“Regardless of what she was to you—”
“Is,” I interrupt.
“
Hm?”
“Is
,” I say again. “What she
is
to me. She’s still mine.”
I say it with a hell of a lot more possession than I intend.
“My mistake,” he replies, worried he’s overstepped a boundary. “Regardless of what she
is
to you, you broke the rules and he looked the other way. Don’s lawyers and the MMAC are asking you to do the same,
and
they’re offering you a substantial amount of money for it.”
I snap. “Rolling over and letting Don Russell fuck me in the ass is not something I’m willing to do.”
I won’t budge. Never in a million years will I
ever
look weak in his eyes again. He will learn to fucking fear me. Thomas and the MMAC lawyers watch me with excitement. They enjoy the rivalry, but I don’t want them getting any ideas about a rematch. He doesn’t deserve to be in the same ring as me.
Exhaling, Thomas shuts his folder. “We’ll have to do another hearing with his lawyers. You have rights and we don’t want to take them away from you, but think about it. Having Don in the MMAC will benefit you immensely.”
I don’t reply. I think I’ve said enough and I’m sick of repeating myself.
They trail out of the room, one after the other until there’s no one left but Darryl and I.
“He’s right,” Darryl announces after a few long seconds, leaning forward on his elbows. “Having Don in the MMAC will be good for your career. Spectators love rivals—it excites them.”
“My rivals do
n’t begin and end with Don. I’ve pissed off a lot of people—I piss off Junior Moset all the time.”
He shrugs. “That’s not rivalry. That’s a little cocky banter. As far as I know, you haven’t slept with his girlfriend. No one hates you like you Don hates you.” Darryl laughs loudly, making me smile. “And he hates you so fucking much.”
I shift in my seat. “He has to go. I want to humiliate him—to break him into tiny little pieces.”
“And the ring is the perfect place to do it. You’re in the pros now. Every fight you’re in will be broadcast to millions of viewers. You’ve beat Don before. Do it again. Do it over and over until he begs you to leave him alone.”
I lean back in my chair. I was right about them being comfortable, that’s for sure. “You don’t understand. It isn’t about beating him anymore. I’ve done that. It’s about closing old chapters and moving forward. I don’t want Don in the MMAC because I’m in the MMAC, which means Olivia will see him frequently. She knows why Don hates me, and I don’t want her to get hurt because of something I did before I met her.”
“So this is about Olivia?”
I begin to nod, but change my mind and start to shake my head. “It’s about moving forward. I’ve changed and I don’t want to be associated with the person I used to be.”
Darryl sighs. “They’re not going to give you what you want. You know that, right?”
I know that and I fucking hate it.
“Call my lawyers and have them call the MMAC. They need to be reminded of the rules. Don is out.”
Olivia
My car rolls to a stop outside Seth’s house. Thankfully, neither Jackson nor Selena’s car is at the front and I’m hoping they’ve gone somewhere else for the night. Seth has told me all about his lovely plan for us—dinner by the pool, wine, and a swim. I’m excited. My blood flows rapidly through my veins, causing my head to spin like I’ve already ingested alcohol. I didn’t bring anything to swim in—I did it on purpose, too. I’ve never swum naked before in my life, even when Selena insisted it was cool and routinely did it in her pool. For me, being naked in a swimming pool just isn’t something that I’m into—not until now, that is. I slip from the car and approach the front door. I tug on the hem of my dress, hating that I chose to wear something so short and skipping on the underwear. It barely hits mid-thigh and I feel the loose, flowing fabric sweep across my backside. The dress is a nice royal blue and cuts low, exposing the sides of my breasts. I bought the dress two days ago. A little while back, Seth and I went shopping. He really liked the dress, but I insisted it was too ‘out there.’ I went back the next day and bought it, hoping we’d have a secluded moment so I could wear it for him. I decided to wear my hair up in a messy bun tonight, too. If there’s one thing I hate about swimming pools, it’s getting chlorine in my hair. It makes it go all dry and stringy—not sexy, at all.
I open the door and step inside. A delicious smell filters through my nose and my mouth instantly waters. Whatever he’s cooking
, it smells amazing. I don’t pay attention to the dim lighting as I make my way toward the kitchen. My legs aren’t going off orders from my brain, but from my stomach. It wants to fill itself with the delicious basil and tomato scent.
