Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (9 page)

“Claire,” he growled. “You’re driving me crazy.”

His hooded eyes were dark and glassed over when he gazed
down at me. I licked the tip again while he watched me and replied, “I know,
but you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Sliding off the bed, I turned around so my back was to him
and reached back to clutch the zipper to my dress. Looking over my shoulder at
him, I slowly unzipped my little red dress inch by inch until my bare back was
exposed to him. He lifted off his shirt and moved back on the bed so he was
propped up on the headboard. Biting my lip, I slid the strap down on my left
shoulder and then my right, letting my dress slowly make its way down my body.
I hadn’t worn a bra since my dress supported my breasts, so when I slipped out
of my dress I took my lacy red underwear with it. Once I was completely
undressed, I crawled back on the bed and straddled Mason’s waist. The tip of
his cock glistened with his desire, so I swiped it with my thumb and stuck it
into my mouth.

Keeping my gaze on him, I sucked my finger and moaned,
earning a strangled cry from Mason’s lips in return. “Holy fuck, Claire, if you
don’t do something now, I’m going to come all over this damn bed.”

Smirking seductively, I licked my lips and lifted my hips so
the tip of his cock grazed my opening. I lowered down about an inch and swirled
my hips again, coating him with my own desire. I could feel myself clenching,
ready to have him inside me fully. The anticipation of it was what excited me.
I loved the feeling of almost losing control and being on the brink of orgasm.

Mason dug his fingers into my hips and pleaded, “Please,
baby. I need to feel you … to feel how wet you are inside. I want to know what
your love feels like.”

His face was red and his skin felt warm to the touch. I knew
I was tormenting and teasing him, but in doing so I was torturing myself. I
lowered myself further onto his cock and immediately my clit throbbed with the
need for friction. As soon as I completely wrapped him with my body, I clutched
his face in my hands and crushed my lips to his, pushing my tongue in with the
force of my thrusts. His grip tightened on my waist, and when I broke away from
the kiss, he latched onto my swollen nipple, licking and sucking feverishly.

“Fuck, Claire. I’m going to come if you don’t stop riding me
so hard,” Mason growled.

He couldn’t see me with his head at my breasts, but I smiled
and rode him harder. I heard him hiss under his breath as he exploded inside of
me just as I let go and screamed out my orgasm with him. I rode him softly for
a couple more strokes to ride out the last tremors until it ebbed completely.
Breathing hard, I collapsed onto his chest and listened to the pounding of his
heart.

“I love you,” he whispered gruffly. “Damn, do I ever.”

I smiled up at him. “I love you, too. In a way I think I
always have, even from the very beginning.”

“So did I, Claire,” he said, placing a gentle kiss to my
forehead. “So did I.”

Slowly, I lifted my hips and let him slide out of me before
cuddling into his side and wrapping my arm across his stomach. As soon as my
heart stopped pounding, my eyes began to lose focus and grow heavy. I breathed
in Mason’s familiar scent, all woodsy and spice with the strong hint of pure
male, and let it take me away to a place where we were safe … to a place we
called home.

Before Claire got up from bed, I decided to call the Chief
of Police, Ryan Griffin, to ask him about the investigation he did on Jake
Montgomery. Everything seemed too easy and coincidental for it to be Jake, but
I’d seen people like him do very stupid things. Mostly they thought they were
invincible, above the law, but eventually they would slip up. It was only a
matter of time.

“It’s about time I heard from you,” Ryan barked into the
phone. “What’s the update? Where are you staying?”

I moved to the far end of the suite and talked as low as I
could so I wouldn’t wake up Claire. “I’m staying at the Bellagio. I went to The
Labyrinth last night and met a Jake Montgomery. Is he the club owner you spoke
about on the phone before I came out here?”

“Yes, he is. Everything checked out with him so we took him
off the suspects list. Now, the people who go to his club are a different
story. It’s not a secret that he has fights at his club every week, but they
are all legal and approved. Even some of my guys like to go and watch them.
We’re pretty certain that the person or persons involved in the case go to that
club.”

“Okay, I’ll keep my eyes open. I’m actually going to be
fighting tomorrow night,” I informed him.

“That’s excellent,” Ryan agreed in amazement. “You got in
there fast. I’m going to have a package delivered to the hotel for you with
some trackers in it. I want you to keep one on you at all times so we can make
sure you’re in a safe location. Also, if I don’t hear from you or if I think
something’s wrong then we can find you.”

