Holy shit! I’d figured he would try and make it last, being his final fight, but holy hell that was amazing! Everyone screamed and was on their feet. I had forgotten all about the woman next to me and was focused on Arson who was staring me down while I jumped around and cheered for him.
He jumped up to the top of the cage and pumped his arms up and down for the crowd before doing something unexpected. He climbed down the outside of the fence and headed straight for me. Everyone around me started hooting and hollering. As soon as we were within arm’s distance I launched myself at him and he pulled me into his arms, holding me up and kissing me, mouth guard and all. There was a tinge of blood mixed in our kiss, but I didn’t care. This was our life, our passion, and I loved every single bit of it. The whole arena disappeared and all that mattered was Arson and I.
He set me down and grasped my hand.
“Amazing fight Arson,” the woman next to me purred to him. He glanced at her and his face was hard as stone. He said nothing. His eyes turned to me next and my earlier suspicions were confirmed. She saw me as a threat for some odd reason. I was a fighter; I knew when someone wanted a fight, and this woman was gunning for me. Arson pulled me away and together we went to back into the cage, where he accepted his title as the reigning champion of the heavyweight division. It was a little awkward to be up there with him, but I knew we wouldn’t get in trouble. If anything their rating had just jumped up. I could see it now.
The Princess and Prince of MMA together! Yeah I had been called the Princess pre-injury; it was ironic that Arson called me that as well. Hm. When it was time to go, he pulled me out of the cage and we walked back to the lockers together.
Chapter Nineteen
There was more?
“Arson. You have to tell me what is going on.” I couldn’t wait any longer. I hated being kept in the dark about things and his behavior with that woman was not sitting well with me. He said nothing until we were in the locker room, alone. He let go of my hand and started pacing, running his gloved fingers through his hair.
“Arson,” I demanded.
“Shit. That was Julianne Tate. She is the widowed woman who took me in when I was sixteen. Remember I told you about her?” I nodded. Now I was really confused; why would someone like her take in someone like him? An eerie feeling slithered up my spine, but I knew it couldn’t be for the reasons that were creeping into my head. It just couldn’t be.
He kept pacing and I stayed silent. There had to more to this conversation than that.
“Fuck.” He punched a locker close to him, leaving a big dent in his wake.
“Arson, what the hell!” His sudden outburst was unexpected. I walked over to his hand and looked at it. I knew he was covered but he’d just hit metal at full force. His hand looked red but okay, no cuts.
“She took me in to be her little sex toy.” My hands froze on his. Had I heard him right?
“She had seen me and found out about me being an orphan. I mean, shit, I was just excited to have a place to stay that wasn’t a shit hole, and fuck if a woman wanting sex from you wasn’t a bad thing in my sixteen-year-old mind. I should have just stayed on the street, fighting my way through life instead of getting in her car.” He ripped his hand from mine and sat down on the bench with his elbows on his knees. His head fell into his hands.
“I saw her sitting there next to you and I was worried she would tell you herself. She never comes to my fights anymore; she had to have been here to meet you. Somehow she fucking knew about you. Christ I was so scared she was making you leave me, telling you everything.” I felt my heart drop a little. There was more?
“There’s more?” I had to know. I stood where I was and looked at him. With his head still in his hands, he said something I would have never expected to come out of his mouth.
“To repay her for taking me in, she made me the main escort at her business. I was a whore to the women who could afford me. I felt like I had to, and for a while it never bothered me. The lifestyle…” His head raised and he looked at me. There were tears gathering in his and he looked heartbroken. I struggled to think of what to say.
“When did you stop doing this?”
“When I saw you. I knew you could never be with a man who whored himself for money and a woman who extorted his disadvantages. I see that now. I’ve tried to become a better man, a man that you could fall for. I should have told you, but I knew you would have left me.” He should have told me, but again, he was right. I probably would have left him, deemed him to be too much drama.
