Impact (The Fight for Life #2) (12 page)

“Just tell me where you are, Leo.”

“St Kilda Tavern. You shouldn’t come here. It’s not safe.”

“Oh my God. Seriously? Everyone knows that’s a sleazy pickup joint.”

I ran my hand through my hair, sobering me slightly from her angry words. “There’s no one but you, Jules.” I shook my head, wishing like hell I’d just stayed home. “I promise you.”

“Be out the front in ten minutes.”

She hung up, and I really wished I hadn’t had those last few shots.

“Everything okay?” Maeve purred.

I looked up and cringed, knowing I hadn’t made myself clear enough. “That was my girlfriend on the phone. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea.” The tequila was definitely making me slur my words.

She threw her head back and laughed. “And here I was convinced we were about to start a committed relationship.” She continued to laugh and I just stared at her. When she stopped, she leaned over the bar. “We’ve only ever been about a good time, not a long time.” She cocked her head to the side and winked. “That works for me. I’m heading out now, so if you change your mind, meet me in the side alley in five minutes.”

I shook my head, knowing that was exactly what I used to look for. I wasn’t that person anymore, even if tonight I was behaving like it.

“Don’t sell yourself short, okay? You can do better than this.” Her expression changed in an instant as the colour drained from her face. It was as if I’d struck a nerve and no one had ever said anything like that to her before. “I’m outta here.”

I stood up and headed for the exit, swaying more than I had expected. The alcohol had worked its magic dulling my senses, and I hoped I could get the hell out of that bar without falling over. When I got outside, I breathed in the night air, hoping to sober up a little before Jules got there.

My ears pricked up when I heard shouting coming from the side alley, and when I rounded the corner to check it out, I could see Maeve being pushed roughly up against the wall by a much larger man.

“Hey,” I called out to get their attention, jogging down the alley, cursing my drunken state. No man should treat a girl that way under any circumstances.

The large man turned towards me, holding Maeve against the wall with his right hand around her neck.

“Get your hands off her,” I demanded.

The arsehole let her go and puffed his chest out.

“Calm down, Stuart.” Maeve’s voice was quiet and resigned. I suspected this wasn’t the first time she’d found herself in this situation. She put a hand on the man’s arm. “We broke up, remember? You have a wife.”

“Shut up, you little whore.” He glanced over his shoulder to me. “I saw you flirting with him.”

I glanced between Maeve and the man who was about to get a lesson in how to treat a woman. Unfortunately, the tequila I’d been drinking like water was going to make for a sketchy lesson at best.

“Calm down, mate.” I closed the distance between us. “We were just talking. Maeve and I are old friends.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, arsewipe.” He gave me a decisive push in the chest with the palm of his hand. “I’ll put you to the ground faster than you can say you’re a grass-cutting snake.”

“I’d watch yourself, mate.” My voice was calm.

“I’m not your fucking mate. I train in Krav Maga, Aikido, Karate and Muay Thai and could show those Israeli commandos a thing or two with my interpretations.” He then assumed a stance I could only describe as a flamingo with constipation. “I take bits and pieces of all of them and have created my own style.” He waved his arms around comically before resuming his flamingo stance.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. It might have been the tequila causing me to react in a way I knew would be highly antagonistic, but this guy was a first-class fuckwit. I was aware I was no fighting machine in my current state, but I knew one thing for sure. This guy could be shut down with one punch.

“Pull your head in, Stuart.” Maeve moved between us and stood directly in front of him. “No one cares about your stupid moves except you and your equally stupid mates. Where is King Dick, by the way, anyway?”

“What’s going on, Stuart?”

I turned around to see another guy walking towards us.
Fuck.

“None of your damn business,” Stuart said. “I’ve got this covered.”

“Go home to your wife, mate.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

I was now desperately wishing I were sober. I could see the rage pulsating through the throbbing vein in Stuart’s neck, yet my body was sluggish and groggy. There were a whole lot of dots floating around in front of my eyes. I just couldn’t quite join them.

“How dare you try to tell me what to do,” Stuart spat.

