Stand Of Honor (3 page)

Oh my God, I know him
, she thought.

She hadn’t seen him in years and he probably didn’t know who she was
. At least, she sure as hell hoped not. She had still been a kid last time she had seen him.

She was at a loss for words as they both tried to catch their breaths.
Melanie was trying to figure a way to disappear with her dignity still intact. The only problem was, his hand was still laying claim to her thigh.

“Melanie!
There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere! What have you been doing?” No matter how many times Trish would disappear with a guy, she always came back to check on Melanie throughout the night.

Melanie cringed
. Why did she have to scream her name where he could hear her? She looked up and saw the recognition in his eyes. His hand jerked away as if he had been stung before stepping back several inches.

Trish
, realizing what was going on, just had to put the cherry on top of the most embarrassing night of her life.

“Way to go
, Mel. He’s hot! Are you going to bring him home with us?” Trish’s eyes were too busy devouring Zane’s biceps to realize her roommate’s embarrassment.

Melanie blushed
. Left with no choice but to brazen out the next few minutes before she could make her escape.

“Hi
, Zane.”

Chapter 4

Zane walked into his home with thoughts of the night still spinning in his head.
What the fuck just happened. What the fuck…?

He
stormed to his expensive new stainless steel refrigerator and grabbed a beer. As he gulped it down, he still couldn’t believe the turn of events. One moment he had been surrounded by two desperate girls vying for his attention while being bored out of his mind, and the next, he’d been pulled away by one of the hottest girls he had ever seen.

He was used to the typical bimbos trying to be clever and flirtatious at the same time, thinking that they were
impressing him because they knew how to carry on a conversation. This girl hadn’t been anything like that—she’d known she wanted him and she had taken him. He started getting hard just thinking about the way she pulled him to her.

Dammit, he had to keep reminding himself it wasn’t just some girl
—it was Melanie Brooks, Nick’s baby sister. Fuck, fuck, fuck. When had she grown up?

He should have recognized her, but he
’d admittedly had one too many beers and his eyes had been busy checking out a body that would make any man stand up and take notice. He had already started getting hard as they’d walked to the dance floor, and she’d put him over the edge when she had rubbed that sexy body up against him.

As cliché as it sounded, he did get lost in her green eyes when she spoke to him.
Her long legs and full breasts fit him perfectly. He was over six feet tall and often had to reach down to most women, but she was tall, too, with the ideal combination of slenderness and curves.

He
had loved the feel of her silky, long, dark hair tangled in his fingers when they’d kissed. And her lips, oh God, her lips were perfect. No other woman had ever brought out his animal desire as quickly as she had. He was certain she’d felt it as well, remembering the wetness he had found when he had touched her.

What the hell was she doing going up to strange men in clubs like that?
She definitely wasn’t the girl he remembered. She had always been spunky and he remembered her following Nick around in awe and adoration. He recalled she’d said she wanted to become a fighter, too.

Now that he thought about it, he had seen the leftover marks from a black eye.
Damn, she must be training; he didn’t have to wonder how it was going—the black eye said it all. That, and if she was any good, Nick wouldn’t be able to keep from bragging. Nick loved his little sister. Except, fuck, she wasn’t so little anymore.

As
Zane thought it over, he realized that Nick never talked about his family. Probably since he knew how bitter Zane was over Rex. Maybe Nick just thought it was better not to bring either one of them up to try to avoid the memories.

Zane didn’t know what to think right now. He hadn’t felt this excited for a woman in his life. Not even
Faye. He could see now that she had never been sincere, but he had been just too blinded to see it back then.

Melanie,
though, her passion radiated from within her, and he knew she was the type of woman that fought for what she wanted.

When she
had seen the recognition in his eyes, he had closed himself off as he stepped back. He’d caught the brief twinge of hurt in her expression before she had turned to run off with her friend.

He stayed a little longer to watch her from a distance, but she
remained with her friend until they finally left the club. He headed out soon afterwards.

She reminded him of her father
, and she was Nick’s baby sister. No, she wasn’t the one for him. The deck was just stacked against him too much; he couldn’t risk it. Mind over dick, mind over dick…

*
  *  *

Melanie was lying in bed wondering what had gotten into her tonight.
How had she not recognized Zane right off? She’d had a slight crush on him as a teenager, but had been all too aware that he was out of her league, and at the time, way too old for her. Then all the shit about that bitch Faye betraying him and Dad falling for Faye’s lies had happened. She knew Zane harbored a lot of resentment against her father. Her dad hadn’t been there for him when he’d needed him the most.

Zane had
survived a rough childhood. He had lost his father in a car accident when he was a boy and his mother, who had been in the accident, never could get her life back on track. Zane did his best to be the man in the family, however his mother was never able to fulfill her role. She had become withdrawn and had always felt ill, becoming addicted to painkillers and alcohol.

Melanie
recalled a play in which Zane had earned the lead role. Nicholas had been in the same play. Zane had been so proud, telling Nick that he had saved a seat in the front row for his mother. He’d thought she was really going to show up this time. Once again, though, his mother was not to be found. Melanie still remembered his face when he had seen the empty seat. She’d cried for him when he wasn’t looking. She hated his mother and the woman’s incessant pretense of being sick to cover her addictions.

