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  I didn’t give a fuck if the whole fucking room was watching us.

  But she pulled back before I wanted it to end. Staring at her, just inches apart now, I saw the way she looked so damn needy. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her.

  “Why’d you stop?” I asked in a low voice and looked down at her lips.

  She looked down at my mouth too. “I don’t want to cause a scene,” she said and smiled.

  “I don’t give a fuck about who can see us. I want them to know you’re mine,” I growled out. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers again. “I can’t let you go, baby,” I said before I could stop the words from coming forth. I didn’t want her to think I was obsessed ... even if I fucking felt that way.

  She stared at me, our mouths only an inch apart.

  “I don’t want to let you go.” I pulled her forward again, slammed my mouth on hers, and kissed her like I meant every word I’d just said. But the sound of deep male voices came through, and she broke away. I turned and looked at who made the commotion.

  Rowdy and a few of fighters I’d seen at the gym walked in.

  Shit was about to go down.

  Chapter Ten

  Violet

  This was going to be the worst date in the history of the world. Rowdy was charging toward our table and doing what I hated by causing a scene. Malachi stood up as well, and I just dropped my head in my hands.

  “What the fuck you doing, Malachi?”

  “Back off, Rowdy. This is not going to happen here.”

  “Stay the fuck away from my sister.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  Back and forth they went, telling each other what the other was going to do. I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Will you both stop?” I asked, getting to my feet. “Do you know how embarrassing this is?”

  “Violet, I told you to stay away from him.” My brother glared at me, which only served to piss me off.

  “I’m not a child. Stop treating me like one.”

  “He’s a fucking bastard, Vi. He’s going to use you and forget all about you.”

  “He asked me out on a date after we had sex. How do you explain that? Was that just a mistake?” I asked.

  Every single person was staring at us.

  “Babe, you don’t have to worry about this,” Malachi said.

  “Get your fucking hands off her.”

  Chaos erupted in the restaurant, and what was a nice date, if not a little uncomfortable, ended. My brother threw the first punch, and the second. I think Malachi allowed him to hit him. After the first two, Malachi started hitting back.

  I had to move out of the way, otherwise I’d have ended up hit myself.

  “Call the cops,” someone shouted.

  They kept on fighting, making their way outside as they did.

  “Will you stop? Stop it. Rowdy, I mean it.” No matter what I said, neither of them listened.

  Thirty minutes later they were both in the back of cop cars being escorted down to the police station. Rowdy shouted for me to post bail, to which I gave him the finger. He’d come to my date, ruined it without even asking me questions, and now he wanted me to bail him out.

  He could go and get fucked.

  Malachi

  “I can’t believe she left my ass in jail,” Rowdy said to himself.

  “Why not? We fucking embarrassed her.” I couldn’t believe I was in jail either, but I also didn’t expect Violet to come and bail me out. We didn’t have to fight in front of everyone, but the testosterone and adrenaline were pumping fiercely. The date had been going okay. My shitty reputation no doubt holding her back, which I fucking hated. Why did I have to fall for a woman that clearly doesn’t trust me?

  “What the fuck were you doing out with my sister? Could you have left her alone?”

  “Your biggest problem is you don’t know when to keep your fucking nose out of it.”

  “You’re an asshole. My sister deserves better.”

  “Better than what? Me? Or better than you?”

  “I’m her brother. You’re just going to toss her aside when you’re done with her.”

  “For fuck sake.” I threw my hands in the air. “I’ve already had her, and I don’t plan on tossing her aside.” I stared at him. “Violet’s not just another pussy with me. I had to chase her, because she didn’t want to make it easy.” I stood up and walked toward the edge of the jail cell, staring at her brother. “I’m not going to hurt her.” I spoke the truth. “I care about her too damn much to fuck things up.”

  Violet had gotten under my skin, and I couldn’t find a way to shake her.

  I didn’t want to.

  My face hurt from the fight, and I knew I’d have bruises tomorrow. But defending what we had made it all worth it.

