Takedown (5 page)

She believed her brother still had a future ahead of him, but to be honest, she didn’t really like the career he had chosen. She had already lost a father and a boyfriend because of MMA. She didn’t think she could survive another lost, especially of her much beloved brother.

But what could she do? Josh never listened to her.

Chapter 5

Blaze mumbled as he jumped out of his car. He forgot to buy flowers.

He slammed the door closed and headed for Bryan’s grave.
Who needs flowers anyway?
He never bought anyone flowers. That had been his personal assistant’s job before, but since his retirement, he had stopped giving flowers, as well.

He stopped when he saw a woman standing in front of Bryan’s grave. She was on her back from him, but he knew it was Megan Riley.

He sighed and continued forward. Why did he have to see this woman again?

Suddenly, Megan grabbed the bouquet of flowers resting on the grave and smashed it on the headstone.

He froze, shocked by what he just witnessed. When he thought that was gruesome enough, she went on assaulting the grave with another bundle of flowers.

That was utterly atrocious. He couldn’t just stand there and watch her desecrate his bestfriend’s grave.

“Hey,” he yelled, but she heard nothing. He ran to her and grabbed her around the waist.

She screamed and thrust her elbow backward, hitting him in the ribs.

“Fuck!” he growled and released her. Wrong move. He just gave her an opportunity to turn around and hit his face with the withered bundle of flowers, followed by a kick on his shin.

“Damn it!” He lost his balance and almost fell sideward to the ground. He quickly pulled himself up and was about to take control of her, by brute force if necessary, when he found her frozen in place, standing there with her eyes opened wide and her hands over her head, ready to hit him again.

She lowered the flowers and stepped back. “S-sorry.”

“Jesus!” He forcefully expelled air from his mouth. “Have you gone insane?!” he scolded.

She shrank backward, frightened by his harsh voice, but he did not regret it. This wildcat needed to learn to get a hold of herself from time to time.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Give me one good reason what you did that for,” he demanded, pointing at the grave.

She compressed her lips, holding back her tears. “He is engaged!” she exclaimed a moment later.

He was dumbfounded. How did she know?

“A girl named Kelsey was here a while ago, and she told me she was his fiancée.”

Kelsey, Bryan’s childhood friend who had been in love with him since High School. Yes, it was true an engagement took place, something Bryan had not wanted. It was arranged by their parents, and Bryan was too meek to react. He said he did not want to hurt Kelsey.

He thought this wouldn’t be a problem anymore since Bryan had already died, and that Megan didn’t have to know about it.

“So?” he returned nonchalantly. “Why does that upset you?”

She could not answer. It seemed she had no intention of confessing to him her relationship with Bryan, even if he obviously knew about it already.

“Maybe I’m crazy,” she said and turned away, wiping the tears in her eyes.

“Megan Riley,” he called.

She ignored him.

“You don’t just leave this mess around your boyfriend’s grave.”

She stopped and quickly turned around, her eyes wide with shock.

He smirked. “What?

She walked back to him and stared into his eyes. “You knew?”

“Of course, I knew.”

“Then why did you act like you don’t know me at all when I went to see you in your office?”

“I hadn’t realized it until after you left, and then I saw your photo.”

“Why do you have a photo of me?”

“Actually, it was a photo of you with Bryan. He gave it to me.”

She took a deep breath. “And all the while I thought you liked me.”

He laughed. This woman knew how to humor, even in a situation like this. “Sweetheart, you’re not bad at all, but…”

“But I don’t have boobs.”

He frowned. Now, where did that come from? “I did not say that.”

She smirked. “Bryan said it’s your only criteria when gauging a woman.”

“Oh, that’s just half of my overall criteria. Why are we talking about that anyway?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just upset.”

“Do you often ask irrelevant questions when you’re upset.”

She nodded. “Most of the time.”

He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side to get a better look at her face. “So you’ve spoken with Kelsey? And she told you she was engaged with Bryan?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Did you know that?”

