Chapter Twenty-Five

Ryder

Saying goodbye to Zoey after the last morning we’d had was the hardest thing I could’ve imagined doing. Watching her walking away and knowing I wouldn't see her for weeks nearly broke me, but it strengthened me at the same time. My goal was to win a title, but my other goal was to win her trust. I had to make that happen while protecting us from everything that threatened to tear us apart.

After arriving back at my home gym, I immediately started training for the big fight. Staying focused was easier knowing Zoey was working hard on the training apparel line and keeping busy, too. I had Amy to thank for that. According to our last conversation, they were going to have the line ready for a runway show before the title fight.

Zoey and I texted throughout the day every day, but my favorite interaction was the video chat when we were both in bed and I could see her face. Most days she seemed as exhausted as I felt. And even though it wasn't over dinner, we talked about our days and I always let her talk first. It was winding down time for both of us. She would start yawning around ten and pretend she was fine for another thirty minutes while I talked about fighting. A few times she dozed off on me. It was pretty cute how hard she tried to stay awake. I knew she was trying to be supportive, so I began to cut the conversation short a little earlier each night. A month before the fight, we were both making it to bed by nine and making fun of ourselves for becoming that couple.

One morning, I was running on the treadmill when I looked down at my ringing phone and saw her name. She never called me—I always called her. I reached for the phone, worried something was wrong. I hit the stop button on the machine and tried to catch my breath as the phone rang again.

“Hello?” I answered as my breaths were rushing in and out.

“Hey,” she said.

“Are you okay?”

“I don't know, am I?” She laughed.

“You scared me. I thought something was wrong. You never call me in the morning.”

“Well, I needed to talk to you, so I called Amy to make sure I wouldn’t be interrupting anything. She got your schedule from Tristan and, well…”

“Well, what? What’s going on?” I asked. She didn't sound quite right, and I wasn't sure why.

“There is nothing wrong. I just missed you.” For a moment, it sounded like she was in the room with me. I knew I was crazy, but when I turned around, my eyes met hers. My body stiffened for a second before I was instinctively moving towards her.

“Surprise!” she shouted as I covered her face in kisses.

“God, I needed this,” I said, hugging her close and breathing in her scent. “I’ve been threatening everybody that I was going to run away to New York for a few days.”

“No need for all of that, here I am.” She kissed my nose when I pulled back to look at her again.

The gym was empty since I had it for private training from five a.m. until ten a.m. every day. I looked down at my watch. I had a little over an hour before the doors opened and other people would start trickling in. I lifted her and smiled when my hands came to rest on the panties covering her ass. She wrapped her legs around my waist. I moved across the room, pressing her body into the first wall I came to, kissing her hard.

“Mmmm,” she moaned as our tongues intertwined. She pushed at my shorts, and I pulled back to find her staring back at me with a wicked gleam in her eyes. She released her legs from my waist, and I eased her down. Next thing I knew, my dick was out of my shorts and in her hand. If I was being honest, sex wasn’t the first thing on my mind when I saw Zoey, but the moment she wrapped her legs around me, it was.

I held her still for a moment and just felt her. Sex with her was everything, but the look in her eyes was even more. She knew I needed this, needed her. She knew all the training, clean eating, and stress surrounding the upcoming fight had been building up.

“I want you,” she moaned. She pushed her panties down her legs and tossed them aside.

There was no way in hell I could deny her. I immediately crowded her against the wall again, my cock nudging against her mound.

“Yes. Fuck me,” she urged as she pulled at my ass, trying to gain more leverage. I shoved into her, and my name slipped from her lips. I pushed in and out as hard as I could for as long as I could until I was out of breath and couldn’t hold back any longer. A satisfied smile spread over her face as I released her legs and placed her gently back on the floor.

“You have no idea how badly I needed that,” I said and kissed her softly and pulled my shorts back into place.

“Probably as much as I did.” She smiled up at me and adjusted her skirt.

God, I’d missed her. I pulled her away from the wall just as the bell over the door rang out. I looked over my shoulder and saw my father entering.

“Good Morning, Zoey, when did you get in?” Dad called toward us as he started in our direction.

I barely had time to scoop her panties from the floor and shove them into my shorts.

“I actually just got here,” Zoey said. “I thought a break from life would do us both a bit of good. I'm only here for two days, so it won't be a long visit.”

My father looked us both over. “Must have been some workout.”

Zoey turned beet red.

“Dad, seriously?” I gave him a stern look and stepped closer to Zoey, creating a barrier between her and Dad.

“Look I get it, but this is your workplace, and you should treat it as such.”

“What I chose to do is my business and—”

My father held up his hand and waved me off. “Look, I really don't care, but you have a fight in a month. And you have to stay focused on the prize.”

“I'm sorry, Chuck, I shouldn't have come,” Zoey squeaked.

