Beyond Promise (7 page)

Hearing the news did nothing to settle my
worries. Instead, it made me realize Ayden, too, had doubts and
concerns he hadn’t shared with me about the outcome of the fight. I
actually wished I hadn’t heard that he’d updated his affairs.
Granted, it was the responsible thing to do, but it painted an
alternative ending I refused to think about.

And here it was the night before he was
about to step into the ring, and I was deliberating whether I even
wanted to go to the match. I was almost sick to my stomach with
fear and apprehension.

“I promise you this time tomorrow, we’ll be
home in front of the fire, watching a movie. Me stepping into the
ring will be a thing of the past, and we’ll never have to—” Ayden
began.

I shook my head and placed my fingers on his
lips. “Enough talk about the fight. I’ve spent too much time over
the last week focusing on it. I want us to have a nice, normal
night without some epic battle going on in my mind about you
fighting that monster.”

We were sitting in the family room, and he’d
just shut his laptop down and sat next to me on the chaise. My
guess was that he’d run a few more scenarios through Jason’s
program while he’d been sitting there glued to his laptop.

“You know, you’re absolutely glowing,” he
interrupted my thoughts.

“I think it’s a hot flash. I’m burning up
from the fire and hormones,” I confessed. “Not to mention this
flannel nightshirt I’ve got on.”

He laughed, shaking his head.

“Sorry. Not very romantic.” I looked around
the room. The light was low with only the table lamp beside me
turned on so I could pretend to read the book I’d been holding all
night. “I’ll have to work on that.”

“You don’t have to be romantic to get me to
fantasize about having sex with you.” He grinned. “But let’s get
those PJs off. I don’t want you to overheat.”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s what you’re worried
about,” I teased.

His fingers gripped the hem, and he gently
tugged it over my head and tossed it on the floor. His eyes fell to
my chest and he grinned.

“What?” I grabbed a pillow and playfully
swatted his head.

“The perks of this whole nine month process
are pretty appealing.” He flashed a wicked grin and moistened his
lips.

I glanced down at my bra, which was
overflowing, and I whistled.

“Guess it’s time to go up a size.”

“Or three,” he murmured, lifting his gaze
back to mine. “Lily, I know I promised I wouldn’t bring up the
fight, but I need you to know I’d never put myself or our future in
jeopardy. I know I’ll pummel him. I’d never do anything to put our
dreams at risk. I promise you that. I promise you that more than
anything. I see our future together and it’s a happy one.”

I nodded slowly as he touched my cheek
softly, and the heat that had been washing through my system turned
to chills. A wave of goose bumps ran across my flesh, and I
suddenly wished I had my flannel nightshirt back on. His words were
comforting, but they didn’t erase the fact that tomorrow he’d be
doing exactly what he said he wouldn’t do. He was putting our
future, our dreams, in jeopardy, and I couldn’t fathom how he
didn’t see that.

I reached for a throw and wrapped it around
my shoulders, leaving enough of a glimpse so he didn’t forget about
the very future he was talking about.

“Do you still want to wait until our
rehearsal to tell everyone?” he asked.

“I think so. It might be kind of fun to see
everybody’s reactions at once. And I sent the little favors I made
that announce it. If we spill the beans sooner, it would lose
something.”

“Good point. It will be pretty special.”

“It will,” I agreed, but the emptiness
inside of me was growing. Every second closer to tomorrow made me
want to crawl under a rock and not come out until it was all
over.

“I love you more than you’ll ever know,”
Ayden said quietly.

Enough to not step into the ring? I
wondered, but I pushed the thought away as quickly as it came and
steadied my eyes on his.

“I love you too.”

“Have I ever told you I fell in love with
you the first time Brandy brought you around?” he asked.

“You’ve mentioned it a time or two…” I
grinned.

Ayden traced his finger along my leg, and I
felt the electricity run between us.

“Well, it’s true. I knew one day I’d be with
you. I didn’t know how or when, but I was willing to wait.”

Now was the time. If I was going to beg him
to stay home tomorrow, now was the time. Now was the moment to
confess that tomorrow scared me to death, and I wanted him to bow
out.

Ayden’s hunger-filled gaze locked on mine,
and I took in a deep, shaky breath as he moved toward me. His hands
slid along my sides, and he pulled me onto his lap in one quick,
fluid motion. A quiet wall of hesitancy went up around me before
his mouth collided with mine, and I knew I wouldn’t be saying a
word.

My arms wrapped around his neck, and my body
pressed against his, feeling the need in him demand something from
me.

Understanding.

And I gave it to him. I relinquished the
panic that had knotted itself up inside as my fingers tangled
through his hair. The coolness of his lips excited me as our kisses
intensified, hungrily searching for approval and strength to get
through the next twenty-four hours.

Being denied the comfort of knowing Ayden
was going to come out okay thrust itself into a raw, almost
painful, desire to be with him. My kisses deepened as his hands
drifted along my skin, fueling my need for him. His lips broke
free, but his gaze stayed on mine while he unfastened my bra and
drew the straps down my arms. The heat running through his
expression made my entire body warm with excitement. He threw the
pink lace on the chaise and ran his fingers up my back, cradling
the back of my head in his palm as his tongue slowly traced down my
throat, sending staggering sensations of want through my body.

He greedily teased and taunted with his
tongue as he worked his way around my breasts, never stopping,
demanding more of me as my body arched into his. Resting his
fingers along my panties without his hands moving in the slightest
bit was torturous.

“You’re being cruel,” I whispered, as he
trailed his mouth back along my neck. I wiggled my hips deeper into
him as I continued to straddle his lap.

