Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) (21 page)

How had she become a statistic? She couldn’t wrap her head around it. She’d thought she was a strong, intelligent woman, but Dennis had held a weird and toxic grip on her, and she had wound up in the hospital, alone and broken, thinking her life was completely shattered.

And then Slade had walked into her room. She would remember forever the way he looked at her when he saw her lying there. Then he’d taken charge and helped her heal, and really, he hadn’t stopped since. But how had she repaid him? By repeatedly pushing him away. Even though it had been for his own good, it felt like a betrayal not having told him the truth.

As she pulled up in front of her house and opened the back of her car to start loading up the boxes, she thought sadly,
This time, he may not be as forgiving.

The little bell indicating that someone was coming in through the Academy’s front door rang, annoying the shit out of Slade. He put down the electric drill and the speed bag he had been trying to hang and made his way to the front of the gym. It was late and he wasn’t expecting anyone, and he couldn’t wait to finish and head over to Jessica’s house. They had a lot to talk about. He was glad that she’d finally put this just-friends business to rest. He had been an ass, using her drunk and horny state to coerce her into dating him, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

He was surprised to see Jessica there, wearing a summery green dress that fell way above her knees, coupled with some high-as-fuck shoes that tied around her sexy ankles and looked like they were made of straw or some such shit.

“Wow, Slay. The gym looks great. Looks like you’re all done,” Jessica said as she ran her fingers against the new smooth black granite countertop of the receptionist’s desk. “I came by to see if we could talk, maybe grab some coffee across the street or something.”

“Sure, but I want to show you something first. The carpenters came in yesterday and the last of the equipment was installed this morning. I’m just finishing everything up for the grand reopening, since it’s in less than two weeks.” The beat of a techno song played low through the new high-tech built-in speaker system he had installed last week.

She continued to walk slowly around the gym, while he followed behind. Her eyes moved up to the renovated ceiling, where the dilapidated, noisy old fans that had always made her feel as if one of the blades would come flying off at any moment had been replaced with eight new stainless-steel fans. The old fluorescent lights that had made a constant humming sound were no longer there; in their stead were modern-looking indirect lights that reflected off new reinforced wooden beams. The roof remained industrial-looking. It was still a fight club, but now it was a badass, high-class fight club with top-of-the-line everything. The two old boxing rings had been renovated, the threadbare ropes replaced with new thick red and blue ropes. The floor displayed the name of the Academy in big bold white letters, contrasting dramatically with the black background. On the far end were rows of heavy bags and speed bags. There was a big section of blue mats on the opposite side of the bags, and there was also a section with free weights, two treadmills, an elliptical machine, and three brand spanking new stationary bikes. But the highlight of the gym—what Slade was most proud of—was an enormous and intimidating cage, right in the middle of the building. It was on a three-foot-high circular platform lined in red canvas, also bearing the name of the Academy in bold letters. Enclosing the circular ring was a six-foot-tall chain-link fence.

“Holy crap! You got the cage in!” Jessica shrieked, her fingers clutching the links of the fence.

“Yep. Like it?”

“It’s…it’s…wow! It’s huge,” she said.

Slade smiled, his chest swelling with pride.

Jessica’s head whipped back to look at him. “I meant the cage, Slade.” She laughed. “Geez, be careful your head doesn’t explode one of these days.”

“Come here, I want to show you something.” He reached for her hand and led her to the far end of the gym, where the blue mats were.

“I swear to God, Jess,” he began. “This is it. I’m pretty sure you’re here to tell me you’re still leaving and that last night didn’t count because you were drunk. So this is my last attempt. I’ve said it a hundred times and I am starting to feel like a stalker, but this is it. If this doesn’t show you how I feel, I seriously don’t know what will.” He pointed proudly. “This was supposed to be a surprise. It was meant for your yoga classes.”

Jessica didn’t say anything for a moment. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Jess? You okay?”

Jessica shook her head. “I noticed that this area was empty and full of boxes for weeks. I just thought it was because you hadn’t received some equipment or something.”

