No Regrets (No Regrets #1) (23 page)

Chapter 28

The bar is
packed when we enter. A crowd hoots and hollers as we move to the counter. Leave it to Jimmy to find the only hole in the wall place in Vegas. I slam back the first drink offered to me and signal to the bartender for another. As I’m about to tip it back a hand halts me. Ready to tell whatever chick this is to get lost, I look over and freeze as our eyes meet. She smiles uneasily, and before I can say anything, she moves her hand from my arm to my hand, squeezing it briefly.

“Congratulations on your win tonight, Greylan.”
She has to almost shout it over the noise in the room.

I nod and slide
the liquid down my throat. The bartender is there again filling it up as I set the empty glass down. I don’t bother asking if she wants a drink, I’m out after this one. I tilt it back and turn to go. Her hand grasps my arm again and I have to hold every nerve ending back from reaching over and devouring her lips. I don’t look at her because if I do, it will be game over.

She
whispers, with pain and possibly regret lacing the words, “Greylan, I’m tired of fighting all of the thoughts I have of you. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I’m done battling it all.”

I turn
as the last word leaves her lips. Her green eyes are more truthful than I’ve ever seen them. My hand moves behind her neck as my mouth lowers to meet her lips gently. My lips move slowly along hers, running my tongue smoothly over the line, willing her to open for me. She lets me in, our tongues moving swiftly against one another. This is everything I was trying to avoid but I don’t care. All that matters right now is the warmth spreading through me at her touch and my pulse speeding up at being able to touch her again. My desire is to feel, not think for once, just feel. A few minutes later, breathless, I break the kiss. She looks up at me, the shy girl I first spotted all those years ago.

I whisper
into her ear, “Red, I’d like you to come with me.”

She nods,
nothing on her face telling me that she doesn’t really mean it. I grab her hand, leading her to the door. Before we get very far, a firm hand grasps my arm. I turn, half dreading and half hoping it’s Mollie having second thoughts. Instead I meet Trinity’s stare. Her eyes are glazed over, signaling that she’s drunk.
Dammit, Trin
. I look around for Parker. He’s a foot away talking to Jimmy. I grab my sister’s arm and drag her and Mollie toward Parker. He turns just as I approach them. Instead of telling him what I think, my hand releases Mollie and circles around, hitting Parker in the side. Immediately he turns around defensively and the crowd around us starts to widen, reminding me of those fights in school with everyone looking on in anticipation. But once Parker realizes I was the one who hit him, he lowers his hand and raises his palms in surrender.

My words are angry
. “When are you gonna grow a set of balls and be a man? I fucking hate that she loves you but it’s not my choice. If you don’t get your shit together, I’m going to do more than punch you in the gut.”

Parker winces at my words. I look
at Trinity, who is now on the edge of the crowd, Mollie’s arms are around her. She looks like she’s about to puke everywhere. Parker hurries to her side and looks back at me. He nods before taking her to the back of the bar where the bathrooms are located.

I
spin around when I realize I forgot about Red for a minute. A reluctant look has returned to her face. I cross the room to grab her hand. She lets me lead her out the door. When the cool night air hits my face I turn to her, only inches separating us, and apologize. “I’m so sorry, Mollie. My sister and her fiancé. It’s a mess.”

She pull
s her hand from mine and takes a step back. Her eyes seem to cloud in fear. She shakes her head. “Why do you always have to be so good?”

I’m
surprised. Isn’t that something she would want me to be?

She takes a
step toward me again. “Did you know that I have a list, things that you do that I love. That right there, it just made the top of the list. You care so much and you’ll do anything you can to protect those that you love.”

I
raise my brows, “You have a list?”

“Is that all you heard?”

Gently I brush her cheek with the tips of my fingers. “No, Red, I heard you loud and clear. Five years ago, I didn’t know it at the time, but I do protect everything I love and I would go back and do it all over again.”

She flinches at my words. I
wasn’t expecting that reaction but it makes me want to prove to her that I do care. I lean in, kissing her deeply and she opens up for me. My hands move slowly over her sides and down to her hips. My dick gets hard remembering how wonderful this woman is and how she causes me to feel things I’ve never felt before. Her hands move around my neck, pulling me closer. A low growl sounds from deep in my throat. I’m not sure if we’re going to make it back to the hotel or not. I’m afraid that if we break the connection, she’ll have regrets. And I want no regrets.

