Page 15

Chapter

Fifteen

ARI

I didn’t know how long I’d been staring at our name on the leaderboard of the Circuit.

But I did know it was long enough to formulate a plan for murder down to the last gruesome detail.

Because I was about two more spots away from ending Pinstripe and his whole career.

Ever since he had taken over for Bones, it had been loss after loss. 3-13 was nothing compared to his 0-7 start in the Circuit. Then someone up there had mercy on him and had thrown him a bone, and he managed to win his last three fights. But a 3-7 record meant Smiley’s was no longer in the top four.

We weren’t even close.

Seventh place was a bitter pill to swallow.

Especially since Lucien, our “generous” sponsor, was on his way to come “talk some sense into us.” By us he meant me , because I was the only one here so far. The rest of the guys were on the way, and I was sure Lotto and Frankie were breaking some laws trying to get here as quick as they could.

I had come to get everything ready and to clear my head after our run in Oregon. But even being back at home and in the comfort of my gym did nothing for me. It felt like depression clung to the equipment here and reminded me of our failures so far.

I was still staring at the standings when the front door banged open.

Lucien barged into Smiley’s like a pissed-off hog in a nice suit. Before I could even greet him, he threw a printed off paper with the Circuit’s standings at me.

“I already know,” I said before he could start his bullshit.

“Then you should know that if you fall to less than twelfth place, you can consider yourself sponsorless.”

“There are twenty-four teams in the Circuit,” I reminded him. My jaw clenched so hard I thought I might crack a tooth or two. “Being seventh out of twenty-four is really fucking impressive.”

“Not to me.”

Or his dealings. Or his daddy. Or whatever embezzlement shit he was part of.

But I didn’t say that. I was already tired of the prick, and he had just gotten here.

“I don’t pay for mid-tier.” Lucien fixed me with a glare. It was probably supposed to be intimidating, but it reminded me more of a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“And you’re not getting mid-tier.”

“Not yet. But I don’t trust that you won’t slip any further. Who is this loser you hired as a backup? Pinstripe? He can barely hold his arms up to fight. And why didn’t you tell me you signed him?”

“What I do with my money is none of your business.”

Lucien snorted. “Your money or Troy Godwin’s money?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. It was bitter and hollow—exactly how I was feeling right now. So Troy was right after all. This was all some weird dick-wagging contest with Smiley’s as the backdrop.

“Is your jaw tired yet?” Lucien raised an eyebrow, and I crinkled the paper he’d thrown at me in my fist. “You’ve been trying to suck Troy’s dick for so long, I’m surprised it’s not stuck in that position.”

That was definitely the wrong thing to say. Lucien’s face shadowed despite the bright sunlight. His eyes flashed as he took a step forward. This wasn’t the toddler who walked in, but a dangerous businessman in his own right.

But after dealing with Troy for so long, it didn’t faze me.

At least until he opened his goddamn mouth.

“For someone who wants to uphold her father’s legacy, you sure are a disappointment.” The words struck my heart like a bullet. I blinked at him in shock. It only made his face wrinkle even more. “That’s what you wrote on your application, isn’t it? That you want to win the whole thing and make everyone know his name. And yet here you are, falling in the rankings and arguing with the only person who gave your shitty little gym the time of day.”

“I wonder why you’re the only one who did?” My question was more of an accusation. I already knew the truth, and the shit-eating grin on his face confirmed it.

“Everyone else gave up on you so easily.” Lucien shrugged and played with his diamond cufflinks. “Barely took a phone call for them to move onto another team entirely.”

“Looks like extortion runs in the family.”

“That’s my father’s business, not mine.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“I guess you’ll have to apologize to your father when you lose your only hope of making his dream come true.”

“There are backups,” I argued. But even that was weak, just like the waver in my voice. “People who actually give a shit about winning, and not just what our name means to them.”

“You sure about that?”

I stayed silent because truthfully, I wasn’t sure. Just like Frankie had admitted his mistake in trusting the Smiley’s fighters until it was too late, I’d made a similar mistake. I had jumped into the Circuit too quickly. I didn’t do enough research before committing. Now I was scrambling to stay afloat in the middle of Hurricane Lucien and all the debris his blast brought with him.

“You’ll be begging for my patronage back when you see the last three businesses left as sponsors. There’s a reason they’re alternates.” Lucien fixed his suit jacket, then his greasy hair, and flashed me a fake smile. “Then I’ll be in touch. Hopefully not too often, Ari.”

I matched his smile. “For both of our sakes, Mr. Fritz.”