“No, you absolutely should have come.” He smiled at her. “This meathead needs you more than he’ll admit, and we need him focused. Something he’s been struggling with the last week. Maybe a few days with you will cure some of that. I swear he never leaves the house other than to come to the gym, and he needs some time doing something besides training.” Dad turned his attention to me. “I'll take Zoey over to your place and get her settled. Finish your workout and the two sparring matches you have scheduled, and then you’re free for two days. I expect you to still hit the gym like usual, but take two days off of heavy training, okay?”

I kissed Zoey softly before releasing her to him, and then watched until she was gone.

I’d never rushed a workout or a sparring match more in my life. I usually made them last a bit longer to toy with the guys, but today I was all business. I had Clay on his back in a matter of minutes. I gave Curtis a black eye and didn't even apologize.

“Fuck, man,” Curtis complained as he rubbed at his eye in the mirror while I dressed. “What was up with you today?” he complained.

“Got somewhere to be and no time for messin’ around,” I said as I pulled my shirt over my head.

“Is Zoey here?” he asked.

I wasn't sure how he knew, since she’d left before anyone arrived at the gym. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“That stupid I’m a goner grin and the I'm about to get some for days smirk you've been sporting for the last few hours kinda gives it away,” he said with a laugh.

I glared at him.

“Dude, don't get mad at me. I just call ‘em as I see ‘em.” He threw his hands up in front of himself in a defensive gesture.

I jabbed him in the arm instead before I turned and walked back toward my bag. “You're just jealous,” I smiled as I walked away.

“Everybody is man, everybody is.”

I pushed through the door, eager to get home to Zoey. I spotted my Jeep and made a bee-line for it.

“Ryder.”

I heard the familiar purr of a woman’s voice before I saw the woman it belonged to.

“Red,” I responded coolly when I saw her. Her chest was barely covered, and I looked her over purely out of instinct. Every thought in my brain was how she differed from Zoey.

“You were supposed to call me,” she said as she ran a finger over my chest. I reached for it and pushed it back toward her.

“I've been busy,” I said as I tried to sidestep her.

“Too busy for even me?” She smiled and stepped closer.

I had been avoiding this because I had a feeling this could go badly pretty quick. “I'm seeing someone, so yeah.”

Her eyebrows shot up and she looked around like Zoey was going to walk out of the gym at any minute.

“You?” She covered her throat with her hand and her head tilted like she’d heard me wrong. “You are with somebody? The man who doesn't date?”

She laughed like a witch cackling and it hit every nerve in my body. I wanted away from her. I suddenly didn’t know what I ever saw in her aside from having a nice body and a willingness to spread her legs on demand. But I wanted more than that now. I wanted Zoey, and Red was keeping me from getting what I wanted at the moment.

“Yes, and she’s waiting on me. I really need to get going.”

She smiled, but genuine shock filled her eyes. It only took a second for her to recover, though. “Well, good luck with that. If you ever want to add a third person, you know where to find me. I'll miss that cock for sure.” She looked me over once more before she walked away.

I was glad she hadn't lost it like others had in the past. I knew what she’d said all along—that she was only in it for the sex—but not all women meant what they said. Many of my flings had turned out to be a bit on the stalker side, and that had been an issue. It's why I had stuck with Red. The sex had been good, but nothing compared to being with Zoey. Hell, it wasn't even in the same zip code.

I climbed into my Jeep and made my way home. The drive was short, but felt twice as long as usual. No sooner had I put the Jeep in park and I was running up the driveway wanting nothing more than to see my girl and hold her. The quick fuck this afternoon had been hormones, plain and simple. My body wanted her, and there was nothing my brain could have done to stop it once she got me going. I hadn't heard her complain, but I knew she had been a little embarrassed about what my dad had said even though he wasn’t blatant about it. He was right, though, and I knew it.

“Zoey!” I called as I walked in the door. I found her in the kitchen dancing with her earbuds in and completely unaware I was home. I watched as her hips swayed to whatever she was listening to. She was cooking something, and it smelled amazing. I leaned on the doorframe and watched her for a few minutes. When she caught sight of me, she jumped and threw her hands over her chest.

“Holy hell, you scared me. How long have you been standing there?” she asked as her hands dropped and landed on her hips. She smiled at me and then started to walk over.

“No, please, continue dancing.” I laughed.

She turned away from me and gave her butt a little shake. “You like what you see?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” I walked over to her and looked into the pan to see what she was cooking. There were several peppers cut up in chunks with squash and zucchini. The other pan held grilled chicken breast and brown rice. Garlic wafted out of the pan with the vegetables and I smiled. She had cooked me a clean meal, and I hadn't even asked.

“This looks amazing,” I said as I reached in and carefully grabbed a green pepper out of the pan. The flavor was amazing.