The thought brought back memories when I put a tracker in my
cousin’s watch before she was kidnapped by her husband, Claire’s brother. When
I tried to find her she had run away into the woods trying to escape and ended
up losing her watch. I thought I was going to find her dead in those woods,
except instead it was just her broken clasped watch. One good thing about the
trackers was that I could put one on Claire. That way I could keep track of her
if something was to go wrong and we were separated.

“I’ll be on the lookout for it,” I remarked.

“Good. I’m also going to send some of my people out to the
club to watch the fight. They won’t approach you so don’t worry about that.
Good luck, and be careful. Whoever these people are they don’t show mercy.”

As soon as we hung up the phone, Claire slid out of bed, her
hair a tangled mess and her eyes half open from waking. “Was that the Chief of
Police guy you were talking about last night?”

I nodded and scooped her up in my arms. “Yes, it was. He
said Jake was clean and they couldn’t find anything. He’s also going to send me
some trackers so he can keep up with me.” Claire blew out a relieved sigh, but
I still needed her to be wary of Jake until the whole thing came to an end.
Lifting her chin with my fingers, I stared into her eyes, wanting her to see
the seriousness in my gaze. “You still need to be careful around him, okay? At
least until this case gets solved. Can you do that for me for just a little
while? Don’t go anywhere alone with him or anyone else for that matter, got
it?”

She saluted me. “Got it, Detective Bradley. No going
anywhere alone with anyone other than you.”

Setting her down on the floor, I kissed her quickly and
smacked her ass. “All right baby, we need to get busy and get out of here. Your
lazy ass slept until lunch time so hurry up and get dressed.”

She rushed off and did her thing, and about twenty minutes
later we were ready to go. We grabbed ourselves a quick bite at one of the
restaurants in the hotel and then made arrangements to rent a car for the rest
of the week. It was a four door, silver Chevy Colorado just like the one I had
back home, except mine was much better. This one felt like it had been driven
hard and not taken care of, which was common in rental vehicles. In my line of
work I’d seen more reckless driving in people when they were in rental vehicles
than in their own. It just went to show you that most people didn’t give a shit
about other people’s property.

“You need to turn right on the next street,” Claire insisted
while pointing toward the road. She had her long, blonde hair pulled high into
a ponytail with a light green tank top that hugged her breasts and short, black
shorts that showed off her smooth, tanned legs. Thoughts of last night and the
way her mouth felt on my dick had me growing rock hard almost instantly.

“Are you okay over there?” Claire asked, trying to hide her
smile. She glanced down at my lap and bit her lip before tightening up the
laces to her sneakers.

“Sorry, but I was just thinking about your mouth on my cock.
I think tonight needs to be my night to show you what love is,” I stated
adamantly.

“Well, I’m sure not going to stop you,” she teased, “but you
need to calm it down because we’re almost there.”

We were on our way to the gym so we could meet up with Tyler
and I could spar with him. The guy was stout, don’t get me wrong, but I had no
doubt in my mind that I could take him. It might have been years since I
professionally fought with someone, but it sure as hell hadn’t stopped me from
practicing my moves in my line of work. Sometimes it was necessary when dealing
with the kind of scumbags I saw in and out every single day of my life:
domestic abusers, drug dealers, pedophiles, murderers, rapists. With all the
bad shit I’d see every day it almost made me wonder if there was any good in
the world. However, gazing over at Claire and seeing her angelic face I knew
there was some left … there was still some good.

We were venturing closer to the areas where my friend Austin
and the other dead fighters were found, but we were still a few miles away.
Maybe
Claire and I could drive by when we leave the gym and I could get a look at the
surroundings.
Surely, there had to be some connection somewhere.

Luckily, we arrived at Rushing’s Gym and Training facility
right on time. From the outside it was hard to tell what to expect on the
inside, but I was immediately shocked when I walked through the door. The place
was much larger than it appeared outside, and everything was up to date and
new. The treadmills and weight equipment looked barely used, except that could
have been because no one was on them. They were all gathered around the octagon
cage off to the left of the gym.

