Dirty Fighter: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (24 page)

W
hen he walked
through the shop door, I felt my heart start to speed up. I knew that we would have a great deal of talking to do. The crew around us seemed to know also as they started to filter out. I couldn’t stop smiling; he had no idea how much his life was about to change, but I was happy to be the one to offer it to him.

Desmond looked nervous and even a little scared. I had no clue why but it was pretty amusing to watch.

“What are these for?” he asked me, looking down at the keys in his hand.

“Man, they weren’t kidding when they said you can’t be pretty and smart, were they?” I said playfully. “Those are the keys to your car. You can’t drive without them, Desmond.”

He looked at me with utter shock on his face. I loved watching his face go through the realization that his car was drivable. He swallowed, looking for the words. I knew that I was going to have to be the one to start talking. Otherwise we would be there all day, waiting for him to put words together into a sentence.

“Desmond, listen. I am so sorry that I pushed you to race the other night. Everything that happened to Theresa was my fault, just like you said.” I muttered.

He stepped forward, “No Amber!”

His words caught me off guard; they were firm and loud. I hadn’t expected for him to be so strong and adamant about anything.

“It was my fault! I was the one who raced, not you. You couldn’t have known about the filter. I am so sorry.” he blurted out.

I didn’t realize that I had been holding my breath. His words rocked through me. I knew that he was being honest. Nothing about what he was saying made any sense. Just days ago he was screaming at me and blaming me for everything. I had never known a man to be so adamant that he was right about something. He had been so sure, that I had even convinced myself that he was right, and I was wrong.

“Desmond,” I asked him. “Where is this coming from? I know that you could have said no, but I pushed you to do the race, and I knew what a prick Luke was.”

He walked over to me, “No Amber. It doesn’t matter what happened or who was at fault. The only one who is to blame is Luke and me. He was the one who did the damage to the car, but I was the one who did the damage to us.”

I couldn’t breathe, looking into his eyes I saw that he meant every word of what he was saying. I had never expected for him to say anything that he was. I knew how I felt about him, but now, now I couldn’t help but feel like there was something more, something that he wanted to tell me. I didn’t press the issue. Instead, I just took a step closer to him and put my hand on his chest.

“Desmond, I think we’re both sorry for what was said. I want to move past it,” I said quietly, “Together.”

His eyes lit up, and he smiled, “Together?”

I nodded my head; I had never been so happy in my entire life. He gave me everything that I wanted. During our fight, I had felt so lost. I had buried myself into working on Theresa because it was the only thing I knew I could do to stop the pain. How could someone break your heart when you didn’t even know you loved them?

His lips met mine, and I didn’t hold back as I felt his tongue pushing into my mouth.

“Desmond,” I whispered, pulling away from him.

“Amber, I can’t believe that you are willing to give me another chance,” he said to me. “I will never treat you like that again.”

“Are you sure this isn’t just because of Theresa?” I asked him jokingly.

He laughed, “Not even one little bit. I love that car, but you mean more to me than all the cars in the world.”

His eyes grew wide at his own words, and I held my breath. I knew that he hadn’t meant to say that. Still though, I hoped that he had really meant them. As I blushed crimson, I knew that I was feeling the same way. Pushing away from him, I popped the hood and showed him his brand new engine.

“My God,” he whispered. “It’s amazing!”

“Thanks, it wasn’t easy to find, that’s for sure,” I said to him.

He looked at me again in stunned silence. Each time he looked at me like that, I felt like I was on display. I knew that he was amazed by what I had done, but his admiration wasn’t something I was used to. I was used to men in the shop gaping at me because I was a woman.

I had adapted to the catcalls from others but with Desmond, he made me feel like I was the greatest thing in the world. It was the same way that I looked at him.

He rose back up and took my hand; I was expecting him to pull me into another tender embrace, but this time he didn’t. He just held my hand.

“Amber, ever since the first time we kissed, I’ve known something. I have known that I’m in love with you,” he said softly.

It felt like my heart stopped as I listened to his words. Then my body began to feel warm all over, like I had a fever but I knew that I didn’t. I knew that it was Desmond that was making me crazy, not the heat. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. After all this time, I knew what I had to tell him.

“Oh, Desmond,” I said with a smile. “I love you too! I’ve known it for a while!”

I threw my arms around him and buried my face into his neck. “I thought that I had lost you when you lost Theresa.”

He shook his head, “No Amber. I was a fool. I should never have treated you like that. When I left, I wanted to turn around and come right back, but my foolish pride wouldn’t let me. I will never talk to you like that again.”

I felt the tears forming in my eyes for the second time in as many days. Never before had I been so emotional. Desmond had turned my world upside down. I wanted to run away with him. I wanted to be locked away in a cabin in the hills somewhere with him, so that we could spend days with each other, just us, exploring our bodies and our new found love for each other. Just then, something clattered to the floor and broke our spell. It was the keys to Theresa.

