Mace (Cocky Cage Fighter #4) (11 page)

Hailey

Lookin’ out at the ocean from the second-story balcony as darkness falls, I’m a million miles away, still angry and hurt. Mason really fooled me. I thought he was so sweet and actually wanted me, but after findin’ out why he was late gettin’ to the airport, now I know he’s just a player. Linc warned me and I ignored him, thinkin’ he was wrong about Claire’s sweet, carin’ brother. Instead, he was dead on right. Mason flirted with me, I fell for it, stupidly gettin’ on my slutty knees for him, and then he was well on his way to manipulatin’ me into fuckin’ him before Senn interrupted. All his compliments were nothin’ but bullshit lines. And since I was a blind idiot, desperate for any little bit of male attention, they worked.

So knowin’ all I do about him, why can’t I let it go? I’ve tried to stop thinkin’ about him. With Senn around, flirtin’ with me all day, big and sexy with his bulgin’ muscles constantly makin’ my mouth water, you would think forgettin’ Mason would be easy to do, but nope. Senn’s not distractin’ enough to keep me from seekin’ out a certain tattooed man while we were at the beach. Mason mostly stayed close to Claire and her best friend and maid of honor, Kylie, and Zelda the dog. We all played a few games of beach volleyball, and thankfully, Mason was not on my team. Unfortunately, that meant every time I looked straight ahead, he was fillin’ my line of sight. Since most of the guys are MMA fighters, there were plenty of big guns and six packs present, but for whatever reason I couldn’t look away from the way sweat rolled down Mason’s sexy washboard stomach and dripped into his low riding, white boardshorts. I’m not sure which was hotter, the ninety-five degree scorching sun or him.

Right now, everyone’s coolin’ off inside, sittin’ at the huge dinin’ room table on the main floor, havin’ homemade pizza with all the fixings, and double chocolate chunk brownies for dessert. I slipped away, quietly sayin’ I needed some air. Only a pair of golden green eyes seemed to realize the real reason for my escape. I just hope he keeps his mouth shut.

Masculine hands suddenly come down next to both sides of my hips on the wooden deck rail, cagin’ me in, but not touchin’ me. My pulse speeds up in anticipation, but quiets down when I notice the absence of the scent of leather and the lack of tattoos on the top of the right hand.

“Hey,” Senn says softly from behind me.

“Hey,” I reply on an exhale of either disappointment or relief, I’m not sure which.

“Are you gonna let me touch you this week or do I just have to get by on the memories of how good you felt in my arms?” he asks, brushin’ his lips lightly over my ear.

I inwardly cringe because honestly, he’s not my first choice, and I really fuckin’ hate admittin’ that, even to myself. Everything was fine with Senn and me before I met that asshole, Mason yesterday. Now just the thought of him is ruinin’ what could be a good thing between us. This is what I’ve been waitin’ weeks for, to see Senn, hopin’ he wouldn’t bring a date so we might pick back up from where we left off a year ago. Yes, it was a long time ago and he didn’t call me once, but doesn’t he at least deserve a chance to tell me why not? I’m an idiot if I let a few smooth words and touches from a player come between us.

Turnin’ around, I reach up and thread my fingers through Senn’s brown, chin-length hair and pull his face down to mine. His amber eyes blink in surprise a second before his arms wrap around the waist of my white, strapless dress and our lips crash into each other. Soon, his tongue is plungin’ into my mouth urgently, showin’ me exactly what he wants to do with his cock that’s pressin’ hard and thick against my stomach. I wait for that warm pressure to start to grow, the same feelin’ of need from earlier when I was with Mason. It doesn’t come, not when Senn’s hands grope my ass the same way Mason did, or when he reaches up and squeezes my breast just like the other man had a few hours ago. Nothing. At least, not for me.

“Let’s go to my room,” Senn says into my hair between heavy pants. “Or your room. Any room.”

Tears prickle my eyes because that’s what I wanted, too, just yesterday. But now… “We better get back inside before they come lookin’ for us,” I tell him instead.

