The Fighter's Prize

“Yes, Whitney.” I hold her closer. “We are almost to the car.”

She nods, but there’s a furrow between her brows.

“Daddy” she calls me.

I find I like this very much.

My instinct is to take care of her. It has been that way since she came to the training facility and a voice whispered cradle her in the back of my head. My balls are empty, for now, and still I have these intense urges to satisfy her in other ways. Soothe her in a bath, rub her back until she is asleep, feed her ice cream, brush her hair. I don’t even know if I own a brush suitable for a woman’s hair, but they must be available for purchase somewhere.

Yet another man holds the door open to the back entrance of the arena and I duck down, turn sideways and go slowly through the opening, to make sure Whitney doesn’t get a bump. My black SUV is there, idling, and I place her in the back, climbing in after her.

Immense relief slackens my muscles when we are locked inside the car and moving. Away from people. Toward a home where we will be alone.

No eyes. No men looking at my kotik.

I pull Whitney onto my lap and open the blanket a little, so I can look at her sweet, supple body. I tug down the neckline of her white dress until her tits are nearly out. They jiggle with every bump in the road and my cock grows stiff again.

“Yes. You will be major distraction,” I sigh, trailing a finger over her nipples. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

She struggles to sit up in my lap. “My sister. They took her during the fight.”

It is not news to me that Whitney has a sister. When she left the training gym last night, I hired an investigator to find out as much as I could about her. Such as her address, full name, siblings, job. “Who took her?”

“Easton Brawn.” She looks fearful and I don’t like it. She should never be fearful with me around. “His men. They just swooped in a-and grabbed her.”

“Easton Brawn?” This makes me frown. He is not directly my boss. No man is my boss. But he is part owner of the federation for which I fight. There is much mystery surrounding Brawn, but there is no question that he is a formidable figure. “She has not met him before?”

“No. Definitely not. Scout would have told me.” She worries her lip with her teeth. “She said she would call and she hasn’t. Maybe that means she can’t. Or he won’t let her. Or—”

“Okay.” I stroke her hair comfortingly. It is so soft. I should not have wrapped it so tightly in my fist before, but I could not help it. “I will make calls and find out what happened. I will make sure your sister is all right.”

She exhales in a rush. “You will?”

“Of course. Will that make you smile, kotik?”

Her head nods slowly. “I want to see her, too. I’m…she’s my best friend. We’re never apart. I have to see for myself that she’s okay.”

A rumble forms in my chest. “I do not like idea of you around Easton Brawn.”

Her spine straightens. “But it’s okay for my sister to be around him?”

I consider this a moment. “Yes.”

Whitney’s mouth falls open. “What is the logic there?”

“You are mine. You belong to me. It is reasonable that I have stronger need to protect.”

Her expression is incredulous. “But if he hurts Scout, that will hurt me. Don’t you see the domino effect, Maxim?”

Frustrated with these complications, I grunt, tug her head to my chest. “All I want is to take you home, make you warm and cuddle you, Whitney.”

She takes a breath, as if to center herself. “I will never be happy. Not completely. Until I am face to face with my sister. Do you understand, Maxim?”

A burn starts in my chest at the idea of her being unhappy in my care. No, this is not an option. She will smile at all times or I will be a shell of a man. “I will make calls. I will find a way for you and your sister to meet.”

Her little fist curls in my shirt. “Thank you.”

I rock her side to side. “Might take little time. Brawn makes himself very inaccessible. But I will get it done for you. I will make you smile.”

Her fingers draw circles on my chest. “I don’t know why they call you ‘The Madman.’ You’re mean when necessary, but you’re also a big sweetie.”

I tilt her chin up so she can see the gravity in my eyes. “If you want to know why I am called ‘The Madman,’ put yourself in danger or try and leave me. You will find out then.”