UNBROKEN: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 2)

by Kiss, Tabatha

Amy steps forward. “What about you?” she asks.

  Lillian’s eyes fall on Pike. “I’ll be all right.” She takes a deep breath, her eyelids heavy. The dark circles beneath her eyes have turned a far deeper shade of gray since the night began, exposing her well-hidden age. “I’ll contact you all soon. Until then, keep your heads down and your eyes open.”

  Tobias wastes no time and reaches down to grasp my hand in the dark. He says nothing as he pulls me towards the door with Ryan and Amy following close behind us.

  “Claire,” Pike says as we pass by. He lays a soft hand on my shoulder, forcing a touch of rage into Tobias’ eyes. He opens his lips to speak, but he goes quiet instead to speak volumes with his eyes.

  “I know,” I say. I hear Pike’s voice in my head, urging me to remember the deal we made.

  Get your Alpha to play nice…

  He drops his hand from my shoulder and steps back to let us leave.

  Tobias pulls me along with him with a grip so tight and unyielding, my fingertips turn numb.

  Epilogue

  I will not live my life in fear.

  Not again.

  It’s been days since we’ve heard from Amy or Lillian. At this point, even a call from Pike would soothe my senses. I lie awake every night, stirring at every possible sound. A sudden gust of wind or the quiet settling of the house is enough to make me bolt upright. Even when I’m all alone, that cold paranoia comes back and I feel Rick’s eyes on me. I can’t remember the last moment when I couldn’t feel my heart thumping in my chest. I pray for a moment of peace inside Tobias’ arms.

  But he will have none of me. Not after the deal I made.

  I stare out the barn window and watch as the sun slowly inches above the horizon. It’s the last sunrise on Charlie’s farm I’ll see for awhile. I didn’t want to miss it. I’d hoped it would instill a sense of calm, even if only for a fraction of a second, but now I sit in disappointment, listening to my blood pound furiously in my ears.

  I jolt as the front door opens and Charlie steps outside onto the front porch. He holds my suitcase in one hand, carrying it towards his red truck in the driveway.

  Bright and early, he told me.

  Part of me is thrilled, eager to hit the road so I can see my mother again, but the cost is far too great.

  It’s better this way. I remind myself of this over and over again, but I’m still not sure if I believe it. Rick is still out there. He disappeared after the tournament, much to Pike’s annoyance, but it won’t last. He’ll resurface again and when he does, he’ll be stronger. He’ll learn from his mistakes and he’ll come back for me. He’ll go through anyone that stands in his way in order to do it: Pike, Charlie, Tobias — especially Tobias.

  “Ready when you are.”

  I look down from the loft to see Charlie lingering in the doorway. I nod at him, saying nothing as I stand up from the prickly hay bale and he turns back towards the house. My eyes drift outside again, this time aiming for Tobias’ window. The curtains swish in the frame, but I tell myself it’s just my imagination. I’ve barely heard his voice in days. I can’t get my hopes up now, thinking that he’ll somehow change his mind and forgive me.

  I climb down from the loft and follow Charlie’s trail back towards the house. The porch creeks beneath my feet as I walk on the old wood. I remember the first time I stepped foot here with my face covered in sweat and Thomas’ hand squeezed tight around my arm. I was so scared, so confused. So painfully naive. Not much has changed, I guess. But it feels very different.

  “Claire—” He stands at the top of the stairs.

  Tobias. My lover, my friend. My Alpha. The Midwest Alpha, as he was declared the official winner of the tournament after Rick’s true alliance was revealed — not that he cares about that anymore.

  He stares back at me through strands of his black hair, fallen carelessly over his eyes. It’s easy to see that he’s slept about as much as I have.

  For one short, pure moment, my heart stands still. “Hey,” I say.

  Tobias walks towards me, his shoes thumping quietly down the stairs. “I, uh…” he mutters, licking his dry lips. His voice falls away in hesitation.

  “Come with me,” I say, spinning back around to walk outside. A new blood pumps through my veins, forcing the fear and terror away to replace it with the warm passion I’ve always felt for him. I feel his walk behind mine as he follows me across the driveway, back into the barn. He closes the door behind us then quickly pulls me in with trembling fingers. They rise to my face and he draws me closer to kiss me.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers to me.

  “Not as much as I am.” I fill my lungs with his scent, memorizing every piece of him while I still can. “You should come with me,” I beg, clinging to him.

  He pauses for a moment, but shakes his head. “I can’t,” he says. “The less I know about where you are, the safer you’ll be.”

  I force the heavy rock back down my throat. “It doesn’t feel right,” I say. “Leaving like this.”

  “We will see each other again, Claire,” he says. He presses his forehead against mine and stares into my eyes. “I promise.”

  “When?” I ask. I let a tear fall down my cheek and he brushes it away with his thumb.

  “I don’t know,” he answers with pain in his words. “Once this is finished, I will come find you. I put some money in your bag—”

  “Tobias, I can’t take that—”

  “Yes, you can. I want you to have it. It’s yours.”

