Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) (6 page)

“Wow. You look happy.”

“I have news.” He reached for her hand. “So, you know how Mauricio’s been sick and there were rumors he’s retiring?” Jessica nodded. “Well, the rumors were true, and he asked me if I wanted to be part owner of the Academy. His daughter, Francesca, is moving back here from Brazil, and she needs help running the gym. So…” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to buy half the gym.”

“Oh, Slade, wow! That’s so perfect. It’s your dream come true: you’ll be the owner of an MMA gym. And what’s better than owning the one you’re always in?”

“Exactly. I knew you’d understand.” He pulled her close and planted a big smooch on her lips, which caused her to laugh out loud. “Come on, let’s go in. The guys are here.” He took her hand in his and led her inside.

Slade made all the introductions, although she knew many of the guys already because they tended to hang out at the Pier. Chrissy was the first one to say hello, hugging her tightly. She was followed by Jack, Cain, and Travis, who was called Texas by his friends. Then a beautiful, statuesque redhead turned toward her. It was Mauricio Silva’s daughter, Francesca—Slade’s business partner.

Within minutes Jessica observed that Francesca’s perfect red nails kept touching Slade. Every time she opened her mouth to say something, one of her hands touched him as well. And he didn’t do anything to stop her. Jessica’s body was tense, and her jaw was so tight her teeth were grinding. Then, to add insult to injury, Ms. Perfection kept calling him
honey
.

“So, how long have you been working at the Pier, darlin’?” Travis asked, distracting her momentarily. Jessica gratefully turned her attention to the sweet and very hot cowboy, who instantly made her feel comfortable.

“Oh, two years or so.” She took a sip of the soda Chrissy had served her. “How long have you known Slade?”

“I moved to town about ten years ago from Amarillo, Texas, and I started training at WtF a year later. So I’ve known him nine years. And, of course, you know my twin sister, Jamie Lynn, from work.”

“How about you, Cain?” Jessica asked, turning her attention to the hot Viking.

Cain was not as sweet as Travis. “Four years” was his brusque reply.

Jessica’s eyebrows drew together. Seeing her reaction, Travis placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t mind him. We call him Chatty, ’cause the dude just doesn’t know when to stop yapping.”

Cain rolled his eyes. “Dick.” His tone sounded harsh, but he said it with a slight grin.

The guys’ teasing made her smile, but before she had a chance to reply, she heard a loud laugh from behind her. She turned to see the redheaded viper’s hand on Slade’s forearm and a grin on Slade’s face as they shared a joke. Truthfully, they looked like they belonged together: a perfectly beautiful couple.

Francesca’s hand remained on Slade’s arm, and Jessica’s blood pressure skyrocketed. She excused herself to Travis and Cain and walked over to Slade.

“…but I love these shoes,” Francesca was saying as she leaned on Slade while looking down at her stilettos.

“They’re sexy, but—” Slade began.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Jessica said smoothly to Slade, completely ignoring Francesca. “Wanted to let you know I was leaving.”

Slade turned to her, loosening Francesca’s grip in the process. “Really? You just got here.”

“Yeah. I’m tired.” She knew she was being curt, but she couldn’t seem to control it.

“Okay.” Slade turned to Francesca. “Be right back, Frances.”

Frances?

Arghh. Now she was even more irritated. She didn’t say a word during the short walk to her car, and he didn’t say much either. He gave her a swift kiss on the cheek before she got in her car and drove off. He seemed too keyed up to notice how uncomfortable she was with the situation.

The rest of the evening and most of her restless night, Jessica clung to her anger. By the next afternoon, she was ready to explode. She felt jittery, and an unexpected knock on her front door only made her heart race more. She stomped over to open it.

“You should really look before opening the door.”

“What are you doing here, Slade?”

“Your dick of an ex-boyfriend is out on bail. God knows where he is. I’d prefer that you’d look or ask who it is at the door.”

“Fine, I’ll make sure to look first. Is that why you came over? To scold me?” She held the door open with one hand, while the other blocked his entrance.

“What’s your problem? You’re not going to let me in?”

“Can’t. Gotta go to work.”

“I’ll take you.”

“Working late. No need.”

“I’m pumped full of energy from working out. I’ll hang out. Play some pool, have some drinks. I’ll drive you home after work.”

“Fine,” Jessica huffed. She turned, grabbed her purse and keys, and closed her door.

