I couldn’t help the goofy smile on my face. My friend remembered how haggard the long walk made me last time.

  Amber is a fucking gem!

  Still grinning like a total loon, I watched backstage zoom by. The massive trek Amber and I went on last time was a breeze, with Larry at the wheel. Even though he had to be speeding, he carefully maneuvered us around rigging, tables, and, of course, people. He was clearly a professional. I did wonder if he ever had the urge to pop a wheelie. As professional as he was, slowing down and braking seemed to be the only thing he couldn’t do. The golf cart came to a screeching halt. I laughed and Amber cursed under her breath.

  “Here we are, ladies! Enjoy the show!” Larry looked over the seat and smiled at us as if his parking job was totally normal.

  We thanked him and Amber helped me step out of the cart. Still hand in hand like a couple of besties Amber directed me through the backstage area. Her hands were very soft. I couldn’t help but trying to zoom in for any glimpse of the boyfriend. I was only slightly crestfallen when I didn’t see him. Staff and arena crew were the only ones rushing around. I did catch a quick glance of the gorilla position before Amber pulled us through a side curtain and into the floor seating area.

  “Where are we sitting?” I asked.

  “…Uh…” She paused and my eyes had a chance to adjust to the change in light.

  Backstage, things were muted, dimmer. In the audience, the lights were harshly bright. I blinked several times. Once my eyes adjusted, I noticed that the arena was almost full.

  Maybe Amber was right about us running late…

  “We’re stage right, center,” Amber said as she grabbed my wrist and pulled us to a pair of seats squarely in the center of the first row at ringside.

  I bit my bottom lip to hold back the squeal that burned my throat. These seats were fucking amazing. Never in a million years could I have afforded tickets like these on my own.

  “This is amazing!” I exclaimed while hopping up and down like a deranged jack rabbit.

  I had managed to dial back my excitement a tiny bit. Amber shrugged and turned her attention to her phone. I sat down and did my best to keep my excitement under wraps. A group of heavyset, bearded guys sat to the right of us. I was ready to gush about the show, but their conversation stopped me.

  “When her trunks ride up, you can totally see that ass jiggle! Perky and amazing!” the asshat who sat down in the seat next to me exclaimed.

  I couldn’t tell if the vomit in the back of my throat was from their conversation or hormones. In total agreement with bearded dumbass, the rest of their group descended into a loud debate on which women wrestlers were the sexiest. I ran my hand over my belly and rolled my eyes in annoyance.

  Ugh.

  Amber cut her eyes at them, but they didn’t notice. She tapped my arm and motioned for me to switch seats with her. I quickly waddled over and took her spot.

  “If they get out of line, they’ll never see another fucking MWA show again. I’ll make sure of that.” Amber leaned in and whispered.

  I smiled. I was beyond thankful I was with her. A very tall man in a green and red luchador mask sat to our left.

  “So excited for tonight!” Luchador mask guy grinned as best as possible from behind his mask.

  “Me too!” I squealed.

  We high-fived. The well-behaved fans were the best part about wrestling. Their energy breathed life into wrestling shows. Jerkholes aside, excitement crackled through the air.

  “I know there isn’t a schedule or anything, but do you know when the guys are going on?” I asked.

  “Nick and Zeke are second match of the night, and Logan is on second to last. The only reason the championship match isn’t the main event is they’re doing a big ‘I Quit’ street fight to close the show.”

  “Cool. Cool.” I said totally uncoolly.

  Amber laughed. The lights lowered in the arena, signaling to the crowd that the show was about to start. A murmuring shush fell like a dark sheet over the crowd. I glanced over my shoulder and looked around. The arena had filled up in the few minutes Amber and I sat.

  From the first explosion of pyro, I was swept away in all the hysteria. My night zoomed by in a flash of colors, noises, and sounds. When the crowd cheered, I cheered. When they booed, I booed. When they sang, I sang. I was a devote member of the church of pro wrestling and I was here to worship. These were my people. Although I caught Amber shaking her head at me, it was easy enough to pull her up to her feet to cheer.

