Fighting Love

by Marysol James

  Where the hell is all this coming from man? Fairy-tale princesses never go for guys like you, idiot. They always go for the princes with chiseled features who spout flowery poems and whose daddies run the kingdom.

  “Hey, Mitch,” Adam said. “I’d like you to meet someone. This is Reena Mackay.”

  Reena. Gorgeous name.

  “Hi,” Mitch said extending his massive hand. “Mitch Corrigan.”

  Her hand disappeared in his. “It’s good to meet you.”

  God, even her voice was sweet. He gazed down at her, noticing now that a faint scent of roses hung around her. Her lips were pink and curved, and her smile was genuine. He wondered just what she was doing in The Rock, and why Adam and Nick had brought her to him. What the hell could he and a woman like this possibly have to discuss?

  “Reena’s looking for a roommate,” Nick explained. “You still need a place to stay, right?”

  Mitch blinked. The thought that he might actually live with this woman simultaneously took his breath away and freaked the hell right out of him.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

  Reena looked at Mitch, imagining what it would be like to paint him. Unlike Gavin, Mitch wasn’t typically handsome with symmetrical features and a nice smile. Gavin was large and muscular but somehow still approachable and friendly. He was a good-looking guy, a man that women felt safe with right away, despite his size.

  By contrast, Mitch looked tough and dangerous, and so he appealed to her deeply as a subject. He stood there now, his naked torso gleaming with sweat, his chest and back covered in tattoos and scars and bruises. Reena guessed that he’d had his nose broken a few times, and his massive body was tightly coiled, like he was just waiting to start punching something or someone. His eyes were hard and dark green, without a flicker of softness; his hair was dark and cut close to his head. Even his voice was deep and rough, and when he had shaken her hand, she’d felt the hard skin on his fingers. Not one inch of this man’s body was soft or gentle, and she stared up at him, astounded at his raw, overwhelming, intimidating power.

  It would be amazing to paint him, she thought, to try to capture that ferocious energy on a flat, limited surface. She’d use lots of dark colors splashed with flashes of passionate hues: reds, purples, some burnt-orange. His portrait would be fierce and hot; it would practically growl from the canvas, it would fight to free itself from any frame foolish enough to attempt to restrain it.

  “Well,” she said. “I do need a roommate, and pretty fast. Do you want to come and see the place?”

  Mitch stared at her some more. “Uh. You’d want to live with me? Even though you don’t know the first thing about me?”

  She smiled at him. “Adam and Nick have vouched for you. That’s good enough for me. Maybe you need to think if you want to live with me.”

  Mitch grinned and Reena was surprised at what a difference it made to his face. Gone was the hard, brutal man she’d seen in the ring two minutes before, and in his place was a guy who was undeniably sexy. Not soft, certainly, and still not handsome, but some part of Reena just couldn’t help but respond to his rampant masculinity, to his large, hard body covered in muscle with a smattering of dark hair across that broad chest. This wasn’t the kind of guy who’d recite poetry in the moonlight or slowly remove her clothes. He’d rip the material right off her trembling body, throw her on his bed, take her without apology, leave her screaming and breathless.

  Now why am I thinking about him ripping my clothes off and throwing me on a bed? Come on, Reena. Focus here.

  “What’s the most annoying thing about you, Reena?” he asked her.

  “Hmmm.” She looked at him, really thinking about it. “I’m vegetarian, which makes some people think I’m a smug hippie. And I’m a painter who sometimes gets up in the middle of the night to work and then I sleep all day, so some people think I’m a lazy smug hippie.”

  Totally charmed by her, he laughed. “Yeah, I can see how that’d annoy some people. Myself, I’m not bothered by either of those things.”

  She smiled. “You? How are you annoying?”

  “I’m a fucking zombie in the mornings, and I’m not very chatty at the best of times. And I’m always beaten up, or beating someone else up.” He paused, suddenly realizing that he had sworn in front of a lady. “Also, I swear a lot. Sorry.”

