Fighting for Love

by L. P. Dover

  Sighing, he glanced down at my lips and back up to my eyes, a slow smile creeping across his lips. “Well, I guess the solution to that would be to make sure you don’t forget it. Let’s go inside.”

  As soon as we walked through the front door, Matt led me to the kitchen and started pulling things out of the refrigerator. I figured he’d be hungry after the fight and I most definitely was. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was already closing in on midnight. On the lavish kitchen counter, Matt had ham, turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, pickles, mayonnaise, and a big bottle of mustard all splayed out in a row.

  Grabbing a bottle of water, he slid it across the bar to me and I caught it before it could slide past. “Good catch,” he chimed. “Now where exactly are you going on your date tomorrow?”

  His head was down, fixing our sandwiches, and I stole a pickle off of his. I used to do the same thing to him when he’d make us sandwiches a long time ago. Smiling, he shook his head and added more pickles.

  “We’re going to dinner at Bay Ridge, and then there’s a party at Lexi’s sister’s house.” I cringed for a second wondering how he was going to take that.

  “What kind of party is it?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to one of her party’s before. If it gets out of hand, I’ll text you the address and you can come pick me up,” I promised.

  Smirking, he lifted his gaze to mine. “I like the sound of that. You could always text it to me and I’ll just steal you away. I can’t imagine it’ll be too fun after you tell your friend you can’t see him anymore.”

  That’s true, I thought to myself.

  Sliding my sandwich over to me, Matt finished making his and peered up at me. “I know sandwiches aren’t exactly Bay Ridge, but I promise I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” he murmured. “There’s nothing I couldn’t do for you.”

  “That kind of stuff isn’t important to me, Matt, and you know that,” I countered. “I loved you when you had nothing, and I would still love you if had nothing.”

  We ate in silence, and afterwards he took me for a tour of his house. He had two swimming pools, a home theater, massage room, and a torch-lit tunnel that led to a well-stocked wine cellar. Not to mention the house had five bedrooms and seven bathrooms. He saved his bedroom for last, and when he opened the door, I slowly ambled into the darkness.

  My eyes had to adjust to the light when he turned it on, and when they did, my first thought was, Oh, my God. His bedroom was all in gray, white, and black; the perfect combinations for someone as charismatic and dominant as Matt. The walls were a light shade of gray, his bedspread a combination of all three colors against a modern black headboard. The curtains were what finished up the room, giving it a sensual quality to the masculine feel. They were floor length, sheer gray gossamer curtains that no doubt billowed into the room like magic on a windy California day. The room radiated with the energy of sex, lust, and sensuality; a lethal combination.

  “I bet the ladies loved coming here,” I mumbled, thinking Matt couldn’t hear me.

  I was appalled when his answer came right behind my ear, his hands skirting around my waist. “Actually, I never brought any women here. It wasn’t like that,” he breathed. “It looks like you’ll be another first for me.”

  We were each other’s first at lot of things; mainly being we lost our virginity to the other. We were sixteen years old; he had just bought his Ford Bronco and drove over to my house to show me. It was a Saturday night and my parents had left to go to Seattle for the weekend, leaving me home alone. I remembered being nervous as hell because I knew it would hurt, but I wanted him to be my first. It didn’t last long, of course, with it being his first time as well, but it didn’t make it any less special.

  Matt nuzzled my neck, pushing my hair out of the way so he could kiss his way up my jaw. Tilting my head to the side, I moaned and closed my eyes. Chill bumps raced across my skin and I shivered, leaning against him to steal some of his warmth. He chuckled in my ear and pressed his hard cock against my back, lightly thrusting it up and down. To keep him as close to me as possible, I held onto the back of his thighs, firmly.

  “I want more,” I breathed.

  In that instant, I held on tight as Matt picked me up in his arms, kissing me feverishly and hard while taking us to the bed. He set me down gently and slid off my shoes, along with his, before crawling his way over to me.