Tyler was in the ring training with a man who was built just
like him, but I could tell he was a bit older by the gray hair peeking out of
his head gear. “Do you need me to help you wrap your hands up?” Claire asked
curiously. “I don’t exactly know how, but I thought I’d ask.”

I smiled at her and shook my head. “No, that’s okay. I’ve
done it a million times on my own.”

Claire glanced over at Tyler and then back to me with
worried eyes. “Don’t hurt him, okay? He’s a strong guy and I’ve seen him take
out numerous drunken idiots at the club, but up against you and your fierceness
it kind of scares me. He’s more of a have a good time goofball, whereas you are
the serious and focused type.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” I promised. “If anything
I’m sure you underestimate him.” His movements were fluid and full of force,
but I could see room for improvement. “Who’s that training with him?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s his dad,” Claire informed me. “He’s owned this
gym for years. I used to come here with Wade and Ty all the time. There’s a room
Ty’s dad used to let me use to practice my dance routines while the guys all
stayed out here.”

“I bet they hated that,” I groaned, “especially not being
able to watch you in those tiny shorts of yours.”

She smacked me in the arm. “Oh, stop. If Ty’s dad doesn’t
mind I’ll probably leave you out here while I go practice. I have two days to
make up a routine. So, see, no one will be watching me in my short shorts.”

Reaching behind her, I grabbed her ass and growled, “Good,
because you’re mine now, and heaven forbid I don’t know why. You’re too good
for me.”

Claire leaned up and kissed me gently on the lips. “I know
why, Mason,” she murmured softly. “It’s because you were meant for me; you were
meant to be mine as well. I can feel it in here,” she said, placing a hand over
her heart.

“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” Tyler teased, coming up behind
Claire and putting his arm around her. “Keep softening him up, kitten. The more
you do the easier he’ll be to beat down.”

His dad came up beside him and laughed. “Son, I think you
have that all wrong. The more you flirt with Claire, the more I think I’ll be
scraping your remains off the mat. Now go get the boy some tape and gloves.”

Tyler smirked and winked at me before ambling off toward the
back of the gym. He had some balls to keep goading me, but I could tell it was
in his nature to flirt, just like Claire said. Claire was mine and at the end
of the day she would be going home with me.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Claire squealed, flinging
her arms around Tyler’s father’s neck. “How have you been? The gym looks
amazing with all the new equipment.”

“It was about time I invested in an improvement with this
place. Business has picked up since I did it so I think it was worth it,” he
answered. “I heard you were going to dance again at the club. Is that true?”

Claire nodded and shifted on her feet nervously. “Yes, but
only for one night. Jake has a way with getting what he wants.”

“That he does, child, and just so you know, the back room is
all ready for you if you want to go back there and get started. Ty and I will
take care of your man for you.”

She snorted sarcastically. “Yeah, I’m sure you will. You
guys have fun.” She smiled at me quickly before rushing off through another
door in the back.

Tyler’s father extended his hand to me and introduced
himself, “Thank you for coming, Mason. My name’s Stephen Rushing.”

I accepted his hand and shook it firmly. “It’s good to meet
you, Stephen. I see you’ve been helping Tyler train. Did you ever compete?”

“Not in the mixed martial arts type of fighting that you and
Ty do. That’s why I only really help him with his boxing techniques. I competed
for the heavyweight boxing championship in my day, but I never made it. I came
close, though.”

Tyler sauntered back into the room and threw a roll of black
tape and gloves in my direction, interrupting us. “Here you go, man. Tape up
and let’s get started.” He jumped into the cage and grabbed his gloves while I
taped up my hands.

“How long are you and Claire going to be in Vegas?” Stephen
asked.

I finished taping up my hands and reached for the gloves.
Nonchalantly, I shrugged my shoulders and replied, “Probably another week or
so. I guess it all depends on how my money supply holds up. My luck with
gambling hasn’t been going too well.” It was all a lie, but it was the story I
had to stick with.

Stephen chuckled. “Oh, I know how that goes. When my wife
and I moved here thirty years ago I was addicted to the casinos. She almost
left me because I lost our vacation money one year.”

“I’m waiting,” Ty yelled, waving his arms impatiently in the
air. “Get your pansy ass up here.”

Stephen rolled his eyes at his son and sighed. “Yes, get up
there and teach my son a lesson. He’s getting on my nerves.”

“I would be glad to,” I remarked happily.
It’ll be my
pleasure.