Love TKO

by Selene Chardou

  Madison smirked at me with hard blue eyes as she placed both hands with talon-length fingernails on her bony hips. “Listen, your fiancé won the fight—I suggest you go back to the party and meet up with him. You are seriously about to cross a line you aren’t going to walk away from easily.”

  “Really?” I walked over to her until we were no more than a few feet apart. “I suggest you find out who’s in the restroom before you start trash talking about them. I was never a call girl for one of those papers you get on the Boulevard but then again, what the hell do you care what I used to do for a living? Kinda like the pot callin’ the kettle black—what with your former occupation being a porn star where you sucked cock and got fucked in every hole on your body. Only your dirt is easily accessed. What are you going to tell your children when they grow up to find out what mommy’s profession was before she married their dad?”

  Madison’s face slowly drained of color. “Get the fuck out of here, cunt, before I do something I live to regret.”

  “That would be a shame…” I trailed off before I walked out of the rest room and rejoined the celebration.

  Torin found me out on the balcony several minutes later with a fluted champagne glass of Cristal. I’d had fun and was still on a high from his fight but I wanted to go home. The talk between Madison and her mystery friend truly disturbed me because how would I tell my future children what I’d done for a living before they came into my life?

  Why the hell was I thinking about kids?

  “Everything okay?” he greeted before his arms embraced me from behind and he nuzzled my neck.

  “Yeah, it’s better than okay…it’s great. I just wanna go home where you can make love to me and then we can fall asleep in one another’s arms, wake up tomorrow morning and then do it all over again. I’ve been worrying about this day for so long, I don’t know how I will get through the days now without something heavy being on my mind,” I explained in a soft voice.

  “Well, I can think of plenty of ways to occupy you.” His lips found my neck and kissed me at the base, slowly working his way up.

  “I’m serious about being preoccupied.” My eyes closed and I surrendered to the sensation of his body pressed against mine. “I know what I can do.”

  “What?”

  “I can take Amelie to Mount Charleston and we can hike for a bit. It would get me out of the house and you can spend time with your friends.”

  “I preferred your first idea of making love all day. Why can’t you take Amelie hiking on Monday? It’s summer, and she doesn’t have school—”

  “My sister has her enrolled at the YMCA summer camp. She’s gone from nine to five-thirty, Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday are her only days off.”

  “Damn, Sienna acts like the poor kid’s got a job. She can’t miss one damn day?”

  “Not if my sister has anything to do with it.” I turned around and looked into Torin’s arctic blue eyes as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Take me home, Mr. Champion.”

  Torin slid his arm around my waist and pulled me close again. “Now that is something I can definitely do.”

  WE ARRIVED AT Torin’s home shortly after one in the morning. I walked directly upstairs and slipped into a crimson silk negligee after I shed my evening designer wear.

  The whole party had been bittersweet but I couldn’t help breathe a sigh of relief. It was over. Torin would retire and have to find something else to occupy his time; in the end, we would be all right.

  If his journey to becoming a champion had taught me anything, it was I’d failed to give myself enough credit for everything I’d accomplished in my life thus far. I wasn’t satisfied with sitting on my ass and watching one day fade into another smoking joints and being tuned up on my happy pills. I would have to find a way to occupy my time and now I had a chance to do that. I could go back to school and finally get a degree.

  I’d already decided I wanted to study abnormal psychology though I had no plans on becoming a shrink. If I could stop blaming my sister for my shortcomings in life and understand her disease better, it’d be worth it.

  I was tired of living with this black hole of bitterness, and to be honest, I really had nothing to feel resentful about. I’d walked away from the life, the person I was, and transformed into someone else. Soon I would be married and at twenty-eight, my life was just beginning, not ending. Life didn’t just cease once I reached thirty, forty, fifty, sixty or beyond. I would continue to live and keep evolving and hopefully become a better person and live up to my full potential along the way. I had to believe that because if I didn’t love and believe in myself then no one else would either.

  Torin had his demons but I had my own to contend with, and perhaps once I’d conquered them, I could help him help himself. I knew I couldn’t fix him but maybe we could aid one another down this long hard road known as recovery. He would have to forgive himself for his father’s death or it would eat him up inside.

  Life was a tricky, unforgiving rocky path down a one way road that led nowhere except forward and beyond. There were no take-backs, back-downs or turnarounds we could make. If we chose to stray off that path then we had to take the punches that came our way but we always had to keep going forward.

  We’d both allowed ourselves to be strangled by living in the past where we couldn’t change anything. The only choices we could make were for the present and the future but never the past because it was dead and gone. I understood that now. I only wished I would have come to that conclusion before everything had blown up in my face, causing me to become reactionary instead of being on the offense where I belonged. If I made better choices then I could prevent this happening to me—to us—in the future.

  Torin’s arms snaked around my waist, and shattered my contemplation, as his hard body pressed against my back.

  “What are you thinking about, babe?”

  “Me, us, and this situation we changed to work for our benefit instead of against us.” I turned around in Torin’s arms and laced my arms around his neck. “You know they have something else in store for you tomorrow and I think we should be prepared for it.”