He sighed and looked away.
Shit, Bryan. Why did you die and leave me with a load of shit to clean after you?

“So you knew,” she concluded.

“Megan, there are things that you don’t understand.”

“Like what?” she demanded. “I ought to know. All the while, I thought I was his girlfriend. How in the world did he become engaged with another woman?”

He did not answer. He wasn’t even sure if he should tell her the truth or not.

“He didn’t love me, did he? He just couldn’t tell me.”

“Oh, Meg,” he groaned. That was not true at all. Bryan wouldn’t have come to him on the night he was engaged with Kelsey to help him fix the problem if he wasn’t serious about Megan.

“Just tell me the truth,” she demanded. “I have the right to know.”

He sighed. “Do you have time today? I’d like to take you elsewhere.”

She looked up at him, as if she could not believe what she heard. “Really? Why?”

He shrugged. “I have to show you something. It’s important.”

“W-wow,” she said. “I’m flattered. Are you sure you have that much time for me?”

He circled his arm around her shoulders. She felt her stiffen, but he pretended he did not notice it. “I’m doing this for Bryan. I don’t want you to think he had betrayed you. And since he can no longer speak for himself, it’s my obligation as his friend to do it for him.”

“Why don’t you just tell me right here?”

“I don’t want to just tell you. I want you to see it for yourself.”

“See what?”

He sighed. “Just come with me, okay?”

She nodded, intrigued about what he had in store for her. “Alright. Anyway, it’s Sunday.”

“Great.”

*****

Megan’s gaze lingered around the backyard of Blaze’s Boulder City vacation home. The house itself was nothing spectacular, but the real beauty was hidden right here.

She felt like she was in another place. The vast lawn of green grass and the varieties of exotic shrubs adorning the area was breathtaking. It did not feel like she was in the desert, but somewhere in the tropical region.

There was so much to see around, but the main attraction was the pair of semi-circle swimming pools in the middle of the place, designed like the Yin and Yang symbol.

The water looked cold and clean. She couldn’t resist the temptation to try it.

She left her purse on the outdoor table and lowered herself at the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water.

She sighed in delight. She rarely spent time outdoors. The blistering heat of the sun could roast her skin in a matter of minutes. But right here, the shrubs around provided enough shade to protect her.

For the next ten minutes or so, she stayed there, until she began to wonder what was keeping Blaze too long. Someone called his phone a while ago, so she took the liberty to roam around the place by herself. Could it be that he could not find her?

“There you are,” a voice from behind her said.

She did not have to look at him. “You didn’t tell me you own the only oasis in the middle of the desert,” she said.

He laughed and stood behind her. “That was the idea when I had this built—a luscious green haven in the middle of the desert.

She nodded in approval. “It’s beautiful. It’s been my dream to stay in a place like this.”

“Yes, I know. Bryan told me.”

“He did?” she craned her neck up to look at him.

“He knew you’d love this place, so he wanted to buy it from me.”

With parted lips, she stared at him in disbelief.

“Why did he want to buy this place?”

“He wanted to take you here. He was supposed to propose to you.”

“Propose to me?” She laughed. “But he gave the ring to the wrong woman, is that it?”

He shook his head. “Megan, he did not want that engagement. His parents arranged that engagement with Kelsey’s father. In fact, he came to me asking for help.”

She looked away, unwilling to accept his explanation. “He should have told me.”

“He wanted to, but he did not want to hurt you.”

She did not say anything. At this point, she was not ready to listen to an explanation, especially coming from Bryan’s bestfriend who’d of course defend him no matter what.

“Megan.” He paused and sighed. “If Bryan were alive today, he could have told you about it.”

She leaned forward, staring at her reflection in the water. Bryan’s face slowly took shape before her eyes. He was smiling at her, so she smiled back. Suddenly, he began to fade away.

“Wait,” she reached out to him, but he continued to disappear out of her sight. “Bryan.” She dived towards him. When she woke up from the trance, she found herself sinking to the bottom of the pool. Quickly, she kicked her feet down and pulled herself up to the surface.

