, over his opponent.
“Hey, hey, man he’s out.” And Mace realized that he’d choked out Darius Brown without a second thought.
He barely broke a sweat doing it. He looked around the room. His display had stopped everyone cold. Fuck. This was not how you kept a low profile.
Then he saw her, dammit, Raleigh was here, she’d seen the fight.
He met her eyes and she put both hands on her heart. It was a gesture he’d seen before. From Nadya.
It was one Nadya did all the time to show how her heart was beating with his in the ring.
Raleigh couldn’t have known that. But it was the very best reminder of what he needed to do next.
Chapter Seven
Raleigh
When she climbed onto the bus, she was sweating. Her heart was beating way too fast. Raleigh was worried that her own panic would induce her into an episode the second they rolled away from her little apartment.
Her safe block receded from view.
And the bus rolled on. It went miles. She felt her heart began to beat a normal rhythm. She even caught herself smiling at how normal she felt. She used to drive all over the place, adventuring and exploring were fun not something to be feared. She missed that.
> But when you couldn’t rely on your own brain what could you trust?
A solo ten-mile bus ride was nothing to most people. But Raleigh felt victorious.
It was a little victory sure, but it also made her want to share it with Mace. To tell him about the near agoraphobia she had and why.
He didn’t know about the crash nor did he know what it looked like when she had an episode. That was really the next step. He needed the full truth from her.
She wanted to share it with him.
Slowly opening herself to an adventure with Mace was helping her believe she might be okay. She felt more like a young and vibrant person than ever before. She was getting in touch with the confidence that her condition had tried to destroy. She felt empowered.
Surprising Mace, seeing him in his gym element was going to be fun, and then she’d treat him to lunch. After all she had ten-thousand dollars all of a sudden.
The GWG as it was called was gaining a reputation as a hot place to train if you were serious about training. She’d even read an article in the paper about how fighters from GWG were getting pro deals left and right. It was a hotbed of testosterone and talent according to the piece she read.
She walked in and a very lovely woman with gorgeous cinnamon colored hair that fell in sheets around her face greeted her.
“Welcome to the Great Wolves Gym, I’m Cassidy. May I help you?”
“I’m Raleigh. Is it okay if I just hang here and uh, watch? I’m surprising my lunch date.”
“Sure, have a seat. Can I get you water? Coffee?”
“Uh, no thank you so much. I’m good.”
“Okay, let me know if I can help?” And she went back to her desk. Raleigh looked around the front desk to the fairly large gym.
She rose from the chair that Cassidy offered to get a better look at the place.
Punching bags, weights, cages, it was a massive warehouse space, and every inch was used for training, of one part of the body or another. Large posters of fighters hung on the walls with piles of championship belts on their shoulders. The posters trumpeted the fact that this place was no joke. Sweat, muscle, grunting, these were the first impressions of GWG.
