Redemption: A British Stepbrother Romance (44 page)

W
hat a complete fucking prick
.

I didn’t need this right now.

Just one more shift to go, then I was done with this place. I had an entire summer with no responsibilities other than getting to know my biological father. Just that small thing.

Then I’d be a social worker for Child Welfare Services. A proper, grown-up job. I’d have a desk and everything. Okay, so I wasn’t going to be an awesome defense lawyer like my Mom had been before cancer took her, but she’d have been proud of my choice.

Riker had gone back to join his posse behind the red rope and it looked like he was having a great time. Not that I was looking.

Well, maybe a little bit.

Everyone in the building was either staring at him or trying not to stare at him. Men were puffing their chests, desperately trying not to look inadequate next to him. They were fighting a losing battle.

Riker didn’t have the biggest chest in the bar—there were a few muscular meatheads wondering around—but combined with the muscular arms, tattoos, and hard-edged face, he definitely had the attention of every female pair of eyes.

Why did men like him always have to be such arrogant dicks? I would love to end my time at this bar with a good, rough fuck, but I couldn’t do it with someone like him.

Physically, he was exactly what I needed. Heat rushed between my legs whenever I thought about what he could do to me. A brief touch of his finger on mine had been enough to get me get me damp where it mattered.

If only he wasn’t such a complete ass.

The women at his table hung off his every word. They laughed out loud at his jokes and never took their eyes off him. They were all competing to reveal as much skin as possible, and there were more heaving bosoms on display than in a porn version of Downton Abbey.

But I wasn’t jealous. Not even as one of them sat on his lap and started whispering God knows what in his ear.

The barmaids waiting on the VIP table looked like they were having fun, but I didn’t want to be over there in amongst all the wandering hands.

I only had a couple of hours to go now, then I was done with this job. No more dive bar. No more being hit on by drunken assholes. No more men like Riker.

A group of men walked out the bathroom, all looking buzzed to their eyeballs. The young kid, Theo, followed them out looking relieved, and definitely not pregnant.

Riker had taken me by surprise. I’d seen the drugs get passed to Theo—the lads weren’t exactly subtle—but I had a rule not to get involved. Stopping people doing drugs in this place would require a full-time member of staff in the bathrooms.

Riker didn’t have to do anything either, but he’d spotted the look on Theo’s face and offered him a way out. It had worked. Thanks to Riker, there was one fewer kid on drugs in here now. A small victory, perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.

The hotshot fighter, with a posse of hangers on and groupies, didn’t want a young lad to take drugs. It was like I’d talked to two different people.

I looked over at Riker again. He was looking at me. Our eyes met and he smiled. Or was it a grin?

Whatever it was, it had me angry and aroused at the same time. I needed to get out of here.

Just two more hours to go. I could make it.

D
one
. Finished. Finito. I’d said my goodbyes, and now I could leave.

No more working in a bar getting hit on by assholes.

“Hi, gorgeous.”

I spun round and saw Riker standing at the doorway of the small staff room, arms crossed over his chest, and biceps bulging impressively, as if he’d just finished lifting weights.

“You can’t be back here,” I said defiantly. “Staff only.”

“I’m a VIP tonight. I can go where I want.”

“Well have fun drinking the shitty coffee, and eating the stale chips. I’m going home.”

“No you’re not.”

I picked up my purse and strode purposefully towards the door. Of course, that also meant I was walking right towards Riker.

“I can assure you, I’m leaving. Now get out of my way.”

Riker stepped to one side leaving the door open, but I didn’t move. Why didn’t I move?

“See. You don’t want to leave. If you leave now, you’ll always be wondering what it would have been like.”

“What would
what
have been like?” I asked, the strength fading from my voice with each word.

“My cock. More specifically, my cock inside you.”

I swallowed as a fire burned between my legs. He had big arms, a big chest, big thighs… I didn’t doubt for a second that he was big everywhere.

“Do women really go for that bullshit?” I asked.

“All the time. Usually I don’t have to work this hard. You’re putting up more of a fight than most.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to give in too easily and seem like a slut. I’m done playing hard to get, so you can just take me. I’m all yours.”