“Stop. It's almost done!” She swatted at my hand and I in turn swatted her on the ass as I backed away. “Go get a shower or something while I finish.”

“What? I showered at the gym,” I declared.

“What did you use? Dirty gym towels?” she joked.

“Okay, fine. I might have been in a bit of a hurry to get home,” I admitted. “I’ll be right back. And I’ll expect dancing when I return.”

I ran and jumped in the shower. Finally clean and dressed in clean clothes, I came back to set the small pub table that adorned my dining area. I didn't need anything big as it has always been just Dad and me. I walked over to grab a dish but she shooed me away.

“I did this for you, sit down,” she said. “Can you have wine tonight?”

“Sure, but just one glass.” I pulled the chair out and sat waiting. She placed a plate of food in front of me and I was a little jealous that it seemed she could cook better than me.

“This looks amazing.”

“Thanks.” She smiled and brought back her own plate.

Once we settled in, I raised my wine glass and toasted. “To many more home-cooked dinners together.”

She laughed and clinked her glass with mine.

“Any way to get some veggies in you,” she said with a smirk.

“I don’t have to cook to have something to put in you.” I winked.

“Oh dear god, can we eat?” She flushed and looked down at her plate. I loved making her blush, and it was a beautiful sight when she did.

I took the first bite of my chicken and moaned at the flavor. There was something in this dish I had never thought about adding.

“Is there cinnamon in this?” I asked.

“Yes, and cumin. It's my grandmother’s take on Moroccan chicken.” She smiled as her fork disappeared between her lips. I knew I was supposed to be concentrating on eating, but watching her eat was distracting. I watched her for a few more minutes until she looked up at me.

“What?”

“You're beautiful, and your mouth is an amazing work of art.”

The shy smile that crossed her face was a sight to behold.

“Will you please eat?” she insisted.

“Maybe?” I messed with her, just to be difficult.

“If I promise to suck your dick like dessert after dinner, will you eat and stop watching me?”

I choked on the sip of wine I had just taken. I never knew what was going to come out of her mouth, and to be honest, this time I was shocked. After I had stopped coughing, I reached across the table and took her hand, trying not to laugh.

“I’m done.” I went to stand, and she slapped my hand away.

“Cute. Clean your plate like a good boy, and I will make sure you are well taken care of later.”

I laughed and started shoving food into my mouth as quickly as I could.

“Oh, my god. Can we please have a nice dinner without your dick being involved?” Her eyes narrowed.

I smiled. “Maybe.”

I changed the topic from the sex-filled conversation and asked about the clothing line. I watched her face light up as she talked. It was refreshing. After all the phone conversations about how much she hated her regular day job, I was glad that this seemed to give her what she needed, what she wanted.

She stood, took my empty plate, and moved to the sink. I went to get up and help her, but she waved me off.

“Sit back down. I made dessert.”

“I usually just eat a cookie for dessert.”

“Well, not tonight. I made a clean dessert so you can enjoy it. Maybe we can even take it to the bedroom and enjoy it.” She raised an eyebrow. I sat back in my seat and felt all the blood leave my upper body and travel directly to my cock. She went to the fridge and pulled out something. When she turned back to me, she had a skewer of fruit drizzled in chocolate. She pulled a grape from the top with her tongue, and I was a goner. There was nothing she could have said that would have kept me in that chair.

I reached her in two long strides and pulled her to me. She raised the skewer to my mouth, and I pulled a strawberry from it, held it in my mouth until her lips closed in, and bit it. It was sensual in a way I had never experienced. Her eyes closed as she chewed, thoroughly enjoying her half of the fruit. I leaned in and kissed her neck until I reached her mouth once more. A hint of strawberry lingered on her tongue but mostly the chocolate. I groaned into her mouth at the flavor. The chocolate enhanced her natural taste, and it drove me wild.

“About that dessert.” I smiled, lifted her, and walked her over to the counter. She winced when I placed her on the granite island countertop.

“Cold,” she grumbled.

“Not for long.” I leaned forward, and I laid my hand on her stomach and pushed gently until she was on her back. I was leaning in to kiss her when my phone started ringing. By the ringtone, I knew it was Tristan.

“Dammit.”

“Who is it? I've never heard that ringtone.”

“It's fucking Tristan. I had to give him his own tone so I would know to answer or risk the wrath of ignoring him, or so he claimed.”

She smiled and started to disengage.

“Yeah?” I barked as I lifted the phone to my ear.

“Good day to you too,” he replied. Surely by now he should know I am not much for talking on the phone. He continued, “I got a very important phone call a few minutes ago and thought you would want to know.”

“Okay,” I snapped.

“You busy or something?”

“You could say that.”

I thought I heard him snickering through the phone. “Tell her I said hello.”

“Um.”

“I know she’s there because you’re never short with me even though you don’t like the phone.”

