Master Of Games Page 3

  “Believe me, I know. Are we still on for tonight?” I asked. “I’m desperate for a night out. The last time I had any non-work or mom time was when Penny and Hagen had their little spat, and I took her to Ibiza to let loose.”

  “I doubt you did any letting loose. From what Penny told me, you orchestrated the adventure to get Penny to the club Hagen named for her so they could reconcile.”

  I sighed. “It was the least I could do for always being there for me. Penny deserved her happily ever after.”

  Unlike me. I’d fucked up any hope of that when I broke up with Pierce. Then I’d thought I’d gotten a second chance with Stavros, but it hadn’t lasted.

  Henna set a hand on my back. “You’ll find love again too, Ame. Stavros wouldn’t want you to stay single forever.”

  I gave her a weary smile and shook my head. “No. Love isn’t in the cards for me. The best I can do is eventually find someone who I enjoy being with.”

  The thought of another relationship was something I hadn’t even wanted to consider. At twenty-eight, I knew I was too young to say that I’d never date again. But the second I’d stepped on US soil, I felt the past with Pierce haunt me. I had to sort out the future with him and our son before moving on with another man.

  “Maybe it’s time you played with a new deck. Sometimes when one set goes cold, it’s time to grab another one to play with.”

  “So speaks the poker shark.”

  “I’m serious. You’re too young to live in the past. I am going to make it my mission to find you a Mister Right, or at least a Mister Right-Now.”

  Before I could respond, the head of my training team, Emery Gustav, approached.

  “Boss, Selena is down with a cold and won’t be here to spar with Neya.”

  It made no sense why he was telling me this. We had multiple alternatives to work with Neya, especially since we would have four fighters debuting in the women’s matches the day before the main event.

  Then it hit me.

  “Are you implying what I think you’re implying?”

  A sheepish grin touched his lips. “You were complaining that you needed to burn off the jetlag. Coffee won’t do anything close to what a few rounds in the ring can.”

  “You can’t be serious. I’m a promoter, not a professional MMA fighter. Plus, Neya will kick my ass.”

  The last time I went head-to-head with a champion was when I’d won my gold medal, and that was in taekwondo.

  “Tell me you don’t think about getting in the ring and I’ll tell you that you’re a liar. Before you left the sport, you were training to transition to the MMA circuit.” Emery glanced at Henna for support.

  Great, they were going to gang up on me. Even when I was eighteen, I knew my future was tied to MMA and the potential there. I had hoped to create a more prominent women’s presence in a sport dominated by men. I spent my free time away from Pierce learning other martial arts disciplines. Then my world turned upside down and that dream had disappeared for a new one.

  “He’s right, you know. What’s the point of training every day if you aren’t going to get in the ring again?”

  I swear I was going to kick Emery’s ass. He’d coached me in MMA since before I’d had Christopher. My sponsors had hired him to help me with my transition from taekwondo to mixed martial arts. Then, after I’d recovered from my high-risk delivery, he’d moved to Greece to continue my training and help me build my portfolio of athletes. No matter how good he thought I was, my time in the ring was to stay fit, not to actually spar with a professional who made her living in the sport.

  “Let me repeat: Neya will kick my ass. There’s a difference between training to stay in shape and for a match.”

  Henna draped a hand over my shoulder. “Will you do it for me? It’ll be fun, and it’s only a sparring match, not a real fight.”

  “Plus,” Emery added, “you can see firsthand Neya’s weaknesses and areas to work on.”

  I could admit Emery’s idea had merit. Over the years, I’d wondered what it would be like to get in the ring again, but after having Christopher, my priorities had changed entirely. The thought of training nearly every day of the year for fights all over the world hadn’t had the appeal it did before. The promotion business was my conciliation. I was still in the sports world without the commitment to hours in the ring. Plus, it was my one way to rebel against the role expected of me as a Thanos wife.

  Much to the horror of the Greek elite, instead of yacht parties and jet-setting the world, I trained athletes and got my hands dirty.

