It was quite cool out and Tiana wished she could remember what she’d done with her wrap. She hugged herself instead. Seeing her discomfort, Dax took off his tuxedo jacket and draped it over her as soon as they’d crossed the street. “Thanks,” she said, then hiccupped. And again. Too much champagne had left her muddle-headed, but even through the wacky where-am-I she knew she’d lucked out in a big way here. The last thing she wanted was to blow it by irritating him with her notoriously loud and persistent hiccups. She sucked in a deep breath and held it.

 

Please God, let this work.

 

Tiana saw a cab approaching; the center light on its roof was lit. She scurried off the curb to flag it down.

 

“No need,” he called after her. “I’m parked just round the next corner.”

 

Still holding her breath—it was her only shot at relieving her hiccups under the circumstances—she waved the cab on. The Arab driver gesticulated angrily and threw a serious tantrum when the car behind honked its horn at him. He jabbed his finger at Tiana. She flipped him off and gave him X-rated directions at the top of her voice. The following driver yelled something at her as well. She treated him to a double flip-off.

 

“Assholes, every one of them,” she explained to Dax. “God, I hate L.A. drivers.”

 

“Impressive.” He eyed her from top to toe and back up again. “You, ah, always that assertive?”

 

“Are you kidding? I’m never that assertive.” But she found her own outburst really kind of thrilling, as if the pressure had been mounting inside her for a while now, and that was just the first taste of what she could erupt, given the chance. Sure, the champagne had uncorked her, but the passion spewing out was all hers.

 

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked. “We could always go get a coffee somewhere. Have a talk.”

 

“I’ve had enough of talking,” she replied. “I’ve talked myself into staying with a guy who doesn’t love me for far too long. I don’t want to hear myself talk. Not now. I want to be with you, but not for talking.”

 

“Now you’re speaking my language.” He offered her his arm, which she took. They passed umpteen couples before they reached his car, and none them gave her and Dax a second glance. That pleased her. She wanted to be invisible right now, anonymous to everyone but Dax Easterling. If she could pull this off, spend the night with him without screwing it all up with her neurotic, insecure bullshit, there might just be hope for Tiana Crowe after all…

 

***

 

He drove a gas-guzzling Jeep Grand Cherokee, black and mint; it was really comfortable inside. He played a Jim Morrison CD. Several times he checked her out, a different part of her each time, his gaze hungry and in no way coy. He’d already made it clear what he wanted without saying it outright like a sleaze ball would. Tiana liked that, even more so when the bubbly began to wear off and the full impact of where she was, whom she was with, and where he was taking her really rattled her nerves with a zeal she couldn’t get enough of. She slid in and out of Holy shit!-mode and loved every shiver of realization.

 

I am going home with him. With Dax Easterling.

 

She blushed when he caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers, and again when they stopped at a red light and he secretly mouthed the word Wow whilst checking out her tits. Hoping to give as good as she got tonight, Tiana mentally undressed him several times. She’d already seen his upper body in all its ripped, tattooed glory, and his massive arms that could break a man in half or hold her right where he wanted her. But what about the rest of him? A former Marine and a high-ranking fighter, at the same time? Could he be any more of a stud? Not that she’d sampled a variety of men in her life. Thad, her one and only conquest, had given her pleasure but, looking back, he’d taken a lot more pleasure from her than he’d given. Were all men like that? Or was there something she’d been missing out on all this time?

 

Her breath hitched when she realized that the answer to that question was close. Dax was pulling into a driveway.

 

His driveway.

 

***

 

“Sure you don’t want a coffee or something?” He peeled his jacket off her.

 

“No thanks. I’m just about right.”

 

“True.” He flicked her a wink, then disappeared into the back. “Give me a minute. I need to say hi to Annelise.”

 

She was about to ask him why he hadn’t told her he had a daughter—or why he’d even brought Tiana here like this, for shame—when an excited bark from the yard answered it for her. She heaved a sigh. Kicked off her shoes, then snatched them up and placed them on the sideboard. Annelise might be one of those dogs that instinctively chewed any alien object left within reach. Cute name for a dog though. She’d always liked dogs—especially when they came with smoking hot Marine MMA fighter owners.