  I fall forward and bury my face in his chest. “I shouldn’t have made that deal…”

  Tobias sighs, his warm breath tickling my scalp. “It kept you safe,” he whispers. “As much as I hate to admit it… I would have done the same.”

  I pull away to look at him. “But Mary—”

  “Mary is gone,” he says with tight lips. “I can’t save her, but I can still save you. If helping Pike track down Rick is what it takes, then I’ll do it.” It’s a cruel comfort, but it’s all I have left to cling to. His fingers slide up the back of my neck and he holds me close to him as his lips graze my head.

  “Promise me again,” I whimper as my tears fall.

  “I promise, Claire,” he repeats. “We will see each other again.” His lips tremble with fear, but he quickly tries to keep them steady as he kisses me again.

  “I’m not going to say goodbye to you…” I say, filling my voice with whatever bravery I have left.

  He smiles down at me with laughter on his lips. “You’ll never have to,” he says. “You’re always going to be my girl, Claire.” His fingers brush against my cheeks, once again wiping my tears away.

  I stand up taller to meet his eyes. A surge of wild emotion charges down my spine, igniting every nerve throughout my body. I’ve almost forgotten this feeling, this burst of confidence I feel when he looks at me like this. Tobias believes in me, probably as much as I believe in him — maybe even more so.

  I am his strength. He is mine.

  The Alpha and his Dame.

  END OF BOOK TWO

  UNTOUCHED

  MIDWEST ALPHAS | BOOK 1

  October 2015

  **

  UNBROKEN

  MIDWEST ALPHAS | BOOK 2

  November 2015

  **

  UNDYING

  MIDWEST ALPHAS | BOOK 3

  December 2015

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  Tabatha

  For a limited time,

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  RIDE ME:

  A Stepbrother Romance

  Piper & Kai | Bo
ok 2

  PIPER

  Sex.

  It used to be all I thought about.

  Until Kai Casablancas, my stepbrother, happened. After that, things got really complicated.

  I had a plan to start a new life. It was a good plan. There were charts and graphs. Every detail was in the bag. But then… Kai had to go and ruin that. Feelings came up, feelings I never even knew I had for him. Unfortunately, they weren’t part of the plan and I had to do what was necessary to get back on track.

  Now, I can barely even look at myself in the mirror.

  Six months have passed. I can’t live like this anymore.

  It’s time to return home and settle things with Kai once and for all.

  KAI

  Sex.

  It used to be all I thought about.

  Until Piper Lynch, my stepsister, happened. After that, things got a whole lot simpler.

  I used to think I’d meet a nice girl and settle down. It was a good plan. Countless generations before me had accomplished the exact same thing, so surely I could as well. But then… Piper had to go and ruin that. I confessed my love to her and for one blissful week, I thought I had everything all figured out. Unfortunately, my feelings were a little bit one-sided and I was tossed out like yesterday’s garbage after she got what she wanted out of me.

  Now, I can barely even close my eyes without seeing her face.

  Six months have passed. I’m in the prime of my young life.

  It’s time to get on with it and forget about Piper once and for all.

  ***

  Chapter 1

  Piper

  The plane lurches in the air and I dig my nails deep into the armrest. After months of traveling by train across Europe and Asia, I’d almost forgotten how much I hated planes. I pull my coat a little tighter around me as I gaze out the window. I’m not cold, not in the slightest. It just provides me with a more pleasant sense of security — one that I need as I look out the window and catch sight of the Los Angeles skyline.

  Hello, America. Piper Lynch is back.

  I wasn’t planning on coming back here, especially not so quickly. It’s been six months since I stepped foot on American soil. She and I didn’t exactly part on good terms, either. But it wasn’t her fault. Not at all. I love the country of my birth and I feel a surge of happiness as I look at her again. No, I just wronged a few people here and forgiveness will not come easy. Especially from Philip Lynch, my father.

  A week in Europe, I asked of him. That’s all I wanted. I wanted just a few days to do some traveling and see a few new places before I was once again locked down inside a school with a book permanently glued to my hand for another four years. At Belle Academy, my private high school populated by the spawn of the social elite, I was Valedictorian. Everyone knew me. I was Piper Lynch, the headmaster’s beautiful daughter. I was going to go to Harvard and take over the world. It’s what everyone saw when they looked at me…

  Except him.

  Kai Casablancas. My stepbrother. He saw right through me from the beginning.

  He wasn’t always my stepbrother. Before that, he was an acquaintance, possibly even a friend. Our mothers were very close. That was, until my father and his mother had an affair that ripped both of our families apart. My own mother bolted the country because of it on a mission to find herself. She abandoned me, but I never once blamed her for it.

  No, all of the blame fell squarely on my father’s shoulders.

  So when I asked him for a quick trip to Europe, I wasn’t being completely honest with him. I went to Europe last August with a one-way ticket and he had no idea. No one did, except for my best friend, Mandy Black. She came with me, just as hellbent as I was to have a good time before responsibility once again reared its ugly head. One last hurray with each other (and handsome European men, of course) before she went off to college at USC and I started a new life in Europe with my mother.

