Fight for Me: The Complete Collection

by Jackson, A. L.

  Softly.

  Her lips parted on a sigh.

  “Did you know the first time I saw you, what I noticed was your eyes? I thought they were the exact same color as these flowers, but like they were floatin’ through the air. Transparent. Like I could see right inside of you. I won’t ever forget that moment, either.”

  Her fingertips scratched through my beard. “I don’t think I could ever forget a moment with you, Oliver Preston.”

  I kissed at the tips of her fingers, wanting to take in every bit of her.

  The movement was almost playful, but my words were somber. “We’ve got a lot of bad memories, Nikki.”

  She nodded slow. “Yeah. But we have a lot of good ones, too. That’s what makes up life. The good and the bad. We couldn’t have one without the other. We couldn’t share a life without experiencing both sides of it.”

  “That what you want? To share a life with me?” My voice was gruff.

  “I always wanted that.”

  “Good,” I said, making her squeal when I suddenly reached around her and flipped our positions. She straddled me at the waist, her hands on my chest, all that hair blowing around her, whipped by the wind.

  Stirring our spirits.

  I tightened my hold. “Don’t think you could get rid of me if you tried.”

  She grinned. “And why would I want to go and do something like that? Not when all my matchmaking skills have finally started to work in my favor.”

  “Oh, you think you’re responsible for this, too, huh?”

  She widened her eyes. “Um, hello, I am the Orgasm Fairy.”

  “And who’s the one giving them?” I teased. “Guess I’ll have to stop handing them out like they’re candy and then we can decide who’s really responsible.”

  Nikki dipped down, pressing her mouth to mine.

  All kinds of possessive.

  Just the way I wanted her.

  Then I could feel the weight of her grin. “Don’t you dare. You owe me all the orgasms. All. Of. Them. Forever.”

  “Greedy girl.”

  “Accept it. You created a monster.”

  “I thought you said I was the monster. Ogre, to be correct.”

  “I told you . . . you’re my beast. Get used to it.”

  I laughed.

  A laugh that came from my belly, but I was pretty sure it originated in the depths of me. In that dark place that was somehow feeling a fraction lighter.

  Like maybe I was finally letting a little of me go.

  Didn’t mean I wouldn’t still battle demons.

  But what Nikki and I had going?

  Maybe it was stronger.

  That’s what I wanted to be.

  Strong for her.

  Right for her.

  I brushed my knuckles down the defined curve of her face, and she leaned into my touch. “Everything I have, I want to give to you. I belong to you, Nikki.”

  And I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that.

  * * *

  An hour later, I weaved back into town, Nikki clinging to me where she sat on the back of my bike.

  Wasn’t sure anything had ever felt so right.

  I rumbled to a stop in front of the old market that we used to come to all the time as kids, saving up coins so we could go in to buy ice cream or candy or sodas.

  The second I stopped, Nikki was climbing off and going through the buckle of the helmet, grinning back at me as she headed for the entrance since she’d said she would just run in really quick to grab something to make for us for dinner tonight.

  I hopped off, stalking right behind her.

  She’d barely made it onto the sidewalk when I snagged her wrist, spun her around, and pinned her to the wall.

  Plastered myself against that sweet body.

  I kissed her hard.

  Tongue gliding against hers.

  My hands wrapped up in that honeyed hair.

  She released a tiny moan, and I rubbed myself against her, and she was moaning again before she was laughing and pushing me back. “What are you doing, Ollie? You’re gonna get us arrested for indecency.”

  “The only thing indecent around here is how hot you look.”

  “Ollie,” she admonished, a flush lighting up those cheeks.

  Sunshine.

  “What? My girlfriend is smoking hot.”

  Her eyes went wide.

  So yeah, it was the first time I’d said it in what felt like a hundred years.

  I’d said it before.

  But I’d never gotten to claim it.

  I grabbed her hand and started leading her toward the entrance, my voice lifting a little louder than it probably needed to be.

  Strike that.

  It was completely, one hundred percent necessary.

  “My girlfriend is hot!” I shouted.

  “Ollie.”

  Nikki’s head whipped around, wondering what attention we’d gathered, but she was giggling under her breath. She struggled to keep up as I hauled her inside and grabbed a cart.

  I started pushing it down the first aisle.

  “I thought I was just running in by myself?” she asked.

  “What, I just wanted to be near my girlfriend.”

  Yep, the words were elevated again.

  A woman who was probably only a handful of years older than us cut us a glance.

  I totally ignored it. “What are we having for dinner? I’m going to need to hang down in the bar for a few hours to make sure things are running smoothly, but I won’t stay too long.”

  “Chicken and potatoes. And you don’t have to take off more time, Ollie. You’ve barely been down there all week.”

  “What? I just want to be with my girlfriend.” The last I all but shouted.

  An old lady blushed, peeking our way, her husband grinning wide.

  “My girlfriend is gorgeous, isn’t she?” I asked them as they ambled by. I swept an arm at Nikki like she was a prize.

  That’s exactly what she was.

  “Sure is,” the old guy agreed, “almost as pretty as mine.”

