“I won.” His rough, tired voice hits me and clings to my skin. As a result, goosebumps form. I look up at him from underneath my eyelashes and I unashamedly let my eyes drag up his slim waist and broad shoulders—even covered in someone else’s blood, he makes liquid pool between my legs.

“I saw.” I can’t help the smile that pulls at the corner of my lips.

“Did you like it?”

I frown. My over-heated body tells me to nod, but my over-caring brain tells me to shake my head. “He started bleeding…”

Seth glances down at his blood-speckled body. “I think I know that better than anybody.”

“Did you like it?” I ask, slipping across on the couch, subtly inviting him to sit down.

He drops onto the couch and his gloveless hands reach out to me. They grip my sweater and he pulls me close to his damp body. I grip his hard forearms for stability as my body presses against his. Blood from his skin soaks into the white fabric, but I’m too captivated by his raw power to care. I swallow hard as my gaze falls to his split lip.

“Do I give you the answer you want, or do I tell you the truth?”

“Always the truth.”

My eyes lock onto his lips and I follow them all the way to my cheek before they disappear into my hair—right by my ear. “I fucking loved it.”

The rumble from his chest vibrates down my spine and into my core, threatening to shake me to my foundations.

“Why?” I whisper back to him.

“To feel someone break under your control is addicting, to overpower someone who desperately wants to overpower you is thrilling, and to destroy someone who thinks they’re better than you is satisfying.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. All of this, everything he puts himself through, is only to prove that he is the best at what he does? Will I ever understand man logic?

“You do it all to be number one?”

He shrugs. “Well, I sure as hell won’t settle for second best.”

“Whoooo!” Jackson hollers, interrupting Seth and I. “We’re going to hit the town hard tonight, ladies and gentlemen. You keen?”

I practically recoil from his words. No way in hell am I going out tonight. I’m done with clubs and alcohol, for good. Well, I’m done with clubs, anyway. Alcohol, I might do a few more times.

Like at my wedding.

My wedding!

I purse my lips against ‘squeeing’ out loud. I jump, completely pulled from thoughts of my possible wedding dress as Seth slaps his hand down on my thigh and squeezes me.

“What?”

“Do you want to go out?”

I shake my head. “I’ve had more than enough…excitement”—his eyes flare—“for one night.”

Seth looks up at Jackson. “Sorry, man. We’re going straight home.”

Jackson blinks a few times. And then a few times more. “I get that she wants to stay home, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you stay home.”

Selena shakes her head at me, all while smiling like I’m the most interesting specimen on the planet.

“You won your first professional fight, man. Come with me tonight, have some fun and we’ll get back into training tomorrow.”

I nudge Seth’s knee with mine. “Go, have fun. I’ll still be here when you get home.”

His brown eyes roam me and I see the cog wheels in his eyes as he decides his next move. Deep down, I’m secretly hoping he takes Jackson up on his offer. Finishing the book I’m reading and getting a full night’s sleep is exactly what the doctor ordered.

“Fine.” Seth exhales. “I’ll come out with you.”

“Awesome!” Jackson whips around on his heel and dives into the madness of the excited teammates and over the other side to Darryl. Selena drops onto the couch next to me.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out?”

I shake my head. “I need sleep.”

She pouts. “We won’t go to any strip clubs.”

“Strip clubs or no strip clubs, I want to shower, read my book, and go to bed.”

Selena rolls her eyes and leans forward on her elbows. “You picked a real badass here, Seth.”

Seth smiles a warm smile, eliciting one in return from me. And out of nowhere, he shoots forward, planting his lips on mine. I wrap my arms around his neck without thought and urge him harder against me.

Behind me, Selena groans and I feel pressure lift off the chair. “You two are dirty.”

