Nicco smirked at her, fawning at every little thing she did as if he couldn't wait to see what she did next. I hated him a little but couldn't deny his response to her. She was a drug you never wanted to quit.
"How are you," he started, kissing her knuckles as he spoke, "frenemies with a record breaking, undefeated, amateur fighter, beautiful?"
Way to go ahead and spill all my secrets, jackass!
His comment had her tilting her head toward me, her mouth agape in surprise. She sat up, closing her mouth and pulling her shoulders back. It was her readying stance for our verbal sparring. Guess I would still get to spar tonight after all, I mused. Sadly, I had to admit the jabs with sad eyes, my kitten, were more fulfilling. She smirked, and I knew she was about to toss me a doozy.
"Well, he can't be too record breaking if I was able to knee him in the nuts," she proudly proclaimed.
Nicco roared with laughter, and I had to admit her statement was cute. Lifting a corner of my lips, I smirked back at her bravado.
"Oh, kitten, you wouldn't stand a chance if I was fighting you."
I hadn't meant to purr it, especially with the boss sitting there, but it indeed had come out full of lust and need. The heat developing between us had to be palpable by now, her breath caught, making her chest rise with each inhale. Nicco nuzzled her neck at the sound of her gasps and started to kiss down her shoulder. Shifting my cock, I tried to look anywhere else, but her eyes were locked on mine, and I couldn't look away.
This was pure torture. Pure. Fucking. Torture.
Deciding if I wasn't fighting, I didn't have to sit here in pain as my cock grew tight against my boxers. I might as well head home and get some sleep. Rest was the only thing that would heal my physical wounds now. The internal ones, well, that was a different story.
"Thank you for the offer to stay," I gritted, "but I think it will be harder to sit here and watch… the fights and," I stumbled, "not fight in them. I'll leave you two and wait to hear from you."
Nicco barely acknowledged me, only nodding at me, though it could've just been him licking her neck. It was hard to say. He did raise a finger, and Beau was next to us in a flash. He pulled away from the now blushing kitten and addressed me.
"Beau will walk you out to make sure you don't have any more encounters."
Exhaling in relief, I was thankful despite my scowl. Showing it would be suicide, but I was relieved beyond measure I didn't have to fight in this condition. There would be consequences, and they were going to be hell to pay. Hopefully, I would figure something out before they put me in a grave.
Beau quietly nodded at the command, and I headed for the stairs, ready to get the hell out of this place. I stopped before I descended, feeling the pull of her eyes on me. Kitten was watching, and I couldn't place the emotion shown on her face as she did. Eventually, Nicco said something to her, and she turned to him, breaking our connection.
It felt as if part of my soul stayed in the VIP area as I continued down the stairs. With each clang of my boots on the metal, it was a reminder of how unfair life had been for me. I couldn't let myself be deluded by things like hope and love. It would only be a recipe for heartbreak and disappointment. I'd lived a lifetime of those already.
The cold air hit me as we walked out the back door. Fortunately, we'd managed to avoid any Delgados in attendance, and I'd made it safely outside. Heading to the nearest train station, I shuffled my way there, each step harder than the last. The ride home was quiet since most people didn't venture out this late on this side of town.
I'd once lived in a condo like Monroe's in the center of the city. Now, I lived way out of town on a lot that was private and my own. The train only went so far and then the beat up junker was my chariot. It was undependable at best, unless stalling and breaking down were the key aspects you wanted. I didn't trust it to take me further than a few miles.
The house came into view, and the relief I felt was tangible. The house was the last thing I had left, but it was mine. It wasn't much, but I'd been slowly repairing it, one room at a time. The outside resembled an abandoned house on good days, but I found it kept people away, adding to the appeal for me. It would be the last thing I'd remodel for that reason.
The dogs were excited to see me as I entered, their whines and pants greeting me in a cacophony of noises. Training and breeding dogs had become a passion of mine. One of my better foster families had an Alaskan Husky, and I fell in love with the breed. They were big and mighty, as well as good companions. As a small boy, it was something I was missing. When I'd become successful in my career, I fulfilled that boyish dream of getting my first dog.
Koda was loveable and high energy, needing proper training. I dove headfirst into everything I could find on the subject. It was one of those weird things I found I'd been surprisingly good at, just like I had with stock markets. After a month of working with Koda, the breeder had been impressed with the progress and asked me to join their training program for their dogs.
Underdogs Farm wasn't a puppy mill but bred and trained various breeds for professions such as police dogs, therapy dogs, search and rescue dogs, and even seeing-eye dogs. Huskies weren't the typical breed due to their jovial nature and high energy, but they could be brilliant assets with formal training in certain fields. It had started out as only a few hours on the weekend, and I would take Koda so he could visit his family and run out his energy on their farm.
Soon, I found myself with Nova, and that was when I started looking for a place I could live with two dogs. The condo wasn't ideal with its limited space and neighbors complaining of the barking. I found this property and had just moved in when the shit hit the fan with my job. All my assets were seized outside my house and bike, and that was only because they'd been put in a different name—Monroe Miller.
Now, I trained dogs at my home, taking them for a few months before sending them on to be ready for their position. There were currently four dogs in the house, two of which would leave soon. It got a little crazy at times, but they kept the loneliness away and ebbed the depression. Dogs didn't care how successful you were, they just loved you. They were the purest form of the emotion, and I could easily give them my best because they deserved it.
"Here, Koda, Nova. Let's go outside. Ghost, Loki, you too. Come on."
They all skidded around me as they rushed for the door. Letting them do their business, I stared out at the landscape around me. The stars shone brighter here, and I settled into the safety of being home. The night sky was peaceful, the air quiet with only the sounds of the wildlife around us. Once the dogs were done, I followed them inside and filled their bowls with food. It was one of the mindless tasks I was in the habit of doing. I left them to eat and heated something in the microwave.
It was shit, but when I'd barely eaten anything all day, it was practically gourmet. The drone of the microwave became white noise as I leaned against the sink. I could get lost staring at walls in this place, my thoughts safe to wander. When it beeped, I jumped, pulling the hot plate from the device. Flipping on my TV, I found myself unable to focus on anything that played. Leaving it on a movie I'd seen a million times, I shoveled the cardboard food into my mouth as my thoughts circulated to Loren, my sad eyed girl, my kitten.
I was only half a man these days. I wasn't good for her at all. She deserved a good guy like Monroe. Yet, even with all of these solid arguments in my head on why it was a horrible idea and how someone like me didn't deserve her, I couldn't stop obsessing over her. It was clearly an obsession now. Her essence consumed me—her smell, the sounds she made, the way her eyes lit up, the corner of her mouth, the taste of her on my fingers.
A car pulled up, the sound of the crunch of gravel pricking mine and the dog's ears. Their eyes lasered on the door as we waited to see who it would be. The door shutting had me moving to the window to peek out at my guest. Only two people knew I lived here, so I wondered if I'd been followed after all.
Only one set of feet on the gravel had me exhaling, and when he came into view, I fully relaxed. Heading to the door, I opened it before he got there, leaning in the door frame as I waited.