UNBROKEN: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 2) (19 page)

His fingers gently entwine with mine and he doesn’t say a word as the whistle calls out and the fight begins.

Chapter 12

Always

It’s happening exactly as Lillian intended it to, ever since the moment she let me join the Dames.

Love is a very powerful motivator.

I brought the
Alpha
out of retirement. I inspired the very first blood duel in over a decade. I drew in larger crowds every single week as they prayed to bear witness to the most anticipated rematch the Alphas have ever known.

You’d think I’d feel proud having made such an impression, but I can barely sleep at night and I’m not the only one.

The Unbreakable
had no trouble taking
The Sinister
down. It was hard to watch, something that continues to flash behind my eyelids every time I close my eyes. Amy told me it was even worse than Tobias yanking another man’s teeth out; a fight from last year’s tournament that I’m honestly okay with missing out on. I saw the after effects of it, the bruises and blood stuck to his skin. I almost wish he’d made me stay home this year, too.

Whenever I feel like we’re starting to nail down Rick’s style, he does something different, something so utterly out of left field, that we’re slapped right back to square one.

We have no way of knowing what’s coming next week.

“Tobias?” I whisper his name in the darkness, knowing that he’s just as wide awake as I am.

“Yeah.”

I roll over to face him, moving slowly to keep his bed from squeaking too loudly. He stares straight ahead, his eyes locked on the ceiling above us, with one arm resting beneath his head. My eyes fall to the bare skin of his chest and I can’t help but trace the edges of his tattoos with my fingertips. “What’s this mean?” I ask him, my fingers swirling around a random symbol inked across his left bicep.

“You’ve been lying awake all night,” he smirks, “and
that’s
what you have to ask me?”

I shrug. “I’ve just always been curious…”

He glances at my hand and sighs. “It doesn’t mean anything,” he answers. “Mary drew it when she was a kid. I thought it looked cool.”

I press my lips together and push my head deeper into my pillow. “Sorry,” I whisper, pulling my hand away.

“Don’t be,” he says. He reaches for my hand and holds it against him before I can take it away completely. “Talking about her… it gets easier the more I do it.”

I lay my palm against his chest and the gentle thump of his heart taps against my skin. It’s strong, elevated, but probably much calmer than mine.

“Claire?”

I look up. “What?”

“You don’t have to be scared,” he tells me. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

I scoff. “After tonight, it’s not me I’m worried about…”

He shifts onto his side to face me. “I can handle him, Claire.”

“No, you can’t.” I shake my head. “Believe me, I want you to. When I say I want him
gone
, I mean it, but I don’t want you to go down with him.”

He pushes a finger beneath my chin to keep my eyes on his. “I won’t. You hear me—?”

“He won’t stop, Tobias,” I say. “Win or lose… he’ll keep fighting for me.”

“He and I have something in common then.”

“There’s only one way that can end…” I say slowly, licking my dry lips. “You know that, right?”

“Yes,” he admits. “I’ve already prepared myself for that possibility, Claire.”

“And you’re
okay
with that?”

He exhales. “Are you?”

“No,” I answer instantly. “I wasn’t okay with you killing before and I’m not okay with it now.”

“Claire—”

“Promise me you won’t kill him, Tobias.”

“No.”

I lean away from him again. “Tobias—”

“Claire, I didn’t kill Pike because you asked me not to,” he says, his deep snarl rumbling in my chest. “He killed my little sister and I held back
for you
. I didn’t get justice for Mary because of
you
.”

My eyes sting. “Tobias, I—”

“And because of that, because he’s still out there, Rick knows my every move. He’s
worse
than Pike, he’s
better
than him — all because I didn’t slit his throat when I had the chance.”

I push away from him as tears build on the edges of my eyes. “Tobias, stop—”

He grabs me and holds me close with a vise-like grip. “I will not let them take anything else from me.” His hot breath skirts across my cheek, heating my chilled skin. “No, Claire… I will kill him if I have to.”

He releases me and I realize how badly I’m shaking. I let my tears run down my cheeks. I’ve lost every will I have to hold them back now. “Don’t you dare put that on me, Tobias…” I push the words off my tongue, tasting the acid beneath them.

“What do you want me to say, Claire?” he asks. “I wanted to put this life behind us, but
you
wanted to stay in. You wanted to become a Dame and I respected you enough to let you make that choice, even though I
knew
it meant that someday, I wouldn’t be enough for you—”

I shake my head. “That’s not true.”

“I see the way he looks at you,” he says. “The way he
always
looks at you and it
ruins
me.”

“I can’t control that,” I say. “I have
zero
control over anything that’s happening right now. I have to stand back and
watch
as everything around me falls apart.”

“Claire—”

“My mother is missing,” I interrupt, my hands twitching wildly in front of me. “She won’t call me. My stepbrother wants me so badly, he’s willing to fight his way through a tournament just to
own me.
There’s a rival gang of psychotic wackos at our doorstep and my boyfriend…” I pause and wipe tears from my eyes. “My boyfriend thinks I somehow magically have a say in any of it.”

“You do have a say,” he argues. “We can leave.”

“Leave?” I repeat.

“Yes.”

“We can’t just
leave
.”

“Yes, we can.” He pulls me back in, his strong hands holding my shoulders. “We still have the money from last year’s tournament. I haven’t spent any of it and you have what you’ve earned working with Amy.”

