by Ember Leigh
I held my palms up. “I swear to God. Is it good?”
Her eyes shrunk to slits. “How can you be a child of the 90’s and you never saw Jurassic Park?
“Somehow I made it through.” I tried to fight my smile as I sipped at my water.
“Add that to the list.” Within a half hour we’d started a list of all these things that she needed to school me on. I loved her zest and mouthiness—she felt like a breath of fresh air in my world, where I was drowning in physicality and aggression on the daily. Not that I mind those things—I actually love them. But damn, sometimes I just liked to shoot the shit too. Talk about shit other than fitness routines and fight schedules.
“We’ve got a long list going already,” I said, seeing the perfect chance to swoop our conversation elsewhere. Like I’d known I wanted to the second I saw her from across the bar. “What are you doing tonight?”
Her eyes widened, but she cleared her throat and looked down at her empty glass. “Oh, nothing.”
I let a heavy pause pass between us, relishing the anticipation that rolled off her. “You wanna come back to my hotel room?”
Her eyebrows knit together as if she was trying to solve a crossword puzzle. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I nudged her with my arm. She’d be fun to hang around with…and maybe even spend the night with. I was on a strict no-sex diet until the fight, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t do other things.
“Yeah.” She straightened in her seat, waving down the bartender. “Let’s go right now. Bartender!”
I finally checked my phone—it was just after midnight. Early by partying standards, but with my seven a.m. wake-up call for training tomorrow, taking her back wasn’t the smartest move. But I couldn’t pass this up. I couldn’t pass her up.
When the bartender passed her the slip, I stole it, wiggling my eyebrows. I fished out my wallet while she scrambled to steal the bill back. I held it out of her reach.
“Come on. I’m a liberated woman. I don’t need you to pay my bill.”
“Liberated has nothing to do with being nice,” I retorted. “You said I looked sweet, so I have to live up to it.”
She glared at me, but there was a hint of a grin there. I paid the bill quickly, leaving a fat tip for the bartender. He had somehow helped this unlikely meeting, so he should get something in return.
We pushed out of our chairs and headed for the doors, keeping a casual stroll by each other’s sides. Now that she was standing up I got a better look at her. She came up to about my shoulder—the perfect height. She had some skintight leggings on, outlining some glorious calves, and a loose top that ended right above a perky, round ass. It was really that heart-shaped face that held me captive. Those green eyes cracked like a whip. I was desperate to loosen her strawberry blonde hair from that cute bun on top of her head, see how far it fell down her back.
I pushed the door open and held it for her, gesturing for her to come through. A blast of cool air greeted us, and she tightened her black coat around her.
“What a gentleman,” she murmured, slinking through the doorway. I followed, shoving my hands in my pockets, blinking against the frigid wind. My hotel was just three doors down. It would be a quick walk.
“This way.” I jerked my head down the sidewalk. A dusting of snow covered the cement. Barely any footsteps had left their mark. She hurried after me as I led the way. I had a lush suite on the top floor close to the workout room, which someone had detailed for me in a handwritten note I found on my pillowcase when I checked in. I think they hoped I might make an appearance there and get their hotel in the news.
Sadie had a black parka with a crazy fur lining around the face. She smiled up at me, her cheeks already rosy. I pinched one, without even thinking about it.
“Ouch.” She rubbed at her cheek, but she smiled.
“You have pinchable cheeks,” I said. “Not my fault.”
“Never thought I’d hear a man like you say those words.”
I shook my head. “Guess you don’t know much about me. Yet.” I slung my arm around her shoulders. Could be construed as a creep move, but it was cold out and I wanted her to stay warm. Plus she fit perfectly in my embrace.
“I know enough to know that we have a lot of work to do,” she said, eyes twinkling as she looked up at me. God damn, she was beautiful. Something about her made me feel comfortable, from the second she opened her mouth. Like we’d been best friends once before. Besides, girls—women—never approached me. It was always coy looks from across the room until I took the bait or sending a mutual friend to do the dirty work of setting us up. Sadie was special. Her leggings alone proved that.