I really didn’t need to be in that alley, but I wouldn’t leave Maeve alone with these two fuckwits. I tried to get her attention and beckon her over to me, but she was focused on Stuart, whose face was now on fire, and I could see his fists clenching.

“He’s right.” Maeve stepped forward and put her hand on his arm again, trying in vain to calm him down.

I saw what was about to happen too late. In what felt like slow motion, Stuart’s arm swept up and slammed into her shocked face. Horrified, I rushed to help her.

“What the fuck?” I stumbled forward to get to Maeve. I hunched over and gently prised back her hands covering her bloodied face. “You’ll be okay, darlin’. I’ve got you.”

Stuart hadn’t done any serious damage to Maeve, but she needed to be cleaned up and I was about to help her up when I heard Jules’s voice. I glanced up just in time to see Stuart circling her. The second guy was nowhere in sight and I felt immediately sober.

Maeve was sobbing against my chest, but I had to prise her from me and prop her against the brick wall. “Stay here. Okay?” I whispered to Maeve, who nodded her head, choking back further sobs. I jumped up and started running.

“Well, well, well. Aren’t you a pretty thing?” Stuart said, and I saw red.

I was going to kill him.

When he made his move, I panicked, knowing I was too late to stop him from touching her, but she expertly sidestepped, pulled her arm back and punched him in the face. Grabbing him by the upper arms, she then slammed her knee into his balls. He hit the ground, writhing in pain, and Juliette stood over him, cradling her fist.

“Are you okay?” I pulled her away, turned her to face me and held her face. “Are you okay, Jules?”

She nodded, smiling.

“Greedy, aren’t we?” Stuart’s snide laugh made us both turn to face him sitting up on the ground, cradling his bloodied nose.

I grabbed Juliette and pulled her behind me. “I told you. Maeve and I are friends, you son of a bitch, and you were hurting her. This is my girlfriend, and if you touch her I’ll kill you.”

“Let me go, Leo.” Juliette struggled to release herself from my grip and move around me. “I can handle myself.” She was so strong, and I was unable to hold her behind my back in my drunken state.

“What is going on out here?” The manager of the bar appeared next to us with Maeve, holding an ice pack against her cheek.

“Stuart was hurting me and these two helped me out.” Maeve pointed at Stuart, still a groaning heap on the ground.

“This guy is always in here causing trouble,” the bar manager said. “I’ll sort this out.” He was clearly used to this kind of mess. “You two get out of here.” He pointed at Jules and me. “Thanks for coming to Maeve’s rescue.”

“Can you grab me an ice pack and some bandages, please?” I asked the bar manager.

Hesitating only briefly, he disappeared back into the bar and returned a minute later holding what I’d asked for.

“Thanks, mate.”

I turned to Jules and gently picked up her right hand. She’d been cradling it, so I knew it hurt. I placed the ice pack over her knuckles and kissed her forehead when she let out a small yip.

“It’s fine,” she said, scrunching up her nose.

“You just decked a guy with your bare hands, Jules,” I waited until she looked me in the eye. “Let me take care of you.”

She nodded and allowed me to wrap her hand in the bandage.

After saying goodbye to Maeve, I gently encouraged Jules to walk back up the alley, my arm firmly around her shoulders. “We’ll grab a cab and I’ll come and get your car in the morning. Neither of us should be driving.”

We sat in the back seat of the cab in silence. I was on such an incredible high, I was past the point of speaking. I was ready to jump Leo right there in the back seat if the next set of lights was red. He probably thought I was on the brink of some kind of internal meltdown after what had just happened, but I couldn’t summon the energy to tell him otherwise. I would show him soon enough. We just had to get to my god damn apartment.

When we finally arrived, I got out, not waiting for Leo before heading for the lift. I was a woman on a mission.

Hurry up.
I mentally willed the lift doors to open. I could feel Leo’s eyes on me and I looked to my left. When I locked eyes with the hottest man on the planet leaning against one of the columns, my mind went completely blank. Besides, there were no words that could adequately express how my body reacted to Leo.

“Hey.” He was a few feet from me, but I could feel the electricity that always crackled between us. His eyes were dark and I wanted to take away the evident pain.