I walked to the bench next to him and sat down, processing everything he had just admitted. It was too much. I needed time. Hell, I was falling in love with him; I was probably already past the point of leaving, but I just didn’t know what to do with the information.
“I’m going back to the hotel. I’m not leaving you, but I need to think, okay?” His eyes pleaded with me to give him more but I couldn’t.
“Ok,” he conceded as I stood up. I caressed the side of his face softly. He turned into my hand and kissed it briefly. I walked out of there and decided to just keep walking. I needed to think, and walking was the only thought I had right then that would help. I walked down the strip and let myself think about everything.
That woman, the hot, fake woman, had taken young Arson in at sixteen and used him for sex. Not only did she do that, she whored him out to the rich and willing. Could I really fault him for being a young man and being open to money and sex? He’d grownup with nothing so it was a big step up, but he was older now, so that meant throughout his twenties he’d been living it up with these women. God I was so confused. Did I want to leave him? I knew that answer right away: no.
But could I live with knowing he was paid for sex? I guessed in a way he’d been forced into it by that evil woman who’d taken him in. He was just young and happy to be cared for. I wanted to head back to the hotel and run into his arms. He had looked so heartbroken over the thought of me leaving him.
In the few weeks we had known each other, he had changed my whole world. He was not only an amazing person with a bad boy exterior, but someone with a heart of gold who would do anything for those he cared for. He loved me and treated me like the princess he called me. I was an adult and I could understand that all of this was his past, not his future. He wanted me to be his future, but did I want to be his? I stopped in front of a casino and leaned against one of their columns.
What did I want? If I couldn’t take it anymore, now would be the time to leave. If I could really place this information in the past, then I could move on. I mulled over that question for a few minutes and finally settled on a conclusion I felt was the right one.
I did want a future with Arson, but there was still a lot more I needed to know. I had to have all the information. I took a minute before heading back to the hotel and just people-watched, cooling my head so I could talk to Arson calmly. Vegas was an interesting place. Tourists oohed and aahed at all the lights. People wore super revealing clothing, looking to party.
All in all, Vegas was just filled with people having a good time, although I did see some sad faces of those who’d probably lost their money. Vegas was also a trap in that way; you could lose a lot. Feeling better, I pushed off the column and started walking back to the hotel.
I was usually pretty aware of my surroundings while out and about, so I was pretty damn shocked when hands wrapped around me and pulled me in through a door into a lightly lit hallway.
My back hit the wall and I looked at the three men that were holding me.
“I was wondering when you were gonna come back mi amore. Had our eye on you we did. Saw your sweet ass walking by and knew we had to have that. Lucky you.” The one that had his hand over my mouth leaned in close to me to utter those nasty words. Ick.
I took in their appearance, seeing if they had any weapons on them. The man to my right was tall with pale white skin, blond hair, and hazel eyes. He was skinny, and if my eyes didn’t deceive me, ha
d a gun tucked into his pants.
The man to my left that was holding my hands behind my back was bulkier with dark tan skin, definitely of Latin decent. I had the feeling he was the brawn of the operation, the muscle. No weapon in sight, he probably felt he was a weapon himself. Dumb.
The man in front of me was smaller, Latin as well. He had black hair and green eyes that were actually quite beautiful; too bad he had a mouth on him and liked to kidnap girls. He went to open his mouth again and I struck.
These boys obviously did not know who they’d grabbed. I brought my knee up and hit the mouthy one in the stomach. Muscle’s surprise gave me the edge to twist my hands around and grab his. I threw my shoulder into him and tossed him over me, to the ground. The blond quickly tried to grab his gun but I was faster; I spun around and kicked it out of his hand. Muscles had recovered and tried to throw some punches. I dodged every one of them and went to the floor, swiping my foot around and knocking him to the ground again.
Mouth finally let go of his stomach and came at me. Not a smart move. I started with my right hand and punched him hard right in the nose. Blood shot out from the top where I had broken it.
