Inked Playboy (Cocky Suits Chicago Book 5)

by Alex Wolf

  He falls to his knees in front of me, never taking his eyes off mine. “I know I was stupid, but everything you’re feeling, that emptiness, that void. I feel it too. I’m so so sorry. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I was the biggest idiot on the planet, and I’ll beg the rest of my life if I have to.” He looks down at the ground and shakes his head. “That time, when we came here, on our first date. You know, after you got your tattoo work done?”

  I look down at my wrist, the other constant reminder this past month I’ve stared at nonstop and cried my eyes out over.

  “It was the best day of my life. When I was a kid, I used to sit on that bench alone and wonder what my life was going to be like sitting on that same bench when I was an adult one day. I wondered who I would be, and I never imagined it would be as incredible as that day I was on the bench with you. I knew, in that moment, there would never be anyone else. Please, fuck, I love you. I can’t live without you.”

  His words hit me right in the chest and I don’t know if I can even speak. I want to, but my lungs won’t take in any air and I think I might hyperventilate. Eventually, I manage to croak out, “You hurt me so bad. Worse than I ever thought I could be hurt. You didn’t come for me. I always thought you’d come for me.”

  A tear slides down his cheek. “I should have.” He shakes his head. “I’m so sorry. I can’t promise I won’t screw up again, but I will never give up again. I’ll fight for you, every damn day. I’ll never leave you hanging like that, again, ever. Just give me another chance, please.”

  He stands up and takes a few steps toward me.

  I shake my head at him. “I want to believe you so bad, Cole. You have no idea how bad I want to believe that, more than anything.”

  He gets face to face with me and pins me hard with his gaze. “Believe it then, please.” He reaches out and pushes a few strands of hair behind my ear.

  Immediately, the second he touches me, my heart comes alive again, like a jolt of electricity. I can’t stop myself from leaning into it because I just want him to hold me. I want this empty feeling gone. I want to feel safe in his arms, one more time.

  “I love you more than anything. More than my company, more than my trophies. There is nothing in this world I love more than you. I would give it all up for one more day with you, I swear on anything that’s the truth.” He puts both palms on my cheeks and rests his forehead against mine. “Will you forgive me? Please? I’m begging you because I don’t know if I can live if you don’t. I can’t live without you, Harlow Collins.”

  I sniff a couple times and stare back at him. I can see in his eyes he’s telling the truth, that he means every word.

  Finally, I just nod.

  The second I do his lips crash into mine and his arms wrap around me. Then, he pulls me tight to his chest and his big, strong hand goes to the back of my head and smooths down my hair. “Thank God.” He kisses the top of my head. “Thank you, fuck.” He kisses me again, and says against my lips, “I love you so much.”

  I wrap my arms around him, and I don’t want to ever let go. I just want him to hold me here in the park, forever.

  Eventually, I lean back and he’s smiling at me, bigger than I’ve ever seen him smile, and he wipes a tear from his eye with his shoulder. I sniff, because fuck, that was emotional. I glance around and Dex and my other cousins are grinning at us.

  I shoot them a middle finger. “Pussies.” I look over at Dex. “Using my baby cousin, you should be ashamed of yourself.”

  They all laugh.

  I glance back up at Cole and narrow my eyes on him. “That shit will never work again.”

  “What?”

  “Using Delaney like that. It was low and you fucking know it.”

  Cole shrugs. “Had to do what I had to do.”

  I shake my head at him, smiling through the tears. “Just shut up and kiss me again.”

  Our lips meet, and it’s perfect. It’s like the sun comes out and everything is more vibrant, like I could float away into the clouds. Thank God he finally got his shit together. If he fucks up again, I will kill him, and he damn well knows it.

  I can’t believe this is my life right now. I never thought at twenty-six I’d meet the one, but here I am. I said all those romantic movies were bullshit, but I lied.

  I’m living one, right now. Life will never be the same again, now that I’ve found him.