  “You know you want to.” Henna batted her eyelashes. “Come on. Pretty please.”

  I laughed. “You’re too much.”

  But her giddiness had me feeling the surge of excitement I’d get before matches in the old days.

  “Does that grin mean you’ll do it?” Emery shifted from foot to foot in his version of a happy dance.

  “Fine. Let me get changed.”

  Henna squeezed me and kissed my cheek. “I’m so happy. I’ve hoped to see you in the ring for years, and I get to today.”

  “You better be here to do all the work when I can’t move tomorrow.”

  “Seeing you go toe-to-toe with Neya will be worth it.”

  Pierce

  * * *

  Around nine in the morning, I pulled into the lot behind the Cypress casinos and had to shake my head at the three security checkpoints I had to pass to get within a few feet of the Thanos training facility.

  This was overkill, even for Collin.

  After my blowup in Hagen’s penthouse yesterday, I’d spent the day researching anything and everything on Amelia, Stavros, and Christopher.

  I’d tapped Adrian Kipos, our resident super-sleuth hacker and Penny’s younger brother, for the task. Adrian worked for my brothers and me as a security spymaster but on occasion did some research on the side when we wanted information but didn’t want anyone knowing that we were looking into their private activities.

  The fact I was pissed to holy hell at Adrian’s sister had no bearing on my relationship with the boy. As long as he worked for me and completed the tasks I assigned him, we were good.

  According to Adrian’s report, Christopher was a typical mischievous nine-year-old, who liked sports more than school. He loved Legos and building things and had an affinity toward swimming and soccer. He willingly trained for hours in the pool and had won nearly every swim meet he’d entered.

  I couldn’t help but smile. My son took after me.

  Stavros and Amelia were anything but typical. They were essentially Greek media royalty. Known for being notoriously private, they never courted attention or fed into it. However, their supposed love story made for great articles.

  The young Greek-American athlete who’d fallen for the charismatic and lonely Greek widower, only learning he was a shipping billionaire after their wedding. Now she was the widow who hadn’t stopped mourning the love of her life.

  I clenched my jaw at the bitterness that filled me.

  If he was the love of her life, what the fuck was I?

  Get it together, Pierce. Stick to the plan. Seduce her and make it so your son is permanently in your life.

  I pushed open the door to my Porsche and walked to the building’s entrance.

  I passed two cars in the lot with a small decal in the corner that I recognized. They were Japanese symbols representing the Yakuza, the organized crime syndicate that ran Japan’s underworld.

  Great, Draco Jackson had his boys here.

  Draco was a well-known mob boss in Vegas with his roots tied to the Yakuza. He also happened to be Hagen’s former boss and the man who was trying desperately to get back in Hagen’s good graces. They had a falling out about six months ago, which devastated Draco in a way that surprised not only his heirs, but all of us. Draco was far from the touchy-feely type but with Hagen, he’d lost someone he considered a son and that devastated him.

  The fact his men were here was his not-so-sub
tle reminder of the debt he wanted to collect on. About nine months ago, Penny had needed help finding out who killed her father. Hagen had used his connections with Draco to help get the answers. But in exchange for his aid, he wanted something from each of us brothers. Zack and I’d agreed to his extortion plan because we loved Penny like a sister. Hagen was in love with her, so that was a given.

  My debt was ringside seats to the upcoming fight between Hugo and Apollo. The fact he had sent his men here was to remind me he was collecting.

  As if I’d forget an obligation to the monster that all but ran organized crime in Vegas.

  I flashed a badge to a guard blocking the doors. He stepped aside, and I walked in.

  Immediately I heard the roar of a crowd cheering, and I followed the noise.

  I recognized Henna Anthony. She was jumping up and down in her designer outfit, shouting and laughing. “Come on, Ame. Show the young’un how it’s done.”

  Ame?

