No Safeword: Matte - Happily Ever After (Safewords) (41 page)

“I want an answer.”

She looked at the dress, decided it was too much, and put it back.

Miguel went to her bedroom door and yelled downstairs. “Ethan, can you come to your wife’s closet, please?”

“That was a mistake,” she told him when he stepped back to the door of her closet.

“Why?”

“Ethan won’t appreciate you meddling.”

“Maybe he’ll at least give me an answer.”

Sam turned, pissed. “And why the hell is it any of your
fucking
business?”

“Because I’ve grown to care about you,” he said, lifting the cane as one would evidence in a courtroom, “and I want to make sure no one is hitting you with a stainless steel cane!”

“I appreciate your care and concern for my wife,” Ethan said from the doorway, his voice deep and calm, “but I’m wondering why you jumped to the conclusion I’d be the one using it on her, and not the other way around?” 

Miguel looked from Ethan, to Sam, and back so many times he looked as if he were watching a tennis match. He finally looked at Sam and said, “So, you’re…” He looked to Ethan, “and you’re…”

Shaking his head, he sat on the bench. “Never in a million years would I have put the power exchange going that way.” He looked to Sam. “I apologize. How horribly sexist of me.” He looked to Ethan and back to Sam. “You know you can’t use this at full strength though, right? It can do a lot of damage, even on a big guy like him.”

Ethan laughed. “I didn’t say we’re in a power exchange relationship at all, just pointed out you had no basis for your initial assumption. Now, can you please drop this, and never bring it up again? The subject makes Sam uncomfortable.”

Miguel didn’t look as if he were ready to drop it, and Ethan said, “Have either of us ever given you the idea our relationship is unhealthy? You’ve lived under the same roof as us for
months
. You’ve seen us get along, argue, get on each other’s nerves, and work together. Can you tell me a single time you worried for my wife’s safety? Or mine?”

Miguel stood, walked to the door, and turned. “If either of you ever need to talk about…anything. I’m available. I just want to make sure everyone’s safe.”

“Thank you again for caring about my wife’s safety.”

He left, and Sam watched as Ethan closed their bedroom door and turned some music on their bedroom speakers.

“Why did you want him to think I’m the Domme and you’re my submissive?”

“Because I was uncomfortable with him having the idea you’re submissive.”

“Why?”

“Because…” He hesitated, lifted his arms, started to say something, stopped, and finally said, “Some men think submissive women should submit to everyone, and you don’t submit to anyone but me.” He considered his words and added, “Or someone I tell you to submit to.” He shook his head and shrugged. “The point is, I haven’t discussed kink with him, I don’t know his opinions on the subject, and he can be kind of a jerk sometimes.”

“You’re okay with him thinking you submit to me?”

“It’s preferable to him possibly seeing you in a different light. I don’t know the dynamic we’ll have once we arrive in Vegas, but I know you’ll have your own training area, and I’ll have mine, and Dave is trying to get us close to each other.”

“But it may be me and Miguel and my people in one area, and you and your people in another.”

He nodded and she said, “I’ll be fine without you watching over me.”

“But I might not be okay if I can’t watch over you.”

Sam fell into his arms, careful to keep it snuggly and platonic, but she needed the connection.

He rubbed her back and ruffled her hair. “I love you. Thanks for letting me take care of you, even when it rubs you the wrong way.”

Sam dropped her voice and took on an announcer’s voice. “Introducing, Ethaaaaannnnn the Cavemaaaaan Leviiiiiii!”

Ethan laughed and popped her on the ass. “You and your big mouth.”

The first thing on the agenda upon arrival at the hotel was a security meeting.

“We’ve rented this entire section,” Tyler told them. “Only our group should be in this hallway, and only our room keys will bring the elevator here. Hotel security will have someone at the bottom of the elevator making sure everyone in the group is headed to the same floor. Our security is in charge once you arrive.”

A large, blond man stepped forward. “I’m Nathan, and Tyler and I will be in charge of security. Normally, we’d only have one person running things, but since Tyler will be Sam’s shadow we needed someone in command while he’s with her.”

“Who should we go to for a problem, then?” Dave asked.

“We’ll each have our own cellphone,” Tyler said, “but we’ll also have another we’ll pass back and forth. Whoever is handling security on the floor will have that cellphone. Your handout has the number, please put it in your phones and place it on your main screen so you can get to it quickly, if necessary.”

“Ethan and Sam each have someone assigned to them,” Nathan added. “They will notify their person before stepping onto the elevator.” He glared at them. “Even if you’re together. Sam has already learned the hard way that fighting skills don’t help against a gun.”

Sam looked to Tyler and he shook his head. “Even if you happened to have a gun, we’re trained to handle the situation without having to shoot…and if we’re forced to pull the trigger, our backgrounds help us stay out of trouble. If you have to shoot? You may still be sitting in jail on fight night.”

