Bucking Bear (Pounding Hearts #3)

by Izzy Sweet

  Fuck him. He is.

  * * *

  Climbing into the SUV I look to Grace and then back at her daughter. “I am so hungry I could eat a horse. Ya’ll hungry?”

  I think that takes them both back as I smile and wink at Grace. Turning to her daughter, I say, “Hey, I’m Max. But lots of people call me Bear.”

  Holding my hand out she sticks her very tiny hand out and shakes mine. Yeah, she comes from her mommy. “

  I’m Hope!” Her grin is just way too adorable.

  “Nice to meet you, Hope. How do you feel about some pancakes?”

  “Oh, that would be sooo good. My da—Carson didn’t want to get breakfast for me. He says he doesn’t eat it so I don’t need it.”

  Grace sighs. “Don’t call him Carson, honey, we already talked about that. And I will be talking to him about breakfast.”

  “I jus…” Hope starts, but fades away. “Okay, Mommy, but I wanna talk to you later.”

  We head out and I take them to my favorite diner for breakfast. I know I should not be breaking my diet this close to a fight but it’s worth it.

  We then head over to pick up her car so I can follow her back home.

  I don’t know why but even after all the shit that’s happened today, I’m not ready to say goodbye to either of them. I really want to spend the rest of my day with this girl.

  Chapter Three

  Grace

  Somehow Max talked me into spending the day with him.

  He bought us breakfast, ordered Hope a stack of pancakes as tall as she was, and finished them for her—with relish—when she couldn’t. Then he helped me pick up my car and followed us home.

  I thought that would be that. It was nice knowing him. He’s obviously a good guy but couldn’t possibly want more from me. Unless he thinks I owe him or something, but I don’t get that feeling from him.

  I was so surprised he’d didn’t peel out, making his getaway while he had the chance, I agreed to get back in his car with Hope, even though I have a ton of stuff to do today. It’s Saturday and I usually use the weekend to get my chores and errands done. There’s laundry to be folded and cleaning to be completed before I start my evening shift…

  But how can I resist him? Between his puppy dog eyes and Hope’s pleading, I don’t stand a chance and quickly cave in. Though to be honest, I didn’t put up much of a fight. I’m eager for a chance to spend more time with Max.

  There’s just something about him… The way he grabs my hand, taking possession of it, like he has the right to. He looks at me and there’s such heat in his eyes, I’m glad Hope is in the back and can’t see me flushing, or the way I can’t help squirming when I look back at him, remembering what we didn’t finish.

  He stood up for us against Carson, and while a part of me hates that he had to do that another part of me is glad. With him… I feel safe, I feel protected. I can’t remember another time I’ve ever felt like this. And it’s not just because he’s big, the man is freakin’ enormous. When he told Hope his friends call him Bear, I wasn’t surprised in the least. That’s exactly what he looks like, a great big grizzly Bear covered in tattoos.

  A great big, sexy Bear covered in tattoos.

  Oh shit, am I drooling? I better stop that.

  Where was I? Oh yes, I feel safe and protected with Max not because of his size, but because when he confronted Carson there was this look in his eyes, like he was willing to go all the way, it just wasn’t a show or him just acting cocky. I have this feeling, this knowing, that if Carson would have pushed it further Max would have made him regret it. And the small dark part of me would have liked to see it. I know, I’m totally bad.

  We’re driving towards Max’s house; I know because the area is unmistakable. There are very few places around here where there are so many trees so close together. This part of town just reeks of money, probably because of all the green and the golf course we drive past.

  Turning off the main road, we follow a twisty, curvy drive that brings us right up next to the lake I’ve been smelling.

  “There’s a playground up the path…” Max says before Hope cuts him off.

  “Playground?!” Hope repeats excitedly from the backseat.

  “Yeah,” Max chuckles as he parks the car. “You wanna check it out?”

  Hope bounces around. “Yes, please!”

  I smile over at him as I unbuckle my seatbelt. “Going to the park to play is her favorite thing to do.”

  Mine too, especially because it’s free.

  He nods and climbs out of his side. He gets to Hope before I do, opening the door for her as she bounces out of her seat. I can’t help but laugh as he jumps back to keep from getting run over. I’ve never seen such a big guy move so fast before, it was almost like he was honestly afraid.

  And she’s off, Hope takes off running down the path without waiting for us.

  I cup my hands around my mouth and call out, “Hope, slow down!”

  She slows long enough to call back, “Okay, Mommy!”

  I sigh and give Max the what-can-you-do shrug. After all the drama of this morning I’m not going to begrudge her this little thing. She needs to have some fun to forget how much of a dick her dad is being.

  Max grins and reaches out, grabbing my hand. We follow after her but much more slowly.

  The path we walk curves around the lake, shaded by the trees. It’s easy to see the playground from here, and there appears to be a handful of kids playing happily. I keep Hope in my sight at all times, but otherwise I don’t worry. This seems like a safe enough place.

  “This is such a nice area,” I say, taking in the lake. The water is clean and clear; I can see fish swimming just beneath the surface. Ducks paddle about and nest beneath the trees.

