Xavier Cold (Hard Knocks #2)

I turn to the referee. “Get me a mic.”

Within seconds of my request, a microphone is shoved into my hand so I can address the crowd. “Last time I was in this ring, I left in handcuffs. This time I walk out of here as the champ.” The fans get so loud, I swear the roof of this place is about to blow. After a couple of minutes, they quiet down enough for me to continue. “Assassin tried to take away everything that was important to me, but that dumb ass couldn’t figure out you can’t mess with fate. I’ve got my belt, and I’ve got my woman.”

Anna stares up at me with a wide grin and mouths the words ‘I love you’ to me.

I gaze into her eyes, knowing this woman is my soul mate—the one I can’t live without—and it’s time to make this shit permanent for real. “This woman has brought me out of the depths of my darkness. She’s my light—my everything—and it’s high time the world knows she’s mine.” I drop down to one knee in front of a sold-out crowd and millions of people watching at home. “Anna . . . will you marry me?”

Her hands cover her face in shock. She wasn’t prepared for this moment, but she should know by now I never do what’s expected. Tears flow from her eyes as she smiles and nods, repeating the word yes over and over.

I hop to my feet and cradle her face in my hands. “I love you, Anna. Always have and always will.”

I thread my fingers into her hair, and crash my lips into hers and get lost in the moment.



Anna curls her fingers into my shirt and yanks me into the elevator with her. We’ve been celebrating my victory all evening, and it looks like the party is continuing in her room.

As soon as the doors close, I pick her up and crush my mouth into hers.

She wraps her legs around my waist and grips handfuls of my hair. “I want you.”

Fuck. I nearly come apart every time she says that to me.

This woman is fucking perfection. Everything she does turns me on like a fucking light switch and I can’t wait until I get her sexy ass in bed.

I glance up at the elevator numbers and realize we’re stopping on her floor and excitement for what I know is going to be amazing sex builds inside me. “Patience, baby. We’re almost there.”

The doors open and I carry her with ease down the hall. Her lips are still connected with mine when we arrive at her door.

I pull back. “Room key?”

She reaches into her back pocket and then slips it into the slot on the door. It opens on the first try, and we push inside.

The lights remain off as I walk over to the bed and toss Anna on it.

She scoots to the middle, her eyes trained on me while her hair is wild from our elevator make-out.

I crawl toward her like a predator. “Ever been fucked by a champion?”

She bites her lip. “No . . . but I have the feeling that I’m about to be.”

With a firm hand, I push her down onto the bed and then slide her tank top up. I kiss the warm flesh of her stomach and stare up at her through hooded eyes. “Did I mention how fucking sexy you looked tonight? You have no idea how tempted I was to drag you to a dark corner somewhere and have my way with you”

A blush immediately creeps into her cheeks. “I would’ve liked that.”

My tongue darts out and I lick around her naval. “Don’t tempt me, beautiful, or next time when I have the urge to take you, I’ll just do it and not give a fuck where we are or who can hear you scream out my name when I make you come.”

I crawl up next to her and then prop my head up with my left hand. I trace the smooth skin on her exposed shoulder before I lean in and nip it, causing her to giggle. I hook my finger around the hem of her shirt and lift the fabric higher, exposing the white lacey bra that covers her breast. I run my index finger along the curve of her breast, enjoying the feel of its silky-softness.

My cock jerks inside my jeans, begging for her attention.

Anna kisses my lips and then knots her fingers back into my hair. Taking things slow has never been on our sexual menu. It’s like the moment we start . . . we can’t get enough of each other.

She touches my cheek and I kiss her wrist, inhaling the sweet scent of her soap and perfume. “I love you, Xavier.”

“I love you, too.” It’s surprising how saying this to her now comes with such ease.

Before her I was lost in the darkness, battling demons all alone. I’m nowhere near healed, but with her light, I know I’ll be able to find my way out of my own self-destructive path. She is my angel and she’s giving me something I never thought I would have—a family.

“You okay?” she whispers as she gazes into my eyes.

I press my lips to hers. “Never better.”

“I’m sure that’s not totally true,” she taunts. “I can think of something else that will make you a whole lot better.”

I grin wickedly, loving how dirty her mind has become. “I see my naughty Anna has come out to play.”

“What can I say? You make me horny.” The blush on her face deepens. “I can’t believe I just said that to you.”