“You wanted to start teaching yoga, right? Well, I’m giving you this space. When the guys aren’t using it for jiujitsu training, it’s all yours. We can work around the schedule—”

“Wait! Stop! You can’t just give me a huge space. I don’t…I don’t…This is too much. It’s overwhelming.”

“Why are your panties all in a fucking twist, lady? I’m not giving you a diamond ring or anything. It’s just a space you can use to teach yoga. You told me that was your dream. You wanted to open a yoga studio. So, here.” He pointed to the mats. “You can start here. Stop saying you’re leaving and take what I’m giving you. Leaving is a cop-out. You have no reason to leave. You don’t have to spend one cent, so the money issue is bullshit now.”

Jessica looked at him, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Slade stood waiting for her to say something, his arms crossed over his broad chest, legs shoulder-width apart.

Jessica’s eyes welled with tears and her chin quivered. “Gym looks great. Catch ya later, Slay.”

She turned on her heel and practically ran toward the door.

What the fuck?
Slade thought. That was so not the reaction he’d expected when he had planned this. He took two long strides and reached for her wrist, causing her to spin around and slam into his body. “What is your goddamn problem, Jessica?”

“Nothing.” She trembled under his firm grip.

“Bullshit.”

“Pardon?”

He took a final step closer. Their bodies were now pressed together. “Bullshit.” He repeated it slowly and deliberately.

He could tell that her breathing was becoming ragged and he felt her thumping heartbeat against his chest. “Please,” she whispered, “let me go.”

“No. Not until you tell me what the hell is going on in that brain of yours.”

“Slade.” It was a plea more than anything else.

He didn’t speak. The silence was tense, and she spoke first. “I was coming to say goodbye and that I hope we could remain friends.”

“We’ve never been just friends. But regardless, friends can help friends.”

“This is too…” She looked at the yoga area, a few tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. “It’s too friendly.”

“The problem is that you’re fucking delusional, Jessica. You want to be just friends. But I think you know we’re well past being friends.”

“We decided that—”

“No.
You
wanted to be just friends. Well, lady, that ship sailed the moment I tasted your sweet pussy yesterday.”

Jessica gasped and her cheeks flamed. She tried to twist out of his grasp and walk away.

Slade growled. “That’s it. I’m done playing nice. One minute you’re here, the next you’re gone.” He reached for her forearm again and pulled her to the cage. He opened the menacing heavy door, pulled her inside with him, and slammed the door shut. The noise echoed through the empty gym.

He stalked toward her. “I’m so sick of it, Jessica. All this bullshit about you leaving. We’re hashing this shit out right now. We end up together or apart, but we end with a resolution tonight! And just friends isn’t a goddamn option!” She backed away as he came toward her, but he didn’t stop. “I can’t be your friend. So if you don’t want to be more, then it’s over. You stop coming around, you stop fucking with my mind. You stop saying we’re friends. You. Just. Stop.”

“What?” Her face looked desolate. “I haven’t led you on. Not once since we broke up!” She used the palms of her hands to wipe away the tears, which were now coming down full force. “Okay, well, maybe last night, but that was your fault for what you did to me at my house. But otherwise I’ve stayed away. You’ve chased, but I’ve stayed away!” She was gasping between tears.

Seeing her cry made his chest tighten; he never wanted to see her cry again. But hell, he was royally pissed off.

“I cannot be your friend. Fuck, Jessica. I never get angry. Do you get that? I don’t. Even when I fight, I don’t get angry. But you…” He continued to come toward her. “You, Jessica, make me so fucking mad. I feel like I’m losing my mind. Every time you say that fucking
f
-word I want to shake you. And by
f
-word I mean
friends.
”

“But why? I thought we were—”

“Do not fucking even think of saying that word, Jessica.” A deep snarl came out, something he couldn’t help. “Your short fucking dresses.” He leaned down and with the tip of a finger grazed the bottom hem of her dress. She took another step back and hit the fence. He continued to approach, his hands gripping the fence on either side of her body, and leaned in, his blue eyes smoldering. He reached for her bottom lip and traced it with his index finger. “These plump lips.” His finger moved down, past her chin, past the indentation between her collarbones. “These beautiful ti—”

“Wait! Stop.” Before he knew it, she had darted out from under his arm, looking like a scared rabbit. In one quick movement, he pulled his T-shirt over his head and threw it aside. Her eyes roved from his bare feet up his jeans to his bare chest, looking intently at the black tattoo that covered his entire right arm, then swirled and wrapped around his shoulder, down his pecs, and all along the obliques on the right side of his body. A white rectangular bandage was taped to the left side of his body by the waistband of his jeans. The untarnished side.