When I
enter the kitchen, it’s clean, only the warmth of a freshly cooked meal lingers in the air. I scan the room and wait a few seconds. Still no Seth. As I’m about to step toward the living room to sit and wait for him, I notice the back door is open and I instinctively make my way towards it. I hear the sounds of cutlery clashing against porcelain and a curse word fall from his lips. He’s in the pool yard, prepping our dinner. My heart flutters. I never expected Seth to be the cooking type. I mean, he obviously has to make crazy meals to keep his nutrition up, but cooking for two? It can’t be something he’s done before. I follow the stepping stones up to the gate and peer through the bars. The mere sight of him sends my heartbeat sky-rocketing—loose jeans and a tight tee—my favorite. I like the way it stretches over his back, showing every line of muscle. He adjusts the huge bowl of pasta, shifts a chair and moves a glass of wine. He steps back and puts his hands on his hip, analyzing it. With a frustrated ‘humph’ he shifts the bowl back to its original position and pushes the second, wide chair away. As he nods approval to himself, I open the gate and it screeches. Slowly, he looks over his shoulder, his eyes immediately zeroing in on my legs.
“Don’t you look
…” His lips twitch as he recognizes the dress. “…edible.”
I feel my skin burn under his intense gaze and if it wasn’t for my stomach growling, I would have skipped the meal and gone straight for dessert.
“You cooked.” I smile. “It smells amazing.”
Seth’s lips curl into a proud smirk and he turns his body around to face me front on. “I did. I made one gigantic bowl of pasta for us to share.”
He’s looking at me like I should say something and I bite back a laugh. “Okay.”
“
Okay? I thought you’d be a little more excited than that.”
I scratch my head. “Over a bowl of pasta?”
He laughs and the sound is so rough it sends goosebumps rippling over the surface of my skin.
There are no words to describe the way someone’s laugh elevates you higher than the clouds and no, Seth Rogen’s laugh doesn’t count, no matter how glorious it is and no matter how many times you set it as your notification tone and text yourself over and over just to hear it. I didn’t do that…okay I did, but it was only my message tone for two days before I realized I’d crossed the ‘sane’ line and frolicked dangerously on the edge of ‘bat-shit crazy.’
It’s strange how my body reacts to him. Last night, after I sent Seth the picture of me fresh out of the shower
, he came over and spent the night with me. We didn’t have sex…but he did spend most of the night with his face between my legs. Over and over and over he made me come…I thought I’d be set on the orgasm front for a few days, but seeing him now, laughing and trying being all romantic, moistens me. I can feel it, slick and wet between my thighs.
“You’ve
seen
Lady and the Tramp
, right?” he asks.
“
Sure.”
“Well,
girls love
Lady and the Tramp
.” He’s almost proud of himself.
I laugh once at his reference to the iconic movie, famous for the ‘pasta kiss.’ “
Says who?”
“Selena was watching it when I got home this afternoon. She said you two have watched it a million times.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “When we were twelve.”
Seth rolls his eyes and places himself in his seat.
“Do you want to share a bowl of pasta with me or not?”
“I’d love
to.” I stroll over to the empty chair and as I’m about to drop into it, Seth clicks his tongue in a disapproving way. “That’s not your seat.”
I pause
mid-squat. “Where do I sit?”
His thick fingers
nonchalantly tap his knee. “Right here.”
I quirk a brow.
“Wait, who’s the tramp here? I don’t think a
lady
would sit on a man’s knee at the dinner table.”
His eyes flare, apparently enjoying the banter.
“Sit on my knee before I bend you over it.”
I comply because I know he’s a man of his word.
I slip onto his knees and he pulls me right into his chest, inching the glass table closer to us. I inhale subtly as his smell engulfs me. It’s that clean, fresh out of the shower smell—the kind of smell that filters through your nose and lingers at the back of your throat, igniting your blood. You swallow hard in an attempt to quench the desire to lick the flesh the scent emanates from, only you can’t. Nothing extinguishes the craving, not until the skin becomes slick with your saliva as your tongue glides over it ever so smoothly.
He twirls his fork in the delicious chaos of pasta and sauce before bringing it to my lips. I open my mouth and he puts it in. I glance backwards at him and his eyes are locked on my mouth. They watch closely as my lips wrap around the food and
I pull it off the fork.
“Are you ready for California tomorrow?”
I nod, chewing my food. “You?”
“Yeah.” He spins the fork in the pasta, pulling a forkful out for himself.
I look around the pool yard. It really is beautiful. The lights are all on, giving the pool a beautiful, forbidden glow. Right now, I feel like I’m in the jungle somewhere, near a hidden location untouched by anyone else. The rocks that house the lights look real. The blue water looks like it’s glowing, and there’s a chorus of chirps from crickets that make it all that much more believable.
