by Missy Blue
"Is that his bitch?"
"She's a mess. I hope not."
"Maybe just his fuck-buddy for the weekend but she’s no threat to us."
I heard this exchange among a few of the mavens standing nearby and stopped in my tracks, glowering openly at them. They simply stared back, one of them looking at me innocently, one of them ignoring me completely to call out to Asher again, and one of them laughing at me.
"Jewel," Asher called over his shoulder. I turned and joined him at the counter. He looked down at me. "Ignore them," he instructed me quietly. "Okay? They’ve got nothing on you, Nutcracker."
"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled, glaring over my shoulder again.
"Mr. Prince, I have one suite and one deluxe room," the desk clerk was saying. "The reservations were arranged by Mr. Blaise Colton. I trust that your accommodations will be satisfactory for you."
"How close are the rooms?" Asher asked.
"I have both the suite and the deluxe room on the sixth floor, and they are one room apart." The clerk slid us our keys and smiled. "I can have someone bring your bags to your room, if you'd like to go refresh yourselves at the bar."
"No, we've got it, thanks," Asher replied. He took the keys and shouldered the bags again and headed for the elevator bank. I trailed behind, beside myself at the amount of fans that crowded in the lobby.
When we were in the elevator I turned to him. "Aren't you going to sign autographs and stuff?" I asked. "You don't want to get a rep for being stuck up. A lot of them are here to see you."
"I don't mind signing stuff for kids and the guys and families," he said, "but I don't like taking pictures with groupies. I wouldn't put my girl through that. They tend to get really...handsy."
"Oh," I replied, frowning again.
He laughed at me and leaned down to kiss my cheek. "You’re my girl, Jewel."
"I’m fine," I muttered.
Asher smirked. "Okay."
He brought my bag into my room after I unlocked it and stepped inside. It was a nice room, spacious, trendy. The bed looked beyond comfortable and I had plenty of room. Asher placed my duffel on my bed and glanced at his watch.
"I have to be at the Niagara Center in half an hour," he replied. "It's not too far. Do you want to come with me or stay here? It can get kinda long. I have to officially check in, take some pictures. It should go faster since I'm not doing interviews but Blaise is gonna handle that for me. By the time we're done, Bailey and Tess should be here."
"That's fine," I replied. "I'll stay here. I didn't get a ton of sleep last night, and I'd like to wash the car ride off anyway. And if you let everybody know I'm here, I can meet them in the lobby."
"You sure?" he asked. "Don't want to leave you alone. You'll get bored."
"I'll be in my room," I reassured him. "I'll be fine."
"All right," he said, then pulled me against his body to kiss me goodbye. As always, my skin buzzed at his touch, and the kiss went on longer than a normal goodbye would have. Finally I pushed at his chest gently, smiling up into his face.
"Go," I said quietly. "Don't be late."
He smoothed a hand over my head and brought his lips to mine once more before he backed out of the room and left. I sighed and kicked off my shoes and stripped off my jeans. I crawled into the immensely comfortable bed, making sure to set the alarm on my cell phone for a reasonable amount of time. It felt like only a moment later when my alarm went off at half-past-three. I felt around for my phone and silenced it, then groaned, yawning and stretching. I glanced at my phone again and saw I had a message from Asher letting me know he'd gotten in touch with Bailey. They would be arriving by five and Asher planned on returning shortly thereafter.
As I gradually became more aware of my surroundings, I started to hear loud noises from outside. I climbed out of bed and moved to the window, and was shocked to see a throng of people outside. They were being held back by several tall, burly security types, and a line of young men, buff and tattooed, dressed in trendy athletic wear, filed into the hotel. I assumed they were the other fighters for the tournament by the way they stopped and signed autographs and took pictures with fans. And not too much further away were several more groups of young, scantily-clad women, smiling and calling out to them. I tilted my head with interest as I watched the fighters respond.
As I studied the girls, and the attention they were receiving, I wondered what Asher thought of them. He'd often referred to them as ‘groupies’ and had told me not to worry about them. I knew he cared about me so naturally he wouldn't want me to feel uncomfortable in any way. But he was also still a man, and what man wouldn't respond to tits and ass being shoved in his face every time he turned around?
