The Fighter

by E. L. Todd

  Sometimes he couldn’t focus on kissing me because he lost his breath, so absorbed by the tightness between my legs. He hadn’t even started to move yet, but he was like a virgin who could barely hold his load because sex was too good to handle.

  That kind of reaction from a man like Finn was hot, seeing him enjoy me so much, remain celibate just for me.

  He kissed me again then started to move, thrusting his hips as he pushed deep inside me. It was nothing but slickness the entire way through, so much wetness that it dripped down my crack to the sheets underneath us.

  No wonder why he enjoyed it so much.

  He stopped kissing me and looked into my eyes, his jaw clenched as he kept moving. He glanced at his old necklace between my tits, taking in the sight of metal with affection, then slid his gaze back to me. “Fuck, I’m gonna have a sexy wife.” He pressed his forehead to mine as he kept rocking, doing his best to hold himself together so he wouldn’t ruin the moment by coming so soon.

  But watching him struggle the entire time was sexy. When he had sex on a regular basis, he could last forever, could fuck me a million ways without losing his control. But during a dry spell, he turned into a teenager all over again.

  With our gazes both heated and combustive, we stared at each other as we moved, our bodies gradually moving quicker because we wanted more of each other. My body started to squeeze because I could already feel the arousal hitting me hard. I was burning all over, white-hot and scorching. I wanted to explode before he finished, but I could tell he was barely holding on. And then it happened…the best orgasm of my life. “Finn…Finn.” I’d missed whispering that name in bed, missed coming around his perfect dick.

  “Baby…” He came too, filling me with his enormous load of come.

  I could feel it sit inside me, feel the hot heaviness. It made my climax last longer, made it more potent. I squeezed his arm as I finished, feeling his dick throb inside me. “Yes…” My left foot cramped because I’d tightened so much, but I didn’t care at all. The euphoria was just too incredible.

  He was so hard up that he didn’t even soften inside me. His dick was just as aroused as before, ready to keep fucking me like nothing happened. He rocked his hips again and moved farther on top of me, possessing me the way he used to. He fisted my hair so he could have a good grip on me as he pressed me hard into the mattress. “I love you…”

  It was worth the risk. It was worth everything…having this. “I love you too.”

  Colton opened the door without knocking.

  I’d just gotten home from the gym, so I was in my legging and sports bra. “You’re gonna have to start knocking. Finn and I could be doing it on the couch, and I don’t want you to be scarred by the sight.” My ring felt perfect on my finger, especially when I talked with my hands and felt the weight of the diamond. I wore it everywhere I went, even the gym. It was such a part of me now that I never wanted to not wear it.

  “Well, I knew you weren’t doing it on the couch.”

  “And how did you know that?”

  Finn walked in behind him, wearing his gym clothes like he was about to work out. “Because we’re packing your things and moving them to my place.”

  “Right now?” I asked blankly.

  “Yep.” Finn stood beside his brother, his hands on his hips. “Our life together starts now, not later. I’m not going to bed on Saturday night knowing you still have your shit here. This apartment is gonna be empty by this evening.”

  “I still have the place for a couple more months, so there’s no rush—”

  He stared me down like he was a general and I was a petty officer. “Yes, there is a rush.” He nodded to Colton. “Throw her clothes in a bag and toss it in the back seat of the truck. Then we’ll get her couches and put them in the bed.”

  “Whoa, hold on.” I waved both of my arms in front of them. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but do we even want this furniture at your place? Where is it going to go?”

  “Good point,” Finn said. “Let’s donate it. I already have dishes, kitchen appliances, towels, a bed…all you need are your clothes. So let’s take everything down to Salvation Army.”

  “Well, I didn’t mean let’s donate all of it.” This was happening so fast. He’d burst through my door the second I got home and started making all of these decisions. “How about we take a step back, alright? I’m sleeping with you tonight, regardless of what we do with this stuff—”

  “No.” Finn stepped toward me, taking the reins and stealing my voice. “I warned you what would happen when you put that ring on. You’re mine until we’re both dead. So we need to take care of this shit now. What do you want to keep, and what do you want to donate? I have a big storage facility if you want to keep stuff there until you figure it out. But we aren’t keeping this apartment.”

  Colton tried to sneak into the corner and disappear from this conversation.

  “Is this how it’s going to be for the rest of our lives?” I asked incredulously. “You bossing me around—”

  “Yes. At least when it comes to stuff like this. So, you better make your decisions fast. Otherwise, I’ll make them for you.” He turned to Colton. “Start packing her clothes. I’ll do the kitchen.”

  Both men broke off in separate directions, and Colton was happy to go into the other room.

  I stared at Finn’s back as he walked into the kitchen. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

  He grabbed a box and started piling everything inside, keeping his back to me. “Yes.”

  “I’m serious.”

  He turned around and looked at me, his expression practically cold. “Losing you has made me a little crazy.”

  “More like big crazy…”

  He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can keep anything you want. I’m not making you get rid of it. Bring anything you want to the house. All I ask is you leave this apartment behind and live with me. Maybe you think that’s crazy…but that’s your fault for loving a crazy man.”

