FIGHTER: An MMA Romance Novel (19 page)

O
ne million views
in the first two hours. Five million by the next day. Ten million by the end of the week. Fifteen million views and still climbing the day before the championship match. A thirty second video — a shoddily constructed one at that — didn't deserve this much recognition. Yet it was all Kade was hearing about from his investors and what limited interaction he chose to pursue with the public.

What a brilliant piece of marketing.

Simple, yet evocative.

You guys just keep blowing my mind with all this fantastic work!

He received each comment with a charming smile. Told them how proud he was of the accomplishments of his social media marketing team. But inside, he wanted to scream. Nothing like this was supposed to happen. Nicole was supposed to crumble beneath the pressure.

Instead, she came up with the most poignant piece of marketing the UFL had ever been part of.

It felt like a bad dream.

For close to two weeks Kade dug into Jax’s past extensively, and found nothing. Nothing but his stupid cancer, and Nicole made that some kind of rallying cry for new fans. Jax was the cleanest fighter the UFL had ever seen. When digging failed, Kade tried to use the anonymity of the internet. On throwaway accounts, he made up wild accusations to stir up drama about the fighter on all the forums. Most of his ranting went unheard, or worse, ripped apart by Jax's new fans. The 'lumberjax', they called themselves. None of this was supposed to have happened, and every new development made him sick. This was not what he wanted.

With twenty-four hours to go before the bell rang and fists flew, there was only one more shot at sinking Jax and claiming Nicole. Kade made his way to the outskirts of town to visit the gym Wes Kidwell trained at.

Kidwell was an elusive man. Since his first few fights as a rookie, he'd struck up a reputation as unapproachable. Kade encouraged friendships between fighters, mostly because it meant more drama if those friendships soured. But Kidwell had no friends in the UFL. The champ was his own entity. There was something unique about 'the Killer' that had always struck him the right way. Kade now realized what it was.

Most fighters treated fighting like a sport. They saw their competitors as rivals, but also as fellow athletes. Kidwell had no respect for anyone. He'd shot up the ranks by leaving a trail of destruction in his path. He ended more careers than Kade could remember starting.

In his first high profile fight, Kidwell had done so much damage that the man took a year off before he could think about coming back into the ring. Kidwell made no friends, and left no enemies who could stab him in the back. He didn’t give two shits about anything other than beating the crap out of anyone who stood in his way.

In a lot of ways, Kade saw himself in the UFL's reigning champ. It was why he liked the man so damn much.

When Kade entered the gym, he found Kidwell sparring against his coach. Despite adequate padding and protection, the retired fighter was taking a beating. Even in training, Kidwell didn't go easy. He was going after the coach like keeping his belt depended on it.

While the two trained, going after each other like it was a death match, Kade leaned against the wall near the door to watch. When the two broke away so Kidwell could gulp some water, Kade left the wall to approach the ring.

"Wes Kidwell," he announced casually. “Looking good in there, champ.”

The champ turned to look at him. "Ah, the man who signs the checks. What are you doing here?"

"Hm. I'll have to add that to my official subtitle," Kade mused. "Yes. I’m the man who signs the checks and who’s making
you
one rich motherfucker. Take a second out of training, we need to have a chat."

Kidwell glanced towards his coach, who waved him off.

"Do what you need to do, Kidwell. I'll be taking a breather until you're back, and we'll resume where we left off."

Kidwell cleared the rings and joined Kade ringside. The billionaire gestured towards the door. As they walked, Kidwell grilled him.

"What's this about?"

"Nothing bad, I can assure you.”

"I assume this is about tomorrow's match?" Kidwell asked. They'd turned the corner and started down the hallway. At the end was a small office, Kade opened the door and guided Kidwell inside.

"You're right, and that's why what's said has to stay between us. We should have privacy here."

When the door closed behind them, Kade leaned back against it, blocking the only exit.

"Yeah, I figured." Kidwell sat on the desk. Sweat still glistened on his brow. "No one from corporate just shows up out of the blue when you're training. So spill it."

A man after his own heart. Kade's lips twitched into a satisfied smirk, and he dug his hands into his pockets as his shoulders barricaded the door.

"I want to talk to you about the match. I'm sure you've heard about all the media hype going on with McCarthy." Kidwell's eyes narrowed, and the champ crossed his arms. It was just the kind of reaction Kade was hoping for. "Just so we're on the same page, that was not my idea. Everyone knows that a rookie like that has no chance taking the belt from you. That aside, I feel like you were shafted in all of this. The people are cheering for the wrong side, and we need to make them remember how you got to the top."

