“This…” He grabbed both my wrists over my head and squeezed them hard, pushing them into the couch cushions. Then he settled his weight between my legs and sunk into me, slow and deep.
I lost it. “Oh, God…” It was like the first time a penis had ever been inside me, but not in a first time sort of way. In the best possible “I haven’t had sex with the hottest man on the planet who is also the man I love in weeks and I’m dying for his dick” sort of way.
Every nerve cell in my body, every neuron in my brain, and all the ones running up and down my spinal column were suddenly focused on one thing: Fucking this amazing man. With every thrust, I moaned. He did too. Our mutual pent up sexual energy was enough to light up the city of Los Angeles for an entire week. Every time his cock rubbed across my G-Spot and bottomed out against my cervix, his pelvis ground up against my clit and I grunted. Yes, grunted. There was nothing ladylike about it. I was an animal. A lioness. And my lion was inside me. All my rationality had left the building.
At some point, he tore his shirt off. With my arms free, I ripped my bra off and clawed at his back as he filled me. It was the best sex I’d ever had. It was quick, it was dirty, but it was incredibly hot and more intense than anything I thought possible.
This was the dictionary definition of mind blowing sex, because I had lost mine.
Right when I started to come harder than I’d ever come before, he pulled out.
“What are you—” I looked down between our legs, thinking something had gone wrong.
“FUCK!!” he shouted. Cum fired at my face. The first splotch hit my upper lip. “Shit! Sorry!”
“Shut up,” I hissed and grabbed his cock and pumped it as he came again and again.
He pushed up on his arms. The muscles bulged and the veins popped like he was trying to escape. I wasn’t letting go. His face was a bright red grimace of pure pleasure.
I kept pumping him until he had spilled every last drop of himself onto my stomach. There was a literal puddle. Drops rolled down my sides and onto the couch cushions. I didn’t even think about it.
His head hung between his shoulders. He was breathing hard. “That was… fuck. That was… sorry. Shit. I wasn’t wearing a condom. I’m so sorry, Brigid. I wasn’t thinking. I should’ve—”
I pulled him down on top of me.
His stomach smeared the remaining cum against my skin. It was a big sticky mess gluing us together.
Somehow, it felt right.
Extremely dirty and even more right.
Just… right.
Now we were literally stuck together.
Chapter 31
LION
“Can I speak with you for a minute, Mr. Maxwell?” The question came from Donald Wright. He had just dropped Daniel off for class at the dojo. Like Brigid and I agreed, Robert and Melanie were teaching Daniel’s class for now.
“Sure.” I always thought it weird that Donald never talked to me, but after Brigid told me he’d grilled her about sleeping with me, I wasn’t surprised. Who wanted to talk to the guy who was banging your ex-wife? Yeah, he was the one who divorced her, but still.
“Can I call you Lion?” He put one hand on my shoulder and held the other out to shake, waiting. He was glad handing me.
“Sure, Don.” I knew a power play when I saw one but I shook anyway. I wasn’t worried about whatever he had up his sleeve.
“Lion, is there any way we can speak in private?”
“Yeah. No problem. How about my office?” Class had started and they were making plenty of noise, but I liked the idea of having a closed door between Daniel and whatever bullshit Donald was going to throw at me.
“Sounds good.”
We walked into the office and I closed the door.
“Have a seat.” I motioned to one of the chairs in front of the desk. It wasn’t my office per se. It was the manager’s office. Pam Schaefer was in charge of managing the Burbank dojo. I just came in to teach. But I knew this wasn’t a Pam issue.
Donald sat down. “I’d like to talk to you about my son.”
I smiled. “Daniel is doing great. Really picking things up quickly. Robert and Melanie are always telling me how he’s so easy to teach. I wish all my students could stay as focused as he does. He’ll be a black belt in no time if he sticks with it.”
Donald smiled but it was more of a frowning grimace. “Happy to hear it.”
