Takedown Read online

  “Okay,” Wade said with an easy tone. “But if you change your mind, I’ll talk to her. I mean it’s not like we’re getting married or anything crazy. We’ve only gone on a few dates. Who knows what this will be?”

  The red vanished from her pretty face as it now paled. He had hoped his words would come across casual and silly, maybe ease the tension.

  “Yeah, who knows?” Kiki said with a faint tone and a fake smile.

  “Hey, you okay?” Wade asked after an awkward silence.

  “Oh yeah. Just concerned about Vi, that’s all.”

  “Don’t let that ruin our night. I’m really glad you made time to see me.” Wade reached out and took her hand in his.

  He hated seeing the grim expression on her lovely face. He was stuck in a tough spot. He liked her, but he was in uncharted waters, and apparently not as smooth as he thought he was. It was clear he couldn’t treat her like the other girls he had dated, and in her case he didn’t want to. But he wasn’t keen on the idea of getting locked down with one woman yet. After all, he’d only made it back to Sin City a month ago.

  Kiki shook her head and straightened up. “You’re right. What’s next for the night?” she asked with a smile.

  “Yes. That’s what I want to hear!”

  * * * *

  Wade placed his hand on the small of Kiki’s back as he walked her to her door, which he had insisted on. This was their third date in a month, and he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he hoped this would be the night she invited him in, for a sleepover. He had tried to get himself invited in before, but she’d always declined, and that was that. Wade had been disappointed, but it didn’t keep him from wanting to see her again.

  Kiki was smart, beautiful, and easy to be around. While she was more timid than the women he usually went out with, he found it fascinating. It was clear that she listened when he talked, and engaged in more than a superficial conversation. Not that they discussed anything profound, but she had more going on than what met the eye. And what met the eye was smoking hot.

  Turning out of the hand he’d placed on the curve of her back, she looked up at him, smiling innocently. “I had a really great time tonight. Thank you.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  The moment of silence was awkward, but laced with a strong spark of lust. She hadn’t invited him in yet, but when she slipped her tongue over her bottom lip and look up with hooded eyes she had invited something else.

  Wade took a step toward her, closing the distance, almost pinning Kiki against the door. He gently brushed the hair back that hung softly against her cheek before lowering his lips to hers. Moving his hands down to her waist, he pulled her against him. He was rewarded when she willingly opened to him, letting him slip his greedy tongue into her cool mouth as the tangible need between them grew. Kiki settled her arms around his neck and pushed up on her toes, allowing her to match the desire in his kiss.

  The soft moans coming from Kiki as she melted into his body were stirring his shameless cock. He took the opportunity to caress her body in a way he had dreamed about since the first time he had seen her at the gym. Wade let his hands wander down her body, grabbing her tight ass covered in an even tighter skirt. Kiki hopped a bit at the surprise, but she didn’t break the kiss. In fact, he got a reaction that he hadn’t expected as she pushed her body determinedly against his. The press of her soft breasts and the friction of her body rubbing against him had his cock at full attention, and there was no hiding it. He was hungry for a handful of those breasts.

  “Hold on,” Kiki said breathlessly as she held up her hands between them, resting them on his chest.

  Wade took a step back and grinned as he watched a flushed Kiki take a deep breath before straightening her outfit and smoothing her hair.

  “I can’t invite you in,” she said in a bashful whisper.

  “Can’t or won’t?” Wade pressed. After what had just happened he was sure he’d get an invite in. And he’d assumed that Kiki was a ‘third date’ kind of girl.

  “Won’t.”

  “Am I reading things wrong here? I thought you were into me. I’m into you if you can’t tell.”

  “I am. I really am,” Kiki said earnestly, this time looking up, meeting his eyes. “It’s just...I’m just not a casual person. I’m a commitment girl. I don’t rush into sex.” She said the last part nervously.

