The Brick Yard (9 page)

“I need to ask you a favor,” Lucky began. “Brick wants to see me win something big before he dies, so I’ve entered Bruno’s bullshit tournament. The problem is, I’m not sure Brick’s well enough to train me, so I’m going to ask Dray to do it if Brick can’t.”

Mac turned around to face Lucky and narrowed his eyes.

Lucky held his hand up before Mac could chew him a new asshole. “It’s already done, and I’m not withdrawing. What I’m asking from you is to sit with Brick if he needs it while Dray’s with me at the gym or the fights.”

“Does Brick know you entered one of Bruno’s blood baths?” Mac asked.

“Yeah. He didn’t try to stop me because he believes in me.” Lucky felt his chest tighten. Brick had always believed in him.

“You really think you can win? Those fuckers fight dirty,” Mac growled.

Lucky grinned. “I’m not opposed to giving what I get. They want to fight dirty? I’ll give it right back to them tenfold.”

“And if you get seriously injured? What happens then?”

“Then I get hurt fighting. We both know there’re no guarantees in this business. Part of the thrill for me is knowing I’m putting my life on the line every time I step into the cage—knowing I’m the only one standing between me and pain.”

Mac narrowed his eyes again. “You’re a sick fuck if you’re telling me you get off on putting your life on the line. That’s not what the sport’s about.”

“Really? Because I can guarantee you I’m not the only one who feels this way.” Lucky took a moment to measure his words before continuing. “When I was a kid, I went to bed every night knowing it might be my last. My bitch of a mother had fucking tweakers in and out of our apartment at all hours doing that shit with her. I can’t tell you how many times I had to intervene when one of them started beating on her.” He uncrossed his arms and fisted his hands at his sides. “I was beaten nearly to death by more than one junkie, and I told myself over and over that one day, I’d be the one in control.”

“Have you told Brick that?”

“No, and I’m not sure why the fuck I just told you, so keep it to yourself.”

Mac shook his head and sighed. “You’ve got something rotten inside you, boy, and if you don’t find it and cut it out, it’ll spoil the good parts of the man you are.”

Lucky wouldn’t lie to himself. Mac’s words had hurt, but that didn’t mean they weren’t accurate. “What the hell do you think I’ve been trying to do for the last ten years? When I’m in the cage, I feel whole. Say what you want about my reason for doing it, but fighting is the only thing I’ve got in this whole fucking world.”

Mac continued to shake his head. “Don’t build your life around something that could vanish in an instant. I never thought I’d say this to one of Brick’s boys, but you don’t have the heart to be a champion. You’ve got the skill and the drive, but it takes more than that.”

Lucky took a step back. The air whooshed out of him like Mac had just thrown a hard punch to his gut. Mac had always been one of his biggest supporters or at least he’d always thought so.
Fuck.
Maybe Mac was more like his mom than he’d ever realized. Could Mac see the bad boy inside him? Did Mac believe he was truly unworthy of becoming a champion? “Thanks for believing in me.” He threw up his hands and walked out of the diner without glancing back. With Brick dying and Mac turning on him, Lucky’s world was getting smaller by the day.

* * * *

After Brick had gone to bed for the night, Dray went downstairs and knocked on Lucky’s door.

“Hang on a minute,” Lucky called. It took several long moments but eventually the door opened. Lucky was dressed in nothing but a pair of gym shorts.

“Hey,” Dray greeted. “Am I interrupting something?” He couldn’t tell what it was but something seemed off. A vein in Lucky’s forehead throbbed with the beat of his heart. It was something Dray had noticed when Lucky was in the cage, but it didn’t fit with an evening at home.

Lucky stepped back, allowing Dray to enter the apartment. “Just watching a movie.”

Dray swung his gaze to the television. “
Waterboy
?” He chuckled. “I haven’t seen this in years.”

“Love this fuckin’ movie.” Lucky gestured to the couch before taking a seat on the opposite end. “Before I forget, Mac wants you to stop by the diner.”

Dray glanced away from the TV. He’d given a lot of thought as to how he would deal with seeing Mac again, but he’d never expected the old man to request a visit. “What’s he want?”

“Fuck if I know.” Lucky swung his bare feet onto the coffee table. “You’ll have to go in alone though because right now, I don’t care if I ever see that bastard again.”

