by Lane Hart
“When big guys are happy, they could have all the strength in the world and still be teddy bears,” Macy opines. “I think I could take him right now.”
“I think you could too,” my father agrees with my sister, who weighs a hundred pounds less than me, for fuck’s sake!
“Well, what the hell do you all want me to do?” I yell at them. “I’m not breaking up with Cassidy. It took me almost twenty years to get her!”
“You don’t have to give up Cassidy,” Jude says. “I didn’t have to give up Sadie, your dad didn’t have to give up Page, and we both won titles after settling down. You just have to retrain your brain, imagine your girl with someone else, pretend she’s not yours.”
“I don’t like this idea,” I tell them as I sip my energy drink.
“Too bad,” Macy says. “You’ve got to find your inner rage again, bro, like that first day you came in with Cass and worked out.”
“My inner rage?” I repeat.
“What were you thinking about that first day you came in?” Dad asks.
I try to think back to a few weeks ago, right when I got into town and then found out Cass was dating and sleeping with not one but two different men who weren’t me.
For the sake of training, I try to imagine Cass with Eddie or Mike, but… “It’s impossible to imagine that jealousy shit now because I know Cass would never cheat on me,” I tell them, unlike my ex-wife…
“The rage doesn’t know that, though!” Jude says. “The green-eyed monster isn’t very smart or logical. He’s just pure, white-hot, senseless emotion. Come on, try again.”
I close my eyes and picture coming home, to Cass’s house, and finding another man in bed with her, his hands get ready to touch her…before I break them the fuck off.
The rage suddenly bubbles up, not from being upset with Cass, but the key I think is going to be to take out my anger at the random man who stupidly tries to take what’s mine.
“Let’s go!” I yell to Coach Briggs, who is over at the front desk talking to Coach Cruz.
“You sure?” he asks. “You looked like you could use a longer break!”
“Someone just grab the pads and hold them for me!” I exclaim in frustration, because I know I can be better than I was earlier.
Jude gets to the pads first. As soon as he raises them, I slam my fists into them again and again while ducking and dodging a fictional opponent’s incoming hits.
After I’ve given everything I have inside of me, I drop to my knees and call a timeout.
“That was a helluva lot better,” Jude says as I gasp for air.
“Agreed,” Dad says. “He went thirty minutes without taking a break, so his endurance isn’t going to be a problem.”
“You’re right, his endurance is great,” Jude agrees then says to me, “But I still suggest that you abstain for a few days before the actual fight. No sex, no self-love. Feed the monster. Sleep in different beds or even houses. Convince the rage you have to win the fight to get the privilege of sleeping with your woman again.”
“That actually works?” I ask him.
“Trust me. It works,” he says with a pat on my shoulder.
“He’s right,” Macy says as she saunters over. “Sex is a reward, reserved only for winners.”
“Could you never use the s-word around me again, please?” I ask my sister.
Macy snorts and rolls her dark eyes. “We’re all adults here. Grow up, dork.”
I hate to agree with my sister; but if Dad and Jude swear by it, then maybe there’s something to what they’re telling me about the rage. I just wish they weren’t right about abstaining right before a fight.
Cass and I just got together, so it’s going to be nearly impossible to resist her for even one night.
Chapter Twenty
Cassidy
All day long I’ve been too anxious to sit still, wondering how Xavier’s first official day of training went. I should’ve gone with him, but I didn’t want to be a distraction.
Finally, around six that night, I hear the front door open while I’m in the kitchen fixing chicken, rice and vegetables for dinner, what I read online was good for fighters.
“Baby, I’m home!” his deep voice calls about, making the smile on my face grow even wider.
“I’m in the kitchen!” I call back.
Behind me, I hear the thud of his gym bag hitting the floor before he mutters a curse under his breath that I don’t quite catch. Clearing his throat, Xavier says, “Fuck me. All I want to eat for dinner is you, Bambi.”
“You like?” I ask when I put the spatula away to turn around and show him the front of my red, lace babydoll nightie and matching thong that I’m wearing with a pair of red high heels.
“I love,” he replies before he comes over and his index finger flicks the bow at the front underneath my breasts that are barely contained by the lace.
Xavier’s black hair is wet and slicked back from his shower, and he smells like smoky wood and sea. I can’t help but inhale deeply to soak up more of him.
“Thanks for throwing in everything I needed for a shower into my bag,” he says while his long index finger ventures straight down my stomach through the lace to the waistband of my thong.
“You’re welcome,” I tell him. “How was training?”
Lifting the hem of my nightie, Xavier shoves his big hand right down the front of my panties, touching me right on the spot that makes my knees wobble so badly I nearly stumble in my heels.
“Good,” he says in response to a question I asked even though I’m having a hard time remembering what it was with his gentle fingertips moving up and down in my panties, lowering just a little more on each pass. “Although, I’ve been told that fucking you too much isn’t good for my chances of winning a fight.”
“W-what?” I ask in confusion.
“The less I come, the better I’ll be in the cage,” he explains. Leaning down, Xavier swipes his tongue over my lips just as one of his fingers pushes up inside of me.
