The private nightclub in downtown Los Angeles was smaller than Alexa had been expecting, holding only a couple hundred people. A huge marble bar dominated the front, surrounded by a crush of people, many of whom Alexa recognized from Take Down. A row of curved black leather booths lined the wall facing the dance floor, with a cluster of tables off to the other side. At the far end, a DJ worked at a table, blue and yellow lights flashing over the mass of bodies moving in time to the music.
She followed Carter to the bar, letting him cut a swath through the crowd with his broad shoulders. She craned her neck, looking around. She knew Zack had to shower and get his wounds tended to and might not show for a while, but she looked for him anyway.
“Was that a hell of a fight or what?” asked Jamie, shouting over the music as he joined Carter and Alexa at the bar. He and Carter exchanged a back-slapping man hug.
“It was fucking incredible. I thought he was done, and then he pulls that kick out. Unbelievable,” said Carter. “You want a drink?” he asked Jamie.
“Yeah, sure. I could use a tequila. Or five.” He smiled at Alexa.
“Can I get a mojito?” she asked, standing up on her toes and shouting to make herself heard.
Carter nodded and signaled to the bartender. She rocked back on her heels, eyes roving over the club again. She felt kind of awkward, just standing there not saying anything, but the music was so loud that conversation was almost impossible.
“So Zack’s okay, right?” she asked, shouting up at Jamie.
Just as the bartender handed her her drink, she felt a pair of arms slip around her from behind.
“You worried about me, princess?” Zack’s voice slid over her skin like silk, and she arched her back, his breath warm against her ear. Setting her drink down on the bar, she spun around, still in his arms. Even in the dim, flashing lights, she could see that his left eye was black and swollen, the skin an angry reddish purple. The gash along his brow had been stitched up. More bruises colored his left cheekbone, but, battered as he was, he was standing in front of her, solid and warm with an adorably cocky smile on his face. He was wearing a light-blue button-down shirt tucked into a pair of dark jeans, the collar open and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Unable to help herself, she slid her hands up his hard chest, and she felt a rumble against her fingers. His grip around her tightened, and he hauled her off her feet and kissed her, his mouth hot and urgent against hers. She knew people were probably staring at them, and she didn’t care. As if she could care about something like being stared at when Zack’s tongue was stroking against hers, sending liquid heat pooling low in her belly. She’d wanted this, exactly this, from the second he’d set foot in that cage.
After several seconds he set her down, her body sliding along his. She wobbled slightly on her heels and looked up to see that Carter and Jamie were, in fact, staring at them.
Zack shrugged, cocky smile back in place. “Adrenaline. Sorry.”
Carter shook his head, smiling. “Yeah, you look real sorry.”
Zack laughed and shot Alexa a wink before signaling to the bartender and ordering a gin and tonic.
She tugged on Zack’s arm, and he dipped his head so she could shout into his ear. “Of course I was worried about you. What happened? Why did you have to fight that guy instead of Diaz?”
He shook his head slowly and shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing like that’s ever happened to me before.” The bartender set his drink down in front of him, and he picked it up and took a healthy swallow. Already, sweat was beading on the outside of the plastic cup, and she retrieved her own drink.
“It didn’t seem fair that he was so much bigger than you.”
“It wasn’t.” He shrugged again and then smiled, that cocky pull of his lips. “Didn’t stop me from winning, though.”
She ran a hand up his arm, so hard and solid beneath her fingers. “It was hard to watch, but I’m so proud of you.”
He clinked his cup against hers. “Thanks, princess.”
She took a sip of her drink and glanced up at him. Tentatively, she reached a hand up and traced the tips of her fingers over the bruises on his cheek. “Does it hurt a lot?” she asked, biting her lip.
“Nah. It looks worse than it feels.” He moved a bit closer, and his breath was hot against her as he spoke directly into her ear. “I want to kiss you again, right now, so damn bad.”
Heat flushed through her, and it had nothing to do with the mob of people around them. She caught his earlobe in her teeth and nipped slightly. “Watching you fight…God, Zack, it was so hot.”
“We’re going to dance,” he shouted to Carter and Jamie. He didn’t give her a chance to say anything before he set their drinks on the bar, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward the dance floor.
* * *
Zack was only half-aware of the high fives, fist bumps, and shoulder slaps he received in congratulation as he tugged Alexa farther into the club. He needed an excuse to put his hands on her, to hold her close, to do something with the adrenaline pumping hot and fast through his veins.
He felt as though he’d been floating ever since he’d knocked Ferreira out, defying the odds and winning the championship. He’d been floating when the league’s president had slapped that big gold belt around his waist. Floating when he’d answered the journalists’ questions after the fight. Floating when he’d emerged from the arena, his championship belt—later sent home with Jenks for safekeeping—slung over his shoulder. Even the creeping sensation that the fight had somehow been rigged hadn’t been able to bring him down. For tonight he’d push that aside. Tonight was for celebrating.