“They who? Linc?” Senn asks. “Don’t worry about him finding out. He said he doesn’t care.”  

“He doesn’t?” I jerk back in surprise.

“No, of course not.”

“But he warned Mason to stay away from me,” I say in confusion, before I even realize the words have left my mouth.

Senn laughs. “Of course Linc told Mason that. The boy has more fuck buddies than he can count, and his motto is the more pussies the better. He’s probably had as many threesomes as I’ve had twosomes.”

“Really? Cause I’ve heard that you’ve had an awful lot of twosomes,” I reply before I can help myself.

Senn freezes in silence before he asks, “Who the fuck told you that?”

Is it just me or does he sound defensive?

“It doesn’t matter,” I say to try and drop the issue.

“Damn right it doesn’t,” he replies, pullin’ me flush against his hard body. “You’re the only one I’ve wanted for a long time.”

His words sound sincere, but I can’t help it when the insecure girl in me asks, “Then why didn’t you call me or come see me? Not even once in twelve months.”

He sighs and takes a step back, runnin’ his fingers through his long hair. “Fuck, I don’t know, Hales. I thought about it.”

I wait for him to say more, but apparently, that’s the end of his explanation. He thought about it.

“You thought about it but then, what? You decided I just wasn’t worth the effort?”

“Hailey, that’s not…yes, you’re worth the effort!” he exclaims, graspin’ my face in his big, warm hands. “I wanted to call you, to see you, but the way you left the next day without even saying goodbye…You’ve got like this wall up and I don’t know what the fuck you’re thinking or what you want. I didn’t want to fly all the way up there and make a fucking fool of myself just to find out you’re seeing someone else or wanted me to leave.”

“Humph,” I mutter after listenin’ to his weak excuses. “I had no idea pussies could be cage fighters.”

“What the fuck!?!” he yells, droppin’ his hands from me and takin’ a step back like I physically slapped him.

“You could’ve asked, Senn, in one sentence, ‘
Hailey, do you want to see me or are you seein’ someone else?
’ How hard is that unless you didn’t really give a shit or you were too pussy to ask?”

“Look, you’re blowing this all out of proportion, making a bigger deal about it than it was. I’ve been busy training all day, every day, and you didn’t exactly throw out the welcome mat when you left just a few hours after we fucked. I thought that if you wanted me to call you, you would’ve, I dunno, left me your phone number, but you didn’t. I finally got it from Linc the other day after he refused to let me have it for
months
!” he says with his wide chest heavin’ after his monologue. “There’s nothing I can do about the past, but will you please just believe me when I tell you right now that I want to be with you?”

“Honestly, I’m not convinced that you’ll change your mind after I get on a plane Saturday night and fly back to New York. How do I know this time will be different?”

“Because it will be. I told you, I have a fight up in Jersey on the twenty-fifth. I’ll see you then, won’t I?”

“I dunno.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” he asks with narrowed eyes. “I thought you were gonna come watch my fight and I was gonna stay with you for a few days.”

“And if you hadn’t already had a fight scheduled up north, would it be like before?”

He looks at me silently for several heartbeats before blowing out his breath and finally answerin’. “I’m not sure if there’s anything I can say right now to make you happy. Why are you being so damn…difficult tonight?”

Senn was so close to saying “bitchy” that I could practically hear the “bah” sound on his lips.

“Difficult? You mean, while I’m here this week I’m supposed to be convenient, fuckin’ you with no questions asked, with no expectations for the future? You would prefer for me to be
easy
instead of difficult, right?”

He grumbles and clenches his fists in obvious frustration. “I give up. There’s no way to win with you,” he says with a shake of his head before he jerks open the door and storms back inside the house.

He gives up.

What kind of fuckin’ fighter is he if he throws in the towel at the beginnin’ of the first round? I hate quitters, almost as much as I hate players with lickable tattoos.