Then I showed him to the door and slammed it closed behind him. I didn’t need to lock it, but I did. Smiley’s Gym didn’t need any more bad vibes. We already had plenty here with everything going on.

I slid down against the locked door, letting the cold glass cool my heated body. Lucien’s words weren’t true. My dad would be damn proud of what I built—what we’d built—given the circumstances. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. And damn did it hurt badly. I missed my dad like crazy. Every time I walked into Smiley’s, I greeted his picture, ready to keep everything he fought for alive. Yet somehow, I kept fucking it all up.

Hot tears stung at my eyes, and I sniffled and rubbed my nose to ward them off. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to give Lucien the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to me. But they came out in a flood anyway, racing down my cheeks faster than I could wipe them. Eventually, I gave up. It was kind of cathartic to let it all out. Because once I finally stopped sobbing, I was only left with the resolve to keep fighting and do even better.

The door jiggled behind me, and I turned to see Lotto and Frankie’s worried faces as they tried to open the locked door. I wiped the remnants of tears from my cheeks and stood, letting them in.

With one glance at my reddened eyes, Frankie knew. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“Me first,” I said, certain my smile didn’t reach my eyes. “It’s fine. I dealt with it.”

“I should have been here. He should have been talking to me.”

“He came when I was alone for a reason.”

Frankie raked a hand through his hair. “He practically hung up on me when I told him you were here, and I was on the way.”

“Fucking asshole.” Lotto dragged his fingers over my blotchy cheeks. “I’m sorry, angel. I should have been here, too. But…”

Silence hung like heavy curtains. The ‘but’ was the missing piece of our foursome. Bones. He’d been taking Pinstripe’s shitty record the hardest out of all of us. No matter what we said, he was down in the dumps about it. It didn’t help that he still had the splint on and was unable to do basic things without difficulty.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m a big girl; I can handle it.” When Frankie narrowed his eyes on my red-rimmed eyes, I rolled them. “Big girls can cry, too, you know. It doesn’t mean I’m weak.”

“I definitely wouldn’t call you weak, angel.” Lotto’s smirk held so much more meaning since I’d beaten his ass red. The memory sparked flames in my stomach.

“I’d call you the opposite,” Frankie muttered. “Too strong for your own good. You don’t have to do everything alone.”

“And I don’t need your help with everything either. We’re a team, but I made this bed. I’m the one who rushed us into the decision without a second thought. I need to lie in it.”

“That’s not the bed I want you to lie in.”

“Oh yeah?” I grinned and pushed his shoulder with mine. “What were you thinking? ’Cause I have both a couch and a bed that’s big enough for the four of us. Could we take the day off?”

Frankie chewed on his words for a bit, but when he glanced at Lotto and saw Lotto sported a similarly pleading expression, he sighed.

“Fine. But only one. I’ll tell River and Teo.”

“I’ll go get Bones,” Lotto said. There was a smile on his face as he pulled out his car keys. “Meet you in a bit.”

“Then let’s go, Mr. Chauffeur.” I grabbed Frankie’s arm and squeezed. “And take me to paradise.”

We were a mess of limbs. I wasn’t sure where I ended or where someone else started, but I didn’t care. I was tucked in Frankie’s arms on the couch with someone’s legs thrown over mine. Based on the socks, one was Bones, and the other was Lotto. Our pizza was gone, as was our beer. On the TV, the ending credits of Rocky IV rolled. Lotto clicked it off.

“I think that’s enough Rocky for the night.”

“There’s still two left,” I argued. I didn’t want them to leave just yet. Simply being with my favorite people made me feel so much better.

“But we just watched the best one.” Frankie dragged his hand up my side.

“True.”

“I wish that shit worked out in real life.” Bones sighed. “Rocky would never have beaten Ivan in the Circuit. He’d probably fuck up his hand before the match even began.”

Lotto sighed. “Bones.”

“I’m being serious. This is all my?—”

“Don’t even start,” I snapped. I leaned forward enough to flick my finger against his forehead. “No pity parties tonight.”

“Hard not to have one when you can barely take a shower on your own.”

“That’s why I’ve been helping you,” Lotto reminded him.

“Oh?” I grinned. “Helping? How?”

“Oh, you know,” Bones said with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

Lotto’s hand came out of the body pile from somewhere. He set it on Bones’ chest and pushed his back flush against his front. Bones gasped and leaned back into Lotto; my sharp intake of breath mixed with Frankie’s low exhalation.

Lotto pushed Bones’ shirt up until his pecs were exposed to the air. “First, I wash all over here.” He dragged his fingers over Bones’ chest and circled around his nipples. “Paying extra attention to his nipples, of course.”