“So, what can I do you for, Don?”
Another grimace. “Lion, I’m a little bit worried about all the time you’ve been spending with my son.” The way he said it you’d think he was accusing me of being a pedophile. The only time I’d ever been with Daniel was with Brigid or in class, so I didn’t know what the guy was wound up about.
“Okay. Is there some kind of problem?” I was feeling defensive, but I stayed calm. I didn’t get where I was by losing my cool when people took shots at me. The fastest way to get knocked out in the cage was to go into an uncontrollable rage. Part of me wanted to go there, but I knew it was better to wait for Donald to show his hand. Then I could bite it off.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Donald smiled, this time for real. But it was an angry smile. He laughed, also angry. His face was red. “You took my son to Yosemite. He was attacked by a bear. You took him to a shooting range. You take him rock climbing. You put his life in danger on a regular basis. What the hell are you thinking? He’s my son.”
“He’s Brigid’s son too. I don’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to. Same with Daniel. He wants to do the stuff we do.”
“Are you saying I’m not a good father? Not man enough for my own son?” He was trying to stay calm, but I could tell he was on the edge of losing it. This guy cared about his kid. I could respect that.
“I wasn’t saying that. Take a deep breath, Don. You’re taking things all wrong.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“I’m not telling you to do anything.”
His index fingers were both flicking crazily in his lap. Weird. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he wanted to jump over the desk and strangle me. He might try, but he wouldn’t succeed. “What you did is unacceptable, Mr. Maxwell.”
I was no longer his pal Lion. Now it was Mr. Maxwell. I was okay with that. No reason for me to be uptight too. “Look, Don. About the bear.”
“You mean the one that attacked my son?” His teeth clenched and his lips peeled over them in a tight snarl. Man, he was pissed.
I leaned my forearms on the desk. “The bear attacked the tent. Not your son. Anyway, my point is: accidents happen, no matter how careful you are. One of the families here at the dojo just lost their dad. You know how that happened?”
Donald was confused, his brows knit together. He shook his head uncertainly. “No.”
“The guy was crossing the street. At the crosswalk. Some knucklehead was texting while driving. Ran the guy over. Died two hours later at the hospital.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I was too. The world is a dangerous place. But I would never do anything to put Daniel in danger.”
“But you did.”
That was when I knew I couldn’t change his mind. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. You can ask people to change or see things differently, but they won’t unless they want to.
“Don, I’m really sorry it happened. But I was there. Daniel wasn’t in any danger. He wasn’t traumatized either. I mean, look at the kid.” We both turned to watch Daniel through the glass wall of the office as he jumped around on the mats and laughed with the other kids in uniform. “I’ve never seen a happier kid, have you?”
I regretted the words the second they left my mouth.
The look on Donald’s face said he did too.
I was basically telling him how awesome I made his son’s life. He was probably having hate fantasies about offing me any way he could right then a
nd there. I hoped he didn’t have a loaded gun in his pocket.
“And what possessed you to take Daniel to a shooting range?” Donald said it like I had taken Daniel to a bomb factory located in forest fire country during dry season at the height of a heatwave. He was looking for reasons to make me the bad guy.
“Don, it’s the same thing as Yosemite. I’ve seen little kids shoot guns safely all the time. Heck, I teach little kids karate. I know how to keep them from hurting themselves and the other kids. I never put anyone in any danger.” Except maybe Don. He was obviously worried about losing his status as Dad.
“Mr. Maxwell, I would appreciate it if you did not take Daniel to any more shooting ranges or on any camping trips or anything else that might put him in danger.”
“Already done. Brigid and I agreed we wouldn’t.”
“Oh,” he snorted with ill humor. “You and my ex-wife had a discussion about how you were going to raise my son?”
“Yeah, Don.”
“Isn’t that fantastic.”
“Don, you gotta believe me. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Daniel. And I’m not trying to take him from you. If I was—” I almost lost it. I almost said, If I was, there would be nothing you could do to stop me. I couldn’t go there. That was stirring up the hornet’s nest.