Kidwell looked as though he had something to say, but Kade wasn't done just yet. He pushed forward.

"So that's why I'm here. I want to give you a little incentive to make the fight one to remember."

"What kind of incentive are we talking about?"

"Well, every fight has a 'fight of the night' payoff, as you know. There's no doubt in my mind that payoff's going to you. But just in case you need some extra motivation, I'll personally match the amount, under the table, if you force McCarthy to retire tonight."

The mention of the payout had Kidwell's lips twitching into a smirk, and the terms behind it only broadened his expression.

"You'll double the bonus if I take him out?"

Here Kade clucked his tongue, shaking his head slowly.

"It's not quite that easy. I know that you're more than capable of knocking McCarthy out in the first round — but what fun is that? I want you to humiliate the punk who thinks he can rise up from the bottom to take your belt away. I want it to be brutal. If Jax isn't totally broken by the end of this fight, you haven't done your job."

Two sharks swimming in different pools grinned at each other, flashing white teeth to seal the deal. Kade took his hands from his pockets, and as he did, he withdrew a wad of bills.

"This is just a taste of what's to come, to prove that I'm serious about this." Five thousand dollars was pocket change for Kade, but to anyone else it represented a significant bonus. The champ took the money without counting it and shoved it deep into the pockets of his shorts. "You drag out the fight. Brutalize him. Bring him to the edge of defeat, but don't let him fall until the very end. And when he does fall, you end him. If you do that, the doubled bonus is yours."

"Understood," Kidwell grunted. "And what if I see an opportunity to really end him? Will the UFL cover my ass if some unfortunate circumstances arise that make it so McCarthy will never walk out of the ring?"

The champ was the champ for a reason, and Kade couldn't help but grin. If they weren't
so close in age, he would have sworn Kidwell was his bastard son.

"It's a risk you take when you're a part of MMA. McCarthy has signed contracts stating that he knows what he's getting into."

With a brief nod, Kidwell squared his jaw and crossed his arms once more.

"You do it how you want. I don't care about the details. Just make it a good show, make it painful, and make him regret ever accepting the match."

"You got it, boss," Kidwell said. The conversation coming to a natural end, the champ propped himself off of the desk as Kade cleared away from the door.

It was Kade's last shot, but his best out of any of them. When all else failed, muscle was the way to go. The thorn in Kade's side would be crushed underfoot and forgotten about all in the same breath.

I
n an act
of charity Nicole never knew Kade had in him, she found herself with time off the day before the fight. After two weeks of working herself to exhaustion making sure all the social media was set up right, she was run ragged. Yet, Nicole had no time to take it easy. The day of the fight meant Jax was running all of the last minute necessities, and Nicole was determined to be there at his side.

A laid back training session in the morning was followed by a trip to official UFL headquarters for a weigh-in. A team of medical experts recorded Jax's weight. Him and Kidwell stood head-to-head in a stare down while thousands of flashing bulbs tried to capture the intensity of the moment. Then Jax was dragged away behind closed doors for a thorough medical.

Despite what rumors floated around on fan sites, no fighter was allowed in the ring without a clear bill of health. Professional fighting was unforgiving, and letting someone sick in the cage put that contender at risk. No one was prepared to deal with a death. Since word of Jax's cancer had spread, Nicole was sure the medical team would be monitoring him with increased scrutiny. There was nothing she could do but sit out in the lobby and wait.

An hour passed. An hour and a half. Nicole glanced up from her phone and the social media buzz about tonight's fight to find that five o'clock approached. How much longer would they keep Jax? After all she'd done to recover his image, she hoped he'd still be able to fight.

At last the door opened, and Jax exited the room rubbing his arm. A sterilized cotton ball was taped over his bicep, dotted with blood. When he emerged she stood, and they made for the exit together without a word spoken between them. It was Jax who broke the silence as they exited onto the main street.

"I'm so looking forward to tomorrow when I win that belt and no one doubts me anymore. I've never been treated the way I was today."

Despite his agitation, he reached out and took Nicole's hand, lacing their fingers together. The touch of his hand stirred the heat inside of her, and Nicole felt it run hot through her neck and cheeks. No matter how many nights she spent with Jax, the simple act of holding his hand would never get old. The way he made her feel over the simple things convinced her that her heart was ready for him. When the fight was over and he had won, she'd gladly make it official.

