The Boy Next Door (61 page)

They both fell silent for a while. It was Abigail that broke the quiet. “We are to be married, Clayton. I know it is just a business transaction, but we are going to make the best of the next two years, are we not?”

“What do you mean, Abigail?”

“Show me your room, and let me show you.”

He scooped her up and carried her out of the pool. They left a wet trail all the way up the stairs that ended in front of his room. He gently placed her on his bed and she pulled him closer. She kissed him and he returned the kiss. His strong arms enveloped her and she could feel his excitement press against her leg.

He was big and heavy and she felt a bit claustrophobic. She gently pushed him away and got out from under him. They both got up and removed their last bits of clothing. He blushed when she looked down at his erection.

She pushed him back onto the bed and straddled him. She took his hands and placed them on her breasts. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and felt him pulse against her.  She took his wrists into her hands and pushed his arms all the way back onto the bed. As she leaned forward, she brushed herself against the entire length of his erection. She lined up the tip of his cock with her wet entrance and slowly sat back, taking all of him into herself in one long, slow movement. He filled her up, and the tremor he caused forced a little sigh from her lips.

He did not move. His face was a study of concentration. “You OK?” she asked.

“Yes,” his tight-lipped reply, “but I don’t think I’ll last very long.”

He closed his eyes when she leaned forward again to kiss him. He returned the kiss and she could feel his orgasm building. The way he moved in her, the way his rhythm stuttered and became uneven. Abigail felt a bit disappointed. She wasn’t there yet. Still, this was their first time and she didn’t want her future husband to be disappointed in her. So she lifted away from him, resigning herself to another night when she would go unfulfilled, but he pulled her close.

“Please don’t stop. Not now, please.”

Luxuriating in his words, surprised by the care he took with her pleasure, she kissed him again and was rewarded by how he moved under her. She lifted herself up slightly to make room for him to thrust into her.

Their rhythm synced, and suddenly he was more sure of himself, more confident in his thrusts. She realized he hadn’t been close so much as he’d been uncertain. He was like a man riding a horse for the first time in years, afraid he might hurt his mount.

Licking her lips, getting the image of him riding in her saddle stuck in her mind, she moaned and promised herself to make him fuck her in his boots in hat. Next time, maybe.

She quickly matched his thrusts and slammed herself against his body every time he moved his hips up. She leaned forward to kiss him again and arched her back as she did so that she could take all of him into her. He placed both hands on her breasts. Her breathing increased as his one hand moved down her torso and over her abs because she wanted him to touch her there in the worst way, oh please, oh please, oh please! 

Maybe he was psychic. He used a bent finger against her clitoris and that was all it took for her. Time stood still as her orgasm bloomed. Her whole body was on fire. She lost control and screamed against his mouth and let the waves of their passion roil through her over and over. At the same moment, she felt the pulsing of his release into her.

It had been simple, straightforward sex. Not the best she’d ever had, but she definitely would never kick him out of bed.

She collapsed onto his chest as she felt him shudder again. Then it was just the two of them in the big bedroom, panting, basking in the glow of what they had given each other.

It took them a long time to float back to reality. He stroked her hair and whispered, “Want to go again?”

“Hold your horses cowboy!” she laughed. With her fingertips, she tickled his sack and made him twitch. “That’s a good boy. Now. Let a girl freshen up. Um. Where’s your loo?”

He pointed to the door leading to the master bathroom and she ducked in to wash sweat from her face and clean away the sticky sweetness of her own sex.

When she came back, he was fast asleep. It made her smile. Men. Always wanted more than they could handle. She climbed onto the bed next to him and placed her head on his chest. His soft breathing gently rocked her to sleep.

It was late evening when Simon came to the house. He found them in the kitchen eating a dinner. “Sorry for the intrusion,” he said. “I just came by to tell you that Eli is doing well. They operated on his leg, and he will be out of hospital in time for the wedding!”

Abigail got up and gave him a hug. “That’s great news Simon. Thanks for letting us know.”

Simon bid then a good night and left the kitchen.

The next two weeks flew by in a blur. Abigail’s days were filled from dawn to late at night. Their love making brought them close to each other and they indulged at every opportunity. It was a complete surprise to Abigail when she started falling in love with Clayton. She learned about him in a thousand small ways laying in his arms and listening to his soothing drawl.

One afternoon she asked him about his parents, and the way he changed the subject made her realize that she might never know. She also realized that the never asked her about her parents, or the accident. For the first time in years a whole day would pass without her thinking about it. It made her incredibly happy and sad at the same time.

