Authors: Skyla Madi
“Like hell.” Seth snaps. “I want her in my room.”
Darryl steps forward, drawing himself to full height. He’s standing his ground and he isn’t going to budge. “What happened tonight will not happen again. Do you understand how close you came to losing it all? And over some petty bullshit.” He shakes his head. “What would your dad say? Hm? That’s why you’re doing this, isn’t it? For your dad?”
Seth tries to slide me off him, but I hold onto his hands as tightly as I can. I turn my head as much as I can to get a look at his face. “It’s okay.” I tell him. “I can sit in the crowd for the next two matches. It’s not a big deal.”
“For the next two matches, until Don is no longer in the game.” Jackson assures Seth.
Seth huffs. “Fine. Is that all?”
“Yes. Now let me check that Goddamn eyebrow.” I slide off Seth as Darryl approaches him.
He gestures for a team member to hand him a little box. Darryl pulls out creams and little pieces of materials and begins working on Seth’s eyebrow. The whole time Darryl is cursing and complaining about its position, I go find Jackson who’s pouring himself a big glass of bourbon in the kitchen. I take a tray of ice cubes from the freezer and hand them to him.
“Thanks.”
“Why is Darryl so pissed? It’s a small cut...”
“It’s on the brow though.” He takes a large sip of his bourbon, spilling a little on his red shirt. “Josh Donskov will use that against Seth. The brow is a shit place to get cut. Once punch, elbow—shit—even a slap could reopen it. If it bleeds too much and leaks into the eye, they’ll call the fight.”
“How do we stop that from happening?”
He laughs. “
We
can’t do anything except lather it with Vaseline and hope Josh’s fists slide off of it. The rest is up to Seth, he’ll have to guard that eyebrow with his life.”
Panic rises in the pit of my stomach as I realize the severity of the situation—of the cut. Fuck.
“Wow, you look like you’re going to puke.” He slides his glass over to me and I pick it up, taking a large mouthful. I swallow it, clenching my teeth against the burn. “Relax. He’s a big boy. He knows what he’s doing.”
That’s comforting... kind of.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with the stripper. I meant it only as harmless fun, I swear.” His green eyes flare apologetically.
“It’s okay. I didn’t mean to freak out, but I’ve never been in a strip club before let alone kissed a girl. That’s more Selena’s thing.”
His bronze eyebrows reach his hairline. Shit. I hope I didn’t just scare him away from her. “Really?”
I gasp at him, trying to take back what I said and a huge, wide smile creeps across his face. “That’s good to know. Thank you.”
Jackson looks over my shoulder and I turn around to see Seth’s half naked body leaning against the doorframe. Darryl sticks his head into the kitchen. “C’mon, Jackson. Time for bed, we have a big day tomorrow—you too, Seth. I’d tell you two no sex, but everyone knows you’ve recently disregarded that rule.”
Darryl narrows his eyes at me before smiling widely. “Goodnight, Olivia.”
I wave sheepishly at him, flushing to the tenth power. I look at Seth from under my lashes and he’s watching me with a little cocky, unapologetic smile, his eyes glimmering.
Jackson pats me on the shoulder as he passes me and elbows Seth in the ribs. Seth slaps Jackson on the back of the head and they exchange a manly hug. It’s admiring to watch.
When everyone is gone, Seth and I head upstairs.
The cool sheets engulf us, sending goosebumps over my skin. Seth’s arms reach out for me, pulling me in and I happily shuffle closer to him. He places light kiss on my jaw and I feel him undo the strings that are holding up my pants. He pushes down on one side of them and I lift my hips, helping him to slide them down. I kick them off and throw them to the floor. My legs brush against Seth’s and my pulse kicks up when I realize he’s naked. He pulls me on top of him without breaking a sweat and his hands roam over my stomach and hips. I’m too aroused to feel the ache of the bruise. He nudges my shirt higher and I pull it over my head. “You need sleep.” I whisper.
“Not yet.”
