Fight (9 page)

Over and over.

My hands slid around and I
unsnapped her bra. When I came back around, I was finally able to touch her.
Her heavy and warm breasts, bigger than the palms of my big fighter hands. Her
nipples were hard, rubbing against my palms.

She tried to move her chest, like
she wanted to jiggle and dance for me.

I squeezed tighter and sat up
straighter. I put my lips to her neck and kissed. I ran my nose up to her ear
and groaned.

“
No,
darling,
”
I said.
“
You
’
re not doing that for me. I
’
m in fucking control. Understand?
”

“
Yes,
”
Winter whispered.
“
Yes, please, Tripp
…”

I pushed forward from the wall. A
second later, she was on the floor, on her back. I was now on top of her. Beer
bottles scattered all around, but neither of us gave a damn. I stared down into
her blue eyes and gritted my teeth.

I was used to crossing lines. I
never cared about lines before.

But this? With Winter?

Man, this was
…

“
Fuck
it,
”
I said.

I brought my lips down to hers. The
kiss was like lightening through my body. I turned my head, opened my mouth, and
stuck my tongue into her mouth. She kissed me back, breathing so heavily.

It told me one thing.

It had been a long time for her.
And Christ did that turn me on.

I ended the kiss with a wet pop
sound and grabbed at her shirt, lifting it up. Once again, her shirt was up and
over her head. I threw it across the room and set my sights on her bra. I
ripped it from her arms and threw it the other way.

“
Christ,
”
I said as I cupped her breasts.

I thrust between her legs, wanting
to just keep going. I wanted to finish tearing her clothes off, do the same to
mine, and then fuck her. I wanted her pussy so bad.

But first
…

I brought my mouth down to her
neck. I kissed her hard, biting more than I should have. I loved the way she
writhed with a ticklish pleasure at the touch of my tongue. I kissed around to
her throat and then down. My right hand eased away from her breast, as I cupped
at her ribcage. That
’
s
where my mouth went. I gently kissed her nipple, nuzzling my nose to it. The
hard nub had a pink hue to it, making my mouth water.

I swirled my tongue around her
nipple, opening my mouth wider, engulfing all I could. Winter tried to thrust
her chest at me again, but I held her down. She cried out and grabbed at my
hair. She pulled and let out a groan.

I pulled back from her breast and
nipple, then allowed the tip of my tongue to flick her nipple until she was
jumping and trying to get away from me.

My right hand then moved down her
body. With ease, I opened her jeans and moved up on my knees. Both hands were
then at her open jeans, and I tugged on them. Winter lifted her lower half and
I pulled her jeans down only a few inches. I pressed my left hand to her lower
belly, my right hand between her legs. I felt the warmth and tender wetness
pouring through her panties.

Winter closed her eyes and put her
hands to the carpet. She dug her nails, trying to hold onto something. It was
my chance to take my cock out and fuck her.

But I didn
’
t do that.

Instead, I moved her panties to one
side and touched her sopping folds. With my pointer and middle fingers, I cut
between her lips and touched her pussy. She was tight, but she was so ready.

Goddammit.

I moved my thumb to Winter
’
s clit and pressed.

She jumped and cried out.

That was it for me.

I was going to do it. I was going
to fuck her.

I needed to fuck her.

But then Winter grabbed my wrist.

“
Right
there!
”
she cried out.
“
Oh, fuck, Tripp! Right there!
”

If that
’
s what she wanted.

I dug and twisted my thumb against
the pearly nub of her clit as my two fingers pressed deeper into her body. I
curled my fingers, slid them out of her slickness, and plunged right back in. I
was on my knees, watching this beautiful woman thrusting her hips, making her
breasts dance right before my eyes. Her eyes were shut, her right hand clawing
at the carpet, her left hand still holding my wrist.