My hand dropped away from the curtain as I turned back into the room, deciding it was time for a shower. My mind turned to the issue of sex between us, or rather, the lack thereof. Asher certainly wasn't pressuring me. In fact, based on our last encounter, I felt like I was the one who pressured him.
I was loosening up substantially regarding the idea of sex—sex with Asher, that is. The thought of sex in general still made my skin crawl a little, but when I fantasized it with Asher, I felt warm and my lower stomach and sex would spark and tighten up.
As I showered, the three girls who had openly laughed at me that morning, plagued my mind. They were painted and primped, perfectly put together, and looked like glamour models in men's magazines. I shook my head, mostly at myself. And I’d thought it was a good idea to go trudging around after someone like Asher in a ripped '80s T-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers...
I made up my mind once I was out of the shower and staring hard at myself in the mirror. I’d have to put my entire unease aside. I needed to ‘man up’ as Ruby would put it. I was twenty-three, for God’s sake, and it was time to put my big girl panties on and show Asher just what he'd been missing, and why I was the top, and the only, candidate. I was rusty when it came sex, but I figured I’d be fine. I was a dancer, after all. I knew how to move my body in such a way that would please him, if not myself. As I rifled through my suitcase and removed a lacy thong, I decided.
Tonight would be the night.
Him
WHEN I PULLED up to the hotel on my arrival back from the arena, I was pissed to see the fanfare that was posted up outside the hotel.
Most of the fighters were utter douchebags who were slicked and gelled, manicured, wearing rhinestone embellished V-neck shirts showing their chest hair. They were eating up the attention from the girls, and I knew if I walked through them, I’d probably be sexually assaulted.
I drove around to the back of the hotel, near the garage where the valet kept the cars, and waited until I spotted a valet attendant. I waved him over, seeing the attendant's eyes widen in recognition.
"Hey," the young man said, grinning. "The Tornado."
"It's actually just Asher," I replied flatly. "Listen. I'm trying not to deal with that bullshit around front, man. Can you let me in through the valet entrance? I just want to go up to my room. Got my family here."
"Sure," the attendant said, nodding vigorously. He pointed at my Charger. "You want me to take care of that?"
"That'd be great," I answered, and let the attendant park the car. He reappeared to open the entrance door for me and I slipped him a nice tip before disappearing inside and using the service elevator to get to my floor, managing to bypass all of the bullshit outside completely.
After a shower and a change of clothes, I felt like a new man after an irritating and exhausting afternoon of dealing with the shitty press, taking photos, and getting briefed on the weekend to come. I'd received some messages from Jewel letting me know my family had arrived and she was keeping them company in the hotel bar.
Now, I was forced to enter the lobby again, noticing that there were a good number of people milling around. A lot of them were young women, more hangers-on, and though they belonged to some of the other fighters, whom I ignored, they eye-fucked me openly. I scanned the roo
m for my family, looking to find them, and get the hell out of there as fast as possible. The first thing I saw was Tess's blonde head, where she stood at the bar just in front of my brother. And then I saw Jewel and my eyes widened.
I didn't know why I'd expected to still see her in her ripped up T-shirt and her Converse, but the first place my eyes went to was her rear end. It was set off to perfection in a pair of tight, ripped skinny jeans. Tucked into the jeans she wore a smoking-hot ribbed black tube top that hugged her trim stomach. There was a leopard print scarf draped around her neck that was so fucking hot. As I got closer, my eyes slid to her feet, seeing them encased in high black heels. Her long dark hair had been coaxed into waves and tumbled down her back. I wanted to get my hands on her, drag her back to my hotel room, and fuck her till I couldn’t no more.
Everyone glanced up as I approached, but my eyes were glued to Jewel. Her dimples suddenly dug into her cheeks as her brown eyes lit up at the sight of me. It filled me with that strange but pleasant feeling, one that made me feel like she always seemed to be so excited to see me. My hand went to circle her waist, bringing her close, letting every man here know that she was mine, and greeted my family.
