Kieran stepped back and shot his manager the finger, but he was smiling down at me. “Tossing people out already?” He teased as he reached into the sack and extracted a turkey club sandwich on honey-wheat from the deli down the street. Sweet potato fries followed. He unwrapped the sandwich and placed it on a napkin. “Eat.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I devoured half of the sandwich before I even realized it. Munching on the fries I mixed drinks and dealt with business. Kieran Stone was taking care of me and I was really, really enjoying it.
()
When I got home it was nearly four. There had been a few hangers-on that had given me and the bouncers a little trouble. The cops had had to be called, and three of them had been taken to jail. Once we had given our statements I had told the guys not to worry about cleaning up. I even skipped all my paperwork and a few other normal closing chores.
All I wanted was a hot shower and to snuggle up with Kieran.
As quietly as I could I entered the apartment and went straight for the shower. I stripped and ignored the mirror as I turned on the water, knowing that what I would see would not be pretty. While the hot water heated up I scrubbed my face and brushed my teeth, then stepped under the powerful spray of the shower.
I couldn’t help crying out in both agony and pleasure as the water hit me. I bit my lips, afraid that I would wake up Kieran if I kept making loud, moaning noises. It took me longer than normal to get clean, but when I was finally done I pulled on my flannel pajama top and clean underwear before climbing into bed with the beast of a man already under my covers.
He had been snoring softly until I put my head on his chest and my arm across his hard abdomen. “Reese…” He brushed a kiss across the top of my head.
I smiled despite the pain that I was in and raised my face to meet his lips. “Go back to sleep. I’m sorry I disturbed you.”
With a yawn he pulled me closer, unaware that he was putting me in excruciating agony. But I just wrapped my arms around him tighter and held on until he drifted back to sleep. It was some time before I could follow…
“I have to go, baby.” Kieran’s deep, sexy voice murmured at my ear as he extracted himself from my hold.
Caught off guard I cried out as he brushed against my side. The light on my bedside table was snapped on instantly. “What’s wrong?” He demanded, concern darkening his tone.
“Nothing.” I pulled the covers back over me, trying to hide away from him.
The blanket was stripped from me and he started running his hands over me. “Something’s wrong. You’re hurt.” His long fingers skimmed over my right side and I just barely held in my whimper. He froze, saw the tears of pure agony in my eyes and then pulled the flannel top up.
A fierce curse escaped him as he took in the discoloration that took up most of my side and went around to my back. “What the hell happened, Reese?”
I sighed. “There was some trouble when we went to close up.” I told him. “A group of guys didn’t want to go. They were overly drunk and I hadn’t noticed that they had had one to many. They struggled when the bouncers and I tried to get them to leave. One of them caught me with a chair…It broke...”
“Jesus Christ!” He looked a little green at the nearly black bruises marring my skin. “You need a doctor. You could have broken ribs.”
“I don’t. The cops called the paramedics and they checked me over. I’m going to be fine, just sore for a few days.” He raked his hands through his hair and I knew that he was disturbed more than I had first realized. “Really, Kieran. I’m fine.”
His jaw clenched. “You could have been hurt worse, dammit.”
“Please don’t worry about me.” I captured his hand and brought it to my lips. “Come here. Kiss me.”
His kiss was so tender, as if I were a delicate piece of crystal. I didn’t want him thinking I was easily broken, because I had never been that type of girl. I thrust my fingers through his hair and pulled him down across me, ignoring the throbbing in my side as I devoured his mouth.
Soon I was flat on my back, my panties were gone and Kieran was deep inside of me. I didn’t let any of the pain I was in ruin the pleasure that he made me feel over the next twenty minutes. And he was so careful with me; his gentleness at odds with his size and strength. When I came apart, he went with me. “Reese!” He cried my name into my mouth in a passionate kiss.
He was late leaving, but he was grinning nonetheless.
()
When last call came Friday night, the spar twins were seated at the bar. I sighed, feeling like Kieran was making his crew babysit me. But I didn’t say a word to him when I got home. Instead he made love to me until I was weak with pleasure.
Saturday night Jake and Mason were the ones setting at the bar waiting on the place to empty out. I wanted nothing more than to go home and have it out with Kieran. He could not keep doing this. I had managed just fine before he had come along. The mishap a few nights before had not been the first time I had been hurt while dealing with a drunk. But like the night before he attacked me with pleasure as soon as I stepped out of the shower.
Hours later, as I lay in bed after he went out for his morning workout, I realized that maybe I didn’t want to argue with him all that much. It felt nice that Kieran cared so much about my safety and well-being.
Chapter 11
The week seemed to be flying by.
I was busy at work. It seemed that there were a lot of people who had come to town to watch Kieran Stone’s big MMA cage fight, so there were more newbies than regulars frequenting the bar Thursday and Friday. I was glad for the distractions at work; otherwise I think I might have lost my mind with stress and nerves.
Kieran’s father attended every one of his fights, and Kieran wanted me to meet him the night before this one. So I took Saturday night off. Actually Mel forced me to take it off. She came in to cover for me and asked one of the other bouncers to come in to help out tending bar.
