Battered Hearts 3: Crossing the line (27 page)

“I hurt you,” he said in panic.

Tabitha shook her head quickly and took a sharp, hard breath before she moved her hand and squeaked, “No, it’s okay.”

“I don’t think it’s okay.” Wyatt tried to pull away, but Tabitha wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. “Oh, shit. I’m an asshole.”

“Shhh.” She took another shuddering breath. “I think it’s better now. It’s fading. I’m fine. We knew it was supposed to hurt.”

“But, I didn’t
want
it to hurt.” Wyatt tried again to pull away. “Are you bleeding? Jules said—”

“Just shh,” she whispered and put her fingers against his lips again. “You’re here, Wy. Lemme feel you for just a little bit. Come closer.” She relaxed under him and trailed her bare feet up the backs of his legs. “Slow.”

“O-okay.”

Wyatt followed Tabitha’s lead by taking a cooling breath and then made a valiant attempt to let some of the tension flow out of his body. He couldn’t deny it felt amazing to be in her. There was a little voice in the back of his mind chanting
move
, but he ignored it because this was his girl, and the last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt her.

“I love you,” he whispered against her temple. “I wish it could hurt me instead of you.”

“I know.” She stroked a hand through his hair. “Just once, and it’s over now. That means we can do this whenever we want.”

“Really?” Wyatt couldn’t help the hopeful pitch in his voice. “You know I want it pretty much all the time, right? Probably not in your best interest to be telling me that. ’Specially right now. You
do
feel incredible.”

She laughed, which made Wyatt laugh, and somewhere along the way he ended up the rest of the way in, with her hips flush against his. He was suddenly so wrapped up in the warm, wet feel of Tabitha he knew he was going to look back on this night forever and know this was the first, perfect moment when he found out what heaven felt like.

“Kiss me,” she said softly when their laughter subsided.

Wyatt cupped her face and kissed her, gentle and reverent as he tried to remember everything about Tabitha as she was right now. “I love you so fucking much,” he whispered against her lips as he recovered from the shock of hurting her and started to really savor what the two of them were doing. “This is—” He kissed her again. “God.”

“Yeah,” Tabitha agreed and then let out a small moan as she nudged her hips against his. “I wonder what would happen if you touched me when we were like this. It always feels so good when you use your fingers and—” She stopped when Wyatt reached between them to find out. He found her clit and traced his finger in a small circle around it, making her gasp and jerk her hips. “Oh.”

“Shit,” he panted over her. “I can feel you move when—”

She tossed her head back and jerked her hips once more. “Heck, Wy. It’s good. It’s
really
good.”

He could feel her pussy clamping around him from the pleasure, and it was making everything a thousand times more intense. Now he was a lot more motivated with his touch. He rubbed her clit in firm, tight circles, and soon Tabitha’s breath was bursting out of her in sharp, hard pants of bliss, and he could feel her quivering both inside and out.

Wyatt had never been more turned on in his life.

When Tabitha climaxed with a shout, milking him from the intensity of it, he couldn’t help but move. He pulled out and pushed back in while she was coming, and instead of ruining the orgasm, it seemed to prolong it. Her fingers dug into his shoulders; her legs wrapped around him. She moved her hips with his as if compelled by that same hard driving force to reach for pleasure, to ride the tide for the next high that they knew instinctively was stronger, sweeter, and infinitely more intense.

Wyatt buried his face in the curve of her neck. He fisted the sheets and fought not to completely lose his head and take her as hard as his body was demanding. He wanted to claim her. Own her. Leave his mark on her. It was a raw, primal moment for Wyatt. He’d always known he loved her, but until now he hadn’t understood just how desperately he wanted to push her down on the bed and fuck her until he went blind from the pleasure of it.

It completely hazed his thinking, so much so it scared him.

Rather than give in, he just promised himself soon. Tabitha said they could do this whenever they wanted, and Wyatt hadn’t been joking when he said he was going to want this
all the time.

If he hadn’t already been plotting ways to get Tabitha naked and under him as much as possible, the feeling of Tabitha coming a second time would have done him in. The shock of it tore a shout from Tabitha before she bit down hard on his shoulder to hold back the choking sobs of pleasure.