  27

  Colton

  “I don’t think this is how this is supposed to work.” I sat beside Finn as he sat in the leather chair.

  The artist kept the needle directed on his left hand and carved the ink into his skin. It looked and sounded painful, but Finn stared out the window like he didn’t feel an ounce of discomfort. “Meaning?”

  “You’re supposed to get the ring after you get married.”

  “I have to wear a bandage for a few days, so I need to do it now.” He pulled his wrist to his chest and looked at the time.

  “But can you work with an open wound?”

  “As long as it’s covered.” He turned to me. “So, you picked up the last boxes from her apartment?”

  “Yeah, I put everything in the storage shed.” Finn, Zach, and I had cleaned out her apartment yesterday. We dropped off stuff for donations, moved her clothes to Finn’s place, and put the rest of her stuff in storage because she didn’t know what to do with it right on the spot. “She’s gonna drop off the keys to the landlord tomorrow, but she might have to keep paying rent for a while.”

  “She’s not paying rent with me, so it shouldn’t be a big deal. Are you okay not living across the hall from her anymore?”

  It would be weird since we’d been doing it for nearly two years now, but we were both moving on with our lives. “Actually…I talked to Tom about moving in together.”

  “Yeah? What did he say?”

  “He said he wanted to do it.” I had been so nervous at the time, so when he said yes, I showed every single tooth in my mouth when I smiled. It would be nice to wake up to him every single day, to have dinner with him every night. “But he suggested we move in to his place since it’s a lot bigger…and I agreed.”

  “So you’re both leaving your apartments?”

  “Guess so.”

  “Wow…talk about a lot of change.”

  “Yeah.” Pepper and I had come so far. Just a few yea
rs ago, we were married, and now we were with different people. “She’ll be married to you on Saturday, and Tom and I will probably get married someday… A lot of good things have happened.”

  “I think everything is exactly as it should be.”

  “You’re going to have to work on not keeping secrets.”

  He looked at me, his eyebrow raised. “What are you talking about?”

  “You didn’t tell her about the check or the fact that Brutus assaulted you. That’s pretty important information…”

  He shook his head slightly. “My secrets are behind me. I’m an open book.”

  “And you’re certain you want to do this?” I knew what his answer would be, but I wanted to test him anyway.

  He looked me square in the eye, like I was the one who needed to be convinced—not him. “Not a doubt in my mind, man. All that time in Uganda was a fucking mistake… I wish I could take it back.”

  “But you can’t run off again. You can’t travel the world. You’re gonna be in one spot for the rest of your life…and be a dad someday. You do understand that, right?”

  He actually rolled his eyes at me. “I want to be with her every day for the rest of my life. I want to sleep in the same bed, live in the same house, and die in the same city. I’m not scared, Colton. A few years ago, I would have felt differently, but when you meet the right woman, nothing else seems important. There’s no exotic place that’s more enticing than our bed. There’s no lost opportunity that I’ll regret. Being with her is a whole different kind of adventure…and I’m looking forward to it. You done grilling me now?”

  “Yeah, it’s my job. I’m the closest thing she has to a family.”

  His eyes looked off into the distance, as if he were thinking of old memory or something someone had said a long time ago. “I’m her family now, Colt. It’s my job to take care of her.”

  I sat on the couch with Tom as we watched the game at Finn’s house. Finn was sitting on the other, Soldier sitting close beside him.

  Then Pepper’s voice rang from the top of the stairs. “Colt, come here. I want to show you something.”

  I sighed as I eyed the stairs, the entire floor I’d have to ascend to see what she wanted. “How about you just come here?”

  “No,” she snapped. “Get your ass up here.”

  I sighed as I put down my beer. “Sometimes I feel like we’re still married.”

  Tom chuckled.

  “Colt,” Pepper shouted again.

  Finn kept his eyes on the TV. “I think she wants to show you her wedding dress.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know she was wearing one.” They were doing this wedding on such short notice that I hadn’t thought she was getting anything.

  “She needs gay approval,” Tom said. “Now don’t keep the bride waiting.”

  I moved up the stairs then entered the bedroom she shared with Finn. She wasn’t wearing a traditional wedding dress like I’d imagined. Instead, it was a simple halter top dress that produced a noticeable line of cleavage right in the center of the neckline. It flared out, reaching slightly past her thighs. In her white heels, her legs were a foot longer, and with her slightly tanned skin color, the dress was perfect on her. “Wow, that looks nice.”

  “You really think so? Not too slutty?”

  “That’s exactly why it looks nice.”

  She swatted my arm playfully. “Come on, I’m being serious. What do you really think?”

  “I really think you look stunning. It’s better than a traditional wedding dress. Even if you planned a wedding a year in advance, Finn would still want you to wear that.”

  “You don’t think your parents will think it’s a little…inappropriate?”