I smile, not only because that’s awfully rich coming from her, but because we are dirty and there’s no one else in the world I’d rather be dirty with. Only Seth. Only the man who helped me put an end to my dead end relationship, supported me during the sudden passing of my father, and took me higher than any rocket ever could. I love him and every dirty array of public affection he gives me, and if that means I’m dirty…then I never, ever want to be clean.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Seth

I draw my fourth whiskey and Coke to my lips. I swear each swallow rests not in my stomach, but on my eyelids, making them heavier. I stand at the over-crowded bar, away from Jackson and Selena’s make out session. Now I know how they feel when I attack Olivia in front of them. Still, I’m not going to stop. I kiss Olivia whenever the hell I feel like kissing her and I guess Jackson is the same. A loud eruption of laughter explodes from my table and I glance over my shoulder. Darryl shifts in his chair and tugs on his white button up shirt, as if he’s trying to loosen it. He’s having fun and it’s just as much his and Jackson’s night as it is mine. I turn from the bar and my head spins a little. I smile. I haven’t felt this good in a while and the three shots I took before my whiskeys are just starting to settle in. This whiskey will definitely have to be my last one.

I walk towards the table, holding my drink low. About ten feet away, I’m stopped in my tracks by a short woman and my eyes automatically zero in on her huge fake tits that protrude out of her tight, red tube dress.

“Hey, you,” she purrs. “Remember me?”

Fuck, she knows who I am, but I’ve never seen her before. I lift my gaze to her bright, cherry red lips and finally a pair of bright blue eyes masked by too much smoky makeup. Her small hands run over my chest and down my biceps, feeling as much of me as she could. Normally, (and by normally I mean before Olivia) I’d probably take this girl home—I’m not an idiot, she’s gorgeous in that fake kind of way. Unfortunately for her, there’s only one pair of thighs I’d like to slide between tonight and every other night for the rest of my life.

“I was wondering when I was going to run into you again,” she adds, squeezing me for extra measure.

“Uh…” I chuckle nervously. “Look, Samantha-”

Her drawn on eyebrows pull in close. “Nicole.”

Shit. “Nicole…”It still doesn’t ring any bells. “Right. Listen, I’m only here for a drink with my friends.”

Her hands glide back up my arms and down my chest before curling around the hem of my jeans. I analyze her for a moment, trying to link her face to her name…I can’t. Instead, I’m distracted by the way she looks. There was once a time I was into that whole ‘porn star’ look…I can’t say it does too much for me now. Her index finger sweeps a little too low and I snatch her wrists with my free hand and move them away from my body. Even in the dim club, I see her eyes flare. She likes the challenge. Nicole shrugs out of my grasp and inches closer, making me more frustrated than aroused. I’ve been trying to be a better person for Olivia, in terms of my promiscuity, and right now I feel like I’m doing something wrong. It’s a feeling that twists at my stomach, I hate it and this woman is testing my patience.

“I’m sure your team can wait…come with me. I won’t take up too much of your time. Let me take care of you.”

Nicole rakes her teeth over her bottom lip and I sigh. Not out of defeat, but out of boredom. I’ve had girls of every kind and every shape—more than I’m willing to admit—and this girl is attractive, but I’m not going to risk my relationship with Olivia for her. Let’s be honest for a second, how good is this girl in bed really if I couldn’t even remember her name or her face?

“Thanks, but I have a girl at home who takes care of all my needs.” With a tight smile, I attempt to step past her, but she sidesteps and blocks me. I clench my glass tighter and expel a gust of air through my nose.

“Believe me, I can make you forget all about her.”

Nicole’s words strike a chord inside me and I narrow my eyes at her. There’s no doubt in my mind that her over-used mouth can show me a good time. She can probably suck my dick well and have me coming in minutes, but I don’t want it. I don’t want her. Nicole touches me again. Her long fingernails slowly stroking a silver button on my steel grey shirt. “What do you say?”

She really doesn’t want to know what I have to say. I grit my teeth together against a copious amount of bad names and hurtful words. “I say you try your luck elsewhere, sweetheart.”

She steps closer, her body almost pressing against mine. The distinct smell of cigarette being masked by an expensive cherry perfume has my nose twitching. “Sorry, darling. I’m after a ten tonight, nothing less.”