  Max only grunts in reply so I keep on talking. “I’ve never been up here before. I didn’t even know any of this was tucked back here. Is this all privately owned property?”

  He nods.

  “Have you lived here long?”

  He nods again. I don’t know if it’s because he’s not much of a talker or if it’s being here, in this perfect place after all the stuff that went down this morning, but I’m suddenly filled with nervous energy.

  “I’m sorry about this morning,” I rush out in apology, my steps slowing as we approach the play area. Hope is already swinging across the monkey bars and singing with another girl close to her age so I don’t have to worry about her overhearing me. “I’m really, really sorry you got dragged into that. If I would have known…”

  Using my hand, Max pulls me in close and looks down at me. Being this close to him, looking up, makes me feel so tiny.

  “Don’t be,” he says firmly but my mouth is already started up and just keeps going.

  “If I would have known all that was going to go down, I would have just asked you to drop me off at my car so you could go on with your day.”

  He shakes his head and his brow pulls down.

  “I know you have better things to do than spend your day with…”

  I don’t get to finish what I was saying.

  Bending down, he smashes his mouth against my mouth, cutting me off abruptly. He kisses me so fast, so passionately, when he pulls away I feel dazed. Like the big guy just kissed me silly.

  My lips tingle with awareness and my chin is sensitive from where his beard rubbing against me. I pant up at him, forgetting everything I wanted to say. Did that just happen? It was so awesome, so fast, I seriously need a repeat to believe it.

  He grins down at me, his eyes warm as he tells me, “I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing.”

  I open my mouth but I don’t know what to say because honestly, I’m not exactly doing what I want to be doing. This morning I really wanted him to be doing me, and now I can’t seem to stop thinking about him doing me.

  Gazing into my eyes, Max has this way of looking at me as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. I watch his own eyes light up with heat and I have to look away.
>
  We’re in a public park, I have to remind myself, with my daughter playing only a few feet away. Time to tone down the PDA and put some distance between us before this gets out of hand fast.

  It’s been so long since a guy has made me feel like this—has made me feel anything—my body must be on a hair trigger or something because all I want to do is press my body up against his and kiss him again.

  All I want to feel is his lips smashing against my lips again, his soft beard scratching against my chin and that monster cock he has trapped in his pants grinding…

  Bad Grace, stop that.

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asks me as he leads me over to a bench under a tree. We sit down beside each other to watch Hope play. I’m grateful she’s too busy having fun to see mommy making out with her new friend.

  “I have to work,” I sigh regretfully.

  “How about tomorrow night?” He asks completely unfazed.

  I bite my lip. I’m not scheduled to work but it is a school night for Hope, I’ll have to get up early the next morning. “I’m available, but I can’t be out late…”

  Max

  Dropping off Grace and Hope is a new experience for me, I’ve never really been the missing someone type. Now I got two smiling little imps in my mind.

  I slide my Escalade into the garage and get out. Last night was one long night, one that has left my body on edge.

  My hormones were already amped up this close to a fight, but now they’re fucking raging with the need to cause violence after that fucking runt thought he could lay a hand on my woman.

  Little bitch that he is didn’t even see how treating a woman like that is wrong, and I can’t even begin to think about the kind of damage shit like that can do to a little kid like Hope.

  Shit like that can give some girl problems later in life, like thinking it’s okay to get beat up on. Fuck that kind of shit.

  I head into my laundry room off of the kitchen and grab my workout bag. I need to hit the gym and then the dojo today.

  I have zero doubts about the upcoming fight, but technique work is always worth the extra effort. Shit, Reaper, the retired heavyweight champ, was proof of that. I tried doing his routine but something felt off about it with my body. So I switched around the cardio to squeeze the most out of my body. Had to build my body and cardio up to get to how I want to feel.

  Fuck, Reaper leaving the company when he did left a gigantic void to fill. When Reaper refused to fight any more, he got wise to the fucked up but interesting situation the rest of us heavy weights were left in. He set up a small tournament with four guys, me being one of them. Got it set that we battle it out to see who becomes the next champ.

  Back before Reaper retired, I was getting closer and closer to a title shot—especially when the challenger lost twice to Reaper. I probably would have gone up against Reaper himself but he retired before it ever came to that.

  That would have been fucking awesome though. I love fighting and I mean it. I love proving myself and I love the competition. I would have loved to go up against Chase. If you ask me, it would have been the fight of the century.

  Tossing my bag into the passenger seat, I pull out of the garage and hit my bluetooth button to connect it to my phone. Pulling up a music list, I switch to one of my favorite songs to get me motivated, Britney’s Work Bitch. Yeah, I love her music, can’t help it. She’s got the voice of a siren.

  She’s about it for pop music though.

  After her I switch Slipknot. Yeah, I need to keep up the boil of anger in my stomach. I want to punish the weights today. I want to push past the walls of endurance and keep working.

  I reach the gym and slip my earbuds in. Aggressive rock is slamming into my ears as I push hard with the bench pressing.

  I have to push big motherfuckers off me so I push the weights up and down, up and down. It burns like a motherfucker doing it but the burning means it’s working.

  Next, my running is on point, the sweat is just pouring off of me.