“You’re being sarcastic. But that doesn’t change the facts. You’re ready for me now.” Riker stood between me and the door and closed the distance between us to less than a foot. “You’ve been wet since I first spoke to you at the bar.”

“I’m not,” I lied.

I was dripping. I dared not look between my legs in case there was a wet patch on my crotch. The closer he got, the more my lust took over my body. If that lust reached my brain I was screwed. Literally.

“So if I place my hand between your legs, I wouldn’t find you hot, wet, and ready for my cock?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Riker frowned, but then nodded. “You’re right. I wouldn’t. I don’t have to. I’m going to stand here, and let you go. But you’re not going to leave. You’re going to take my hand and place it between your legs.”

“You’re so fucking full of yourself.”

“Soon, you’re going to be full of myself.”

“Go to hell.”

“You can leave whenever you want,” Riker reminded me.

I could leave right now. I’d be home in less than half an hour.

But I just stood there. Helpless.

“The manager could come up here at any minute,” I said timidly.

“I said I needed to use the room for an important call. He won’t come up.”

I couldn’t fight it much longer. I needed this. I needed him.

I reached out and took hold of this thick wrist, and slowly pulled his hand towards me. His fingers grazed against the heat between my legs.

Then Riker took over.

He pushed me up against the counter and deftly opened my jeans, tugging them down to my knees and leaving my wet panties exposed, offering all the proof of my excitement he would ever need.

We didn’t kiss. He looked me in the eyes while his fingers lightly brushed over my silk panties before diving under the fabric and touching my wet flesh.

My eyelids fluttered, but I kept eye contact with him while electricity sparked through my body. His fingers explored my soft folds, as he uncovered the tiny bundle of nerves and sent more heat coursing through me.

Now I couldn’t keep my eyes open. My hands gripped the counter as I flicked my head back and let out a low moan. I tried to keep the noise down in case someone heard us, but Riker wasn’t giving me much choice.

His warm lips caressed my neck as he slipped a finger deep into my core, immediately bringing me more pleasure than a penis had ever done.

I heard Riker rustling around in his pocket with his free hand, and then his lips left my neck as he tore open a condom wrapper with his teeth. He used his foot to push my jeans down from my knees to my feet and then I clambered out of them while he slipped the thin silicone over his throbbing shaft with one hand.

His fingers kept caressing my sex in a slow, steady rhythm as he leaned forward and finally kissed me on the lips. My lips tingled as he parted my mouth and slid his tongue inside. Our tongues touched briefly as his thumb rubbed back and forth against my clit.

There were no doubts in my mind now. Between his lips and his fingers, my body had surrendered to him completely. My climax would come in seconds, but I wanted him inside me.

My hand reached down between my legs and took hold of his shaft, before pushing my panties to one side and guiding him towards my entrance.

His cock was tantalizingly thick. My breathing increased, becoming more of an exhausted panting, as I imagined what it would feel like to have him inside me, stretching me wider than any man or toy ever had done before.

Our eyes met again, as Riker pushed forward slowly, letting my body adapt to his size, as my wetness surrounded his member. I gasped as inch-after-inch he entered me until I was completely filled, impaled on his cock and pressed up against the counter unable—and unwilling—to move.

Once completely inside me, he grabbed both my ass cheeks and lifted me up onto the counter. I wrapped my legs around him as he thrust himself deep into me, before pulling out and slamming back inside with the aggression that had made him an infamous fighter.

I reached under his t-shirt and explored his muscular back, clinging onto him and burying my face in his neck while he had his way with me.

I was helpless to do anything. Helpless to resist.

My body shook from the force of his groin slamming into mine, and from the spasms taking over my muscles.

I moaned gently in his ear as I started moving my hips in time with his thrusts, eking out every little bit of his thick cock while I still could.

My orgasm took over my body. My nails dug deep into his back and I arched my back away from him, clenching onto his cock as my sex pulsed around his shaft.

My body was still shaking as he thrust hard and groaned deeply as he emptied himself into me.