Slade reached for her hand, but she stepped away. “What the fuck?” he asked.

“Nothing. Just forget it,” she said. Slade shrugged and opened the car door for her. They drove to the Pier with the music blaring and very little conversation. He seemed so happy, she felt guilty being so annoyed at him. At Francesca.

The Pier was busier than ever, and Jessica barely had time to take notice of Slade. An hour before the end of her shift, she noticed him sitting at a high-top with Cain and Travis. She was feeling a little stupid for letting jealousy get the best of her. She realized she was being immature—Slade had done nothing but show her how much he liked her. She grabbed three beers as a peace offering and made her way to the high-top. Less than a foot away from the table, a blond woman who had just walked into the Pier a minute ago stomped toward Jessica, grabbed one of the beers, and poured it over Slade’s head.

“Asshole! I’m still waiting for that call. I can’t believe I did that—thing! I thought you were different.” She slammed the bottle down and walked away.

Jessica stood with the other two beers in her hand, her mouth wide open. Then Cain threw his head back and laughed loudly. Travis followed.

“I was bringing you a beer,” she said. “But I see your groupie already gave it to you.” Jessica slammed the beers on the table, causing some of the liquid to spill over, and slid one to Travis and one to Cain.

Slade, who was wiping his face with a napkin, remarkably calm, replied, “I thought it was a harem.”

“Ugh!” Jessica grunted before turning on her heel and going back to the bar. She was pouring drinks a little too forcefully when Slade walked up to her.

“What’s going on with you today? First you leave Chrissy’s house with some bullshit excuse about being tired and now you’re attacking the beer mugs. Why are you all pissy?”

She slammed another glass on the counter. “I’m not pissy,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, that’s complete bullshit. You should know one thing about me, Jess. I fucking hate drama. I hate bullshit. Just fucking tell me. You pissed about something? Spit it the fuck out. Don’t say you’re cool or
fine
when you obviously have something to say. So say it.” He put both palms on the counter.

“You know…it’s just…I…uh.” She let out a breath. “Ugh! I don’t want to be just another notch on your belt. I don’t want to feel like an idiot. And, I’m mad at myself for even admitting that.”

Slade’s eyes narrowed at first, as if deep in thought. Then, ever so slowly, the corners of his lips rose to a full, mouth-watering smile. He turned and walked over to Patsy, the owner, said something that made Patsy smile, and then he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Then he walked back to where Jessica was wiping down the bar, took her hand, and said, “Follow me. You’re on break.”

“Break? Slade, we’re swamped.”

“You’re on break, darlin’,” Patsy yelled from the other side. Jessica let out a deep breath and walked over to Slade.

“What—”

Slade took her hand and led her out of the Pier toward her car. He leaned against it and pulled her to him. His head came down to her neck and he began to kiss her softly. Jessica tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold. “Thought you never got jealous.”

Jessica whipped her head back in order to look at his face, which was sporting a huge grin. “Jealous? Please. I am not jealous.”

“You are.”

“Slade. Please. I have to go back to work, and you’re still dripping beer from your hair.”

“I think I haven’t made things clear to you yet. I want you to listen.” He nuzzled her neck, placing featherlight kisses in that sweet spot that made her want to concede to any request he could possibly make. The vibration of his voice against her skin made her erupt into goose bumps. His grip was tight around her waist.

“Everything is perfectly clear, Slade. No need to explain.” Her voice came out hoarse.

“I don’t have a harem. I don’t have groupies. I’m not a virgin, but neither are you. The past is the past and I won’t make excuses for it. I don’t like drama, Jessica. I won’t stand for it. I want peace in my life.”

Jessica snorted, tapping his beer-dampened hair. “Yeah, drama free. Peace.”

“I never lied to any woman I’ve slept with. I don’t normally do relationships. I have fun. They knew that. The problem with women is that every one of them thinks
she
is going to be the one who changes me. That is a delusion they made up, and certainly not something I led them to believe.”

“So this is the part when you tell me about all the fun you want to have with me?” She tried to push back, but he wouldn’t loosen his grip.

“No, baby. This is the part when I tell you that with you, little Miss Drama Queen, I don’t just want to have fun. Why do you think I’ve been chasing you all this time? Just for some tail? No. I want more. To be honest, I don’t know how much more. I’ve never really done…this.” He drew back slightly and gestured to the space between them. “But I can promise you, if I tell you I want something
more
with you, I’m not going to be with other women while I’m with you.”