“Is there something you want?” Ayden
murmured, skimming his fingers across the lace.

“Yes,” I said, my voice almost breathless as
he edged his finger along the inside elastic of the lace.

“What do you want, Lily?” I knew he was
watching my reaction, waiting for me to plead with him, but I was
stronger than that. His fingers flitted across the lace, tormenting
me more with every light stroke and playful touch, and I held in a
gasp, tightening my thighs around his waist.

“Tell me what it is you want,” he repeated,
skating his lips across my chest.

I let out a slight moan and shook my
head.

“You’re impossible,” he almost growled, as
his hands quickly cupped my butt. He stood up with me, and I
attempted to secure my legs around his waist. I slid my hand in
between his jeans and waist, and his breath caught. To prove my
point, I slowly trailed my fingers back the way they came and
grinned.

“Two can play this game,” I whispered. “But
should we wait until after the fight?”

“Absolutely not. It’s never been a problem
before, baby.”

He spun us around and placed me back on the
chaise. This time kneeing my legs open as his fingers edged under
my panties. Propping himself up, with one arm and stroking me with
the other made my entire body feel as if I were hovering between
fantasy and reality.

He fit his mouth over mine and kissed me in
a way that told me he wanted to savor every second of now. My body
tensed with the realization the only way to retreat from the pain
and fear of tomorrow was to give myself fully to Ayden just as he
was doing with me. I moaned into his mouth as our kisses slowed,
but my blood remained wild with anticipation. His mouth broke away
from mine, and he sat up, his eyes scanning my body.

“I love you more every single day,” Ayden
murmured.

“I love you more. Period.”

“Impossible.”

My pulse pounded madly as he pushed my legs
wider and knelt between them, his fingers unbuttoning his jeans and
sliding them off. He turned his attention back to me and slid his
hands up my legs, bringing a wave of shivers with his touch. Ayden
slowly worked my panties off and leaned back over me as our need
grew for one another. Fueled by an unknown tomorrow, I felt him
push inside of me, and I locked my legs around him as he thrust
into me. His fingers stroking the warmth between us as our bodies
rocked as one, and my world spun with ecstasy. I opened my eyes to
see Ayden’s jaw tense and his teeth grit as the pleasure we shared
overcame us both, and the problems of our world slipped away for
another day.

The paved parking lot was slick with
rainwater from a passing summer shower. I surveyed the lot packed
full of cars, and my pulse quickened. By the looks of everything,
this was one of the biggest fights I’d been to, and that revelation
didn’t help my worries one bit. Ayden, Mason, and Derek had arrived
several hours earlier, and I came with Brandy and Aaron. Jason and
Gabby were going to meet us.

I climbed out of the car and stretched as I
looked at the warehouse where the fight was about to take place.
The fights were always held in a vacant building, generally in an
industrial part of a city, and this location was no different. A
chain-link fence circled the property and rusty “For Rent” signs
barely clung to the metal building. Weeds sprouted alongside the
fence, and the sidewalk leading to the front of the warehouse was
cracked and barely holding together. A pile of old, rusty junk was
heaped in the far corner of the land. I’d be thrilled to leave here
quickly.

“Should we get going?” Brandy asked, looping
her arm through mine. “I know I’d never be forgiven if I didn’t get
you inside to see Ayden before the fight.”

I nodded and slowly walked toward the
entrance as people trickled inside. I didn’t want to hurry to tell
him good luck because that would only bring the event quicker. As
we got closer, the chatter became louder and their words clearer. I
glanced nervously at Aaron as he held the door open for us. He gave
a slight nod as we made our way over to another door where a
security guard stood tall. I recognized him and felt slightly more
at ease. He’d been at several of Ayden’s fights. The moment we slid
into the hallway, I turned around and looked at Aaron.

“Did you notice most of the people coming
inside weren’t speaking English?”

“I did,” Aaron confirmed.

“It sounded like Russian.”

“That would make sense considering who he’s
fighting,” Aaron laughed.

“Captain Obvious strikes again.” I nodded
and climbed up the long flight of stairs, tamping down the fear
that was threatening to boil over as I got closer to seeing
Ayden.

Ayden’s fights usually had a crowd siding
with him or at least evenly divided between the fighters, but if
the group in the parking lot and downstairs were any indication,
this could be the first fight where the crowd was siding with
Ayden’s opponent. The nausea spun through my system when I reached
the top of the steps and waited for Brandy and Aaron. I kept my
eyes focused on the dingy wall to keep away the dizziness. I
couldn’t let Ayden see I was worried. I needed to get my emotions
under control before I went inside.

Brandy was looking at her phone and glanced
up at me. “Gabby and Jason just parked. They’ll be up in a
second.”

My fingers wrapped around the cold metal
handle, and I pushed open the door to see Ayden in the far corner
of the room. Mason was peering through the window that overlooked
the growing crowd below while Derek was giving Ayden some last
minute pointers.

“You know, I think after you clobber this
guy we’re going to have to get you out of here as quickly as we
can,” Mason said, his thumb and forefinger squeezing his chin.

“Why’s that?” Ayden asked, turning his gaze
to Mason.

Derek started wrapping Ayden’s hands, and I
took that first step into the room, the one that fully committed me
to this situation. Ayden turned his attention from his brother, and
his eyes connected with mine. He smiled and my heart raced with
nervous anticipation. I wanted this fight to be over.

Ayden walked away from Derek with one hand
left to wrap and made his way over to me. He had the familiar glint
in his eyes he’d get right before a fight, which was blazing
determination mixed with fierce agitation. He wanted in the ring as
badly as I wanted him out of it.