I kept my arms around him until he withdrew from me and threw the condom in the trash. My legs were so weak I could barely stand, but I managed to grab my pants and slip back into them despite my legs being covered in sweat.

“Thanks,” Riker said casually, as he zipped up his fly. “That was fun.”

“Yeah, fun,” I replied.

I wasn’t going to let myself feel guilty.
I’m young and single. I can fuck whoever I want
.

“See you later,” he said, and left me standing there in the office just how he had found me fifteen minutes ago.

No, you won’t. We won’t see each other ever again, and that’s just fine with me. I don’t need a man like you. You’re the last thing I need right now
.

W
ell that had ended
up being a fun evening.

I always fucked a pretty girl after a fight. Nothing new there. The women were always attractive, with nice firm tits, and slim figures. Exactly like Nora.

Except none of them were anything like Nora. She was exactly like them and yet completely different. For one thing, I still knew her name the next day. That was a minor miracle in the first place.

And she wasn’t just pretty she was… captivating. I couldn’t look away from her last night, and I still had a crystal clear image of her on my mind now. Then there was her tight, wet pussy. Shit, that had been one of a fucking kind.

The night had been a success. I’d even kept the sponsors happy. Today it was back to normality, and that meant working out in the gym to prepare for the next fight. The fun never stopped.

I managed to squeeze in a few short sets of bicep curls before Gayle waved for me to come over to the office. Gayle was a brilliant fight promoter, but she knew fuck all about training. She thought I just hung out in the gym for the hell of it, as if I were bored and didn’t have anything else to do between fights. If Gayle had her way, I’d fight every night until I lost and she could move on to the next sucker who needed promoting.

Not that I ever lost. Not yet. I had twenty fights under my belt, and I hadn’t not come close to losing. The competition was getting tougher every time, and I had a feeling that’s what Gayle wanted to talk about. The next fight. The big one. Fighting for a UFC contract.

I headed towards Duke’s office to meet with him and Gayle. Just before I stepped inside, I saw a woman with her face up against the window of the gym staring inside.

It was her.

Nora.

I looked closer, but she’d disappeared out of sight. I must be imagining things. Unless she’d tracked me down. That happened occasionally. Women didn’t always realize that I was a one fuck and done kind of guy. They started getting ideas.

Nora didn’t seem like the type though. She’d barely wanted me in the first place. And would it be so bad if she wanted to see me again? God, what I wouldn’t give to get my tongue between her legs.

But no, that wouldn’t be a good idea. We’d had our fun. There’d be another woman after the next fight, and another after that.

I heard Gayle call my name impatiently, so I headed over to Duke’s office. The first thing I saw when I walked inside was a large calendar on the wall with big “X” marks every Friday for the next two months.

The “X” meant they wanted me to fight that night. So much for resting up before the big fight against Elliot Michaels in two months’ time. Gayle could be forgiven for not understanding how much work went into training for a fight, but Duke really should know better.

Of course, the fact that he was nailing Gayle on a regular basis likely clouded his judgment somewhat. Duke needed someone like Gayle in his life. He was aggressive and hot-headed, but Gayle was every bit his match. She didn’t take any shit from him.

They were practically equals, and that took the edge off both of them somewhat. There wasn’t much point in shouting and yelling if the other wouldn’t back down, so they’d settled into a pattern of discussing things like regular people. Almost.

Both of them had worked damn hard to get where they were today, and their upbringing hadn’t been much better than mine. They both looked worse for the wear because of it. Gayle looked more in her early fifties than early forties, thanks to decades of smoking taking a toll on her skin, combined with heavy drinking and God only knew what else in her youth. She’d calmed down now, but there was no going back on decades of abusing her body.

Duke’s tattoos had once been stretched tight around bulky muscular arms like mine, but now they were wrinkled around the soft skin of a middle-aged man whose best days were behind him. I hoped to God I didn’t end up like that.

“Morning, Riker,” Duke said cheerfully. Cheerful Duke scared me more than angry Duke. He wanted something. “How are you feeling? Those bruises look to be healing nicely.”

“I’m fine,” I replied grumpily. “The guy barely landed a punch.”