I look into his eyes and I can see he’s serious. “Tobias, we—”

“We can go
anywhere
we want,” he whispers. “Anywhere in the world.”

“We can’t just abandon the tournament, Tobias,” I argue.

“Yes,” he breathes, leaning forward to lay his forehead against mine. “We can.”

“What about Charlie?”

“Dad will be fine, Claire,” he smiles. “I’m sure he doesn’t want his son living at home forever anyway.”

My panic shifts, illuminating a truth that had not occurred to me until now. “Tobias…” I shake my head. “This is
my
home, too.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to leave,” I admit. “This is the first place I’ve ever felt truly wanted…”

He pushes my hair back from my face. “We can always come back, but…” A smile strikes his lips, so real and true. “Claire, I believe in my instincts. Right now, they’re telling me to get you as far away from this place as I can and I have to listen to them.”

I open my mouth to argue, but he silences me with a quick kiss, his lips as warm and comforting as they’ve ever been. “Tobias—”

“Please, Claire,” he whispers, landing a second kiss. He pulls me even closer until his body presses against mine. I can feel his heart, racing wildly in his chest, beating just for me.
“Please…”
His fingers crawl up my arm and come to rest at the back of my head, holding me in place as his tongue tastes my own.

He begs this of me. His voice, his body — all begging me to abandon this world in favor of us. I moan softly as his hands move along the curve of my body, passing by my breasts and hips, pushing beneath my shirt to feel the sensitive skin of my lower back. He knows the exact spot to caress, the one that sends shivers throughout my body. I can’t fight his seduction. I stand as much of a chance against him in his bed as I do against him in the ring.

His lips fall to my neck and I swoon as he pushes my knees apart. Quick breaths fire passed my lips as he shifts me onto my back, his strength moving me exactly where he wants me to be. I feel his body in the darkness. He towers over me, watching me as my hands run over his perfect abs, traveling down to his rock hard manhood. I barely touch it, tenting out of his loose-fitting sweats, before he reaches down and grips my wrists to pin me against his bed.

There’s a fire in his gaze, driven mad by lust and fear. He kisses me softly and I feel the trembling of his lips against mine. “Tobias…” I whisper, fighting my desire for him. “We shouldn’t do this here…”

His grip tightens around my wrists. There’s a growl on his breath, low and desperate as an animal. He licks his lips. “I have to feel you…” he begs. “Let me be inside of you…” He releases one of my wrists and moves his hand down my body, grazing my hard nipple as he aims for my warm sex.

“Tobias—” I sigh, unable to stop the intense pleasure throbbing through my body. He touches my slit, gently tapping my soaking lips. My head falls back, the teasing ecstasy overwhelming me, and he licks and bites at the skin of my exposed neck.

I lie still, aching only for him, unable to resist him. He pushes himself up and quickly slides my panties down to my curling toes. He lowers his pants as well, letting them settle just below the curve of his rear, and his firm cock stands on end between us.

He balances on his knees and takes hold of my hips to pull me closer until his thickness presses against my opening. My fingers grip the pillow beneath my head. I hold my breath to keep from screaming his name. He stares down at me like a warrior, his lips curling in delicious agony. His eyes lock on mine as he slowly slides his thick tip inside of me.

I bite my bottom lip, twitching with the delicious pain it brings. “Oh,
god—”
I moan.

“Shh,” he warns, completely in control of his passions. His strong fingers dig into my hips again and he pulls me closer, sheathing himself deeper inside of me. He inhales sharply, his nails poking at my skin, and he closes his eyes to focus and experience me.

My body quivers, but he holds me steady with his hands. He lingers above me, firm as stone. His cock twitches inside, begging to thrust, but he denies it the satisfaction.

After several moments of silent torment, he leans forward onto his hands and slowly lowers his lips to mine. “I love you, Claire…” he tells me, whispering softly in my ear.
“Always.”

I push my fingers through his jet black hair, stirring his scent to my nostrils.
“Always,”
I repeat.

Tobias lays beside me and he embraces me until the sun rises.

***

I stare across the kitchen table at Tobias and wish that I could reach out and push his hair back. It’s fallen down in front of his eyes. I’ve barely seen those round irises of forest green in days. He’s kept them from me since he begged me to leave with him. He’s waiting for me to give in and say that I’ll run away with him, but I can’t bring myself to submit to the idea yet. I want to so badly, I can feel it in the very marrow of my bones, but I don’t want to run away from the life I’ve built here.

“So…” My eyes jolt away from Tobias as Charlie’s voice breaks the long, deafening silence. He sits to my left with his fork balanced between two fingers. His eyes shift back and forth between us. “Do I need to ask what’s going on?”

“No,” Tobias says quickly.

Charlie looks at me. “Everything okay?”

I force a smile. “Yes,” I answer. “Everything is fine.” I finally meet Tobias’ eyes and he sits up a little taller in his chair. He opens his mouth to speak, but a knock on the front door interrupts him. “I’ll get it,” I say. “It’s probably Amy…”

“Do you two have plans tonight?” Charlie asks.

“No,” I say, glancing over my shoulder as I enter the living room. “But who else would it be?”

“Good point.”

I open the front door and pause as every muscle in my body turns to broken glass. Lillian stands on the porch, her red hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. I open my mouth to speak, but I don’t know where to begin. Charlie is within earshot and I’m not that great at improvisation.