Her stomach did backflips. “How about Francesca?”

“What about her?”

“She’s not part of your harem?”

“Seriously, you’re starting to piss me off. There’s no harem. There’s only crazy-ass women.” He reached for her nose and pinched it. “You’re kinda starting to fit that category, babe. Stop being crazy.”

She laughed for the first time in hours. “So, like, are you asking me to go steady?”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “You are seriously a nut!” He hugged her tight. “No woman’s made me laugh as much as you. I’ve been after you for months. How could you possibly be jealous?”

“I told you, I wasn’t jealous.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, babe.” He put his mouth on hers, and she couldn’t help but arch her back into him. His hand slid under her shirt and he cupped a breast as he continued to assault her mouth. She felt a low guttural growl from deep in his chest. Her mouth opened of its own accord, and the kiss quickly became frenzied. His hand slipped underneath her bra and he pinched and played with a nipple until she was so turned on, she was about to dry-hump him in a dark corner of the parking lot. Likely realizing where they were, he removed his hand from inside her shirt and pulled away, leaving them both breathless.

“We may have just gotten to third base,” he said in a husky voice.

She smiled lazily and nodded. “That was fun.”

“Yeah, it was. Not a fan of mauling you in a parking lot where anyone could’ve seen, but I agree that it was fun. My poor dick is sad you have to go back to work, though.”

She laughed. “So, we’re really doing this?”

“Yes. We’re going to date. Hope you’re ready, babe, ’cause I’m all in.”

“All in,” she echoed in a whisper. So much commitment in those two small words.

“Get back to work before I bend you over and fuck you on the hood of your car.” He slapped her ass before leading her back to the Pier.

His words caught her off guard. This man had a naughty mouth. And she so wanted it all over her body.

What the hell had gotten into him? If he wasn’t with Jessica, he was thinking about her or texting her. It had been two days since he’d dragged her out of the bar and to the parking lot and almost fucked her. Between their work schedules, they hadn’t seen each other since. For months they had flirted, but it had all been innocent, at least on her end. Slade, however, had been dying for her to get rid of that jackass Dennis and finally say yes to a date with him. He couldn’t see why she stayed with the jerk. His sister, Chrissy, had been in a physically abusive relationship, and seeing Dennis grab Jessica sparked an anger he hadn’t even known was there. That fight—which had resulted in Slade getting arrested—also led to complete radio silence from Jessica. He had needed her to testify in his defense, so while out on bail he’d gone to talk to her. But she was already back with Dennis, he’d found out. The next time he saw her, she was broken and in the hospital. He’d discovered that Jessica, at Chrissy’s pleading, had asked Dennis to drop the charges against Slade, and he’d beaten her within an inch of her life.

Slade was a serial dater. Scratch that, he thought; he barely dated—he just screwed a lot. He had no problem getting women. But this woman was different. He’d never let something even close to that happen to her again. If he could stand guard in front of her house all day, he would.

“Son of a motherfucker!” Slade was on his back, Cain’s muscular arm around his neck.

“Time to tap out, boss,” Travis said matter-of-factly as he leaned into the ring.

In a choke hold with his back to the floor, Slade heard a
click-clock, click-clock
coming toward him. It had taken him a few days to get used to the noise of Francesca prancing around the academy in sky-high heels.

“Why are you on the floor?” she asked, poking her head between the ropes.

Slade grunted.

Cain released his hold, stood in one quick movement, and extended his hand down to help Slade up. “Fucking head outta your ass, brother.”

“I didn’t see that coming,” Slade admitted. He had been sparring with Cain for the last half hour to prep him for an upcoming fight. At least, he was supposed to be training him. Not thinking about Jessica…again.

“What’s going on with you, Slade?” Francesca asked.

“Nothing. I’m fine. Just zoned out for a minute there.”

Cain shook his head and crawled out of the ring to get some water.

“You want to talk about it?” Francesca asked.

“Nothing to talk about.”

“Pussy,” Cain said as he gulped his water.

Slade flinched. He had known Cain for years and considered him one of his best friends. Cain wasn’t much of a talker. Actually, even that was an overstatement. Cain never spoke. But when he did, he was very blunt. So he was shocked that Cain would call him a pussy.

Slade took offense and his body stiffened. “I know my head wasn’t in the fight, but I’m not a fucking pussy. Dick.”

“Not calling you a pussy.” Cain took another swig of water. “Pussy’s on your mind.”