“I’ve been meaning to speak to you about that, actually,” Gayle said, as she perched on the corner of Duke’s desk. “Next time, try to let the other guy land a few to make it interesting. People like a winner, but if it’s too easy, well, that’s just boring.”

“I won’t have much choice in the next fight,” I said. “Michaels is going to land punches on me whether I let him or not.”

Gayle looked round to Duke who was slumped back in his chair, as they decided who would be the one to break the news to me. Duke lost.

“Your next fight isn’t going to be against Michaels,” Duke said. “We’ve put a schedule in place. You have a fight every Friday night until the big one in two months’ time against Michaels. Each one will test you more and more, but by the time you face Michaels you’ll be ready.”

“No,” I snapped. “By the time I face Michaels I’ll be fucking exhausted. That’s if I haven’t broken any bones in the ten fights you have lined up for me before that. I can’t fight every week. I need time to train in between.”

“The fighting is your training,” Gayle responded.

“No, fighting is the main event. Training is what I do here in the gym.”

“The gym you use for free and have for the past five years,” Duke butted in, reminding me once again that I owed him a huge debt.

Duke hadn’t just provided me with a place to train all these years. He’d taken me in after I’d been released from jail with just $50 in my pockets and no where to go. He’d even put a roof over my head. Landlords weren’t exactly keen to take in an ex-con with no money.

“You made a fortune off the last fight,” I reminded Duke. “Surely that can keep you going until the next one?”

“It costs a lot to host the fights,” Duke said without much conviction. The gym was hardly the MGM Grand. The only major expense Duke had was cleaning up the place after it had been packed full of the most violent, rowdy men and women the city had to offer.

“My phone has been ringing nonstop since the fight,” Gayle said. “Everyone wants to take a shot at you after you destroyed that kid the other night. This is going to mean a lot of money for you as well.”

“I don’t care about the fucking money,” I snarled. “I just want to beat Michaels.”

That got their attention. Money was about the only thing those two did care about. Perhaps that was a little harsh on Duke. He did occasionally show concern about my wellbeing, and we had grown close over the last five years, but I still didn’t doubt his ability to put a big payday before my health.

“You will beat Michaels,” Gayle replied. “But need I remind you that the only reason you have a shot at Michaels is because of me. And Duke,” she added quickly. “I set up that fight, just like I’m setting up these fights over the next few weeks. We need to capitalize on your success, because
I
most certainly do care about the fucking money.”

“She’s right,” Duke said. “You can’t just pick and choose who you fight. You need to take the big with the small. Cost of doing business.”

“You’ll earn a fortune if I beat Michaels,” I said. “That will more than make up for the lost money over the next few months.”

“What if you lose?” Gayle asked.

“I won’t. Not if I get to train properly beforehand.”

“I’m…
We’re
not taking the risk. We need to make the most of your new found fame. People are talking about you everywhere. Scouts from the UFC are hovering.”

The UFC. That was where I wanted to end up. That was the end goal of all this. I didn’t want to fight underground all my life. I was already good enough to stand my ground in the UFC events; I just needed a chance to prove that to the scouts. That’s why the fight against Michaels was so important. I had to win that fight, and to do that I needed to be in the best possible shape of my life.

I didn’t want to get to the UFC for the money and fame. I just wanted to fight Tyler Young. Again. And that meant getting into the system. I’d do whatever it took to get my own back on him.

“Admit it,” I said, “you want to milk me for all I’m worth?”

“Riker,” Duke began, “it’s not like that.”

“It fucking well is,” Gayle snapped. “Yes, Riker. We want to get paid on the back of your success. Welcome to the real world.”

“I wouldn’t have put it quite like that,” Duke said, trying to reassure me with a smile. Duke wasn’t often the soft one, but around Gayle he appeared to be quite the pussycat sometimes.

“Okay, that’s fine,” I said. “I get that. But there has to be another way for me to earn my keep.”

“Like what?” Duke asked. “Do you have any other talents we don’t know about?”

“Most of the girls round here say you’re a good fuck,” Gayle said. “Do you plan on selling your services?”

