“No!” I rasp, trying to keep my voice down so I don’t wake Mom. Each time Don’s fists connect I cringe. I can hear the chilling sound of bone cracking against flesh, and the hairs on my head tingle in fear. I see Jackson below Seth, yelling at him and Seth stomps the balls of his feet down onto Don’s foot, forcing him to lose footing. Seth shoves Don back and goes low, wrapping his arms around Don’s legs and taking him down. He wastes no time in diving on Don. His thick thigh muscles straddled Don’s mid section and he starts raining blows to his head and face. Don’s arms come up to shield his face from the pounding, so Seth leans back to slam into Don’s ribs. I can see sweat run down Seth’s back and his chest heaving heavily. Don flicks his hips, throwing Seth off of him just as the commentators swore the referee was going to end the fight. As Don attempts to roll away, Seth catches his arm and wrap his legs around Don, straightening out his arm.

“Oh no!” A commentator shouts, startling me. “Seth has Don in an arm bar.” Seth pulls down hard and Don’s face strains. He doesn’t want to give up. The referee gets in Don’s face, talking to him. Every few minutes Don shakes his head, refusing to tap out. Seth adjusts his position and pulls even harder. Don can’t keep his eyes open. He’s in too much pain and suddenly I feel sorry for him. There’s a sardonic smile on Seth’s face, he knows he’s got it. All he has to do is apply a little more pressure and Don’s arm will snap, but he wants Don to submit to him. He wants Don to tap out and be humiliated. I close my eyes as the camera zooms in on the awkward shape of Don’s arm. The crowd is going nuts, begging for Seth to snap it. As I open my eyes, I witness Don’s palm slap the floor of the ring and I leap out of my chair. Seth did it! He beat Don. Dancing around my living room after a fight is not something I’ll ever admit to doing, but I do it. I do it out of happiness, out of pride, hell, I even do it out of arousal because I can’t possibly sit down without squirming. New waves of screams tear from the crowd, forcing my attention back to the screen. The teams are in the ring, separating the two fighters. They’re yelling at each other, dying to go another round with each other. Don is pissed, his face hot red. Seth smiles at Don and it pisses him off even more. Security flies into the ring to help Don’s team suppress him. I can’t hear anything over the roar of the crowd or the annoying voices of the commentators and I nervously chew on my nails. Seth watches with his hands on his hips as they drag Don from the ring. When his gone, the referee raises Seth’s hand and the crowd loses their minds. They scream, shout, chant, clap their hands and stomp their feet. Energy flows through me as the CEO of the MMAC steps into the ring. The announcer hands him a microphone and he addresses the crowd. My eyes are on Seth, not paying attention to a single word the CEO is saying. Seth is smiling modestly so I know it has something to do with his impressive skills. The CEO hands Seth a framed contract and they take photos. The commentators go over highlights of the fight and I close the browser and shut off the monitor with a huge smile on my face.

Seth achieved his dream. He went for it and he succeeded. It leaves me thinking about my dream, the dream of becoming a romance author. The last few months have definitely sidetracked me from what I want to do. At least now I have enough material to write that happy ever after I’ve been stuck on. Maybe managing the gym will give me time to write on the side? If not, I’ll have to make time. You can’t reach your dream unless you try, right?

***

I sit by my dad’s fresh grave, silent tears rolling down my cheeks. The sun is setting over the port and its orange-red hue coats everything in a pretty pink light. I’ve been sitting here for hours, dreading the thought of going back home. Chase left this morning to go back to Pakistan. He promised to get more Skype time, which made his departure more bearable and Mom isn’t going to be home either. She decided to spend a little alone time in a hideaway cabin for two nights. Apparently, she and Dad stayed there all the time. I don’t know how I’m going to handle being in the house by myself. I haven’t been truly alone with my thoughts yet. There was always someone lingering around the place, but for the next two days I’m on my own.