And then, with Alexa’s body pressed against his, her voice in his ear telling him he was hot? Yeah, definitely floating.
Tonight. Fuck, tonight was everything.
They reached the dance floor, and he slid his arms around her waist and slipped his leg between her thighs. Immediately, they fell into a rhythm, hips rocking from side to side in time with the music pounding through the speakers. He pressed his thigh more firmly into her, and she ground against him, her dress riding up her thighs. He could feel the warmth of her pussy through his pants, and his cock twitched in response. He trailed his hand up her arm and then wove his fingers into her hair, tilting her head back. The cut above his eye was throbbing, and his side, where he’d taken the kick, was tender and almost burned, but he didn’t care. Not with Alexa, so beautiful, so sweet, grinding against him the way she was.
“You feel so fucking good, princess,” he said into her ear before kissing her, their tongues sliding together, matching the rhythm of their hips, the music, the thrum of his pulse. When he broke the kiss, he could feel several sets of eyes on him, and he glanced over his shoulder. A group of women had danced closer, watching him as he danced with Alexa. Watching him, not her, and one glance down at Alexa told him she’d seen it too.
Still in his arms, Alexa did a sexy half turn, pressing her ass into his hips, writhing against him in time with the music. Claiming him, showing every other woman in there that she was his, and that he was hers. She leaned forward and circled her hips against him, raking her hands through her hair, and he slid a hand up her spine, imagining how good it would feel to fuck her like this, her ass bouncing against his hips as he lost himself inside her.
Alexa leaned back against his chest, and as one song blended seamlessly into the next, they kept dancing, swaying together, hips grinding, hands stroking. He lowered his head and caught her warm scent and, unable to help himself, kissed her neck, sucking and nipping at her skin. She arched her back and raised one of her arms, spearing her fingers through his hair. His heart pounded harder as he moved his hips against her in time with the music. Even though he should’ve been exhausted from the fight, he was riding an adrenaline high, and the feeling of Alexa’s body against his as they moved to the music was only pushing him higher.
Everything—the danger her father posed, his need to keep her safe, how incredible she’d felt beneath him last night, winning the fight—seared through him, and he scraped his teeth along her earlobe. He couldn’t hear her gasp, the music was too loud, but their bodies were pressed so tightly together that he felt it.
He didn’t know how long they’d been dancing. Three songs? Four? All he knew for sure was that as much as he was enjoying it, it wasn’t enough. He felt so big, so alive, so awake that he craved more. “I need you.” Three little words that contained so much. She turned in his arms, still swaying against him in time to the music. There was no way she couldn’t feel how hard he was, pressed together and grinding the way they were.
“You can have me, champ,” she said into his ear, her breasts pressed against his chest. “Any way you want me. I’m yours.”
Mine. The word flashed through him, and he grabbed her hand, holding on to her as they wove their way through the crowd on the dance floor. He’d been to this club before as a bodyguard, so he knew its layout well. Well enough that he knew there was a hallway that ran along the back, containing bathrooms, an office, and, at the very end of the hallway, a small storage closet.
It wasn’t ideal, but the storage closet would have to do, because if he didn’t get inside Alexa within the next five minutes, he was going to lose his damn mind.
Alexa let him lead her down the hallway, and as soon as he was sure the coast was clear, he tried the door leading to the closet. He thanked every deity he could think of that it was unlocked. Alexa followed him inside, the door slamming when he cupped her ass, lifted her, and backed her up against it. He fumbled for a light switch, and a dim bulb flickered to life above them. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the faint light, and warmth radiated through his entire body. That warmth was so many things. It was need and hope and joy and…Fuck yeah. He was in love with her.
He kissed her, more gently than he wanted to, trying not to be too rough with her. He was ready to burst out of his skin, adrenaline coursing through him. She bit at his lower lip, and he groaned, kissing her harder, deeper, his hands gripping her ass. She writhed against him and let out a shuddering moan.
“Tell me no, princess. Tell me to stop,” he said, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to be gentle or tender with her. Not right now. He pressed his face into her neck, kissing her warm, slightly salty skin.
“Please don’t stop. Please don’t, Zack. I want this. I want you. Now.” Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, slipping them clumsily free.
“I’m too wound up. I need it hard, maybe even rough. Tell me no.”
“Please don’t stop,” she said, her voice shaking. He raised his head and pressed his forehead to hers, struggling with what he wanted. Struggling with what he needed.
She met his eyes. “Please,” she whispered, and it was that tiny plea, so quiet it almost disappeared in the rumble of bass through the walls, that dissolved the last of his control.
He closed his mouth over hers and ground his hips against her, flattening her arms between them. His shirt hung open now, and she raked her nails down his chest. The sharp sting felt good, a kiss of pain that only heightened his senses, and he set her back down on her feet.