  Rowdy didn’t look much better. We rarely fought against each other. Eric, the guy that trained us, didn’t like to see his fighters going against each other. We were all fierce motherfuckers, and Eric only took on the most feared.

  Rowdy sighed. “Violet sure knows how to pick them.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “I should have known you’d end up with her.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. The thought of Violet belonging completely to me made me so fucking hard. I wanted her, and I’d gladly call her mine.

  She was mine.

  “I’m not going to back away, Rowdy. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Rowdy gave me an exasperated look. “It looks like we’re going to have to agree not to beat the shit out of each other anymore then, because I’m not going to ruin my sister’s life, not if she cares about you.” Rowdy leveled me with a hard stare. “But if you fuck this up or hurt her in any way, I’m coming after you. You hear me?”

  “Loud and clear, but you don’t have to worry about that. I’d rather gouge my own eyes out than hurt her.”

  “Good.”

  I grinned. I leaned forward, rubbing a hand down my face. Her brother was finally on board. Now I just had to get my girl to see that I was the only option for her.

  I had a feeling that it was going to be easier said that actually done.

  Violet wasn’t going to give in easily. I’d seen the disappointment on her face when I was escorted away in a police car. She deserved better than that. I needed to be better for her.

  “Good luck with her. Take care of her and if you don’t, I’ll fucking kill you,” Rowdy said.

  “That’s it? No more threats?”

  Rowdy shrugged. “You know me and what I’m capable of. I figure that’s good enough.”

  Yeah, I knew, but then again if it were the other way around, I’d probably feel the same way.

  Chapter Eleven

  Violet

  I’d let my brother and Malachi stew in jail for a few hours before I finally caved and bailed them out. I loved my brother and was realizing I was kind of falling for Malachi ... I didn’t want to see them behind bars, when ultimately it had been because of the relationship I had with Malachi.

  Now we were back at the apartment, Rowdy in the kitchen looing rightly annoyed, and Malachi sitting at the table with an ice pack pressed to his face.

  I was exhausted, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.

  “So this is really going down, huh?” my brother asked, and I looked between him and Malachi.

  I didn’t want to answer, because honestly I wanted to see what Malachi would say.

  He set the ice pack down and leaned back in the chair, the wood creaking from his muscular form. And then he leveled me with an intense stare. “It’s really going down if your sister will have me.”

  My heart stopped, and my throat tightened. I felt something with Malachi, that was undeniable, but hearing him say it right in front of my brother was still kind of surreal.

  “Do you, Violet, want that with me?”

  I squeezed my hands into tight fists in my lap and tried to swallow. I glanced at my brother, feeling a little wei
rd talking about this with him. He finally exhaled and pushed away from the counter. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

  And then we were alone.

  Malachi

  Her silence had me nervous as hell, and that wasn’t something I was used to. I was used to getting what I wanted, but the very thought of Violet turning me down left this ache in the center of my chest.

  Come on, baby, don’t leave me hanging here.

  She glanced down at her hands, and after a second she looked at me again. “Is that really what you want, Malachi?” she asked me softly. “Because I’m not in the game of giving someone my heart only to be used.”

  She was afraid I’d hurt her, and I could understand that. I got up and before she knew what I was doing, I pulled her out of the chair and cupped both sides of her face. I just stared into her eyes, knowing that my whole life had been about jumping from one girl to the next. I was done with that, done with pretending I didn’t give a shit. “I know everything is fast, but I also know I want you, Violet.” I leaned down and kissed her before she could stop me. But she didn’t pull away and instead leaned into me. “You don’t have to be afraid I’ll hurt you, baby, because that’s not going to happen,” I murmured against her lips. “Just tell me you’ll be mine.” I felt her smile against my mouth.

  “I do want this, want you.”

  I kissed her harder, so fucking happy. And I meant it when I told Rowdy I’d rather gouge my own eyes out than hurt her. Violet was so fucking special, and I wasn’t about to fuck this up.