  “I’m going to give you more, angel. Don’t worry,” he promised. Sliding his fingers under my shirt, he lifted it up over my head and threw it on the floor. He moaned deep in his chest when he gazed down at me with his sexy green eyes, licking his lips. Kissing the mounds of my breasts, he lowered the fabric over one of them and began to suck on one of my taut, sensitive nipples while reaching behind me to unclasp my bra. When my bra was undone, he shoved it away still keeping his lips enclosed over my breast. I wanted to feel him inside me, to satiate the craving between my legs.

  Already, my body responded to his touch and I was achingly wet on the verge of letting go. Fumbling with his jeans, I tried desperately to get them undone so I could wrap my fingers around his cock and feel it pulsate with my touch. Matt helped me out, kicking off his jeans once I had them undone. Once he was free, I took him in my hands and squeezed, pumping him up and down.

  “Fuck, that feels good,” he groaned. “Don’t stop.”

  Harder and faster I stroked his length, enjoying the satisfied rumble in his chest. Now it was his turn to fumble with my jeans. Once he got them undone and slid them down my legs, I was completely naked and vulnerable before him. With his arm around my waist, he moved up the bed and spread my legs wide with his knee. Keeping his gaze on mine, he kissed me gently at first and then harder as he pushed his fingers inside me. Gasping from the sensations, I opened wider for him and let his fingers fuck me, loving the sound of his satisfied moans.

  “Harder, Matt,” I begged, spreading my legs wider.

  He did as I said, and as soon as he did that was my undoing. Tightening around his fingers, he bit down on my lip and sucked as I cried out in pleasure and pain from my orgasm. Slowly, he rubbed my sensitive clit with his thumb and swirled his fingers in the wetness between my legs. Keeping his gaze on mine, he traced my nipples with my desire, leaving wet trails in his wake, and sucked them both greedily, tasting the result of how my body craved him. I could feel his cock pressing closer to my opening, and as soon as he pushed in just a tiny bit, I gasped.

  “I love the noises you make, baby. It’s so fucking hot,” he growled low.

  Almost instantly, he pushed inside of me … hard. Not only did I gasp, but I cried out so loud I could barely recognize the sound of my own voice. I was throbbing and wet, fully ready for him, ready for him to give me all that he had. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I rocked my hips along with his and held on tight, crying out with each thrust. The muscles in his back tightened and flexed as he worked his body to give us both pleasure, and I made sure to let him know how good it felt by grazing my fingernails all the way down to his ass.

  I was so close to losing it again, my body clenching tight around his cock, which pulsated inside of me with every passionate thrust. “Dammit, this feels so good I don’t want to stop. I’m going to come so fucking hard in you, angel,” he growled.

  “Do it,” I begged, “I want you to.”

  My breaths started coming out as pants as the ache between my legs got stronger, wilder. We were both so close, and the moment I tipped over the edge I dug my nails into his back just as he gripped onto me tighter, plunging in as deep as he could go and filling me with his release. Breathing hard, he took my face in his hands and lowered his forehead to mine.

  “Promise me you’re not going to leave me again,” he murmured against my lips.

  Kissing him gently, I knew within my heart that I would never leave him like I did last time. I wish I could say the same for him once he finds out what I did.

  Softly, I whispered
my answer, “I promise, Matt. As long as you want me, I promise I’ll always be here.”

  Satisfied with my answer, he pulled out of me and settled behind me as I turned, draping his arm snugly across my stomach. Feeling safe and warm within his arms, I drifted off into the best sleep I’d had in ten years.

  AFTER DROPPING SHELBY OFF AT her place late this morning, I drove the hour back to Santa Rosa, loathing the fact that in a few hours she’d be on a date with another guy. The last thing I wanted was to push her away, but dammit, if I didn’t want to tell that guy to fuck off and say she’s mine. By the time I got back home and in the door, a text came in from Mason.

  Mason: Gym? 12:30?

  I had an hour to kill until then, but his text couldn’t have come in at a better time. I needed something to hit and to hit it hard.

  Me: I’ll be there. Spar?

  His reply was instant.

  Mason: Fuck yeah!