The faster she moved, the harder I
dug at her pussy. Her sweet smell started to fill the room, leaving my mouth
hungry and my dick pressing even harder to my jeans. I was not this kind of guy
at all. Not the kind to hold back like this and watch. I should have been
inside her already. But she wanted this.

“
Yes,
”
she purred over and over.

Her body jerked up, down, left,
right. Like it was becoming too much for her.

Her right hand moved from the carpet,
climbing up my shirt and pulling. That
’
s
when she let out a scream. Her back arched and she started to wiggle those
goddamn hips hard and fast. My left hand grabbed at her waist as my right hand
continued to do all the work. She climaxed with her heels dug into the floor
and her pussy throbbing around my fingers. Squeezing at me, releasing a warmth
and wetness that seemed too impossible to be real. A woman like Winter couldn
’
t go that long without being
properly touched.

I eased her down and then moved my
hands away from her body. I took her jeans completely off and then scooped her
up off the floor. Her drunk eyes met mine and she kissed me. A wild and messy
kiss.

As I put her on the bed, I killed
the kiss.

“
Sleep,
”
I whispered.

“
Tripp
…”

I reached for the light and turned
it off.

“
Just
sleep, darling,
”
I said.

I reached down and touched Winter
’
s cheek.

I was supposed to be protecting
her, and now we had entered a very dangerous and deadly game.

14.

(Winter)

I sat on top of a picnic table, listening
to the sound of punches hitting sweaty skin. The unique
thud, smack
sound had been forever tattooed in my mind. It was two prospects just messing
around, throwing lefts and rights, taking and giving a few punches. The guys
surrounding them were drunk, high, and cheering for more punches. Sometimes the
MC did things like this. They would split up into groups and place bets with
each other on the prospects.

Of course there were times when the
fights were more serious and had more meaning. Money, respect, or just a set up
as a diversion for something else.

That
’
s
why it bothered me that Tripp was going to fight Harlan. It didn
’
t make sense. Yeah, it was a manly
pride thing, but whatever. Maybe Tripp thought I was safer with all the Red
Aces around, but truthfully, I felt safer with just Tripp. Not to mention when
Tripp and I were alone, there was heat. Instant heat.

I couldn
’
t get him out of my mind either. Not with what he
had done to me. The way he kissed me, nibbled at my neck, my breast, the way his
fingers knew just where to touch and how. It had been impossibly long since
someone touched me like that. Maybe never in my life. To have someone just go
for me like that and it worked. It made my toes curl in my shoes just thinking
about the way he made me come.

The prospect fight was finally
called when one of the guys landed a right hook and knocked the other to his
knees.

“
Kick
him in the fucking ribs!
”
Stoney bellowed from the side.

But the prospect didn
’
t. He helped the other guy back
up and they left the makeshift circle. Everyone started to
boo
and then
laughed.

Stoney stepped into the circle and
started to talk. It was all bullshit stuff at first. About the MC. About the
memory of Rocky. How they were closing in on some ideas and were going to get
revenge. Oh, and in Rocky
’
s
honor, Stoney wasn
’
t going
to choose a new VP until Rocky
’
s
killer was taken down.

I let his voice fade out as my eyes
searched for Tripp.

But all I found was Sarah.

She walked with two beers and
offered me one.
“
Peace
offering.
”

“
Peace?
Didn
’
t know we were at war.
”

“
Well,
our guys are fighting,
”
she
said.

“
Your
guy is fighting,
”
I said.
“
Tripp is not my guy.
”

Sarah climbed up on the table and
sat next to me.
“
Then what
’
s that?
”

“
What?
”

Sarah touched my neck.
“
Looks like
…”

I moved my hair.

Shit.

Tripp had nibbled a little too hard
on my neck. And, yeah, there was a mark there.

“
Nothing,
”
I said.