  Epilogue

  Harlow Collins

  Four Months Later

  The last four months have been the best of my life. They’ve just broken ground on all of Cole’s new gyms. We flew out for a few of them since I can pretty much work from anywhere. The new supplement line is on schedule, everything is set to launch in the next few months.

  I look over at Cole as he drives toward the United Center. Yeah, life is pretty perfect right now. Plus, Pedro’s fighting Tory Chalmers tonight. Cole is amped up about it. I made him order me a black Pedro shirt, so I could show my support.

  Then I cropped part of it and tied it up in the back to look extra hot. I maybe even cut off the sleeves too.

  “I don’t know how I feel about Pedro’s face on your chest. It’s weird.”

  “I look good as fuck in this, dickhead.”

  He glances over and grins. “Hell yeah, you do. I might have to pull over.”

  “Keep your eyes on the road and your dick in your pants, Miller.”

  He laughs. “I’m trying, but it’s hard.”

  I give him a sly fist bump. “Nice double entendre.”

  “Why thank you.” He grabs my wrist and tries to move my hand over to his crotch like he wants to show me.

  I pull my arm away. “Afterward, once Pedro wins. I’ll reward you.”

  He looks right at Pedro’s face on my shirt. “You better make quick work tonight or I’ll kick your ass myself, Mandez.”

  We get to the arena and pull into a private parking area, then walk down to the locker rooms. Cole glances at the door a few times. I can tell he wants to go in there, but he doesn’t want to mess with Pedro before the fight. Something about mental preparation and all that. He talks about it all the time.

  Bill comes through the door and smiles at me, then gives me a hug and kisses me on the cheek.

  “Watch it, old man.”

  “You watch it. Better be treating this one right or I’ll steal her away.”

  “I would go with you.” I nod right at him, grinning my ass off.

  “Like hell.” Cole yanks me into his side, and damn, I love when he gets all possessive, even if his competition is a sixty-something-year-old man.

  Cole’s eyes narrow on Bill. “How is he?”

  Bill nods, all business. “Ready. I’ve never seen him like this; laser focused. He reminds me of you so much. It’s unreal.”

  Cole sighs. “Good. I don’t want to psych him out, so we’re gonna head out to the seats. But tell him good luck for me.” Cole gives Bill a fist bump and we head out to the arena.

  It’s still a little early and fans are just starting to file in through the gates.

  Every time I look out at the octagon it reminds me of going to the gym with Cole, wrestling around with him on the mat. We do a lot of that kind of wrestling these days, in the sheets.

  “Think anyone would mind if we went and fucked on the mat?” Cole grins as he says the words.

  I give him a playful backhand to the chest. “Always thinking with your dick.”

  “Absolutely, when you’re around.” He spins me around and kisses me.

  How the hell does he daze me like that? Like I’m in another world when his lips meet mine. I hope that feeling never goes away, that tingling that shivers down to my fingers and toes.

  Before long the crowd fills in, celebrities show up and walk down along the ring next to us. My cousins and their fiancées and wives get here. Paisley just had Donavan’s baby a few months ago, a little girl. Her name is Payton. People may think I’m an ice queen, but I’m a sucker for those two little girls. The
y can just take all my money. I’m going to spoil the shit out of them.

  I look over at Paisley and Quinn. “Where are the girls?”

  “With Grandma,” they both say at the same time.

  Aunt Dianne is my arch nemesis when it comes to those babies. She’s always trying to steal them away and hold them more than me. I won’t let her win, though. I shall be the favorite.

  Rick Lawrence shows up with a woman I’ve seen around The Hunter Group offices. He takes one look at me, and his eyes shoot straight ahead. I think he’s still a little scared from the time I barged in and made him find Cole’s mom.

  Speaking of Cole’s mom, he meets up with her for lunch once a month and they talk about things, taking it slow. Cole is still super wary of her and I don’t blame him, but I think it’s good that he can at least get some closure with that part of his life. I never had any problem with him reestablishing a relationship with her, I just thought he needed some boundaries set in advance and to take things slow. I don’t hate her. I’m not her, don’t know what she’s been through, so how could I?