“Bitch!” He cursed and came back for more. Really dude? I threw a few jabs then an uppercut to his jaw. He fell back, holding his nose as the blond found some courage and came at me with a knife he had pulled out of his pants. I kept my focus on him while still aware of the others. Muscles was slowly walking up behind me, as if I didn’t see him.
They attacked at the same time. Muscles tried to grab me but I twisted around and blocked his attempt and at the same time spun us so he was between me and the blond, who was not very smart and stabbed Muscles.
He hollered in pain and I used my head to butt his, knocking him back into the blond. They fell down together and rolled over, then ran toward the door. Mouth was right behind him.
“This ain’t over bitch! I know who you are now.” Good, then he knew I could handle whatever he could bring. Maybe because I was feeling hyped from the fight or I was just nuts, I blew him a kiss before he stormed off through the door.
As soon as I felt like they were gone and wouldn’t be waiting for me, I opened the door and peeked outside. No sign of them. I took off in a run toward the hotel. I was feeling all kinds of emotions and even though I had skills to get me out of those situations, it still could have gone badly if they had been more prepared or if there were more men.
I shuddered thinking about it. I needed to get back to the hotel immediately. It didn’t take me long but I was sporting a little sheen of sweat when I entered the hotel and went to the elevators.
I pulled out my key as I approached the door and hurried to open it. Would Arson be back by now? I hoped so.
As soon as I opened the door I spotted him. He was pacing in the living room area. He looked frantic. I closed the door behind me and his body froze. I set my cards on the table and walked toward him. He hadn’t looked at me yet, and I didn’t quite know what to make of that.
“Arson?” I approached him like one would approach the Hulk—with caution. He looked unstable. Still no response. I stopped in front of him and slowly brought my hand to his face. He was staring at my shirt and his body, if possible, seemed to tense more.
“Why are you covered in blood?” I was confused, then looked down. Oops. It would seem that when I’d broken Mouth’s nose I’d gotten some blood on me. I realized I must have looked like a crazy person running down the strip with blood on my shirt.
“On my way back to the hotel three men grabbed me.” His eyes snapped up to mine. He looked over me for any damage.
“I’m okay. They’re worse off, trust me. They had no idea who they grabbed so I was easily able to take them on, but you know what?” I waited for him to bring those eyes back to mine before I continued.
“Having just been through something that could have ended badly has made me realize some things.” He looked at me with confusion and sadness. Did he think I was going to tell him I was leaving?
“What you said, it’s in the past right? You aren’t part of that life anymore?” He nodded and stayed silent.
“ Ok,” I said out loud, more for myself than for him.
“Just now I could have lost you, lost my life, everything. I don’t want to waste time with things of the past, or denying my feelings.
I love you Arson. I think I have all along, I’ve just been scared and didn’t see it. I’m not going anywhere. All I want is you.” The words flew out, but they were true. I kept thinking I was falling for him, but really I already had.
I didn’t think it was possible for someone to fall for a person they had just met, so my own mind had been in the way of my emotions, but after that night I was not holding anything back. I couldn’t have cared less how many women he’d slept with. I’d slept with quite a few men myself. I’d never done it for money, but with what he had told me about his life, I couldn’t really blame him.
“You love me?” he asked sternly. I nodded.
“Yeah, I do.” I smiled and his lips smashed to mine. It caught me by surprise but I quickly responded. Our tongues meshed as our hands moved over our bodies. It felt much like the time we’d first made love.
Every touch was full of emotion. His fingers went to the clasps on my jeans and I shimmied out of them. As soon as I was bare below the waist I undid his belt, but before I could undo them I was lifted up by Arson’s rough hands on my ass. I wrapped my legs around him and continued our kiss.
Seconds later my back hit the wall and I went back to work on his jeans. I got them open and released him from their confinement. I was so ready when he impaled me against the wall with his cock. I cried out into his mouth from the little pleasure waves that coursed through me. He moved me with his hands as he pulled out and pushed back in hard.
