Priest (A Standalone Bad Boy Romance Love Story) (78 page)

“I know,” I said. “It’s awful. But he won
that round, so he’s coming back.”

She laughed, but nervously and said,
“Spoken like a true trainer. I know you hate to see him in pain, but you’re at
least able to think about it at more of a “clinical” level that I can. I just
want to run up there and scream at that big bully to stop hurting my little
brother.”

I put my arm around her shoulders. “Don’t
let any bravado I might be faking fool you. I want to do the same thing.”

The bell signaled round four and Trent was
waiting around to see if Paul came out fighting this time or not. Trent hurtled
his six foot four frame across the expanse and grabbed Paul around his
shoulders. Paul was facing us and I winced when I saw his face, he was going
down again and he knew it. I saw him moving his feet before they crashed to the
mat. Paul was on top but Trent still had his grip and judging by the way he was
putting pressure on Paul’s arms that were bound to his sides I would say that my
lover had to be in agony about now. I watched in horror as Trent pulled his
right arm out and hooked it underneath Paul’s arm, getting him in an arm lock.
Paul was doing his best to fight back but probably less than a minute passed
before he was face down on the sweaty, bloody slippery mat with his arm twisted
behind him at an unnatural angle. The rowdy crowd was suddenly quiet. Everyone
was waiting to hear the snap I think. I was praying for the bell. Thank God
this once I got my way.

I looked over at Marie. The poor thing
looked like she was about to hyper-ventilate. I tried to give her a smile, but
judging from the way I felt inside and the look on her face…it wasn’t my
prettiest one ever. The sound of the next bell was a double-edged sword. Paul
looked completely done and I couldn’t see so much as a trace of that fire he’d
brought out with him tonight. I hated that he had to go another round…but I was
happy as hell that it was the last one.

They met in the middle and circled around
each other for a bit. Trent looked spent too and I knew enough about this to
know they were both looking for an opportunity to take the other one down.
Trent tried going in for a clinch again like he had in the last round, but Paul
was ready for that. When Trent came at him he twisted around and used the
momentum to land a kick on the other man’s flank. While Trent was recovering
from that, Paul moved in and tried to sweep him off his feet. Unfortunately the
two tired men’s limbs twisted up and when they went down Paul landed on his
back and Trent was able to get into a “side-mounted crucifix position.” He was
lying sideways across Paul’s chest and abdomen. One of his legs was pressed
tightly against Paul’s hips and his left arm was underneath him pressing down
against Paul’s chest. He brought his right hand up and began a “ground and
pound” assault. Paul’s arms were basically tied so he couldn’t even use them to
block the punches that were coming at the side of his face and head. Paul’s
head was the only thing he could move and since his spine was basically
immobilized he could barely move that.
 
I
had to close my eyes again as punch after punch pummeled Paul’s gorgeous face
and the blood from his freshly split lip splattered against each blow, making
the floor look like a crime scene. When I managed to force my eyes back open,
the referee was moving in. It was about to be over for Paul…or so I thought.

Just before the ref interfered, Trent
pulled back hard to deliver a heavy blow. When he did, his chest released some
of the pressure on Paul’s right arm. That was Trent’s first big mistake. Paul
twisted his head out of the way and then in a shocking move he was able to grab
Trent’s arm and swing his legs over and around it. He was suddenly in control
with Trent trapped in an arm bar… for a second. I held my breath again as I
watched Trent manage to wriggle his way out of it. That would be his fatal
error. As he released his arm from Paul’s grip on it with his legs, it freed
Paul’s leg to come up and strike Trent hard with his foot on the side of the
head. It was almost like watching in slow motion as Trent was thrown back and
landed with a thud on his back. He was out cold. The crowd was screaming and
after a few seconds I realized I was one of the ones who were screaming the
loudest. Paul won! I hugged Marie and watched as the referee held Paul’s arm up
towards the sky. Paul’s usually bright white smile was tinged red from the
blood. The referee handed him the title belt and he held it up and smiled
again. I caught his eyes with mine then and I could feel the energy pouring out
of him.

