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  I chuckle through my tight throat and kiss her cheek again. Fuck the rules. This is my day and I’ll kiss her as many times as I want.

  We repeat after the preacher and slide on our wedding bands. And the words that pack more of a punch than my name from the referee’s mouth stating I won the fight putting me into the MMAP…

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

  I hook my arm around her waist, haul her sexy body against mine, and then claim her mouth. I groan, driving my tongue deeper. This is our first kiss as husband and wife and I’m making damn sure she never forgets it.

  It’s hard.

  It’s passionate.

  And she’s my wife…

  Chapter 8

  Two months after the wedding…

  I’m nervous down to my bones as Levi zips up my dress. We landed in Denver yesterday to attend a charity event that Nick and Levi must be present at. Problem is—Ryker will be there too. And that makes me especially apprehensive about going.

  We haven’t seen him since the championship fight and regardless of how far Levi and I have come, Ryker is still a sore subject. I don’t care how much Levi tells me he’s over it, I know he’s not. The storm is a clear presence in his eyes. It doesn’t help that Nick’s scheduled to fight Ryker soon. Levi’s in caveman mode.

  “You good?” he asks from behind me. “You’re shaking.”

  Great. I inhale and turn to face him. “Promise me you’ll behave yourself.”

  His lips stretch tight, quirking up at the corners. “Sunshine, there’s nothing to worry about.”

  I give him a pointed look. With those two in the same room, I have everything to worry about. They’re explosive…hot tempered dynamite.

  He chuckles. “I promise. But don’t expect me to lie down if he runs his mouth.”

  “We walk away,” I say.

  He drops his head back and laughs toward the ceiling. “I’m not tucking tail. But I promise to be a good little boy for you. I’ll be expecting my reward when we get back. Maybe you can ride me on the chair out on the balcony? Fuck me in the night air…” he trails off, smirking.

  I rub my lips together and drag a finger down the center of his chest, stopping at the top of his slacks. I roll my eyes up to him, seductively holding his gaze from under my lashes. “If you’re good, I’ll give you a good blow job before I strap you to the chair and have my way with you.”

  Both brows jump high. “Fucking your mouth and getting fucked? No way I’m passing that up. I promise to stay in check. I’ll take the high road.”

  He grabs my hand and places it over his hard-on under his slacks, grinning wickedly. “Can I get a down payment first?”

  I swat his chest. “Only if you’re good.”

  He sighs. “You’re asking so much from me with the best bounty ever.”

  “I know. Just behave tonight and you’ll reap those bounties.”

  It wasn’t long after he made me the promise, I think the reality set in for him. His playfulness dwindled and he became quiet. He’s been silent the whole ride to the event, tapping his fingers on his leg. I know him well enough to know the demanding promise is like walking into the cage without a day of training for it.

  The limo pulls up to the building and I grab his hand, squeezing it as I place a kiss to his cheek.

  “For once, I’d say you’re nervous,” I state.

  Slightly, he shakes his head and tightens his lips. “Far from it.”

  “Are you backing out of the promise?” I ask.

  His brows draw low. “No. I’m keeping it.” His tone is both confident and reluctant, the emotions in full disagreement.

  The reporters and photographers no longer bother me. I’ve adapted. They’re everywhere like an appendage at these events. I’m tucked into Levi’s side, his hand resting on the curve of my hip as we make our way in. As we step through the threshold, the crowd is plenty and the chatter is buzzing.

  Levi was called over by a man I’ve never seen before and he’s been talking to him ever since. And from what I’m gathering, he’s stepping on Cory’s toes, trying to offer Levi a better life under his managerial belt.

  Suddenly, Levi’s head perks up and his body tenses. He looks over his shoulder and then quickly tells the guy he’ll be back to finish the conversation.

  He’s got a grip on my hand so tight it hurts. My fingers are tingling as I jerk them out from his grasp just as we approach Nick. My breath shoves out when I spot Ryker, standing there tall with murder in his crystal blue eyes—the same ones that hypnotized me so many years ago.

