Page 16 of The Fighter

Something drizzled down my cleft. Lube. His fingers drifted down until he pressed two inside of me. I was so loose from his tongue that my body barely gave little resistance. It was then I heard another sound in the room over my pounding heart and pants. His rasped, heavy breathing. He was as affected as I was.Good.

He withdrew his fingers and a moment later, an empty condom wrapper dropped onto the desk near my head. Again, I took a moment to be sad about it. And then I felt his broad cock head at my entrance, all hardness covered by soft velvety skin. I pressed back to get him inside of me faster, but he held me firm. “What’s your name?”

I curled my fingers into fists and closed my eyes. My full name was four syllables. About two seconds. That was all it would take, in theory. But in reality, telling him my name waslike handing over a pound of flesh. So all I said was, “If I told anyone my name, it’d be you, Con. It’d be you.”

He slammed into me so hard, the mammoth desk jolted.

I grunted against the pain, because I knew it’d turn over to pleasure soon. One thrust, two…thereit was. He gripped my hips, digging into my flesh, and fucked me hard. This wasn’t the sleepy way he’d taken me on my back in his bed in the early morning light. This was tension and frustration and a whole lot of stress taken out on my ass. His office filled with moans and grunts, the creak of his desk, the rasp of skin against skin. His strokes were perfect—the right force, the right angle. Everything about Con was so fucking perfect. I’d give him everything if I could, but I couldn’t. This was all I could give. This was all I could get, so this is what it had to be for now.

He didn’t speak this time. No filthy dirty talk. No more telling me how perfect I was. This was hard and fast and mad. I hated it and loved it. I wanted more of his anger and also wished he’d turn me on my back, cup my face, and let me look into his blue eyes as he came.

I wasn’t ready when he reached down and wrapped his fingers around my shaft. I wanted this to last forever, but it couldn’t, not with his cock pounding me just right and his hand deftly stroking me.

“Come,” he growled. And my orgasm hit me on command, spearing through me like a lightning rod. I opened my mouth on a loud groan and ground my face into his desk. My dick erupted, loudly splattering my cum on his floor. In my channel, I felt his cock pulse, and he moaned long and low as he filled the condom with the cum he withheld from me.

My legs threatened to give out, and if Con wasn’t supporting me by leaning on me, I might have fallen. His body coated mine, his breath on my back, his head between my shoulder blades. Iclosed my eyes, relishing his weight, the feel of him still inside of me.

But we couldn’t stay like that forever. He straightened and untied my wrists before easing out of me. I brought my hands under me and slowly stood, testing my legs to make sure they’d support me, then I pulled up my jeans. When I turned around, Conrad was sitting in his desk chair, his pants still open, soft cock resting against his inner thigh. One elbow was propped up on the armrest, his chin propped up on his fingers. But the worst part was that he wasn’t watching me. His gaze was on the large windows to our left where the city’s night lights twinkled in the distance.

I didn’t have his attention anymore. This was it. He was going to tell me never to contact him again. He’d gotten another fuck out of it, and so had I. We should part ways friendly-like, right? Then why did I feel like I wanted to throw up?

When he withdrew his gaze from the window, he tucked himself back into his pants and took his time fastening them. He was tie-less now, his shirt open at the top, his hair disheveled. He looked well-fucked. I couldn’t imagine what I looked like. I couldn’t get myself to leave. I stayed where I was, ass sore, and very aware that I’d bitten teeth marks in the top of his desk as he’d railed me on it.

Finally, his blue gaze settled on me, and a decision was there. My gut rolled, and I swallowed around a clog in my throat. He gestured for me to come to him, and I did. Without a thought, I dropped to my knees between his spread legs and rested my chin on his thigh. He sighed heavily before lifting a shaky hand and running it through my hair. I wanted to weep but held back.

“Normally, I’d tell you to come by whenever you want, that we’d keep this casual. And it’d be fine,” he said, his voice rough.

I watched him and kept silent.

“But I don’t think I can do that with you. No, let me rephrase that. Ican’tdo that with you. This last month…” He rubbed a hand over his lips. “I told myself it was for the best I didn’t know how to find you. Because if I did, I would have tracked you down.”

I thanked my past self for keeping my damn mouth shut. Just the thought of Con at my apartment, seeing me work,watching me fightmade me want to hurl.

His thigh quivered beneath me. “If you come see me again, then that’s it. It means you’re mine. It means you can’t sneak off in the middle of the night. You’ll give me something other than a shortened first name.” He swallowed. “And if not, then this is it. The last time we see each other. Your choice, Tav.”

He knew more about me than he realized, but I couldn’t tell him that. He’d laid down the ultimatum, and I hated it. The thought of never seeing Con again made me want to jump off the roof. But honestly what was I doing? I had to let him go. I had to letthisgo.

I rose to my feet, unable to look at him in the eye and left his office without looking back. It wasn’t until I was parking my motorcycle in front of my apartment building that I realized we hadn’t even kissed for the last time.

SEVEN

Conrad

I twirled the wine in my glass and took a sip. The cabernet slid down my throat and warmed my blood. I licked a drop from my lip and flicked my gaze to the bar, where I could just make out Nik’s form. After that, the window drew my attention. Garden Terrace sat on the twentieth floor of the boutique Howard Hotel, and while it hadn’t been my first choice to meet Devlin for the first time in ten years, I’d let him have the upper hand when he’d suggested it. I wanted to appear conciliatory. Acquiescent.

I was prepared for this meeting. I’d done nothing but focus on the careful words I wanted to say to the man who’d been terrorizing this city for a decade. And who remained the major source of my guilt, and the reason I poured so much of myself into Soto and charity work. Like if I could just do a good deed for every five of Devlin’s evil ones, I could cleanse my soul.

I’d gotten off track for a little bit there. Just a few months. My mind had been preoccupied by a certain man. But it had been weeks since he’d shown at my office, since I fucked him like I hated him, and since he’d left without a word when I’d broughtdown the gavel of an ultimatum. In the days afterward, I’d wavered on if that was the right thing to do. He’d seemed almost desperate that day for me to touch him. What if he needed me, but stayed away because I’d told him to? But I couldn’t go there. I had to protect myself and I had too many people counting on me.

Tav would never be mine, not like I wanted him to be, and so I had to let him go. I cauterized the open wounds he’d left behind and moved on. It only hurt a little bit now on the rare occasions I let myself think of him. Like now.

My phone chimed. A text message from Nik. One word.Focus

Oh fuck off. I clenched my teeth and continued staring out the window.

I felt Devlin the moment he stepped into the room. The hair on the back of my neck rose as I turned my head to see him cutting through the tables, eyes homed in on me like I was in a spotlight. Two of his men were in the room two, fanning out into the corners. Nik would keep his eye on them. I stood up at the end of the table and waited for him to join me.

I’d seen surveillance pictures of Devlin over the years, but I hadn’t seen him in person since our last conversation. His auburn hair was carefully combed back from his face in waves. He filled out his suit better and strode with the purpose of a man who felt like he was owed respect wherever he went. As he drew closer, I noticed fine lines bracketed the corner of his eyes. He was only two years past thirty, but his lifestyle had aged him.