"What did they do to you?" she asked. "I see they drew blood."

"Drew blood, scraped my tongue, took x-rays, tested my stamina, monitored my brainwaves... I'm sure they would’ve loved to go over every inch of my body with a microscope, just to make sure there isn't a speck of cancer anywhere. There was nothing there to be found, but boy, did they look." Jax shook his head in disgust. "If anyone bothered to look at my medical records, they would’ve seen I've been disease free for two decades. It's not like the cancer is gonna pop back up because I've got a championship fight tomorrow."

Jax's training jacket, kept Nicole warm against the setting sun. Her fingers tightened around his just a little.

"Just further proof for everyone out there saying it's all just a conspiracy, and that you never had cancer in the first place. If they found something, at least there'd be an end to this madness."

Jax scoffed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes in good humor. Nicole couldn't help but laugh.

"If I'm being true to myself, it happened to me so long ago that it really does feel like it never happened at all. I was a little kid, now those memories feel like a movie I watched. I wish everyone would just drop it. I'm still the same person I was before all these rumors popped up. The ten second champ."

"I'm glad to hear that, although I'd be careful who you use that title around. You're anything but the ten second champ to me," Nicole said, tone still light and airy. A laugh edged her words. "But that's beyond the point. I've prepared a surprise that the old Jax McCarthy would have adored, so I'm glad you're still the same person. It would have thrown a real wrench into tonight if you decided you were different all of a sudden."

"A surprise?" Jax hitched an eyebrow and looked at her with curious eyes. "What kind of a surprise?"

"Nothing too fancy, nothing too extreme. I know you've got your fight tomorrow, but now that you've got to take it easy until warm up tomorrow, I thought we could have a little fun. Consider it a sneak peek of what you're in for when you win the fight tomorrow, and you've got time to do the things you want to do again."

An hour and a half in the lobby of the UFL's medical building had given her time to think and research, and Nicole was just as excited as Jax was to go out and celebrate.

"After the movie you put together to cover my ass, I feel like I don't deserve this. If anything, I should be the one working overtime to surprise you at every chance I get." Still, Jax's hand tightened around hers in appreciation. Nicole smiled and shrugged.

A couple of months ago, she would have agreed with his last statement. A party girl's dream was to find a man to wait on her from morning until night and never ask anything in return, but now she found a life like that unappetizing. What good was a relationship if it wasn't equal? A partnership was more fulfilling than dating a man who was a walking wallet. She'd realized that just a little too late, and Kade had almost ruined her. Nicole knew how lucky she was to have come across Jax when she did.

"I'm not going to fight you if you want to do that," she teased. "But I'm also not going to stop pursuing the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're not just a sexy piece of man meat.” She smiled and Jax chuckled. “I sincerely want to do nice things for you. You mean a lot to me, and I don't ever want you to think I'm taking you for granted."

A serene smile plumped his slender cheeks, and Jax stared at the sidewalk in front of his feet. In moments like that, a boyish quality overtook him that Nicole found charming. Not even Kade's suave charisma was a match for Jax's innate innocence.

"I hope you know that I'd never take you for granted, either," Jax said when he'd regained his wits. "Even if I'm busy training, even if I'm swamped with fans and high on life, I always want to make you my priority."

Nicole's gut told her that what Jax said was true. With a spirit as good as his, she knew she could trust him. Nicole believed in what he said as much as she believed he would bring home the belt come the match tomorrow.

For a moment there was comfortable silence between them. Nicole led the way down the street, a destination in mind. The location wasn't all that far from the UFL facility.

"We're here. I hope you're hungry after your weigh in, because we're going to eat well tonight."

A quick look at Jax's face showed widened eyes and a huge grin. They cut across the street at a brisk jog, dodging traffic. Antaglio's Italian restaurant had great reviews. As long as the lasagna was good, it was all Nicole cared about.

"Real food?" Jax asked, voice hoarse with anticipation. "I've been eating steamed broccoli and boiled chicken for a week."

"Real food," Nicole promised him. "Better than real food — lasagna. After weigh in I know you can eat whatever you want, and I know you should be focusing on bulking, but... I thought this would be okay."

"Holy shit," Jax choked, it sounded like he might cry. They reached the opposite sidewalk and approached the front doors. "You have no idea how excited I am for this. I swear, I've got a lot of work to do to pay you back for everything you've done. I can't even begin to say how much this means to me."

