Hard Love: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance Read online

“Hello,” she murmured into the phone. Nick was the last person she wanted to speak to, but she knew it wasn’t a good idea to ignore his call, especially not now that he knew she was with Nathan. Or maybe he just assumed she was screwing Nathan for fun. Either way, he knew there was something between them and she didn’t want the man she loved to pay the consequences of her having been mixed up with Nick.

  “Emma,” Nick’s voice came in, deep and sure as ever. “I’d say it’s a pleasure but we’d both know that’s a lie.” Emma cringed.

  He was even more of an asshole now than when she had dated him, something she had thought was quite impossible. “You need to come into the office,” he instructed.

  Although she assumed he was talking about his office, the fancy office that kept up the image of his thriving business, she wasn’t entirely sure. Either way, the tone he took with her left a bad taste in her mouth. It was as if he thought he had some sort of ownership over her. He knew she wasn’t in a position to anger him, much less defy him, and she hated it.

  “Now?”

  “Now,” he emphasized before promptly hanging up.

  Emma jerked her phone away from her face and looked at the screen with disgust. She couldn’t stand him, but she really thought she had no other choice but to go meet with him. She stood up and walked into her bedroom, opting for a lavender button down shirt and a pair of black jeans. Those were the first things her eyes fell on and she really had no interest in dressing to impress Nick.

  She swung the leather strap of her purse over her shoulder and walked out the door to head down to the parking garage of the apartment building she lived in. She slid into the driver’s seat of her car and took a deep breath, head leaning back against the headrest. She had absolutely no clue what was to come of her meeting with Nick, but she was sure it was nothing good.

  Emma turned on her car and went down the familiar route to his office, trying to ignore the gross feeling that came over her at how well she knew the way to begin with. She didn’t want to think of the times and reasons she had gone to his office in the past. Once she was parked, she sent him a message to let her in. His office was in a penthouse of a big city skyscraper and, as such, she needed to be buzzed in to go up.

  It took nearly ten minutes for her to finally step into his office.

  “Shut the door,” he instructed without so much as a sideways glance toward her.

  She did as she was told and stood with her back against the door, hand firmly holding the handle. He lifted his hand and motioned with two fingers for her to sit across from him. She took a deep breath and walked over, trying to look as composed as possible. The truth was she was very worried about what he could possibly say, or even do.

  Nick continued writing on whatever paper he was scribbling on when she had first walked in, completely ignoring her presence. She found it dismissive, rude, and annoying. He was the one who had insisted she visit his office immediately.

  Tired of waiting, she cleared her throat and asked, “What did you need?”

  It was hard to keep her attitude to a minimum. Whatever it was he wanted, she didn’t want to risk angering him.

  She saw him smirk before finally setting down his pen, which easily looked like it could cost more than a month’s rent for her one-bedroom apartment. He tugged at the cuffs of his suit and straightened his tie before standing up and walking around the desk to lean against it in front of where she sat. Emma looked straight ahead, trying to ignore the scent of his expensive cologne or how close he was to her. It was an intimidation method and she knew it.

  “A very special guest is coming to your little boyfriend’s next fight,” he informed her. It was sickening the way the words ‘little boyfriend’ rolled off his tongue so patronizingly. “Or fuck buddy. Hookup. I don’t know what he is to you,” he added with a mocking chuckle. He was trying to get a rise out of her. It was working but, for the time being, she was managing to at least keep it all bottled up.

  Emma cleared her throat, but said nothing. She wasn’t about to dignify his insults with a response. He didn’t need or deserve any sort of clarification. It was enough she had to bite her tongue, especially for the sake of Nathan, but she wouldn’t give in to the extent of playing along to his gross little game.

  “I’m sure you remember Alex Moretti?”

  This time it was a question and she easily picked up on the fact he wanted an answer from her. She knew it didn’t really matter to him whether or not she knew who he was, he just wanted to know she was at his mercy. Whatever he demanded from her, he would get– at least until he reached the line she had mentally drawn up. She nodded. Of course Emma knew who Alex Moretti was. He was a rich Italian mobster who owned another fighting ring in Chicago. Although it was different than The Ring, that didn’t mean he was the unspoken rival of Nick.

  Nick leaned forward and sneered, “I asked you a question.”

  Emma looked up to make eye contact. It took everything not to jerk her head back upon finding how much he had actually leaned in. His gaze was dangerous; the sneer curling around his lips pronounced. But Emma held strong and responded with a simple, “Yes.”

  If she had to give in to him, it would be at least somewhat on her terms. If it were up to her, he would have no clue that her heart was racing out of fear and discomfort at that moment.

  “Well, he’s coming to watch your little boyfriend’s next big fight and I have a job for you.” He stood up and leaned forward, placing his hands on either armrest to trap her in the chair. Emma held her breath and looked into his eyes, icy expression in place like always. “I think even you should manage this, at least if you know what’s good for you.” His voice was low and a cold shiver ran down her spine. Every word dripped with a threat she didn’t even want to begin to comprehend.