“But…but we just started having sex, and it’s sooo good,” I whine as he begins pumping that finger in and out of my soaked entrance.
“I know it is, baby, and it’ll only be for a few days right before a fight.”
“Fine,” I say with a pout as my hands reach under his t-shirt to explore his abs. “I don’t like it, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes for you to kick ass, even keep my hands off of you.”
“You don’t have to keep your hands off me tonight,” Xavier points out, adding another finger inside of me that has me going up on my toes on a gasp.
“Good, because my hands had all kinds of plans for you,” I tell him when I cup his thick cock through his athletic shorts.
“My hands have plans for you too,” he says. “Want me to show you?”
“Yes,” I agree on a moan when his thumb strokes over my clit.
Bending down, Xavier’s mouth attacks mine, tongues frantic while our hands work each other up until neither of us can wait any longer.
Between the clothes that go flying around us, I belatedly remember to turn the stove off right before Xavier spins me around. Bending me over the kitchen island, he rips my panties down my thighs and then his hard cock slams deep inside of me in one thrust, making me cry out. He’s almost too much too take, but I love the way he fills me up and want more.
“Harder!” I demand with my cheek pressed against the cool granite, hands gripping the edge to hold on.
“Fuck, I love being inside of you, having you underneath me, begging for more,” Xavier says before he pulls back and then slams forward with so much force my teeth rattle. Over and over he thrusts like an angry man with something to prove, like he’s making up for all the years I longed for him to be with me.
I’m already close to coming, so when his talented fingers reach around to tickle my clit while his cock pounds into me even faster, I nearly explode.
“Yes! Yes, don’t stop!” I scream…right before the doorbell
rings.
Xavier freezes above me, which is exactly the opposite of what I wanted him to do. “Who the hell…” he starts, but I distract him by squeezing my inner walls around his cock.
“Doesn’t matter! Don’t you dare stop!” I warn him.
“No?” he asks.
“No!” I tell him while still clenching around him, making him groan before the knock sounds on the door.
“Cassidy?” I vaguely hear my mother’s voice call out.
“No, no, no,” I whine.
“Just…just a second!” I yell.
“Hold on, Bambi,” Xavier says.
I suck in a mouthful of oxygen when Xavier’s fingers on my clit start working overtime. Then he shifts my hips and slams forward, hitting that magical part inside of me. “Oh fuck!” I moan as Xavier begins to go faster, harder, deeper. “Yes, yes, yes!” I whisper as the liquid warmth in my lower belly builds and builds. “I’m so close!” I tell him, closing my eyes and clenching my teeth so I don’t lose any ground on the swell of pleasure taking me to the Promised Land.
My pussy clenches on its own right before Xavier slams deep and doesn’t move, letting me take what I need from him until it finally happens.
“Xavier!” I cry out as I tremble with ecstasy and his hips jerk with his own release.
Xavier
Cass is laid out on the island without a care in the world while her mother continues ringing the doorbell like a maniac.
I need to do something before the woman barges in. So, as soon as my limbs are ready to perform their duties again, I scoop Cass up and carry her quickly up the back stairs to her bedroom where I place her on the foot of the mattress.
“That was fun,” she says as she flops over to her side with a grin on her face.
“Yes, it was,” I agree. “But you may want to put some clothes on now unless you want your mother to see you in that.”
“Okay,” Cass agrees.
“Okay. I’ll, ah, I guess I’ll go let her in,” I say, making a quick stop at the bathroom to clean up before I race back down to the kitchen and dress in record time.
Just as I suspected, the doorknob is jiggling and opens before I can unlock it.
“Hello, Mrs. Brooks,” I say when she barges in and eyes me with a raised eyebrow. Her straight, blonde hair is still trimmed perfectly, brushing the tops of her shoulders like she’s worn it since we were kids, her white pantsuit neatly pressed like she’s headed into the office instead of casually visiting her only daughter.
“Xavier,” she finally says, her eyes dipping down my body before quickly glancing away. “Well, aren’t you looking well.”
“Ah, thanks,” I reply. When I glance down, I see that not only are my shorts on backwards but also inside out with the tag hanging out. Fuck.
“Where’s Cassidy?”
“Upstairs. She’s just getting out of the, ah, shower and should be down soon.”
“Oh, well, okay.” She sniffs the air, and I cringe worried it smells like sex in here. Instead, she asks, “Is that dinner I smell? Did Cassidy actually cook something?”
“Yes, she did. Rice, chicken and vegetables.”
“How…unusual,” her mother remarks. “Anyway, I thought you were only in town for the reunion.”
“I was,” I agree. “But I loved being home so much that I decided to move back.”
Cass didn’t tell her parents we’re together? What the fuck?
“So, you’re moving back to work with your uncle?”
“I am,” I reply even though she is no doubt referring to Uncle Logan’s law practice, and not Uncle Jude, the fighter. Not that I plan to go into details.
“And you’re living here, with Cassidy?”
“For now, yes.” And hopefully for the rest of our lives.
“I don’t like it,” she says with a sniff. “You’ll hurt her.”
“What? No…” I start to explain.
