Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (26 page)

“Watching you come yesterday was so fucking hot. I want to see it again.”

Inserting two fingers deep inside her, he pressed the heel of his palm against her intimately.

She clutched his wrist and moaned, her head falling back against his shoulder. He nipped the side

of her neck as he started moving his fingers inside her.

“I’m the first man to give you one of those, aren’t I?”

Panting, she nodded. He’d known by the shock on her face as the orgasm had taken her, but a

fierce possessiveness stormed through him at her acknowledgment, and his arm tightened around

her.

“I’ll be the only man to give you one.”

Curving his fingers just right as he thrust, he pulled that intense release out of her again.

Wetness saturated his hand as her entire body stiffened against his, and he took in the beauty of

her in the throes of release.

She’d stolen his ability to breathe yesterday, and she did so again now as she finally found her

voice and screamed, her muscles convulsing around him. When he’d pulled the last quake from her

body, he removed his hand. One night he was going to give those to her over and over again, and

take his pleasure simply by watching her.

She slowly turned in his arms, her head lolling on his chest. Then she dropped to her knees

before him and looked up at him, water cascading over her shoulders and slicking down her body.

That unbidden catch happened in his chest again.

The woman was the most breathtaking creature to walk the planet.

“You got to have your fun. Now I want to have mine,” she murmured mischievously.

The feel of her slender fingers wrapping around him made him jerk, but he wasn’t fool enough

to stop her. He wanted to feel her lips around him. Feel the suction.

Then he did. The sweet, wet heat of her mouth encased him. “Julie— Oh, fuck me!”

As she bobbed up and down, gently cupping his balls, he was aware of nothing but her.

Closing his eyes, he groaned, knotting his fingers in the back of her hair. Nothing compared to

the pull of her mouth. The vibration of her moans. He’d never get enough of this. He could live the

rest of his life pleasing this woman and her pleasing him.

When he felt his release coming, he lifted her up and pinned her against the wall. Wrapping

her legs around his waist, he blindly fumbled for the foil packet, ripped it open, sheathed himself

then thrust deep inside her. He kissed her, deep and slow, keeping the same pace with his hips.

Even. Steady. He flicked his tongue across hers as he pulled back and rocked forward. The slow

rhythm felt amazing. “Oh, shit,” he groaned against her lips. “So damn good.”

The breathless hitches of her moans as he thrust into her kept him spellbound, and he lifted his

head to look at her. Eyes closed, wet hair clinging to her face, she dropped her head back against

the tile. He wanted to watch her lips part in the sharp gasps he could elicit.

Beautiful music he could listen to for a lifetime. The sound of Julie being taken—by him.

As he quickened his pace, she gifted him with her desire, pushed him closer to the brink with

each sucked inhale, each murmured plea, each heart-tugging moan. When she shuddered and

clamped around him as another orgasm took her, he followed her over the edge.

And for one brief, amazing moment, he actually wanted to believe they could always be like

this. Together. That he was somehow capable of being everything she needed—everything she

deserved.

That he could be her man.

…

A few days later, Julie walked into the clinic after lunch. Tommy had surprised her at the

house, and she’d ended up having to stop at the drive-through on the way back. It had been like

that all week. The man was insatiable. Muscles she’d never used before pleasantly ached after he’d

introduced her to positions she’d only ever heard about. He had shown her a whole new world of

sex. Taught her things about her body she had never known. One being that she was capable of

multiple orgasms…not just two, but many. God, so many. He’d continued pulling them out of her

until she’d had to beg him to stop, not being able to handle another one.

And he’d loved every moment. The man truly believed himself capable of only thinking about

the physical, but he was so wrong. That would have meant focusing only on his own pleasure.

Since there wasn’t a single time he hadn’t made her feel like warm jelly, the man was a born lover,

not a man who simply fucked.

Melody whistled as she spun her chair and leaned back. “Girl, I’ll have what you’re having.

Damn. Who is he, and does he have a brother?”

Julie chuckled and sat at her desk. “That obvious, huh?”

“You’ve had that I’ve-been-rocked-good look all week. Spill. Is it that handsome fighter?”

She couldn’t be referring to Tommy, since Melody would’ve used his name. What fighter was

she—

“Brody? Oh, God no, we’re just friends.” Over the last few days, they’d talked on the phone a

few times. He’d been happy to hear that she hadn’t chickened out. She figured there was a little

bit of vicarious living involved.

“Then who?”

She bit her lip, not really wanting to say. She hadn’t told anyone except Brody about the

change in her and Tommy’s relationship. Mostly out of fear of how it would end. But she needed a

woman’s perspective. She took a deep breath and confessed, “Tommy.”

Her friend’s eyes widened. “No shit? Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So are you two…together?”

“No. Yeah. No.” Julie slumped her shoulders. “God, I don’t know.”

And she really didn’t. When he was mindless with desire, she knew exactly where they were.

But it was when he kissed her super slowly or thrust into her while gazing tenderly down into her

eyes…those were the brief moments that confused her—left her wanting to know what it would be

like to really make love to Tommy.

At the same time, she wasn’t sure if that was a good place to go with him. She was already a

changed woman from being with him. If he ever— She shook her head. Not going there.

“Umm…what do you mean you don’t know if you’re together?” Melody asked.

Why had she even said that? “It’s just physical. No big deal.”

Her friend arched an eyebrow. “How could anything be just physical between you and Tommy?

You had a relationship before this. For years. Emotions were already there. You guys love each

other.”

“Well…it’s complicated.”

“Bullshit. That’s a Facebook relationship status. This is you and Tommy. So, un-complicate it,

for heaven’s sake. What do you want?”