  I shrugged. “Who cares what they think? It’s your day, not theirs. Besides, you already wore a traditional dress for them once. Now you should wear whatever you want. And I can tell you right now, Finn is gonna rip that thing off you the second you get home.” A year ago, I would have had to stop myself from gagging after saying something like that. But now…I didn’t see her as mine anymore. Now, she was Finn’s…and she was just my friend.

  She caught the sadness in my eyes. “I know it’s a little weird… I’ll be your brother’s wife.”

  “But you’re still my best friend. And we’ll be siblings-in-law, so that’s pretty cool. We’ll always be together…no matter what. And truth be told, you couldn’t have picked a better guy. I had a talk with him the other day, and that his commitment didn’t shake at all.”

  “I don’t think we need to worry about that again, Colt. I think we should leave the past where it belongs…”

  “Yeah. I think it’s time.” I hugged her and rested my chin on her forehead. “You guys will have a long and happy life together.”

  “I know we will.”

  I kissed her forehead. “Can I give you away tomorrow?”

  “I was hoping you would.”

  I squeezed her tighter. “You want to stay at my place the night before the wedding?”

  “Yeah, right,” she said with a laugh. “Like Finn would ever go for that.”

  “I always thought you’d be wearing the pants in this relationship.”

  “Not possible. Being with Finn is like being in a relationship with a very stubborn dragon.”

  I chuckled at her analogy. “Let me know if you change your mind. There’s plenty of room for both of us in that bed.”

  “And what about Tom?”

  “He could squeeze in there too.” I pulled away and dropped my hands from her limbs, knowing it was one of the last times it would just be the two of us. Now Pepper would be my family because she would be married to my brother. Our marriage would be a distant memory, a time that would fade away as we moved on with our lives. It hurt a little bit, but it was also exhilarating at the same time. We were finally where we were meant to be…it just took a while to get there.

  28

  Pepper

  The night before the big event, we lay together under the sheets, our faces close together on the same pillow. Our naked skin came into contact as we touched each other, as we scooted closer or felt each other intimately.

  I’d suggested that I stay with Colton for the night, but as I’d expected, he shut down the idea immediately. In his eyes, we were already married. We’d already committed ourselves to each other for all eternity. Tomorrow was simply a celebration. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about your hand…” Gauze was wrapped around his left ring finger, like he’d cut himself at work.

  “It can come off tomorrow. I got some ink done, and it should be healed by the morning.”

  “You got a tattoo?”

  “Yeah. My wedding ring.”

  “Really?” The man was covered in ink, but I thought he might choose a traditional ring. Something that would contrast against the black tattoos on his body. But the ink would be permanent…something he could never take off.

  “I’m not a fan of jewelry. And I like knowing everyone can see my commitment regardless of what I’m wearing. At the hospital, I only wear a watch because it’s easier than trying to find the time somewhere else. But I couldn’t imagine wearing a ring on my hand. It would get in the way or get dirty…this is better.”

  “And it saves me money.”

  He reached for the gauze and removed it.

  “Shouldn’t you wait?”

  “No, it’s fine.” He set the wrapping on the nightstand then rested his hand on the sheet between us. In black ink was a thick line around his left ring finger. Solid and full, the line was unmistakable. It contrasted against his hands because he didn’t have any ink past his wrists. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s sexy…” My fingers brushed over the area.

  He smiled. “I thought you might like it.”

  “I guess I like how permanent it is.”

  “That’s why I like it too. It’s you and me forever, baby.”

  “Forever is a long time…”

  “Not to me.�
�� He hooked his arm around the curve of my back and tugged me a little closer so our foreheads were touching. My tits pressed against his chest, and my nipples hardened the second I came into contact with his heat. “I was thinking we could take a little trip after the ceremony.”

  “Yeah? Where did you have in mind?”

  “I rented a cabin out in the woods. It’s got a nice fireplace, a great view of the lake, and it’s in the middle of nowhere… It’ll be a little honeymoon.”

  Being away from everyone so we could enjoy our nuptial bless sounded perfect. “What about Soldier?”

  “He’s coming too. I knew you wouldn’t want to leave him behind.”

  “You know me so well.”

  “Yes, I do.” He rolled me over onto my back and moved his hips between my thighs. “And I know you want me again.”

  “Shouldn’t we save some for tomorrow?”

  He slid inside me, getting balls deep instantly. “I could make love to you all night, and I’d still want you even more tomorrow.”

  I went to Colton’s apartment to get ready.

  Stella curled my hair while Tatum did my makeup.

  “That dress is so sexy on you,” Stella said. “He’s gonna eye-fuck you like crazy the second he sees you.”

  “I hope his parents don’t notice,” I said with a chuckle.

  “Knowing him,” Tatum said, “I don’t think he’d care.”

  Stella pulled the curling iron away then sealed the curl in place with hairspray. She ran her fingers through it until it was perfect.

  Tatum finished my mascara then applied a new shade of lipstick to my mouth. “Ta-da.”

  “You look perfect.” Stella stepped back and studied her handiwork.

  I stood up and balanced on my heels, admiring my appearance in the mirror. My dress was a little slutty because it was short like a summer sundress, but Finn would definitely like it—so I would like it.