“What did you say?” He was seething.
“Nothing, Don. Forgot I said anything.” Now I was pissed but trying to hold it in.
“No. Tell me. Finish what you were going to say, Mr. Maxwell.”
“Forget it.” Man, I was dying to punch him in the solar plexus and watch him think he was dying while his body tried to remember how to breathe. But I couldn’t do that. Too much was at stake.
Donald’s face was knotted into a ball of confused aggression. I hadn’t yielded any ground in this discussion, and it drove him nuts. Heck, I would say I’d gained ground and won the day. His index fingers were flicking like crazy. “Let me be as crystal clear as I possibly can, Mr. Maxwell. I would prefer it if you did not take Daniel any place. Ever.”
“What are you saying, Don?”
“I want you to stop seeing my son and my wife.”
Whoa. My eyes tightened.
His popped. “Sorry. My ex-wife.”
Shit. He had said it. That’s what this was about. I ran my hand through my hair and leaned back in the desk chair. My first urge was to laugh in his face, You had your fucking chance, dumbass! Brigid is mine now, so back the fuck off or I will bite your fucking face off! I knew that wouldn’t work. Someone had to be the bigger man here. I took a deep breath, nodding, buying time while I thought it through. “Don, Brigid and I are friends.”
He snorted, “You sure spend a lot of time with her for someone who is just a friend.”
“So what?”
His brows lowered and his eyes were circling nervously. He wanted to look me in the eyes, but he was afraid to. “I know you’re sleeping with her.”
“No I’m not.” It was none of his fucking business.
Donald looked surprised. He stared at me, pulling his head back so his neck flared around his jawline like a bird puffing itself up. He snorted again. “Do you expect me to believe that?”
“Ask Brigid. She’ll tell you.”
“Ha! That woman won’t tell me anything she doesn’t want to. And I know she doesn’t want to tell me what you and her have been up to behind closed doors. But I can guess. With a man like you, I’m sure she…” He stopped himself and his eyes darted to the side and he ran his hand across his mouth, thinking about something. Suddenly his eyes lit up. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask Brigid, but since I’m here, I may as well ask you. Did you meet Brigid at her hospital? Were you one of her patients?”
Oh shit. Time to lie. You learned how to lie with a straight face damn quick growing up on the streets. I had it down to a science. “No.”
“Then where did you meet her?”
“Here at the dojo. For the Grand Opening.” It was sort of true.
“Uh huh,” he nodded. “Daniel said you did a demonstration in a wheelchair. He also told me you were on crutches the night you went to Universal Studios.” Shit. This guy knew everything about me. “Tell me, which hospital did you go to?”
“What?”
“When you injured your knee during your last fight?”
How much did this guy know? “Shit, I don’t remember.”
“You don’t.” It was a statement, not a question. He didn’t believe me.
Why had I said that? Now I was the one struggling to block his attack.
“That’s odd, don’t you think?”
“Not really. I wasn’t paying attention. My ring team drove me there. Anyway, that was months ago.”
“Do you think if I asked Daniel, he’d know?” It was a threat.
I was suddenly pissed he was dragging his kid into this. Then again, it was his kid, not mine. Why did that infuriate me? Didn’t matter. I couldn’t go telling him what to say to his own kid. It’s not like Daniel ever pulled me aside to rank on his dad or give me any reason to hate the guy. Whenever the subject of Donald came up, it seemed like Daniel liked him fine. The only saving grace here was that Daniel hadn’t been at the hospital when I met Brigid. It’s not like the kid asked me and his mom for our “how we met” story. I just sort of appeared in his life and he accepted it without question. Maybe I was safe. And I knew Brigid wouldn’t say anything to Donald. I was gonna take a gamble and stick to my lie. In response to Donald’s question, I simply shrugged.