In the dark, I can just make out his silhouette underneath me, reigniting the desire inside me. Then again, is it ever really gone when he’s around? His fingertips curl around the edge of my bra, and there’s no hint of hesitation as he tugs it swiftly downward, forcing my breasts to spill over the now-useless cups. My skin doesn’t get a chance to register the feeling of being free before they’re suddenly enveloped in by his hot, wet mouth.
“Seth!” I gasp as my body begins to tremble.
His hands grasp my shoulder blades and he yanks me roughly toward him, forcing my tits even closer to his face. My back arches sharply and I moan toward the ceiling as my head falls limply. I can feel his arousal pressing against my ass cheek and I shiver at the thought of it entering me again.
He bucks his hips, rolling me off of him and him onto me. His mouth nips at my bottom lip, before slipping his tongue in. His hands glide up my sides, grabbing my wrists and pinning them above my head. My breathing gets instantly shallow as his wet tongue traces my jaw and my neck. It runs across my collar bone and I shiver at the line of tingles it leaves in its wake. Right now, I’m in heaven and loving every second of it. Seth makes me feel wanted, beautiful and a million other things. Lust is the obvious call, but it’s so much more than that. It’s love. I know it is. I’ve loved him for a while, I just had no idea how to describe it or if it even was love, but now I know it is. I’m certain. I’m the kind of certain that makes people swear on their children’s lives or bet entire college funds on a hand in poker. I’ve never felt anything so strong and it’s love—actual love. Heart wrenching, stomach churning, toe curling love.
I’ve been completely consumed by him and I didn’t even know it.
Chapter Seventeen
Long frissons of nervous energy tear through me as Seth bounces on his toes in front of me. I’m beyond anxious—unable to experience one specific emotion. It’s all mashed together—excitement. Nervousness. Frustration. Anticipation. His brown eyes fall onto me and I can see the anxiousness in his face. He doesn’t like that I wasn’t in his room before the fight and neither do I. I want to know what he’s thinking. I want to help ease him. The thick layer of Vaseline glistens on his eyebrow and I pray to God that it helps. Seth and I are so caught up in our own little world we don’t even realize his opponent, Joshua Donskov, tearing toward the ring with an angry stomp. He’s a big boy—a very big boy and not just tall, but wide, too. His short, blond curls bounce on the top of his head and I trap my hands between my knees to prevent myself from chewing my nails. Beside me, there’s an empty seat. It’s meant to be Dad’s. What I wouldn’t give to have him and Selena here with me. As I finish the thought, a large frame drops into the seat next to me, but I pay no attention to it. At least, not until Seth’s eyes narrow in on whomever it is. I slowly turn my head and I’m actually not that surprised to see Don’s annoying mug smiling back at Seth. Don appears worse off than Seth does. Don has a split lip and a cut in the middle of his nose that’s held together with butterfly stitches. I look at Darryl and Jackson. They’re rigid and they glance anxiously between the two fighters. Darryl leans over and calls through the wire to Seth.
“I didn’t see you leave Seth’s room. I was worried I’d driven a wedge between you two last night.”
I swallow my nerves. “Yeah, you look real beaten up about it.”
His thick, jean clad leg leans against my bare skin and I feel like I’ve dipped my feet into a box of baby spiders and now they’re running up my leg. I shiver and lean away from him.
“Come on.” He laughs. “I’m not that bad. I did let your little boyfriend continue in the tournament. You should be on your knees, thanking me.”
I cringe, but don’t respond to him. I’m not going to fuel the fire between Seth and Don. Seth flexes his fingers, balling them into fists and relaxing them again. I nod my head at him, assuring him not to worry about me. He rolls his shoulders back and focuses on Josh. Josh keeps his eyes fixated on Seth, not taking his eyes of him for a second. The announcer is rattling off a bunch of sponsors but I can’t hear him. I’m too busy focusing on Seth and ignoring Don’s presence.
“If you’re here to distract him, it’s not going to work.” I mutter, pulling my dress down to cover my knees. Don rests an arm on the back of my chair, his index finger brushing along my shoulder and I lean forward to get away from him.
“Let’s do this.” The referee calls.