  “What is it?” she asked, wishing her voice wasn’t at all shaky. But it was and it had given away how she was feeling inside, at least a little.

  She saw a little satisfaction flicker in his eyes at the sound of her wavering voice.

  “Alex Moretti’s bet needs to be on Nathan,” he warned her. It was unreasonable for him to expect her to make sure that happened, but she knew better than to argue or question it. He raised one of his hands up and placed his index finger under her chin. She cringed and backed away, causing him to chuckle. “Aw come on, you used to love that.” He leaned even more in her face, “Hun.”

  Emma stared him down, but knew the disgust and even fear in her eyes were obvious. She wanted to tell him to screw off, walk out of the office, and disappear but knew damn well that was as far from a viable option as anything could get.

  “Here’s the catch,” he muttered, “That little boyfriend of yours? Well, he better throw the fight. He goes down in the third. And it’s on you,” he pressed the tip of his index finger into her forehead, “to make sure that happens. Even you have to be good for that.”

  She saw his eyes flicker down to her breasts. She had tried to conceal every bit of cleavage, but with breasts as generous as hers and with him standing over her, it was impossible. Slowly, he ran his index finger down the side of her face, down her neck, until he was slightly pushing the top of her shirt open. She felt his finger right above her cleavage line, not touching her but close enough that she could still feel his heat. She gulped as Nick chuckled.

  “Yeah, I’m sure you can do that.” He flicked the shirt open a bit and dropped his gaze to her breasts, now a bit exposed.

  There was no way to hide her shaking body, trapped in the chair by his body. She wanted to scream. She wanted to slap him and run out, but she was frozen. It was as if she had been glued to the chair in fear. She hated to think how much further he would take this. If his goal had been to intimidate and belittle her, he had far surpassed it.

  Right at that moment he stepped back and motioned toward his office door for her to leave. There was no room for questions or complaints. She had received her instructions and she knew she had to make damn sure she completed th
e job or it meant more trouble than she could imagine for both herself and Nathan.

  She was starting to get in over her head. Never before had she wanted to leave so bad.

  Chapter Three

  Emma sat in her car for some time debating on what move to make next. She knew she had to warn Nathan, but wasn’t sure when or how. Their fight could be placed on the back burner for this. She grabbed her phone from her purse and called him.

  “Hello.”

  “Are you home?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

  She could tell that startled him, but he went with it anyway. “Yes,” he responded.

  “I’m heading over.”

  She ended the call and turned on her car, peeling out of the parking lot in the direction of Nathan’s apartment. She needed to tell him now and it had to be in person. This wasn’t a small thing and it was definitely not a conversation that could wait a second longer. As she drove, she hoped more than anything that he wouldn’t blame this on her. After their argument last night, she thought it was a very real possibility Nathan would think it was her fault that Nick planned this.

  She pulled into a guest parking spot and ran up the stairs to his apartment. Even though she had a key, she knocked on his door. Despite the urgency of the matter, the weirdness between them wasn’t gone and she didn’t feel at the liberty to just stick her key in the lock and walk into his place. Nathan opened the door, looking perplexed. He was wearing only pajama pants and his hair was messy. He was either already in bed or lounging around on his couch. Had the matter not been so serious, she would have looked at his chiseled arms and six-pack abs in appreciation. Instead, she pushed past him into the apartment and turned to look at him. Once she made sure he had locked the door behind him, she opened her mouth.

  “I just came from Nick’s office.”

  It was only then that she noticed the expression on his face. It had already been there when he opened the door. He looked frustrated and worried at the same time. She had a sinking feeling that he already had some idea of what was going, something that was only confirmed when he finally spoke.

  “He talked to me,” Nathan told her.

  Emma starred at him silently, waiting for him to elaborate. He went on to tell her, with a lot of fury, the plan Nathan had proposed. Or, rather, instructed him to follow along with.

  “What did you say?” she asked. She had another sickening feeling he had done exactly what she would have expected him to, only it wouldn’t be a smart move on his part.

  “What else? Told him to go fuck himself. I’m not throwing a fight.”

  He was glaring at her, but she knew it was because of the situation. Whatever anger he had toward her the previous night had disappeared completely to make room for this.

  “Nathan,” she said unsurely, taking a step toward him. She wanted to reach out and place her hands on him in an effort to calm him down, but she knew it would be in vain. Not only that, but things were still weird between them. She still didn’t even know if they were together or not. Even if that issue was on the back burner for the time being, that didn’t mean it had ceased to exist.

  He looked over at her. “What?” he asked, a bit more hostile than she knew he meant.

