Sweet Submission: Jenny and Max Complete Series Plus Bonus Short Story (5 page)

Submit to Him

Lily kicked her legs against the setting sun, then leaned back so her hair trailed the dirt as the swing swung back. Max grabbed hold of the chains, centered her, and launched her in the air again. She went so high, I was briefly gripped with panic.

“Are you okay, honey?” I said in a tense voice.

“Higher, Max, higher,” Lily said, kicking her feet in delight.

“She’s okay,” Max said, smiling to me.

I stepped back, resolving to relax a little. Max continued swinging Lily higher and higher, and she squealed louder and louder. Golden sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees. It was late summer, the weather was perfect. With my strong, handsome husband and my happy daughter, I should’ve been content in this moment. Instead, I was burdened with dread.

Max checked his watch. “I need to go soon.”

I nodded and looked away, avoiding his gaze. Max could read me so easily, and I didn’t want to give away my plan with a wayward look or odd gesture.

“Don’t worry about me,” Max said, softly. “I’ve fought hundreds of matches. And most of them I’ve won.”

I trailed my fingers over Max’s rock hard bicep. I did this for reassurance, to remind myself how strong and capable he was. Max had been a professional MMA fighter for the past decade. He’d worked his way up to a prestigious level, until his first wife and unborn child perished in a house fire, and his life came to a screeching halt. He’d been working his way back up since we married, but wasn’t quite there yet. He trained with a second tier league that wasn’t as well regulated as the first tier. He often came home with serious injuries; deep cuts and broken fingers.

When I married Max, he became my head of household, as prescribed by the Bible. I’d never given much thought to faith or spirituality before. He’d encouraged me to pursue a real relationship with God. I discovered that I held a yearning for God, deep inside of me, that had simply lay dormant. Now, it flourished and thrived, and informed every decision I made.

That meant that Max made the rules, and I was bound to follow. If I disobeyed him, I risked punishment. Max had forbidden me to attend any of his fights, warning me of the unsavory characters that frequented them. This did little to quell my anxiety. If he was so worried about my safety, how was I not to worry about his?

Max steadied the swing, and help Lily stand to her feet.

“One more time, please,” Lily begged.

Max patted the top of her head. “I have to go to work now. We’ll come back tomorrow.”

Lily nodded, then swung her head down. “Is the bad man going to make your face all bloody again?”

I bit my lip, my chest constricting. Lily was almost five, and was always surprising me with how aware she was. I knew how it felt to worry about Max, and I didn’t want her to feel that burden.

Max just laughed it off. “I promise to try very hard not to let him.”

We loaded up in the car and drove home. On the way, I went over my plan in my head. Wait for Max to leave. Drop Lily off with the neighbors. Take the bus to the fight so Max wouldn’t see my car. Stay behind the crowd, watch the fight for as long as I could stand, then slip out without being noticed. I had to see for myself what Max went through. The reality couldn’t be half as bad as my nightmares.

When we got home, I cooked a quick dinner of chicken breasts, roasted potatoes, and salad. After we were done eating, Max cleared the table. I was at the sink letting the water get hot when he sidled up to me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“You’re all tense,” he said, lightly tickling my sides. “Loosen up.”

I laughed, and he nuzzled his face against my neck, tickling me more. He kissed me behind the ear, and tightened his embrace. “I got this, baby,” he whispered in my ear.

I turned to him, placing my hand against his cheek. “I know.”

*

“You’re going to play with Aiden today,” I said, holding Lily’s hand as we crossed the street.

“I didn’t know I was going to Aiden’s house.” Lily paused to kick a pebble across the asphalt.

“Well, now you know.”

Aidan’s mom, Crystal, opened the door and welcomed Lily inside. “Come on in,” Crystal said. “We just opened some new play dough.”

Aidan appeared in the foyer. He waved to Lily, and she ran off to play with him. I thanked Crystal, then walked down the block to the bus station. It was a forty minute ride out to the venue. It was called the Chaos Stadium, and was housed in a warehouse ten minutes outside of town. After the bus let me off, I walked an additional half a mile to the industrial part of town.