She dragged Wyatt down with her. He couldn’t have held himself off for all the money in the world, not when Tabitha was quivering and moaning from the bliss of his cock in her. It was enough to drive him insane.

Wyatt had to stop himself from biting like she did when the ecstasy sprang free, flowing into his arms and legs as he moved over her and his cock pulsed to the rhythm of his release.

He never came so hard in his entire life.

The two of them were shaking and panting for a long time after it was over. Pleasure that intense took a long time to wane, and they rode out the storm together. Wyatt eventually had the common sense to support some of his weight on his arms, but he wasn’t ready to pull out and leave her.

When he did open his eyes, he saw a small line of sweat rolling down the curve of her neck, and he licked at it, hungry for the salty-sweet taste of adrenaline on her.

Tabitha shivered, but she still teased, “Weirdo.”

“You love me.” He licked at her neck again, dragging his tongue all the way up to her ear and then whispering, “Don’t ya?”

“So much.” She stroked her hands down his broad back that was a lot sweatier than she was.

“You wanna take a bath?”

She winced. “That’d probably be best.”

Wyatt was careful with pulling out of her, but still she winced. Tabitha was embarrassed she was bleeding, but he was more concerned with her being hurt than the rest of it.

He left her on the bed and then turned on the faucet for the tub in his bathroom. He cleaned himself while he waited for it to fill up, because he didn’t want to alarm her. Then he carried her to the bath despite her protests against it. Tabitha eased into the warm water with a sigh. Her head rested back against the rim, with her hair floating in the water in red waves.

“When we buy a house together, I’m gonna make sure we have a tub we can both fit in.” Wyatt sat down on the bathmat and leaned against the rim. “Bathing with you sounds like fun.”

“It’d have to be a pretty darn big tub.” Tabitha turned to him with a smirk. “You probably can’t even fit into this one by yourself.”

“I haven’t tried in a long time. I usually just shower.” Wyatt shrugged. “So the prom…”

Tabitha snorted. “I was wondering when you were gonna remember that.”

“I’m gonna get a limo and—”

She swatted his arm. “Oh hush, we don’t need all that.”

“I’m gonna make it a night you’ll never forget.”

“Like tonight.” She ran her fingers up his arm, smoothing the place she hit. “It was perfect, Wy. Thank you.”

“It
was
perfect, wasn’t it?” Wyatt leaned in and stole another kiss.

She gave him a wide, pleased smile. “It really was.”

Part Six

The End of Innocence

A good fighter usually knows, to within a very few seconds,
when a three-minute round is going to end.

—Jack Dempsey

Chapter Twenty-One

July 1999

After that one amazing night, life fell into a comfortable and pleasant routine for Wyatt and Tabitha. Things were easy and uncomplicated, and for the most part Wyatt entered into his early twenties as a very happy man.

Once they graduated, Wyatt went away to the police academy, and Tabitha stayed in Garnet, but fortunately for them, it only took him four months to finish. That had been a long, hard time for both of them, and even having his sister there with him didn’t make it any easier to be separated from Tabitha when they had been inseparable for years.

But he made it through and was able to go back home to his girl.

Then Wyatt worked, and Tabitha worked, and in between they found time to do it as often as possible, just like she had promised. The one downside was they had made such a habit of keeping their relationship secret, they still hadn’t told her mother or his father that they had been madly in love for years now and were likely going to get married one of these days.

“Are you actually gonna watch the fight tomorrow?” Wyatt asked as he came out of the bathroom in the Chicago hotel room they had rented for the next three nights.

“I’ll be there. Peeking at it through my fingers.” Tabitha grimaced from her place on the bed where she sat reading. She set her book on the nightstand and frowned at him. “Why can’t you go back to boxing?”

“MMA is more challenging. Anyone can dominate a boxing ring, but it takes a real athlete to rule the cage.” Wyatt shrugged. “And Clay loves it. If ever there was a sport for a man who loves their ground game as much as him, MMA is it. You know, Jasper thinks we could both get UFC contracts by next year, maybe sooner. Wouldn’t that be something? Those fellas make so much money. I’ll buy ya a house. A big one and—”

“Wy, I don’t need a house. Why are you always trying to buy me things?”

“Fine, I’ll buy me a big house and then force you to live in it.”