“What is up with your pants?” I smiled down at her leggings, trying to decipher the design. It was swirls and maybe part of the ocean…I couldn’t figure it out. But she looked damn fine in them. Her ass cheeks were two round fruits I was desperate to bite into. Looked like she knew enough about keeping herself fit, but not so much as to lose that softness I craved.
“What do you mean?” She sounded panicked, looking down at her legs. And then she slipped—I mean, theater-grade slipped on a slippery patch of sidewalk—and gasped. I caught her before she fell, and she iron-gripped my forearm. The cutest little squeal escaped her.
“Jesus H., I almost died,” she breathed, hanging onto me as if her footing still wasn’t stable beneath her.
“I got you,” I murmured, relishing the closeness. Her breath came out in hot puffs by my chin. I liked being this close to her.
She straightened unsteadily and then slowly let go of my arm. “Okay. Apparently, we can’t talk about my legs if I want to be able to walk.”
“But I like talking about your legs.” I saw her cheeks go red, and not from the cold.
“Then we should talk about my legs.” She nodded. “My leggings are octopus tentacles.”
A laugh burst out of me. “What?” I stopped in my tracks, examining the design. “Hell, you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. I designed them.” She shook her hips as she walked down the sidewalk as if strutting on a catwalk.
I lifted a brow, catching up with her. “You design clothes?”
“Just stuff I like.”
My hotel was on our left. I guided her into the foyer, all gleaming tiles and quiet elegance. We headed for the elevators. She hugged her arms around her as we waited for the car.
“You do everything,” I said.
“I try to be a Jill-of-all-trades.” Sadie cast me a shy smile. “But I still haven’t mastered certain things, like outdoor survival skills or cooking lasagna.”
God, she made this too easy. Or maybe we were just perfect complements to each other, made evident from knowing each other for only two hours. “Well it just so happens I know how to survive outdoors. I can teach you.”
She narrowed her eyes, the elevator lurching into motion. It carried us up toward the ninth floor. “Oh yeah? Even if a bear attacked?”
I shrugged. “I mean, I could fight it, at least. Long enough so you could escape to safety.”
“And you can make lasagna?”
“Of course. My grandma is from Italy.”
She groaned as the door dinged on the ninth floor. The doors slid open and she stomped out. “Ok, fine, let’s just add outdoor survival and making lasagna to our list of things to do then.”
I laughed. With her, we might never run out of things to do. “Come on.” I jerked my head toward the end of the hallway where my suite was. She buried her hands in her coat pockets, that furry hood still framing her face.
“Now I gotta tell you…” I swiped my key at room 909 and paused, stepping closer to her. “Or maybe I should warn you. Once you step inside this room…”
She lifted a brow.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
Her pink lips curved into a smile. “Only inside there?”
“I’ve wanted to since the bar. But I don’t like to make a display.”
Her gaze tur
ned sultry and soft. “Fair enough. I’ll agree to that.”
I pushed the door open and we both watched it swing back, revealing my suite—the tiny foyer and side table, the living area, the doorway leading to the bedroom. When our gazes met, it felt playful.
“You first,” I said.
“No, you.”
I grinned and then sauntered into the foyer. She watched me from the hallway for a moment, then strolled across the threshold. I caught her wrist when she walked by, kicked the door shut, and then brought her up against the wall.
I smoothed my palms against the wall on either side of her head. Her breath came out shaky, and before either of us said anything, I pressed my mouth against hers, tasting her sweet, chilly lips. My hand drifted to her neck as the first kiss turned into a second and then a third. She made a small noise, one that made me part her lips with my tongue, seeking more of her. She opened her mouth, and our tongues met, warm and seeking.
Something unhinged, and we kissed sloppily then, urgency taking over. My tongue dipped deep into her, tasting her, getting drunk on her bourbon and mint. I trailed my hands down the sides of her coat, searching out the curve of her body. I needed to feel the lines of her, the warmth of her skin, something.
