Reckless: A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Romance (Warrior Zone Fighters Book 3)

by Tia Lewis

  She patted my arm and moved out the door, allowing a sigh of relief. The ballroom was emptying out rapidly now, well past midnight and probably most of the attendees' bedtime. My feet hurt and I was starving, but the tallies were coming in for the silent auction, and we were well over a million dollars in just a few items alone. It had been a success.

  Jarred stopped before me as he and his wife, Evie headed toward the door, Evie giving me a quick hug. “Great job, Sarah. Everything was perfect.”

  “Thanks,” I said, eyeing my brother. “Are you done with your chest puffing for the night or should I warn your wife?”

  “I’m just looking out for you,” he answered darkly as Evie looked up at him in surprise. “He’s a fighter, Sarah. He’s here to do a job that you are paying him for. Don’t let him get you thinking otherwise.”

  “Oh my god, are you giving her relationship advice?” Evie asked in horror, pulling on his arm. “Come on Dr. Phil. Leave your sister alone. She knows what she is doing.” She then winked at me. “Besides, he’s a hottie. No woman would fault you if you let him in the sack.”

  Jarred groaned, but Evie was already moving him toward the exit. I laughed and walked back into the venue, where the workers were already clearing the tables, another charity event in the books. Normally, I would leave, find a greasy burger and a good wine and go toast my success but I had other plans tonight, and he was standing against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. At least he hadn’t left after the run in with my brother. He was the star of the show; the one everyone was going to come and see. I needed him to cooperate, even if he didn’t like it.

  Drawing in a breath, I walked over to him, stepping out of my shoes in the process and gathering them in my hands. “So, you ready to blow this joint?”

  He pushed off the wall and met me halfway until we were standing in front of each other. “I’ve been ready.”

  “Thank you for staying,” I said softly, my eyes searching his. “I know this isn’t your kind of thing and with the thing earlier.”

  He shrugged and pulled at the bowtie, unraveling it until it hung in limp strands around his neck. I watched as he unfastened the top two buttons, watching him transform from my hot date to the hot fighter I knew he was. At least he wasn’t looking at me like he wanted to kill me. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

  He slid his hands through his hair as we walked to the exit. “Just don’t hold me responsible for what happens in that cage.”

  “I won’t,” I said. Jarred was on his own.

  We walked outside and down the stairs, the night crisp and cool. There was a car waiting for me, the driver holding the door open and I drew in a breath, turning toward Paul. “Can I give you a lift?” I asked.

  He shook his head slowly, his eyes on my face. “No, I’m good.”

  “Alright then,” I said, attempting not to look disappointed as I stuck out my hand. “Thank you for coming tonight.”

  He reached for it, and I gasped as he pulled me against him, my body colliding with his. “I should be pissed at you,” he said softly as he watched my expression. “I should be, but I’m not.”

  “T-that’s good,” I forced out as my nerves went haywire. “I don’t like people mad at me.”

  “Any other surprises you need to tell me about?”

  I shook my head. “No, no more.”

  “Good,” he said before his lips descended on mine. I gasped once more, his tongue finding its way into my mouth and doing the tango with mine. There was a sweep of heat that raced through my body as he molded his lips to mine, my knees buckling as it nearly took over. The world dropped away as he stroked the inside of my mouth with his tongue, his hand tightening in mine. I had dreamed of his kiss, but this was way hotter than the last.

  Finally, he broke off, putting several feet between us as he raked his hand through his hair. “I can’t, hell, get into the car, Sarah.”

  I didn’t even try to talk him into anything else, taking no time to get into the car, the driver shutting the door behind me. My hands were literally shaking at the thought of how good, darn good, Paul and I would be together if he just gave me half the chance. At least he wasn’t mad at me anymore.

  Leaning back on the seat, I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. The gala had been a hit, and the fight was going to be as well. I just knew it. It had to be, or I was sunk.