“Of course,” I murmured and leaned back into Frankie.

“Maybe we should follow along with this lesson,” he growled into my ear. Not even a second later, my shirt was up, and my bra was pushed down. Frankie cupped my breasts and traced the same pattern as Lotto until my nipples hardened. His low chuckle masked my pleasured gasp. “Then what, Lotto?”

“I make sure to help him get them clean. Both of them.” Lotto grabbed Bones’ nipples and tugged, rolling them between his fingers. Bones groaned and pushed back into Lotto, but his eyes were on Frankie’s hands. Frankie pulled at my nipples and circled until I was panting and arching into his hands.

Lotto kept playing with a nipple then let his hands travel lower until he traced his fingers over Bones’ abs until Bones’ cock twitched in his pants.

“Gotta get every nook and cranny. Right, Bones?”

Bones grunted when Lotto tugged his earlobe. He soothed it with his tongue, drawing lazy circles down the side of his neck. His eyes were hot fire as they bored into mine; I couldn’t take my eyes off him and the way his lips parted, even as Frankie ran his fingers down my stomach.

My core ached so badly, and the pulsing grew worse when Lotto squeezed at the bulge in Bones’ sweatpants.

“Can’t forget here either.” He laughed when Bones bucked into his grip. “The dirtiest place of all.”

“Is that right?” The amusement in Frankie’s tone made me shiver. So did the graze of his teeth on my shoulder.

“It is.”

Lotto dipped his hand beneath Bone’s pants. I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel it. Bones’ moan radiated down to my wet, desperately pulsing cunt. Lotto’s hand bumped against the fabric as he started stroking Bones’ cock.

“See?” he teased. “So fucking dirty. Already leaking all over my hand.”

“I wonder if you’re the same, Ari.” When Frankie shifted, I felt his hard dick against my ass. He dipped his hand into my pants and underwear and ran it up my folds. I whined when he slipped a finger inside my entrance. “Oh, definitely. She’s fucking soaked.”

“Go ahead and clean her up then.”

Frankie’s deep laugh vibrated throughout my body. He plunged his middle finger into my pussy and started fucking me. With the barrier of my clothes in the way, he already hit so deep. I moaned and ground into his motions. When a foot pushed against my inner thigh, I looked down.

“Eyes on Bones, angel,” Lotto commanded. “We have to help him.”

I moaned as Lotto fist fucked Bones even faster beneath his pants. Bones’ eyes were half-closed and glazed over. He gripped at Lotto’s leg before it slipped, and he grabbed onto someone else’s. Based on Frankie’s groan, it was his. I spread my legs a little further to give Frankie more room, but it didn’t feel like enough. None of it did.

“Lotto, I’m not sure I’m learning correctly,” I whimpered, continuing our charade. “Can I see it better?”

“Since you asked so nicely, angel.”

With a few tugs, Bones’ pants were down, and his cock was free. It was already so hard and red around the tip, cum leaking from the slit. My mouth watered at the sight.

“How about we show Lotto how good you’re doing, too, Ari?”

Frankie didn’t wait for my answer to lift my hips and yank my clothes to my knees. Soon, I was settled back in his lap, legs pulled as wide as possible to give Lotto and Bones a perfect view of my wet pussy. Frankie buried two more fingers into me and grunted at how easy it was to start fucking me.

“You weren’t kidding.” Lotto’s voice shook on his exhalation, and he squeezed Bones’ cock until Bones groaned. “Do you want to see Ari get cleaned, Bones?”

“Fuck yes,” he gasped. The couch squeaked when he thrust into Lotto’s hard grip.

Lotto growled, shifted, and brought his other hand up to force Bones’ head sideways and into a messy kiss. Their tongues tangled and moans mixed. Mine joined the chorus when Frankie curled his fingers and hit even deeper. I clung to someone, nails digging into sweaty flesh, my head falling back on Frankie’s shoulder.

I couldn’t look away from how easily Lotto fisted Bones and made him fall apart. His chest heaved and abs rippled. His groans were broken and muffled into Lotto’s relentless kiss. Frankie bit down on my neck and marked my skin everywhere he could touch.

Bones pulled away from Lotto to watch Frankie’s fingers disappear into my wet cunt. The way his already dark expression grew even more heated had me gasping. Frankie brushed his thumb over my pulsing clit, and I whined, humping his fingers for more. My release was so close. Just a few more strokes and I’d be screaming for everyone to hear.

But then Lotto growled, “Stop, Frankie.”