  Epilogue

  Violet

  I sat on the bench watching as Malachi trained with Eric. He was looking so damn good, and I felt the weight of the ring on my finger. The great Malachi, cocky bastard that he was, had decided to marry me. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. What shocked me even more was the fact that I even said yes.

  He’s an asshole, cocky for sure, yet he’d fallen for me, and I him.

  Rowdy took a seat beside me. “You really do love him, don’t you?”

  I looked at my big brother. “Yeah, I really do.”

  “Damn, I’m going to end up having Malachi as a brother-in-law.” He chuckled. “It’s going to seriously damage my rep.”

  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “You’re really jumping the gun there,” I said, but I grinned.

  “You still complaining about me?” Malachi asked, a teasing note in his voice. He came out of the ring and toward us. He was covered in sweat, but I still got wet for him. I stood up, wrapping my arms around him, not caring that he was soaked from fighting. He kissed my head and gripped my hip.

  A couple of girls passed us, and they were wearing really short shorts. I looked up to find Malachi staring at Rowdy and having no interest in the women. God, that made me feel good. He made me feel good, like I was the only woman for him.

  This was what I loved about him. He wasn’t interested in anyone but me, and I knew he wouldn’t stray.

  “I’ll always complain about you,” I finally said to Rowdy. “You’ve just got to keep proving me wrong, and I’ll be more than happy about that.”

  Rowdy slapped Malachi’s back, and for me that meant he’d given his blessing.

  “I guess you’re mine now, Vi. You can’t run from me.”

  I smiled up at him. “Oh, Rowdy threatened you. You stray from me and I’ll cut your dick off and feed it to you.” I batted my eyes at him. “I come from a fighting family.”

  “And that’s what makes me so damn horny.” He lifted me up, twirling me in the air, announcing to the whole of the gym news of our upcoming marriage.

  I knew our relationship was going to be ... interesting. I also knew we were going to make it work.

  The End

  Coming Soon

  Enjoy an exclusive teaser at the next Taboo Short, Rowdy, coming soon!

  Cassandra.

  She was the one girl I wanted but couldn’t have, because being with her would cross a line, and I didn’t want to be that kind of fucker.

  But still I searched the party for her, knowing she probably wasn’t here. I’d never seen her at any of these parties, but then I always doubted she got out much. Her father was my trainer and he was one tough motherfucker.

  And then I did see her, and my entire body tensed.

  Why was she here?

  Some jackass was leaning against the wall, reaching out to twirl a strand of her hair around his finger. I instantly became angry, frustrated, and fucking jealous. Gripping the neck of my beer bottle tightly, I watched for a few seconds, telling myself it wasn’t my place to do a damn thing. But this voice in my head screamed at me to be a man and stop it.

  She’s mine. No one else can have her but me.

  My desire for Cassandra went above anything that was considered rational. I’d known her for years but when she was younger, I just saw her as my trainer’s daughter. She was off-limits, and I wasn’t going to cross that line and be an asshole. But as she got older, matured into a woman, something in me changed. I started seeing her, not as my trainer’s daughter but something more desirable.

  I grew possessive of her, hell, even obsessed. But I was really fucking good at hiding what I wanted, especially when I knew I couldn’t get it.

  Eric was like a second father to me, and being with Cassandra almost seemed ... taboo.

  But when that motherfucker beside Cassandra touched her cheek and she turned her head, clearly not wanting it, I couldn’t stop myself anymore.

  Storming over there, I pushed the asshole away, giving him a look that was warning enough, and took hold of her hand.

  Eric would want me to do this, I told myself. But the truth was I was doing this for myself.

  “Hey, dude, bad move,” the guy said when my back was turned.

  My entire body tensed and I slowly turned around. The guy was big, but not bigger than me. “Touching a girl that didn’t want to be touched was a bad move on your part.” I stepped up to him, ready to throw down. “We gonna have a problem?”

  I wanted him to have a problem. I’d love to have any reason to put my fist in his face.

  Crescent Snow Publishing

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