  15

  Paul

  I saw the guy before he saw me, slowing my steps as I approached the gym. I was in a foul mood, having not slept at all the night before. The kiss, the thought of killing her brother with my bare fists, they had kept me up far longer than I had cared to. This was a fucking crazy situation, and if I didn’t need the money so badly, I would be skipping out on that contract. Her brother was going to get seriously hurt, and I knew I would be to blame, even if he had volunteered to fight me.

  The guy turned, and I saw it was the other dude from the party, the one that I still was attempting to put my finger on. I knew him from somewhere. “We need to talk,” he said immediately, a frown on his face.

  I chuckled. “I don’t have to talk to anyone, dude. Watch your tone.”

  His gaze narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine, whatever. I shouldn’t be here anyway.”

  I took in his khakis and polo shirt, the expensive watch on his wrist. Yeah, this wasn’t his side of town. “Why are you here?” I didn’t ask how he found me. Hell, it wasn’t hard to do so. I spent most of my time in this gym anyway.

  He looked at me. “I think you’re my brother.”

  I burst into laughter. “What? Dude, you’re cracked in the head.” I had one brother, and he was betting on me to finish this whole contract thing through so he could get the meds he needed. “You look nothing like my brother.”

  He stuck out his hand, blowing out a breath. “I’m Jack Mission, and I think my bastard of a father is yours as well.”

  I ignored his hand, feeling my blood boil. His father was the fucker who had abandoned my mother? I was related to this guy? No way. This was not happening. “I’m not your brother,” I forced out, wanting to do nothing but to get away from him.

  Jack dropped his hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “Here’s the address to my place. If you want to talk about this, find me.”

  I snatched the paper out of his hand, shoving it in my bag without looking at it. “Leave me the hell alone.”

  Jack held up his hands. “Done.” He then walked away, and I shook it off, walking into the familiar comforts of the gym. Shit. This could not be happening. Was this the other family? Was this the family that was living the high life while mine had scraped and clawed our way to survive? My life was going to shit, quickly.

  Pissed off, I walked to the back, too keyed up to even stop and talk to anyone. I needed in the cage, and I needed to be in there now.

  “Shit man. I am going to be walking funny for a week.”

  I threw off my gloves and shook my head, sending sprays of sweat all over the mat. Poor Benji. I hadn’t meant to go at him so hard, but my anger over last night and this morning had taken over, and he had been lucky to block as many of my punches as he had. “Sorry. I’m just having an off day.”

  Benji chuckled as he pushed open the cage door. “Dude, if you have that kind of energy in the cage for your charity match, the other guy won’t stand a chance.”

  My mood darkened. “I’m fighting the fucking brother.”

  Benji looked back at me. “Yeah, I figured as much. I’ve been training Jarred for a while now. He’s not gonna be a walk in the park, Paul. He’s actually pretty good.”

  I stopped in my tracks. “What the hell? You couldn’t tell me this before now?”

  Benji shrugged as he pulled off his gloves, throwing them in his bag. “I didn’t think he would actually go through with it.”

  I ran a hand through my wet hair, not believing this. First, the fucker this morning who thought he was my long lost brother
and now this. This shit wasn’t worth my time or effort. “I’ll kill him,” I said softly as we gathered our stuff. “And then I will go to jail.”

  Benji chuckled. “Dude you’re not going to kill him. Jarred will hold his own. Just stick to the song and dance routine, give the people a good show, and get your paycheck. Easy as that.”

  I frowned as we walked to the showers, wishing it was that easy. My phone rang, and I pulled it out of my bag, holding it up to my ear. “Yeah.”

  “Paul.”

  I closed my eyes briefly. “Sarah, what do you want?”

  “I just want to thank you for last night again. I was wondering, I mean, can we have dinner tonight?”

  She was asking me out to dinner. I should say no. I should tell her to fuck off, tell them all to fuck off and stay out of my life. “Yeah, whatever.”

  “Great. I can pick you up from the gym. Will that be alright?”