“If I sold those services, no one would be able to afford me. Fighting is only my second greatest ability.”

“In that case, you had better get ready for your next fight,” Gayle said. “It’s in five days’ time against Jude Brennon.”

I gave in. They had me over a fucking barrel. I turned and headed towards the door, but then I saw something in the gym that gave me an idea.

The customers at Duke’s gym weren’t the typical white-collar workers with disposable income. This was a gym for men and women who wanted to bulk up, and didn’t care about luxuries such as cardio equipment, or hot water in the showers.

The gym had weights and basic boxing equipment, but that was about it. Duke wanted to attract a more upmarket clientèle, but most people took one look inside and walked straight back out again. A bit like Nora had earlier. She wasn’t cut out for a place like this. More’s the pity.

Maybe I should have invited her to come work out.
Hey, so, I was thinking… you look like you need to work out more. Want to join me at the gym?
What woman would take offense at that?

Duke wanted more customers, and he wanted more upmarket customers. I knew just the trick. I turned back to face Duke and Gayle.

“I could teach classes,” I offered.

“What?” Duke asked, looking confused.

“You said I’m a big name. Slap my face on a few posters and advertise training sessions. Beginner level stuff to attract office workers who want a bit of added spice in their lives.”

“That won’t bring in anywhere near as much as a fight,” Gayle replied.

“Yes it will,” I insisted. “We’re talking about people with tons of disposable income. You can charge them upfront, and I bet a few will become members as well.”

“This gym isn’t exactly cut out for office types,” Duke said. He did at least sound like he was considering it.

“That’s part of the attraction. This is a rough gym, with a real fighter teaching the classes. Advertise them as authentic self-defense. None of that choreographed disarming nonsense that looks more like a dance than a fight.”

“You don’t have the patience to teach people,” Gayle said. “You’ll quit the first time you get a client who isn’t in perfect shape.”

She had a point. I’d never been a patient student, and I couldn’t see me being much better as a teacher. But this time I had an incentive. Anything to get out of all those fights.

“Keep some of the fights in the calendar,” I said. “If the training doesn’t work out then I’ll compete in those fights, but I guarantee you’ll make more money from me training people here. You’ll want to cancel those fights yourself. It’s a no-brainer.”

It
was
a no-brainer. In fact, it seemed so obvious, that I was surprised Gayle and Duke hadn’t thought of it themselves.

Shit.

An uncomfortable feeling spread from the pit of my stomach. That feeling you get when you’ve just slapped down a load of cash in poker, and seen a smile spread across the face of your opponent. I’d been played.

“I suppose we could try it out,” Gayle said slowly, weighing the words on her tongue. “What do you think?”

“Cancel the next few fights,” Duke agreed. “And start advertising. I’m willing to give this a shot.”

I took a closer look at the names on the calendar below the big X marks. I had never heard of most of these people. And how did the fights get organized so quickly anyway?

Yep, they’d played me. This was what they’d wanted all along. Duke knew that if he mentioned me training people I would refuse to do it, so he had me come up with the suggestion all by myself. On second thought, it had probably been Gayle’s idea. She was the brains of the outfit.

I could have probably called them out on it, but Duke had a point. I did need to earn my keep here, and teaching a few classes was better than fighting once a week. At least this way I could stay in shape and avoid injuries.

I’d never find another gym willing to give me so much flexibility. I owed Duke. He got paid off my success, but that hadn’t repaid the faith he’d placed in me five years ago.

I left Duke’s office, and stared at the window where Nora had been a few minutes ago. Empty. I’d make sure Duke placed a few large posters right where she had been standing. If she walked by again, I wanted her to know she could get one-on-one time with me whenever she wanted.

In reality, I was more likely to get a load of middle-aged men working out a mid-life crisis than a woman like her, but a guy could always dream.

Perhaps it was for the best if she stayed away. I didn’t need the distractions. I had two months to prepare for the biggest fight of my life. I couldn’t let a nice piece of ass get in the way of that.

Opportunities like this didn’t come around too often, and I was determined to make the most of it.