I watched him take the water the trainer
was offering him. He swished and spit and then made his way out of the octagon
and straight over to me. I was suddenly in his arms and as we kissed, the crowd
around us cheered us on.

CHAPTER
FIVE

The next day Greg closed down the gym to
the public and they had a huge party for Paul. All of the usual suspects were
there and everyone had brought food. Poor Paul was still so sore that standing
up was a struggle, but you still couldn’t tell it by looking at him. He’d taken
a couple of the pain pills and gone to the party like the tough guy he was. It
was fun watching him talk to everyone about the fight. His face was genuinely
glowing with happiness. He finally had his life back. Mitch was out of it,
Marie and Victor were safe and he was the champion that he deserved to be.

I was picking something that looked like
mini-quiches and tasted like little bites of heaven off of Sam’s plate when I
felt Paul’s arms go around my waist from behind. The food was suddenly
forgotten and I let my body meld back against his.

I turned my head to try and look at him
and he kissed me.

That was enough for Sam. “Oh Geez. There’s
a cot in the back, you two.”

Paul grinned, “Thanks, I’ll keep that in
mind.” Sam rolled his eyes and walked away as Paul spun me around to face him.
I was prepared for him to come in for another kiss when I suddenly realized
he’d frozen somewhere along the way. I opened my eyes and saw that he was
staring at something over my shoulder and he didn’t look happy about it. I
twisted my neck around and saw Marie and Justin standing over by the far wall
and embroiled in what looked like an intimate, flirtatious conversation.

“What the hell is that about? How does she
even know that guy?” The brother radar was suddenly activated.

“I introduced them last week,” I told him.
“You should have seen them; it was like love at first sight.”

“Don’t say that!”

“Whoa, calm down. I was kidding about the
love part. But the attraction was definitely instant and definitely mutual.”

“A man is not what she needs right now.”

I laughed, “And just who are you to decide
that. How long has it been since your sister was comfortable enough with her
life to go out on a date?”

Paul looked like he was thinking that over
before he said, “Years. But still…Who is this guy anyways? I just started
seeing him around recently…”

“He’s a nice guy. He runs marathons and
he’s really good. He wins more than he loses. He’s a vegan; he takes really
good care of himself. He doesn’t smoke or do drugs…he speaks highly of his
family…”

“You sound like you want to date him,” he
said.

“I did make him sound like quite the
catch, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you kind of did. As a matter of
fact, maybe I want to date him.” I hit him in the arm and even before he winced
I realized what I did.

“I’m sorry!”

He laughed and put that arm around me.
“It’s fine. I barely felt it. So you think this guy is okay to date my sister?”

“I do,” I said. “You know how much I like
Marie and Victor. I wouldn’t say that if I wasn’t really sure that he was a
good guy.”

“Fine. I’ll try to keep an open mind.”

A while later while I was joking with Mark
I noticed Paul had gone over and was talking to Justin. The conversation seemed
friendly but I’d be willing to bet that Paul was listing out the “Rules for
dating my sister.” Justin was a good enough sport though that I was sure he
wouldn’t take offense.

After everyone ate, Greg and Sam and Jeff
and some of the other fighters that we trained at the gym toasted…or more like
“roasted” Paul. They told funny stories about things that he said or did over
the time they had known him and everyone laughed.

It was a good time, but when Paul put his
mouth close to my ear again and said, “Hey sexy, are you ready to get out of
here?” I couldn’t say “Yes” fast enough.

Paul drove and when I realized we weren’t
going towards either of our apartments I said, “Are you kidnapping me?”

He wiggled his eyebrows and said, “I was
thinking about it.”

“Is it still considered kidnapping if I’m
willing?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, “But I also
plan to do things to you.”