***

The next morning Red is still in bed when I wake up. I didn’t wake up one time and it was dreamless as far as I can tell. My breathing slows as I watch her chest move up and down with her own breathing. I listen for the soft air moving her delicate skin. My hand moves to her face and I trace her pert little nose and oval face. Her velvety skin feels wonderful under my rough fingers. My hand trails down her arm to her fingers, where I lace them together with mine. I know the feelings and thoughts swirling around are chick thoughts but I don’t care. She does something to me and I don’t want to give it up. Her body stirs, rolling into my side. She nuzzles her face into the side of my chest. Her muffled voice asks, “Grey, what are you doing?”

“I’m adding to my list of all the things
that I love about you.”

Her breathing stops. I can feel her
erratic beats against my skin. Mine mirrors hers and I hold my breath, afraid she’ll run again. Instead, she looks up at me, placing her hand on my chest. She looks at her fingers as she swirls them around on my tanned skin.

“You have a list? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I do, and you didn’t ask.”

She chuckles
. “What exactly is on this list?”

“It’s pretty long
. It’ll probably take all day for me to tell you everything that’s on it.”

Her playful side rears it
s head. “Well, I have pretty much all day. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

“Okay, fair enough
. I love all the sides to you, the shy Red, the playful Red…” I kiss her deeply as my hand runs along her arm. “And my favorite, the feisty Red. I think the day you tried to punch me turned me on the most.”

She smiles
. “Really? That’s good to know.” She moves above me, straddling my stomach with her naked body.

“Um, maybe not as turned on as I am right now
, but close.”

She laughs
, throwing her head back. I move my hand to touch the hollow of her throat.

“I love your skin
, Mollie, every luscious part of it.”

My
hand comes around her neck, pulling her forward. I kiss up her neck, tasting every space, leaving my searing touch all over her. She moans in response, causing me to stiffen further. I reach over for my wallet as she moves down over me, teasing with her warm core. I moan, causing a smile to reach her lips. As soon as I fit a condom over my cock, she lowers onto me and moves up and down, causing our breathing to speed up.

I reach
up to her cheek. “Red, I love everything about you.”

A moment later we
both come together in pure bliss. This woman in my arms is something I never want to let go. I’ll do everything I can to hold on to her, no matter what.

Chapter 29

After find
ing Mollie again and winning my first pro fight, I had some decisions to make. The first was something I vowed I would never do but I did it anyway, I moved for a woman. Convincing myself that it was for my fighting career was my reasoning, but in reality it was because I didn’t want to let her out of my sight again.

I
moved into Meyer’s house on the outskirts of town with a few possessions from home, leaving my apartment in Jersey intact, just in case. Trinity and Parker went back home to pack up the brownstone. They decided to officially make the move to Vegas later in the month. I think my own move helped make the decision easier for her. Although I’m still not happy that she decided to take Parker back, having her near is all that matters.

I spend most of my time with Mollie in bed and exploring the city that is her home
or training at a facility that Jackson found nearby. Unfortunately Jackson had to go back but Jimmy stayed to keep an eye on me. Vegas seems to be made for Jimmy, or vice versa, he’s in his element all the way.

Tonight I have
dinner with a sponsor that Jimmy and Meyer set up. I’m a little nervous about it because those two when separate are trouble, together, it could be a disaster. I’m counting on the fact that they’ve already booked me three other fights, all of which I’ve won. Tonight I’m going into the meeting with a record of four/zero. I’m pretty confident with things.

I
asked Red to go with me but she had something else planned. As I try to pull on my pants to get ready, she won’t stop kissing me.

“Hey, if you keep that up, I’ll have to strip you and miss my meeting.”

She bats her eyelashes, throwing herself back on the bed and sprawling out her arms. “Would that be so bad?”

“Oh hell.” I move
to the bed, my pants half on, and crawl up her lithe body. I climb over her, resting my weight on my knees and knuckles. My lips lower, teasing her mouth. She moans, and I know if I don’t stop I’ll either need a cold shower or I’ll strip her down and do all the things to her that are rolling through my mind. I shake my head and crawl back off the bed.