  Now she laughed and he liked the way that her whole face lit up. “So… that’s it? You’re not a morning person and you’re always looking for a fight and you can curse a blue streak?”

  He grinned again. “Yep.”

  “Well, I can live with all of that.” She cocked her head at him. “You want to come and see the apartment later today? Maybe around four o’clock?”

  Mitch gazed at her, wishing that he could touch that golden hair. He bet it would be as soft as silk against his rough fingers.

  “Yeah, OK,” he said. “I’ll drop by. What’s the address?”

  **

  Mitch looked around the apartment, a bit stunned at how nice it was. Airy, lots of windows and light, good space, fully furnished with pretty great furniture. And the price was right, too.

  He glanced at Reena. She was leaning against the far wall watching him and when their eyes met, she smiled.

  “So,” she said. “What do you think?”

  “It’s fucking great,” he said. “Better than I expected.”

  God, watch the mouth, boy.

  “I know, right?” She walked across the living room and he felt his whole body lean a bit closer to her as she passed him. “This would be your room here. Would it bother you that it’s right off the living room and kitchen area?”

  “Nope. I sleep like a rock.”

  “OK. Take a look.”

  He stepped in to the bedroom and took in the huge wooden bed, the dark furniture, the window facing the Rockies. “It’s perfect, Reena. Really.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Fuck, yeah.” He sighed internally. “I mean, yes.”

  She grinned at him. “The blue streak?”

  “You know it.”

  “Anyway,” she said. “You could walk in with a suitcase and be totally settled. Nothing at all to buy, which is awesome.”

  “Dishes and stuff?”

  “All included, plus I have some things of my own. A few throw-rugs for the floor, plants, stuff to personalize it a bit. Make it warmer.”

  “I have a motorcycle… is there any place for me to park it?”

  “Yeah. We have one spot in the parking garage included in the lease, and I don’t have a car. Nothing on the street, though.”

  “That’s OK. It’s better in the winter, anyway, for my bike to be indoors.” Mitch looked around again. “And where’s your room?”

  “This way.” She led him back out through the living room and down the hallway, past the bathroom. “I’d have two rooms, one for my bedroom, the other for my painting studio. I’d pay more of the rent, which is part of the reason why your share is lower than a straight half. We can figure out how much you need to pay to use the parking spot, and then I think it’ll all be sorted financially.”

  Mitch poked his head in to the rooms and smiled. “Good light in here for a painter.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. It’s one of the main reasons that I wanted the place so badly.”

  He walked back down the hall to the bathroom and took a look in there. It was a huge bathroom, with a shower and a separate bath and white and blue tile. It was all perfect. He wanted to move in here, and right away.

  “I’d love to move in, Reena. The sooner the better. The flea hotel I’m staying in now is doing my head in.”

  “OK.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “The landlord will be back in ten minutes to get the key, and we can tell him then.”

  “What’s he like?”

  “Eddie? OK.”

  “But he threatened to take your ass to court.”

  She blinked up at him. “Well, sure he did. I mean, if I bailed on this whol
e thing, he’d probably be out a whole three months’ worth of income. Who can go without income for twenty-five percent of the year?”

  He stared down at her. “Wow, you’re understanding.”

  She shrugged. “What Wendy did wasn’t my fault, but it wasn’t Eddie’s, either. And she was my friend and it just came down to me to fix the problem. Thank goodness Adam and Nick helped me out with that.”

  “Yeah.” Mitch looked around again, liking the warmth of the apartment, liking that he’d be sharing it with her. “They helped us both.”

  Chapter Two

  Mitch set his duffel bags down on the ground and searched through his jeans pockets for his keys. Before he could dig them out, the apartment door swung open. He looked up to see Reena smiling at him and his chest tightened up a bit at her beauty.

  “Welcome home!” she said.