Her e-mails to Sally got longer and longer as she shared her life and emotions with her best friend.

The wedding day arrived and Betty was like a field general organizing her troops. A giant marquee dominated the garden and the barbeque fires were lit before the sun came up. Large trays filled with homemade sausage and steaks stood in neat rows on the kitchen table. Betty removed another tray of
Kolaches from the oven and set it aside to cool as Abigail finished her tea.

“Get upstairs and into a bath, miss Abigail. I’ll be there shortly to come and help you.”

Abigail got up and left the kitchen. She passed her room and went into Clayton’s. He was dressed and in the process of putting on his boots. “Good morning, Abigail!”

She sat next to him and gave him a big hug. She looked up into his blue eyes and said, “Clayton, I think I have changed my mind.”

He went ice-cold and she felt his body stiffen as he stopped breathing. She sensed his alarm and with a playful shove pushed away from him. “Relax, Clayton. We are still getting married!” she laughed.

He started breathing again. Relief washed over his face.

“What I meant to say is that I’m falling in love with this place and I don’t know if I want to go back to London.”

Clayton looked like a deer caught in a car’s headlights. “And me?” he asked. “Are you falling in love with me?”

She hugged him again. “You are this place Clayton. I feel you in every tree, bush and sand grain on this ranch.”

He reached over to the nightstand and pulled the drawer open. When he found what he was looking for he pulled it out and knelt before her.

He presented her with a beautiful but simple diamond ring. “In that case Abigail, will you marry me? For real and forever?”

She slipped the ring onto her finger. It was too big, but she did not care. “Mrs. Clayton Wright” she said with a smile “I like that, because I finally found ‘Mister Right’.”

Epilogue

At ten o’clock there was a knock on Abigail’s door. She was dressed and almost ready to go. Betty was fixing a last stray lock of her hair with a pin.

“Come in,” Abigail said. Simon was standing there with the same faded suit he wore on the day they met.

“Simon! Come in, please. What are you doing here?”

“Sorry for the intrusion, Miss Abigail, but I was just thinking that you don’t have to walk down the aisle alone. If you will have me, I would be honored to walk you to Clayton’s side.”

Abigail hugged him tightly. “Oh, Simon, yes! But you’re wrong. It’s me who will be honored. I cannot think of anyone I would rather have but you!”

Betty beamed at Simon with tears rolling down her cheek.

Abigail took Betty’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Ma Betty, you better get downstairs before the bride runs you over!”

The name did not escape Betty’s attention and she burst out in tears again as she hugged Abigail tightly. “Welcome home my child, welcome home!”

THE END

Taken by the Cage Fighter

Chapter one

“You can’t be serious, Sky. That’s predominately a man’s world and you should not be interfering in such a dangerous sport. I know that you have a mind of your own, but sometimes your stubbornness can get you into trouble. What makes you think anybody’s going to take you seriously, as a promoter and a gym owner? Don’t get me wrong, I think that breaking those glass ceilings is a good thing. I just don’t know if it’s right to gamble with your life savings.”

I was glad that Owen could speak his mind. It allowed me to weigh the pros and cons and try to come up with a viable option. I’d already convinced the bank to give me a small loan. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was a start.

“I know that it’s a risk, but it’s a risk that I’m willing to take. Owen, I know that you’re trying to be the voice of reason and give me an idea that maybe I should rethink this decision. Ever since I lost my job selling cars, I’ve been drifting and wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life.”

After seeing Rhonda Rousey kick ass in the ring, I was beginning to see that maybe there was room for a new contender. I didn’t just want to compete, I wanted to bring girls—and guys—into the arena together to train to fight in competition.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, Sky. I just wanted to lay out the odds. I knew that you would never back down or surrender. It’s just not in your DNA and sometimes I think that you should’ve been born a man. You have the attitude, the fire to back it up and you have no problem swinging your fist when you need to.”

I could fight dirty with the best of them, but I wanted to learn to do it the right way. I wanted to be able to take down an opponent without hurting them too badly. It was a fascinating sport, not unlike boxing and the way that opponents would look at each other across the ring and know that one of them was going to get knocked out.

But, MMA was different than boxing in that it was more primal. Instincts ran wild in the cage to push you to victory. It took a lot of training and development of skills and instincts. I was ready to throw myself into this and I had a gym in mind that I was going to buy. It was one of those old style ones with an old man as the owner, which made it easier to approach him with an offer that he couldn’t refuse. He told me that when I had the finances together I should come and talk to him. Well, today was that day.