Dray moved to face Lucky. Despite Lucky’s relaxed position, his body appeared anything but. He stared at Lucky’s fisted hands. “What the hell happened?”

Jaws tightly clenched, Lucky shook his head.

“Talk to me.” With Brick’s health, the bullshit with the crowd the previous night and his rejection earlier in the day, Dray knew Lucky was strung tight. Being at odds with Mac was the last thing Lucky needed to deal with.

Lucky swallowed several times before jumping up from the couch. “Want a beer?”

“Sure.” Dray reached down and removed his boots before setting them beside the couch. “Did the two of you get into it over me?” he asked when Lucky stalked back into the room that goddam vein on his forehead throbbing again.

Lucky drank half the bottle before answering. “Mac’s decided I don’t have the heart of a champion.”

Motherfucker.
Dray knew what kind of damage a statement like that could do to a fighter. Before he could ask Lucky to explain further, Lucky got to his feet and started pacing the room.

“For the first fucking time in my life I really opened up to someone,” Lucky spat. “And after seeing the inside of me, fucking Mac decides I’m not good enough.” He stopped walking and hurled his bottle across the room. It hit the wall with a loud thud, but to Dray’s surprise, it didn’t break. Instead, it splattered the white paint with beer before falling unceremoniously to the floor. “I need to get outta here.”

“No.” Dray stood and put himself in front of the door. “You need to calm down first.”

“Get out of my way,” Lucky growled.

The pain was right there in Lucky’s eyes.
Christ. What the hell has Mac done
? Dray reached out and grabbed Lucky by the shoulders. “You’re practically naked. Think about what you’re doing,” Dray argued.

Lucky reached down and pushed his shorts to the floor before stepping out of them. “Now I’m totally naked. Can I fucking go now?”

Dray closed his eyes and banged his head back against the door. He’d tried to do the right thing by pushing Lucky away, but as he watched Lucky fall apart, he saw a man who needed a lifeline. Dray reached out and wrapped his arms around Lucky’s neck before pulling him close. He put his mouth to Lucky’s ear. “I’m here,” he whispered.

Lucky’s entire body stiffened.

Dray knew what Lucky needed, what every man needed. “And I believe in you,” he added.

Lucky’s breath hitched moments before he returned Dray’s embrace. He didn’t say anything, just held tight.

“We’ll get you through this,” Dray murmured, trying to soothe the man he cared so much about. It was more than respect for a fellow fighter. It was the lost expression he’d seen on Lucky’s face. Dray remembered seeing that same damn look in his own eyes after he’d tucked his tail between his legs and had dropped out. Yeah, that’s exactly what he’d done. He’d dropped out of life for nearly six years until Brick had taken a chance and sent him a DVD of one of Lucky’s fights.

Wielding a tattoo gun was peaceful and a way to pay the bills, but his passion had always been and would always be MMA. He may not agree with the way Lucky dealt with the fans, but Mac was wrong. Like Dray, most fighters fought for the glory, the fan worship and the money that could be made. Lucky didn’t seem to care about any of that. For Lucky, the fight itself was the prize. Pitting his own skills against an opponent was the thrill, and the sweat he earned after a hard-fought bout the reward.

Lucky had given Dray back his passion, and Dray would be damned if he’d let Mac or anyone else try to fuck with Lucky. Mac was a kind man to kids in need, but he was also just a man. Sure, with age came wisdom, but there were also a lot of old idiots out there, spreading shit they had no business spreading.

“The only one who knows whether or not you have the heart of a champion is you, and don’t you
ever
let someone try to tell you different,” Dray said, his mouth brushing against Lucky’s ear. He lowered his head and placed a soft kiss on the pale skin of Lucky’s neck.

Lucky dipped his chin. When their mouths met for the first time, Dray sighed.
Fuck.
He’d spent years wondering what Lucky would taste like and the answer was beer. He grinned before delving his tongue into Lucky’s mouth once more. He ran his hands lower and worshiped Lucky’s muscular physique with each touch. It surprised him that after waiting so long to finally have Lucky in his arms, he had no desire to rush it. On the nights when he’d lain in bed and fantasized about making love to Lucky, their coupling had always been rough and raw, two athletes going at each other with an unquenchable thirst. But, as he gave the hard cheeks of Lucky’s ass a gentle squeeze, he felt the vulnerability radiating off his confused fighter.

Dray broke the kiss and stared into Lucky’s eyes. “This could be a huge mistake.”

