Maya Banks - Theirs to Keep

THE DRESSING ROOM WAS INSANITY. Champagne was sprayed everywhere and on anyone in close proximity. As soon as the media had been allowed access, Cade herded Elle into one of the smaller changing rooms.

It was a bit like closing the barn door after the horse already got out. Merrick had just kissed her in plain view of not only those in the arena but the millions watching the fight on pay per view. But Cade was adamant that he and Merrick both didn’t want her directly exposed to the media.

So she rolled her eyes and sat while the insanity went on outside the door. To her surprise, a mere twenty minutes later, the door burst open and Merrick came in, Cade close on his heels.

Without a word, Merrick stalked to where she sat in a chair across the room and hauled her up and into his arms. His mouth crushed down over hers with bruising force that left her gasping for breath.

His need was a tangible thing, thick in the air. It vibrated from him in waves.

“Need you,” he growled against her mouth. “Right here. Right now. Jesus, baby. I need you.”

Her heart pounded like a freight train, but she put her arms around him, holding him close, and she murmured next to his ear, “Okay, then. Okay. I’m here. Take me, Merrick. Take what you need.”

He set her down only long enough to free himself from the trunks he wore and to reach underneath the filmy skirt she wore and yank away her underwear.

Then he lifted her again, hoisting her up his body.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he said hoarsely.

She wrapped arms and legs around him, anchoring herself to him. He grasped her behind, lifting and then settling her down over his rigid erection. Then he walked her back until she bumped against the wall, and he thrust hard and deep.

The angle was impossible. She was too far forward, too smashed between him and the wall. She pushed at him, wanting him to get the hint without her interrupting the desperation that gripped them both.

Muttering a curse, he gripped her tighter and turned away from the wall.

“Hold her, Cade.”

Heat prickled up her nape. Her nipples hardened, and her pussy clenched around Merrick’s cock. The sheer eroticism of what Merrick suggested had her flushed with arousal.

Cade’s chest met her back, his warmth invading her body as he slid his arms underneath hers, holding and supporting her weight while Merrick gripped her hips and plunged deeper.

“Lean back against me, honey,” Cade whispered.

She let her head fall back against his shoulder, and Cade turned his mouth to nuzzle her jaw while Merrick fucked her with an intensity he’d never unleashed with her before.

There, held between the two men she loved, one holding her while the other drove into her over and over…it was more than she was able to withstand.

She came quickly. No build up. No prolonged, slow rise to completion. She hurtled over the edge like a plane falling from the sky. And still, Merrick plunged deeply into her body, as if he’d never get enough.

“Need you so much,” Merrick panted.

She reached to touch the damp hair at his shoulders and then gently ran her hands over his jaw, framing his face.

“I need you too,” she said softly.

“Table,” Merrick gritted out.

He withdrew only long enough for Cade to carry her to the padded exam table against the far wall. Cade positioned her on her belly, her legs down, feet just touching the floor, and then Merrick was inside her again, thrusting into her from behind.

His hands caressed her back, running up and down her spine with gentleness that was contradictory to the way he was driving into her.

So much adrenaline. This was his outlet. She was the one person he wanted. Who he trusted. He’d come to her. He loved her.

The stirrings of another orgasm rose from deep within. The position he had her in forced him deeper, at a different angle. His cock touched different parts of her pussy, and she gasped as the familiar flood of pleasure began foaming through her body.

Then he tensed against her. And then he went hard. Fast. Rocking her forward, almost rough as he came in wave after wave.

And then finally he lowered his body over hers, lying flush against her back, his breath whispering harshly in her ear.

God, but she was so on edge. So close to another climax. Her entire body tingled, and she unconsciously bucked her ass upward, wanting, needing more.

Merrick lifted himself up and gently pulled out of her body. She moaned, wanting that fullness back. She needed it.

“Take care of her, Cade,” Merrick said in a low voice. “She’s close. She needs to finish.”

She heard the rasp of a zipper, and her pulse shot up about twenty beats a minute. Warm gentle hands on her behind, spreading and caressing.

And then Cade was inside her. Just as hard. Just as thick. Only a bit slower and not as desperate as Merrick had been.