  I reach down and his hand has found its way into mine. I give it a little squeeze and he looks down at me and grins. We’re both just on the same wavelength, always.

  Never in a million years did I think I’d end up with him. Dexter’s best friend. It’s all crazy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Wells Covington shows up with two women on his arms. They’re both dressed like they could be the girls who walk out when the round is over and hold up the sign with the number on it.

  “Fuckers.” He smiles, then leans down to Cole. “Your boy gonna take care of business?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Good, I put two million on him.”

  Cole’s eyes get big, as do mine.

  Covington shrugs. “I’m a numbers man, and I couldn’t pass up the odds.” He turns to me, looks me up and down, like he’s running a thousand calculations in his head. “You know, I own several companies.”

  “You want a blowjob for that or something?”

  Cole’s hand grips mine tight. Sometimes I forget I’m in a relationship when I run my mouth at these other guys. You just have to talk to men a certain way, so they know you’re off limits, have no interest in them.

  Covington laughs, hard, then shakes his head. “I may have a few you could do some work for. Your cousins won’t shut up about you.”

  I pull a card from my clutch. “Set up an appointment.”

  He takes the card with a sly grin and shoves it in the front pocket on his shirt. “Will do.”

  The announcer and referee enter the ring and the main lights dim. Music fires up and now there are strobes and colored spotlights dancing around the arena. My adrenaline spikes, which means Cole’s must be through the roof. Pedro has worked so hard for this fight and the entire arena is electric as it roars to life. You can feel a buzz of electricity circulating through the seats.

  We sit through all the undercard fights and it’s insane. The fighters are so close you can feel it when their fists connect and bodies collide. There’s sweat and blood everywhere, and it’s exhilarating and fucking crazy at the same time. I can’t believe Cole used to do this shit and doesn’t have brain damage.

  The best part is when the women fight. Fuck, these ladies are total badasses. At one point, Cole leans over and whispers, “I could train you to get in there and do that.”

  I smirk back at him. “If anyone’s doing the training around this relationship, it’s me. Now go get me a drink, lover.”

  He smirks his ass off, but sure enough he gets up and goes to get me a beer.

  Much better.

  He gets back and hands me my drink with a smile on his face.

  “Thank you.” I pretend to bat my eyelashes at him.

  “Dick,” he mumbles.

  I slide my hand over in his lap. “I’ll have some of that later too.”

  His eyes light up like a little boy when he hears that part. As much as I love to give him shit, I’d do just about anything for this man. Anything at all, and I know he feels the same way. That’s why we work so well.

  Finally, it’s time for the main event; Pedro’s fight. The announcer gets in the octagon and starts firing up the crowd, then introduces Tory Chalmers.

  Chalmers walks in through the crowd, and I boo the shit out of him as loud as I can.

  “Hey.” Cole shakes his head at me.

  I shrug. “What?”

  “There could be cameras on us, crazy ass. It wouldn’t look good to have my girlfriend booing someone. I have some deals with WMMA. I’m supposed to remain somewhat neutral.”

  I give him the finger. “Fuck that, it’s Pedro.” I belt out an even louder boo.

  Cole dies laughing and pretends to slide away from me.

  I grab his big dumb ass and pull him back next to me and he wraps an arm around me. My stomach is in knots for Pedro and Bill, though. Mostly Pedro, but I know how hard Bill has been training him while Cole deals with the expansion of Curve.

  This is by far the biggest fight of the year, and I can’t believe it’s not in Vegas. Pedro called Chalmers out in an interview and told him he’d whip his ass anywhere in the world. Shit-talking is kind of what these guys do to promote the fight. I get the feeling they’re all friends behinds closed doors; at least Pedro always speaks highly of Chalmers when he comes over for dinner with us. Then they get on camera and it’s like they’re different people, arch enemies.