“
You
wild thing. You
’
re fucking
the guy that
’
s supposed to
be protecting you.
”

“
I
am not fucking him,
”
I
said.
“
I can say that with
a straight face.
”

Sarah grinned.
“
So he
’
s just doing all the work then.
”

“
No
comment.
”

Sarah giggled.
“
Hey, this isn
’
t going to hurt us, right? I
mean, these two fighting. I know Tripp beat Harlan up already. He hasn
’
t been able to get over it. I mean,
everyday he talks about it. That he was jumped
…”

“
Well,
he wasn
’
t jumped,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m
not going to argue with you. But Harlan had no business being in my house with
the lights off and a gun on his lap.
”

“
He
was trying to protect you,
”
Sarah said.

I looked at Sarah. I thought about
arguing with her. I thought about smacking her. She was as dumb as the
…
rest of them
…

But wasn
’
t I one of them? I was Sarah just a couple weeks
ago. Succumbing to the allure of the leather cut and the patch.

“
Are
you ready for this one?
”
Stoney
’
s voice bellowed.

I wasn
’
t ready, but I kind of was. It was sort of exciting
to actually see Tripp fight.

“
This
guy is a beast,
”
Stoney
said.
“
He
’
s vicious, vile, he
’
s
…
he
’
s horrible. Let
’
s hear it for our patched in
boy, Harlan!
”

The crowd cheered.

Harlan pushed through and entered
the circle. He was shirtless. He was cut with muscle, but his gut was round and
flabby. He had beer muscles and tattoos that littered his body in weird places.
He showed his fists and then lifted his middle fingers.

“
And
now,
”
Stoney said,
“
a man that
’
s not patched in. A man who
attacked Harlan.
”

The crowd
boo
’
d.

“
That
’
s right,
”
Stoney said.
“
This
guy tried to hurt one of our own!
”

“
He
has to stop,
”
I said.

“
You
know him,
”
Sarah said.
“
He just gets them excited.
”

I didn
’
t like it though. They were all drunk.

“
Everyone
…
meet Tripp
…”

They all growled and
boo
’
d Tripp as he walked into the
circle. He looked like normal Tripp. A guy in jeans and t-shirt. When he saw
Harlan shirtless he then grabbed his shirt and tore it off.

Behind him, a guy name Mac was
howling.
“
Fuck
you, you piece of shit. You hoodlum motherfucker.
”

Tripp turned and threw his shirt at
Mac.

Mac was nothing but a useless
drunk. He was fat, going bald, and couldn
’
t
run from the bar to the bathroom without needing a water break.

I flickered a smile, thinking of
how sexy it was to see Tripp like this. But then Harlan came after him. And
Stoney didn
’
t stop it. So
when Tripp turned, Harlan was there and a fist connected with Tripp
’
s jaw.

Tripp was on his ass a second
later, the crowd going wild.

Tripp jumped back up, nodding. He
touched his jaw and then flexed it. He put his fists up.

“
That
was cheap,
”
I muttered.

“
He
should have been looking,
”
Sarah said.

I felt my blood starting to boil now.

Better yet, looking at Tripp
’
s bare body, my jaw almost hit
the ground. It was the first time I got to see Tripp without a shirt. Yet he
had seen me basically naked. He
’
d
touched and tasted my body. His fingers had dug between my legs. He
’
d brought on a rush of pleasure
that made me so relaxed, it was like a drug.

And yet, right now, this was the
first time I saw him without a shirt.

His chest was wide, his pecs cut
with beautiful lines of muscle. Not too big, but definitely well earned. When
he breathed, his stomach moved in, showing more stomach than I
’
d ever seen on a person before.
Two lines from the sides cut down into his jeans.

He was the sexiest man I
’
d ever seen in my life,
officially.

“
Wow,
”
Sarah said.
“
That
’
s not bad at all.
”

“
Nope,
”
I said.

She leaned close and said,
“
You better let that in you. You
’
ll regret it if you don
’
t.
”

I caught myself nodding.

Yeah, I wanted Tripp inside me.

But first he had to get through
this fight.