After that night, Zane
had finally realized that he couldn’t depend on his mother. Every time he had believed her lies—that she was going to be better—she had found some way to let him down again. Melanie thought that was the reason her father’s behavior when Zane had been accused had hurt him so badly—it was one more person letting him down. He had already grown accustomed to being betrayed and became distrustful of everyone. Her father and Zane’s mother had both proved that they couldn’t be there when he needed them. The only person that brought out his lighter side was Nicholas.

Nicholas just had that effect on people
. You always knew Nick had your back. It was why he was so popular with his fans and the women. Nick was a protector and people were drawn to him. She was lucky to have him as a brother.

Zane used to
observe her father training Nick. She had been watching the day Zane was sixteen-years-old and had walked up to her father. He had been nervous, but at the same time, he had been attempting to act aloof and tough. She recalled wondering what he was doing.

Zane
had surprised her when he’d looked up to her father and asked, “Mr. Brooks, can I start training with you?” Zane was putting himself out there, which was something he never did. He hated depending on anyone.

She smiled thinking of her father’s response.
“Call me Rex, and I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”

Zane
had been so happy, yet he’d acted as grown up as he could. “Thank you, sir. You won’t be disappointed.”

Her father
had started training Zane the next day.

Melanie
had consistently found excuses to hang around the gym just to watch the two. Where Nicholas never seemed to tire, Zane had the lightning fast reflexes. Over the next few years, they made each other the best fighters in the league.

Incredibly,
there had never been any jealousy between them. That was partly due to the fact that they had, luckily, never been put in a position to fight one another, though it was something that the league and press had been starting to discuss. Then the fight throwing accusations occurred, and it had taken Zane over a year to prove his innocence.

She
was aware, through her brother, that he was now training other fighters, but was still angry with the league and holding a grudge against her dad for assuming he was guilty. It was a shame that he hadn’t made it back to the cage yet. She hoped it was just a matter of time.

Zane was always left to fight his own battles
—proving he was up to any challenge—surely he could rise against the betrayals he had suffered to enter the cage again? Melanie hoped so; he more than deserved another chance.

Nicholas would bring him into the conversation every now and then
, making her wonder if Zane had changed. Well, her question had been answered. Yes and no. While he was still distrusting—his eyes holding a wariness that he made no effort to conceal—he was now older, more mature, and exhibited a ruthlessness that would make him a frightening adversary in the ring. His body wasn’t that of a boy any longer; it was that of a man who had turned his body into a lethal weapon. Melanie was kind of glad that her brother and Zane wouldn’t be in the ring together anytime soon.

She replayed the night in her mind
, remembering the sight of his black t-shirt defining every ripple on his tall, muscular body. Something about his aura had called to her tonight. She thought about that moment on the dance floor when she’d looked into his grey eyes, and just thinking about his perfectly chiseled cheeks and sensuous lips had her heart racing again. He was the perfect height for her; she had a weakness for men that made her feel small. She was also certain he could handle her easily.

She had never imagined she could be so forward.
She was definitely blaming Trish and the tequila shot for her actions.

But God, he was so freaking perfect
—everything she wanted in a man wrapped up in a sexy package. He probably thought Nick’s little sister had grown up to be a whore. She hated that thought. What in the hell had she been thinking? She could have put herself in a dangerous situation. She was lucky it had been Zane.

O
nce their moment had ended and he’d realized who she was, she’d seen him pull back and shut down. She understood, yet it hurt too much to see that look after the moment they had just shared. She firmly believed he’d felt the same as she had before they’d realized the truth.

She tossed and turned for the rest of the night
, remembering the look on his face when he’d realized who she was. Thankfully, she wouldn’t be seeing him anytime soon.

Chapter 5

It had been a month
since Melanie had run into Zane. Her training was going better as she was focusing more on what Tobias was telling her to do and it was working. She was realizing that she couldn’t just copy Nicholas’s moves for herself. Plus, focusing on Tobias helped block Zane from her mind. 

During the day, her
thoughts constantly drifted back to that night at the bar. She found herself imagining the kisses and his hard body while she was sitting in class. She couldn’t remember anything from her lectures and knew she had to buckle down to keep up her grades. Training was her reprieve from all of that reverie—her thoughts couldn’t stray during training, Tobias would take advantage of any opening.

“Much better
, Melanie,” Tobias complimented her after Melanie had easily applied a spinning back fist to his face. She was surprised that she had been able to get one in on Tobias so easily and was proud of her progress.

“Thanks
, Tobias. Sorry it’s taken so long to break all my bad habits. All those years of watching Nicholas and trying to mimic him must have been holding me back,” Melanie replied.

“I understand.
Execution is key, and you seem to be finally picking up what I’ve been teaching you. It might be time to start thinking about a real match. Not too soon, but I see a lot of potential in you.” Tobias was being encouraging for the first time since his training her had commenced. She had begun to think about finding another trainer.

Melanie smiled.
She was one step closer to achieving her goal of getting in the cage to prove what she was capable of. She couldn’t wait for her father to finally accept her as a fighter.

She saw Macey in the background and couldn’t help
giving her a smug smile. Macey smirked in return. What was her problem anyway? She still couldn’t understand why Macey was such a bitch to her.  She almost strangled Macey a couple of weeks ago when she walked into the back room and found some of the women watching video footage of Melanie being taken to the mat during some of the previous training sessions.  She wanted to kick the nasty grins off of all their faces.  Melanie glanced up to look at the cameras throughout the gym, cameras were fucking everywhere these days.