The bell rings.
The pressure on my arm is released.
…
and I’ve lost the fight to Don Russell.
Don
…fucking…Russell.
Don leaps up and thrusts his arms in the air.
There’s no time to let the feeling of failure settle in before I jump to my feet and push past a crowd trying to make their way into the cage for photos and interviews.
“Don set this whole fucking thing up!” I snap at Darryl as I pass him.
My eyes are on
him
, the guy that has my girl tightly in his grasp. I push past a few camera guys at the bottom of the stairs, shoving one a little too hard and knocking him on his ass. From my peripherals, I see Jackson talking to me—yelling at me—but I don’t stop. The brute lets her go as I approach and he cleverly hides behind Olivia, knowing the rows are two small for me to get to him without hurting her.
“You’re going to put your hands on my girl?” I shout and a few people sitting flee from their seats. Olivia races forward and plants her hands on my stomach in an effort to hold me back, but I continue to walk toward him without struggle.
“Seth, don’t. It’s not worth it, don’t do it,” she begs, tears still fresh in her eyes.
More of the crowd flees, afraid to get hurt in the crossfire.
The big guy takes a step back as security guards swarm in to protect him from me. They circle us, pulling us back and out toward the rooms. Olivia clings to me as I push against the guards, but there’s too many of them. As I peer over one of their shoulders I see Jackson swing hard and connect with the brute-asshole’s face. He goes down hard and Jackson is crushed under the bodies of two large security guards. Over the speakers, I hear Matt Somers introduce Don as a new contender in the MMAC. After that, all I see is red.
The security guards throw us into my locker room and shut the door. My entire team buzzes with discussion on the fight and how the ref should have called it when I was smashing Don with my elbows. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that Don set me up. I fucking lost. For the first time in my life, I lost a
goddamn fight and it was to Don Russell. The thought sinks to my stomach like a rock and I growl as Olivia cuts my gloves off. When my hands are free, I push off the bench, grab the nearest chair, and throw it across the room. The whole team falls silent and beside me I hear Olivia gulp.
“Get out!” I demand, not wanting any sympathetic looks from them. I feel shit enough. They open the door and the security guards let them out. Olivia doesn’t follow, even though I wanted her to.
“If you’re going to look at me like that, you can leave, too,” I tell her, feeling my eyes narrow.
She averts her gaze, dropping it to the floor and fidgeting nervously with her fingers.
“It wasn’t your fault, he played you,” she says to me, inching closer.
“I still lost. Regardless of anything,
I
got distracted and I lost the fight. Now, he’s in the same league as me. Now, I’ll see him everywhere and he will look at me with that smug face and I just can’t—ughhh!” I lash out and punch the brick wall.
Pain crepitates through my hand and I like it. It takes the pressure of my chest.
*
**
Olivia
“It’s okay,” I tell him, my throat becoming thick with emotion as he hits the brick wall again. I cringe as my hand aches in sympathy. He whips around and I take a defensive step back.
“It’s not okay!”
he shouts, kicking a stray plastic chair halfway across the room. I jump as it collides with the concrete wall and a loud slap echoes around us. “What about this entire situation is okay? Are you okay with Don being in the MMAC?” He steps closer, his eyes flaring violently and I shake my head. “Are you okay with him breathing down your neck at events just to spite me?” Seth grips my arms and pulls me into him. I shake my head again. “Are you okay with him touching you just to get a rise out of me?”
I swallow hard as my knees shake. “No.”
“Then fill me in. Which part of this is okay?”
I blink rapidly as a
hot tear rolls down my cheek. “None of it.”
He lets me go and confirms my words. “None of it. So don’t fucking tel
l me it’s okay. I’m not a child. I don’t need to be reassured with lies.”
He reaches for his
hoodie on the bench and shrugs it on. He heads for the exit, grabs a cap with the MMAC logo on it off the hook and opens the door. The security guards arch up at Seth’s appearance.
“W
here are you going?” I shout.
“Out.” He slams the door, leaving me alone in the room. I stare at the white door, confused and hurt. My chest is tight and I feel like I’m wearing a corset four sizes too small.