And here I was thinking only men rated women on a scale of one to ten. I lower my head to her ear and as my breath blows over her skin, I hear her breath catch.

“No, thank you.”

Her hands fall away from me and I’m finally able to push past her. I don’t dare look over my shoulder for fear of inviting her into my personal space again. I saunter over to the table and drop into an empty seat. Darryl and the rest of the team have left, leaving me alone with Selena and Jackson.

“Who was that?” Selena asked.

I look up at her and she’s trying really hard to be calm, but I can see the anger in her posture. Her arms are crossed tightly across her chest, covering the cut out that exposed the majority of her breasts. I’m sure if this were a manga cartoon, she’d have one of those little exasperated squiggles on her forehead. I smile at the thought.

“Nobody.” I’m not sharing shit with Selena. She talks way too much and Olivia doesn’t need to hear about this. Not because I’ve done anything wrong, but because what happened in the past (if it happened in the past) needs to stay in the past. I can’t confirm nor deny if I had sex with that girl. I don’t remember her face and I know it makes me look like a total asshole—believe me—I feel like it, but it is what it is. I won’t take full blame for being a using asshole, though. They let me use them and on most occasions they approached me for sex. I merely took what was offered. Sue me.

“Didn’t look like nobody to me. You two seemed pretty comfortable.”

Jackson groans. “Selena, let it go. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Of course, she ignores Jackson’s advice. “And she keeps looking over at you from the bar.”

I draw my cup to my lips and take a long sip. Selena grows more agitated with every second I don’t respond. When she’s fully arched up, I lower my cup and speak.

“It’s a free country. She can look at me all she likes, and as long as she doesn’t touch, I’m sure Olivia won’t mind.” I place my glass on the table. “Like Jackson said, I did nothing wrong. I turned down an invitation for sex, yet you’re looking at me like I had a quickie in the bathroom.”

“I’m not looking at you like anything. I’m just worried for—”

“Don’t be,” I interrupt, letting my frustration get the best of me. “Let me worry about Olivia. I look after her better than you ever did.”

Her eyes widen and she takes offense to what I said by scoffing at me. She angles her body towards Jackson, waiting for him to defend her; instead, he looks at her and shrugs his shoulders. With another scoff, Selena flicks her curly blonde hair over her shoulder and sits back in her seat, crossing her legs as tightly as her crossed arms. Jackson leans forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his jean-clad knees and his seedy, drunk gaze rolls onto me.

“To the bar?”

I nod my head, wanting an excuse to get away from Selena’s condemning glare. She takes a long, hard gulp of her beer before pulling out her cellphone. I contemplate demanding her to tell me what she’s doing, but I let it go. I have done nothing wrong tonight and overreacting will only make it seem like I’m guilty. The only thing I’m guilty of is never wanting to see Olivia hurt or doubt that I’m faithful to her.

I push off of my chair, abandoning my current drink. At the bar, Jackson hands me another beer and I hesitate for a second before I take it and bring it to my lips. I know I should stop. The more I drink the more I lash out…and Selena has already got on my nerves once tonight. I have so much pent up inside me that I want to say to her—that I want to blame her for—and I don’t think Olivia or Jackson will appreciate it if I let it all out. I don’t think there’s a nice way of calling someone a mess…I grin into my beer bottle right before I take a long sip. I can’t wrap my head around Selena. She’s this out of control woman who has no goals in life and only aspires to drag people down with her. I suppose she has to have some other side to her that no one sees. Why else would Jackson stick around? I know for a fact he likes easy going, submissive girls. He likes girls that can break easily and cave at his every whim, and Selena doesn’t seem like that kind of person. She’s too stubborn and bitchy to go along with Jackson’s shit. Then again, who knows who Jackson and Selena really are? They both seem to have lots of hidden shit they keep to themselves. Jackson with his ex-bitch-whore and Selena with her dad—or whatever, her story still remains a mystery to me.