I may not have the stature of a fighter, but underneath this 5’3 frame was a firecracker ready to get it on with just about anyone. My parents lived in Florida and I had come up North to make my mark, only to fall flat on my face. It was time to start a new chapter in my life. It wasn’t going to be easy, but anything that is worthwhile is never easy.

“I’m putting everything I have into this and I would love for your support,” I told Owen.

When I mentioned support, I was talking about a necessary influx of cash. I didn’t want to ask him, but he was the only one that knew of my expectations. I was what most people would call a perfectionist. Someone who would not give up until I had it exactly the way that I wanted it. Some people saw that as a positive attribute. Most people saw me as a bad investment.

He gritted his teeth and I had this feeling that the influx of cash wasn’t going to come from my best friend.

“I would love to help you and you know that, Sky. It’s just that my brother just borrowed twenty grand from me. I know what you’re going to say. I’m probably never going to see it again, but he is family and blood has always been thicker than water. He has a bit of a gambling problem but every time that he gets in over his head, he always finds a way to survive. Either way I really don’t have anything to give you. I do have an idea for you, though. I just read in the paper that Brandon Summer is in town looking to promote his fight with Hannibal Wright.”

I had heard of that fight and I knew that Brandon was looking for investments. He was one of the few MMA fighters who understood he couldn’t do this forever. He needed something to fall back on.

“Getting him on board is a great idea. I see only one problem with that scenario. I really don’t have anybody that can make the necessary introductions.” This was when I got that telltale smirk that told me that Owen had something up his sleeve.

“You know that I would never have mentioned it, if I didn’t have a way to get you a face-to-face meeting. I know for sure that he’s going to be at a certain restaurant at a certain time tomorrow. I’ll give you the name of that restaurant and time and you can accidentally bump into him on purpose.”

Owen was known for having the pulse of the city at his fingertips. He was always getting favors in return for other favors. It was a vicious cycle, but it allowed him to live without working a single day in his life.

“I’m really quite interested in making my proposition in person.” He smiled and gave me the name of the restaurant and the time that Brandon was going to show up.

I finalized the deal with the old owner, but not until after I had an inspection of the entire place from top to bottom. It needed some minor renovations and even though it looked like it was falling apart, it was mostly just cosmetics. I don’t think the owner was very happy about leaving this behind, but that money was going to show him that retirement could be fun and not just sitting around waiting for death to tap you on the shoulder.

I stood at the doorway, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a denim shirt tied at the waist. I showed a healthy amount of midrift. I was now in charge of my own little corner of the MMA lifestyle.

“I’ve talked to those that have membership here. I told them that the new owner was going to be a girl and they scoffed at the idea. I made sure to let them know that you have my blessing. That seemed to sway them and now the rest is up to you. To be honest, I wish that I could stick around to see how things play out. I’ve always wanted to bring girls into this place. I just never thought for a moment that the guys would go along with it. They had a place that they could work out in private and not have to worry about the girls ogling them and making them feel like they were supposed to put on a show.” The old man was short, wiry and I could tell, just by looking at him, that his words came from experience in the ring.

“I will do this place proud,” I told him. “Come back in six months. I’ll show you what I have done. You won’t believe what you see. This place is going to be the hot spot of the MMA world. The one place in Boston where everybody goes. Mark my words, a new day has arrived.”

He liked my style, and my confidence, and I think that he probably could’ve gotten a whole lot more money for this place. He sold to me for his own reasons.

As I walked him out of what was now my gym, I let him in on my secret.  “I’ve already thrown my hat into the ring for a fight at the next pay-per-view. It’s amateur hour, but I wanted to make a good showing and then go on to bigger and better things.”

“Sky, your aspirations are admirable. I just hope that you’re not reaching too high. You know what they say about Icarus and getting too close to the sun.”

I minored in Greek mythology in college, but even without that…yeah. I know what he means.

Chapter two

I arrived at the restaurant dressed to kill with a slinky red dress that immediately got the attention of every man in the place. Even the maître d’ had his mouth hanging open, as I sashayed through the lounge. I saw my target and I zeroed in on him.

I walked up to his table with a confidence that I really didn’t feel. He was eating a steak that was medium well done, the light pink in the middle oozing juices as he cut through it was like butter. It made my mouth water, but it wasn’t just the food that had me salivating. This guy was young, clean shaven and had the kind of chiseled good looks that would make any woman crawl on their hands and knees to do…things to him.

“I’m not saying that I’m not enjoying the view, but are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to ask me for my autograph?”

