I watched Danielle as she slept, my fingers lightly playing in her hair. I had treated her tonight, taking her out for a nice dinner and dessert. After finding some movie on my TV, we had snuggled on the couch, just enjoying the fact that there were no interruptions in our time together.

Now she was asleep at my side, the movie still playing on the large TV on the wall. It wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I had promised her a night together, expecting for the night to end with hot sex in my bed, but I was not pissed off about the fact that she was asleep.

Shifting my arm, I allowed her to fall against my chest, something warm and fuzzy tightening in my chest as she snuggled against me. It was still hard to believe that we had connected after all these years and that now I was thinking of a future, with Danielle. Why wouldn’t I? She was smart as hell, funny, and made me fucking happy. She obviously loved Amelia and didn’t care that I was the cocky guy who enjoyed a good time. Hell, I couldn’t believe that I wanted to be a one-woman man, but here I was, thinking that exact thing. I wanted to see her every day, to sleep next to her every night. I wanted to have her by my side as I moved into the next phase of my life and my career. She was the perfect partner.

So how would she feel about it? I wasn’t sure, but I hoped that she kind of agreed. I couldn’t bring back her daughter or even make her forget her failed marriage but I could make her future happy and bright and all that warm ass stuff. I could make sure that she was taken care of and loved. Did I love her? The thought hit me square in the chest. Maybe I did. Maybe I did love her. No one had ever gotten to me like Danielle had and definitely not this fucking fast.

But I didn’t want to let her go. That was a fact. I wanted more of Danielle and not just in the sex. I wanted all of her. She mumbled something in her sleep, and I pulled her closer, easing the worries from her sleep. Maybe this was what I was waiting on. Maybe Danielle was my saving grace, the one woman that could completely satisfy me, not only physically but also emotionally. Hell, she had nearly had me all those years ago outside her window, and if I hadn’t been such a dumbass thinking I could actually make it in the world, then we would be married today, and she would have never experienced her tragedies.

But I wouldn’t have Amelia either. So maybe it was the right thing to come full circle like this. Either way, I was glad it had happened.

* * *

“How you feeling?”

I looked up from the ledger I was poring over to see Tony in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “What?”

“You know,” he answered, walking into the office. “About your fight tomorrow night. Are you nervous?”

I closed the book and leaned back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Hell yes, I’m nervous. This is likely my only title shot, and I don’t want to fuck it up.”

“At least you are honest about it,” Tony chuckled, settling into one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. “I would have lied my ass off.”

I shrugged, a grin on my face. “No need to.” I was nervous, nearly unable to sit still for longer than a few minutes, but I had forced myself to do something constructive, like look at the money coming into the gym. At least it would be something to get my mind off the fight for a while. “I always get nervous before a fight.”

Tony eyed me, a smirk on his face. “So if you don’t win, what are you going to do?”

I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. I had thought about that as well, long and hard. Normally I would have said that I wasn’t going to quit, that I was gonna continue putting my body in that cage for as long as I could, but now that Amelia was in the picture, I had to rethink my life and my choices. “I’m done,” I said, ignoring the twinge of hurt in my chest. “I can’t, I have to.”

Tony nodded. “Hey, I understand man. We have all been blessed by our careers, had a hell of a ride.” He then chuckled. “But there’s a time when a man has to look at other priorities you know?”

I knew exactly what he was talking about. “Do you regret it?”

Tony shook his head, picking at a piece of lint on his shirt. “Nah man, I would never regret choosing to retire. Hell, Hannah is my world now, and if it meant having to choose again, I would make the same choice. The gym gives me enough thrill.”

The gym, my brain child. It would do the same for me. It was my retirement, the one thing I had hoped would be there in case I had gotten hurt and was unable to continue with my career. Now it would be Amelia’s future, as well as mine. Would I be happy with just the gym? I wanted to think so.

“Well enough of that talk,” Tony said, pushing out the chair. “Let me know when you are ready and I’ll grab my stuff.”

I nodded, watching as he walked out. It was a superstition of mine, to be taken somewhere where I could think about the fight, and that was it. It gave me time to get psyched up and focus on the end goal. Tonight, I would go to a friend’s house who was fortunate enough to have his own damn cage on the property and work on my fighting with Tony. He would then drive me tomorrow to the venue. I had been doing the same routine for years, and it hadn’t failed me yet. But first.

I stood and fished out my keys from my pocket, jogging downstairs and out the door to my car. I wasn’t about to go into hiding for twelve hours or so without seeing Danielle and asking her a very important question.

It didn’t take me long to reach her apartment, pulling into a parking spot and climbing the stairs to her place, my palms sweaty with anticipation. She had left me this morning with a smile and a searing kiss, unable to stay even long enough for me to seduce her. Workshops, she had said, escaping. Well, I wasn’t about to go into the biggest match of my life without seeing her.

Knocking on the door, I grinned as she opened it, her surprise only fueling my need. Without saying a word, I grabbed her around the waist and pushed her up against the door, my mouth on hers before she could get a word out. Instantly I was lost in her taste, her touch as she clutched my shoulders, pressing her body against mine. I picked her up and got us inside, pushing the door shut with my foot as I carried her to her bedroom, depositing her on her bed, my hands already on her shorts. “I fucking need you,” I stated roughly, looking into her eyes. “So badly.”

“I’m here,” she breathed, the fire in her eyes telling me she felt the same way. “Fuck me, Benji.”

Damn. She knew how to make my cock stand at attention. With a growl, I pulled off her shorts and feasted on the sight as I stripped my shorts off as well, my hand on my hard cock. Danielle arched a brow as I leaned down, touching her forehead with mine briefly. I wanted to tell her how much I had missed her, but I didn’t want to kill the vibe. She was going to be the death of me.

“Condom?” she asked softly, her breath on my face.

Shit. “No.”

She laughed and reached over, pulling out a strand from the nightstand drawer. “Thank god I stocked up this week then.”

I let out a laugh as she tore one off and handed it to me, wasting no time in sheathing myself before I was inside her, her moan all I needed to hear. Grasping her hips, I pulled her closer until I couldn’t go any farther, my legs shaking from exertion and need. Then I started to move.

“Yes,” she said as I reached down and pressed a kiss on her mouth, her hands holding onto whatever she could find.

“Come for me,” I forced out, ramming into her. Danielle let out a word that sounded suspiciously like my name before she let go, her body quivering around mine. I bit back my own groan as I pounded into her, feeling my own orgasm near the edge of the abyss. I wasn’t done with her yet. I wanted another.

“Benji,” she sobbed as I increased the speed, bringing her to another one rapidly. “Please.”

I knew what she needed. I wanted it too. With a growl I bucked against her, releasing what I was holding back a minute later before collapsing against her, my heart hammering in my head.