 

Dax’s home was smaller than Thad’s, more modest: a three bedroom detached house in the English Tudor style, with a slightly gothic black and white motif. Inside, it was fairly sparse. Pictures of extreme sports covered some of the walls, while an antique pistol and a harpoon gun hung over the mantel.

 

He returned carrying Annelise in his arms. She was a really cute black-and-tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, quite a bit bigger than others of that breed that she’d seen but equally as gorgeous. Her tail wagged like crazy, and she was straining to leap out of his arms and lick Tiana’s face.

 

“Oh my gosh! She’s beautiful.” Annelise loved being rubbed behind her floppy ears. Mouth open, tongue hanging, those big eyes bright and staring, she was in ecstasy. “How old is she?”

 

“Three,” he replied. “She used to belong to a buddy of mine, but when his wife split, he…ah, needed help looking after this little lady. So she’s staying here till he’s on his feet again. Aren’t you, sweetheart?” He flipped Annelise over and gave her the sweetest tummy rub Tiana had ever seen.

 

“Aw, but you’ll be sorry to give her up.”

 

“I know. I’m having second thoughts. Lacey thinks the world of her, too. She comes over to walk her and feed her while I’m away.”

 

“She’s so not the dog I imagined for a Semper Fi Marine, never mind a hardcore cage fighter.”

 

Dax laughed. “Tell me about it. The good news is she loves running. The bad news is…okay, there is no bad news. Screw what anyone else thinks, right? Let them have their pit bulls. I’ll take her anytime.”

 

“Yep. Good for you.”

 

“Okay, sweetheart, let’s put you back in your home for now. You can come in here later.” He carried her outside, where she had a pretty big kennel with what looked like under-floor heating. When he came back in, he’d removed his bowtie and unbuttoned his collar. “All right, where were we?” he asked.

 

Tiana shrugged coyly, then set her purse down on the sideboard. She glanced around the living room, looking for clues of his background, his tastes, what made him tick. “You don’t have any framed photos,” she observed, “except this one.” It was a group photo of his Marine combat unit in full desert gear out in the sticks, maybe Afghanistan. She picked him out right away, not the tallest or the heftiest, but easily the most handsome. He looked happy in that picture, younger, proud. He was high-fiving the guy next to him, a goofy-looking blond guy who was a little shorter than Dax and from his overall look and build had to be either a Viking or a surfer. Maybe a Viking surfer.

 

“You keep in touch with any of these guys from your unit?”

 

“Some,” he replied, pouring himself a scotch. “Most of ‘em are still overseas. I try to catch up with ‘em when they’re on leave, but we’re spread all over the country. It’s not always doable.”

 

“Any live around here? The ones who aren’t still overseas?”

 

“Yeah.” He paused to take a long sip. “The guy next to me in the photo lives over in Glassell Park. That’s how I’ve got Annelise…when his wife left him. She just split—no warning, no word, just…like that.”

 

“Harsh. So he’s not much of a dog person, I take it?” It had sounded more amusing in her head, but now she remembered what Dax had said about his buddy “needing help” looking after the dog. It suddenly had graver connotations, for an ex-military guy.

 

Dax hesitated. “Let’s just say he’s having some problems. Monte’s a good guy, but his wife leaving him like that…it wasn’t exactly unprovoked. An easy way out maybe. But everyone has his or her limits, right? I don’t have to tell you.”

 

“He’s got PTSD.”

 

Dax looked up at her, not judging, not giving away anything of himself either. It was a warm, wise look that reminded her that brains and brawn needn’t be mutually exclusive. He’d been through a lot in his life, but unlike Thad, and maybe this Monte, Dax Easterling seemed to have emerged relatively cool and collected on the other side. At least that was her impression.

 

She wouldn’t be here with him otherwise.

 

“Want to change the subject? That’s cool,” she said.

 

“Well, maybe it’s best kept for another time. Old wounds and all that. How about you? Family and friends in L.A.? You were born here, right?”

 

“Uh-huh. Blue collar all the way. Dad spent most of his career on passenger trains. He was a Big O, and proud of it.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“A train conductor. He busted his ass on the railway till he retired a couple of years back. Mom started out as a beanery queen—a dining car waitress—that’s where she met Dad. Later she taught netball part-time. I’ve got a younger brother up in Hollis, and an older sister, Brittney, who lives over at Faircrest Heights.”