“Desmond,” I said to him. “We have all the time in the world to be with each other. Right now though, we have a race to win and a jerk named Luke to put into his place.”

He pulled me closer to him and smiled, “The race isn’t until tomorrow. I can think of a few things that we can do until then.”

I laughed at him and slapped his shoulder playfully. “I have a better idea; why don’t we take Theresa for a test drive. I think you are going to like the new and improved version.”

He sighed, “Fine, as long as you know that you are more important to me than any car is.”

I nodded my head; I could hear his sincerity and I doubted that he had ever told a woman that before. It was elating to be in love. I had never before known the feeling, but it wasn’t one that I ever wanted to lose.

He set me down, and I stripped out of my mechanic’s overalls. As I did, I saw him watching me from the corner of my eye. Just for him, I took my time, pulling off the cover slowly to reveal a thin shirt and skin tight jeans. I saw him lick his lips, and it turned me on all the more. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to wait very long. A leisurely drive would be nice, but I wanted his body. I wanted his manhood between my legs.

Still, I couldn’t lose my playful humor; it was just part of who I was. As we climbed into Theresa and he put the key in the ignition, I put a hand on his thigh, and he stopped.

“Did you check to make sure there was a filter?” I asked him in the most serious voice that I could muster.

He froze for a minute before bursting out laughing. We both laughed for a minute before he turned the engine over and Theresa roared to life. I knew beforehand what it would feel like. The engine worked for Theresa, but it was built for a muscle car.

Theresa started to roar, and I saw Desmond shudder with desire. It was something that any mechanic or driver would do when they felt the sheer amount of power being placed into their hands. Theresa was a whole new car.

As we pulled out of the garage, I saw people looking at us all around. They had heard the rumors that Theresa was dead, and the race was over. That Desmond Keys would never race again.

I had to flash them all a little smile. If my place in mechanic history at the race wasn’t secure before, it was now. I had brought a car back from a sandy grave. It was a feat that I hadn’t heard of anyone doing before. People started to pull out their phones and take pictures.

Before we reached the edge of the track, reporters were lining up to get a shot of the car. As we stopped outside the gate, Desmond looked at me as the cameras flashed.

“Do you love me?” he asked me.

I laughed, “Desmond, I do love you. I want to be with you forever.”

“Good,” he muttered before pulling me across the center console and planting a kiss on my lips.

I reciprocated and heard the cameras going wild outside. As I broke away, laughing, I knew that it was his way of promising that he was serious about us. We both laughed and smiled as the cameras tried to get closer. Desmond dropped the car into gear, and we roared from the track, the open road calling our names. Nothing but the road mattered anymore.

“
T
his is absolutely amazing
!” I said for the tenth time in the past fifteen minutes.

We were driving around outside the track, and I couldn’t believe how amazing the new motor was doing in Theresa. It was like an entirely new car. The sheer power was overwhelming. I couldn’t believe what Amber had managed to do in such a short amount of time.

“I’m glad you like it,” Amber said softly. “Hopefully, it’s enough to win the race.”

Up ahead I saw a pull off, overlooking the hillside. It was a crystal clear night, with the stars so bright it felt like you could almost touch them. Something about the stars made me stop. In the ten miles we had been driving, another car hadn’t even passed us. It was off season so the surrounding town was dead except for the racing fans and they mostly stayed in town.

“You never did tell me where you found the motor. It must have been hard to find. I talked to half a dozen mechanics and they all said the parts couldn’t be found and that a motor was just as impossible.” I said to Amber.

She looked away from me, “Actually, it was easy to find but hard to get back here. I got it from my garage back home. It was just something I had sitting around.”

I raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t an answer that I had been expecting. I had assumed that she got it from a specialty dealer.

The fact that she got it from her own garage was a complete shock. She was full of so many surprises that I couldn’t wait to discover every single one of them with her. Now, with our love pronounced, we had all the time in the world to share together. I would have to tell her about my own past.

“Wow. What kind of shop do you have? Do you specialize in racing?” I asked her, realizing that I knew so little about her.

“Not exactly. I inherited the shop from my father. He was the best mechanic I had ever known. He could make anything run like a dream and go faster than any model you put it up against,” she replied softly.

“Sounds like a great man, you definitely got his abilities.” I replied.

“Thanks,” Amber said. “The engine was my fathers. It was his pride and joy. He spent all of his free time working on it. I remember tinkering on it as a child. It was the kind of thing that I knew he would pass down to me. It never made it into a car, he could never find one good enough for it I guess.”

I was blown away by her words. That she had put something she cared so much about in my car, it made me speechless.

“Amber, thank you so much for what you have done,” I said softly.

She smiled at me, “It needed a good home. Winning this race isn’t just about the glory. It’s going to change my life. I won’t have to worry about the shop closing down anymore. The clients will come in.”

“Is that what you are going to do after the race? Go back to your shop?” I asked, unsure of what I wanted her answer to be.