  Wade tried to hide the shock he was feeling, and maybe a little disappointment. But he was kicking himself for not seeing this coming. She was most certainly a different type of woman, and it made him unsure what to say to that, how to proceed. He’d never been in this type of situation.

  “Oh no, that came across weird. It’s just…you should know. I’m liking how things are going, and I like you. I didn’t say that to make you feel pressured into anything.”

  Wade felt bad watching Kiki stumble over her words with a pale face. He was definitely not ready for a commitment, but like Kiki he was enjoying how things were going. Sex would make it better.

  “Can I see you Saturday?” Wade asked. Knowing she wasn’t ready for sex and he wasn’t ready for a commitment didn’t stop the pull she had on him. Seeing her again was a must.

  “Umm…actually… I have plans with Joshua. I think you know him from the gym,” Kiki said, twisting a strand of hair around her finger.

  “Not into casual, but you’re dating around?” Wade asked, trying not to sound petulant.

  “What? No.” Kiki scrunched her face. “Joshua and I are friends. He’s trying to teach me some MMA skills, mostly defense.”

  Wade knew there was no possible way that any man would want to be just friends with Kiki, and the idea that someone might be trying to move in on her stirred a little jealousy. He was there first; he should get to see where this went before anyone else got to take a crack at it. He wanted to call dibs, but without slapping a title on it. Was that a thing?

  “Can I see you after that?”

  “Oh.” Kiki seemed surprised by his question.

  He was quite surprised with himself; he was finding himself in unusual territory.

  She let out a nervous huff of air. “We have plans to get dinner after that.”

  “How about Sunday? You can help me procrastinate on my homework.” Wade took a step toward her, caressing her cheek as she looked up at him with a half-smile and a blush. “Don’t tell me you have another hot date?”

  “No,” She scoffed, and it eased his nerves a bit. “I’m having dinner with my parents.” Kiki winced. “You can come if you want?” She blurted out the question.

  “To meet your parents?” Wade heard his voice go up an octave, and he cleared his throat, trying to recover.

  “Well…um, to dinner, but I guess you’ll meet them.”

  “Is Joshua coming to that too?” Wade teased, and Kiki laughed.

  “Don’t be silly.”

  “All right, I’ll go,” Wade agreed easily. A home-cooked meal might be nice, and parents seemed to like him. He never had a problem making small talk, and since he and Kiki had no official title he didn’t feel like it was actually ‘meeting the parents’. So the pressure was off.

  Kiki must have been very pleased with his answer as she ambushed him, throwing her arms around his neck, finding his lips with hers. Wade was impressed by the candor of her exploring tongue as she took charge of the kiss. He let his hands find her tight ass and hoisted her up, thrilled when she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed her against the door, and her mini-skirt rode up, allowing him to caress the soft curve of her ass. He struggled with the temptation to let his hands explore, to glide them down her silky panties to her warm core that was now rubbing against his uncomfortably hard cock.

  Something must have startled Kiki, because she pulled back from the kiss, squirming out of his hold. Panting heavily, she adjusted her skirt back down once again and fidgeted, trying to regain her composure. Wade grinned at the thought of agreeing to a simple dinner getting him a big
reward, maybe even bigger if he played his cards right. It was beginning to look like Kiki was much more of a vixen than she let on.

  He leaned one hand against the door, using the other to tip her chin up so he could see her face. Leaning in, he rubbed his nose on the crook of her neck, making his way up to her ear. He let out a little puff before kissing her just below the lobe. He felt a quiver run up her body, and he could only think about how wet her panties were right now. He wanted to see just how much he had turned her on with their lustful attacks of the PG-13 variety in the hallway.

  “Are you sure I can’t come in? I promise I won’t disappoint.”

  “Will you be disappointed if I say no?”

  Yes! “No.” He smiled, trying to make his response sound genuine. He wasn’t that guy, but by three dates the deal had usually been closed.