Nathan smiled at Sam and then looked back to the group as a whole. “Everyone staying in a room on this floor has been vetted. If you want to bring a guest to your room, please notify Tyler or I so we can meet them as they get off the elevator and talk to them. No offense to your friends, but we need to stay on top of who’s on the floor.”

Sam smiled at Ethan and said, “Mr. Caveman orders room service around the clock sometimes. Do we have to let you know about that?”

“A quick phone call is appreciated. If you don’t call us, we’ll call you when the kitchen notifies us.” Tyler leaned against the wall and added, “We prefer voice calls because it’s too easy to spoof texts.”

“Also,” Nathan added, “if there’s a problem and you can’t tell us, we’ll need you to either call us
John
, or insert the word
Chattanooga
into the sentence. If for some reason you need to tell me about something in Chattanooga, then just say ‘back home’ or ‘our hometown’.”

Tyler emphasized the two keywords. “Again,
John
, or
Chattanooga
. If we hear either of those words we’ll assume you’re in trouble and need rescuing, but can’t tell us.”

“Is this much security really necessary?” Sam asked. “It seems like overkill.”

“Remember the guy at the courthouse?” Miguel asked. “He’s not the only one angry with you. We hope it’s overkill but we aren’t taking any chances.”

* * * *

Sam had been prepared mentally to see Jose Clemente in the training area, but she hadn’t expected the fight organizers to put her training area between Clemente and Ethan.

It did no good to try to ignore him because the media kept bringing up his presence.

And he continually referred to her as “the cunt”.

A few days in she’d had about all she could take, and as he walked by and called her a “fucking cunt,” she stopped, turned, looked him dead in the eye, and said, “Yeah, and I kicked your ass, so what does that make you?”

Miguel got a kick out of her response, but Tyler put his hand on her back and ushered her out of the training area. “Do you think maybe you can keep from taunting him into a fight?”

Miguel chuckled and said, “If it becomes necessary for you to help her kick his ass, I’ll gladly jump in and help, too.”

Sam shook her head. “He isn’t going to take a swing at me outside of a sanctioned fight. He wants the title back and won’t do anything to risk a sanction.”

Tyler shook his head. “Don’t be so sure. His ego’s taking a beating, and having to watch you practice every day isn’t helping.”

Ethan stepped outside and asked what happened. Miguel filled him in and Ethan said, “It’s late, so we won’t change today, but tomorrow I’ll set up in your spot, and you can take mine.”

Miguel shook his head. “You have to stay in your assigned area.”

Ethan’s face looked a little scary, even to Sam, as he said, “If the promoters want to make a big deal about it then I’ll create a stink they won’t appreciate one bit. Sam and I are swapping tomorrow.”

Jerrod had stepped out by this time and said, “I’ll talk to Dave, make sure no one says anything.” He clapped a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “They were just trying to stir things up, get more media attention. Dave will shame them for it and they’ll back off.”

* * * *

As the days progressed Sam was more and more thankful Ethan had arranged for Tyler to be the one following her everywhere. She would’ve resented a stranger being around so often.

Dave had arranged for a good number of husband and wife media appearances, but their schedules often had them going different directions and she found herself separated from Ethan more often than they were together.

Tyler integrated into her team well, and she came to rely on him, Miguel, and Tara to have her back.

Tyler had keys to many employee-only sections of the hotel complex, and he could move them around without the media seeing them when Sam just couldn’t handle another microphone in her face.

A fan jumped out at her once to take a swing, but Tyler had them on the ground before Sam even realized what’d happened. She’d been talking to Tara and would’ve been blindsided had Tyler not been there.

When hotel security arrived, Tyler turned the man over to them and quickly herded Sam through a locked door, away from prying eyes. Sam collapsed into his arms without thinking about it, and he held her as he texted Ethan’s bodyguard with a request for him to bring Ethan.

The media captured none of it on camera, and by the time Sam faced the reporters again, Ethan was at her side.

When they finally made it to their room later in the evening, Sam told Ethan, “I understand why it’s important for us to play up to the cameras, but I really wish I could just go into the ring and fight, without having to deal with the publicity and hype.”

“Your contract says you have to draw eyeballs to your fight.”

“I didn’t say I was going to stop, I just said I’m only interested in the fighting part of it. You seem to get off on playing to the cameras almost as much as you enjoy the actual fight.”

Ethan shook his head. “No, I use my time in front of the cameras to try to psych my opponent out. When I was small time I did it via Twitter, and I still do, to an extent, but I have a bigger reach by showboating to the cameras.”

Sam sat in a chair and sighed. “I’m psyching myself out, no need for Karen to do anything. I know Miguel found the small tell, the micro-movement my foot made before I punched or kicked, and we could see her watching for it on the video. I’ve stopped it, but how do we know I haven’t developed another micro-tell none of us is picking up? I feel as if I don’t take her down in the first dozen punches, I may not have a chance at all.”