Does he blame me? Is this my fault?
The door swings open as I sink to my knees on the floor. Darryl and Selena step inside. Instantly, Selena moves to my side and places a comforting arm around my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her waist and cry freely into her shoulder.
“O?”
she mumbles sympathetically.
I drop my head as the tears flow harder.
“I’ll go find him,” Darryl mutters, closing the door.
“I didn’t mean to
…” I sniffle and Selena pulls me close. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“I know, honey. Seth’s just mad. He’ll be okay once this all wears off.”
I shake my head. She didn’t see his eyes—she didn’t see how dark they were. There was no love on his face, only pure hate. She rocks me slowly as my mascara-darkened tears fall onto her pretty white dress.
“Let’s get you home and when Seth comes back, he’ll be calmer and you two can talk.”
I peer up at her, feeling like a small child. “You think so?”
She smiles, but even I can see
her uncertainty. “Yeah.”
Selena drags me to my feet and I use the bottom of my black shirt to wipe my face.
She keeps a comforting arm around me as she escorts me from the room. As soon as we’re in the hallway, people have their microphones and cameras in my face. Lights are going off, questions are being thrown at me and an overwhelming lump forces its way into my throat again.
“Piss off, vultures
,.” Selena growls, pushing me through the noisy crowd.
I wonder if Seth had to deal with them on his way out or if he just missed them. They all seem to be unscathed, so one can assume they were lucky enough to avoid him.
Selena drops me home and then heads back to the arena to find Jackson. No one has seen him since he hit the guy that grabbed me and we don’t know if he’s being held in a security room somewhere or in jail—he could be anywhere.
I pace the hallway outside our room for an eternity and every time the elevator
sounds off, anticipation and fear washes over me—only to be replaced by utter disappointment. I receive a text from Selena saying Jackson is okay and they’re back in their room.
Two down and two to go
. After my second hour of pacing, I re-enter the room and have a shower. I do everything in an absent-minded daze, from undressing, to washing myself and climbing into a cold bed—all of it—I do without any real knowledge. The only thing I can think of is Seth and what he’s doing, and Don and what he did. He didn’t win the right to be in the MMAC, he stole it. I hear the door downstairs shut and I’m jerked from my thoughts. My heart breaks through my lungs and slams into my ribs as I peel the blankets back and slide out of bed. I put my Seth shirt back on and head down the stairs. The lights are off, it’s dark, and if it weren’t for the bright neon of Vegas that shine through the window, I wouldn’t have been able to see a damn thing—including Seth, who has dropped onto the couch. I stroll over to him and my eyes zero in on his chest, it rises and falls in an even pant and my body almost sags in relief.
“I lost, O.” He sighs, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I’m sorry.”
Sorry? I drop to my knees in front of him and run my hands up his thighs. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
I hear his breathing become uneven and my body tenses.
Is he crying?
I can’t tell. If he is, he’s doing a good job at concealing it from me.
“I wanted to win so bad
…but I fucked it up.”
“Hey
,” I say with more aggression this time. “You did nothing wrong. You were perfect. Don played you.”
“
And I let him…I let him play me.”
I hear Seth sniffle and he pulls away from me, leaning his head on the back of the couch. He
is
crying…and he doesn’t have to shield it from me, I won’t hold it against him. In my world, only real men cry. He pinches the bridge of his nose and clears his throat, forcing himself to stop.
“I don’t want to do this anymore. Fighting, I mean. I’m done.”
“You’re done, just like that?”
He doesn’t respond.
“You beat Don months ago, did he quit? You beat world wrestling champion Junior Moset two weeks ago, do you think he quit?” Still nothing. “No. He’s scheduled to fight another opponent in two weeks. So you lost, big deal. You showed everyone that you’re human, and wins don’t stand out as much as comebacks do. Do you think people will be talking about Seth’s Marc’s loss? No, they’ll be talking about Don Russell’s comeback—his revenge—and when you attend the press conference tomorrow morning, you will promise them an epic comeback. You will promise to deliver your fans Don’s head on a silver-
fucking
-platter, not disappoint them by quitting because it got too hard.”