She sucked in a deep breath and saw Blaze, who was in a position to dive into the water, but stopped when he saw her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

Gasping, she sat on the ground, her hair and dress dripping.

“What were you doing?” he asked, sitting on his haunches, while holding her arms. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

She glanced at his face that was inundated with weary. “No. I thought I saw him,” she replied.

He frowned. “Bryan?”

She nodded.

Their gazes locked as he squinted. Smoky gray eyes. This was the closest she had ever been with this pair of eyes that had always mystified her. If she could only reach inside to find out what lurked beneath those gray mist.

He cleared his throat, and that woke her up from her reverie. “Come on in. I’ll find you something to wear,” he said and helped her up to her feet.

“I’ll ruin your floor.”

“So what?” he laughed sarcastically. “It’s just a floor. Come on. I’ll take you to Bryan’s room.”

“He has a room here?” she asked as she followed him.

“We used to meet here from time to time, so he kept one room for himself.”

She smiled. She wondered what she’d find out there. She and Bryan had not moved in together, so she had very little left of him. She’d be happy if she could find something there, perhaps a razor or a perfume. Anything that could remind her of his scent.

Chapter 6

Blaze dived deep under the water, leaving a loud splash behind.

It was past midnight, but he could not stop thinking about sex.

Fuck. He wanted just that right now.

He pushed his head out of the water and took a deep breath. He noticed that the light in the guest room where he put Megan to sleep was on. He wondered if she was watching him. He just hoped she would not come out or he’d be doomed.

The last time he had fucked a woman was a few days before Bryan’s death. The loss of his bestfriend had not only devastated him, but also shattered his sexual cravings. And now that he’d finally gotten back his appetite, there was only one woman readily available for him—a woman he could not fuck.

This was all strange to him. He’d never been alone with a woman he could not fuck. He should have driven her back home before dark, but when she asked him if she could spend the night there, he could not refuse her.

He knew she missed Bryan. She was still struggling to cope up with the lost. In fact, for the whole afternoon, she had stayed in Bryan’s room. He was not sure what she’d been doing there, but he left her be, even if he was bored to death and wanted to have someone to talk to. He had decided to call his mother, who was now residing in Brazil, instead just to pass the time.

“Blaze?”

Shit! Talk about the devil. Here she comes.

Quickly, he pulled himself underneath the water and stayed there for as long as he could hold his breath. When he rose for air, he found her standing right in front of him, wrapped in an oversized robe that belonged to Bryan.

“Oh, it’s you,” she uttered.

He frowned. “Who else did you think it was?”

Her lips parted in the most sensuous way possible. “I was hearing things.”

Damn those red lips. He couldn’t help his dick from rising.

That’s a perfect place for his cock—wide enough to accommodate his size.

Her mouth was a bit too wide for her small-framed, heart-shaped face, but it defined her looks. It perfectly matched her pair of big doe eyes, as well.

Her beauty was somewhat unique. Even the shade of her copper hair was rare to him.

He wasn’t sure if she was purposely seducing him, but it was not the first instance she had managed to make him hard this day alone. This noon, after he had pulled her out of the water, she sat at the side of the pool with her knees bent up, showing him miles of long, white thighs. And as she gasped for breath, her chest rose up and down.

It almost looked like her breasts were swelling before his eyes, and they were reaching for him. Not to mention the generous amount of cleavage peeking out of her wet dress.

A pair of breasts of her size shouldn’t have that much cleavage, so he was almost certain she was wearing what they called as a magic bra or whatever it was.

But he had to remind himself that this woman was off limits. He did not want to include his bestfriend’s girlfriend on his database of sex mates. What she needed was someone to love her, not a prick who’d only pound her pussy for one night and get rid of her the next morning. Bryan might crawl out of his grave to cut off his dick. Living without his dick would be worse than death. Bryan knew that.

He quickly looked away and shook his head. “Go back to sleep.”

She did not move.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m… scared.”

He drew his brows together. “Of ghosts?”