 

“Who were you closest to growing up?”

 

“Brittney. Always Brittney. She’s looked out for me since day one. I don’t see as much as much of her as I used to—You-Know-Who likes to drag me along—liked to drag me along.” Tiana gave her own head a knock. “I’ve gotta start thinking past tense.”

 

Dax finished his drink, walked over as smooth as you like, and took her by the hand. It felt coarse—coarse but warm, safe, and dangerous at the same time. It reminded her that this was a man who’d killed for his country, for all the other guys in that photograph. He fought for what he believed in, just like that night when he’d intervened in the ring. And he fought for what he wanted, as he’d told her that day in the café.

 

It all added up to one thing: he wanted her.

 

The flutter in her stomach and the sudden rapid thump in her chest left her incredibly uncertain but dying to find out what might happen next.

 

The insecurity gripped her first, and she blurted out: “You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”

 

“No.”

 

“You’re not just saying that?”

 

He seemed amused by the line of questioning. “There’s no other girl, I promise.”

 

“That’s good. I just thought, with you being so high profile and all…”

 

“And in the top five of…whatever that list was you checked out.”

 

“The most eligible bachelors in MMA,” she said. “Together with pictures of the celebrities they’ve dated.”

 

“I don’t date celebrities.”

 

“Oh? Why not?”

 

He smiled. “But I could always call one up if you wanted. There’s bound to be directory hotline for lonely on-call celebrities.”

 

Tiana gave him a soft, goofy punch to the arm. “I think you do have one. I think all you guys do.”

 

“Touché. And you?” he asked. “I know you said you haven’t dated anyone else since high school. But have you ever been propositioned by a celebrity? At one of those million-and-one functions he’d made you attend with him?”

 

“Who? Me?”

 

“Uh-huh.” He caressed her cheek with his hand that suddenly didn’t feel coarse or dangerous anymore. It felt lovely.

 

“I think you’ve mistaken me for the bling brigade,” she said. “Those tramps get hit on all the time. I reckon they swap partners like they swap gossip.”

 

“The bling brigade, huh.” He put his huge arm around her, dwarfing her. When he touched her waist through the thin silk of her dress, she knew there was no going back. He was going to have her, and she wanted him to. “I like it,” he said. “You can see ‘em coming a mile off. They’re so…obvious.”

 

Tiana glanced down at her breasts, then realized what he was still talking about. “Oh, yeah! I know, right? Sometimes it’s rougher ringside than it is in the ring. Wives and girlfriends…WAGs…can be vicious, I’m telling you.”

 

“But you haven’t answered my question.” His cologne intoxicated her—that and the deep timbre of his words. “Have you ever been hit on by a celebrity?”

 

She thought back over the past several years and flagged some close calls she might classify as “being hit on”, but she couldn’t recall anyone who was a celebrity per se. “Um, let me see…”

 

Dax cleared his throat and arched a theatrical eyebrow.

 

She got it right away and snickered. “Somebody call nine-one-one. I am being hit on by a celebrity.”

 

As he kissed the side of her neck, he whispered, “Just don’t send the fire trucks.”

 

Tiana hummed with ecstasy. “Why’s that?”

 

“Because the girl I’m with is smoking hot.”

 

“Ahhh. And you don’t want to put out the flames?”

 

“I want to make her even hotter?”

 

“How hot?”

 

“Hotter than she’s ever been.”

 

“God. Me too.”

 

The tune of L.A. Woman by The Doors was still playing in her mind. It had been there, off and on, since the drive here. Tiana turned to face Dax and pulled him up against her. His lightly whiskered face was suave and feral at the same time, bronzed in that Italian-American way that reminded her of summers at Laguna Beach. Her lips trembled. His did not.

 

“You won’t be rough?”

 

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”

 

She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. Dax nestled his chin in her curls, twining his warm fingers with hers. They swayed to an inner beat, their slow dance a kind syncopation of a new, uncertain pulse. He leaned back until she looked up, breathless. His gorgeous brown eyes were glinting and full of want. What kind of lover was he really beneath the bad boy rep and fighting pedigree? Would he be rough and ravenous when the time came? Or would he be true to his word…and be more generous? Maybe both. Maybe something else entirely.