He looks
down at me. “Is that what you want me to do? To get revenge on him?”
“I want more than revenge, Seth. I want you to humiliate him. I want you to beat him so bad he gets a nervous twitch every time he sees a cage.”
Seth’s nods slowly, letting my words sink in. “Then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
***
“I’ll be back,” Seth tells the cameras. “In four months I’ll be back to put him in his place, but first, I’m going to go home, marry my girl, and take her somewhere nice.” I hear the ring girls beside me sigh and I bite back a smile. “And when I get back, I’m going to hurt Don beyond the point of redemption. He’ll be so embarrassed by the beat down I put on him, he’ll leave the MMAC for good.
That
I promise you.”
Seth winks at me, the small cut on his eyebrow bowing with it and I smile widely in response.
“You heard it, ladies and gentlemen,” Matt Somers announces with a wry smile. “The third and final fight between Seth Marc and Don Russell will be settled in the cage on July sixteenth.”
And just like that, Matt
forces Don back into Seth’s life and the drama between the two starts all over again, only this time, Seth is out for blood.
Seth
“Will you keep still?” Mum scolds me, fussing with my
blue tie and making sure it laid the proper way under my collar and waistcoat.
“What do you want me to do?” I groan. “I’m nervous.”
I’m more than capable of dressing myself, but I let Mom do it, knowing that it makes her feel good to fuss over me, like a real mother would.
“You’re marrying the love of your life. You should be excited, not nervous.”
She reaches around me and pulls my jacket off its coat hanger. Mom holds it open for me and I slip my arms into it, shrugging it on over my shoulders.
“What, I can’t be both?” I ask and she
smooths the palms of her hands over my shoulders and rolls her eyes. I adjust my jacket, making sure it sits comfortably on me as she reaches for the boutonniere of some white flower and pins it to my lapel.
“Why do I have to wear flowers? I’m not the bride.”
From the couch next to me, Jackson chuckles. “You’ve complained so much this morning I’m really questioning who exactly the bride is today.”
Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “Hilarious.”
“You wear it to match her, and it’s not just a flower, it’s a phalaenopsis orchid blossom, and it just so happens to be Olivia’s mother’s favorite flower so watch what you say about it around her. That woman can be very—”
“Intense
,” I answer.
“Controlling
,” Jackson adds and we both chuckle.
“Are we talking about Olivia’s
mom?” Maddi asks, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. How did she know we were talking about Olivia’s mother? Scratch that, how nice of her to make it. I haven’t seen her since I gave her money to stop stripping—two months ago. I never received an RSVP back from her—not even a text to say congratulations.
“You’re alive
,” I deadpan.
“Yeah, sorry, I kind of dropped off the face of the Earth for a while.
I’m back now, though. You didn’t think I’d miss your wedding, did you?”
“Actually, I did.”
“Never fear, brother.” She laughs, grabbing a fistful of her long, pink dress and walking over to the couch. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She drops in next to Jackson. “It’s not every day you witness the impossible.”
Jackson snickers and I narrow my eyes at them.
“Enough, the pair of you. This is Seth’s big day and we should be as supportive as we can.” Mom finishes pinning in the orchid and takes a step back. Her floor length red gown sways around her feet and tears well in her eyes as she clasps her hands over her chest. “Perfect.” She smiles up at me. “You look so handsome.”
“Gorgeous,” Jackson snorts, nudging my sister. “I can hardly contain myself.”
I ignore them and their snickering. There’s a knock at the door and Darryl pops his head inside.
“All of the guests are here and Olivia is ready. Are you?”
Another bout of nervousness twists my stomach, but I nod my head despite it. He pushes the door open wider and I exit through it. I stroll eagerly down a hallway and out a small door, into the main room of the large church. Lively chatter erupts on my entrance, followed closely by Mom and Maddi. They take their seats in the front row and hold each other’s hands like they’ve never had a disagreement in their lives. It’s nice to see. It’s nice to see my family with some semblance of love and normality after the craziness of Dad’s death.