She rolled her eyes. “And what’s your daddy gonna think of you living in a big house with me?”

“I think I’m twenty-one years old, and it don’t really matter what my daddy thinks ’bout it,” Wyatt said sarcastically. “And it matters even less what your mama thinks, ’cause between you and me—”

“Don’t.” Tabitha cut him off. “She’s sick, Wyatt. You have to remember that.”

“So you’re just gonna waste away in that place, taking care of your mama until she drinks herself to death? Is that what you really want for yourself?”

“Please.” There was a wild thread of desperation in Tabitha’s voice that was common whenever the subject of her mother came up. “Don’t ruin our night. You rented this fancy hotel room. I wanna enjoy it, not fight with you.”

“What does your mama think ’bout you coming to all my fights?”

“I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m dating Clay.” Tabitha grimaced. “That’d be like doing it with my brother. Still, convenient that your fights are usually on the same night as his. Do you ever get jealous Clay’s are the last ones of the night?”

Wyatt shook his head. “Nah, I like letting him be last. He deserves the glory.”

“Then why do you do it?” Tabitha asked with a frown. “You’re always on a dang diet. You never get to eat ’cause you’re fighting in a weight class you’re too big for. I don’t understand why if you ain’t after the glory.”

“Bloodlust.” Wyatt showed his teeth in one of those mock fighter grimaces that always graced posters.

Tabitha giggled. “You are crazy. You’ve always been crazy, and spending all your vacation time and days off traveling across the country for this MMA stuff sure ain’t helping the cause.”

“I do it to get you away from Garnet and have you all to myself.” Wyatt tossed his towel aside and crawled onto the bed. “And I make more off the fighting than I do working for my dad, just so you know. A lot more.”

“And what’re you gonna do with all that hard-earned money?” Tabitha arched an eyebrow up at him when he stopped to hover over her.

“Spoil my girl rotten.”

She hit his arm. “Crazy.”

“Crazy sexy.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Admit it.”

“Well, I sure ain’t denying it.” She tilted her head, letting her gaze run over him for one long moment. “Might as well enjoy what you got to offer since you’ll probably come back to me bruised and battered tomorrow.”

“Hey, now, don’t be underestimating me. I got this guy. Easy.” Wyatt was more than confident about the fight tomorrow. “If I can take Clay, I can surely take him.”

“Yeah, but you can’t take Clay. I’ve seen him beat you plenty of times.”

“It’s fifty-fifty.” Wyatt frowned down at her. “You doubting my abilities?”

“I think you’re cocky,” she countered. “Scares me sometimes.”

“That’s a personal insult.” Wyatt grabbed both her hands before she could move to deflect him. Then he fell down on top of her, pinning her with his weight. “I may have to punish you for that.”

Tabitha screeched and fought his hold when he leaned down and licked at the curve of her neck. She shivered because her neck had always been extrasensitive. “Stop!” She giggled. “It tickles.”

He pulled aside her nightgown—a long, silky green one he had bought her for Christmas last year. Then he leaned down and sucked one taut pink nipple, making Tabitha gasp and arch under him.

“Now say sorry,” he said with a grin when he lifted his head.

Her breathing was already low and raspy, but she still managed to quirk an eyebrow at him. “What do I get if I do?”

“Say it and find out.”

“I’m sor—” Tabitha stopped abruptly when Wyatt kissed her before she could finish apologizing.

He forced her nightgown up past her hips while they kissed. Then he pulled back to tug it over her head. He groaned as he looked down at her. She was naked save a pair of skimpy panties. “Oh, baby, you are so hot. I’m gonna fuck you all night long.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to have sex before a fight.”

“Who told you that?” Wyatt asked and then kissed her again before she could answer.

This wasn’t the first time they’d done it since they got to Chicago, so slow seduction was shoved to the wayside in the name of hard driving need and desperation. He was feeling aggressive with the excitement of the coming fight, and Tabitha met him step for step as he pushed off her panties and then took her in one hard thrust while holding her hands above her head.

Tabitha bowed to the pleasure, shouting his name when her eyes slammed shut. Then she wrapped her legs around his hips and moved with him, as with each hard thrust Wyatt loved her and took from her and gave all of himself in the process. The whole time he kept her pinned down, and she didn’t fight his domination of her, which turned him on even more.