I climb to my feet and turn from Dad’s tombstone. I want to avoid being in the cemetery alone at night so I walk the mile to my car and drive away. When I get home, there are no cars in the driveway and I pull in, parking right in front of the garage. I inhale deeply, mentally preparing myself and climb out of the car. I walk over to the small, white gate and my fingers linger on the latch. I can’t stay here by myself. Not tonight. The gate squeaks as I let it go and turn back to my car. I’ll stay at my apartment.

“You’re not going to leave me here by myself, are you?”

Seth’s voice startles me, and I whirl back to face the house. A movement over by the tree catches my eye and there he is, leaning against the oak tree in the front yard. His hair is in wilder disarray than normal, giving him a devastating sex appeal as it juts out roughly above his forehead. His arms are folded across his chest, and the short sleeves of his black shirt cling tightly to him, accentuating the strong, muscled ridges of his bare forearms. He looks positively delicious and nipples harden against my lace bra as my gaze settles on his mouth. His full lips are curved into a little cocky smile, like he knows I’m craving him. I glance over my shoulders. I can’t see his car anywhere.

“How?”

“I parked around the corner.”

Forgetting the latch, I jump the gate and run to him. He opens his arms and I fit right in, wrapping my legs around his waist and smashing my lips against his. Seth squeezes me against him with devastating pressure, but I don’t dare complain. I don’t want him to let go, ever. I pull my lips away, panting breathlessly. “I had no idea you were going to be back today.”

“It was painful purposefully avoiding your calls, but I wanted to surprise you.”

I laugh. “Mission accomplished.”

I’m happy—genuinely happy. If anyone can wash away my anguish and doubts, it’s Seth. It’s always Seth. I slide off of him and tug on his hand. He follows me onto the porch and I pull the key from the back pocket of my jeans. I unlock the door and pull him inside. I flick on the living room lights and lock the door behind him.

“Is your Mom—”

“She’s not home.” I cut in rather eagerly. I pull him up the hallway and into my old room. I switch on the light and Seth almost cringes.

“It’s so pink.”

“I know. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.”

Seth grips my hips in a firm and unbreakable grasp, catching me off guard. A thrill shoots down my spine at his touch. A second later, he’s pushing me backward onto the bed. I land on my elbows, sliding myself upwards as he climbs on top of me. His body pins mine tightly against the bed. I moan as his full lips crash to mine and his tongue flicks out to glide against my bottom lip. His fingers move steadily underneath my shirt, grazing the delicate skin of my sides. Strangely, his finger glides over a specific spot on my ribs and I flinch. Pulling away from his mouth I giggle and he smiles down at me.

“Ticklish?”

“Absolutely not.”

He strokes the spot with his finger again and I twist, biting my lip. I manage to stem the flow of laughter long enough for him to give up and plant a kiss on my nose. “I missed you like crazy, you know.”

I scoff, playfully. “Yeah right, I saw all of those pretty promo girls. I bet you had the time of your life.”

He rests his chin on my chest and looks up at me through thick dark lashes.

“It was hell, actually. Do you wanna know how many girls showed up at my hotel room practically naked?”

I shake my head. Some people have no shame and it makes me angry.

“Would you care if I told you I turned every single one of them away?” I look into his eyes and the golden swirls in his irises flare. “I was a very good boy—not tempted by anything for one second.”

He’s smiling widely, like he’s super proud of himself. I’m proud of him. He has come a long way from the person he used to be.

“Well, there was a lack of naked men throwing themselves at me in your absence unfortunately so I’ve got nothing to help boost your confidence—not that you need anyone to boost that already insanely high ego of yours.”

He laughs the laugh that I love so much and it forces me to join him. “You’re hilarious. I must be rubbing off on you.”

The word ‘rubbing’ ignites something deep down in my stomach and I cup his face in my hands, drawing his mouth toward mine. “Speaking of rubbing...” I chuckle against his lips.

“I’m one step ahead of you.” He replies, undoing my jeans button easily. My hips flex against him as his finger slide under my jeans and the fabric of my underwear. I laugh once before his tongue slips into my mouth and I dissolve into him. His teeth catch my bottom lip, roughly and I gasp.