  By the time I packed up my gear and made it to the gym, Mason was already inside talking to my coach, Carter Bennett. He was the one who got me started in the whole MMA training just trying to help a poor kid out, and once I started fighting and making money, I hired him. With not having a real father figure in my life he was the closest to one I had, and he sure knew how to get my ass in line.

  “How’s it going, son?” Carter called out as I approached them.

  “Same old shit,” I replied, slapping him on the shoulder and nodding at Mason. “You ready to get my ass in shape?”

  Carter chuckled. “Mason’s here today. I don’t think you can handle us both taking you on. I trust that he’ll get you all warmed up and ready for the ass kicking you’ll get tomorrow.”

  Carter was a retired MMA fighter pushing his late forties, but if his hair wasn’t covered in all gray he’d pass for someone a decade younger. Out of all the fighters and retired ones I’d met, Carter was the shortest in height by far. His arms were about the size of mine, but he was also a foot shorter than me, too. The day I underestimated him was the day he kicked my ass in the ring about nine years ago. To this day, he was still fast as shit with a punch that’d knock you off your feet.

  “Thanks, coach. I look forward to it,” I remarked sarcastically.

  Patting me on the back, he grinned widely and waltzed over to a young woman who seemed confused on how to work the treadmill. “So you want to spar?” Mason asked. “Did things not go well with you and your girl last night?”

  Throwing my bag in the ring, I hopped over the top and reached in for my tape and gloves. “No, things with her went great, it’s the date she’s going on tonight I have a problem with,” I told him.

  Slowly, he nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. Let me guess, you didn’t want to be all dominant male with her and tell her she couldn’t go, right? Because if you did, you’d push her away?”

  “Pretty much,” I agreed, and then added, “and I know I shouldn’t worry, but fuck if it doesn’t piss me off that she’ll be with another guy.”

  Over my handwraps, I slid on a pair of new black MMA gloves and flexed my hands. They were a little stiff, but it wouldn’t take me long to break them in once I started hitting something.

  Mason chuckled and smacked his gloves together. “Trust me, I know the feeling. I once had to watch another fucker kiss Claire right in front of me.”

  Mason had told me some of the things he’d witnessed when he was in Las Vegas on a mission, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine how it would be to see murder, death, and all of that messed up shit all the time. Especially, if anything involved the people I cared about like what happened to him.

  “I would’ve killed him,” I said. “Honestly, I think that I would’ve killed the guy if I was in your situation.”

  Nodding, he kicked his bag out of the way and replied wearily, “I almost did. Trust me, it’s a scary feeling when you get that pissed off to where you want to kill someone.”

  After a moment of silence and a few minutes of stretching, I moved my bag out of the way and we were ready to spar. Even though Mason was only three years older than me, I still liked to rag him about it.

  “All right, old man, let’s see what you got,” I taunted.

  The fight was on.

  TWO HOURS LATER, OUR TRAINING came to a complete halt. I didn’t have to look at who entered the gym to know trouble had just walked in. I could feel it, and by the murderous expression on Mason’s face it wasn’t going to be good. Turning around, I saw none other than my one and only nemesis, Kyle Andrews, along with another MMA fighter, J.T. Michaelson. They were both in the Heavyweight class, J.T. being a newbie fighter, and I’d completely murdered him last year when we fought at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

  Kyle was a lot harder to beat, but when he went down I took the Heavyweight title with me. Ever since then it had been his mission to fuck me—and everyone else he could—over. His usual white spiky hair was covered with a low baseball cap, and on his face was the constant leer, like he was on the inside of a private joke and you weren’t. What really made him look fucked up were his eyes; one was so dark it looked black while the other was a dull shade of green.

  The guy had been arrested several times for public brawls, and even breaking a guy’s neck in the process. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be allowed to compete, but somehow he always got away with just a slap on the wrist. If it was me I’d be banned from the UFC. How he got away with the stuff he did no one knew.

  Mason and I both jumped out of the ring and approached them head on. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I growled. “You don’t belong here.”

