Fighting to Forget (Fighting, #3)

She’s so beautiful and even more so now that I’ve gotten to know her better. In the few moments that we’ve flirted and I’ve purposely on accident put my hands on her, I’ve felt good. Even now, I want to do it again. The impulse to drag my knuckles down the side of her face, sift my fingers into her hair, and take her lips is overwhelming, not disgusting.

“It’s getting late.” She pushes back from the island and stands from her barstool. “I better go.”

No! “Yeah.” I check the clock. Ten p.m. Damn. “I’ve got to be at the training center early.”

She moves from the kitchen toward the living space, and I grab my keys. I tell myself that letting her go tonight is okay because I’ll get to see her in a couple days. She not only agreed to go to my fight but she even said she’d be fine in the UFL wife-seating area. They’re close to my corner, and as nervous as she seems, it’ll be good to have her sandwiched between Raven and Layla.

Clicking off the TV, I watch her move toward the front door. The visual of her in my condo reminds me of everything I’ve overcome in the short span since watching baseball at Jonah’s. The usual weight that lives in my chest is still there, but only a fraction of what it was before. I take a deep breath and relax into the new freedom.

Damn it feels good. I’m greedy for more.

She’s at the door, bending forward to get her shoes, and I’m ready to push myself one step further.

My body responds before my brain registers it. In three quick strides, I’m at her back. She straightens, not knowing I’m right behind her, and the sweet island smell of her hair wafts beneath my nose.

I do the only thing I can.

I lunge.

*

Mac

“Oh my . . . shit!” I’m pressed face forward against the closed door of Rex’s condo. The cool wood seeps through my thin cotton tank while the heat of his body is at my back. A small prickle of fear crawls over my skin before I feel his lips at my neck.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He growls his apology against the tender flesh below my ear. “I had to touch you.”

I hold off a moan and concentrate on not falling limp in his arms. His hands find mine splayed against the door. He interweaves our fingers, fisting my smaller ones in his, and pushes them up above my head. I’m helpless. Incapacitated by his strength and the position he’s put me in.

“Rex . . .”

He flexes his hips against my ass as a reprimand of some kind, but it feels like a reward. A groan of pleasure falls from my lips, and my head drops back against his shoulder.

“You okay?” He runs his lips up and down the side of my neck, dragging that damn piece of metal along in strokes of pure torture.

“Yeah, just . . . more.”

The low grumble of his laugh rolls against my back, sending shivers of ecstasy and anticipation down my spine. I arch my back, requesting his touch.

“Aw, fuuuck.” He slams his hips into me, and the feeling of pure steel at my lower back robs me of breath.

He hasn’t even touched me, and we’re fully clothed, but a few more of those and I’ll fall apart in a blistering orgasm that’ll knock my legs out from under me.

“Here’s the way it’s gonna be, baby.” He drops a lingering kiss at my neck. “I need to be in control.” Another slow kiss at my jawline. “Nod if you understand.”

I nod quickly. Anything, whatever, just please don’t stop.

His hands holding mine flex. “These stay here at all times.” He nuzzles the nape of my neck. “You smell fucking amazing.”

“Rex—”

“No talking.” He growls against my skin, but this time there’s more than hunger laced in his response. It sounds like pain.

I nod again and roll both my lips between my teeth, biting down to keep from talking. This needs to be perfect for him. Whatever is about to happen, I owe it to him to put my own desires aside to make this easy on him.

“It’s not about taking pleasure from your body; I’m not alone in this.” He runs his nose from my temple to my ear. “You let me know if I’m doing something you don’t want. Then you speak.”

I’m lost in the feeling of his strong body pinning mine. Assaulted by mental images of what’s to come, anticipation floods my body. The sharp pinch of his teeth at my ear clears my thoughts.

“Nod if you hear me, baby.”

I nod again and he rewards me with a long firm thrust of his hips. “Atta girl.”

My head falls back and to the side, opening up my neck in submission to him. He takes my offer and dives in, licking and sucking until I’m writhing with need. Goose bumps race up my arms, and I imagine all the places I wish he’d move his attention to.

“Fuck, you taste so damn good.” He pulls my skin between his lips with a fierce suction that I feel in my nipples. “Bet you taste even better down here.” He bends his knees and thrusts between my legs.

“Yes!” I slam my mouth shut, biting back my reaction as it dissolves into a moan.

His hands flex against mine. “I was hoping you’d test me.”

He nudges my ankles farther apart and I gladly step them wide. His knee slides in tight between my legs with a firm pressure. So close to where I need him, but not quite there. The tease is maddening.

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