I felt a tingle in the lower part of my
abdomen. It had been a while since either of us had been healthy enough to “do
things.”
 
“What kind of things?”

“Things I can’t even talk about. There
aren’t any words for them…only feelings.”

The tingle turned into a rush of wetness
as we drove into the small lot alongside the arena where his fight had been the
night before. “What are we doing here?” I asked him.

“Things,” he said with a grin. He got out
of the car and came over and opened my door. “You’re my captive, remember? You
have to do what I say.”

“Okay, but if you’re planning on breaking
into this place, and we get caught, I revert right back into a victim.”

“Coward,” he said, taking my hand. He led
me towards the side entrance, stopping at a thin door that had a sign that
said, “Custodial Staff” on it. He knocked and it was opened by a small man with
dark hair and a mustache.

“There’s the champ!” he said, clasping his
hands on either side of Paul’s face. He noticed me then and said, “Hello young
lady.”

“Hi.”

“Mario, this is Jessie. Jessie, Mario.
He’s our link to this place so you don’t have to worry about the SWAT team
busting in on us.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jessie,”
Mario said.

“Thank you. It’s good to meet you too.”

I watched as Mario put a silver key into
Paul’s hand and said, “Just be gone before Sadie gets here at six. She’s a
grouch. Drop the key in the mail slot before you go.”

“Thanks Mario,” Paul told him. He took my
hand again and we went over to the big side door. Paul opened it and we stepped
inside. It was pitch black inside and the air smelled like left over stale
sweat from the night before. Paul flipped a switch on the wall behind us and
the lights came on. The place looked a lot bigger without all the bodies
crammed into it. The smell was still lingering, but everything looked shiny and
clean. He led me over to the octagon and opened it up. “After you,” he said. I
stepped inside and he stepped in after me.

I looked around and said, “I’m not sure
this is the best place to be with the champion. You might have a flashback or
something and want to defend your title.”

He used his body to press me up against
the side of it and said, “That’s why I brought you here. I wanted to teach you
a few moves.”

“Wow, I’m honored.”

“You should be,” he said, “I am the
champion after all.”

I twisted out of his grip and lifted my
leg, tapping him on the butt with it. “Take that, “champion.”

“Oh that’s how you want it to be, huh?” he
said with a grin. “Put those fists up; let’s see what you’ve got.” I put them
up and he put up his and we danced around, throwing fake punches at each other
until he finally grabbed my arm as I threw one and pulled me up against his
chest. With his mouth inches from mine he said, “Admit that I’m the
champion.”
 

I giggled and said, “Do I get rewarded for
being a good girl if I do?”

He moved his hips slightly and I felt his
erection press up against my stomach. “I was hoping more for the bad girl,” he
said before he brought his lips crashing down onto mine.

When we came up for air I told him, “You
were amazing yesterday, just in case I forgot to tell you.”

“I’ve been inspired lately,” he said. He
wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly before leaning down and kissing
me passionately once more. I ran my tongue across his full, sexy lips and when
I got to the split in the corner he winced.

“Damn! I’m sorry, I forgot.”

“It’s a beautiful kind of pain,” he said.
He put his lips on mine again and as his tongue slipped back into my mouth; his
hands ran down my back and cupped my ass. He squeezed and massaged it as his
tongue explored all the caverns of my mouth. He began to move it in and out,
slowly and as he did, I sucked on it. I felt him moan against my lips and he
used his hands on my cheeks to pull my pelvis in tightly against his. I could
feel his erection straining to get out and I couldn’t wait to set it free.

I slid my hands up inside the back of his
t-shirt and ran my fingernails gently up his back as I slid his shirt off. My
body was tingling with excitement as I felt his hot skin pressed up against me.
I kissed his chest and ran my tongue across the smooth hard muscle while my
fingers continued to explore the muscles across his back and shoulders. I felt
his hands on my skin underneath my shirt and my breasts spilled out against my
shirt as he undid my bra.