“Her feelings for you have always run deep, while I would take a guess and say yours are…more of the fleeting type,” she remarks while glancing briefly at my shorts again.
“That’s not it at all,” I assure her when I cross my arms over my chest. “I love Cassidy and want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“That will be quite a feat since you’re still married to another woman.”
Gritting my teeth, I tell her, “Technically, yes, but my divorce will be finalized soon.”
“Divorced men are not known for their stability.”
“I made a mistake; one I won’t ever repeat again.”
“So you won’t ever marry my daughter?” she huffs. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Of course I would. I meant, I won’t marry a woman I don’t love,” I argue.
“Guess we’ll see.”
“Look, I understand that you’re worried about Cass and don’t want her to get hurt,” I say on a heavy exhale. “But that is not going to happen! She’s the most amazing, beautiful, loyal person I’ve ever met. I was an idiot not to see it sooner. Now that I have, though? I won’t ever let her go. And if you even think about filling her head with a bunch of doubts about us, about me, you’ll regret it.”
That has her blinking her eyes at me in surprise. “Now that I believe,” she finally says just as Cassidy comes strolling down the stairs, practically floating on air.
“Hello, Mother,” Cass says when she reaches the bottom and wraps her arms around my waist. “You really should call before you come by. Xavier lives here now, and I prefer to keep him naked.”
“Apparently,” Mrs. Brooks remarks, eyeing me and then her daughter in shock. “Well, I’ll show myself out and call you to do lunch one day.”
“Fine,” Cass agrees. “Good night.”
“Good night,” her mother says before she hurries out.
As soon as the door shuts, Cass looks up at my face and says, “Sorry you had to deal with her on your own. Did she give you a hard time?”
“Nope, not at all.”
“Good,” she replies with a smile. “So, are you ready for dinner?”
“Absolutely,” I agree.
Nothing and no one is going to ruin the good thing Cass and I finally have, not even her own mother.
Chapter Twenty-One
Xavier
For five months, I’ve been busting my ass in the weight room and in the cage training to get ready for tomorrow – my first official IFC fight. Coach Briggs has kept me away from the media, only issuing a press release about the basic details of the contract when it was first signed. He said he didn’t want me to get distracted by the publicity. Now I know exactly what he was referring to as I sit at the table in front of rows of cameras and microphones for the press conference before we weigh in for tomorrow’s fight. The sweats I’m wearing are a little too hot under the spotlight as I sweat bullets anticipating the barrage of tough questions.
My opponent, an enormous giant named Vinny Rivera, is sitting to my left, cracking his knuckles. He’s got about fifteen pounds on me, but I have an inch or two of height on him.
“Xavier, as you head into your first fight, do you feel pressure to succeed and follow in your father and uncle’s footsteps to be world champions?” one of the reporters asks.
“Of course,” I say when I lean forward to speak into the microphone. Finding Cass in the crowd where she’s sitting with my family, who are all beaming up at me like I’m the only one who can save the entire world, I try to drink her in and calm my nerves. Cass will love me win or lose and won’t let me wallow in self-pity for more than a day before she encourages me to move on. “Who wouldn’t come from such a legendary family of fighters and not feel pressure?” I remark. “And by the way, you forgot to mention my sister Macy, who is well on her way to a title fight.” My sister pumps her arms in the air with a smile on her face. “But I’ve let all of that pressure motivate me each and every day as I worked my ass off to become better.”
“You haven’t been training for long, tho
ugh, have you?” another reporter quickly follows up. “Weren’t you practicing law just a few months ago?”
“I was, in fact, but I still hit the gym and put in hours every day after leaving the office,” I answer.
“Vinny, no one has seen Xavier fight publicly, which means there were no films for you to watch and prepare. Does that concern you?” a reporter asks my opponent.
“Not at all,” he grunts into his microphone. “If you ask me, I think this little stunt is just a mid-life crisis and nothing more. No one will remember the one and only fight the son of Jax Malone had after tomorrow night when I beat him in the first round. In fact, I brought him a gift,” the asshole says with a chuckle. He pulls out a red silk tie from his pocket and tosses it to me. “Keep your day job, buddy. You’re gonna need it.”
That inner rage I have to focus on finding each day during training bubbles up to the surface at record-breaking speeds as some of the audience members, mostly ones from Vinny’s coaching staff, laugh at his attempt to be funny.
I toss the tie back over to the arrogant prick and tell him, “Thanks, man, but you better keep it. Might need it for job interviews after I embarrass you so badly in the cage that you have to find a new career.”
More people laugh at my jab than his before the reporters move on to more questions.
When the question and answer session is finally over, we get up from our seats and head over to the scales for our official weigh-in. Unlike the lighter weight classes, there’s no concern about hitting the max of two-hundred and sixty-five pounds, so we don’t have to strip down to our undies.
I come in right at two-hundred and twenty-eight pounds while Vinny is a whopping two-hundred and forty-seven.
Coach Briggs goes red in the face and throws a fit because his coach promised he wouldn’t be more than two-hundred and forty.
“It’s fine, Coach. He needs all the help he can get,” I tell the assholes with a grin.