  It was funny how much MMA related to most life situations. In the cage, there were three rounds. Sometimes you got lucky in the first round. If not, by round two you find your groove, and if by round three no one submitted, it was left in the hands of the judges. And they were unforgiving. But that wasn’t about to happen. He was going to get the victory, in whatever way that meant; which as of late he wasn’t sure of. Spending time with Kiki had been satisfying. Wade sighed inwardly. He hoped to hell this wasn’t going to be a disqualification. If he was going to lose, he was going to go out like a man, not get DQ for stepping over her boundaries.

  Kiki pushed up on her toes and gave him a simple kiss on the cheek before turning to unlock her door. Stepping inside, she turned back to him.

  “One thing.” She paused. “And however you answer this is fine, like, really fine. But…” The heavy rise and fall in Kiki’s chest as she paused again could only mean something serious was coming.

  “Okay?” Wade shrugged, keeping his cool.

  “Are you casually dating other girls?”

  Whoa. Wade had dated multiple girls at the same time in the past, and he hadn’t seen it as an issue. The relationships were always casual, and he only stopped when they moved to something more serious. And that had only happened a few times in his life. He was young and liked to play the field.

  “That’s okay. Forget I asked. Goodnight, Wade,” Kiki said with a smile that he could tell was forced. He must have waited too long to answer her question.

  “So, here’s the truth. When I was back in Oregon and we were talking on the phone I was dating around. And I do a lot of casual dating…”

  He could see the color disappear from Kiki’s face, and he instantly knew he had hurt her feelings. He should have lied like he wanted to, but with them working so close in the future he thought that would be an even worse idea than the truth.

  Kiki cleared her throat. “Wade, I’m not trying to lock you down to anything, but I feel uncomfortable going on dates with you if you’re sleeping with other girls. I hate the idea of you dating around, but since we aren’t… God, I sound like a teenager. I just mean…” Kiki trailed off, looking down at her hands, fiddling with her nails nervously. “Are you sleeping with someone?”

  The meek question knocked the wind out of him. Wade clicked his tongue, looking back and forth down the apartment hallway. “Kiki, let me in just a second. I’m not going to have this conversation like this.” Wade didn’t wait for a response as he stepped forward into the apartment enough to shut the door behind him.

  When Kiki took two steps back, wrapping her hands around her waist defensively, he knew he was in way over his head.

  “Here’s the truth.” Wade paused. “And while we’re at it, I want you to know that you will always get the truth from me. I don’t have time for lies.”

  Wade cleared his throat. This was a conversation he’d never had to have in the past. And for a split second it made him feel bad about the girls that he’d chosen to spend his time with.

  “I’m not sleeping with anyone else. And I haven’t slept with anyone for weeks. If I meet someone and it comes to that, I’ll have the decency to tell you before anything happens.”

  Kiki took her lip between her teeth and nodded. But the action hurt Wade’s heart. His honesty was hurting her feelings, and that made him feel like shit. There really was no winning with women.

  “Come here.” Wade closed the distance and pulled Kiki into his arms. “I’m not ready to put a label on this. But I hate the idea of you seeing other men, and there isn’t a woman out there making my head turn—except for you. Can that just be enough for now?”

  “Yes,” Kiki responded more lively. “It’s more than enough.”

  “Text me the details for Sunday, okay?” Wade said, pressing a kiss to her forehead before turning to exit.

  Kiki nodded

  “Bye, baby.”

  “Bye.” Kiki waved, shutting the door.

  Wade let out a heavy breath as he walked down the hallway toward the elevator. Giving his cheeks a couple of slaps before letting out a loud groan, he tried to figure out what the hell had just happened. What he couldn’t wrap his head around was how complicated something so simple felt. Kiki, while shy, was a straight shooter. She didn’t want him sleeping around, she wasn’t pressing him for a label, and she was making him work for it. Was that her game? No. Wade shook the thought out of his head. Kiki didn’t play games. She was a nice girl who wanted a nice guy, and right now, Wade wanted to be that guy.