Ethan sat in another chair and looked at her a few seconds before reminding her, “Miguel brought in a specialist to look for micro-tells, since Karen is obviously so good at picking up on them. You and your team have done everything you can to stay on top of it. You just have to trust in the process.”

He shook his head and leaned back. “For a variety of reasons, you’ll be better off if you can take her out in the first couple of minutes, but I don’t think the micro-tell issue is the biggest.”

“What’s the biggest?”

“She’s won almost two-thirds of her fights in the first three minutes. She hasn’t lost a fight in years. She’s walking into the ring with the confidence she can win, and you’re doubting yourself.”

Sam shook her head. “No, I think I have about as much chance as beating her as she has of beating me.”

“You need to walk into the cage
knowing
you can win. You need to spend your free time imagining all the ways you can take her out, and seeing yourself victorious with the ref raising your arm and wrapping the big shiny belt around your waist.”

Sam shook her head, again, and put her head in her hands. “God, your right. I’ve let the press convince me I’m the underdog.” She took a breath and looked up to him, digging deep for confidence. “I’ve made Ethan ‘
The Caveman’
Levi tap out! I can take Karen
fucking
Johansen!”

He smiled. “That’s my girl.”

Sam smiled back, but figured she should just go ahead and tell him everything bothering her, while they were talking. “It also bugs me we’re fighting back to back.”

He nodded in agreement. “I’m glad they’re giving us twenty minutes between the fights and using pre-recorded interviews to fill the time, but it’s going to be tough.”

“I shouldn’t have accepted, so we could focus on your title fight.”

He shook his head. “Absolutely not. We both had an opportunity, no reason we couldn’t both accept. We’ll make it work.”

“But you won’t have your normal time to get ready.”

“I don’t know. I get pretty fired up watching you fight. I think I’ll be in a perfect frame of mind to fight, as long as you aren’t hurt.”

“And if I am, I may not be available to help you with strategy during your fight.”

“It’s my fight, Sam. I love having your help but you don’t owe it to me. If you’re in no shape to help either by being out there, or by watching from backstage and relaying messages through Miguel, then I’ll just have to win using my own skills.”

* * * *

Cassie, Viv, and Kirsten arrived a few days before the fight, and Tara and Sam joined them for dinner at a nearby restaurant that evening. Tyler was there, of course, but he hung back and gave them their privacy.

Jose Clemente didn’t see Tyler though, and thought he’d have a chance to intimidate Sam without any of her coaches, staff, or husband around.

“Well,” he said, placing his hands on the edge of their table and leaning over it. “If it isn’t a table full of fucking cunts.”

“If you haven’t figured it out by now, name calling doesn’t seem to bother me the way you expect it to. Please say whatever it is you came to tell us, and leave.”

Sam gave a subtle motion with her fingers for Tyler to stay back, and she saw him move to another position in her peripheral vision, but he stayed far enough away Clemente didn’t notice him.

“Are you afraid, without all of your men around to protect you?” Clemente sneered.

“She handled you just fine in a cage with no men to protect her,” Cassie said.

Tara was on the other side of the table, so she felt pretty safe saying, “I’m staying out of this, but I’d like to see ya’ll bitches stand up and wipe the floor with this annoying fucktard.”

Kirsten looked at Sam and said, “You can’t do anything without getting in trouble with the league, but if I stand up and kick his ass…” She considered a moment and asked, “Would there be blowback on you?”

Sam thought about it a few seconds and answered, “I don’t think so. Especially if I tell you not to engage. Which I’m doing now.” She smiled and raised her voice enough the people around them with cellphones aimed at them would be able to catch her words. “Kirsten, just ignore him. Don’t engage.”

Clemente clearly wasn’t expecting them to sit around and discuss kicking his ass. He thought he’d scare them, and it wasn’t working. He snarled at Kirsten and said, “If you think you can take me, hop your happy ass on up and do it you little cunt.”

Kirsten looked at Sam. “He sure does like the ‘C’ word, doesn’t he?”

Sam smiled and shrugged. “Doesn’t seem to have much respect for the real thing, but yeah, he’s a fan of the word.”

Clemente popped Kirsten on the cheek — more slap than punch, but it was all the excuse Kirsten needed. She stood, swept his legs, and followed him to the ground as she punched him in the face multiple times before he knew what was happening. Sam saw even more cellphones come out, and she stood and stepped away, but kept an eye on her friend. She’d jump in if Kirsten needed help, but wanted to be clear she wasn’t in on the beginning of the fight.

Clemente hit Kirsten and she fell to the side momentarily, but jumped to her feet as Clemente came to his. Cassie joined the melee, and a few minutes later hotel security pulled Cassie and Kirsten off him as they pummeled him.

His face was bleeding and he was in rough shape as security tried to sort through what had happened. Sam went into attorney mode as she realized they were about to put all three combatants into custody.

She spoke to the man who seemed to be taking charge. “Sir? There were plenty of people filming the confrontation. I believe if you look at their video, you’ll see Clemente slapped my friend Kirsten here, and she defended herself.”