  The show was amazing. The experience from being in the crowd compared to being in a VIP box was lightyears different. Being in the crowd was better. So much better.

  “I want to sit ringside at every show!” I yelled in Amber’s ear at one point.

  I couldn’t tell if her wince was from my lack of volume control or having put up with me and thousands of other fans without any of the comforts of the VIP lounge. Lucha mask guy was a fun seatmate. We gushed about different moves and who our favorite wrestlers were. The jerkholes on the other hand were kicked out in the second hour for trying to shout sexual comment at some of the female wrestlers. I seriously thought Amber was going to physically throw them out herself. Thankfully, security got involved before my new bestie could touch them.

  “Ooooo! I think it’s time for the championship match!” Lucha mask guy smiled at me.

  I was so wrapped up in the show I had allowed myself to forget the reason I was here. The well-dressed ring announcer stepped between the ropes. A spotlight shone on him as he stood still, allowing the camera to focus.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall!”

  “ONNE FALL!” the crowd echoed back as we had done all evening.

  “And is for the Millennium wrestling association world championship.”

  Logan’s theme music started, and my nerves launched into overdrive. Anxiously, I caressed my stomach. Baby girl started to dance a samba as if she knew her daddy was approaching. Her foot work added to intense pressure to violently puke.

  “Introducing the challenger. From Windsor, Ontario, Canada, weighing 235 pounds, Logan Cole!”

  Logan stepped onto the entrance ramp and all the air left my lungs. The deafening roar of the crowd faded into a faint ringing in my ears. The pounding of my heart was the only overwhelming sound my brain registered as I looked at my boyfriend. He was dressed in sexy black tights and a floor length, sleeveless leather jacket in the colors of the sky at dusk. A rich blue faded upward into black. A pair of large black silk wings hung from his back. The wings were tattered and worn.

  Logan paused at the top of the ramp. He closed his eyes and tilted back his head, allowing the crowd reaction to wash over him. Pyro exploded around him in a magnificent display. Logan’s lips curved up in a sly smirk, and that’s when I realized that wasn’t my boyfriend. My boyfriend was a sweet, sensitive soul. Logan the wrestler was an entirely unique creature. A man consumed by a need to be the best and to win. The embodiment of a fallen angel. …And it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen before in my life.

  Once Logan had made it to the ring, he shrugged off his jacket. His oiled muscles glistened under the harsh arena lights.

  “And his opponent. From Las Vegas, Nevada, weighing 231 pounds, he is your reigning and defending Millennium Wrestling Association world champion, TY Blue.”

  I didn’t even look to the champion to make his entrance. I was focused on Logan. He leaned against the ring post and glanced at the crowd. His eyes darted around, and my heart paused.

  He’s looking for me!

  I leaned forward against the barricade and raised a hand overhead as if I were trying to stretch. That did it. Our eyes locked. Logan gave me a quick wink. As if baby girl could see, she resumed her dancing. I didn’t want to call too much attention to myself, but I worked up the courage to give him a small wave. That was all the acknowledgment we were allowed because the match was about to start. I stammered back into my seat and leaned against Amber for support.

  In a macho display only at home in a sport like wrestling, the two men sized each other up as they pushed their chests against each other. TY towered several inches over Logan. And from the smile on TY’s face, he planned to use that fact to his advantage. Ty made the first move by pushing Logan back in a blatant show of disrespect. That set things off. Logan and TY exchanged a flurry of fists. From there I was breathless, watching the back and forth. TY ran off the ropes only to get stopped by a kick to the head. Logan slammed TY to the mat with a spine buster. TY clotheslined Logan so hard everyone grimaced on impact. His body did a 180 in the air like an abused ragdoll before collapsing on the mat. Even that wasn’t enough to keep him down. It was a on slot of outrageous spots to outdo and subdue the opponent. Logan would flip off the top rope to TY on the outside of the ring. Only for TY to recover, grab Logan’s wrist and slam his body into the metal barricade. Every pin attempt ended with a kick out at two that left everyone else in the arena breathless.