The big, cut, professional fighter was near tears over the thought of lasagna. Nicole laughed. No matter what Jax did, he always put her in a good mood. In the end, the simplest pleasures were the ones she appreciated the most. Hours spent dancing, drinking and hoping to hook up with hottest guy in the club had never fulfilled her in the way that seeing Jax tear up over lasagna did.

At last, Nicole understood why her brother had wanted to get married. Having one person whose every move made you smile sounded like a pretty sweet deal. Inevitably, there'd be disagreements, but if she could remember moments like these, Nicole knew she'd never give up on Jax. And Jax was no quitter.

The rest of the evening passed in a flurry of talk and laughter. Jax stuffed himself on lasagna until Nicole thought he might burst, and he slid his extra plate of garlic bread across the table to her. When at last he was full, Nicole paid the bill and they left together. As they left the table, Jax slipped his hand around hers and held it loose, and Nicole felt the heat flood her cheeks once again. Talking about nothing and everything at once, they left the restaurant and wandered down the street hand in hand. For that blissful moment, the fight didn't figure in either of their minds. For that moment they were Jax and Nicole, uninhibited and happy. Fame and money didn't figure into the equation in the least.

Destination unclear, they talked and Jax led. The sun had set, the cool night air ushering in the last few moments before go-time hit the next morning. At random, Jax led her down streets until they came to a stop in front of a towering Las Vegas hotel. Without missing a beat, Jax directed her through the front doors and into the lobby.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a hushed whisper. Pale blue eyes sparkled as they looked across from her, accented with a grin.

"Courtesy of the UFL," Jax said, "I've been set up in this room so I'm close to the fight for tomorrow. I figured if you were kind enough to take me back to your place, I should return the favor."

Crystal chandeliers, and beautiful marble. Furniture so polished it shone. Men in suits and women in their best finery. Nicole swept the room as they walked, astonished. Jax brought her to the elevators, and in silence they rose higher and higher, until the doors opened three floors from the top. Before them the walls were made of glass, exposing the twinkling sights of the city below. The breath caught in Nicole's throat as she looked out — it was gorgeous.

"Not too bad, right? Being in the big leagues is kinda worth it, just for things like this."

Jax's hand held hers still, and with a gentle tug he directed her down the hall to the left and to his room. The suite was just as gorgeous as the rest of the hotel, and it was huge. A full living room and kitchen, tucked around the corner was the bedroom. Nicole had never seen a hotel room so beautiful.

"I was thinking we could watch a movie or something," Jax said.

As though she were in a dream, Nicole found herself walking towards the living room. A huge couch waited for them, and Jax sank down into it before she arrived. Nicole sat by his side and curled up against him, running her hand absentmindedly over his thigh. When Jax set the remote down, Nicole ran her fingertips over his cheek and turned his head with her gentle touch so they faced each other. The kiss that followed was slow and sensual. The memory of it rooted in her soul, never to be forgotten.

"Nicole," Jax whispered against her lips. In that moment, everything was perfect, and yet there was hesitance in his voice. Nicole drew back to look into his eyes. Jax's were lidded, overwhelmed with desire. "They say that um, you know, having sex before a fight is bad luck, that it drains you of testosterone."

Of course. Nicole drew back further, both embarrassed and disappointed. Spending another night with Jax, especially in such a rich environment, was something she was looking forward to. But if there was any truth to the rumor, she didn't want to risk it. Jax needed to be in top form for his championship match.

"I understand," she whispered. The noise from the television nearly drowned her words. "You need to do what's going to make you win. There'll be plenty of time to spend time together like this after you get the belt."

The cushion beneath her shifted as Jax moved, and before Nicole knew what was happening, she found herself pinned. Above her was Jax, his eyes locked on hers, noses close, yet not touching. He stole her breath away.

"But if my health can't hold me back," his voice husky with desire, "then you can bet testosterone ain't gonna stop me, either. To hell with superstitions. Tonight all I want is you."

Lips on lips. Nicole closed her eyes, heart pounding as though it might burst from her chest. When Jax's hand slipped beneath her blouse and rose upwards, even that thought became distant and unimportant. All that mattered was the time they spent together. All that mattered was him.

Piece by piece, Jax stripped the clothing from her body to reveal the luscious, dark skin beneath. And yet, with each piece discarded, Nicole felt more whole. After a false start with Kade, she'd found the man who was meant to be at her side, who would love her no matter what.