We stayed and drank for a while, talking and laughing quietly amongst ourselves. At one point I met Jewel’s eyes over the rim of her wine glass and felt blood rush through me at the look in them. They were dark with some kind of need, full of promise.
Finally, Tess and Bailey were ready to call it a night, rising to their feet. Jewel and I bid them goodbye and watched as they headed to the elevators around the corner. I glanced at Jewel, licking my lips. "You ready, too?" I asked, trying hard to keep the note of eagerness out of my voice.
"Haven't finished my wine yet," she replied, her voice slightly low. "Have a seat."
I sat and watched as she drained the rest of her wine, her hand on my knee. My eyebrows shot up as I wondered what exactly had gotten into her. She couldn't be drunk; she'd had a total of three glasses of wine over the course of several hours. I didn't have long to think about anything, though, because as soon as she set her glass down, she was reaching for me, pulling my face toward hers, capturing my lips with hers, pushing and pulling and sweeping over my mouth with hers.
She pulled away ever so slightly. "Take me upstairs," she whispered before she brought her mouth against me again. “Now.”
I pulled back a little and looked into her eyes, feeling my own narrow. I scanned her face, knowing something was up with her. My desire to call her out on her bullshit warred with my desire for her. Silently I rose to my feet, taking her hand and pulling her up after me. I held onto her hand as we waited for the elevator. After an eternity, the light above the elevator lit up and the doors slid open slowly. I stepped inside, pulling her behind me. As soon as the doors slid shut, I decided to give into my own urges and also call her bluff.
I quickly slammed her against the wall of the elevator and cupped her face in my hands, scooping up her lips with my own as I pushed my body against hers. I pulled the scarf away from her neck and tilted her face up to bury my lips in the flesh of her throat as her hands grabbed at my waist. I returned to her mouth and sucked at her lips, feeling like I just couldn't get enough.
When we reached the sixth floor, she led me out of the elevator, her scarf trailing in her hand. She pulled me past my room and headed down a little to hers. Then she pushed me against the door and captured my lips with hers again as she fumbled in her pocket for her key.
Finally, I pulled away and gripped her face. I lowered my face to look into her eyes, feeling mine narrow with slight suspicion again.
"Jewel, what's going on?" I asked, panting. "What's gotten into you?"
She looked up at me innocently. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about you acting all bold right now," I said bluntly. "And please, for the love of God, understand I'm not complaining but I don't think you give me enough credit for being able to tell when something isn't quite right."
"It's a problem?" she asked impatiently, lifting an eyebrow.
"It is if I feel like you're doing this to try to prove something."
"Maybe I just want you," she growled in her throat, pulling herself up toward me again.
"And if I believed that's all it was I never woulda opened my mouth in the first place," I rasped against her lips. "But we both know it's not just that, so what's up?"
Jewel paused near my face and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Finally, she sighed and pulled away slightly. "All right," she conceded, a hint of irritation in her voice. "All right. First, just know that I do really want you. But I just...seeing all of those beautiful women out there who seem like they have it all together just made me wonder, why are you wasting your time with me? I work at a café and teach ballet at the Y. I'm more than a little fucked up in the head—"
"Shut up," I said, gruffly. "You're not fucked up in the head. Stop saying that shit. As for all of those other women—Jewel, you're talking about women who validate themselves by climbing into bed with any guy they think can be a ticket out for them. Are you fucking serious right now? You call that having your shit together?" My hands moved to her shoulders and I gripped down, shaking them just a little. "I'm here with you because I want to be. Period. I don't want anyone else. I never want anyone else. You’re it for me, dammit." I shook my head. "Is that why you're trying to have sex with me now?"
Jewel flushed and sighed, looking away. "Partly because I want to…And partly because I feel like if I don't, you'll get fed up with me and find someone who doesn't struggle so much with…that."