Which is why I suddenly found myself in desperate need of a dinner dress.
As soon as I got out of bed Saturday I went shopping. It had been five years since I had needed a pretty dress. I looked for three hours, trying on style after style, hating everything that I came across. Nothing suited me, not the me that I had become. I wanted black lace and skulls on my dress…But that was not going to make a good impression on the father of the man I loved.
In the end I picked a simple little black dress. Of course I had to shop for shoes to because all I had were biker boots and sneakers, neither of which would have gone with the dress. Black heels were what I had planned on, but when I saw them I had to get them.
A pair of blood red spiked heeled pumps that just screamed at me to buy them. True they weren’t exactly conventional, and they cost way more than I was originally expecting to pay. But there was no way I was not getting those shoes!
At six minutes after eight I walked into one of Phoenix’s most prestigious restaurants. There was a line waiting to be seated but there was no sign of Kieran. Squeezing through the crowd, feeling a little exposed with my makeup down to a bare minim of just a rosy pink gloss, eye shadow and mascara. I had actually thought about showing up in full Goth makeup…For about a minute.
But I wanted Kyle Stone to like me. And even though I would have been more comfortable hiding from this crowd behind my mask, I wanted Kieran’s father to see the me that was underneath.
The maître de was a short, thin set fellow with assessing dark eyes and greeted me with a smile as I finally came to stand before him. “May I help you, miss?”
I gave him a small smile in return. “I think my party might already be here. Stone?”
His eyes brightened. “Ah, yes. You would be Miss Graves?” I nodded. “They are right inside. Would you like for me to escort you?”
I shook my head. “Thank you, no. Mr. Stone is hard to miss.” With another smile I entered the dining room, ignoring the many male eyes behind me, following my every step.
The pla
ce was beautiful, and it brought back memories of eating out at places just as extravagant and glamorous back in New York. Most weekends my mother liked to go out. To be seen with and by others that were regular stars on the front pages of gossip magazines. I had hated those dinners out.
I was half way across the dining room when I spotted Kieran. He was laughing with a man who had the same dark blond hair and wide shoulders as he did. But the older man had his back to me and I couldn’t tell what he looked like; although I was sure that this is where Kieran got his looks from.
As I neared Kieran saw me and stood to embrace me. His hands tightened around my waist for a moment and he bent his head to brush his lips across the shell of my ear. “God! You are so damned beautiful.” He breathed before he raised his handsome head.
I grinned, for a moment my nerves forgotten. That was what I had been going for when I had dressed for the night. I had wanted that exact reaction from him. “So you like the dress?”
He stepped back enough to give me a quick once over. “The dress…What’s in the dress.” He winked. “I love it all.”
A voice was cleared behind Kieran and he turned to introduce me. “Dad, this is Reese. The mother of your future grandchildren.”
I jerked at his words. Had he really just said that? Was he crazy?
Kyle only chuckled. “Wow, you just about gave the girl an aneurism son.”
Kieran lowered his head and brushed a quick kiss across my lips. “Nah. She knows what she means to me.” Another kiss on my nose and then his was pulling me forward. “Reese, this is my father.”
Fingers trembling I put my hand in the older, albeit leaner version of Kieran. His grip was warm and when his fingers wrapped around mine he gave me a reassuring squeeze. “We Stone men know as soon as we meet the right girl. Kieran’s mother and I knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together from the time our eyes locked across a crowded quad back in college.”
“Really?”
His smile was just as warm as his hand. “Of course! We didn’t even know the other’s name, but for me and later I found out for her too, in that instant our souls recognized each other as their other halves.” As he spoke his eyes brightened even more and I knew without having spent more than five minutes with this man that his wife was his best friend, his other half.
And that was how I felt about Kieran.
()
“So what did you really think about my father?”
We were laying in each other’s arms in my bed. Sweat was still beaded on Kieran’s skin, and mine was not much better. Our love making had been fierce. Kieran taking no time to get me out of my new dress…Leaving my red heels on, which I now toed off and kicked across the bedroom.
I raised my head to find him looking down at me intently. “He was amazing. You have told me over and over again how your childhood was, but I guess I didn’t really believe you until tonight. You have a wonderful father, Kieran. And that he supports you and your brother and sisters in whatever you chose to do with your lives…That puts him in a father of the year category.” We shared a grin. “I like him.”
“He likes you too. He told me I was a lucky man earlier when you were in the ladies room.”
My heart turned over. “What did you say?”
“I told him he didn’t know the half of it! Not only are you beautiful, sexy and feisty. But you can kick my ass, and you drive me over the edge like no one else ever has in the bedroom.”
“You didn’t.” When he just chuckled I punched him in the chest. “Kieran!”
“Of course I didn’t, Reese.” He kissed my still clenched fist. “But I did tell him I agreed with him. I am a lucky man. Not every man gets to find the other half of his soul like my father. What he has with my mother…That’s something spectacular, baby. And I have found that, with you.”
Emotion clogged my throat suddenly and I had to blink rapidly to keep the tears from spilling. “Kieran…”
“You mean the world to me. And I know that you are still a little jumpy. Having someone love you as much as I do is not something that you have ever had in your life before now. But I want you to know that I have every intention of marrying you.”