Jackson and Darryl will come in with the bridal party. Olivia and I chose two people each to be up here with us and we figured we’d choose the people that have been with us since the beginning—Selena, Darryl and Jackson. I know that leaves us uneven, so I did something secretive to level it out. The color Olivia chose
for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to wear is a very nice pearly grey broken up by a dark navy blue. So, I had a tailor make a tuxedo out of the same material as Selena’s bridesmaid dress. And then I contacted Olivia’s brother, Chase. Surprisingly, he was more than happy to be one of Olivia’s bridesmaids. She doesn’t know I did that for her and as far as she’s concerned, her brother is too busy to make it back home for our wedding. I can’t wait to see her face and I hope Selena catches it all on camera like I asked.
A second later, the piano beg
ins to play, cutting into my thoughts.
The wedding is beginning…my wedding is beginning.
My palms becomes slick with sweat and I rub my fingers against them, my eyes never leaving the open doors at the back of the room. Selena steps up to the door in her beautiful gown and waits as both Darryl and Jackson take her elbows.
I smile, knowing very well that my plan
has worked. Chase is here and he’s going to walk his sister down the aisle because Rick isn’t here to do it. And here she was thinking she was going to have to walk alone. If Chase couldn’t make it, I was going to walk her my damn self and hand her over to me on my own. I smile again at my own ridiculousness. I just want to make her happy.
Two little girls in
poufy white dresses step out of the door as Selena, Jackson and Darryl reach the altar and join me on the top of the stairs. The adorable little girls (Olivia’s cousin’s kids) coat the aisle in beautiful white, grey, and blue flowers. I watch them only for a few seconds before my eyes flit back to the double doors.
She’s next. She’s coming.
I don’t know how this happened. I don’t know how I got to be the one at the altar, wait
ing for the girl of my dreams…all I know is, she wants me. She will want me forever. Olivia makes me happy to be alive—like I can do anything. Emotions well up in my throat and I swallow hard and roll my shoulders to rid myself of it.
“Easy, big boy.” Jackson chuckles under his breath. “She’s coming.”
Then, I see white fabric flick over the edge of the door and a second later, there she is.
My bride.
I cease to breathe as air flees from my lungs at the vision of her in her beautiful tight, white wedding dress. It clings to the curves of her body, before
flaring out at the bottom, leaving a long trail of fabric behind her. My stare drags up the rest of her body and onto her face, that’s hidden by a thin white veil. On her arm, her proud brother stands with his stern face and green eyes locked on the altar in front of him. I hear sniffles and gasps and low murmurs come from our relatives, but I don’t dare let my eyes waver from the perfection strolling toward me. Now all I want is to see her face. I want to see her emotions—to see if she’s as excited as I am.
In a few small eternities, she’s in front of me with her brother, a protective dog at her side.
“She’s yours now,” Chase tells me. “But I’ll always be looking over her shoulder. Treat her well—like a princess.”
I shake my head.
Not like a princess.
“Like a queen.”
Chase’s lips pull into a wide smile and he places her hand in mine. He gives Olivia one kiss on the cheek and then steps down to stand behind Selena, evening out the bridal party.
O clutches my hand tightly, eagerly, lacing her warm, sweaty fingers through my own. The priest begins to speak and I feel Olivia become a little restless next to me. When I peer at her, I hear her whisper ‘fuck it’ under her breath and she flicks the veil over her head and throws herself at me, crushing her mouth to mine. The guests cheer and clap, hooting and hollering and laughing at Olivia’s sudden urgency to kiss me. Behind me, I hear Darryl and Jackson groan and utter ‘Jesus Christ’ under their breaths. I don’t have much time to register the kiss, I’m still stuck on the sudden glimpse of her beautiful face. When my body begins to react to her mouth, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her tighter to me.
When she pulls away, s
he whispers,. “Thank you so much, you’ve made my day.”
Her eyes are damp with tears and her voice seems shaky. I smile down at her and pull the veil back over her face. “You’re welcome
. Now let’s get married already.”
She laughs up at me, stands back in her place and apologizes to the reverend.