  This is a real gym I go to, we don’t have a shit ton of mirrors or people fucking primping around the weights trying to look good. We’re not working out here for fucking body building or flexing in front of the fucking mirror. No, we are working out here for pure fucking power.

  Running for fifteen minutes, I hit the weights for sixty then back to cardio—doing wind sprints outside in the grass training area.

  I am pretty damned tired but I can’t stop now.

  I drive over to the local YMCA and start doing laps in their pool for thirty minutes. Today is feeling good, my muscles are fucking aching with all the punishment I am putting my body through but it’s worth it.

  Hard work now equals success later.

  The sun is gone when I finally get to the dojo.

  I started out late, spending so much time with Grace and Hope, but I don’t mind and I certainly don’t regret it.

  Walking into the gym, I see Brett is working hard in the practice ring with another guy close to his weight class.

  Brett, the Demon, and Chase, the Reaper, are my two best friends, and seeing them both at the dojo makes me happy. It’s like a brotherhood here and we try to make sure we take care of each other.

  I head into the locker room for a quick change of clothes then out to the second practice ring where Chase is at. He’s talking to a small group of older teens about the importance of keeping a steady balance in life.

  Seeing me standing on the outer ring, watching him talk to the kids, Chase yells, “Bear!”

  The kids turn to me and start waving as he asks, “What did you do today? What was your routine?”

  “Hung out with two really cool chicks, played with them a bit, and then kicked my own ass at the gym and then the Y.”

  Chase stares at me for a full minute before he shakes his head. “I was trying to teach these kids about keeping a healthy balance of fun and work, Max.”

  Grinning, I say, “Oh yeah, totally forgot this is a teaching moment. I sat in my solarium reading Tolstoy while I contemplated man’s suffering as a whole. Then I went to the gym where I trained my body to accept mistreatment for the sake of having better cardio. When I was through there, I went for a swim at the local men’s swimming lanes.”

  I try to stand up with really good posture as Chase looks down to the floor and heaves out a loud sigh. “Go away.”

  The kids are laughing as I turn around and head to the punching bags. I can’t let Chase get too uppity, his girl Avery would kill me if I did.

  I set a steady pace at the heavy punching bag. My hands feel strong today. I can hear a good thump with each punch as I work the bag. The music in my ear buds is a random collection of Britney Spears love songs. I don’t know how it got to that collection but it did.

  I work with it.

  Images of the runt, Carson, flit across my mind as I pound into the bag. He is such a waste of space, hurting a girl like that.

  I punch really hard and the bag leaps away from me. Each consecutive punch keeps the bag up in the air.

  When I slow down and take a step back, there’s a small puddle of my sweat on the floor and a new dent the size of my fist in the bag. My arms are tired but I feel the ball of anger in my stomach lessening.

  Standing behind me is Chase and three teens. They must have been watching me work out because Chase smiles at me.

  “That Christy, Matt, and Lane is putting the bag through its paces. Bear hits hard and he doesn’t stop.”

  They ogle me and I try to wave but my arms are tired. Instead I nod and head over to the leg bag. If I am going to abuse my arms I might as well do my legs today as well. I want the anger gone.

  Fuck.

  Carson has put something in me.

  * * *

  Chase is sitting next to me in the sauna as we let the heat sap the will to move out of us.

  “How’s the training going?” he asks.

  “Good. Still want to work on the floor plan I have for Wade but I feel
good about what I have been doing. He isn’t a guy to go to the ground and mix it up. I want to push that fact home with him.”

  “That sounds like a good strategy. What the fuck got into you during my motivational speech? You know it’s hard as shit to keep these kids from thinking we are all party hounds. Those TV shows sure as hell don’t help.”

  My face splits open at the thought of that because we have all been there at one time in our lives as fighters. Now that the sport has really opened up to women as well as men it is becoming even more important to instill a sense of self-discipline. We can’t have them acting like little asses, the girls or the guys. Not with the reputation Chase is trying to build with this dojo, he is branding it as a fighting school.

  “I met a girl last night.”

  “And?” he questions.

  I think of ignoring the question but just like Brett, Chase doesn’t allow me to be my usual quiet self. Sometimes I swear they are hell bent on making me as chatty as Brett is. That’s not me, I don’t like to talk all the time, it makes me feel odd for some reason.

  “Met a friend of Brett’s girl. She looks like a Britney Spears clone, but is completely natural.”

  He raises his eyebrows; he knows I have a thing for Spears.

  “She does. Spent the night with her but didn’t do anything. She was a bit too tipsy for that.”

  Nodding he says, “The other girl you mentioned?”

  “She’s got this kick-ass daughter. Kid is smart, funny and way too wise.”

  “That’s cool, man. Well, be careful, single mothers don’t need games.”

  Nodding my head, I lean my head back against the wall and feel the sweat seeping out of me.

  My fight is in a month and a half. Feels like an eternity from now. I want it to be tonight, but I don’t always get my way.

  Wade, the Bass, Hampton is a striker. Wade hits hard, making a fucking thumping sound when he does it. That’s how he got his name.

  He loves to stand up and throw fists with a guy. I can do that with the best of them, but I like being a ground and pounder too.