Mace

I notice Senn’s return before I even hear the patio door slam shut. My eyes haven’t left the damn opening since he followed Hailey out there more than six minutes ago. That’s right, I was keeping time as I sit in one of the leather chairs in the living room pretending to be interested in…whatever the hell Jude and Nate are talking about. Oh yeah, protein shakes. Right.

The smile that stretches across my face at Senn’s expression of complete and utter frustration probably makes me a jackass. I have a feeling that he expected Hailey to throw herself at his feet and instead she threw down the gantlet, asking him why the fuck he ignored her for however long. I’m so happy I barely refrain from pumping my fists in the air to dance and sing along to “Another One Bites the Dust” that’s playing in my head. Or I was, until I see Hailey walk through the same door seconds later.

Since her hair is up in a ponytail, the convenient style of choice for those frequently puking in a toilet, there’s no way to miss the redness or dampness around her eyes. I’m glad the long-haired fucker crashed and burned, but I don’t like seeing her upset because of him.

Without a word to anyone, not that anyone in the living room but me notices, Hailey heads straight to the stairwell that leads to our rooms in the basement. Of course I follow her. I hear the sounds of retching before I close the door to our shared apartment space.
Goddamn it!

Walking through my room, I try to get to the bathroom, but this time she actually remembered to lock it on my side. I bet she didn’t lock her own side though. Going back through the living room and kitchen, her bedroom door is shut but not locked. And what do you know, she even left the bathroom door cracked open.

I’m not sure which is worse, the sounds of her sobs or her throwing up whatever she had for lunch. I know for a fact that she didn’t put anything into her mouth at dinner.

I push open the door and find her on her knees in front of the toilet. The sight is even more pitiful since she’s wearing that sexy but virginal looking white, strapless dress, making her seem so young and innocent, like a fallen angel worshipping to her god.

“Hailey, fuck, please stop,” I beg her.

She startles and her shoulders tense. “Gah! Why are you always in my freakin’ bathroom!?!” she exclaims without looking at me. Pulling off some toilet paper, she dabs at her eyes and mouth before tossing the tissue streaked with her mascara and tears into the bowl.

“Why are you always doing this shit?” I ask, although I already know the answer. I mutter a curse and decide to try a different question. “What did he say to you?”

While I wait for her response, I grab a washcloth from the linen closet and wet it in the sink before offering it to her.

“He gives up,” she replies softly. Reaching up without meeting my eyes, she accepts the cloth. Holding it in both palms, she covers her entire face with it, hanging her head sadly while she remains kneeling in front of the commode.

That asshole.

“He’s such a fucking pussy,” I tell her. The idiot had a chance to be with the most gorgeous woman ever and instead of doing whatever the fuck he needed to do to make her happy, he just up and quits.

When Hailey’s bare shoulders start to shake, at first I think she’s crying again, but then I hear her unexpected giggle, right before she lifts her head from the cloth and says, “That’s what I called him. He didn’t care much for it.”

“The truth hurts.”

“Yeah, it does.” She nods before giving the former contents of her stomach a sendoff. “I’m not worth the effort.”

“Yes you are! He’s a lazy, fucking coward who doesn’t want anything more than to get laid this week, and you deserve better than that.”

“Linc apparently doesn’t think so since he gave Senn his blessin’. He also
correctly
warned me that you were a big flirt and a player.”

I flinch at the reminder that Linc thinks his bed hopping best friend is worthy of Hailey but I’m not because he believes I’m the “player.”

“I may not be monogamous, but I’ve never cheated on anyone, and unlike Senn, I don’t go around fucking women I’ve just met. The women I do fuck, well, I know more than just their names. I know their likes and dislikes, their hopes and dreams, how shitty their coworkers or roommates are to them, when their birthdays are. I’ve actually met most of their families and had dinner with them. Yes, I fuck them, but not because I’m a horny bastard and
anyone
with a pussy will do.” 

“Unlike Senn?” she asks. “If that’s true, then why doesn’t Linc warn me away from him? He knows you both and he obviously thinks you’ll hurt me but Senn won’t.”