“I love you, baby.” He whispers.

I smile. “I love you, too.”

EPILOGUE

SETH.

I’ve been slamming my fists into this damn bag for the last hour, waiting for Olivia to finish cleaning the gym. There’s no one left, the doors are locked and the blinds drawn, but she insists on having everything in top shape for when it opens in the morning. I can’t say I don’t enjoy watching her walking around the place with a determined little pout on her sexy pink lips because I do. She does a round, picking up a few towels here and there. I’m reminded of the day that I dropped my towel and demanded that she pick it up. It was such a dick move, but I was so pissed off with my mother and believing she’d go to the alcoholics program. I was let down, again.

Purchasing the gym was a good move on my part. I spend most of my time in here and it gives me a chance to see Olivia all day and although I can’t touch her, she’s always nice to look at. She enters the boxing section of the gym and I call out to her. I let the towel I’m holding in my hand fall from my fingers and her gorgeous, green eyes follow it all the way to the floor.

“You forgot one.” I say, unable to hold back my smile.

She flicks her long, chocolate ponytail over her shoulder and stalks toward me with a sexy little smirk, willing to play along with my game. Her tongue shoots out to moisten her delicious bottom lip and I fight the urge to do it myself. She presses her index finger firmly against my sweaty chest.

“Pick up your own damn towel.” She states, making my cock twitch.

My gaze drops to her chest. I see her nipples pressing hard against her pink tank top. Her sports bra fails to hide her obvious arousal. I grasp her hip, pulling her closer to me and she happily obliges. I always think about what would’ve happened between us if that blonde woman hadn’t showed up. Would she have let me take her? I like to think so.

In the beginning, I hated Portland, but the moment I saw Olivia I knew she was going to change me. Seeing her over and over drove me insane and she quickly became an obsession. Forcing myself to keep my hands off her when she was so willing to give herself to me was, hands down, one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but it payed off. She is good and I’m... well, I’m a work in progress. She smiles up at me through dark lashes and I run my thumb along her jaw. I want to run my tongue along it and taste her. I want to lay her out on the mat beneath me and make her sigh and scream my name—a sound I’ll never get tired of.

“What are you thinking?” She asks me, searching my eyes.

If I press harder against her, she’ll be able to feel me and put two and two together. Instead, I smile. “It isn’t very PG, I’ll tell you that.”

Olivia drags her teeth over her bottom lip and the palm of her hand flattens against my chest. “Then we should shower and get out of here”

My skin under her hand tingles when she pulls away and I follow behind her to the shower room. Keeping my eyes ahead of me and not on her tight-clad ass proves to be difficult, until we hit the shower room. So many times I’ve been alone with her in here and not once have I taken her hard against the concrete wall—even though I’ve wanted to, desperately.

Normally, Olivia showers in a stall, apparently she’s shy. God knows why, she has the most perfect body, from her well-shaped calves to her big, perky breasts with the big, light pink nipples—on second thought, maybe it’s good she showers behind closed doors. I’d hate for anyone else’s eyes to see her like I do.

When she turns on the shower, steam builds quickly. She kicks off her sneakers and slowly pulls down her tights. I stand still, watching as she reveals her milky skin to me piece by piece and I keep watching until she’s completely naked and standing under the flow of the water. The water rolls down her face and over her plump lips. It travels over the peaks of her breasts and down her flat stomach. I shake my head a little. I can’t help, but to get wrapped up in the small details whenever I’m around her... she just has that effect on me.

She affects me and I love it. I love her. When someone affects you so much that you can’t sleep at night without them, you can’t think straight whenever they’re in the room and you’d risk it all for them, you go for it. You take no risks. Olivia knows I love her. She knows I’d risk my entire future for her, but she doesn’t know about my plans to make her my wife.

Olivia Marc.

It has a nice ring to it? Doesn’t it?