She closed her eyes and lay her cheek on the soft pad covering the table and gave herself over to the two men who loved her.

Cade leaned down and kissed between her shoulder blades, and then he picked up his pace, driving harder, as if he’d lost the ability to be patient. His need took over, and it drove her own relentlessly on.

“Take what you need, Elle,” Cade commanded. “Come for me.”

She twisted restlessly, unable to remain still under the delicious onslaught. She bucked upward, meeting every thrust.

Cade grasped her hips and pulled her back each time he drove forward. Then his grasp tightened, his fingers digging into her flesh and she cried out as, for a second time, her orgasm flashed and swallowed her up in its fiery pleasure.

And then as Merrick had done, Cade blanketed her body, his hips still twitching against her ass while he lay, his breaths coming hard and long over her shoulder.

“Love you,” he whispered.

As soon as Cade carefully pulled out of Elle’s body, she was in Merrick’s arms again, cradled in his hold.

“Jesus, baby,” he murmured over and over again. “We did it. We goddamn did it.”

She smiled and rested her head against his chest. “No, you did it, Merrick. You kicked his ass. You’re the champion.”

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, worry thick in his voice.

She smiled at that too. “Oh no, my love. If you do that after every fight, I might not be so reluctant for you to fight more often.”

Merrick smiled, and then she looked up at his battered face in worry.

“How hurt are you? God, Merrick, you shouldn’t have been having sex after you just got the hell beat out of you.”

He arched one eyebrow. The one not cut and bleeding. “I thought you just said I kicked his ass.”

“Yeah, well, he did some kicking of his own. You have to be in so much pain.”

Merrick shook his head. “Not yet. Adrenaline still flowing. It’s why I had to have you right here, right now. Later, I’ll feel it. That’s when Dallas will shove some meds down me and make me rest. I won’t be worth killing in a few hours.”

She turned and held her hand out to Cade, wanting him close. As close as she was to Merrick. Cade pushed in until she was sandwiched between the two men. It was a comfortable, familiar place to be in. Between them. Where she felt the safest. Where she was loved.

“I love the two of you. I hope you both know that.”

Cade smiled. “Yeah, I think we do.”

She glanced up at Merrick. “Hey, what’s with kissing me in front of live television? I thought we were keeping me secret.”

Merrick went quiet a moment and glanced Cade’s way. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t thinking about it at the time. I only knew I wanted you to share in that moment with me and Cade. It wasn’t complete without you. I wanted the whole damn world to know that I love you. And…if someone, somewhere sees you and recognizes you and even tries to contact you, then we’ll deal with that when it comes up. At some point, we have to address the issue of your past. Maybe this will help us do just that.”

She leaned her head over on Cade’s shoulder while still remaining in Merrick’s arms.

“And maybe no one will come at all,” she said softly, hope for just that outcome brimming in her heart.

THE THREE STAYED IN LOS Angeles for four days after the fight. Merrick had meetings with the president of the IMMAO as well as their publicity team, not to mention countless other media for post-fight interviews, videos and a radio appearance.

Elle didn’t know how he did it. He was tired. Physically and mentally exhausted, and he was in considerable pain from the pounding he’d taken. Dallas stayed all four days, giving Merrick a thorough assessment each morning.

The fifth morning, the late nights and endless appointments had caught up with Elle, and she was sleeping soundly when Merrick slid out of bed to meet Dallas.

She stirred and automatically stuck her head up, bleary-eyed, ready to be with Merrick, but Cade slid his strong arm around her and pulled her back down next to him.

Merrick bent over the bed, smoothed her hair from her forehead and then kissed her. “Stay in bed, baby. I won’t be long. Dallas is heading home this morning, and he wanted to check in on me one more time before his flight to Denver.”

“Love you,” she murmured.

The smile split his face and wrinkled his lean jaw. “Love you too.”

She watched lazily as he dressed and then left the bedroom of the suite. Then she turned, seeking Cade’s warmth and the comfort of his body. She snuggled tightly against him and sighed in utter contentment when he wrapped his body around hers and held her close.