“Take your panties off.” He backed away from her, only a half step, but enough to give her room to move. Holding his gaze, she slid her hands up her thighs, taking the fabric of her dress with her. She hooked her thumbs into her black thong and slid it down her legs, then stepped out of it and let it drop to the floor. Zack rubbed a palm over the bulge in his pants, his cock throbbing, his pulse pounding in his ears.
“Good. Now turn around, princess. Put your hands on the door.” She did as she was told, and he closed the distance between them. Roughly, he gripped her hips and pulled her against him, causing her to step back and lean forward. He pushed the skirt of her dress up around her waist and palmed the flesh of her ass, caressing and then squeezing.
“I’m going to fuck you just like this,” he said, her cheeks filling his hands, the skin impossibly soft against his palms. He nudged her feet apart with one of his and dipped one hand lower. Slick heat greeted him, and he slid a finger inside her. “Holy shit.” He couldn’t stop the words from falling from his mouth, she was so hot and wet around him. His balls tightened, the need to get inside her obliterating everything else.
She glanced up over her shoulder at him, her cheeks pink and her eyes bright. “That’s what you do to me. That’s how much I want this.”
He added a second finger, stretching her, not because she wasn’t ready but because he didn’t want this to be over. And he knew he’d be gone soon after he got inside her. Pumping his fingers, he stroked her clit with his other hand, and she arched her back, moaning.
“Could you come like this, princess? You’re so wet and swollen. Do you want to come on my hand?” She clenched around him as he spoke, and he pumped his fingers harder, curling them as he circled her clit.
“I think…Maybe…Yes…Oh God, please…,” she panted out, working her hips against him. He added a third finger, and her legs started to shake as she clamped down on his fingers, coming hard. She let out a low, throaty moan, and he circled an arm around her waist to keep her upright as she shook and came and shook and came. He gave her a second to ride it out and then slipped his fingers free. Palms still against the door, she glanced up at him, her face gorgeously flushed.
He sucked one of his fingers into his mouth and let out a groan. Her eyes widened, and he smiled. “You taste so damn good.”
She didn’t say anything, only heaved a heavy sigh and returned her gaze toward the door, arching her back and stepping her legs farther apart in silent invitation.
Hell fucking yes.
His hands shook a little as he wrenched his belt open, tugged down his zipper, and freed his cock. He pulled a condom from his wallet, then tore the foil open and slid it on in record time. Desperate for her. Chasing the adrenaline.
“Alexa.” It was all he said as he gripped her hips and slammed into her. She was soaked, and he slid deep with one thrust. He knew he should go slowly at first, give her at least a second, but every cell in his body screamed go, and he pulled his hips back and plunged into her again, hard and deep. She was hot and tight and so damn wet around him. He thrust again and again, fucking her hard, his hands rough on her hips. With each thrust she pushed back against him, and for a second his vision faded in and out, euphoria cresting over him like a wave. Like a fucking tsunami. Her fingers curled against the wood of the door, and she moaned with each fast, hard slide of his cock inside her. Bass thumped through the walls, swallowing her sounds, and he pulled all the way free, taking a second to memorize the gorgeous sight in front of him. Alexa, sprawled against the door, back arched, ass on display. Pretty pink pussy wet and swollen. Dress around her hips.
And she’d said she was his.
The thought seared through him, and he pushed back into her, fucking her harder. The metal of his belt buckle clanked rhythmically, punctuating each thrust. Sweat trickled down his temple, stinging his swollen eye. Heat flared down his spine, and he cried out, his grip on her hips too hard, too rough, but he couldn’t stop. He came, hard.
King of the goddamn fucking world.
With his heart racing in his chest, his skin tingling, his muscles finally loose, he leaned forward and laid his hand on the door beside Alexa’s. Her hand was so small, so pale and delicate next to his, and his heart clenched when she inched that hand over and placed it on top of his. She wove their fingers together, knotting them against the door.
He bent over her and kissed her shoulder, her neck. For several moments neither of them spoke, and he stayed buried inside her, still hard. The music vibrated through the walls, female laughter erupting in the hall as a group made its way to the ladies’ room. The pipes above them made a chugging noise. The sounds of life happened around them, but the only thing that mattered was Alexa. Beautiful, sweet, lovely Alexa, who he’d just fucked fast and dirty in a supply closet.
Some of the haze started to clear, and he kissed her shoulder again. “I’m sorry.”
She turned, causing him to slip free of her body, and he missed her instantly. She raised a hand and cupped his cheek. “No. Don’t. It was perfect.”
He kissed her, slowly and sweetly this time, basking in her. The way she felt, and tasted, and sounded, and smelled. Every piece of her.