 

She had to find out.

 

He laid a soft but deliberate kiss on her mouth, a sensuous give and take of their lips. Then he lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the sofa, a careful balancing act because there was gym equipment lying on the carpet in packages in his way, and he was plying her with kisses as he went. He was about to set her down on the cushions, but decided he wanted to undress her slowly, upright. Interesting. And she liked that he was drawing this moment out.

 

His hands venturing up the channel of her back felt right and proper. Too damn proper, if she were honest. Was he frightened of going too fast? Of hurting her? She’d been through an ordeal, true, but he was supposed to be taking her mind off that, not reminding her of it.

 

Tiana helped him find the top of her zipper, while she pried his teeth apart with her tongue. It seemed to unleash his full passion. The give and take grew sublime. Her own fleeting hums of ecstasy faded into the quiet clickety-buzz as he slowly released the back of her dress. The material peeled away, and he skimmed across her delicate skin and up over the hard, recoiling ridge of her shoulder blade.

 

She could tell what he wanted…to feel her big breasts cradle him while he skated between them. Jesus, she wanted that, too. A deep shudder raced through her, as he slid both straps out of his way and gripped her upper arms. A gasp escaped her. She eased away, the prominent swell of her tits the only thing holding the front of her dress up. Dax kissed her rising shoulder, then nipped the side of her neck, shuffling behind her.

 

Delicious.

 

He dipped his hands beneath the fabric, down her sides, to her hips and the slender lace band of her panties. She repaid him with a full sideways kiss of delirious passion, which seemed to up the stakes. Dax glided his hands inside her dress, enjoying every inch of her. He roamed higher, to the soft mounds. Palming her, he grazed his thumbs over her pebbled nipples…sharing the alchemy it stirred within her.

 

The dress fell to her waist, exposing the breasts he couldn’t wait to taste. She arched into him, pressing against his erection, his dick nestled between her ass cheeks. He continued his massage until she turned her head to meet his lips, undone. Hot kisses from the very depths of wantonness ignited her soul, as she snaked her arm around his neck, holding him close. He slid his hands once more to her waist and made sure the stiff material drifted to the floor.

 

Tiana turned to face him. The corner of his mouth was upturned and sexy as all hell. She rested a hand on his hip, then stepped out of her gown and stood there, tall and quivering and hoping like hell he approved of the view.

 

“You’re fucking beautiful.”

 

Before she could reply, he kissed her again, long and filled with white heat.

 

Oh my God. Unbuttoning his shirt took time—too much time—but Tiana didn’t want to rush it either. She was rapt in the careful steps she performed. This had to go perfectly. She dropped to her knees. At two buttons remaining, she lost her head and wrenched his shirt apart, ripping the bastard buttons free in a flash of dominance that surprised her. Those dark swirling tattoos, those ripped, coiled muscles, and the look of longing he gave her suggested he was biding his time. Letting her have her way, then, when the time was right, he would work his magic.

 

He unfastened his belt for her. The thud of his cell phone hitting the floor coincided with Tiana kissing the tip of his erection through the trousers’ fine wool. He shivered and held his breath.

 

Deftly, she unzipped his fly and lowered his pants to his ankles. He toed off his shoes and managed to escape the tangled garment without breaking his neck. She slid his boxers down his thighs, out of her way, then licked her lips. Dax clenched his fists, fingernails digging into his palms. A meager effort to battle the raging desire to come?

 

Tiana wrapped her hand around his warm shaft. In a slow rhythm, she pumped his rigid flesh, holding her eyes with his, while her other hand caressed his balls. His legs trembled as she leaned closer. Her hair fell forward, creating a drape that must have blocked his view. He caressed her hair back behind her shoulders—the final curtains before the prelude to…

 

She licked his drops of pre-cum, before she swallowed him to the hilt, inch by delicious inch.

 

Tiana scraped her fingernails along his sacs, just as she’d been taught, hopefully setting Dax’s soul on fire.

 

“Holy Christ! Tiana, you have to stop.” He gulped in air, appearing to hate his lack of control. “I want this, I really do, but I need to save some for you, too.”