She pulled away, pressing her head against the wall. “Holy hell.”
“You should take this jacket off, if it feels like holy hell in here,” I cracked, tugging at her zipper. “Can I take it off for you?”
“You can do anything you freaking want,” she said, lowering her hood. I unzipped the coat so it hung open, revealing the loose, dark top beneath, and then shed my own coat.
“Anything?” I pressed my lips to the curve of her neck, inhaling the sweet scent there. She smelled like vanilla and something exotic, something I didn’t even know how to place.
“I could revise my statement, but I don’t want to,” she said, voice sounding faraway as I trailed kisses over her jawline.
“Well, I should warn you then…”
She laughed throatily. “Another warning?”
“I can’t do more than kiss you.”
Sadie blinked. “That’s certainly not what you expect to hear in situations like these.”
I pushed her jacket over her shoulders until it rustled to the ground. I traced the outline of her body, over the swell of her hips. “My fight is two weeks away. I can’t get off.”
“Who says you need to?” A playful smile danced over her lips, and in that minute my heart swelled so big I wanted to jump and shout. Sadie was the fucking best.
“Exactly.” I dragged a thumb over her jawline, getting lost in those sparkling jade eyes. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t kiss you everywhere until you do.”
Chapter 3
SADIE
If sexier words have been spoken in life, I’m not aware of them. Hawk could reduce me to a puddle just by looking at me, but every time he opened his mouth he became more attractive and funnier. And it honestly felt wrong—like, this guy should be an asshole if he’s also going to be that hot. But no. He’s hilarious and skilled and knows how to make lasagna because of his Italian grandma. Of course.
“I can’t believe you want to get me off,” I said, trying to control my careening brain. He made it impossible to think. “I’m just some girl you brought back to your hotel room after meeting me at a bar. Usually it’s all about the guy getting off and then kicking me out.” And that was what I’d expected from him, honestly. It was what the tabloids made him seem like. What jilted exes spread about him.
He nibbled at my earlobe, which made my breath come out in a whispery whoosh.
“I’m different.” His hands slid down the sides of my arms, and then he grabbed me by the wrist, leading me deeper into the suite.
No shit he was different. That was obvious the second he chose to sit next to the girl with the homemade octopus leggings in the upscale bar. He led me into the bedroom and toward the luxe king-sized bed. He pushed me at the hips, and I fell to sitting on the bed, bouncing slightly.
“Hang on here.” I held up a hand. I was going to see Hawk’s penis soon, which was like the definition of my Make-A-Wish list if I were terminally ill. “We need something to get us into the mood.” Really I just needed time to process this. Make sure I didn’t come off as a bumbling, disjointed fool.
“Anything you want.” His dimpled grin, sly like the coolest kid at school, cracked me in two.
“Billie Jean.” I felt my neck flush as soon as I said it. What the hell was wrong with me? Michael Jackson was my go-to, though. “The song. Let’s hear it.”
He snort-laughed. “Really?”
“Let’s hear it.” I nodded toward his phone, which he had fished out of his pocket. He swiped at a few screens, and then a moment later the telltale opening rhythm beats wafted out of the device. And it sounded good. Of course he would have a super-spiffy phone with awesome speakers.
“Do you want me to play the part of Michael Jackson or the detective following him around?” He crawled onto the bed, straddling me. I propped myself on my elbows, his heat sinking into me, rooting me to the bed.
“You can be MJ, but only if you know how to dance like him.” My voice trailed off as he nuzzled my neck, pressing the length of his body against mine. Michael’s voice started its nostalgic warble from the phone, but it sounded a million miles away. All I could feel was the rock-hard body descending on me, the pulse streaking through my veins, the desire churning hot in my core.
“I can’t promise that.” His lips skipped over my collarbone, his hands hot at the hem of my shirt. “But I can do his trademark screech.”