I sigh heavily and try to figure out how to explain it to her. “Linc’s in love with my sister, so right now he only sees the world through rose-colored glasses. He just wants you to be happy, and for some stupid reason, maybe he thinks Senn’s capable of that. But after what you’ve told me, I don’t think he can make you happy.”

“I’m definitely not happy,” she says when she gets to her feet.

“Well obviously,” I remark, bracing my shoulder against the door jam while I watch her at the sink. She squeezes paste on her toothbrush and starts scrubbing away the enamel eating acid from her stomach. “Happy people don’t usually make themselves throw up. You didn’t even eat anything tonight!” I exclaim in frustration. “I ought to tie you up and fucking force feed you all sorts of delicious shit to make sure you keep it down.”

“Okay,” Hailey says, setting the toothbrush back down on the counter once she’s finished.

“Okay what?” I ask, straightening in the doorway.

Her eyes are still glassy when she finally meets mine in challenge. The dampness from the tears on her lashes only make her beautiful blue eyes shine even brighter. “Okay, you can tie me up and force feed me.”  

My breath rushes out of my lungs like I’ve been punched in the stomach, at the same time my cock stands abruptly at attention. I’m still not one hundred percent positive that I heard her correctly. “What…what should I feed you?” I ask, reaching down to adjust my instant hard on. When her gaze follows the movement of my hand, I actually end up tugging on my chubby buddy, encouraging him to swell a little more for her.

She looks up and says, “I’m sure you can think of somethin’ to put in my mouth.” I squeeze my twitching cock, warning him that he better not fuck this up for us by coming quicker than a virgin.

“But what if I’m hungry?” I ask her. “I mean, shouldn’t I get to eat what I want too?”

Hailey bites her plump bottom lip before she smiles. I have to swallow down a groan knowing how fucking awesome that mouth is about to feel sucking me off for the second time today. That’s right, it was just this morning when she blew me on the side of the highway. “I guess that’s only fair, but I won’t tie you up since I don’t mind if you want to use your hands, too.”

“Ah fuck,” I grumble, refusing to reach out and touch her for fear I’ll come standing right here before my cock gets in her mouth. That would be a goddamn tragedy. “Go get naked and get on the bed. I’ll round up a few props and lock the doors.”

“Okay, except for the naked part,” she replies when she walks past me, swiping a single fingernail down my chest on her way back into the bedroom. Hell, I can’t really argue with that, and I should’ve known better than to think someone as insecure as she is about her body would lose all of her clothing. So much for wishful thinking.

“Oh come on, sweetheart,” I nevertheless plead, trying one last time to change her mind. I follow her into the room like she’s leading me by a leash wrapped around my cock. “The only thing sexier than my dick shoved down your throat while you’re tied up is you naked and tied up with my dick down your throat.”

“Not gonna happen,” she says, and then she crawls up on the bed and stretches out on her side, still wearing her white strapless dress and matching strappy high heels. Her long legs are almost completely bare to me, along with her arms and the swells of her breasts. Fuck, I guess I’ll just have to make do with what’s exposed since she won’t get naked.

I practically run over to my room and grab my hand wrap that I thankfully packed in my duffle to get back to her before she has a chance to change her mind. Another idea hits me, so I head up the stairs and slip into the kitchen to grab what I need before anyone notices. Not that they would have any idea what I plan to do with a bowl of ice cream and brownie besides eat it. Back downstairs, I lock Hailey’s bedroom door behind me and get completely undressed since I don’t have anything to hide, and I know she likes looking at the total package. At the bed and breakfast, she couldn’t take her eyes off me. So, I strip down to my skin and strut my shit for her like a proud fucking peacock.