Wow! Cain was perceptive. “Fuck off, man,” Slade replied.

Cain shrugged. “Pussy’ll fuck with your head. Need to focus.”

“Can we please stop saying that word?” Francesca groaned.

“You wanted to take over your daddy’s gym. Language comes with the territory, sweetheart,” Slade said. “Anyway, you curse more than any of us.”

She shook her head and
click-clock
ed back to the office. Cain stepped back into the ring.

“Ready?”

This time he was.

Jessica’s shift had just ended and she was anxious to be alone with Slade, who had been sitting at the bar for the last hour. It had been two days since she’d seen him and she had missed him more than she cared to admit. After her shift was over, she quickly changed clothes in the bathroom and stepped out of the Pier to a downpour.

“Wait here. I’ll go get the truck so you don’t get wet.” He took off running as Jessica sat on a bench by the entrance to the bar. She fiddled with the hem of her dress as she anticipated her evening with Slade. The wind gusted, blowing her hair against her face. At the same time, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her heart began to race. Her spine jolted and she sat straight up, hands clenched at her sides, looking left and right. She had to stop herself from running as her fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. Something was off. She felt it. Frantically brushing the hair out of her face and mouth, she looked around. Standing not five feet from her, in a darkened corner, she could have sworn she saw her worst nightmare staring at her: six feet of muscles, penetrating brown eyes, and a twitching jaw paired with dark blue jeans, a black polo shirt, and black windblown hair.

Dennis Stavros.

What the hell?

“Jess? You okay?”

She glanced at Slade, who was holding an umbrella. When she looked back to the spot where she’d seen Dennis, there was no one there. The weather was making her paranoid. There was no way it was Dennis. If it had been him, he’d have confronted them, right?

“Jess?”

She shook her head, dispelling her thoughts. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.” She smiled up at him, and he held the umbrella as they walked the few feet to his truck.

Slade helped her into the truck, and when he closed the door to walk around to the driver’s side, she quickly looked back through her window at the dark corner. Nothing there. She stared down at her lap as they pulled away, completely lost in thought.

“You’re so quiet. You sure you’re okay?”

She looked up and noticed they were parked outside her house already. “Sorry. I guess I’m just tired. Work was crazy busy today.”

“Do you want me to go home?”

“No way, buddy. You owe me third base. You left me hot and bothered in the parking lot the other day.”

He smiled and went around to open her door. She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down toward her lips. His arms immediately went around her waist and her back arched as he leaned into her. Her tongue explored the bottom of his lip. When his lips parted, her greedy tongue sought entrance. He groaned as the kiss intensified. She ran her fingers through his hair, her body melding even more into his.

“We’re about to get to third base right now.”

She didn’t say anything. She just continued to kiss him.

“If you don’t care that your neighbors are watching, then I don’t either.”

She broke away, reached into her purse, and fumbled for her keys. Her hands shook.
How am I going to stop at third base? I need fourth base or home run or whatever the hell involves an orgasm.
When she finally found her keys, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward her house.

Christ, Jessica was sexy. She was lean and fit. Her long legs and arms were toned, showing just the slightest hint of muscle. The only imperfection on her was a small scar by her jaw, courtesy of the asshole. It was beyond him how she thought herself plain. She was far from plain. She was feminine and delicate—so much so that he was afraid he’d break her. Though, frankly, he wasn’t sure why he saw her as fragile when she was in great shape. Her legs had been teasing him all night, the white dress perfect against her tanned skin. But the thing he loved most about her, what he wanted to cup in his hands, was her ass. It looked delicious in her dress. Every time he looked at her, his eyes would drift down. Her chest was great, she had the perfect amount of tits, but her ass—forget it. He was a goner.

She dragged him inside her house. It had taken every ounce of self-control he had not to take her right there by the front door. He could picture her trapped against the wall, one leg around his hip as he slid her panties to the side and buried himself inside her. But he had to do right by her. He wanted something with Jessica he’d never wanted with anyone before. In the time he’d gotten to really know her, he found that he wanted to be with her in ways that extended beyond the physical. Things like cooking in her kitchen or spending nights sitting on the couch watching movies together made him wish for something he hadn’t realized he wanted. He saw what he could only imagine was what Jack saw in Chrissy: a future. So he had to take it slow and make sure she knew his intentions. But as Jessica’s nails clawed his back, her tongue laved his neck, and her dress inched up to cruel levels, his resolve wavered.