  His wife shushed him with a blush, and I was grinning so fucking hard I thought I was gonna break my face.

  Nikki’s smile was just about as big, but she was shaking her head, tugging at my hand like she needed to get me out of there before I caused any more of a scene. “Are you insane? You’re going to get us kicked out of here.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time,” I told her.

  “Uh, yeah, and the last time I had to have my mama come pick me up at the station because you and Rex had knocked that whole display over playing chase. Whole wall of glass mayonnaise jars smashed on the ground. It wasn’t pretty.”

  “But you’re pretty,” I shot at her.

  “Ollie.” She was smiling as she searched my eyes, clearly wondering what had gotten into me.

  She had.

  She so absolutely had.

  I yanked her close to me. “I want everyone to know it, Nikki. That you’re mine. No more hiding.”

  She set both of those hands on my face and hiked up on her tiptoes. She pressed the gentlest kiss to my lips. “No more hiding.”

  “C’mere,” I told her, voice going soft as I wound her in front of me, wrapping my arms around her and taking the cart again.

  She giggled and sank against my chest, my mouth planting kisses along the side of her jaw as we wandered down the aisle. “Mine,” I whispered against her temple.

  “Nikki?”

  The voice stopped both of us in our tracks, and our attention jerked to the source.

  There was Sammie coming the other direction, a baby sleeping in her arms and her husband pushing a cart beside her.

  Bottled rage rumbled in that ugly, dark space inside me. I knew it wasn’t gone. There were some things that didn’t just go away.

  Like the fury I felt that some asshole had hurt her in some way.

  Nikki had confessed to me a few days ago that she was having trouble sleeping beca
use she was so worried about her sister. That her sister hadn’t called her or come to her, and Nikki was fearing she wouldn’t be able to sit idle for much longer.

  Worried her sister might be in trouble.

  Surprise streaked across Sammie’s face as she took in the two of us.

  Nikki was still caged between the cart and me, my head barely angling toward them, two of us about as close as we could get in a public place.

  I could feel the strain return to Nikki, and she unwound herself from my hold and cleared her throat.

  Sammie actually grinned.

  Wry and knowing.

  Eyes so close to the same as Nikki’s were locked on me for a beat before she turned her attention to Nikki. “Looks like we have some catching up to do.”

  A nervous giggle escaped from Nikki, and she fidgeted with her hair, trying to straighten it which was impossible after the ride on the bike. She peeked back at me. “Yeah, we definitely have some catching up to do.”

  Nikki seemed to shake the surprise off and stepped toward her sister, lowering her voice. “How have you been?”

  Awareness moved through Sammie’s expression, and my eyes were locked on her husband.

  Studying.

  Searching.

  Watching for any sort of reaction that might be off.

  Sammie glanced over at her husband.

  There was no warning for her to keep quiet. No hardness. Just a soft understanding in his eyes.

  The anger that threatened to boil inside me eased back into a simmer. I was pretty sure this guy wasn’t the one responsible for whatever Sammie was going through.

  Sammie turned back to Nikki. “I’ve been good.”

  Swore, a thousand unsaid words were offered between the two of them.

  Nikki suddenly reached out. “Gimme that baby.”

  Light laughter filtered from Sammie. “Bossy.”

  “I’m your big sister. It’s your job to listen to me.”

  “You wish,” Sammie tossed back at her, but she was passing a sleeping bundle off to Nikki.

  Nikki took the baby, a soft sound leaving her mouth as she shifted the tiny thing and set her against her chest. The little girl’s head turned to the side, still sleeping, face scrunched up as she snuggled against Nikki’s warmth.

  Nikki bounced her.

  Sometimes it was a little too much when your connection to someone was so intense.

  Because I could feel her spirit doing some crazy thing. Making the air seem too thin.

  She looked up at me with those indigo eyes.

  Adoring.

  Hugging the baby to her chest, she whispered up at me. “Ollie . . . this is my niece, Penelope. Isn’t she incredible?”

  Her smile was so soft I felt it cut right through the center of me.

  Tentatively, I reached out and ran my knuckle down the baby’s soft, plump cheek. “She’s beautiful.”

  Nikki looked back down, her voice not intended for me. “She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  I stepped back, watching her as she rocked and cooed and pressed kisses to the crown of Penelope’s head before she reluctantly passed her back to Sammie.

  The sisters embraced with the baby between them, the two of them whispering words, ones I knew were of encouragement.

  Because that was Nikki.

  Spreading her light.

  Giving.

  Doing her best to pour a little good into this wicked world.

  28

  Nikki

  I stood at the wall of windows that looked out on the city spread out below me. It was nothing but a maze of twinkling lights—streets and neighborhoods and cars.

  Behind me, the door creaked open.

  At the sound, my spirit jumped into a frenzy, instant and eager as it stretched out for him.

  Slowly, I shifted to look at Ollie, who had frozen in the doorway.

  My breath hitched.

  Caught up in his potency.

  He stood stock still. I thought maybe he couldn’t believe I was standing there any more than I could, unable to fathom he was coming home.

  And he was coming home to me.