The reverend clears his throat. “Let’s try that again. As Olivia and Seth take their vows today, we are privileged to witness the joyous love of a new family—a family that will be nourished and nurtured through the devotion of two separate individuals growing together through the common bonds of love. May their marriage bring them the peace, joy, comfort and contentment that is known in the hearts of all God’s children.”
I zone out and glance at Olivia. Through the thin material, I can make out her lip
s as she smiles widely at the reverend. Her happiness is pouring from her in waves, exceeded only by my own.
“To truly love another person is to be willing to accept both their strong points and their weak points, with equal measures of understanding and respect.”
The ceremony in itself is a traditional one, and not lengthy at all. We recited after the reverend where prompted and exchanged rings. I’ve never worn a ring before, but the gold band that now decorates my finger doesn’t feel out of place or alien at all. It feels right, like it’s a part of my skin.
“
Seth, do you take Olivia to be your wedded wife, your partner in life, and your one true love? Do you cherish her friendship and promise to love her today, tomorrow and forever? Do you promise to comfort her, honor her, and keep her in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”
I don’t have to think. He
just asked me the easiest question I’ve ever heard in my life.
“I do.”
“Olivia, do you take this man to be your wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“
Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
I reach out and
lift the veil from Olivia’s face, exposing the single curl of dark hair that rests against her chest. I pull her to me and kiss her with everything that I have. I pour all of my love, my excitement, and nervousness into the kiss, and I feel the air leave her lungs. Everything in my life has led to this moment…the moment where I’d claim my one true love as my wife in front of all of our friends and family.
And I wouldn’t change a thing.
*
**
The reception was a wild blur of flashing cameras, music, dancing and food. My face muscles hurt more than my entire body does after a fight, just from smiling.
I could
write a five hundred page novel about tonight. I could write about the vows we exchanged, the conversation we had, or the dances we shared in extreme detail, but to me, those things didn’t matter as much to me as being joined in matrimony forever did.
I
drive away from the reception at Emerald Cliff Restaurant and Marina, and head toward the resort I booked for us at The Captain Lord Mansion. I’m relieved the whole thing is over—before we left, our relatives were all starting to feel the effects of the alcohol and the uncomfortable childhood stories that were slowly starting to roll out. Chase, Maddi, Jackson, Selena and Darryl were huddled around a table, sharing stories and laughing like they’ve always hung out—and my Mom, she was happily sitting with Olivia’s mother, neither of them touching the free booze. Today
and
tonight was perfect to say the least, but now we’re finally alone again. I’ve wanted to be alone with Olivia since I saw her at Saint Paul’s Church and the only thing I can think about is making this night memorable for her. I don’t know how…I don’t know what else I can do for her. I’ve taken her in a shower and tied her to cages. I’ve licked between her thighs while she slept and I’ve lost my fingers inside her until she melted around me a million and one times. What else can I bring to the table? What else can I do to make tonight memorable?
We pull up outside the Captain
Lord Mansion and Olivia slips from the car with a yawn.
“Leave the bags
,” I tell her as I exit the car and she reaches for the back handle. “I’ll get them in the morning.”
Our fingers lace together
as she meets me around my side of the car. I lead her up the stairs and through the mansion’s double doors. She marvels at the layout and all of the decorations, but her eyes don’t linger on them. I’m way too tired to really care if I was somewhere nice or somewhere dodgy. She practically bounces next to me as I escort her to our room. Inside, I eye the bed, eager to lie down and rest my eyes.
“Can you run a bath?” Olivia smiles. “I think we need to wind down a little before bed.”
“Anything for you, wifey.” My chest squeezes at the word and Olivia beams at me.
I
pull my jacket off and undo my waist coat and tie, throwing it onto the bed, uncaring if they wrinkle. I stroll through the large bedroom and into the open, elegant bathroom. I barely marvel at the stonework as I run the bath, hot and bubbly to Olivia’s liking. At the thought of her name, she strolls in with a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand. She turns and glances at me over her shoulder. I rise up and clasp her zipper, drawing it down her spine and over the rise of her ass.