The Champ: Bad Boys Book 5 (The Bad Boys) (3 page)

"Maybe. You gonna take care of me?"

"I don't even know you." I tried scooting off his lap but he just hauled me back into his chest and kept his hand on my hip.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that Red, before this night is over you're gonna know me a hell of a lot better."

The look in his eyes said a hell of a lot more than his lips were saying and I got his meaning loud and clear. I was lost for words. Well I could see he’d already made up his mind about where this was going, like it was a done deal. As gorgeous as he was, he had the wrong idea and I told him just as much.

“Look, I think you got the wrong idea here, I’m not the kind of girl you think I am. That little dance thing was a dare, I don’t usually…”

“Good to hear it, I don’t like my woman shaking my ass for all the world to see.”

“Your-is this a joke? It is isn’t it? Did my friends put you up to this?” It was just the kind of thing they would do, but where did they find him, and how did they set it up?

He’s the kind of guy I would’ve dreamed of before I learned that love and romance was all fairytale bullshit. I can honestly say that no one had ever made my pulse race quite so fast, or made me want to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. But years of doing the right thing held me back. That slight hope that maybe, just maybe my prince charming was still out there kept me in check. He sure did look like my ideal though.

His eyes were just the beginning of his amazing looks, and they sure packed a punch. Then there was his close-cropped dark hair and those chiseled cheekbones with the dimples that made me want to dip my fingers and my tongue…

That damn Christine, I knew I should've stayed home; how am I supposed to get out of this? No matter what he said he obviously thinks I'm something I'm not because I was out on that dance floor tramping it up. Crap.

***

Wyatt

Wow, she's even hotter up close and personal. She had a wild mass of red hair that tumbled down around her shoulders to the middle of her back, green eyes that defied reason and a pair of plump tits that made my mouth water. I knew that ass was going to come with a complete package. On top of all that, she smelt fucking amazing and that mouth…

We were sizing each other up and I was willing to bet she was wondering the same thing I was. Just what the fuck was going on here? There’s no way I could be in this alone. No way I could be this attracted to someone this quickly without it being reciprocated.

She felt like she belonged right where she was, and when she gave me another one of those shy looks from beneath her lashes, once again I felt that stirring of something more than lust. What that something was I wasn’t sure, but I’d be a fool not to explore it, and that’s one thing I’ve never been.

I ran my finger down her cheek as I tapped in to my own emotions. Holding her eyes with mine, I tried to put some sort of meaning to the feelings that were there just beneath the surface. Out of my fucking depth, that’s what I felt.

I knew my body was on board but I couldn’t ignore that there something else at play here as well. And then there was her, the unknown, what was she feeling? What was she hoping for from the night ahead if anything?

She doesn’t strike me as the one night fuck type; no she has danger signals coming off her in waves. So far she had passed the test, she hadn’t pissed me off once with her mouth. I know she's scared, well maybe not scared exactly, but she's a little wary of me. I can feel it, sense it, but that hasn’t kept her from giving me that lip of hers.

It was kind of hard to get a peg on her though. I could see that she was struggling to hold back, keep herself away from me. Not my usual thing. Women are usually falling all over me, but this one doesn't seem to care that I'm the reigning UFC champ. I'm willing to bet she doesn't even know what that is.

Why that should make me smile and add warmth to my heart, I don't know, but it was a nice change. I guess I was finally growing tired of the way women have always treated me, even before I ever stepped foot in the ring.

I've never had a problem catching the ladies; they’d always made it way too easy for me. But since my fighting career took off it's gotten to where I can't even go to the supermarket without being mobbed. And let me tell you, chicks on the hunt are more vicious than any opponent I've ever faced on the mat.

As a young teen that shit had been right up my alley, in fact up until about roughly an hour ago I was still all for that shit; that would’ve been my game of choice. But it seems I find her particular brand of resistance more appealing than all the fawning and easy fucks.

"So tell me Red, what's your name?" I looked at her in such a way that left nothing to the imagination. I’m not sure she noticed but as close as I held her, I made sure she wasn’t sitting directly on my cock or the jig would be up before we even got started. She doesn’t strike me as the type to appreciate having my monster poking at her on our first meet, and having her this close had him ready to break loose.

"Hah, do you usually manhandle women you don't know?" She glared up at me from her perch on my lap. She'd started out holding her body stiff as a board, but in the last few minutes she'd relaxed enough to rest back against my chest. I guess that could have something to do with the way I kept running my finger soothingly up and down her arm, taming her with my touch.

I hadn't even been aware of doing that shit and that was a little unsettling. An hour ago, I would’ve sworn all I wanted from the short beauty with the magnificent ass was a quick hard fuck and a chance to get my hands on that ass. Now I’m not so sure, the game had already been changed way off course from my usual playbook.

Nothing about this was going quite how I imagined. By now I should be in a back room or bathroom stuffing her but good with my cock. But somehow I find myself relaxing and enjoying just having her close. Waiting for whatever sassy remark she’d throw at me next, and breathing in her scent.

Shit, that's not what I was after. That shit smacked of relationship bullshit and she still hadn’t answered me. If I was gonna lose my shit over this girl I should at least know her name.

I squeezed her waist and gave her a look. "Name pretty girl."

She pouted and looked away. "Traci."

She’s fucking adorable and she wasn’t fooling me. She might be a tad bit wary of the situation, but I know when a woman is attracted and this one was. She was just better at hiding it than most.

"I'm Wyatt."

"Yes I heard, you plan on releasing me anytime soon? I think they close this place in a couple hours."

I grinned at her and felt something inside me shift. It had been way too long since I’d had this with a woman, this feeling of lightness and just plain fun. There was no simpering, or coquettish looks. She wasn’t playing games and I was more than a little surprised to realize that neither was I. Oh boy.