  Chapter 3

  As soon as Kiki felt the grin pull across her face it was instantly wiped away, replaced with dread. But with another beat of her heart it filled with warmth and joy, and positivity. Sitting at the receptionist desk, she replayed every little detail of last night. What she really wanted was to gush about it to her very best friends, to have them help her analyze every word that was said, but that wasn’t about to happen anytime soon. Or ever?

  Relief had washed over Kiki when she came into work, realizing that Vi was already in her office. Vi had been working double time, trying to get everything set in place for when she took off for her honeymoon. It was the idea of bothering Vi that had kept Kiki from talking to her first thing this morning. Yeah, right, chicken. Earlier in the evening of her date with Wade Kiki insisted that she tell Vi about what was happening with her and Wade. It was the end of the night, the part that had her smiling like a fool, that really sealed the deal. Even if they didn’t seal the deal.

  Kiki let out a big sigh. That’s what she needed a girl’s opinion on. Why hadn’t she invited him in? Why hadn’t she taken the next step with Wade? After dinner, he’d taken her on a beautiful drive and they watched the sunset. Kind of. It’d been the first time she’d let Wade’s strong hands caress her body, even if she made him keep them over the shirt. But the way he touched her, the need in his kiss, drove her crazy. She’d never felt so desired, so precious. Kiki was convinced that one more minute of fooling around in the car would have her coming undone without much more seduction. And when they took turns attacking each other in the hallway of her apartment building she wanted to beg for his fingers to find her wet core.

  She knew what her problem was; she was a perfectionist. She wanted to wait until their relationship was solid, committed. But what guy these days waits for a girl like that? She shook her head. So he didn’t want to put a label on it, but the declaration Wade made last night sounded true. But as usual her head got in the way. Were his words too perfect? Leena had mentioned Wade having a player side. Was this his game?

  “Awfully distracted there, Kiki,” Joshua commented, crossing his arms on the high part of the desk and leaning his head on them.

  “Just a little tired I think,” Kiki lied. She didn’t know what to say. She sure as heck wasn’t going to talk to Joshua about Wade. Not yet at least.

  “If our training is taking too much out of you, just let me know and we can cut it back.”

  Recently, Joshua had offered to show her some MMA moves, and she jumped at the opportunity. He was what they called a ‘veteran fighter’, having fought for over fifteen years, and there he
was offering her the chance to learn some self-defense and help cure her ignorance of the sport. Joshua was a good guy, and the first to really try to befriend her at the gym, and that made her feel like part of the gym family.

  “Maybe. But I don’t want to cut back. It’s too much fun!” Kiki said with a big smile.

  “Cool. We still on for dinner Saturday?”

  “Totally. Also, I was going to ask, can you fit in a session tomorrow during my lunch hour?”

  “Whoa, someone is getting the MMA fever!” Joshua stood up straight. “Sure, I think that should work. I’ll let you know in the morning.” He nodded. “I gotta go check in with Rex. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Sure.” Kiki waved as he walked away.

  F! Kiki shook her head. She couldn’t put this off any longer, especially if people were starting to notice changes in her behavior. Standing up, she squared her shoulders, pushed in her chair, and marched off to Vi’s office.

  Kiki was nervous. Utterly petrified. She couldn’t remember a time when her palms were sweaty and her heart pounded so hard she only heard a whooshing sound in her ears. You can do this. She had to. Vivette was not only her boss, but had become a great friend, and she deserved honesty.

  Sure, she and Wade hadn’t known each other all that long, but after the dates they’d been on Kiki knew that she absolutely wanted to explore more with him. And after dinner last night it seemed like he might have agreed to not see other people while they explored what this was. Or did he? Was it still considered dating casually? Did he expect sex? Kiki had to get out of her own head or else she was going to ruin this before it even started.

  Knocking timidly on the closed door to Vi’s office, she secretly hoped that Vi wouldn’t hear it and she could put this off for another day. But she wasn’t that lucky.