  He grinned down at her. “Thanks, roomie.”

  “Want a hand?” she asked.

  “Nope, I got it.” He picked up the duffels again and walked in to the apartment, inhaling deeply. The living room smelled of roses and sandalwood and something else, something pure and sweet. He thought it came from Reena herself, and he longed to hold her close, to just breathe her in.

  “Um. That’s it?” Reena gestured at the two bags. “That’s your whole life?”

  “Well, most of my stuff is at The Rock.”

  “Oh,” she said. “You didn’t have it with you at the hotel?”

  “No.” He sat down on the sofa and settled back with a sigh. “I was there as little as possible. Didn’t even shower there, actually, since the hotel bathroom was such a fucking nightmare, I swear. I basically just slept at the hotel and the rest of my time was spent at the gym.”

  “Awful. I can see why you wanted to get out of there so badly.”

  “I sure did.” He looked around, taking in some of the changes. “So, you’ve been decorating, I see.”

  She sat down next to him on the sofa, curled her feet under her. “Yeah, a little. What do you think?”

  “I really like the painting on the wall. One of yours?”

  “Nope. I wish.”

  “I like the throw rugs too, in the kitchen. That space was a bit too white, I thought.”

  “You noticed that too, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Mitch said. “It looked like a doctor’s office or something… clinical.”

  “Exactly what I thought!” Reena said. “No color, no character, and it’s a kitchen, for goodness’ sake. It should be warm, you know?”

  “Totally agree.” He paused. “And what’s that… thing?”

  “What thing?” she asked.

  He gestured behind Reena. “That one.”

  She turned and her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders, warm and lovely. He wanted to run his fingers through it, wind it around his fist, pull her to his mouth for a deep, hot kiss.

  Goddammit, man. You’ve been here alone with her for exactly two minutes and you’re already thinking about jumping her? Cool it. Right. Now.

  “You mean this thing?” Reena put her hand on the nightmare metal contraption next to the sofa.

  “Yeah. What is it – some kind of medieval torture device?”

  She blinked, then laughed. “A candle holder.”

  “A – what?” He leaned forward a bit, to get a better look and also to be closer to her. “How the fuck can it be? Where does the candle even go?”

  She stood up and he admired her shapely ass in her long dress. “Here.”

  “Oh.”

  She looked at him. “You hate it, right?”

  “Uh. Well…”

  “You do.” Her beautiful eyes were dancing. “You hate my favorite candle holder.”

  “How bad would it be if I did?”

  “Tragic. A total deal-breaker in terms of our living together.”

  “Oh. Well then, I love the medieval torture candle holder.”

  She laughed. “Why don’t you go unpack? I’ll make us something to eat and we can talk about our Big Three Compromises.”

  “Our what?”

  She shook her head. “Later. You settle in, we’ll talk after. OK?”

  “Sure.” He watched her go in to the kitchen and start taking stuff out of the fridge. He got back to his feet and went to his bedroom, liking it even more than when he’d first seen it. It was just such good space: lots of light and solid furniture, perfect views of the mountains and a deep carpet under his feet. He knew he’d be happy here.

  Reena heard Mitch moving around in his room and she smiled. She still couldn’t believe that it had all worked out with this apartment; she’d spent the day painting in her new studio and she felt energized and positive there. She’d been feeling a bit blocked creatively, but in the sunny, airy studio, everything had just started to flow again. It had felt good.

  An hour later, they were sitting at the kitchen table together, digging in to huge plates of Fettuccini Alfredo. Mitch glanced down at his dinner.

  “You made this, Reena? Even the sauce?”

  “Yep.” She took a sip of red wine. “It’s not complicated.”

  “It’s amazing.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So.” Mitch picked up his wine glass. “Our Big Three Compromises?”

  She brushed her hair back. “Yep. The most invaluable part of any roommate relationship, I swear.”

  “OK. Shoot.”

  “When two people live together, there are always things about the other person that drive them crazy.”