  “Still wasting your time with him?” he smarts off, piercing me with a glare.

  I rock back on my heel. “Not here, Ryker.”

  He licks his lips and smirks. “Glad my name still sounds good coming from your mouth.”

  Levi digs his fingers into my side and yanks me so hard into his side, our hips slam. “Still dreaming about my wife?”

  I tense at his subtle jab.

  Ryker smirks and tugs a beautiful woman into his side proudly and possessively. “Far from it.”

  My heart aches for her. Her eyes are wide, dulled with embarrassment.

  Levi laughs his cocky laugh and tips his chin toward her. “You shouldn’t be hanging with him. A piece of shit like him doesn’t deserve a spot on the bottom of your heels, sweetheart.”

  I cringe as anger thunders my pulse in my chest. It wasn’t too long ago everyone told me to stay away from him. I remember it used to confuse me, blunder my already hardheaded thoughts and, for some reason, hurt my feelings.

  Discreetly, I pinch his leg hoping to bring him back down a notch, but he pays it no attention. I can feel Levi’s body as they take shots at each other, every muscle winding up to strike. I try again, this time pinching him harder, but he’s too far gone.

  “Is that why Paige came running to me?” Ryker arrogantly scoffs.

  Everything happens in a blur. Levi lunges toward Ryker, subsequently shoving me away. I fall to the ground, landing hard on the banquet room’s carpet covered cement floor and then scramble to get up. Ryker’s date has both her hands over her mouth watching in horror as they trade punches. Levi wraps Ryker up, trying to catch him off guard while slamming punches into his ribs. He looks less like an MMA fighter and more like a backyard street asshole.

  “Levi! Stop!” I scream, but I’m sure the adrenaline has his ears clogged.

  Nick and a few other men jump in to pull them apart. Instinctively, I grab ahold of Levi’s arm, shouting at him to stop and pulling him away.

  “Lucky?” He rips his arms from our grips and tugs his blazer straight. Malevolence blazes in his stare. “Ignorant bastard. I won that. The superior won.”

  “You better prepare yourself for a motherfucking storm,” Ryker warns, rage blasting from his throat.

  Levi waves him off, dismissing the situation. He snatches my hand, squeezing the everliving fuck out of it and storms away.

  Glancing back over my shoulder to check on Ryker’s date, I’m caught. Ryker’s glower is irate, ablaze with so much anger I almost grimace from it.

  “I’m fucking leaving,” Levi barks at Nick. “If I stay, I’ll tear the motherfucker to pieces. Seek him out and fucking destroy him.”

  I’m yanked into his side, tripping over my heels and stumbling into him, and downright dragged out.

  Our limo driver parked right up front and I’m so freaking thankful I fight the urge to throw my arms around his neck. The driver scrambles out of the front, sprinting around the back to open the door.

  “Get in,” Levi growls and as mad as I am, I almost buck back. But I don’t.

  I’m pissed. No… Beyond pissed. Downright outraged with humiliation backing it.

  I’m against the car door, keeping my view out of the window, stewing…boiling mad. Levi tries placing his hand on my knee, but I sneer, shoving it off.

  “Paige…” he sighs, like right now I’d give a damn.


  “Do not talk to me,” I scathe.

  Surprisingly, he listens and doesn’t attempt again the rest of the ride. Or as I stomp out of the limo without looking at him refusing to grab his outstretched hand, and leaving him in my trail of mad. I slap the elevator button and the doors immediately open. I step in and smack the button. Levi stands on the opposite side of the cab with his eyes on me. Me? I’m an adult with her arms crossed, counting the floor numbers over and over. I’m trembling I’m so angry, my whole body experiencing the vibrations of rage.

  I shove through the door and into the bathroom to get out of this dress. I might have needed Levi’s help to get in it, but I’ll rip this fucker off before asking for any help from him tonight.

  He’s removed his jacket and shirt about to shrug into a t-shirt when I exit the bathroom. I don’t look at him when I grab a water from the small fridge and start back toward the bedroom.