“Tristan says hi,” I said to her.

“Hi.” She smiled and then jumped from the counter and started cleaning the dishes.

“Pay-per-view is happening.”

“That's great news! Thanks for calling.” My tone immediately perked up.

“I'll let you get back to your houseguest. I’ll be in touch soon.” He ended the call.

“So?” Zoey turned toward me with a plate in her hand.

“We got Pay-per-view.” I grabbed her up and hugged her.

The moment had been lost, but I also knew that it would come again later. We cleaned the kitchen, and I laughed as she looked around for something to put the leftovers in.

“You don't have any containers for leftovers?”

“I never have leftovers.” I smiled and pulled out one of the containers I used to for prepping my meals for each week.

“I do have these, though. I can eat this tomorrow for lunch.”

“I know you’re going to be super busy, so I can do some work from here,” she said.

“I don't have any plans for tomorrow except spending a little time with you.” I kissed her forehead. “Maybe we’ll stay in bed all day.”

Her grin lit up the room. “I want you to stay home, you know, but I also realize you need to work out and stay focused on this fight, even more so now.”

“One day off isn't going to kill me. I’ll do my cardio and lift cycles, but I'm not going to spar tomorrow. I'm going to come home and spend time with you. You’re leaving the day after tomorrow, and I still have over thirty-five days until the fight. I'll be fine.”

“Tristan and your father, and probably even Curtis, might disagree with your logic.”

“It's my decision. It's my body and my fight. I've got this, and I'm gonna have you for the next forty-eight hours, and I don't give a flying fuck what anyone thinks but you.”

After we had cleaned up the dishes, we settled on the couch. We laughed and acted goofy, and if I was honest with myself, it was exactly what I’d needed. Sex was great, but having her with me in the flesh was rejuvenating.

I was flipping channels when I came across one of my favorites movies, 300, and stopped to watch it. She scrunched her nose when she saw it was a “fighting movie,” as she called it. Once they moved into battle, she paid more attention. When the boy was killed, I saw a tear leave her eye.

“I thought you were only watching for the abs.” I poked at her.

“These are all the abs I need right here,” she said against my chest before she sat up to look at me. “Off with your shirt,” she demanded.

I pulled it over my head and looked down at her as I threw it across the room. She kissed my chest, biting at my nipples before moving down my body. She kissed and nibbled all the way to my belly button. My erection almost hurt it expanded so quickly. Having her breasts rubbing against it as she licked across my stomach didn’t help.

She kissed me again, then reached into my shorts and took my erection in her hand. I moved to push my shorts out of the way. She pulled at them as I lifted my hips and then smiled up at me before looking down and placing a kiss to the head of my cock. I watched as she moved slowly over me. Then, without warning, she dropped her mouth over me and took me as far into her mouth as she could. I felt my balls tighten and I almost lost it in her mouth with that one movement. It felt so good I had to think about anything other than the feeling she was bringing on. The tingling started to lessen, but as soon as I looked at her mouth covering me, it came back full force.

I wanted this to last. After all, didn’t every man want a blowjob to last forever? She was squeezing just on the verge of pain as she ran her tongue down the large vein on the underside of my dick. Her hand moved lower and tightened. I felt it coming and tensed. A grin spread over her lips, and she pulled back to watch as my orgasm exploded out of me, stronger than anything I had ever felt. My body shook. I pulled her to me and kissed her as I tried to position her so that I could get inside of her, but she held firm.

“This is about you.” She kissed me softly.

“And this will be about you.” I leaned into her. I wasn't a two-shot guy, or at least I never had been until her. It was like I could have an erection every five minutes with her around. My dick started to swell again. I was going to get inside of her no matter how much she pushed me away.

“I want to be inside of you,” I whined as she tried to shuffle out of my hands.

She stood from the couch, grinned at me and said, “Then come fuck me.” She smiled and crooked her finger at me to follow her before sauntering down the hall and turning the corner.

She didn’t have to tell me twice. By the time I was halfway down the hallway, the water in my shower was running. When I entered the bathroom, she was leaned over the counter reaching for a towel. I slipped my hand between her legs, causing her to jump.

“Mmmm, so wet,” I said. “And you haven’t even gotten in the shower yet. I wonder how that happened.”

She turned and rubbed her breasts against me, then stepped into the shower. I followed, pressing her against the wall the water sprayed us. She pushed against my hips, trying to gain leverage. She tried to act like she didn't want me, playing hard to get, but with two wiggles, I was pushing into her tightness. She groaned and moved, and I pushed and pulled. It wasn't romantic, it was hard and primal and resulted in orgasms that very possibly drew the attention of my neighbors.

Once we both caught our breath, I sat her down on the shower seat and washed her body, then mine, before stepping out of the shower with her. I wrapped her in a towel and took her to my bed.