Frankie ripped his fingers from my cunt before I could even blink. If I had breath, I would have sobbed. I felt so fucking empty, and no matter how many times I ground back into Frankie’s hard cock, he wasn’t giving me any reprieve. My cunt pulsed angrily; my glare was even worse.

“Don’t look at me like that, angel.” Lotto laughed and squeezed Bones’ cock before letting go. Bones looked about as happy as I felt. “I want to give Bones some special love tonight. How about it, Bones?”

Bones licked his lips and looked between the three of us. “How?”

“How about you sit on Frankie’s cock? Ari will suck you off, and I’ll put on the finishing touches.”

I really liked the sound of that. Bones did, too, because he shifted to sit up and hurried to take off his clothes. We untangled ourselves and followed suit. Soon Bones was sitting in Frankie’s lap on the couch with me on my knees in front of him. Lotto knelt behind me, spreading Bones’ legs to give me room to wiggle forward.

“You deserve a little reward, too, angel,” Lotto murmured into my ear, his thick body pressing against my back. “So how about I fuck all those worries away?”

“You read my mind,” I purred and took Bones into my mouth.

The gasp he let out made my walls clench. He already tasted salty from Lotto’s work earlier. When his cock hit the back of my throat, Bones put his good hand into my hair to keep me down. I giggled. Where the fuck would I want to be?

Lotto grabbed my hips and helped me up onto all fours. I moaned when his hands split me open to get a good look.

“Damn angel.” He was panting and swiped his fingers up my wet folds. “Did you enjoy the show that much?”

I moaned my agreement around Bones’ cock as Bones tightened his grip on my hair and tugged as I started to bob. Frankie squeezed Bones’ chest and tugged at his nipples, grinding against Bones’ back.

“She sure did,” Frankie answered as he slipped one of his hands down to my mouth. “Open up, Ari.” I moved to pop off Bones’ cock, but Frankie tutted. “Keep him in there.”

With a grunt, I opened my mouth as wide as I could. Frankie pushed his finger inside next to Bones’ cock, and I sucked both of them. Lotto ran his knuckles along my folds in the same rhythm, smacking my cheeks every fourth suck with his other hand.

When Frankie was satisfied, he pulled his finger from my mouth and circled Bones’ ass. Bones moaned when Frankie began thrusting. It wasn’t like earlier with his teasing. Now he was desperate, working to get Bones ready for him. After a few more strokes, Frankie lifted Bones’ hips and settled him onto his length. I had to shift forward to keep Bones in my mouth as Frankie pushed into him.

Lotto shifted us forward and thrust into me in one movement. My loud whine and Bones’ gruff groans were the perfect melody. Bones started bouncing on Frankie’s cock, but his eyes were locked onto mine as I sucked him. Lotto gripped my hips as he pounded into me; his sweaty chest pressed against my back when he reached out to Bones’ chest. Lotto tugged on his right nipple then twisted. Bones moaned and bucked into my mouth, moving on Frankie’s cock even faster.

I reached up to play with Bones’ left nipple. Frankie planted his feet and fucked Bones even faster. I hollowed my cheeks and sucked him deeper. My moans vibrated against his cock as Lotto slammed into me and worked Bones’ chest. That familiar ache from earlier was back and hotter than ever. My head was fuzzy with want, and when Lotto let go of my hip and touched my clit, I saw stars.

The room was full of our desperate moans and grunts and the slap of skin on skin. Lotto pressed my clit just right, and I fell into pleasure. My world went white. I shuddered and shook as my orgasm claimed me. I didn’t know who came next, but I heard Frankie’s choked-off oath and felt warmth spread throughout my cunt.

In my pleasure I had popped off Bones’ cock, but Frankie and Lotto were right there to make up for it. Frankie stroked his dick while Lotto played with his balls. The filth Frankie whispered in Bones’ ear sent him over the edge. My toes curled at how fucking good Bones looked when he came. His face was absolutely blissed out, his olive skin covered in a sheet of sweat. His release stained his thighs and Frankie’s hand, and it dripped onto my couch, but I didn’t give a shit—that happy grin he shot me would make up for the stains.

Lotto pulled his cock from me, and I whimpered at the loss. “I think we messed up.”

“Why?” I asked. When I shifted back, Lotto’s release dripped onto my floor.

“We made an even bigger mess.”

“That just means we need to clean up again.”

“Yeah?” Frankie’s smirk brought the fire back tenfold. “I don’t think there’s enough room in your bathroom, Ari.”

“We can make it work.”

“We can go one at a time.” Bones’ husky voice sent a shiver down my spine. His next words were like a promise. “Because I think Ari deserves an extra thank you for everything she’s done for us.”