I gave him my most seductive smile and beckoned him with my pointer finger. His eyes went from dark to lust-filled as he took one long stride, closing the distance between us and pulled me to him. His lips crashed against mine and my arms flew around his neck, frantically pulling at him to get him closer.

My whole body was on fire as the desperation fed our frenzy of lust. Groans of pleasure escaped both of us.

I bunched the front of his shirt and dragged him through the opening doors. We practically fell into the empty lift and I reluctantly had to deal with my security pass to make the lift ascend. Leo took the opportunity to kiss my neck and caress my whole body, and I thought I might die of sexual need. “You are the sexiest woman in the world.”

As the lift made its way north, I was slammed up against the wall, my arms raised above my head and held in place with one of his strong hands, while the other ventured under my t-shirt. When he cupped my breast, I groaned loudly, but the sound was quickly muffled by his mouth and tongue. I lifted my leg and hooked it around his. He grabbed my thigh and pulled it higher, thrusting his hips into me exactly where I needed him. The lift doors opened on my level. Leo picked me up so I was straddling his waist, and he strode purposefully for my door.

I had my key ready and managed to get the door open without skipping a beat, our mouths locked together, refusing to be parted. The fireworks exploding behind my closed eyes were breathtaking as he carried me directly to my bedroom, falling on top of me as we landed heavily on my bed.

Pinning my hands to the bed on either side of my head, he propped himself on his elbows. “I need you now.” He growled, making my own need for him explode.

“Hurry up, then.” I was desperate to feel reconnected to him in the most intimate way possible, and he was wasting time verbalising his need that was currently stabbing me in the thigh.

The next thirty seconds were a blur of clothes as we both yanked and pulled each other’s clothes from our writhing bodies. Punching that arsehole in the face and watching Leo take care of his friend had been more than enough foreplay. He thrust into me and our simultaneous groan was that of relief and pent-up sexual need.

When I had expected him to start pounding into me furiously, he slowed down and caressed my face. The gentleness of his touch contrasted his massive, cut physique. It was one of the things I loved most about him. The love he was capable of showing with the simplest of gestures was just as powerful as the physical blows he could throw in the cage or the ring.

“I want you so damn much.” He scrunched his face up as if in pain. “I always want you so damn much.”

He started moving slowly, still refusing to break eye contact. As his speed increased, I closed my eyes, unable to withstand his gaze any longer. I felt his mouth against my neck, feathering a light kiss in time with every hard thrust of his hips. His mouth made its way to my chest and up the swell of my right breast. I could barely stand the sweet agony, and my back arched of its own accord, pushing into his caressing lips. His answer was to suck my hard nipple, flicking it with his expert tongue. Without any shame, I cried out his name, knowing I was so close to what my body was screaming for.

“I want you on top.” His demand was coupled with my body being flipped, and I quickly found myself straddling his rock hard body. He was sitting up and had his arms wrapped around me, his mouth immediately finding my neglected left breast as I found my own rhythm to drive us completely insane.

“God, Leo. I love having you inside me,” I panted out as the white light took hold of my vision.

I felt his grip around me tighten, and his lips found mine and we both surged to climax.

“That was…” Leo couldn’t finish his sentence when I climbed off him and lay down on my back, my arm over my face, exhausted.

“Mind blowing.” I finished his sentence with the only words I could summon.

“Mind blowing,” he confirmed.

When we’d regained our composure and our breathing had returned to normal, we both turned to face each other. Leo ran his finger down my arm then across the dip of my waist and over my hip. He was tracing the line of my body, leaving goosebumps in his wake.

“You are so fucking beautiful, Jules.”

I blushed. However many times he complimented me, it still made me blush. They were never throw-away comments. He spoke with such intensity and emotion, and he spoke directly to my soul.

“I’m so sorry about tonight, Jules.” He stroked my face then kissed the palm of my hand. “I should never have been at that bar. I can’t seem to pull my shit together since I saw her again.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I put you in danger again.”

“I’m so used to crazy, I don’t even know what normal would feel like. Maybe crazy is our normal?” I lay on my back and covered my face with my hands, trying not to laugh.