  Anyway, Chalmers got on another interview and basically said he’d whip Pedro’s ass in his hometown, and here we are. It’s like a giant soap opera with these fighters and I love it. There’s more drama than General Hospital.

  The music changes and gets super loud and the announcer says Pedro’s name. The place goes apeshit. I’m screaming my lungs out, but inside I’m scared to death.

  My cousins are going nuts too, along with Abigail, Tate, Quinn, and Paisley. Wells Covington stares at both fighters, like there’s ice in his veins, completely emotionless. He’s so weird.

  Bill and Pedro walk up through the crowd and head to their corner. I yell for them but there’s no way they can hear me. Before Pedro climbs in the ring, he points a fist over at Cole and Cole returns it. I never thought there could be such a sweet moment before a fight, but it’s just that, and I know how much this means to both of them. I’m praying a photographer got a good shot of it so I can frame a copy for them.

  Pedro’s bouncing around and damn, he is cut up. He’s the youngest welterweight champion of all time. Not so surprisingly, the man who was once the youngest is standing right next to me. I can only imagine how much shit Pedro talked when he broke that record, and I can only imagine Cole secretly loved every second of it. He’d do anything for Pedro, to see him happy and reach his goals.

  The music goes down and the referee calls both of them to the center. They glare right at each other and bump gloves, then both run back to their corners and bounce around to stay loose.

  If they don’t get this started soon, I might come unglued. I turn my back to the ring because I can’t even watch. My heart is somewhere up in my throat and I don’t know why but I just start praying to God that He let Pedro win. It will be a long, miserable existence for me if he loses. Not that it’s all about me, but I mean, come on. I don’t want to deal with these three assholes after a loss, for months or years until Pedro fights again.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  I just shake my head back and forth, vigorously. “I can’t watch. I can’t watch this shit.”

  “You have to!” Cole spins me around. “Pedro will never forgive you if you don’t watch the fight.”

  I sigh and have my hands over my face, but I peek between my fingers, barely.

  “This is already the most entertaining fight I’ve been to and they haven’t thrown a punch yet.” Cole’s dying laughing.

  The referee signals for them to start and Cole morphs into an entirely different creatur
e. “Knock his fucking head off!”

  My eyes vault open and I stare up at him.

  I drop my hands to watch, and the two men come out and start swinging. My hands immediately go back to my face and I peek over the top. They’re bouncing around, feeling each other out.

  “That’s it, Pedro. Work to his right. Work to his weak side.” Cole’s practically bouncing with them in the ring.

  Chalmers charges at Pedro and…

  Bam!

  “Holy fucking shit!” screams Cole. He’s leaping up and down and grabs me.

  Pedro just leveled Chalmers with a hard right and he’s laid out on the mat. He stands over Chalmers, glaring right at him, and the referee waves his hands back and forth signaling the end of the fight. Pedro takes off running around the ring, his head on a swivel. He finds us and jumps up on the cage and points right at Cole, screaming something we can’t hear.

  Cole’s screaming right back at him, both his fists raised up in the air.

  We’re both going nuts, along with the entire arena. I’ve never heard this place so loud, even when I came to an Eminem concert once. It’s insane.

  Pedro’s smiling so big and I glance over at Cole and he’s smiling right back at him.

  God, I love these two boys. I’ve got both hands in the air, shaking them up and down, screaming for Pedro.

  Pedro leaps back off the fence and runs over and nearly tackles Bill who’s now in the ring. Chalmers’ coaches help him up and take him back to his corner. The media rushes into the octagon, and I look up to see Pedro’s on the big screen. The referee brings both men to the middle and the announcer calls Pedro the winner by knockout. Chalmers leaves the ring, probably embarrassed. He just got knocked out in the first thirty seconds of the fight. If I’d paid seventy bucks for this at home, I’d have been pissed at how long it lasted.

  The announcer goes over to Pedro with the microphone and Pedro snatches it right from his hand and roars into the mic, then stares right at Cole. He motions at him and yells, “Get in here, coach!”

  I scream as Cole walks up into the ring.