She didn’t know the answer to that one, either. She wanted him in all the exquisite ways he’d

shown her and in all the ways he’d yet to show her. That was a definite. Anything more? She just

didn’t let her mind go there. One: Tommy said himself he wasn’t capable of more. Two: She was

terrified of what more would mean.

“You know Tommy’s reputation, right?” she murmured.

“You mean the confirmed bachelor who loves to party and loves women even more? Yeah, I’ve

heard.”

“But that’s only part of it, Mel. After Tommy started getting big in MMA, he changed. A lot.

There were nights I would stand off to the side after one of his fights while he was literally mobbed

by people, and he wouldn’t even notice.”

“But there’s that picture of you in the cage after he won the belt,” Melody objected. “Someone

who’s not important to him wouldn’t be given that privilege.”

“This is true. And I’ve never doubted Tommy wanted me there. But he tends to forget me

when the spotlight is on him.” God. She’d never shared this with anyone before. She’d kept the

hurt locked away because she’d felt so selfish for feeling it, when he’d worked so hard for years to

earn that spotlight fair and square. But the first time he’d excluded her had hurt deeply, and she’d

been standing right beside him in the cage. “Do you know he thanked everyone, including this guy

from our childhood who dared him to join the wrestling team, in that victory speech? Everyone but

me.” When Melody’s eyes softened in sympathy, Julie continued, “That night at the party, I stood

alone by a wall for hours, watching him four-deep in admirers. I ended up leaving without even

saying good-bye.” As tears pricked her eyes, she blinked them away and glanced at the floor. “He

didn’t notice. Never even mentioned it. Whenever that spotlight is on him, he forgets all about

me.”

“Dang, Julie. I had no idea.”

She let out a slow breath. “I refused to let his moments of insensitivity ruin our friendship.

When it came down to it, those moments were really small in comparison to the other stuff that

man does for me. How he is there when I need him for other things. I had—have—no right to be

upset. Those were his moments, and I wasn’t his girlfriend. I was just his best friend. But it hurt

badly enough as that. It would crush me as his girlfriend.”

Melody leaned forward. “But it would be different, Julie. You have to realize that. A man really

does treat a friend differently than he treats a girlfriend.”

“Or it could be more of exactly the same. Who knows? He’s never actually had a girlfriend.”

Melody studied her. “Well. At least he isn’t actively fighting now. He’s just training, right?”

“Yeah. He’s not sure if Ethan will ever let him in the cage again.”

“Then maybe you have nothing to worry about. Here’s my suggestion.” A wicked grin spread on

her friend’s lips. “I’d enjoy the hell out of that man every second I had him, because I’ve never

seen you so happy and relaxed. Whatever that man is doing to you beats out a day in the spa

anytime, and I gotta say, I’m green with envy.”

Julie couldn’t help a laugh. What Melody said was true. She’d never felt more blissfully relaxed

or so deliciously exhausted. And it was also right that she just needed to enjoy Tommy and what

he did to her…and not worry about what the future held.

Live in the moment.

For as long as it lasted.

…

All Tommy wanted to do was sink into the woman waiting for him at home.

It’d been like this all week. While he was away from Julie, all he thought about was walking

through the door and being with her again. Having her in his arms. Making her come apart. Over

and over. When he was with her, it was just more of the same.

He couldn’t get enough of the woman. She was an aphrodisiac that had gotten into his

bloodstream, spreading quickly all over his body until he was consumed by need every single

second.

Leave her? Not in a million years.

He strode through the training facility, intent on getting out, when Mike stopped him.

“The sparring session will be at eleven in the morning. I need you here by ten thirty. Got it?”

“Got it” again. Coach was dead serious. “Yep. Ten thirty.”

Mike came to stand beside him. “I’m extremely pleased with the way training has gone for the

last two weeks, Tommy. I know you hadn’t been training as usual while you were gone, but you

can’t tell it. You look just as good, if not better, than you did before you won the title. This is the

fighter I believe in. This is the fighter I want to show up tomorrow, okay?”

The praise from his coach made Tommy’s chest swell with pride. He’d been determined to

come in and prove he’d changed. And Mike had just let him know he’d seen it. “I’m not going to

let you down, Mike. You’re giving me a second chance and I’m not going to fuck this one up. I’m

not going to let anyone down ever again. This is where I want to be.”

“Hell, yeah.” Mike clapped him hard on the back. “Can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Twenty minutes later, he parked the car, jogged up the walkway, and entered the house.

“I’m home,” he called out.

And it felt damn good to be here. Then he realized what he’d said and froze.

Home
.

When had he started considering Julie’s place his home?

Was this unfamiliar feeling of belonging the reason none of the apartments he’d looked at had felt right?

Why, whenever he walked through the door for the past week and taken Julie in his arms, it had?

His chest tightened. Yes, this was his home. And he didn’t think it had anything to do with the walls that

surrounded him. It was simply Julie’s presence. She’d
always
been home to him. The only one he could

always be himself around.

She walked into the living room from the kitchen and the dogs raced around her toward him. He gave

both a quick ruffle on the head, then went to her. As he gathered her in his arms, she looped hers around

his neck and smiled up at him.

“Have a good day?” she asked.

His chest tightened again from an emotion he was terrified to name, but he couldn’t stop himself from

saying, “Yes, and it just got better,” and taking her lips in a sweet, lingering kiss.

She stiffened against him for a second, and he didn’t blame her. This change in him had to be

confusing. All he ever did was jump her bones and ravish her. But this…this tender, loving kiss was how

Julie was supposed to be kissed.

Like she was treasured.

And he did treasure her.