Night had fallen, and the stadium lights lit up the sky. The parking lot was packed with people who’d come from the handful of nearby towns to see the fight. Max had a recognizable name, and always drew large crowds. When I got up to the window to purchase my ticket, the agent asked if I’d like to place a bet on one of the fighters. I scoffed, not sure if that was legal. As I listened to other people at the window, I heard a large number of them placing bets on Max.

I made my way through the crowded lobby. Several of the attendees were obviously drunk. People yelled and stumbled and ran into each other. But most disconcerting of all were the young, toned women with Max’s name scrawled across their forehead or chests. Jealously flared inside of me until I glimpsed a promotional photo of Max. He stood in the middle of the ring, his fists up in front of his face. He wore nothing but loose black shorts. His skin was shiny with perspiration, and a drop dangled from his nose, just above his slightly parted lips. What red blooded woman wouldn’t be attracted to him?

Sorry, ladies, he’s mine,
I thought with satisfaction.

A few minutes after I settled into my seat, the lights dimmed, and the fight started. The announcer introduced Max first. I stood up with the rest of the crowd, craning my head to see Max walk down the aisle. Pumping techno music played, and I could feel the bass deep in my bones. He jumped over the ropes as he entered the ring. I felt a chilling thrill as Max ran a lap with his arms raised up in the air, and immediately understood the appeal of this sort of thing. Max was a warrior, a modern day gladiator. And, my goodness, he was sexy.

The crowd booed when his opponent was announced. Antonio Mancini was tall and toned, with wiry muscles on his long limbs. He jumped into the ring and did a lap just like Max, except the crowd sneered at him. I felt so proud of my husband when I realized the majority of people were routing for him.

Max and Antonio shook hands, then the referee blew the whistle. I forced myself not to look away when the two fighters started circling around each other. Antonio was quick on his feet and jumped all around Max, slapping Max’s face when he could. I bit my lip, waiting for Max to make a move. The crowd grew vitriolic as Antonio pranced around. Out of nowhere, Max jabbed Antonio in his right side, thrusting him back halfway across the ring. The crowd went wild. Antonio, stunned by the blow, balanced on the ropes for a moment, catching his breath.

Antonio charged towards Max, lifting his leg. His foot made direct contact with Max’s chest. My whole body cringed after seeing him take a blow like that. But Max seemed unfazed. He regained his balance, then quickly got Antonio into a hold and pinned him back on the mat. Antonio squirmed, and eventually slipped out of Max’s arms. He sprang to his feet, then punched Max so hard in the face he spun around in a complete circle. Blood sprayed out from Max’s mouth. I wanted to run to him, to see if he was hurt, but I couldn’t.

I watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust as Max and Antonio pummeled each other relentlessly. The power exchange went back and forth frequently. One moment, Max would have Antonio hopelessly pinned, the next, Antonio had Max against the ropes, punching him repeatedly. At several times during the match, Antonio would forcefully say something in Max’s ear.

By the last round, both were bloodied and bruised, though Antonio looked worse off than Max. He swayed on his feet, trying to keep his balance. The referee did a quick checkup on him. Antonio refused to submit. I knew it was well passed time for me to leave. I needed to get back home before Max so he wouldn’t know I’d left the house. But the fight was so compelling, I had to see what happened. The bell rang and the fight continued.

Max charged from the corner of the ring with a loud howl, his large arms extended out from his huge chest. He attacked Antonio, punching him several times in the side, then picked him up and balanced him across his shoulders. Max slammed Antonio into the mat, then got on top of him, pinning his forearm against Antonio’s neck. He held him there for a long time, and the two seemed to be talking. It was a passionate exchange, but there was no way to know what they were saying. Max lurched forward, digging his forearm deeper into Antonio’s neck. Antonio curled his lips, let out a howl, then stretched his arm out and tapped the mat.