  My gaze shifted to the right, and my cock immediately jumped, transporting me to twelve years earlier when I was seventeen and training for my first FINA World Aquatics Championships. This was the first time I’d stepped onto the world stage, and my coaches were determined to make me a national champion, which meant no summer vacations or fun.

  After one particularly grueling day of training at the Buchanan Natatorium on the campus of the University of Nevada, I’d decided to see the current heavyweight taekwondo champion Kosmo Yadira practice, instead of head home as Collin had ordered me to do. Kosmo was a legend, and I loved watching him kick ass in the ring.

  But instead of Kosmo in the ring, I found him training sixteen-year-old taekwondo phenomenon Amelia Nephus. She was the daughter of one of Collin’s casino managers. I’d heard of her, and we happened to go to the same high school, but we’d never met in person.

  She’d fascinated me from the start. She was always so focused and determined to win every match she entered. There was a control to her that made me want to see what she’d be like if she ever let go of the reins. It had taken me a month to convince her to date me. But when I had, my world had turned on its axis.

  She’d become my anchor, my world outside of swimming, my safe place. Then she’d ripped everything to shreds.

  Fuck. I should be over this. But knowing she’d kept my son from me and now seeing her, opened up the wound that had festered for the last decade.

  The crowd grew louder, snapping me out of my thoughts and refocusing on the action in play.

  She wore fitted shorts and a sports bra that cupped her large breasts perfectly.

  God, she was in shape. Honed muscles defined her arms, legs, and abs. They bunched and flexed with each movement, showing her flexibility and strength.

  She wasn’t the pampered socialite I expected her to be after marrying a billionaire, but an athlete who’d turned her love into a thriving business.

  I’d be in awe of her if I wasn’t so pissed.

  Who was I kidding? It wouldn’t matter how hurt, angry, or mad I was, or the fact she’d married another man—I’d never stopped wanting her.

  My cock grew harder as visions of fucking her against the wall of our dorms in the Olympic village filled my head. Sex with her had always been intense, and explosive. She’d never shied away from exploring anything and everything I’d proposed.

  Thinking back on some of the things we’d done made me shudder—bondage, paddling, erotic asphyxiation. We’d had no idea the danger we’d played with.

  Now with years of training and understanding, I was an expert at the world of kink, and I planned to use all my skills to exorcise the need that haunted me to this very day.

  Great, now I was going to walk around with a hard-on. I adjusted my shirt to cover my dick.

  That was the moment when Amelia’s opponent turned, making me freeze.

  What the fuck? She was going against Neya Adams.

  Neya was the most decorated female in MMA history. She had a background in judo, taekwondo, and jujutsu. Plus, she had to weigh a good thirty pounds more than Amelia.

  Whoever sanctioned this was out of their fucking mind.

  I moved into the crowd and stopped when I reached Henna. The surprise on her face would have made me laugh if I hadn’t seen Amelia knock Neya back with a roundhouse kick to the chest.

  At that moment, Emery Gustav rang a bell to call an end to the match. He was a legend for his skills as a coach and making champions out of the unlikeliest of fighters.

  There were groans all around.

  “Come on, man. It was getting good,” shouted a stocky man on the opposite side of the ring.

  “Yeah,” said another person. “How often does the boss get in the ring? One more round.”

  Emery rang the bell again, but this time longer and a bit more obnoxiously. “That’s the end of the entertainment. Time to get work done and earn your pay. If you don’t like it, file a complaint with management.”

  Another round of groans filled the room as everyone dispersed.

  Henna turned to me. “I’m surprised to see you here. Our meeting isn’t for an hour.”

  “I wanted to see the facility without the pomp and circumstance.” I wasn’t lying when I said that.

  My purpose was to get a behind-the-scenes look at the people and fighters when they weren’t putting on their best faces. What I hadn’t expected was to find the woman who tormented my dreams in the middle of a round of MMA.

  “I bet you got more than you expected.” There was amusement in her voice.