She nodded her head without thinking about it. “It’s my home. It’s all I have left of my father. He left it to me and I love to work on cars anyway. I just knew that if I could get into this race, I would be able to save it.”

“Save it?” I asked her.

“Yeah, we don’t live in a booming city so running a shop means more money going out than coming in most days. We are in the hole.” she muttered.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The excitement washed over me. “You know, I have to tell you something about myself too.”

She looked at me in confusion, “What?”

“This race is my final one. I have challenged every track in the United States and this is the last one. It’s kind of my magnum opus. When I am done with this race, I am done with racing.”

“What will you do then?” she asked me.

“I’m not really sure. The wind sort of takes me where I need to go, but that’s not the point. Amber, I am not just a driver. My parents were the owners of The Keys Resorts.” I said to her.

I watched as she started to connect the dots. She looked at me and her jaw dropped. “Oh my God. I heard about their accident years ago. Desmond, I am so sorry.”

It was amazing to me that she didn’t go right to the money; instead she went right to the sympathy. Once again showing that she was an amazing person.

“Amber,” I started slowly. “I don’t think you realize what this means, I am one of the richest people under thirty in the world. I can pay off your debt for you!” I said, elated.

She smiled and shook her head, “Thank you Desmond, but no. I don’t want your money. I want you and your love but nothing more. My father built that shop with his own two hands and I plan on keeping it by using mine.”

I looked at her in stunned silence. As she always did, she shocked me to the core. A woman like her was something I was never going to find again. I had no plans on letting her ever get away. I didn’t care what it took. I could make my home anywhere and find adventures wherever I went. I would find my next one with Amber.

“Well, if you won’t let me bail you out, how about you give me a job?” I asked her.

She laughed, thinking I was joking. I wasn’t kidding though. “I am serious. I have always wanted to know more about cars. The best way to do that is to work with the best, right? And I happen to know for a fact that you are the best!”

“Are you serious? You’re rich though! Why would you want to work there?” she asked me.

“For the same reason you won’t take my money, pride. I want to be able to do more in my life then just drive fast cars and write checks.” I replied earnestly.

She smiled, “If that’s what you want, then I think I can find a place for you.”

“I would love that,” I said quietly before pulling her closer to me. “For now, I think I have the perfect place for both of us.”

She raised an eyebrow, knowing what I was talking about. I reached into the back seat of the car and pulled out a set of blankets that I always kept handy in case of an emergency. I climbed out of the car and looked over the horizon.

The sun was starting to set in the sky, making everything a beautiful hue of red. It was breathtaking. Amber followed me out of the car and met me at my side. There was a little bit of a chill in the air still from the passing storm, but it was nothing that a blanket couldn’t handle.

We spread out one blanket on the ground and sat down. Amber curled up next to me and I wrapped her in the blanket. Looking up at the sky, you could see the stars poking through a crystal clear sky. The storm had pushed away all of the clouds.

“Look,” she whispered to me.

Pointing up into the sky, I followed her finger. “Oh wow, Glen said something about this earlier. It’s the Dalila meteor shower.”

We sat in silence for several minutes, just watching the meteors falling through the sky, each one setting off a small trail of light across the sky. They made me think of shooting stars and how much I had loved to wish on them as a child. Now, I only had one wish. That was for the woman at my side to agree to stay there, forever.

I had no intention of ever letting her go. Our whirlwind romance might seem too fast for some. I, however, would be thrilled to make her my wife, but I knew that was something that Amber wasn’t ready for. She was such a strong, stubborn woman.

As I watched the meteor shower, I closed my eyes and hoped that when the time came for me to ask her to be my wife, she would say yes.

For now, I was happy just the way things were. Her body, pressed against mine was starting to drive me insane though. I wanted her body. I wanted to feel her bare skin pressed against mine in ways that only she seemed to know how to do.

Making love to her was better than anything I had ever known. I put my arm around her, gently massaging her shoulder. I knew that she wanted it as well, her nipples were peeking through her shirt at me.

“Desmond,” she said softly as she turned to look up at me.

“Yes my love,” I replied.

She smiled, “Say that again, please.”

I was more than happy to oblige, “I love you Amber. I plan on loving you for many many years to come. You have made me the happiest man alive.”

“Desmond, shut up and kiss me,” she murmured.

I laughed and pulled her chin closer to me. I didn’t want to make her angry and the only way to do that was to do what she wanted. I couldn’t argue with her though, even if I wanted too.

She was more woman than I was man and I wanted to give her everything in the world to make her happy. The world around us didn’t seem to matter. The only thing that mattered was that I was alone, with the woman I loved and by some miracle, she loved me back.

It was an amazing thing to think about. A woman so amazing and so unique actually loved me. I had known many women in my life, but never one like her. Never one who could steal my heart and make my world everything that I had ever dreamed of. The race tomorrow would be a last for me but it suddenly didn’t seem so sad knowing that I had a whole world of firsts to share with her.

The first thing I was going to start with was sharing the night with her. For the first of many nights to come, I was going to be with the woman that I loved.