She shook her head. “I’m… seeing things.”

He smiled. “That’s it. Ghosts.”

She dropped her eyes to the ground. “Can we just talk for a few minutes?”

He sighed. He honestly would prefer not to. In his situation, temptation was just around the corner. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll be right up. Wait for me in the living room.”

He climbed up the ladder, but still she did not move. She kept her eyes on him even when she noticed that he was only clad in a pair of swimming trunks. She only turned her back to him when he looked at her.

He smiled. The light coming from backdoor porch was faint, but enough for him to notice her flushed face. He knew she’d seen the bulge in his crotch.

“So what did you see?” he taunted.

“Not bad,” she replied.

He chuckled. “Like… impressive.”

“Perhaps.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I wonder. Has Playgirl or FHM offered you to pose for them?”

“Yes,” he replied promptly. “The offer reached as much as ten million for a nude photo.”

“Really? Why didn’t you take it?”

He shook his head and put on a robe. “My mother could have screamed to death if I did.”

She laughed, and he actually liked the sound of her laughter.

He tied his robe. He seemed to like everything about this woman, and for some reasons, he felt comfortable talking to her. He hoped his admiration for her was just because of the fact that she was his bestfriend’s girlfriend. Nothing else.

“Let’s go inside,” he said and led the way back to the house.

He let her sit on the couch and he headed for the kitchen to look for something to drink. He found a bottle of bourbon that he and Bryan were supposed to share after the fight.

With a deep sigh, he reached for the bottle and returned to the living room. At least he could share it with Bryan’s girlfriend.

He lowered the glasses on the table and filled them halfway.

“I don’t drink,” she said as he handed her a glass.

With an eyebrow raised up, he lowered the glass back on the table and held his. He sat on the couch across from her.

“Bryan loved this place,” he said. “We hang out here at least once a month.”

“Did you agree when he offered to buy this house from you?” she asked, a question that came out of nowhere.

“We had a deal,” he replied, “that if he won the match with Travis, I’d sell him this house, but…”

She did not say a word. Like him, Bryan’s sudden death still pained her. He missed Bryan, and he wondered if he could ever move on with his life without his best friend.

“I can’t help but wonder,” she said a moment later. “Have I learned about his engagement earlier, and I confronted him about it, you think he could have chosen me?”

He nodded positively. “He could have dumped Kelsey to the expense of being disowned by his parents so as not to lose you.”

Tears welled in her eyes. Finally, she understood. “I miss him.”

“Me too,” he whispered and drunk his whiskey. To his surprise, she reached for the glass on the table and took a small sip. She cringed and licked her lips, and then she poured the contents of the glass down her throat.

“Ah, that was terrible,” she said. “I wonder why you guys love this.”

“It’s Bryan’s favorite.”

She stared at him, and returned her gaze to her empty glass. She leaned back on the couch. In the process, the opening of her robe fell to the sides without her notice, baring a pair of white mounds before his very eyes.

He looked away, but his dick had already responded. It kept swelling, even as he silently ordered it to fuck off.

It didn’t want to fuck off. It wanted to fuck.

No, no. Not Megan Riley. He’d rather go jerk himself off.

He emptied his glass. When he was about to lean forward to put the glass on the table, their eyes met.

They held each other’s gaze. It seemed that the world had stopped moving at that moment, and a magical force was trying to draw them closer.

It couldn’t be Bryan. Bryan would never want him to screw his girlfriend. Bryan knew he’d never be the man who’d settle down with a woman.

It was like a hypnosis that none of them could break away from. They just stared into each other’s eyes, completely exposing themselves to the other.

He could see she desired him, and so did he. He didn’t try to hide it from her. He wanted her to see just that.

Suddenly, she cleared her throat, a simple act which instantly broke the magical spell between them.

He was relieved, but the yearning remained.

“I think I’d go back to bed now,” she said and rose to her feet.

He followed her up the stairs and led her to her door. “I might have to go out for a while,” he said.

She turned to him. “Where are you going?”