He picked her up, and she didn’t hesitate to wrap her legs around his waist.
Thank God for yoga and flexibility.
He kicked the door closed behind him and carried her to the couch. Her hands continued to assault his back, his hair, his neck. He laid her down, his weight hovering over her.

His hand roamed her outer thigh, and she fought to get his shirt off him. She whimpered when her shaky hands couldn’t undo his buttons. “I’ve always wanted to see your tattoo. I’ve dreamed about seeing it.”

He pulled back to look at her face. “You’ve seen it. You’ve seen me fight before without a shirt.”

She swallowed and looked slightly hesitant, maybe even nervous. “I haven’t seen the
entire
thing.”

His grin became devilish. “Oh, I see. So you want to know if it stops here.” He pointed at the waist of his jeans.

She nodded eagerly.

Slade reached behind him, unlocked her legs from his waist, and stood. Not taking his eyes off her, he unbuttoned his jeans.

Oh my God!

She felt like she was getting her own private strip show. She remained on the couch but quickly sat up. Her dress was pushed well past her hips and her nude-colored lace panties were on full display, but she was way past modesty at the moment.

Slowly—mind-numbingly slowly—he slid his jeans down and stepped out of them. His shirt followed, and he stood in white boxer briefs.

“Rules.”

“Rules?” she croaked, not even recognizing her own voice.
Jessica, get your eyes out of his crotch area, doofus!

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. But we are not going past third base tonight.”

“What are you, ten?”

“What the fuck were you doing at ten years old, Jessica?”

She snorted. “You know what I mean. You sound like a horny teenage girl, Slade. ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours’? Come on. I’m old enough to go to fourth base if I want to.”

“Home run.”

“Whatever. You know what I mean.”

“Nope. No sex tonight. I mean it. I will not show you my tatt if you don’t promise. You’re not completely recovered yet. You’re still getting breathless.” She wanted to tell him it wasn’t the injury to her lungs that was making her breathless, but instead she groaned and nodded.

“Let me hear you say it,” Slade said. He was standing in his I’m-a-sexy-super-
muscular-badass stance, except this time almost naked.

Jessica leaned forward on her elbows and rolled her eyes. “I promise I will not force my vagina on your penis, Slade Martin. All I want is to see your tattoo.”

He laughed. “Yeah, right.” He didn’t hesitate in sliding his fingers inside the waistband of his boxers and slowly sliding them down and down until there was not a single piece of clothing on his body.

Holy hotness!

She swallowed. Her mouth was suddenly very dry. The man was not shy. At. All! He stood in front of her buck-ass naked. His very erect penis greeted her, and all she really wanted to do was say hello to it right back. It was so close.

“So? What do you think?”

“I…uh…holy shit. I don’t think it’s going to fit,” she whimpered.

“You cursed.” He laughed and continued, “I was talking about the tatt. You wanted to see my tatt.” He smirked, one eyebrow raised.

She hadn’t even glanced at the tattoo. “Oh. Right. Tattoo.” She refocused her eyes and sat up straighter. It was impressive. The tattoo. Well, everything was impressive, but right now she meant the tattoo. The thick, intricate lines continued the pattern from his neck to his toes. “I’ve never seen a tattoo like this. If I was looking at you from the right, I’d never know you had a tattoo. It’s beautiful, Slade. Did it hurt?”

“Like a motherfucker.”

She laughed.

“Not everywhere, though. But this particular part.” He grabbed her hand and placed it on his pelvic bone. “Hurt like hell.”

Her fingers lingered on that area.

“Your turn.”

“I don’t have any tattoos.”

“That’s not what I meant, babe.” He licked his lips, leaned down, and pulled her to her feet. He turned her around and unzipped her dress, then sat down on the couch to watch her undress. She tried to do it slowly, seductively, the way he had. But she didn’t feel seductive. She felt awkward and nervous and suddenly very self-conscious. She felt trembly and fidgety, like a horny teenager about to lose her virginity.
Super not sexy, Jessica.

She let go of her dress and it slid right off her body and pooled down her legs. She stood in her lacy bra and panties. He pointed a smug finger at the bra and panties, encouraging her to continue.

She reached behind and unclasped her bra but crossed her arms, holding her bra in place.

His finger moved side to side in a no-no-no movement. She closed her eyes, released her arms, and let the bra fall to the floor. She stepped out of her dress and kicked everything away.