The pasta doesn’t get finished
, which makes Seth happy. It turns out he’s a big fan of reheated foods, not me. It’s fresh or nothing. When he takes the leftovers to put in the kitchen, I whip my dress over my head and unclip my bra. When he comes back, I’m naked and waiting to get in the pool. As he opens the gate, he stops abruptly, his eyes completely glued to my naked body. I bite back a smile as his stare darkens and he pulls his t-shirt off in a single, fluid move. All of his hard muscles and tattoos are exposed to me and I try hard not to faint into the pool. Without saying a word, he stalks toward me—his naughty intent clear in his eyes and he doesn’t stop until his warm torso is pressed firmly against mine, sending white hot arousal to every tip in my body—head, toes, fingers—you name it, it’s there. My body buzzes as his eyes remain locked on mine while his thick fingers travel down my stomach before slipping right into my wetness. His free arm surrounds me, pulling me tightly against him and he lowers his mouth to my ear.
“
You’re so fucking wet,” he growls, firmly touching me.
His voice, low and husky, vibrates through my body and I almost shiver. I groan
in agreement and he chuckles darkly once under his breath. The sound sends a stronger arousal, pure and unmatched by any other feeling, rocketing through my system.
“We shouldn’t be doing this outside
,” I say, although I have no intention of stopping.
This time, I shiver as his mouth moves to my ear and the very edge of his plump lip brushes
against it. “We should and we
will
.”’
The first stroke of his
fingers causes me moan. It’s loud, low and unbelievably shameless. It’s a sound I shouldn’t have made outside, but my care-factor for being seen or heard is suddenly below zero.
Freeing myself from his pull, I step backwards, making my way down the steps of the pool. The
warmish water laps at my ankles and then my shins. I move backwards, maintaining eye contact with the beast waiting on the sidelines who’s watching me closely like I’m his next meal. When the water breaks against my shoulders I stop, waiting for Seth to make his next move. There’s a small smile on the corner of his lips as he pulls his belt off and tosses it to the side. I catch my lip in between my teeth as he pops the button on his jeans and drags down the zipper. I sink lower in the water, up to my neck—until my hard breathing causes the surface to ripple.
In one swift movement, Seth is naked—
all of him on show—and he likes it. Quickly and with absolute purpose, he makes his descent into the water, barely flinching at the cool temperature. When he’s shoulder deep and a short distance away from me, my body heats up and the water isn’t enough to cool me down. I’m certain if Seth doesn’t put his hands on me right now, I’m going to implode.
When he f
inally does reach me, I realize I’ve backed all the way up to the wall and now my backside is pressing hard against the smooth pebbles. Seth lowers himself so he’s eye level with me and his hands grip the edge of the pool, either side of my head.
The glow of the pool darkens his features and I drag my
gaze over his jet black hair, dark eyes, the healing cut on his cheek and finally, a set of full lips—all of them are only a few painful inches away from me. Thankfully, he decides to close the distance and bring his mouth to mine. Surprisingly, the kiss is at a much slower pace than what I was expecting—it’s sensual and stokes the small flames inside me. Without breaking the kiss, his hands drop from the edge of the pool and slip onto the nape of my neck. As soon as they touch my flesh, they begin their descent over my shoulders, down my arms, and circle my waist. I inch closer to him, reveling in the sensation of his bare, rough hands on my exposed skin. Even in the silky water his hands feel rough and invigorating.
A small quiver rolls down my spine and I feel his lips twitch before he pulls his head back to look at me.
“I love the way you react to me.” Ever so slowly, the hands that hold my waist glide higher again, until his thumb brushes against the swell of my breast.
“Yeah?”
He nods once, smiling his beautiful smile. “Yeah.”
Seth leans closer to me, bringing his gorgeous lips right by my ear. I listen closel
y and he moans his own name, mimicking me, and a jolt of embarrassed energy frissons through me. I shove him backwards.
“Seth!” I squeal, feeling my face heat up. “Don’t!”
I can see it on his face—the way his playful expression leers at me—he loves the reaction I’m giving him.
“Oh, Seth
,” he says in his best ‘Olivia’ voice. “I fucking
love
that. Do it again.”
“Seth!” I try really hard to sound threa
tening and not amused by his taunting, but it’s just not working.
“You’re the best I’ve ever had
,” he continues, boosting his ego sky high. “Harder. Faster.”
He knows he’s the best I’ve had and he loves it. I launch forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him
against me. “You need to stop before I drown you.”
“You don’t like hearing how sexy you sound?” His hands travel down to my backside and he lifts me, forcing me to wrap my legs around his hips.
“It’s not sexy—at least not when you repeat it back to me in that horrible tone.”
“Horrible tone? I’m
so
good at impersonating you that I gave myself a boner.”
I almost choke on a laugh and attempt to push off of him, only he squeezes me harder against him and I can’t get away.
“You are a piece of work, you know that? I sound nothing like that. You—”
His glorious lips cut me off and my eyes flutter shut on instinct. Such a
typical Seth move, thinking he can shut me up with his mouth.
I’ll show him—