  TY was down in the corner of the ring. Logan frantically ran to the ring post and climbed to the top rope. He faced away from the ring, towards the crowd. He raised his arms overhead and smiled. The crowd roared in blessing and Logan jumped. My heart lodged in my throat I watched as time slowed down. Logan’s body flew, twisting once as he somersaulted. With precision Logan slammed into TY’s. Frantically Logan hooked TY’s leg, and the ref swooped in for the count.

  1 2 3!

  The arena erupted. Lucha mask guy and Amber both held onto my shoulders. My brain didn’t register what was happening until the ref held up Logan’s hand.

  “Your winner and newwww Millennium wrestling association world championship, LOGAN COLE!”

  A scream ripped through my throat, and I jumped up and down. He did it! My boyfriend was champion!

  Logan

  I stumbled through the curtain leading backstage and into gorilla position. Applause greeted me. The warm greeting made me stand a little straighter and smile a little wider. Owner Joe was the first to greet me. He ran across the staging area and wrapped his arms around my sweaty torso. It was a slightly unnerving to have a billionaire hugged against me, but I shrugged that off.

  “That was a five-star match! A headline maker!” Joe shouted at me.

  “It looked good?” I asked.

  “Amazing! Fucking brilliant!” Joe patted the championship hanging off my shoulder.

  “Smile!” Someone shouted.

  I looked up to a flash going off. Hopefully, I smiled in time. Cheesing for photos with the owner made me feel a bit like a prized cow, but that was the nature of the business. Another flash went off.

  “I have so much planned for you! But we’ll talk more later. They need me at the monitors for the street fight.” Joe ran off, leaving me to more well wishes from my coworkers.

  “That was fucking impressive!” Zeke laughed as him and Nick pulled me in for a hug.

  “Thank you, guys.” I murmured.

  The Young Bloods had lost their bid for the tag team championship. But they had given it their all and put on a hell of a show in the ring. From everything Joe had told me, their loss played into a bigger storyline of us eventually working together. I was excited to work with my best friends and all of us having wrestling gold around our waists.

  “Logan, they need you in room 3!” Suzette, the lead producer, shouted over the surrounding chatter.

  I glanced over Nick’s shoulder at the short woman glaring up at me. It spoke a lot about Joe that he hired so many awesome women to lead production for a wrestling company.

  “Whatever for?” I raised an eyebrow.

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me, Logan. Just because you’re champ doesn’t mean you’re completely stupid. You know they want the photo op.”

  “Oh, I’m champ?! Is that what this is?!” I leaned out of the hug and patted the belt.

  “Yeah, it is, but I’ll get it back!” TY stuck his tongue out at me as he walked by.

  “Over my dead body!”

  “Okay! Bet!” We exchanged finger guns.

  Suzette rolled her eyes again, “Get some water and I’ll tell them you’ll be down there in 10.”

  Her plan was solid enough. We needed to get out of the way so the wrestlers could make their entrances for the street fight. Someone passed me a bottle of water and a towel as we moved into the hall. I collapsed into an open chair near the catering table. My legs instantly turned to jelly the moment my adrenaline died down. It was fucking surreal to finally have an American championship. I sighed and wiped my sweat drenched face with the towel. Zeke and Nick laughed as I simply dropped the towel on my face. The tiny bit of sensory deprivation helped regulate my heart rate. Blind I opened my water bottle, spilled some of it down my chest as I brought it to my mouth.

  I chugged the water and emptied the bottle. I sat up and pulled the towel off my head. Across the hall, I saw her. Elle was hand in hand with Amber, who dragged her along. Zeke waved them over, and I got a better look at Elle. Her bump was on display in the cream-colored wrap dress she wore. Her breasts looked amazingly perky. A pair of strappy sandals complimented her thick, smooth legs.

  Fuck.

  My insides clenched. My girlfriend looked fucking amazing, and she was pregnant with my child. We were connected forever, but that wasn’t enough. An animalistic nature reared it furry head. It snarled its teeth and growled. I swallowed in an attempt to smother the tickle in my throat. Everyone’s small talk fizzled in my ears. My hand clenched around the water bottle I held.