He shrugged. He did not want to let her know he’d go find a woman to fuck the night away with. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“It’s late. Why not wait till morning?”

“It can’t wait till morning.”

“What is it?”

His gaze locked with hers. Her green eyes were glowing like gems, as if they were tempting him to come closer to her, wrecking the last ounce of defense that kept him at bay.

Why was he thinking about going out for a woman while he had what he needed right in front of him?

He clenched his knuckles. He had to overcome this temptation, for Bryan and for their friendship. “I need a woman, Megan,” he admitted, hoping that would ward her off. “I need it so badly… right now.”

Her jaw dropped. She stared at him with those pair of round, wide eyes.

Dam her emerald eyes. They were consuming him.

He turned around. But before he could make a step, he felt her hand on his wrist.

Fuck. No!

*****

Megan’s heartbeat was banging the walls in her chest. She did not want him to go.

“Stay,” she whispered, as if the words came from a bitch that had been lurking inside her without her knowledge. “Make me forget.”

Slowly, he turned back to her, his gray eyes wider and darker. “I don’t want you to forget him.”

“Not him.” She shook her head. “This pain of losing him. It’s killing me.”

He swallowed, apparently struggling to ward off temptation, but she knew he couldn’t.

He took a step closer to her. “I need that same thing, Megan,” he whispered. “I want to forget.”

Suddenly, she was within the grip of his big, strong arms. His mouth sealed hers.

She moaned, which urged him to deepen the kiss and tighten his arms around her. He squeezed her bottom, pressing his massive erection against her belly.

That was hard and huge. She can even feel it throbbing.

She gasped for air as he released her mouth and glided his lips down her jaw and neck, leaving behind a burning wet trail on her skin.

“Blaze,” she unknowingly whispered.

He responded with a groan and pressed hard against her belly. “Feel how hard you make me.”

Moaning, she yielded to his drilling erection, losing herself into it. She finally had the courage to get her fingers fumbling with his robe.

She stroked the bare flesh she found underneath. A thin patch of hair adorned the middle of his chest. His pair of male nipples felt like small pebbles against her palms. His skin was hot. Burning.

He showed his appreciation by licking the inside of her ear, drawing a prolonged moan from her. “Undress me,” he demanded. “You have to see what you’re about to get.”

Eagerly, although nervous and uncertain, she pulled the ties of his robe and pushed the fabric off his shoulders. It fell to the floor, and he stepped half a foot backward so she could see him.

She moved her hungry gaze from his shoulders to his abs, filling her eyes with mouth-watering wonders. Every hard curve of muscles flexed. She touched them all, running her hands all over his naked body down to the eight packs of abs, as if to make sure they were real.

He moaned as he watched every reaction on her face. “Lower, Megan. Touch me there.”

She obeyed, until a smooth, hard and burning flesh brushed against her fingers.

She stopped and trembled. Suddenly, she was scared, and she couldn’t understand why.

Is it because this is wrong?

He smirked and reached for her hair. “Take a look at it,” he demanded.

Slowly, she lowered her gaze. She gasped. She stepped back in shock.

No way! He couldn’t be this big. His dick was about the same size as the trophy she broke in his office. Its bulbous head was wide and red, with a drop of precum on top. The veins around its shaft were pulsating right before her eyes.

“Oh, God,” she gasped, stunned yet enticed by the sight. She feared it, yet wanted it so badly.

He menacingly stepped closer to her. “It’s alright, Megan? Just turn away now.”

Her lips parted. No. She did not want to turn away. A wild mix of excitement and curiosity told her to stay.

She just stood there. The more she stared at his cock, the more that she craved for it.

She looked into his eyes and shook her head. “You’re right, Blaze. It’s too much for me,” she said and suddenly dropped down to her knees.

Shocked, he gasped. He did not move. He allowed her to do as she pleased.

With trembling hands, she reached for his cock, first lightly brushing the tip with her thumb, and then circled his shaft with the rest of her fingers. So thick she could barely make it around his girth.