“Aw
, Grey, it’s cold over here now.”

I
shake my head. “Won’t work. It’s like ninety degrees out there right now. Just so you know, I hate summers here.” Changing the subject will make my evident excitement go away, I hope. The cold shower is starting to sound like a better option.

“Ah, Grey, I love that about you
. You’ll move to a place that you don’t like, just for me.”

I smirk
. That’s our game, we have yet to actually say the words, but for now, this is enough. I suspect she’s been through some tough stuff in her past just like me and the time just isn’t right.

A limo pulls up to th
e curb right on time and I slide in to find Jimmy and Meyer already in the back. Meyer has a crappy grin on his face and Jimmy looks like he’s up to something. Always. I look from one to the other and ask, “What’s up with you two?”

They have suddenly
become extremely close, which is odd to me. When I was on the amateur circuit before with Jimmy as my manager, Meyer practically whined like a chick at the ridiculousness of having a manager at that level. He didn’t seem to care for Jimmy. Now though, they seem pretty tight.

Jimmy looks
at Meyer, exchanging an understanding, and sits up. He’s serious as if he’s conducting a business meeting. This is why I stuck with him. He knows how serious this is to me and he’s also serious about it.

“Okay
, Champ, the man you’re going to meet tonight is a serious player as a sponsor. He knows you’re in a unique situation and I think that’s what intrigues him. His name is Vincent Luciano. If he likes you and feels you have potential, we’re a shoe in.”

I
nod.

“Let me do the talking
.” Jimmy adds.

I smile.
Are my communication skills that bad? I remember Jackson doing the talking with my parole officer to let us come here to fight and then again for me to stay, making it my permanent residence. She still doubts me but Jackson has the talking abilities with her.

I nod
again, relenting. As long as I can get more fights. I’m itching for more. Unfortunately after the night in the bar a couple of months ago, Parker has been on his best behavior with my sister, so the urge to kill him has left, at least momentarily. I would like to get in the cage with him and see what he can do.

The restaurant is packed
, but a hostess leads us to a table in the corner obscured from the rest of the room. A greying man that I recognize stands as we approach. He holds his hand out and smiles, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. I saw this man at my first fight here in Vegas. He sat with Jimmy and Meyer that night.

“A pleasure to finally meet you
, Greylan Pace.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Luciano.”

“You can call me Vince; we are going to be business partners, after all.”

A fist of doubt
, or call it uneasiness, forms in my chest at his words. I look at Jimmy, who seems like the world is perfect. My stare moves to Meyer. He’s fidgety but that isn’t unusual. My nerves must be a mess.

We sit and order drinks. I look
at the older man. His hair is slicked back and when he glances over, I notice light green eyes, almost a hazel color. His suit looks like it could be Armani or some top end brand. I’m not sure. Mollie has been trying to teach me about fashion but it’s lost on me. Jeans and a t-shirt and I’m happy.

Dinner rolls o
n, Jimmy is on his game. I keep looking at Meyer. He seems a little down lately. His eyes have purple under them, telling of a lack of sleep and his hair is longer than I have ever seen it. He’s been drinking heavily but I decided a while ago that I can’t save Meyer. I’ve tried so many times to get through. It’s pointless.

The day I told Meyer I
was going to move to Vegas, he was fully supportive and offered to share his house. It became his when his mom passed the year before from liver disease. I’ve tried talking to him about her but he’s closed up about it. I’m sure that’s a contributing factor in his depression lately. When I told him how serious I am about Mollie, I was sure he would take back the offer to live at the house. But to my surprise, he didn’t. Now he mopes around or doesn’t come home most nights when I’m there.

“So Greylan, Meyer here tells me you are going for the top.”
Mr. Luciano’s tone is amused.

“
Of course I’d like to win it all, who wouldn’t?”

“
True, very true.” He picks up his drink and swirls the vodka around before taking a long sip.

He looks
at Meyer who gives him a nod.

“Okay, I think we might be able to work out a deal. I’ll set things up with Jimmy here and we’ll see what kind of fights we can get you.”

My lips turn up slightly. Not much can bring me down right now. It’s been a while but at that moment, everyone I care about is okay and I’m okay.
Finally
.