Shattered (9 page)

My panties were soaked through when Anderson
reached to the slide them down my legs. He knelt between my legs
and pulled the thin cotton garment away from my body. For a moment
he was still, taking in the sight of me lying there before him
without a stitch of clothing on my body. I spread my legs before
him, opening myself to him, inviting him in. I needed desperately
to feel him within me.

Anderson tore off his belt and slipped out of
his jeans. I stared unabashedly as his member was revealed, long
and hard and pointed directly toward me. I couldn’t help myself—I
spun around and crawled across the bed to where Anderson to was
kneeling. Eagerly, I brought my mouth down to him, wrapping my lips
around the bulging tip of his manhood. He groaned as I flicked my
tongue against him, taking as much of him as I could into my mouth.
I worked up and down his staggering length with my hands and mouth,
savoring the taste of him. His fingers worked themselves into my
hair, pulling just hard enough. I could feel his already enormous
member growing harder, longer as I sucked fervently. Could I handle
this much man at once?

I felt myself falling back against the bed as
Anderson pushed me away, bringing his hard body down on top of
mine. His eyes were absolutely burning with lust, and I groaned as
I felt him hard against my hot, wet opening, poised and eager.

“Please,” I gasped, digging my fingers into
the tight muscles of his back, “I need—”

But my words became a wail of ecstasy as
Anderson plunged into me, sinking deep inside my body. His thick,
hard member parted my silky flesh, and opened me as I’d never been
opened before. My head fell back against the bed as my vision spun
wildly. This was unlike anything I had ever felt in my life, and I
needed more.

Anderson pulled back and thrust again,
driving even deeper. I bucked my hips against him, crying out as
his long manhood collided with that place behind by navel, that
untouched place that was the center of all my pleasure. We leaned
into each other with each pummeling pass, taking as much of the
other as we could. Anderson’s face screwed up into a wordless howl
of bliss as he slid further and further into the very depths of me,
his arms bulging with the force of every thrust. I clung onto him
as I felt myself careening toward the edge. I’d never been laid so
bare before, never felt that hot, searing pressure building up
inside of me.

“Anderson,” I gasped. “I think...I’m going
to...”

“
Come
,” he commanded, staring down
with those endless eyes. He reared back and drove himself as deep
inside me as he could. I screamed as I barreled into unparalleled
bliss, coming against his throbbing member. I felt him pulse within
me as he closed his eyes tight, felt him let loose and come inside
me, filling me up. We pulled each other close as we came, our
voices joined in a wordless howl of delight. I could feel him
coating me, encompassing me…the haze of my pleasure was
overwhelming.

When the surge finally began to settle,
Anderson fell heavily beside me onto the bed. He wrapped his arms
tightly around my body and drew me against his hard chest. I curled
into him, stunned by the force of what had just passed between us.
Our chests heaved, eventually moving as one breath. We were quiet
as our hearts resumed their normal rhythms, as the blaze of ecstasy
smoothed into a warm glow. Anderson tucked a lock of hair behind my
ear and brought my face up to meet his. He was smiling down at me,
his eyes glimmering with satisfaction. I smiled back, burrowing
against him. Not a word passed between us as we lay still and let
sleep come to take us away.

I slept dreamlessly, and no wonder—what could
I possibly have dreamed about that would come close to comparing
with the events of that evening. When I finally woke, my body was
faintly the sore in the best way. As I swam up from the depths of
slumber, my muscles started to speak, my core was throbbing
pleasantly, and the lingering scrapes on my back were vying for
some attention. I didn’t mind the aching one bit, I should have
expected it. I’d never had a night like that in my life, and I had
never even been able to climax from sex with something that didn’t
have a battery. No wonder my body was overwhelmed.

When I finally persuaded my eyes to crack
open, I realized that I was alone in bed. I cast my eyes around the
room, searching for my hard-bodied Romeo. He was nowhere to be
seen, but I soon had an inkling why. The unmistakable smell of
bacon flitted through the room, and a slow smile spread across my
face. I rolled over and placed my feet on the hardwood floor,
glancing down at my stark naked body. I let my dress lay and
decided to walk to the kitchen as I was.

I made my way through the enormous penthouse
on tip toe. As I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I spotted
Anderson’s bare back and shoulders. He was standing before the
stove, working away at a pan or two. I peeked in the kitchen and
saw that the counter was laid out with mugs, plates, and
silverware—a little breakfast table for two.

“You know,” I said from the doorway, “You’re
not supposed to cook without a shirt on.”

He turned toward the sound of my voice, but
his reply died on his lips as he saw that I’d forgone clothes that
morning. With a happy shake of his head, he finally said, “You’re
not supposed to come to breakfast naked, either, but I’m glad to
see you’re a rule breaker too.”

“I don’t know what the rules are anymore,” I
said, coming further into the kitchen, “I feel like I’ve stumbled
into someone else’s life.”

“Well, I for one have enjoyed watching you
stumble,” he said, turning back to the stove, “Particularly when
it’s into my bed.”

“That makes two of us,” I said, taking a seat
at the counter. The stool was cool beneath my bare skin, and I let
out a little shudder.

“Do you like your bacon crispy or burnt?” he
asked.

“Crispy,” I replied.

“Good,” he said, carrying the pan my way and
loading up my plates with delicious strips.

“So tell me,” I said, plucking up a piece of
bacon, “If I were to take you up on your offer to become your
assistant...would there be daily breakfast service like this?”

“If you like,” he said, filling his own plate
as well.

“It’s a very tempting offer,” I said, taking
a delectable bite.