  I made a sound that was akin to an agreement and hung up. I shouldn’t be eating with her. I shouldn’t be doing anything with her at all.

  Hours later, I stood outside the gym, watching as the cars passed. My body was sore from my workout in the cage this morning as well as the multiple training sessions with some of my clients. I was going to be in pain in the morning; there was no doubt about it.

  A car pulled up, and the passenger side window rolled down. I walked over and stuck my head in, seeing Sarah’s hesitant smile. “Hey, you ready?”

  I opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, throwing my bag in the back. “Yeah.”

  She pulled away from the curb and cleared her throat. “Do you have anything particular in mind? I was thinking a cheeseburger.”

  “Why did you ask me out tonight?”

  Sarah stopped the car at a red light, drawing in a breath before looking over. “Honestly, I really don’t know.”

  I could take that. She was just as confused about whatever was going on between us as I was. “Cheeseburgers sound great.”

  She gave me a little nod and shortly we were pulling in front of a dive of a bar, the flickering sign surprising me. How did she know about this place? “Come on,” she said, pulling the keys out of the engine and grabbing her purse. I followed her suit, half expecting her to take me to one of those fancy restaurants or something.

  We walked in, and the guy behind the bar held up his hand. “Sarah! Long time.”

  “I know,” she answered. “Two of your specials, Travis. Oh, and some beers.”

  “Got it,” Travis said giving her a wink before disappearing through the swinging door. Sarah led us over to a scarred table and settled on one of the high back chairs, looking pleased with herself.

  “Alright, spill it,” I said. “This isn’t a normal place for a girl like you.”

  “Travis is an old college buddy,” she answered as two frosty mugs were placed in front of us.

  I arched a brow. “The one that taught you to play pool?”

  She laughed, picking up her beer. “Yes, the very one. How did you know?”

  I shrugged and took a large swallow of beer, relishing in the cold liquid. “A guess.”

  “A good one,” Sarah said, cupping her mug. I tried not to pay attention to her sparkling eyes, or the way she was pouring into her flimsy blouse that gave me the slightest hint of her breasts whenever she moved. I wished I could say I wasn’t fucking attracted to her, but after the way she looked last night, she was all I could think about. Dammit.

  I drained my mug quickly to give myself something else to think about. “That Jack dude, what do you know about him?”

  “Jack?” she asked, surprise flickering in her eyes. “He’s a family friend. I’ve known him all my life.”

  “What about his father?” I asked, unable to help myself. He had seemed so sure about the fact that we were brothers, a relation I did not particularly want.

  She cocked her head to the side, a curious expression on her face. “Why are you so interested in him, Paul? Did he say something?”

  I shook my head. “Forget it.” It was crazy. He wasn’t my brother. He was mistaken.

  She looked at me for a moment before taking another sip of her beer. “His father is into investments, works a great deal overseas. Jack is starting to head up the stateside investment firm. It’s just the two of them now. His mom died of cancer years ago.”

  “Forget I asked,” I muttered, not feeling an ounce of sympathy for the man that could be the sperm donor. I didn’t want to know anything else.

  Luckily the burgers arrived, and we could turn our attention to something else instead of my fucking mess of a life.

  16

  Sarah

  Paul was troubled about something. I could see it in his expression, his demeanor. Something had bothered him. So how did Jack play into this? Jack and I had grown up together, and though our families would like to see us together in more of a romantic role, I had never really been interested. No, I was partial to bad boys with a surly attitude, hence the one across from me. I hadn’t lied to him. I didn’t know what had compelled me to call him earlier and invite him out, but I wanted to make sure he was fine from last night. That and the searing kiss I had experienced right before we had parted ways. I had dreamed of him, of things that he could do to me until I had woken up hot and bothered. He intrigued me. What more could I say?

  I pulled up in front of the gym and cut the engine, my nerves getting the better of me. What would he do now? Would he kiss me again? I hoped he would kiss me again.

  “Thanks for dinner,” he was saying.