“I know exactly what’s on your mind, lady.”

She swallowed. “You do?”

He continued to stalk toward her, unfastening his belt as he walked. “You want to know what’s under the bandage. You’re wondering if it’s a new tattoo.”

A tattoo? Actually, that was not at all what she was thinking. “I was hoping you hadn’t been hurt. It’s a bandage—it looks like you were hurt.” Her back crashed against the fence again. “I never want you to be hurt,” she whispered.

In one swift motion, he pulled his belt out of its loops, and it made a snapping sound, like that of a whip, that echoed throughout the entire gym. The jeans fell lower, showing more of the tattoo. “Why do you care if I’m hurt? All you do is run away from me. For the last few weeks I’ve been chasing you. You haven’t cared one minute if I’ve been hurt.”

“I did care!” she sobbed. “I do care! Don’t you think I loved being part of your world? Your friends, MMA, this gym—I love it all. I just thought it was easier this way. I still think it. To break up before I became the jealous bitch you hate. I don’t want you to think of me as that woman.”

He let out a big breath. “I’m not hurt. It really is a new tattoo.” He said it without his normal arrogant tone. He was sad, and it showed. These past weeks had taken a toll on both of them.

Jessica skirted away, her back still against the fence. Slade’s nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. “That’s it, lady. You
will
stay put.” Before she had a chance to move, he caught her by the waist and none too gently pushed her back against the cage.

“W-w-what are you doing?” she stuttered nervously, her breathing labored. He lifted both her arms over her head without speaking, and with the black leather belt he still held, he tied her wrists together, over her head, securing them against the chain-link fence of the cage.

“Slade…,” she gulped. “I don’t…I…can’t…”

“You’ve been stammering for the last ten minutes. Take a deep breath and tell me what it is you want to say, baby. You said you love being part of my world. Well, MMA is a full-contact sport, Jessica, and I’m just showing you what full contact entails.” She didn’t speak. He moved back. “I seem to have your attention now, don’t I? Get it all out, baby. Why do you keep running away from me?” With her arms over her head, her short dress rode high on her thighs, revealing a little white lace panty. Slade stepped farther away and gazed at the beauty tied up in front of him. Sexual experience he did not lack, but kinky shit wasn’t his thing. Still, seeing Jessica tied up, her white panties peeking out, her face flushed, her mouth open, her chest moving up and down with her heavy breathing…well, fuck, he could get used to the kinky shit. At least he could with Jessica. He unbuttoned his jeans.

Jessica’s eyes widened. “What are you doing, Slade? Let me down.”

Slade ignored her request. Slowly he pulled down the zipper of his jeans and he stepped out of them. God, she was cute. Especially when she was not fighting him. And especially when she was turned on, which she definitely was now. Of that he was sure.

He felt the heat of her eyes scanning the entirety of his body. She tugged at the belt restraining her hands. “Untie me.”

“No. Not yet.”

When Slade took another step toward her, she flinched. He saw her reaction, and cautiously he placed a kiss on her neck. The back of his hand caressed her cheek. “You can’t keep leaving me, Jess,” he said softly. “I want you.” When she didn’t flinch this time, he leaned in again and kissed her neck with a little more heat. “Like, all the time.” Her chest rose and fell and she let out a little moan, which caused his already hard dick to harden to the brink of pain. He placed both hands on her waist and squeezed softly, then moved them down, his hands caressing the outside of her thighs, until he was kneeling in front of her. “I think about you all the time.” He placed his hands around both ankles and parted her legs gently. “You don’t have to say it for me to know you feel the same way.” He reached under her dress, his eyes never leaving contact with hers, slipped a finger under the elastic on each hip, and slowly slid her panties down.