Sizzle (28 page)
“I love you,” he says again.
I’ve won the most important fight of my life and I’ll never stop fighting.
One month later…
Alex
SHE FACE-PLANTS AGAIN
. Rack puts his hand out and helps her to her feet. I think she may be the worst fighter I’ve ever seen.
“You’re going easy on me. Stop it,” Celina growls.
“I just knocked you to the mat again. How is that going easy on you?”
“It didn’t hurt,” she whines between gasps for breath.
They’ve been going at it for an hour. I tried to train her weeks ago, but I was worse than Rack. At least he leaves her with some bruises.
“I like gun training better,” she complains.
“Firearms training,” Rack corrects her. “Come on. You need to block and strike without landing on your ass.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
Rack rolls his eyes and gives me a look. This look means he’s had enough for today and needs rescuing.
“What if we go for a run?” I say as I push the weights up and settle them on the stand.
“Don’t think I didn’t see the look he gave you.” She turns to Rack. “Some days you act like a pussy.”
He stares at her for two seconds and then strikes. She blocks. His knee comes up and she blocks that. She backs off and he comes at her. He puts his arms out with every intention of putting a bear hold on her. She pivots and sidesteps. Rack doesn’t miss a beat and moves with her. We’re both surprised when she steps into him instead of away. Rack lowers his arms to catch his balance and she stomps down on his instep. She’s half bent and he puts his arms down so he can pick her up.
He freezes and grunts.
I can’t see what’s happened, so I walk around until I’m on the other side. Celina has him by the balls, literally.
She looks so pleased. “Mak taught me this move yesterday.”
“Mak should know better,” Rack groans.
“Well, they are nice balls, but Alex’s are better.”
“Nice to know. Would you mind giving them back to me?”
“Nope.” Her other hand comes up and she strikes him under the chin with a serious uppercut palm strike. She releases his junk and shoulders him low in the gut. He tries to hold on and she turns and steps away as he goes down. “Mak told me that men think a woman can’t fight back and it’s not a bad thing to let them think so. Now if you don’t mind, I have sweaty ball juice on my hands and I need to wash them.”
She turns and marches from the workout room. Rack rolls to his back. “Please tell me you’re keeping her. I don’t think any other man could handle her.”
I put my hand out and help him stand. “Yea, I’m holding on for dear life,” I say and give him a thump on the back.
“You still heading out of town tomorrow?”
“Yes. Celina wants to visit Kiley and her mom, and she says I need to see my sister and her family.”
“Smart man for not arguing.”
“Oh, I argued until I was blue in the face. I finally gave in.”
Rack rubs his balls. “I understand why.”
Celina
I RUN INTO MAK
in the kitchen when I go to grab water. She notices the satisfied look on my face and smiles. “You used the move?”
“Yep, and it worked. Men sure are gullible.”
“You only get one shot, so don’t think it will work next time. Jess has a few moves she’s willing to teach you. Always keep them guessing.”
“Gotcha. I need to pack. You think your man can handle things while we’re away?”
“I will handle things, Señorita,” Gabriella says from behind me.
I turn and give her my best smile. “Rack showed me the broom video. You’re good with a stick. Maybe you could give me some pointers.”
The tirade of Spanish makes Mak and I leave the kitchen quickly. Two-dogs falls in behind us as soon as we clear the door. He’s still in the doghouse and he knows it. A pair of strong arms hooks me from the dining room and I let out a very unladylike squeal.
“Excuse us, Madison. Celina and I have a very important matter to discuss. It has something to do with my woman’s hands on another set of balls.” Mak walks away laughing and Alex pulls me against his chest.
“Don’t be angry. It was kind of gross.”
He laughs. “I won’t tell Rack you said that.”
My hands go to the front of his shorts. “Your balls aren’t gross at all.”
“Good. Let’s go to our room so the cameras don’t see you assaulting my balls.”
“I need to pack,” I whisper against his neck.
“You won the argument about my sister. You won’t win this one.”
“I think we both win this one.” I bite down on the salty skin of his neck.
“I think you may be right.”
“Have I mentioned how much I love you?” I whisper against his lips.
“Not since this morning.”
“Okay, remind me later.”
He groans. “Is there a reason you can’t say it now.”
I kiss him. “Yes, we need to be away from the cameras or have you forgotten?”
He picks me up and flips his middle finger at the camera in the corner. I’ll say I love him a dozen times before he lets me come. He’ll say it too.
Are you ready for Dax? I am having so much fun with him. BURN will release soon. For a FREE naughty read (Crimson Warrior), an apocolyptic, paranormal romance, be sure to sign up for my wicked newsletter. Book II, Crimson Brothers, will be out later this year and newsletter subscribers will receive it FREE.
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A note from Holly:
Thank you for reading Sizzle. It’s amazing how easy it’s been to put my real-life experience as a police officer into a romance series about criminals. Officers/detectives deal with so much heartbreak and many of these stories stay with us for years. Heat, Sizzle, and coming soon, Burn, are giving me an outlet and a place to share my experience.
Kiley’s story is semi-true. She was actually a he and a little boy who touched my heart. He had the happiest of endings and I have a picture of him with his new forever family—amazing people with hearts of gold. I didn’t delve too deeply into Kiley’s actual abuse but know that my use of the word “still” is a byproduct of what I learned when dealing with such cases. I also learned that some children just didn't respond to me (the grandmother inside me cried) but I had to accept it. That's how it was with Kiley and Celina. Sometimes all you can do is let go and know that others will have a better chance at breaking through the trauma.
Alex Gomez suffers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I too reached my limit and a single case took me over the edge and into images that played repeatedly in my brain when I tried to sleep. It was a terrible time in my career but with the help of a wonderful therapist who recommended Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), I came through and found sunshine on the other side.
Thrifty Joes Books and Music once had a store in Tempe, Arizona. My friend Jan owned it and still runs the one located in Glendale, Arizona at 59th Ave. and Bell Rd. My bookstore was at 26th St. and Bell. Jan and I were competitors and the best of friends. My daughter, who Jan adores, starred in one of Jan’s commercials. If you’re ever in the area please stop in and say hello for me. Jan has no idea I used her store in this book.
The Lincoln Hotel was actually the Adams Hotel. I dropped Iris Johansen (the writing queen of romance suspence) off at the Adam’s back in the day and the faucet in her bathtub broke and steaming water went everywhere. Iris said the hotel reminded her of The Shining. So, not wanting a lawsuit because I sent an escort to such a landmark, I decided to name the Hotel, the Jefferson. After a quick Google check, I discovered the Jefferson Hotel in Phoenix is where they filmed the beginning of Psycho. So, Lincoln it was. Research is a bitch but quite often very enlightning.
On a side note, Kitsy Kitsy was my first cat when I was eight years old. She had a short but cherished life and I will never forget her. I loved that I could give her to Kiley.
Thank you so much for reading my books. My long-time readers know I write contemporary and paranormal romance along with police stories. I love all the genres I write and will never be able to settle on just one. Even if you don’t read certain types of books, I dare you to give mine a try. Several are free at the major retailers. All the information is available at my website:
www.wickedstorytelling.com
You can also reach me at [email protected] and I always answer (except once because the email was very mean and I don’t have time for mean people). A certain reader did not approve of the sex in my books and decided to try to change my heathen ways. That was quite a few books ago so she obviously failed.
Peace and love,
Holly
Bibliography
WRITING AS HOLLY S. ROBERTS
Hotter Than Hell Series – New Adult Romance
Heat
Sizzle
Burn
(coming soon)
Completion Series – New Adult Romance