  “Are you already finished?” I asked, flashing him a smile as I turned the rest of the way around and moved into the kitchen. “I thought you decided you needed to stay a little longer tonight?”

  He stepped into the loft and clicked the door shut behind him. “Think I was missin’ someone.”

  “Is that so?” I went to the stove where I was making a lemon garlic chicken and roasted potatoes. I peeked over at him, lifting a shoulder as I did. “And just who was it you were missin’?”

  So what if I put a little flirt into it? This was my man we were talking about.

  He stalked across the space, coming right up behind me.

  Towering.

  Eclipsing.

  He was all too quick to tug me against that wall of muscle. The man was so big, I could wear him like a blanket.

  He gathered up my hair in one hand so he could run his mouth along the sensitive flesh of my neck. “You,” he murmured.

  Chills flashed. Streaking across my skin. That feeling took a dive directly in that pool of desire that had taken up permanent residence low in my belly.

  “Mmm, that’s good,” I whispered, bringing the wooden spoon to my mouth to test the sauce. “Because I was thinking about you.”

  “You’d better be.” I could feel his smile at the side of my neck.

  “Like I ever stop. How was it downstairs?” I asked.

  “Busy.”

  “And you’re here?”

  “It’s where you are, isn’t it?”

  Butterflies.

  They should have been impossible after all this time. After everything we’d been through. Yet, there I stood, feeling like that fifteen-year-old girl who’d been kissed for the first time under a waterfall.

  “Besides, I was pretty sure I could smell you making dinner all the way down there. Stomach was growling.”

  He kissed up and down my neck. “Among other things.”

  “Insatiable.”

  “I thought you told me earlier that you wanted all the orgasms?”

  It plucked a laugh free. “You have me there.”

  “See, we’re completely on the same page. Think we totally have what it takes to make this work.”

  I could feel the tease tinting every single one of his words.

  Today had been bliss.

  It just kept getting better and better.

  “Want a taste?” I asked, spooning some sauce onto a spoon and lifting it to his mouth.

  He groaned when it touched those full, full lips, framed by that beard that turned me on more than should be possible.

  Everything about him was sexy.

  That monstrous body and those knowing eyes and those demanding hands.

  And God . . . that sound he was making at the back of his throat when he tasted the sauce.

  “That’s it, you’re tryin’ to ruin me, aren’t you? Knowing my girl is up here, waiting on me while I’m downstairs working. Then I show up, and you’re wearing this.”

  He flattened his palms on the short slip of a nightgown I was wearing. Silky and trimmed in lace, slits up the sides that were entirely unnecessary considering it barely covered my bottom in the first place.

  I knew Ollie would love it.

  His teeth nipped at my earlobe. Catching and releasing.

  Didn’t mean I wasn’t completely ensnared.

  I peeked back at him, unable to stop the grin that pulled to one side of my mouth. “Someone once told me the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Well . . . that and rough, sweaty, amazing sex.”

  I bumped back into him and had to stifle a groan.

  He was already hard and needy for me.

  Was it wrong that I loved it?

  That I reveled in the fact that one brush of a hand, one look, and we were both laid bare?

  A rumble rolled from his chest an
d slid through me like a caress. “I like this someone. Tell them I approve.”

  I giggled. “You can thank my grandma.”

  Easy laughter rippled from his lips. “Oh God . . . your grandma is really gonna want to kick my ass now, isn’t she? God knows she always wanted to back in the day. She’d see me coming down the road, and the first thing I would hear was her shouting from the porch that she was watching me.”

  “That’s because you were nothin’ but trouble.”

  Those massive arms tightened around my waist, and he nuzzled his face under my jaw. “Gave her plenty of ammunition to hate me.”

  I tsked quietly, loving the feel of his mouth where he was kissing on the cap of my shoulder. “She loved you.”

  Obviously, she still did.

  “Hardly.”

  I stilled a little, hoping he’d hear the truth of my words. “You have it all wrong again, Ollie. You’re impossible not to love.”

  His hands slipped down to the fronts of my thighs, riding up. “Could use a little of that lovin’ right now.”

  I shivered and tried not to moan. “Think we better start on the stomach part before we get too distracted.”

  He ran his nose through my hair.

  Chills scattered.

  “This kind of distraction is worth it, don’t you think, Sunshine?”

  My knees went weak when he spread his hands out across my belly, the feel of him and the silky fabric gliding through the center of me.

  “I think you’re gonna need your strength,” I breathed.

  Another growl.

  “You’re in so much trouble, Nikki Walters. So much trouble.”

  “I can’t wait,” I told him.

  Peeling himself away, he pulled two plates from the cabinet and poured a glass of wine for me and a scotch for himself. We plated our food and moved to the long high-top table that took up most of his kitchen space.

  The view breathtaking.

  The city and the night and the man sitting angled right next to me.

  We ate and laughed.

  We drank and reminisced.

  Old bonds strengthening and new ones forming.

  We tiptoed around the mention of Sydney, ignoring how it seemed as if she was right there in the middle of us. I couldn’t help but feel she kept coming closer and closer. Filling up the space between us and forcing us to look at the things that might be a true threat.