He and Harlan circled each other
and Tripp waited him out. He let Harlan throw the first couple punches, which
Tripp either moved out of the way of, or boldly smacked them away.

Then Tripp lowered his hands and
shook his head.

Harlan lunged forward.

Tripp moved to the side and whacked
him in the gut. Harlan stumbled forward and fell into the crowd. Tripp danced
back and waited for Harlan.

When Harlan stood, he turned and
moved right at Tripp.

They exchanged some punches,
nothing too serious, but when Harlan tried to lock up arms with Tripp, Tripp
was ready. He broke the hold, and threw a
one, two, three, jab, jab, hook
combo that sent Harlan flying back. The hits were someone throwing bricks.

Harlan
’
s face opened up where Tripp had already hit that
night in my house. It also opened up Tripp
’
s
knuckles. He stood and blood trickled down his arm.

I slowly stood, watching with
amazement.

Harlan inched back in and Tripp lit
him up again. Tripp
’
s
punches were calculated and lethal. He wasn
’
t
just throwing a punch because it was a fight. It was like he knew what Harlan was
going to do - or not do.

A hit to the gut then had Harlan
hunched over a little. Tripp pushed him back and came up with an uppercut.

Harlan hit the ground.

“
No!
”
Sarah yelled.

She clawed at my hand. I shook her
away.

That
’
s
when I saw Stoney nod his head.

No, no, no
…

There was nothing I could do to
stop what was going to happen next.

Two guys came forward and grabbed
Tripp by the arms. The shocking part to me was that he didn
’
t fight back. He just stood
there with two Red Aces guys holding him. Stoney crossed his arms and the crowd
started to go a little quiet.

I felt Sarah touch my wrist.
“
I don
’
t know what this is.
”

I knew.

Harlan climbed to his feet and
wiped blood from his nose. He then approached Tripp.

Another surprise came when Tripp
started to nod his head.

Tripp was going to let Harlan hit
him!

Harlan cocked back a fist and
punched Tripp in the mouth. Tripp
’
s
head snapped back and the crowd cheered.

“
No!
”
I yelled.
“
This is bullshit!
”

I tried to move forward, but Sarah
clawed at me.
“
Don
’
t. Let it
…”

“
Shut
up,
”
I growled and pushed
Sarah.

She fell back to the table, eyes
wide.

I heard another punch and the crowd
screamed again.

I had a chance to create a
diversion now.

I got up on the table.
“
Get up, bitch!
”
I screamed at Sarah.

People started to look at me.

Sarah got up and slapped me right
across the face.

That gained a lot of
ooohh
’
s.

Tears filled my eyes and I blinked
them away.

I wasn
’
t in the business of bitch slaps. So I wound up and
punched Sarah in the mouth. She stumbled back and fell off the table.

Now the crowd cheered for me.

I watched Sarah
’
s face as it twisted in horror
with what I had done.

I looked to the circle and saw
Harlan ready to hit Tripp again.

Finally, Tripp made a move. He
pulled at his arms, strong enough to move the two guys holding him. He twisted
his arms, dropped down a little, and then popped up, breaking free. He caught
Harlan
’
s fist and walked
him backwards.

“
Okay!
”
Stoney bellowed.
“
That
’
s enough!
”

Tripp pushed away from Harlan and
turned. Our eyes locked. He was glistening with sweat, blood running from his
mouth, his left cheek red and swollen.

It was the sexiest sight of my
life.

I wanted him.

I needed him.

This was beyond protection now.

~ ~ ~

I opened the door and hurried to
shut it behind me. Tripp splashed water on his face and turned, looking
surprised.

I locked the door and walked right
to him. My hands went for his jeans, grabbing at his belt, opening it. I
’
d officially lost my damn mind.
I couldn
’
t take it anymore.

“
Christ,
”
Tripp whispered. He grabbed at
my hips, pushing me back.
“
What
are you doing here?
”