“We just meet.” I whispered. “How can you even..?”
His lips against mine stopped my question and any other that might have slipped out. “I’m not asking you right now, baby. Or tomorrow. Or even next year…Unless I feel like you are ready for it. This is going to go as slow as you need it to…Just like when I told you I would wait for you to be ready to make love, I will wait to have my ring on your finger.”
The tears spilled over my lashes then. I couldn’t contain them anymore. “I love you.”
Chapter 12
A limo was waiting in the street outside my apartment.
Mel had called me earlier and said that she was picking me up. But I had not expected this! Greg Daventry had sent the car to pick us up and bring us to the Comerica Theatre. I had ridden in limos for most of my life. It was no real thrill for me…But for Mel it was a new and exciting experience.
She explored the back of the car like a child exploring a new wonderland. She played with all of the buttons and even discovered the contents of the mini fridge. I loved her child like enthusiasm. It kept my mind off the night ahead.
I was sick with worry for Kieran. Before I had met him I had loved to watch him in the steel cage. He was so majestic, yet so beast like. The thrill of watching him would last for days afterwards. But tonight, Kieran wasn’t just some guy that I liked to watch compete. Tonight he was the man I loved and I didn’t want to see him getting beat on, hurting, or bleeding.
On top of my worry for the incredible man that had so suddenly come into my life, there was also having to face my grandfather again after so many years. I was prepared for the confrontation, and I was ready to put my anger for him behind me. It was something I had to deal with in order to move on with my future with Kieran.
Last night when he had told me he was going to marry me—that he was going to be in my life for the rest of his—I had been blown away. It was then that I had come to the conclusion that I had to not only face my grandfather, but also my mother and The Pervert. He knew that too. So when I had asked him if he would go with me so that I could put all my pain from my past to rest he had readily agreed.
In fact I think it had made him happy that I was ready to face all of the ugliness head on, and that I wanted him with me when I did it.
At the Comerica Theatre we were shown straight to our seats. There had been three other fights tonight, but Kieran’s fight was the main event. The place was crowded, but some had taken bathroom, snack, or smoke breaks. There were two private VIP areas, one to the west of the octagon cage. We were shown to the east. Two suit clad security personnel, whom I realized were my grandfather’s personal security detail, kept away any who thought to intrude on the solitude; such as the many photographers that were lined around the cage.
It was still forty-five minutes until the fight started. I pulled the skirt of my dress down as I sat beside of Mel and took in the place. I had never been to the Comerica Theatre, formally known as the Dodge Theatre. But it was beautiful. I had wanted to go to a concert here the year before, one of my favorite orchestra’s had been in town, but tickets had sold out before I had even realized they were in the area.
“This is nice.” Mel murmured, over the dull roar of the crowd.
“Hey hotness.” Jake appeared almost out of thin air. “My boy wants to see you.”
I blinked up at him. He was wearing a tee shirt with the MMA logo on it and jeans. He looked bigger than usual and twice as scary. But I had found out quick that he would never hurt me. I had found out quick that his promise of us being friends was true. It was odd, but I felt like we were getting pretty close. “I don’t want to distract him.”
Jake shook his head. “You won’t.” He offered me his hand and I took it without even thinking. “I’ll bring her right back, Mel
.” He promised with a wink.
“You better.” She called after us.
Jake led me through a side door then down a corridor to the dressing area. Two security guys stood outside a door with ‘Stone’ marked across it. Jake ignored both as he pulled me inside a mad house. The rest of the crew was present, including Maddox. All were in MMA logo shirts with their names across the back like on a sports jersey. Mason and Corbin were taping up Kieran, who was sitting stiffly beside his father.
Without even thinking about it I went to him and crouched down in front of him. He blinked those incredible steel gray eyes of his, which he must have gotten from his mother, and pushed Mason and Corbin away to wrap his arms around me. “Hey.” He breathed against my lips as he devoured me with a kiss.
When I could breathe again I cupped his face in my hands. “Okay?”
“Of course. I just needed to see you.” A feather light kiss was brushed over the tip of my nose. “You look beautiful by the way.” His intent gaze moved over my dress, another buy from the day before. It was black with spider web lace. It clung to my slender body and showcased my hips and boobs alluringly without coming off skank or slut.
He was dressed for the fight: Shorts that clung so that he didn’t get tangled up in them. They hung perfect on his hips. His feet were bare except for the tape already around his ankles for better control and support of the joints. He looked sexy as hell and I wished that I had ten minutes alone with him.
“How is it out there?” He asked. “Have you seen Daventry yet?”
I grimaced. “No. It’s just me and Mel in the private VIP area right now.”
“Good, okay.” He nodded. “The crew will be close by, so if you need anything do not hesitate to tell them.” He spoke loud enough so that the entire room could hear. There were nods all around. “And Dad is going to be right there with you.”
Kyle gave me a warm smile and reached for my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
I returned his smile. “Thank you.” I murmured.
“I mean it, Reese.” Kieran’s jaw was clenched. “You need anything…”