  Everything was going according to plan. Until Kai ruined everything.

  My idiot stepbrother and his friend, Shawn Monty, made a bet with each other when they were fifteen. Kai had to sleep with all twenty-three girls of our graduating class before college began. He claimed it wasn’t serious until they realized that Kai was indeed capable of pulling it off. For years, I heard whispers in the hallways about Kai Casablancas and his notorious cock picking off girls in our class one-by-one. In all honesty, I was impressed, but certainly felt my fair share of disgust at the very idea of Kai using women to win a bet. But who was I to judge? I’m not exactly the innocent darling my father — and the world — wishes to believe.

  Kai made his way through the young women of our class (including Mandy, a fact I never let her live down) until there was only one left: Me. Part of the reason why I ran off to Europe at the end of the summer was to rid myself of his obvious sexual advances.

  Was it tempting? You’re damn right it was. Kai is not exactly unremarkable in terms of attractiveness and style. He’s streets ahead of most other men in our class, but that did not dismiss the more obvious issues involved with a stepsister fucking her stepbrother. It still didn’t stop Kai from following me to Europe in the hopes he’d weasel his way into my panties.

  Did it work? More than I’d care to admit.

  I wouldn’t be on this plane right now if it hadn’t.

  Kai fucking Casablancas.

  I said before that he saw right through me from the beginning, but that’s not entirely true. He knew I wasn’t the person I was pretending to be, but the image he had of me in his mind wasn’t correct either. It created quite the rift between us, one that I thought would never be healed… until he followed me into the streets of Paris and discovered the real reason why I came to Europe. He came face-to-face with my mother and I confessed my world to him in the hopes that he would somehow understand me. The real me.

  He didn’t.

  He told me he was in love with me anyway. He begged for me to come home with him. I reciprocated in the only way I knew how and Kai Casablancas won his bet that night. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, although it had no right to be. I like to think that I have a very firm grip on my emotions. I’m constantly in complete control over my thoughts and feelings concerning all things. Except for Kai fucking Casablancas, apparently. Things got out of hand with Kai very quickly. I thought I’d have a chance to start fresh, but our goodbye left me devastated instead.

  When I saw him a few hours later, sitting next to my assigned seat on a train to London, waiting for me, I officially lost all control of my thoughts and feelings.

  A week in Europe. He and I spent one blissful week together, traveling from London to Dublin to Madrid. It was so easy to turn everything off, to lose myself completely in him and he did the same with me. But in the end, it was only a delay on the inevitable.

  Let’s just say all the passion in the world can’t make me and Kai Casablancas see eye-to-eye for very long.

  “Are you all right, Piper?”

  I snap away from my stare on the window. “Yeah,” I answer my mother. “I’m fine.”

  She stares at me from the aisle seat with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve barely said a word this entire flight,” she points out.

  “Sorry…” I mutter. “I’m just feeling a little nervous, that’s all.”

  “You and me both, kiddo.” She glances across my lap and looks down at the world. “It’s been a long time for me…”

  I nod. “Well, now I feel silly,” I chuckle. I’d almost forgotten that she’s been gone for nearly three years.

  “Don’t,” she says. “Human experience is a relative concept. You have as much right as I do to feel the jitters, as they’re technically called.”

  I smile. “I guess so.”

  “Maybe even more so,” she adds. “I’m not the one here to see my jilted ex-lover—”

  “Mom…”

  “I’m only teasing you, Piper.”

  “Well… tease someone else.”
>
  “Why would I do that? You’re my favorite tease.”

  I sigh and stare out the window. My stomach lurches as we descend even lower in altitude. Every foot closer we get to the ground brings me one step closer to Kai Casablancas. I’m tempted to turn around and travel all the way back to Europe, but I’ve already come this far. “He probably wants nothing to do with me anyway…” I say.

  “Well, you won’t know that until you he sees you,” she says. “Then… you’ll probably know immediately what he wants.”

  What Kai wants. I have no idea what that is anymore. Six months ago, it was very clear what he wanted. He wanted me. He wanted to stay in Europe with me. He wanted to love me and he wanted me to love him back.

  But I said no.

  The wheels hit the tarmac and I jolt in my seat. I take a deep breath and force it out as the plane slowly comes to a stop on the ground.

  What Kai wants. There’s only one thing that’s been constant in the entirety of our relationship — as friends, as step-siblings, even as lovers.

  Kai Casablancas and I might want the same thing, but we’ve never wanted it at the same time.

  Chapter 2

  Kai

  I grunt softly as my memories of her push me closer to the edge. She’s there every time I close my eyes, smiling at me, riding me. Her laughter echoes in my ears, along with her perfect moans of pleasure on the air.

  My fingers twitch. I squeeze my dick tighter and stroke faster to match the memory of her bouncing up and down in my head. I can still taste the sweat on her skin and smell the musky scent of the old English inn we stayed at. I see the color of the paint on the walls, the pattern on the bedspread, and that look on her face when she finally came all over my cock—