  I studied Henna. She was a breathtakingly beautiful woman. Dark chocolate eyes that couldn’t hide her emotions unless she was at the poker table, and intelligence that bordered on scary. Something she shared with her cousin Penny and her sister Anaya.

  The only negative thing I could honestly say about Henna was her eternal loyalty to Collin Lykaios. But then again, he’d been the father to her that he should have been to his three sons.

  “Does she get in the ring often?”

  “No.”

  I lifted a brow and waited for her to elaborate.

  “This was a one-off. It’s the first time Amelia has publicly sparred since…” Henna trailed off.

  I finished her sentence. “Since she was eighteen.”

  Of course, today of all days, she decided to have a sparring match. To remind me of the woman I’d loved and adored with every ounce of my being.

  “What did you think?” Henna looked toward Amelia and Neya.

  They were in deep discussion. Probably about areas of improvement and strengths.

  “She still has the strength and skill. It’s as if she trains as a fighter and puts in the hours every day.”

  At that moment, Amelia’s gaze locked onto mine. Surprise and something familiar passed in her eyes. It was a punch to the gut, as all the emotions and need I’d tried so hard to bury rushed forward, pushing back the anger and pain.

  Amelia moved in our direction. She barely looked older than she had the last time I’d seen her. Though there were subtle changes in her body that I hadn’t noticed earlier—she was lean, but her curves had filled out, especially her ass.

  I could almost picture my hold on her hips as I fucked her hard from behind and she begged me to let her come.

  Shit. Now I had another erection.

  When she was a few feet from me, I saw the faint lines of stretch marks on her stomach. And my lust dimmed. My child had grown inside her, and she’d kept him from me.

  “Hello, Pierce.”

  Chapter Four

  Amelia

  * * *

  My stomach churned as I waited for Pierce to respond.

  He still had the mysterious presence that had drawn me to him, even when we were young. But now it was more apparent, and there was a hard edge around him.

  Physically, he’d grown from the six-foot-two lean-yet-lanky nineteen-year-old athlete into a honed, muscular man who filled out a suit as if it were second skin. Time had been very
good to him.

  In the middle of my match with Neya, I’d felt something shift in the room that had me hyperaware of everything and everyone around me. I was glad I hadn’t seen him until I landed the roundhouse seconds before Emery rang the bell or I’d have faltered. It was as if the second my foot touched back down to the mat and I turned, my gaze landed on him.

  He watched me as he’d done in the past, with lust and promises of dark desires. My body had responded immediately.

  He’d been the only man ever to garner that reaction from me. Not even Stavros could have heated my insides with a look.

  A pang of guilt and disloyalty surfaced, so I refocused on Pierce.

  “Hello, Ame.”

  God, that voice.

  “Our meeting isn’t until ten. We weren’t expecting you.” I took a towel Henna handed me and wiped my face and then my abdomen, not failing to notice Pierce following the movement of my hand.

  His gaze lingered on my pebbled nipples.

  “That was the point. I wanted to see how your team works when the cameras are away.” He licked his lips and then frowned as he realized what he was doing.

  Well, fuck. We were still attracted to each other. This was going to complicate things more than they already were.

  “So, in other words, you wanted to spy on us.”

  His eyes lifted to mine and a slight grin touched his mouth. “You could say that.”

  God, that smile.

  I had to keep my head on straight. I had to remember he was Christopher’s father, and if I had any hope of telling Pierce the truth with minimal fallout, I couldn’t act on my hormones.

  “Though I can say the last thing I expected to see was Amelia Nephus in the ring.”

  “Amelia Thanos,” I corrected and saw an immediate shift in his demeanor.

  “I’m sorry about your loss. I heard Thanos was a great man.”

  I took a deep breath. I hated talking about Stavros.

  Plus what could I say when Pierce was giving me condolences for the man he thought I’d left him for?

  “Thank you.” I looked at Henna who nodded, catching on that my emotions were going haywire, and then returned my attention to Pierce. “If you’ll excuse me, Henna will get you settled. I need to clean up before the press gets here.”