Lucky’s gaze went to Dray’s swollen lips. “I’m the king of mistakes, but this doesn’t feel like one to me.”

It didn’t to Dray either, so he nodded. “Good.” He reached for Lucky’s hand and pulled him toward the bedroom and to his delight, Lucky didn’t resist.

Chapter Five

While Lucky watched Dray undress, he couldn’t stop himself from palming his own cock. He’d witnessed an entire parade of big-chested women undress for him, but he’d never had a man stand beside his bed and hold his gaze while slowly peeling off his clothes. As Dray’s muscular tattooed body was revealed, he knew he’d trade all the fucks he’d ever had for that one moment.

Although inked solid, except a blank spot above his heart, Dray’s chest was also covered in short black hair. Lucky had never seen Dray with chest hair because Brick always demanded his fighters either shave or wax, but Dray had been out from under Brick’s thumb for years and it showed. He gestured to the blank skin over Dray’s heart. “How come there’s no ink there?”

“The skin over a man’s heart is sacred, meant only for the one whose soul is bound to the one getting the tattoo.” Dray ran a hand over his pecs. “You like a man with hair?” he asked, as if reading Lucky’s mind.

Lucky knew the time would come when he’d have to admit he was a virgin when it came to being with a man, but he’d hoped he would have more time to prepare for it. “I like what I see and since you’re the only man I’ve ever had strip for me, I guess my answer would have to be yes.”

Dray’s black eyebrows drew together in confusion. “The only man?”

“Yeah. I thought I’d told you that I’d listened to your advice.”

“You did, but I guess I didn’t realize that meant you’d never been with a man,” Dray replied, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his briefs.

Lucky’s gaze shifted from the hold Dray had on his underwear to the man’s green eyes. “I only ever wanted you.”

Dray jolted as if Lucky had slapped him. He stood stock-still for several moments before pushing his underwear down.

Lucky couldn’t help but stare at the impressive dark-skinned cock in front of him.
Holy fuck.
He squeezed his dick harder in an effort to keep himself from reaching for Dray’s. Although Dray’s shaft was riddled with thick veins, they weren’t as visible through the skin as Lucky’s. Why would they be, he decided. Dray was a bronze-skinned god, and he was a pale, freckled Irish kid.

Dray moved slowly, climbing onto the mattress like a wild animal readying his stomach for a meal. He hovered over Lucky for a brief moment before dipping his head down to take Lucky’s crown in his mouth.

“Christ,” Lucky groaned as his dick was enveloped in the warmth of Dray’s mouth. He’d had hundreds of blowjobs in his life, but watching Dray’s lips wrapped around him did something to him that no woman had ever managed to accomplish. Dray made him feel at peace with himself for the first time in his goddamn life.

Lucky parted his legs and rested his hand on the back of Dray’s head, feeling the thick bristle of Dray’s short hair against his palm. He moaned again, trying to convey the way Dray was making him feel, but gave up and simply said it. “Never like this,” he said. “Never.”

Dray moved to lie on the bed between Lucky’s spread legs and met his gaze. Those gorgeous green eyes captured Lucky’s attention as Dray continued to suck him like a fucking pro. Dray released Lucky’s cock, wrapped his hand around it and went to work licking and sucking his balls.

Pre-cum slid down the length of Lucky’s cock, and Dray used it to ease his hand as it moved up and down. As embarrassed as Lucky was to admit it, he was going to blow before he even got the chance to touch Dray’s impressive erection. “I’m gonna come,” he warned.

Dray grunted and slid his tongue up the shaft, licking pre-cum as he went. He captured the crown between his lips and as far down his throat as he could get it.

Lucky fisted the blanket in his free hand as he felt Dray’s throat muscles squeeze the length of his cock. “Fuck!” he yelled, loud enough for the neighbors to hear, as he pressed against the back of Dray’s head and surged upward, coming down Dray’s throat.

Dray backed off a bit and swallowed Lucky’s seed. He performed the action like he’d done it a hundred times before. For some reason, instead of being elated that he was finally with Dray like he’d always wanted, he felt jealous of the men who’d taught Dray how to suck a dick.

Lucky swung his arm over his face, shielding his eyes from Dray as he tried to work his feelings out.

Dray crawled up Lucky’s body before lying on top of him. He kissed Lucky’s jaw and neck several times before he spoke. “Where’d you go?”