  He snatches my elbow and spins me around. “Paige…” he’s restraining the asshole trying to dig out of his throat.

  I yank my arm out of his. “I’m so fucking mad at you, Levi. Don’t talk to me,” I grind out each word.

  His eyes harden, glazing over with frustration. “You’re going to talk. I let you have your moment.”

  “You lied to me,” I grit.

  His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t respond. He can’t. He knows he did.

  “And then on top of that, you embarrassed the shit out of me. How could you? Your hot-headed temper only makes you look like an ass,” I say.

  Aggravation crinkles across his forehead. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” His words don’t match his emotions.

  “Please tell me you have something better than that to say?”

  He keeps his mouth shut.

  “You promised me, Levi. Not just once, but several times. You said you’d behave. You gave me your word and then the first chance you got, you marched your ass right in to purposefully take a jab. And then for you to pull me into the middle of it? What the hell was that? Vying for possessive oneupsmanship? You literally took your obsessed rivalry out with me in your hands.”

  “I’m not obsessed with the fuckface,” he snaps.

  My brows jump high with surprise. “You’re not? From the way you clearly take extra measures to seek him out and get under his skin, I thought for sure you were.”

  “You worried I hurt your boy’s feelings?” He tips his chin at me like a pompous ass.

  I restrain the urge to slap him. “No, you asshole.” I shove my finger into his chest. “I’m worried how absurdly childish you look. For fuck’s sake, you took shots at him through his girlfriend. I’ve been in her shoes and let me tell you, it’s not a fun place to be. You doing that…that’s low, even for you.”

  “She deserves to know who he is,” he says harshly.

  “How do you know she doesn’t already?” I challenge. “How you handled that makes you no different than the level he stooped to.”

  Steely slits home in on me. “I’m nothing like him,” he grounds out.

  “You think? You went—”

  “Stop talking, Paige,” he warns with a growl.

  Anger pushes my courage. Courage pushes my bitch. And my bitch moves my mouth. I narrow my eyes, standing taller, puffing my chest out daringly. “Or what? You’ve already pushed me down once tonight.”

  He glares at me, but the wheels in his mind are scrambling to remember.

  “You were so caught up with him, you disregarded everything around you. Including me. Because of you—your hands—my ass hit the ground.”

  He softens, only slightly. “I would never mean to hurt you, Paige. I’d never intentionally lay my hands on you.”

  “Except when you’re stuck in tunnel vision with your eyes on your enemy. You broke a promise to me, your wife, because of him.”

  “He had that coming,” he snarls. “No fucking way I can keep my shit together around him. Not after everything, including the audacity he had to rub it in my face he’s been with you. That’s asking a whole fucking lot of me.” He balls his fist.

  “He knew the fastest way to get a rile out of you. Shame on both of you for dragging the women into your sick little feud. We’re the innocent bystanders.”

  “What the hell do you want me to do, Paige? Sit there and let him? Fuck that.”

  I shake my head. “You grin like the cunning bastard I know you can be because at the end of the day, I’m wearing your last name with pride. I’m not going home with him, but with you. You won the possessive fucking battle.”

  “We both know that promise was unattainable. A fucking sham,” he snaps.

  I suffocate on a malice laugh. “Which makes you more of a pathetic liar. He’s got more control over you than your wife. I’m done with this conversation. I’m going to bed,” I say, stopping the argument before I start taking really low blows.

  I storm into the bedroom and before shutting the door, I spin back toward him. His eyes are glued on me, but I can’t read what he’s thinking other than he’s clearly pissed. “One more thing. You’re going to have to find a way to start controlling your temper or I’m never going with you to anything again.”

  Falling into the bed, I cover up, bury my head into the super soft pillow, and close my eyes. I force the images of the night out of my mind and focus on the blackness with the weird squiggly lines to try and calm myself down.

  Chapter 9

  I’m trying to keep myself reigned in while hyping Nick up for his fight with Ryker. Why reigned in and not explosive?