  “Yeah, I know but I also understand you have quite a beautiful mind in that head of yours…I thought I’d let you figure it out,” he said with sarcasm in his tone.

  I rolled my eyes. “From what I feel pressed against me, you don’t give a crap about talking so you know what? I’ll let you get to work on me and then we’ll discuss it after—”

  “Yes, darlin’.” He slid one strap from my negligee past my shoulder.

  “I’m serious, Tor, before you pass out on me and fall asleep from the beat down you got in that ring and the alcohol you’ve been drinkin’.” I braced my hands against his chest as his fingers teased the other strap of my negligee and tugged it down.

  “You think I’m hard of hearin’? That’s fine, you feel me?”

  “Yeah, I’m feelin’ you all right, I just wanna make sure you’re feelin’ me.”

  “I always feel you. And right now, I want to make you feel good and I want you to pass out nestled in my arms.”

  “Deal,” I whispered and my breath hitched as his arms abandoned my waist and he kissed me hard and deep. His tongue snaked into my mouth and I opened up to him and kissed him back just as hard.

  We fell back onto the bed and he straddled me while he took off his suit, tie and silk shirt with abandon. It was only then he leaned down, balancing his weight on my body as he kissed me passionately. Our lips parted and his mouth worked its way down my body, his hands caressing my breasts through the thin fabric.

  I breathed out loud as he slid the straps down my arms and grabbed both my breasts, his thumbs teasing my nipples gently. I arched my back as his mouth replaced his hands and felt the wetness as he tugged and licked my nipples with an intense need I wanted to sate for his sake and my own.

  “What do you want, darlin’?” His mouth trailed between my breasts and down my ribcage until he’d
reached my stomach.

  I looked down at him in the dimly lit bedroom suite. “All of you,” I responded as I parted my legs wider.

  Torin smiled and pulled my negligee down, past my hips and down my legs, discarding it on the bed before he spread my legs and his mouth and tongue latched onto my swollen clit. I breathed deeply and tried to delay my pleasure as he spread me wide open and willed me to come with talented fingers. The slow pressure he put against my G-spot along with the tonguing of my clit drove me over the edge.

  That’s when I felt it as it coursed through my body, short circuiting every nerve ending as it pulsated through me. I’d never felt so satisfied in my whole life.

  He stood to his feet, unbuttoning and discarding his pants on the Persian rug before he crawled toward me again. There was something absolutely mind blowing and thrilling to see a man approach you in that fashion and know that you would be satisfied several times before the night was through.

  I would never get used to how much I loved and wanted to be with this man and him alone. No one else had ever made me feel as good as he did just from one sexually charged look from his blue eyes. He set my body on fire in every way and now it was time for him to finish what he’d started.

  My arms slid around his neck, his lips descended over mine and we came together as his swollen cock pushed for entry and filled me to the brim. I wanted to feel all of him and he thrust in an out of me, our kiss deepening every time he pounded his dick inside of me.

  His arms held my waist possessively before he flipped us over without missing a beat and I sat up, using his strong thighs for balance before I began to ground down on him. I kept squeezing my kegel muscles every time I felt his cock fill me to the brim and he never lost sight of me. We never broke eye contact, and there was something extremely primal about sex like this where we bonded inside and out.

  This went past the pure physical stimulation. I could feel him sinking, plunging into my soul where he could truly see me. It made every time feel like the first except we both knew one another inside and out and we could truly bond from this shared experience.

  No one outside my family had ever known me or gotten this close to me before Torin and I wanted this feeling to last always.

  He sat up and I marveled at the feel of his hard muscular chest against my soft breasts. He pulled us closer and I continued to ride him while he thrust harder and deeper inside of me. He was close to an orgasm but then again, so was I. There was nothing better than coming with him still inside of me and my insides were swollen and sensitive, ready to unload at the slightest pressure to the right spot.

  “I love you,” Torin whispered in my ear.

  I stared into those gorgeous blue eyes and memorized every striation. “I love you too.”

  All he had to do was snake his hand between my body and rub my clit again, I immediately began to see stars as I continued to ride him and enjoy the pleasure we gave one another. It was pure heaven as I held him inside of me like a vice and low moan escaped his mouth.

  Together, we rode it out until it exhausted us and lay down next to one another as we tried to catch our breath.

  Torin grabbed my hand closest to him and brought it to his lips. “God, I really love you so fuckin’ much. I had no idea I would ever get so lucky when we met but now that I have you, just know I’m never gonna let you go.”

  I turned toward him and nestled my body next to his. “You won’t ever have to be without me. When you’re in that meeting tomorrow with Raymond, Angelo and Karl, they will have another proposition for you no doubt. They need to earn back some of the money they didn’t make tonight. Listen to whatever they have to say but remember you don’t have to agree to anything unless it’s on your terms.”

  He stroked my hair and kissed me again. “Did I mention you’re also one of the smartest and shrewdest bitches I’ve ever asked to marry me?”

  “What’re you talking about? I’m the only bitch you’ll ever marry.” I smiled at him with perfectly raised eyebrow. “When I mate, I mate for life.”