Once the match begins, it’s easier to ignore Don and I trap my hands between my knees again, keeping my eyes peeled. I can’t look away, not this time. Seth’s hands are up, covering his face—especially his eyebrow. Josh comes in hard and fast and Seth manages to block most of the punches. The body shots, however, he couldn’t avoid unless he wanted to expose the cut on his eyebrow.
“It’s a shame about his eyebrow. That’s gotta’ be a little inconvenient, especially when going up against a brawler. With them there’s no real technique, you see. All they do is punch.”
Seth and Josh bounce around the ring, punching and punching. I flinch in my seat every time Josh lands a hit. He knows Seth has a busted brow and he’s really trying to get him to drop his guard. Seth kicks Josh’s legs out from underneath him and dives onto him. He begins to pound his face into the floor of the ring. Josh’s hands are up and he’s trying to protect his face. In my pocket my phone buzzes and I really don’t want to answer it, not now, but I can’t ignore it. Last time it was serious. I pull it from my pocket and look at the screen—a private number. I bring it to my ear, blocking the other with my index finger. “Hello?”
“Hello, is Olivia James there please.”
My chest tightens. “Speaking.”
“Miss James... my name is Doctor Monica Falen.” My heart stops. “You’re father was brought in this evening after suffering a second heart attack... I’m sorry, but there was nothing we could do.”
It doesn’t register with me. I don’t understand what she’s trying to say. “What do you mean?” I ask, hoping I misheard her. Don leans closer to say something to me, but I press my palm to his face to shut him up.
“You’re father has passed on.”
I stare straight ahead not seeing anything. The crowd is going crazy, but they seem muffled to me.
“Miss James?”
I drop my hand into my lap. I think I’m going to be sick. My phone is clenched tightly in my hand as I leap out of my seat and squeeze through the crowd. I need to get out of here. I have no idea where I’m going, but I follow an aisle blindly until I’m stopped by a group of security guards. I show them my pass and they let me through. It’s sinking in now and my heart squeezes in my chest. I quickly dart down the corridor wildly, unsure of where to go. I turn left, then right, then another left. I can hear distant rumble of a bloodthirsty crowd. Their footsteps hammer against the roof above me. I see Seth’s name on a door and I dive through it, closing it behind me with a thud. I don’t want to be in here, but I have nowhere else to go. I stumble to the far wall and push my body against its cold concrete. I slide to the ground, my arms closing tightly against my chest as the first waves of anguish hit me. Choked sobs wrack my chest as tears pour over the brim of my eyes. I don’t even try to hold back my tears while my chest heaves. I cover my mouth with both of my hands and bring my knees up to my chest. I’m in Boston. I need to be in Portland. I’m not even startled as the door flies open, slamming against the concrete. I don’t look as Seth shouts for his team to leave us alone. I feel his damp, warm hands touch my shoulders and I lift my face from my hand to look at his face. His eyebrow is bleeding and there’s a fresh cut on his bottom lip. His lips are moving, but I don’t know what he’s saying.
“Olivia,” He says again and I can hear his strained, worried voice. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head. “It’s dad... he’s—” I can’t finish the sentence and bury my head back into the palms of my hands.
“I’m so, so sorry, O.” He whispers. His soft lips brush the top of my head. I take in a gasp of air as I try to control my sobs. His hands curl around my own, pulling them away from my face. I angle my head. I don’t want him to look at me. I can only imagine how puffy my eyes are or how smudged my make-up must be. The tips of his finger curl underneath my chin, forcing me to look at him. He looks down at me with a sorrowful expression that screams how helpless he feels and he tugs me into him, cradling me in his arms as I cry against his already wet chest. The tip of his thumb strokes my cheek, wiping away my tears.
“Did you win?” I ask him, sniffling.
All he does is nod.
“I-I need to go home.”
“Of course. I’ll take you.”
I shake my head. “Can you call Selena and ask her to come and get me?” Seth opens his mouth to protest me, but I cut in. “I want to be with my mom...”
His brows furrow, but he doesn’t fight me. He knows how Mom feels about him and now is not the time to rub ‘us’ in her face. Not to mention Seth needs to be in Boston training with his team and preparing for Las Vegas. He doesn’t need this distraction. “Okay. I’ll call Selena, but let me take you to the hotel first.”