  I promised Paige…again, to try and keep my shit together. Keyword—try.

  After the shit with Ryker went down at the event, our argument spilled into the following days. I’m using argument loosely. It was more enduring a silent treatment with a few bouts of heated words and absolutely no sex. Zip. Nilch in the sex department. Her “I love yous” were from the heart but strained to say. Her kisses were necessities without any warmth behind them. It sucked.

  Days. She stood her ground for days waiting for a legitimate apology for my “toss out” promise and pushing her down. I remember shoving her out of the way, just not to the ground. I’d never mean to hurt her. I was trying to protect her by getting her out of harm’s way. Instead, I indirectly put her there.

  I get it. I fucked up. I didn’t even try to keep my promise, taking my suave ways of sweet talking her for granted. Yeah. Stupid move. I never said I was perfect, just sexy.

  She wants me to grow and become a better man. She’s not trying to change me, only tame the beast within. I married her for several reasons. One being—she makes me a better person.

  Nick nods his head toward the door in the locker room. “You think he’ll go tell Ryker what’s up?” he asks as Matt leaves the room.

  I tighten my lips. “If he walks in and tells Ryker his ass is about to be beat, I hope so.”

  Nick chuckles and starts back at the pads in my hands. “I’m surprised you brought him,” he says.

  “I didn’t bring anyone but my wife. She brought her best friend and then she brought her fuck face boyfriend,” I reply.

  He jabs my hands, keeping himself warmed up, his muscles ready and his eye on the prize—semi-finals. I’ve worked his ass off training him for this. Retraining all the junk the other coach put in his head. I’m entirely confused at how Nick got as far as he has. He was a sloppy fighter, always advertising his moves, and constantly leaving himself wide open, which ultimately is why his face is cluttered with remnants of old wounds. Yeah, he could take a solid hit to the head without flattening to the floor, but eventually his luck would’ve run out.

  “Remember to stay out of the path of his right hook,” I remind him. “And his right uppercut.” I chuckle. “Just stay away from his right period.”

  Nick eyes me. “You worried?”

  I frown, shaking my head. “Not at all. You’re going to destroy him and be the reason he’s stuck in the MMATs. The little guys. He’ll never move up.”
r />   Nick smirks slamming his gloves together.

  “You own this cage tonight,” I grab his face and settle a hard glare on him. “You. You go in there and beat the fuck out of him, so you can focus on the championship fight. The pros have your name all over them.”

  He nods and then springs away, bouncing from foot to foot.

  Paige wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. “You look nervous,” she states and it makes me chuckle.

  “This is my envious look. I want to be in that octagon instead of on the outside looking in.”

  She pats my chest. “Your hard work will pay off and you’ll be celebrating in a new way.”

  “Doesn’t help my envy,” I say dryly.

  She raises her brow, challenging me. “Are you saying you’re envious of another man?”

  “Envious of the fight, Sunshine. Never another man and definitely not him. Have you seen me and what I’m capable of?”

  She scrapes her lip with her teeth. “I might have forgotten. I’ll need a recap.”

  I laugh and then pull her body against mine, kissing her hard. She melts, clinging to my arms, and when I break the kiss, she’s panting. “I’ll remind you later tonight.” I smack her ass and wink.

  As hyped up as I feel, as hard as my adrenaline is coursing through my veins, and as badly am I vibrating with excitement, you’d never know it’s not me fighting Ryker. I’m ready for a war, but instead of fighting it myself, I’m sending in my solider to do the dirty work.

  It pisses me off. Yep. I’m envious as hell, except I’m pumped up to see my hard work lay this motherfucker out.

  Nick gets checked in and I make my way to the outside of his side of the ring. After the stare down during the introductions and the instructions, the ref yells my favorite word.

  “Fight!”

  Nick circles Ryker, keeping him in the middle and then testing him with a kick. Ryker steps out of his way and Nick fires off several strikes. Ryker weaves out of the way attempting to have Nick tire himself out for an easier fight.