  Torin smirked. “You’re in luck because so do I.”

  He held me, nestled safely in his strong arms, and I let go, surrendering to sleep and the promise of a new day.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Torin

  TORIN ARRIVED TO the meeting the following morning twenty minutes early.

  He knew they’d never actually told him it was a meeting and apparently all he was supposed to do was pick up the original copies of the photos. He wasn’t an idiot and knew they would never give them the originals, and even if they did give him the photos, no doubt Raymond still had a copy hidden away for a rainy day.

  He refused to live his life at the whim of gangsters and Mafioso figures. He would make sure all the threatening bullshit ended today.

  Karl greeted him at the door to the conference room and looked surprised he’d turned up so early.

  “Raymond and Angelo are on their way down now.” He walked around the table to the opposite side. Torin took a seat and grabbed a bottled water.

  Although he’d promised Chiara he would retire, he still worked out like he was training for another match. This was harder than he thought it would ever be. Despite his body aching like a sixty year old arthritic, he thrived on the pain. He loved the sport and the fights. How could he give it up at the ripe age of thirty? Sure, he wouldn’t be able to play until he was past thirty-five but that was years away and might as well be a lifetime.

  After living in Vegas so long, it felt like home. He didn’t want to retire or return to Europe. Yeah, the countries were all different but he loved America in general and enjoyed Vegas in particular. The weather was perfect, there was no hurricanes, earthquakes or tornadoes and it only snowed every five years or so for a few days, tops. Plus there was all the entertainment a man could handle. Not that he needed the adult kind much anymore now that he had Chiara but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t ever go to another bar to ogle strippers with his mates.

  Torin also knew Chiara was conflicted about moving because her sister, niece, and nephew were here. She didn’t want to leave them and although Sienna was dating Kieran, who knew how long that would last? He truly didn’t understand why his brother strung other women along when everyone knew he would eventually end up with Tara. It wasn’t right to Sienna either because a man never knew how a woman would react when the relationship ended. Kieran knew that better than anyone.

  “So, the prodigal son returns?” Raymond greeted in a deep, commanding voice as he entered the room accompanied by Angelo.

  Karl crossed his arms while glancing at Torin with cold, indifferent eyes.

  “I’m not your son.” Torin sat up straight and glared at the middle-aged man.

  “Thank God for small favors. I wouldn’t want some smart-mouthed, Irish bastard like you for a son,” Angelo mumbled out loud.

  “This wasn’t supposed to be a meeting. We were supposed to keep this short and sweet. I believe you wanted to return the original photographs to me.” Torin swigged from his bottled water. “Listen, I just wanna know one thing…how the hell did you get the originals all those years ago?”

  Raymond looked at Angelo and both men started to laugh out loud.

  “Shee-it, you think you’re the only one with a British connection? I got peeps over there who will do anything for money. Not from my wife’s side of the family…my sister-in-law’s Irish and she still has family in Omagh. That’s not too far from Belfast. Anyway, she’s connected and we got the photos through the Real IRA. I picked up the photos shortly after the crime. Those Irish investigators aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. All the perps had to do was get inside the police precinct and pick them up from some detective’s work desk.”

  “Why that case though?”

  “What are you? Stupid?” Angelo shook his head like he was addressing a mentally challenged child. “Everyone knew you were going to be a somebody one day. You don’t get picked up by Neil Mahoney without be
ing talented. It’s true, you’re not as naturally adept at fighting as your brother but you are still above motherfuckin’ average and entertaining as hell.

  “Me and Raymond was talkin’ and we also consulted Neil too—this morning, I should add. Personally, we’re thinkin’ all this talk about retirement is just that—talk. You’re gonna stay another couple years, maybe three or four…however you’ve gotta make sure we make our money back plus a healthy bonus. Or what, did you think we were just giving you Chiara for free?”

  Torin buried his head in his hands.

  Man, these son of a bitches had played him good.

  When it all came down to what they wanted, they were still smartin’ about his fiancée’s early retirement. They wouldn’t give up until he paid all the money she would have made for them and now, he was on their tab, and the interest had to be something sick.

  “Let me get this: you want me to pay you back for the five-odd months Chiara didn’t work?”

  “Give the man a prize,” Karl mused dryly. “Did you hurt your head thinking that hard?”

  “Fuck you, Karl! I have no problem paying you back but I won’t allow you to bully me into working any more years than I want to—”

  “Are you under some delusion this is a negotiation, ya dumb mick bastard?” Angelo questioned in a cold voice. “I told Raymond we should have taken out my no good daughter’s kids but no, he wanted to give you a chance to make this all right. Are you listenin’ to what I’m talkin’ about? You’re gonna pay that money back or I’ll make your life fuckin’ miserable. As it is, I was able to get her half mick, half Polack ex-hubby a damned good lawyer. He’s takin’ their son back to Baltimore and she’ll lose joint custody of him. Should I get it over with and murder her daughter because you don’t want to do what we tell you to do?”

  Torin shook his head. “Angelo—”

  “It’s Mister Abandonato to you, pal! I’m not your fuckin’ friend.”