Relentlessly he moved and drove me higher and harder. My hands gripped his back and I scratched at his shirt. Our lips dislodged and my head fell back against the wall. His lips met my neck and continued at his punishing pace. My body started to tighten and throb. So close.
“Tell me again,” he barked, and I felt my pussy start to quiver; I loved his dominant side.
“I love you.” I moaned and he moved faster and harder, slamming me down on his cock with every thrust. Nailing me to the wall like a painting.
“Fuck I love you Arson!” I cried out again, and he rewarded me when his teeth sank into my neck.
Explosion.
My release hit, and I screamed out I love yous as my body shook and my vision blacked out. Holy hell. I rode out the waves when I felt him swell inside me before his groans of release filled the air. I loved the feeling of him coming inside me.; one could say it was close to the feeling of climaxing itself.
He moved toward the bathroom, his cock still inside me. I was a little sensitive, but I found myself responding to him, growing wetter and more wanton.
Chapter Twenty
No regrets, only lessons
He turned on the shower and only let me go to take off our shirts and his jeans the rest of the way off.
I was once again hauled up as soon as we were naked and wrapped my legs back around him, where they belonged.
“My princess.” He rolled his hips, making his growing erection rub against my clit.
“Yours, so yours.” He growled at my words and kissed me with a passion. The water ran down my back as another stream of water hit his—gotta love Vegas hotels, they were usually meant for more than one person.
He took me standing in the middle of the shower, using his strength and cock alone, and I loved every single second of it. After we dried off and ate some dinner, we settled onto the couch and talked while watching a movie.
“I’m proud of you, your fight, everything you’ve accomplished. I can’t wait to see your dojo,” I told him. I was excited about it, although seeing Arson around kids might not be good for my ovaries. Instant pregnancy should probably be labeled as a warning on the door for all who ent
ered.
“I really wouldn’t have changed if I’d never seen you. I should be thanking you for capturing my heart and soul, giving me the inspiration to change.” He was sweet.
“You did it all on your own,” I retorted.
“So what now?” I got off that little subject. He smiled, knowing I wasn’t wanting any more attention on me.
“Well, I need to make my move to Florida more permanent. I’ve also been looking at a few places that could work for my dojo. Just need to get inside, see what all I would need to do and get working on it. Probably have it open in a few months.” His eyes lit up talking about it. Anyone could see this was his passion. He loved to fight, but helping others was what it was all about for him.
“That sounds awesome.” I would get to keep seeing him. In the back of my mind I was worried about if he would move back to California or stay in Florida. Obviously if he moved back to Cali I would try to make it work, but I knew it would be hard.
“Will you tell me about growing up with her?” I wasn’t upset anymore; she was an evil woman, end of story.
“She saw me fighting in an underground ring, heard about me and that I had no parents or real home. She approached me and offered me a place to stay, somewhere safe, warm. She said a young man like me shouldn’t being living like I was. I had too much potential.” I was draped across his chest. His hand was rubbing my head lightly. It was soothing.
“She just wanted you for your body, didn’t she?” I asked softly. I didn’t have to see him to know he was nodding.
“It probably wasn’t even a week before she cornered me in her kitchen and propositioned me. I was young, horny, and thought it was the least I could do since she had taken me in. I should have just left right then but I was dumb. It lasted for a while, then when I turned twenty-one she proposed meeting with her friends. They paid me to do things with them, word got around, and the elite women in California wanted a piece of the notorious Arson Kade. I never wanted that life; I guess I just felt like I couldn’t do any better.” His voice sounded so sad. I wished he hadn’t gone through any of that. I wished I could have been his friend back then and told him how special he was, how big his heart was. Then I would have kidnapped him from that woman and made him live in my mom’s spare bedroom. I hated that woman for him.
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