  “I don’t think that was a good idea,” she told him. She cleared her throat and starting twisting her hands together. “I mean… I think you should just do it. I know it goes against what you believe, but Nick is a dangerous man. More than you know. He’s the type who won’t take no for an answer and if you dare defy him–”

  Nathan walked forward and pressed his index finger to her lips to silence her. He looked deep into her eyes, “Everything will be okay.”

  He was strong and always the type of man to take charge. He never backed down. Emma knew these things about him and knew he was talking about the situation, but something about the way he was looking at her and the tone of his voice when he said it implied he meant something else, too. She felt as if he was trying to reassure her that everything would be okay between them as much as he was trying to promise her he would be okay when it came to Nick.

  She felt a fluttering in her chest and her breath caught in her throat. He moved his finger from her lips in favor of cupping her cheek with his hand.

  “Nathan,” Emma whispered. He took a step forward and leaned in closer to her. She could feel his hot breath on her face. Without thinking about it, she placed her hands on his chest. Not once did they break eye contact until he leaned all the way in, bridging the gap between them and pressing his lips to hers. Although it had been just a day she already missed him so much, but she knew it was because of the uncertainty surrounding their relationship. And as she moved into the kiss the uncertainty didn’t leave.

  Her questions were still in mind and everything that had come up during their argument was still valid, but it didn’t matter at that moment. Nothing mattered as much as the feel of his lips so perfectly molded to hers. She moved her hands up to rest them on his shoulders, marveling at how incredibly smooth his skin was and how firm his muscles felt.

  Nathan kissed the corner of her mouth and then her jaw before kissing her ear and whispering, “I love you.”

  A single tear escaped the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek as she whispered, “I love you too.”

  She held her breath when his lips touched her neck and then moved down to her collarbone. This was inevitably leading to sex. She wanted it, not only because she found him irresistible, but also because she needed to feel him close now more than ever. He kissed down the middle of her chest until she felt his lips brush against the top of her cleavage. The same spot where Nick had violated her using his gaze and his words was now a feeling of desirable weakness.

  Nathan moved his hand down and started unbuttoning her blouse, slowly, until it had fallen open. He leaned back and looked at her exposed bra and cleavage spilling out of it. Although it was just a plain, white bra the desire in his eyes was obvious. He made her feel sexy no matter what.

  He pushed her blouse off her shoulders and she shook it off her arms until it fell to the floor. He reached around her back and unclasped her bra, pulling the straps slowly down her arms. Goosebumps erupted on her skin as his fingertips trailed slowly down her arms. He pulled her bra straps off with a smile playing along the corners of his lips. Even the slightest touch of his made her feel weak in the knees. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

  He placed his mouth close to her and drew in a breath as he ran his hands through her flowing natural red hair. His hands trailed down her face, over her shoulders and finally down her arms. He grabbed one of her hands and turned her around, pulling her in so that her back was pressed against his chest. Her breath stilled as he placed both hands on her stomach and moved them up until he cupped her breasts, slowly starting to massage them.

  As he placed his lips against the side of her neck, one hand moved down to unzip her jeans. Once they were unbuttoned, he stepped back and turned her back around to face him. He knelt down in front of her and pulled down her jeans along with her panties in one, swift movement. Emma gave a little wiggle of the hips to help him tug them down her thighs before she stepped out of them. As soon as she kicked her jeans away Nathan tapped the insides of her thighs for her to open her legs.

  As soon as she did, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her mound before moving down and running the very tip of his tongue along her slit. She trembled and sucked in a quick breath. She was already wet and he was only going to get her soaking in no time. It was rare for Nathan to go down on her but, when he did, it was amazing. He lapped up her juices before sliding his tongue inside her and moving it in gentle circles.

  She had to grab onto the top of his head with one hand and his shoulder with the other to keep from falling, knees bent in a crouch. “Oh,” she moaned out slightly more high-pitched than usual.

  “Oh, Nathan.” He started easing his tongue in and out of her, every once in a while licking upwa
rd while inside to drive her wild. Just when she felt her knees might buckle, he pulled his tongue out r and pressed a sloppy, wet kiss to one of her hipbones.

  He stood up and kissed her jaw again before taking her lips into a fiery kiss. She could still taste herself on his tongue when he slipped into her mouth, but she didn’t care. It only turned her on even more. He eased her legs, one at a time, around his hips so that he could carry her over to his bedroom. She loved that about him. He could carry her whenever he wanted.

  Nathan placed her down on the bed and stood back to take off his pajama pants and boxers, his big cock springing free as he kicked his pants away. Emma couldn’t help but look at his manhood and lick her lips. Without a word, she got on all fours and crawled forward until her face was right in front of his cock. She licked her lips again as she looked up into his eyes before opening her mouth and taking the tip of him into her mouth. She gave a pert suck before slowly taking in his entire length into her mouth. Nathan groaned in pleasure as she looked up to see, with delight, that he had his eyes clenched shut.