Hailey’s eyes go straight down to my hard cock that’s touching my navel it’s so damn excited. I don’t stop moving until I’m on top of her. Placing the bowl on one side of her outstretched body, the tape on the other, I straddle her hips and press my steel shaft into her stomach. When she gasps, I brace my palms on either side of her head and lower myself, rolling my pelvis against her flattened lower body even harder, as far as I can go, and then hump her with a few quick, unrelenting thrusts.

“Oh! Oh God,” she cries out while grabbing and squeezing both of my ass cheeks to hold me down on top of her.

“
Oh
is right, sweetheart. You better be glad my big cock is going in your mouth tonight, because if it wasn’t, I would fuck you into this mattress so hard you would need ice packs between your legs just to be able to sit down for the next week.”

“Mmm, yes. Fuck me, May-Son,” she moans, closing her eyes and lifting her hips to try to grind herself against my cock.

“Not tonight,” I tell her through clenched teeth before I kiss her. I leave out the fact that I won’t fuck her any other night either. God I want her, and have since I first saw her in that swimsuit ad when I was just a fifteen-year-old boy, tugging on my cock. But we’re crossing enough lines as it is. Fooling around with her for the next few days will be hard as fuck to have to try and move on from after we go back to our “normal” lives. One of my rules is that I don’t do casual sex. A girl like Hailey doesn’t either. It’s why she’s so fucking upset about Senn giving up on her after whatever short-lived fling they had months ago!

I rationalize my stupid decision as I stroke my tongue against hers and palm her heavy titty through her dress. Maybe there’s not much of a stretch between oral sex and cock-in-pussy sex to most people, but to me, one represents nothing but fooling around like horny teenagers and the other is the real deal, care about each other, love each other, relationship sex. Do I love Sabrina, Lena, Monica, and Erica? Yeah, I do, even if it does seem highly unlikely. I may not be “in love” with them, and some of them I love more than the others, like Sabrina and Lena, probably because I’ve been with them longer. Sabrina practically lives with me, except when I text to let her know Monica and Erica are coming over since she’s not into group sex. I bring them home on either Friday or Saturday nights because they both live in college dorms with roommates, an environment that’s not exactly suitable for threesomes. Otherwise, I usually come home to just Sabrina cooking me dinner, after I finish my workday and maybe pay Lena a visit. We fuck, we cuddle, tell each other about our week, and then I leave to go home to sleep with my live-in girlfriend.

Of course there’s the occasional jealousy because they are women, but they know bitching about it doesn’t help and will only make me stay away until they get over it. Is it fair to them, what I’m doing with four women, demanding their monogamy when I can’t give them the same? No, but they can end things with me and date other people whenever they want. Since Hailey doesn’t seem like the type of girl who likes to share, nor should she have to because she’s the total package, I can’t ask her to screw me knowing I’ll be with other women when she’s back in New York. More importantly, I tell myself, moving my mouth over her jaw and down to her neck, I don’t want to do that to myself, have her a few days and then lose her.

Pushing myself off of her so I won’t keep tempting myself with something I know I can’t have, I reach for her left wrist. After winding the white gauze tape around it a few times, I stretch her arm up behind her until it’s against the headboard. I loop the tape over one of the slats several tight times and then her wrist again until she’s secured to the wood. Taking her right wrist, I do the same so that her arms are spread, but not too far to be uncomfortable. The tape isn’t all that strong, and she could easily pull free if she wanted, but she keeps them where they are, at least for now.

Lifting her head up off the mattress, she swipes her tongue across my chest that’s right in front of her face, apparently impatient to taste me. Too bad. We didn’t discuss the order of things, and now that she’s restrained, I get to decide who goes first. I pull back out of her reach and lift the hem of her dress all the way up to her chest, exposing her white lace thong and strapless bra to me.

“May-Son,” she warns me, but I’ll respect her wishes and not take off her bra, even if I’m dying to get her naked. I hook my fingers into the waistband of her panties and jerk them down her thighs, but not all the way off because it just seems so much naughtier to make her keep the panties on, holding her legs together. Sitting back on my knees, I reach for the bowl and scoop out some of the melting ice cream and brownie.