  “Neither do you, trailer park,” Kyle sneered. “Or have you forgotten where you come from? You’re no better than me, but yet you seem to get everything you want. How does that happen? What makes you so damn special?”

  I’d seen his game played many times before. He was goading me to make a move against him because he knew I couldn’t get away with half the shit he was capable of. I’d be kicked out of the tour in a heartbeat and lose my title.

  Knowing I needed to keep calm, I took a deep breath and smiled. “I guess I’m just lucky.”

  Kyle narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, his leer growing wider. Clenching my fists tight, I was ready to lay his ass out on the ground if I had to. If he made the first move I couldn’t be held responsible for initiating it. That fucker knew how to press buttons.

  “So, was it luck that landed you that hot piece of ass at the fight last night?” he taunted. “I hate that I missed the photo shoot. It would’ve been nice to get my hands on her. Not to mention she’s a well-known journalist who makes more money than us. She’s definitely a step up from the whores you’ve been fucking. I’d say she’s right up my alley.”

  Time moved in slow motion as one minute I kept my calm and the next I was being held back by both Mason and Carter, spitting out every expletive word I could think of. “You’re not going to touch her,” I shouted angrily, fighting against the hold Mason had around my waist. “So help me God, if you do I’m going to rip off your goddamned arms.”

  My body shook with rage, my muscles ready to fight, and my fist ready to strike. I didn’t want to hold back. He could mess with me about anything, and I wouldn’t give a shit, but mentioning Shelby was a whole other story. Mason pushed me back, getting directly in my face so he was the only person I saw.

  “Calm down,” Mason snapped, his brows furrowed angrily and sweat pouring down his face. “That worthless piece of shit isn’t going to get anywhere near your girl. He’s just messing with you. You know that.”

  Over his shoulder, Carter pushed against Kyle’s chest, making him step back and stumble across a bench onto the floor. Snarling, he got up quickly and moved toward the door.

  “Get the hell out of here! Both of you,” Carter shouted. “This is my gym and I have the say so on who is allowed in here. If I see you again, your next visit anywhere will be to the hospital, and believe me when I say you won’t be leaving
there anytime soon.”

  Kyle scoffed. “Whatever, grandpa, I’d like to see you try.” Then he turned his two-toned eyes in my direction and smirked. “Give your woman a kiss for me … or better yet, I might do it myself. I’ll have to make a visit to Physique and request she write an article about me. I can be very persuasive you know.”

  “Out!” Carter thundered furiously, marching toward the door, fists ready to fly. However, Kyle and J.T. bolted out before he could get to them. Worthless cocksuckers.

  As soon as they were gone, I thought the pounding in my head would go away, but it didn’t. What if Kyle really tried to get to Shelby? What if he wasn’t just goading me? I knew one thing … I wasn’t going to take any chances.

  “What were you thinking?” Mason growled, glaring at me like an idiot. “Do you know what you just did?”

  “What are you talking about?” I shouted, glaring at the door. “What did I do?”

  Shaking his head, Mason sighed and closed his eyes. “You just gave that dickhead all the ammunition he needed to get to you. Now he knows for a fact that Shelby is your weakness. He’s going to use that bit of knowledge to mess with you.”

  Gritting my teeth, I ripped off my gloves and threw them in my bag. What the hell did I just do?

  LEXI ARRIVED AT MY HOUSE a couple of hours early and said that Will and Caleb were going to pick us up together; it was her suggestion so that she could pilfer through my closet. After getting out of the shower, I came out to find a pile of dresses scattered on my bed and about ten pairs of shoes on the floor.

  “Um … what are you doing?” I asked, holding the towel around my body. “You better be putting my stuff back once you figure out what you’re going to wear. What’s wrong with the dress you wore here?”

  She walked out of my closet with only her bra and panties on, but when she showed up at my house she was dressed in a skin tight, red mini-dress that fit her body perfectly.

  Lexi exclaimed, “The dress I was wearing was one I wore two years ago. I wanted something new and I knew you would have a dress I liked. Did you actually go shopping without me? You have some new ones here that you didn’t have before.”