"I only want you when you only want me, no other reason. I'll wait as long as it takes," I replied simply. "Even if it’s when I turn seventy and I can’t even get it up. You copy? Even when fucking Viagra won’t work on it." The corners of her lips tugged into a tiny smile. No dimples, I noticed, but it was better than nothing. "So we done with this dumbass shit now?" I went on quietly, smiling a little to take the sting out of my words.
One side of her mouth stretched a little wider, and I saw a shadow appear in her cheek. "Yes," she answered. “I’ll stop being a dumbass.”
I smirked at her and slid a hand under her hair, gripping it lightly. I brought my lips to hers. "Just don't make me wait till it don’t work though," I teased. She rolled her eyes but pressed her lips against me, sucking gently at my bottom lip. I had just taken a firmer grip on her, to feast on her mouth more deeply, when I heard a voice.
"Yo, Prince. Sorry to interrupt..."
I glanced up, a growl of annoyance in my throat, and saw Blaise striding down the hall toward us. I didn’t fucking like the way he was looking at my girl. Eyeing her up and down. My manager was one of the best, but he didn’t have much respect for women. Chicks were born for sucking dicks and nothing else, is what he had said. That was all.
"What you want, man?" I grunted, my hands gripping Jewel's waist as she tried to step away from me slightly.
"I want you to go get some sleep," Blaise replied, folding his arms. "You got a big day tomorrow. C'mon. Keep your head in the game and not your dick in pussy, man."
“Don’t fucking talk like that in front of her again,” I warned lowly. I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t like him talking that way in front of Jewel. And I knew what I was supposed to do as well as anyone.
Blaise turned his slight smile on Jewel. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but our boy needs his rest. He’s got a lot of fights tomorrow."
Jewel bit her lip, her face flushed from being caught. "Right…I got it."
Blaise’s eyes lingered over Jewel until I growled at him. "Can I get a minute?" I snarled. Blaise rolled his eyes and gave me his back, pacing a few steps down. I knew Blaise would stay here all night to make sure I eventually went to my own room. I sighed and glanced down at Jewel.
"Sorry about that asshole," I murmured. "He’ll stay out here all night if I don't—"
Jewel half-smiled and placed a hand on my chest.
"It's all right. Go. You need your rest." There was not much else to say, nothing that I wanted Blaise to hear me say, anyway, so I just looked at her and smiled, running a hand slowly through her hair. "Go," she said, more insistently. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
I leaned down to give her a final kiss, a goodnight kiss, and then pulled away. My body screamed in annoyance, but I knew I didn't have much of a choice. And, frankly, I did need the rest.
"Sweet dreams," I said. She smiled and stepped inside her room, pausing to blow me a kiss before she shut the door.
I turned and walked back toward my room. Blaise glanced over his shoulder, grinning. "I trust that you can keep your dick inside your pants tonight?" he asked, mock-sternly.
Instantly, I felt my body fill with rage then. "Fuck you, Blaise."
"I'll take that as a yes."
Her
WHEN I WOKE up the next morning, my stomach was a jumble of nerves.
I wasn't sure why but all morning I felt extremely anxious at the thought of going to the First Niagara Center for day one of the tournament.
Asher had gone to the arena as he prepared for his first round of fights. He had knocked on my door that morning to let me know he was leaving. I had wanted to say something encouraging, give him words of wisdom, something really deep and profound for him to ruminate over while he prepared himself, but all I had managed was a lame, "Good luck."
Now, later that afternoon, I was showered and dressed and in the lobby of the hotel, too nervous to eat a late lunch in the hotel's on-site restaurant. Tess was eating a chicken Caesar salad and fruit, and Bailey was enthusiastically attacking a giant bacon cheeseburger and fries. I sipped at a cup of tea and nibbled a little of the fruit salad that I'd ordered.
"You seem nervous," Tess commented. "He'll be fine."
I wanted to tell her it wasn't just the prospect of witnessing the fights. While I wasn't particularly enthused about Asher going to war with overly aggressive men, who wanted to bash his face in for money, I was confident that Asher could handle himself. I was more bothered that I didn't know what to expect or how I would react to it.