Max stood up, victorious, and pumped his arms towards the ceiling. The crowd went mad. Cheers erupted. Beer was thrown into the air. Breasts were exposed. The look on Max’s face was one of hard determination, and unbelievably sexy. I wanted to run to him, and wrap myself around his sweaty, muscular body.

If I took the bus back, I’d definitely arrive home after Max. I figured the cat was out of the bag, or soon would be, so I decided to go the backroom. I was also desperate to see him.

After explaining that I was Max’s wife, I was allowed back stage. Max sat on a stool in the middle of a small room, talking to his trainer. The two spoke in hushed, serious tones. Max’s eyes landed on me. He looked away, then back, his eyes widened in shock.

“Jenny,” he roared.

“Hi, baby.” I walked up and kissed his cheek. “You were amazing out there,” I whispered.

Max looked at me sternly, and said in a low voice, “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I know,” I said, making my eyes innocent. “I wanted to see you in action, just this one time.”

Max glanced over to his trainer. “We’ll talk about this later.”

My stomach dropped. I knew he meant I’d be punished. Since Max and I were married, he hadn’t had to spank me yet. He’d given me lectures, writing assignments, and corner time for breaking small rules. But this, I had a feeling, would warrant more severe disciplinary action.

I turned to his trainer with a polite smile on my face. “Hello, Jim. How’s your wife.”

Jim was usually jovial with me, but now he’d barely look at me. “Fine.”

“Oh, good,” I said, awkwardly. “Congratulations on the win.”

Jim looked up, his face tight, then without a word, left the room.

“What’s up with him? Shouldn’t he be happy?” I asked Max.

Max stared at the door that Jim had just walked out of. “Come on. Let’s go,” Max said.

I followed Max out of the back door to the parking lot reserved for fighters and staff. Max shouldered his duffel bag, and wore a large sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head. He gripped my hand and pulled him behind him. I had to run to keep up.

“Max, Max,” I said, breathlessly. “Can we slow down?”

“No,” he said, curtly, then yanked me along faster.

He must be really mad,
I thought.

We were almost to the car when someone behind us whistled. I instinctively stopped to see who it was, making Max stumble. Antonio stood a few yards from us.

“Stupid move out there, man,” Antonio said. “You’re going to regret that.”

Max’s hand tightened around mine. “Let’s go,” he said to me.

“Hey,” Antonio called. “Is that your girlfriend?” He cocked his head and ran his eyes up and down my entire body, giving me a creepy feeling. “Nice,” his said, his lips curling.

Max turned and took a few fast steps toward him. Antonio cowered.

“She’s my wife,” Max said, gruffly. “And don’t make me kick your ass again.”

Max marched towards the car, dragging me behind him. I didn’t know what was going on, but I suddenly felt a sense of urgency. I hurried into the car. Max started the engine, and peeled out of the parking lot.

“What was that about?” I asked. “It didn’t seem like regular trash talk.”

“That’s because it wasn’t,” Max said. “And that’s exactly why I never wanted you to come to a fight.”

A numbness spread inside of me. Max gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. I’d never seen him so nervous.

“Max, what’s going on?” I asked.

“They wanted me to take a dive,” Max said. “I told them that I didn’t do that, but they kept trying to persuade me.”

“Who’s they?” I asked.

Max turned his gaze on me. “Dangerous people. And now they know what you look like.”

I gulped, then glanced nervously out of the window to make sure no one was following us.

“You disobeyed, Jenny,” Max said. “You put yourself at risk. Where’s Lily?”

“She’s with Crystal.”

“Call Crystal and ask if Lily can spend the night,” Max said. He turned to me with leaden eyes. “You’re getting a spanking.”

I’d just seen Max’s strength in action, what he was capable of, and now he was going to lay those hands on me.

When we pulled up to the house and walked inside, I didn’t know how to act. Max was displeased with me, and he made no effort to hide that. He dropped his duffel bag with a loud thud, then turned to me. I couldn’t look at him, and instead kept my gaze on the floor.