"Are you always this mouthy?" She looked up at me and bit into her plump bottom lip. I wasn’t sure about the look that flashed into her eyes just then, but I was sure I didn’t like it. I let it slide for now, sure there will be time enough to get to the bottom of whatever that was later. As someone who’d been raised with love, light and laughter I wasn’t accustomed to seeing fear in a woman’s eyes, but I’m pretty sure that’s what I’d seen there.

"I don't know, I'm not accustomed to strange men plopping me down on their laps in public so it could be a direct result of that." Such an enigma! Even as she gave me tit for tat I could feel the tension in her. “Relax Traci girl you’re safe, promise.” I let my eyes fall to her lips but thought better of it. The little sample I’d had earlier told me I was going back for more but not here, not now. When I taste those babies again we’re gonna be joined in more ways than one, or at the very least I want my hands on that ass for round two.

I couldn’t resist nuzzling her neck though, finding it next to impossible not to be touching her in some way or another. I had a quick flashback to high school. That first blush of love, the heart pounding, pulse racing feeling you get when you know you’re about to see your girl. But high school lust had nothing on this shit. She did one of those toss and tilt things with her hair that sexy women everywhere have been doing for eons, and I felt that shit in my dick.

Damn she's something. Chad had rounded up her girls by now and the boys were dragging tables and chairs over to join with ours. She seemed to relax a little more with them here, which was good, because I didn’t have any plans on letting her up anytime soon. My hand had slipped a little lower on her hip but I still kept it clean even though the roundness of her ass tempted me to cop a feel.

Jace brought over a chair for her. Mr. Fucking Congenial. "Here you go..." The hard glare I gave him had him backtracking fast. I kicked the offending chair back across the room and she glowered at me.

"She stays." I looked into her eyes as I made that announcement.

"What am I a dog? First they're cattle and now I'm a canine? What's with you and animals anyway?” Oh yeah this one is gonna give my cock a workout if she brings even an ounce of that fire to the bedroom, or kitchen counter, or wherever the fuck I happen to take her down first. That was going to be up to her though. If that shade of innocence I saw hiding in her eyes was for real, we’d do the bed first, after that all bets are off.

I lowered my head to whisper in her ear. "I'm trying to be good here, but if you keep that lippy shit up you're gonna get more than you bargained for." I adjusted her body so she could feel my meaning. She didn’t bolt but her body locked and her nostrils flared before she got herself back under control.

When she finally peeped at me through her lashes, her yes widened and she turned beet red. Fuck, she's one of those Marie girls. That's what I call any woman I could take home to ma. There hasn't been one of those since high school. When she lowered her head and plucked at the hem of her dress nervously I all but fucking whined. There was such innocent sweetness in that move, something I hadn’t seen in a female in a long damn time.

Something in my gut loosened and swear to fuck I felt it, that something old timers talk about when telling tall tales about meeting ‘The one’. “Look at me.” I lifted her chin with my fingertip and for the longest time I stared at her and she stared back. I don’t know what the fuck she was thinking but I know what was going through my mind. I need to get the fuck out of here and fast.

I all but growled in frustration at the situation. This is pure bullshit. Sure she had a fine ass and the greatest pair of tits in the known world, and yes I’d love the chance to bury my face in all that hair that smelled like wildflowers in sunshine and reminded me of the best days of my youth, while pile driving my cock into the sweet heat between her thighs. But did a man have to lose his freedom for that shit?

Before I know it she'd have a damn noose around my neck, and life, as I know it, would be at an end. She had that look about her, that look you wanna see across the breakfast table every morning while two or three rugrats with your fucked up hair and her amazing face ran around like heathens. Fuck me.

All I wanted was to stuff something for Thanksgiving, this shit isn't right. I knew I shouldn't have come to this rinky-dink place. I wanted to go to the city, but Chad bitched like a little girl about mom getting after us if we weren't back in time for the holiday.

In the big city, I was sure to meet some fast and friendly type that would let me fuck and walk away, that's my usual fare; but no, he had to drag me off to Salem's newest hotspot. Now I'm fighting off gorillas with bad breath and getting tangled up with this one. I should kick his ass just on principle.

"Why are you glaring at him, isn't he your friend?"

"No that's my brother and I think he might've just cost me a life sentence."

"Who'd you kill?"

"The Champ."

She gave me a look of confusion before reaching for the drink one of her girls had placed in front of her.

I sat there like a stump trying to make sense of what the hell was going on with my life. I watched her for the next ten minutes without saying a word, just listening to the chatter that was going on around me.

I think I was trying to take her all in, trying to figure out why her, what was it about her that had flipped that switch in me, because I’d be fucked if she hadn’t just turned that shit all the way on. I could hardly get my thoughts together past the growing angst in my chest.

Say what you will but at twenty-five, I was nowhere near ready for a ball and chain. I had at least another ten years before I even started down that path, or so I’d always thought. The one time I for sure needed my head on straight, I couldn’t hold shit together for longer than a second. It was worse than facing the reigning champ for the first time before I took him down. Somehow I didn’t think I was gonna win this bout. And yes I was pissed the fuck off.

Cole, one of my oldest and dearest friends seemed to be the only one at the table who caught on to my dilemma. The questioning look and raised brow he gave me told me he could sense my dilemma. I just shook my head at him, what else could I do? I’m so fucked. And all the while she sat there looking innocent and feeling like forever. The Champ got sucker punched and he didn’t even know the fight was on.

My mind kept going around and round in circles as I tried to make sense of this shit. The only thing I knew for sure was that there was a fuck of a lot more going on here than the one nightstand I was after. So why was I still here, why did I have her all but cornered and marked like I knew she was mine. I’m not into that love at first sight, happily ever after bullshit. It’s just not real; is it?