Apparently, he had quite a fan base and being famous had afforded him the opportunity to invest some of his high earnings into something that was going to stand up to the test of time. I blinked, and tried to remember my well-rehearsed lines.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, that dress should be registered as a lethal weapon. If you wanted to get my attention, then you’ve succeeded.” I saw the muscles underneath his very nicely tailored suit flex as he shifted in his seat. Guy’s physical strength and good looks had gone to his head, but I wasn’t here to fawn over him.

“My name is Sky Williams,” I told him. “I have a proposition that you would be a fool not to take. I have been watching your rise to fame. I’ve seen you go from a young kid that was looking to make his mark to the man that you are today.” In actuality, I really didn’t follow him that obsessively. Thank God for the internet. “If you have a few moments, I think that I can make it worth your while.”

He was about to send me packing when I bent over the chair on my side of his table and gave him a bird’s eye view of my cleavage. He had his fork up to his mouth and it stopped there, his eyes now glued to the abundance of flesh that I was showing him.

“I see. Well. You have until I finish this meal to make your pitch or whatever you’re going to do. I wouldn’t normally give you the time of day, but you’ve certainly made it difficult to say no. It didn’t help that you’re not wearing underwear.”

I didn’t know how he could possibly know that, but then he pointed and I looked down to see that the light above was showing off my assets a little too much. I put my hand over my breasts with embarrassment. He only laughed and pushed out the chair with his foot. “I don’t like to eat alone.” The intention was clear and the Maître d’ came over with a menu in hand as I sat.

I looked at the prices and my eyes went wide and then I felt a hand pushing down the menu. “Everything looks so good, I just can’t decide.”

“Marcel, she’ll have the same that I’m having and put it on my bill. Do bring back a bottle of wine and use your judgment on the year.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be in business with a man that was this bourgeois. No, wait. Yes I did. The fact that he had money to throw around was why I chose him in the first place. The bling on him looked like a muggers dream come true. He probably felt secure that if anybody tried to step up to him, he could make them pay for it.

Looking at him, I watched the tight muscles of his chest and arms stretch the fabric of his silk shirt again. I licked my lips with appreciation. Then, back to business.

“I want you to look at this and tell me what you think.” I had made this prospectus and a preliminary financial prediction of where this gym was going to go. I had resources that could plug my gym as the place to be. Google would bring up my gym first in the list of a search. It wasn’t even going to cost me anything, except for some very sought after tickets to some of the fights that I was going to put on.

“I think that you’ll agree that my numbers are conservative at best. I do believe that I will triple that prediction by the end of the third year. I’m in the process of convincing those that are putting on the pay-per-view to give us a chance to promote and televise the semifinals.”

“Why would they give this small town operation of yours any kind of attention? I know the place you’re talking about. It’s not exactly up to standards. It’s a guys only kind of place. You’re telling me that it’s going to be both sexes. I understand that Rhonda is really making a name for herself. It’s making a lot of women think that they can fight, when they’re just going to get themselves hurt.”

That stung, and I longed to rebuke him, but business sense prevailed and I kept my mouth shut as he went on.

“With that being said, I see some real promise to this proposition. It’s not gonna hurt me any to throw some cash your way and see what happens.” The money was important, but it wasn’t the main reason why I was here.

This was just my way of getting in the door and now the real work was going to begin. “Before you decide one way or the other, I need to tell you that there is a caveat.”

He looked at me with suspicion, putting down his fork and wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I want to have you train someone of the opposite sex,” I told him. “A woman. And I want you to put her through her paces and make her regret even taking you on as a trainer. She needs a firm hand and somebody that is willing to push her beyond her boundaries.”

“Ah, I see. I suppose you have a prospect in mind?”

This was the moment of truth. “Yes. I’m that woman.”

He almost choked on his wine. “Oh, you’re serious. I thought that you were joking. If you really want to do this, then I have no problem tossing you around and making you quit on the first day. I’m a bit of a tyrant in the ring. I’ve only trained one other and he left to do the Indy circuit overseas.”

He wasn’t going to put me off that easy. “I’m ready to start any time you are. Let’s say we make this interesting. If you can make me quit, I will give you twenty per cent of the profits, instead of the ten I’ve proposed. But if I’m able to go the distance and actually have my first MMA fight in less than two months, then you have to take your percentage down to five per cent. Are you willing to put your money where your mouth is, Mister Summer?”

“You drive a hard bargain, Miss Williams. If it’s all the same to you, I would rather you call me by my first name. If we’re going to be business partners and training in the ring together, then being on a first name basis is probably a better idea. I’ll be there at six tomorrow morning and I would be ready to get a beating like you’ve never had before. I really hate to put black and blue marks on that sexy little body of yours, but you asked for it.”