I laughed as Hawk’s lips wandered over the fabric of my shirt, right between my breasts. “I have to hear it. Before we move any further.”
He sat back on his heels, laughed once, and then let out a pitch-perfect “Yee-hee!”. Giggles escaped me, and I hooked my ankles behind his back. The move made something dark cross his face, and he lowered on top of me, resuming his position in the valley of my breasts.
“So I passed the test?” His fingers crept up beneath my shirt, swirling lightly at the skin of my belly. A shiver coursed through me so hard I couldn’t speak for a moment.
“With flying colors.”
“Can I see what’s under here?” He pushed his hands up over the curve of my waist. I nodded, and he pushed the shirt up over my breasts, revealing my very plain and practical taupe bra.
“Mmm.”
“Don’t act like you’re impressed.” I sat up to tear my shirt off and toss it aside. “This is the plainest bra you’ve ever seen.”
“I don’t care about the bra.” His fingers made scorching trails over the bottom curve of my breast, just below the underwire. “Why would I care about the bra when it’s holding these?”
His big, rough hands covered both of my breasts, gave them a gentle squeeze. His knuckles were scraped, probably from beating the shit out of people.
“You want to see them?”
“More than anything.”
“Five bucks.”
A smile crested his face. “You should charge way more than that, babe.”
Freaking Hawk called me babe. A gush of moisture reached my panties. He slid my straps off each shoulder and then tugged the cups down. My breasts popped out, splaying instantly to the side. Damn gravity. I was almost embarrassed, until Hawk nuzzled each one in turn, moaning appreciatively.
“Damn, Sadie.”
My eyes fluttered shut, and I collapsed against the bed, inhaling sharply as he lavished attention over each breast, kissing and suckling and nuzzling each nipple, until I thought I might come undone just from that alone.
Hawk shifted on top of me, pressing his groin right against mine. The ridge of his cock nestled between my spread legs, pressing against just the right point. A gravely moan escaped me. Holy hell. This was happening.
“Mmmm.” He rolled his hips in a slow circle on top of me. “You like that?”
“More than I ca
n even explain.” I hooked my arms around his thick neck, enjoying the flex of his biceps as he propped himself up to look at me.
“I gotta feel you, babe.” He pushed back and then hopped off the bed, tearing his V-neck off, revealing washboard and all. My breath hitched—dime-sized nipples framed by sparse black chest hair, perfectly defined pecs, abs that deserved their own exhibit in a museum. Tattoos stretched over his ribcage, arching inked patterns that demanded my attention but I couldn’t give it, not when there was so much left to touch and kiss. Something about Hawk felt a lot like finally visiting the Sistine Chapel after only seeing it on TV. Close to a sinfully delicious religious experience.
“Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea,” I breathed, eyes riveted to his crotch as he pushed his jeans down, revealing skintight black boxers. It prompted me to get naked too. “Feel me up. Feel me over. Feel me sideways.” I pulled my bra off, and then shimmied out of my leggings. Left in only my panties, I watched as he fisted the delicious ridge of his cock through his boxers.
He groaned. “This is hard.”
“No shit.” I nodded toward his crotch, and he grabbed me by the hips, pulling me toward him in a quick movement. I giggled, and then suddenly I was in his arms, his fingers biting into the flesh of my ass cheeks, my ankles locking behind him.
“Nice.” He nuzzled my breasts again, then spun around to sit on the bed so I straddled him. I nestled into place, his cock lining up with the crease of my pussy.
“Ohhh my god.” An unearthly moan escaped my lips as I rocked back and forth over his cock. “It’s a little more than nice.”
He matched my movements from below, the two of us beginning a jerky dry hump. He squeezed his arms tighter around me, smooshing my breasts into his shoulder.
“Can I?” His fingers tugged at my panty line. I nodded. He pushed his fingertips underneath the soaked fabric, capturing my clit between his thumb and forefinger. He rolled it between his fingers, his gaze intense on me as powerful waves of pleasure wracked my body.