  Yeah. Like long blonde hair, perfect pink lips and sky-blue eyes. Just a few things that drive me crazy about you, Reena.

  He swallowed. “Yeah, OK.”

  “So, my friend told me about the Big Three. We each get three free passes for annoying stuff that we do. The other person can’t say one word about those three things, no matter what.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “OK. So let’s say you hate the way that I… I don’t know… hang up the dish towels in the kitchen. Like, it makes you insane. That’s one of my Big Three passes: you let me hang them how I want, and you stay cool about it. Just pretend it’s not happening.”

  “And this works?”

  “Totally. Just tell me what about me makes you nuts, then move on. I do the same.”

  “What happens if there are more than three things about you that make me want to jump out the window?”

  “Then we have to try really, really hard to not do those things that upset the other person. Once we use up out three passes, then we have to adapt. Deal?”

  “Deal.” He glanced at the candle holder. “I hate that fucking ugly piece of twisted cast-iron, but you love it. So it stays in the living room and I swear not to roll my eyes at it, or ‘accidentally’ knock it over late one night. That’s my first Big Three.”

  “Give it time, Mitch. The candle holder may grow on you… you may come to love it one day.”

  “Highly doubtful.”

  She grinned. “OK.”

  “Anything from you yet?”

  “You’ve only been here an hour.” She winked at him and it was equal parts cute and sexy. “Give yourself at least two hours to do something that makes me crazy.”

  Oh, sugar. You have no idea what I want to do to make you crazy.

  He drank some more wine. “Take your time, Reena. I’m sure something will come to you.”

  “Oh, undoubtedly,” she said. “And if not, I’ll make something up. Me and my candle holder can’t be the only annoying things in this house.”

  They smiled at each other again.

  **

  Adam pressed his massive chest against Katie’s back, his tongue licking the side of her throat, his strong forearm around her waist. His thick fingers were inside her, stroking, plunging, twisting. He loved her moans of pleasure and need, loved the way she shook under him. He pushed deeper now, felt her pussy tighten and release with his every thrust.

  Katie reached up and back with one arm, wrap
ped it around his neck. Her other hand was laid flat on the wall in front of her, bracing her. Her whole body arched against him, straining for relief.

  “Oh, God, Adam.” Her voice came out as a whimper. “More. Please. It’s not enough…”

  He tightened his fingers around her clit and squeezed gently, released, squeezed again. Katie gave a shocked scream as pure, molten pleasure rolled through body.

  Adam lightly ran his soaked fingers over her hard bundle of nerves before returning to her slick channel and pushing deeper still. “Is that better?”

  “Oh… oh, fuck…”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes. Oh, yes…” Her head fell back and rested on his shoulder, her chest heaved as she gasped her desire.

  “Hold on, baby,” he breathed in to her ear. “This is where you’ll really start to enjoy yourself.”

  His fingers caressed her inner walls before sliding out to press and circle her clit, and then when she hovered right on the edge of climax, he pushed back inside her again. She was on a roller coaster of sensation, being thrown up and down, each high a bit more intense, a bit closer to the cliff. He held her so tight, she couldn’t move – he was a wall of pure muscle behind her, controlling every part of what was happening. Katie just closed her eyes and held on for dear life.

  Adam pulled her tighter as he started to speed up his thrusts. His thumb stroked her clit as his fingers pushed inside her wet heat, and he felt how close she was. His pussy muscles pulled on his fingers, pulled them in and farther, and he heard her incoherent cries rising and increasing. He wrapped his entire body around hers and leaned forward.

  “Now, baby,” he whispered. “Come for me now…”

  Katie’s hand fell away from the wall as her whole body helplessly did exactly what Adam commanded it to do: it flexed and released, pulsed and shook. Her legs buckled under her, but Adam held her up, kept her from collapsing, and she just let herself go completely, let herself feel, trusting him to not let her fall.