“Tell me something, Mr. Maxwell. Who was your doctor at the hospital the night you went in? I know you went to LA Central because I read about it online. I also know Brigid works there. But you probably know that too.” He was all smiles, toying with me.
“A guy named Hackett.” There was zero hesitation when I said it. I almost said more about Dr. Hackett but I knew that bad liars loved to talk and that’s how they tripped themselves up.
“Good to know.” He said it like, Check and mate.
Whoops. I should’ve kept it vague. I’d given him a critical clue. He could call Hackett and ask about Brigid’s involvement. For all I knew, Donald was friendly with Hackett from before the divorce. If Donald asked, Hackett might say something. This was bad news. I needed to end this discussion before I dropped another golden egg in his lap.
“Anything else, Don?”
He stood up. “I think we’re done here, Mr. Maxwell.”
I stood too. “Okay. Yeah.” I was suddenly burning with nerves. Felt like a million degrees in that office, like someone had just blown up the bomb factory.
He opened the office door before I could open it for him. He suddenly stopped and spun around.
I nearly bumped right into him.
He pointed one of his flicking fingers up at me like a gun. I wanted to grab it and twist it until it broke, which would be incredibly easy to do. I didn’t.
He barked, “Let me give you a piece of advice, Mr. Maxwell. Stay away from my son and my—from Brigid.” He almost said wife again. “Or you will regret it.”
My heart skipped a beat.
He spun again and walked out of the dojo and paced outside near the front windows until class was over and Daniel left with him. The whole time I was watching Donald thinking, That man just beat my ass and he didn’t even lay a flicking finger on me.
It wasn’t the first time I’d taken a beat down. When I was young, I got jumped plenty of times. But that was years ago. Now I was an undefeated WMAA cage fighter. But Donald Wright had just owned my ass and wiped the floor with it.
I honestly didn’t know what to do next. I didn’t have any power in this situation. I wasn’t a stepdad. I wasn’t even the step-boyfriend. I was the step-friend. Pretty sure that held no weight in family court.
I needed to talk to Brigid.
We needed to figure this out together.
Then again, telling her might freak her out more. It would certainly give her a reason
to demote me from friend to stranger. Because let’s face it, was she the type of mother who would put me before her son? No. If Donald made legal trouble for her and it was down to picking me over Daniel, would she pick me?
Nope.
I would never expect her to. That didn’t mean I had a fucking clue what to do about this mess. But I wasn’t going to let Donald Wright boot me out of Brigid and Daniel’s lives without some kind of fight. I just needed to figure out a good strategy that didn’t involve me disappearing Donald or kicking his ass. It would be so easy, but no.
I needed to do this right.
Chapter 32
BRIGID
“Don’t forget your karate gear,” Donald said as he dropped Daniel off at my condo.
“Oh, right.” Daniel stepped out of the BMW with his back-and-forth backpack on one shoulder, the one he took between here and the Wright house every other week. He opened the backseat passenger door and grabbed his duffel bag, the one that carried his uniform and sparring pads. It amazed me that my little boy was learning karate. I was so proud of him.
“Hey, Daniel,” I smiled.
“Hey, Mom. What are we doing this weekend?” His excitement was obvious.
“I’m not sure yet. We’ll have to figure that out.” I hadn’t yet broken the bad news that our fun adventure trips with Lion were on hold for a while.
“Hey, Daniel? Can you run inside so I can talk to your mom?”
“Sure.” Daniel walked into the condo, carrying his bags like a little traveler. I often wondered if he would grow up to be a constant wanderer because of how comfortable he was with going from place to place and sleeping wherever he laid his head down.
“So, Donald. What’s up?”
“You tell me. What are your weekend plans for Daniel?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.”
He smirked self-righteously. “How about bungee jumping? Or hang gliding? Maybe base jumping. Scuba diving with sharks is always fun. Or does Lion prefer swimming with killer whales?”
Broken Lion Page 23