 

With a soft “pop,” she released him, looked up, and bit her lip. She nodded, satisfied that she was pleasing him. Tiana moved her hand up and down along his dick, massaging him, gently tugging the skin forward and back, teasing the head. She felt herself giving a wicked smile, as her tongue darted out and lapped at the sensitive underside of his crown. A hot bead of cum escaped. Dax moaned when she again enveloped him with her mouth.

 

“No, it’s too much.” He gripped her shoulders and gently pulled her upright. With the slightest movement, she leaned into him, but he edged her away. He raised his palms to her peaked nipples and gently rubbed the tips. Ahhh.

 

He stroked his tongue across her swollen lips, savoring the taste. He wanted more, and so did she. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, her bare breasts against his chest, his mouth crashed onto hers. Parting her lips, he delved in and swiped along the soft walls and curved roof. She pressed her pussy to him and his cock hardened to steel, demanding to feel the heat of her wet slit.

 

He smiled, and she shivered, knowing the best was yet to come.

 

Dax scooped her up. With one hand, she flung two of the three cushions away, and he gently laid her down.

 

He lowered himself onto the bed and tenderly stroked her throat, replacing each imprint with butterfly kisses. Tiana delighted when a deep shudder ran through her.

 

Her breasts rose and fell with her stuttered breaths. Raising her left breast, he bent his head and suckled her nipple. She arched her back in ecstasy, grinding her pelvis against him.

 

Dax nudged her willing knees apart, then positioned himself between her thighs, the head of his cock caressing her vagina. Incredible. She wiggled against him, gripped his firm ass and pushed down, encouraging him to fill her. But it was too soon.

 

Kneeling between her thighs, he spread her swollen pussy lips, brushing aside the short hairs. He stared into her eyes, smiled, and dipped his index finger into his mouth. He dabbed her little pearl, and she moaned. Slowly he leaned forward and kissed her mons, then slid his tongue over her clit. She gasped, riding the most exquisite touch she’d experienced in years. He gripped her firmly, holding her in place, as he lapped and swirled the bud. Then he trailed lower, licking at the droplets on the inside of her thigh, seemingly loving the taste of her hot juices.

 

She dug her nails into his shoulders until she was sure he would bleed, but she couldn’t help it.

 

“Tiana, please, relax your hands.”

 

She responded with a muted sigh.

 

He glided his index finger into her sopping channel, sliding back and forth, until her eyes flew open and she gasped. A moment later, he plunged both the index and middle finger in deep, massaging until he found the spot to make her come. Her body convulsed, and she screamed out his name, clawing at his shoulders.

 

His swollen cock dripped. He wanted to enter her, she could tell, but he also wanted to keep control. The only way he seemed to be able to contain himself was to tease her body while he sucked in air to relax.

 

After a few moments, he was able to fuck her and not come immediately. And she was game. Whatever it took. He reached over and grabbed the pillow at his side. In one swift motion, he scooped up her ass and slid the cushion beneath her.

 

“What are you doing?” She was puzzled, but not frightened.

 

“You’ve never done this?”

 

She nibbled her bottom lip and shook her head.

 

“It’s for both our pleasure. This way will be more satisfying for you,” he said, stroking the inside of her thigh.

 

She spread her legs farther apart, and he inhaled the aroma of her sex. He linked her ankles around his waist and mounted her, sliding in slowly. The intense fulfillment was unreal. A lifetime of making love to Dax would never be enough.

 

“Open your eyes. I want to watch you.” Staring right into her soul, he pushed forward, entering her, stretching her. He slid in deep—paused—then leisurely pulled almost all the way out.

 

“Please, Dax, don’t tease me,” she begged.

 

He nodded.

 

With each stroke, her breathing quickened until she was panting and she screamed out his name.

 

Bracing himself on his forearms, muscles bulging, he continued plunging faster and deeper with each thrust, until all control was gone.

 

Her body exploded as he rode her again and again, pumping out every drop of cum until he collapsed at her side.

 

He rolled closer and pulled her to him spoon-style. Sated beyond belief, she snuggled her damp body to his. He caressed her, and as she pressed her ass against his thighs, he smiled as his cock grew hard, again.

 

Tiana gave a little gasp of delight as she realized…this was far from over.