“Nobody…” He swallowed against the thickness in his throat and blinked, shaking his head. Jesus. The words pushed up through his chest, into his throat, filling his mouth until they spilled out. “I love you.” He’d never said those words to a woman before, and he knew it was because none of those women had been Alexa.
His heart beat frantically in his chest, and she laughed, her entire face lighting up. “Because I let you fuck me in a storage closet?”
He smiled. “No. Because it’s impossible not to love you. Because you’re everything I never even realized I wanted, or needed. Because I can hardly breathe when I look at you, you’re so damn beautiful. Because it doesn’t matter that I was just inside you. It’s not enough. I’ve never felt like this about anyone, ever, and I can’t imagine ever feeling like this about anyone else, and it’s because of the thousands of tiny things that are you.” He took a deep breath, his chest heaving. “It’s you.”
God, did the truth feel good.
She blinked, and a tear fell, slipping down over her still-flushed cheek. “I’ve been in love with you for a year, Zack. A whole damn year. From the first day we met, I was done.”
He brushed her tear away, his hand trembling. His thoughts scattered in a million different directions, past, present, and future coming together in a flashbang of emotion. Regret and lust and happiness and love.
“Taylor knows,” she said. “She knows, and it’s okay.” A smile broke out across her face, and he could see the relief in it. Could almost taste it.
“I’m glad, but even if she hadn’t been, I couldn’t have walked away.” He brushed his lips against hers. “I can’t. And no matter what happens with your father, with this investigation, I’m not going anywhere.”
They stood together for several moments, touching and looking, basking in the afterglow of hot sex and the truth. But they couldn’t stay, just like the other night.
“We need to do this in a bed,” he said, and she giggled, stuffing her thong into her discarded clutch. He disposed of the condom in the small garbage can in the corner and then buttoned his shirt and buckled himself back up. He pressed his ear to the door, listening. But the music was too loud, and he couldn’t hear much except for the booming beat. After giving her a once-over to make sure she was decent, he took her hand and pulled the door open, and they stepped out of the supply closet.
Alexa’s father stood in the hallway, his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Protective instincts kicking in, Zack moved in front of Alexa, sheltering her from her father. From this monster of a man who’d abused her in horrible ways.
Jonathan sneered at Zack, his gaze lingering on the gash above his eyebrow. Pushing off the wall, he strode toward them, moving with a cocky swagger. White-hot rage coursed through Zack’s veins, and the only thing that stopped him from decking the asshole was concern for Alexa’s safety. As badly as he wanted to make him suffer for what he’d done to her, he couldn’t.
“I have to say, I quite enjoyed that fight, De Luca,” Jonathan said, his voice dripping with anger. “Even if the wrong man did win.” He raised his hand toward Zack’s injured eye, and Zack jerked his head out of the way, his mind reeling.
He’d been at the fight. He knew Zack had lied to him. He knew who Zack was. Zack shifted in front of Alexa, keeping her behind him.
Jonathan dropped his hand. “Alexa, honey,” he said, his voice cold and commanding, “come here. I have a present for you.”
Zack didn’t move and stared Jonathan down, not wanting Alexa to get any closer to her father. Logically, Zack knew he should be scared, but all that mattered was Alexa and keeping her safe.
Jonathan got right in Zack’s face, and he didn’t move, didn’t even flinch. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with, De Luca. Move.”
“No.” Zack was amazed how low and calm his voice sounded, because the protective anger beating through him was making it hard to breathe.
Jonathan moved his hands to his hips, holding his suit jacket open and flashing the gun stowed in his waistband. “Move. Right. Fucking. Now.”
“No.”
But before he could stop her, Alexa stepped out from behind him. She didn’t say anything, but she held her head up, meeting her father’s gaze. Zack’s eyes darted from Alexa to her father’s hands to the fire exit down the hall. Visualizing all the ways this could go wrong and all the ways he could protect her. Every muscle in his body tensed; he was ready to do whatever it took to keep Alexa safe.
Jonathan reached into his pocket and handed something to Alexa. A diamond earring. She gasped, and her fingers trembled as she closed them over it.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but this is your one and only warning, you stupid little bitch.”
Zack’s temper flared, and he took a step toward Jonathan, his fists clenched at his sides. His jaw ached, tension and anger and the need to protect her twisting everything tight.
Jonathan flashed the gun at his hip at Zack again with a flick of his suit jacket, and stepped farther into Alexa’s space. “You’d better run, little girl. This is the only chance you’re gonna get.” He turned his sneering glare on Zack. “And if I see you again, I’ll kill you. I’ll blow your goddamn brains out.” He stepped back, slipped his hands into his pockets, and turned to walk away. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Zack stared at Fairfax’s back, torn between wanting to go after him and needing to stay with Alexa to protect her. To comfort her. He stared until Jonathan disappeared into the crowd, and Alexa sagged against him. His arms came up around her as wave after wave of protective anger crashed over him.
The game had just changed, big time.