  “You were amazing tonight.” Elle’s voice cut through the static in my head.

  Her plump lips curved up into a smile. Her eyes shined with adoration. I swallowed again and my internal temperature shot up a hundred degrees.

  “Thanks.” I mumbled.

  “So, you heading over to pose for photos?” Amber asked.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “Um… I just gotta run to the locker room for a sec. I’ll meet you guys over there.”

  Before Elle could follow them, I grabbed her shoulder and motioned for her to follow me. The plan my brain had created was stupid. I had never skirted an obligation when it came to wrestling, but my needs were different tonight. Elle waited while I ducked into the men’s locker room. I nodded in acknowledgment at excited cheering from guys hanging out. I loved them all, but I was snubbing them tonight. I stuffed the championship belt into my duffel bag, tossed it over my shoulder, and grabbed my keys. I came out of the locker room and looked for Elle. She was leaned against the far wall looking down at her phone. My desire hasn’t died down at all. I clenched my jaw and walked up to her. It took every ounce of willpower in my body not to take her in the hall. To do a grossly misogynistic thing and claim her in front of everyone. I grabbed Elle’s wrist and dragged her down the hall. We turned a corner and headed out a side door.

  “Where are we going?” She asked.

  I didn’t answer. I was too busy completing my mission. After working in Ember Stadium for a while, we’ve all learned of a few side entrances and exits. Getting back to our hotel rooms quickly after a show is all any of us want, so we end up sharing these tips and tricks with each other. I was driving the Audi rental we used when we filmed my promo. I had parked near the building and away from the overhead lights. The SUV was circled in a private shadow of darkness.

  I let go of Elle’s wrist and tossed her the keys. Without saying a word, I climbed into the passenger seat. It took Elle a moment before she understood what I was communicating. She climbed into the driver’s seat and looked at me with a bewildered expression.

  “…Is everything okay?” she asked.

  I swallowed and ran my hands down my thighs. This was reckless and totally fucking stupid. But I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed her.

  “I want… No, I need you Elle.” I breathed.

  “What?” she stammered.

  “I need you.” I said as I reached across the console, grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me.

  In my head, it looked sexier, more possessive. In reality, Elle’s clumsy self stumbled as she crawled over the console. A small chuckle escaped me as she settled on my lap.

  “Don’t laugh at me! You’re the one talking about fucking in a parking lot!” she huffed.

  I grabbed her hip and pressed her down onto my hard on. I snaked a hand into her hair and pulled her close. I pressed my lips against the shell of her ear,

  “I’m going to fuck the shit out of you.”

  The barest touch of my lips on the shell of her ear made Elle shiver. I took that as a green light. She groaned as I lashed the tip of my tongue across her ear. I reached up and cradled Elle’s head in my hands. I caressed her cheek with my thumb. A growl scratched my throat as her eyes fluttered open to look at me. Elle’s eyes didn’t hold their typical brightness. Lust clouded them.

  Damn…

  I pulled her lips onto mine. My tongue slid across Elle’s lips and into her mouth. Slick, wet, and warm. Her tongue attempted to dance around mine, but I was the only champion in the car tonight, and I planned on winning this duel. Her taste filled my senses. She tasted like her, like tiny explosions of light in the darkness and candy. A chocolate bar maybe. Savory.

  My hands fumbled with the tie on her dress. A frustrating moment I didn’t break the kiss for. I moaned into her mouth as my hands finally unworked the stupid knot. The fabric fluttered open and presented me with the utter feast that was her body in a matching black, lacy bra and panty set.

  “Fuck…” I muttered against her mouth.

  Elle’s chuckle filled the car. That ended abruptly as I pulled down her bra and freed her breasts. The perky dark brown peaks begged for my attention. And I happily gave it. My mouth swooped down and eagerly sucked, taking turns while my hand teased the other. I stole a glance up at Elle. Her head was dipped back. A tiny bit of moonlight came through the darkened windows to illuminate her silky, smooth skin. Every day her body would change ever so slightly, mesmerizing me with how beautiful she could be. It blew my mind that this amazing woman was with me.