  “You’re welcome,” I said, feeling lightheaded from the beer I consumed.

  “You wanna come in?” he asked suddenly, startling me.

  I looked at him to find him watching me intently, unable to read his expression. “C-come in?”

  “Never mind,” Paul said, opening the door. I scrambled to do the same, rounding the car as he shut the passenger side door. “I’d love to come in.”

  He walked over to the gym door and inserted a key, opening the door and allowing me to walk through. The gym smelled like rubber and stale sweat, a bit creepy with no one around. The cages loomed in the darkness, and I walked over to one, touching the cool metal with my fingers. “I have to confess,” I said aloud. “Fighting makes me insanely curious.”

  Paul chuckled, dropping the keys on the bench. “I can teach you some moves.”

  Oh, I was sure he could teach me more than that, but I turned around anyway. He looked like a predator, all dark and dangerously sexy. I was in trouble. He motioned for me to follow him, slipping off his shoes before walking up the metal stairs to the cage. I did the same, my bare feet connecting with the springy mat inside the cage. “You know, my brother is slightly obsessed with this kind of fighting. He’s even got a mini cage in his basement.”

  He rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, shaking his head. “I hope your brother knows what he is getting into.”

  I gave a little shrug. “I’m sure this will be his one and only if Evie has anything to say about it.” She had refused to talk to him for a few days after Jarred had come up with the plan. “Now, what would be the first move I would need to learn?”

  “A proper punch,” he said, walking over. “Always keep your thumb tucked in.”

  I balled up a fist and held it out for his inspection. “Like this?”

  Paul nodded, giving it a critical eye. “Now throw it at me.”

  I arched a brow. “Should you have some of those protector things on your hands?”

  “I think I’ll be just fine.”

  Biting my lip, I reared back and threw the punch, coming up short of his outstretched hand. “No, no,” Paul said immediately, walking around behind me. “You got to make it a fluid motion, not a jab.”

  My breath caught as he moved in close, his chest barely brushing my back as his hand slid down my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. My blood roared through my body as he cupped his hand around mine, pulli
ng my arm back and forth to show me how to be fluid. I really didn’t care. All I could concentrate on was his closeness and the warmth that was dwarfing my body. When his lips found my neck, I sighed in happiness, his hardness pressing against my rear end. His hand slid up my arm as his teeth grazed my sensitive skin just below my ear. I gasped as he trailed down to my shoulder with his lips, his hand sliding over my shoulder and down my side, pulling me against him. Yes. This was so what I wanted.

  When he spun me around, I reached out to grasp his broad shoulders, feeling the bite of the cool metal of the cage at my back. Paul placed his hands on either side of my head, trapping me in. Not that I was looking for a way to escape. He leaned in and my knees literally buckled at the feel of his hot breath in my ear. “What do you want, Sarah?”

  At that moment, I knew what I wanted. We had danced around the thought way too much in the last few days, and if I walked away tonight, it wasn’t going to happen. I wanted him. I was an adult; he was an adult. What was stopping us? “W-what do you want?” I asked boldly, my voice quivering in my own ears as he captured my earlobe in his teeth, his tongue darting out and wetting it. My body became instantly flushed with desire, and I gasped at the onslaught of feelings.

  “I want you.”

  Three words that could mean so much. Not exactly the three words every girl begs to hear, but I was going to take them regardless.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  He was stone faced and brooding, looking devilishly handsome in the dim light of the gym. “W-what?”

  “You heard me, Sarah. I’m giving you an out if you want it. You don’t owe me anything.”

  I swallowed hard, knowing I should say no. There was no doubt that if I slept with Paul, I was going to be hurt in the end. Guys like him, they didn’t settle with girls like me.

  But there was a small, tiny piece of me that wanted to throw caution to the wind, to just have this small sliver of a night with a hot, hunky guy like Paul and do all of my regrets in the morning. He intrigued me; he turned me on like an oven. I would be stupid not to take this chance. “I want to do this.”