“Does that mean you’re accepting?” he asked,
sitting down beside me. He’d at least had the good sense to put on
some jeans, but the fact of us eating breakfast in various states
of undress made me happier than I could have ever imagined.

“I...don’t know,” I said finally.

“Aren’t you enjoying my company?” he asked,
with a theatrical pout.

“I guess...I just don’t understand why you
want me to stick around,” I said honestly. “What’s in it for you if
I stay?”

Anderson stared at me for a long moment. I
was alarmed to see a wash of anger cross his face. “What’s in it
for me?” he repeated, “Well...You, I guess. Do I need some kind of
ulterior motive?”

“No,” I said, scared by his sudden offense,
“I just—”

“Why would you think that I need to be
getting something out of you, Kaela? Have I given you any reason to
think—?”

“No,” I said quickly, “It’s just...I’ve never
been with someone like you before. Someone I wanted, and...I just
don’t know how to believe that you really want me too, I
guess.”

His expression softened. “Oh,” he said,
“Kaela, I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s OK,” I said, resting a hand on his
thigh. “I guess I’m just in shock. The last couple of days haven’t
exactly been ordinary for me, you know. And what you’re asking...If
I get even more involved in your life style, my entire life is
going to change. I’d be coming into a whole new world, your world.
That’s a lot of commitment for someone you just met, you know? I
just want to know...why? Why me?”

“I can’t tell you why,” Anderson said
plainly, “The second I laid eyes on you, it was like something
shifted for me. It’s like it was inevitable, my finding you. I’m
not in the habit of letting golden opportunities slip away. I’m not
a conventional man with a conventional life, but when something is
important to me, I want to protect it in every way I can. You’re
important to me. You were, instantly. And I want to protect you.
So, what do you say?”

“I say...OK,” I told him, “I’ll give it a
shot. We’ll just...see what happens. There’s nothing holding me
back to my old life. To tell you the truth, I was kind of getting
sick of it.”

“Good,” he grinned, “That’s what I was hoping
you’d say. If you’d said no, I would have had to take away your
bacon.”

“Perish the thought, Shatter Man” I said,
taking another bite.

We lapsed into happy silence, filling our
bellies with food and our eyes with each other. I felt light, as if
a heavy weight had been lifted from me. I was free of everything
that had been holding me back, but there was a dark fear lurking at
the edges of my mind. This world wasn’t just breakfast and pillow
talk. From what Anderson had told me, it was extremely dangerous,
sometimes deadly. But I had the best protection in the world—my
hero, my savior, Anderson Cole. And though every rational bone in
my body was warning me to flee, I decided to listen to my heart, my
body. I decided to take a chance.

Chapter
Six

I spent the next week floating through the
new world I’d stumbled into as if in a dream. Once I made the
decision to trust Anderson Cole, to commit myself to being a part
of his unpredictable life, a feeling of weightlessness carried me
through the days. In less than a week, my life had been utterly
transformed. I’d gone from being a penniless, depressed barista to
a pampered, carefree ultimate fighting enthusiast and personal
assistant. Anderson had punched out my horrible boss, paid off the
rest of my rent for the year, and gave me a key to his amazing
penthouse apartment.

Once I had agreed to our sudden
collaboration, I started to learn more and more about his peculiar
and sensational life. Anderson Cole did not have a day job, he
didn’t need one. He did not have any care in the world beyond his
fighting career. With Robert Hunt’s help, Anderson had been able to
make an entire livelihood out of his fighting expertise and
physical prowess. He was paid unspeakable sums of money to appear
in the exclusive underground fighting ring, and Robert invested
that money very wisely.

Technically speaking, Anderson still depended
on Robert to handle his finances. But the money itself, Anderson
earned with his unbelievable skill in the ring. The underground
fighting consortium convened once a week, I soon learned. Once a
week, twenty fighters paired up and faced off. If a fighter should
win, he would be allowed back the next week. If he should lose,
however, he would have to start at the bottom and work his way back
up by fighting in satellite matches in affiliate circles. Anderson
had been among the first twenty fighters to appear in that ring,
and of those original twenty, he was the only one who still
remained.

The popularity of the league had skyrocketed
over its five years of existence. Some of the wealthiest, most
powerful people in the city—in the world—attended the exclusive
matches. Corrupt politicians, crooked cops, celebrities,
socialites; every realm of influence was represented among the
people who came to watch Anderson fight. All of this, Anderson told
me proudly. What he couldn’t tell me for certain was who arranged
the fights, or who organized the entire affair. I was surprised to
learn that Anderson was clueless about how the league had started
and who was in charge.

“I just show up and fight,” he told me, “The
money goes to Robert, then to my accounts and investments. I don’t
need to know the details.”

Though I was baffled by the fact that no one
seemed to know who was in charge of these fights, the mystery
rather added to the allure. There was something deliciously
dangerous about an arena of self-governing ultra-powerful people
convening for the sole purpose of watching visceral and brutal
displays of physical violence. I’d expected the world of
underground fighting to be dirty, sweaty, and vaguely nauseating. I
had been so wrong to think so.

Anderson’s world was more glamorous than I
could have possibly imagined. When I looked back on the night I
spent beside the ring, it seemed like something out of a movie.
From the gorgeous men and women in fine designer clothing to the
impeccably lush decor to the fine burn of expensive booze as it had
cascaded down my throat, the whole experience had been spectacular.
When I thought about that night, I found myself getting turned on.
I was aroused by the mere memory of watching Anderson fly through
that ring, he was a force of nature.