Stand Of Honor (2 page)

Chapter 2

Zane stood outside the ring, watching the two men sparring.
He was annoyed with both of them. He had been training them for six months now, but they were both too eager; they couldn’t get it through their thick, immature skulls that patience could be a virtue.

“Tyler, what did you just do wrong?”
He yelled at the fighter rolling around on the ground in pain.

“Uh…” Tyler didn’t have an answer.

Zane shook his head in disgust.

The other fighter, Lane, replied smugly, “He should have went for my leg instead of trying to punch me in the face.”

Well, that was something—Lane was right. Maybe there was hope after all.

“You have to learn how to read your opponent while
trying to keep your opponent from being able to anticipate your next move,” Zane stated. “It comes in time and with practice. That’s good for today. See you next week.” Zane dismissed them before he started telling them they were going to get the hell beat out of them in the ring if they didn’t start practicing more seriously.

Ty
and Lane were two of the few fighters he had taken on for free. Occasionally he would take on a fighter who had the talent, but no funds. He would also give them a room over his gym.

When Zane was their age, he
had been in his prime. He had been so close to becoming the next champion in his weight division before his life came crashing down around him. He would never get over Faye’s betrayal. Dumbass that he was, he had allowed himself to trust a woman. Women could so easily look a man in the eye and lie straight through their damn teeth.

He had only lost one fight and truly believed he could have become champion in that same year.
He had already had his next fights lined up and had been the happiest he had ever been. When he was accused of throwing a fight and profiting, almost everyone turned against him. Faye had gone behind his back and told several lies through her fake tears. She was so damn believable, he guessed he couldn’t really blame some of them for thinking she was telling the truth. Fuck, she had fooled him, too.

She was a gold digging
, piece of shit; he could see that now. He was glad that the one hundred thousand dollars she thought she had gotten away with was taken from her once the truth came out. Faye had even served a little time on probation, but it had taken Zane over a year to prove his innocence.

The league issued a formal apology, reinstated his wins, and invited him to start fighting again.
By then, he was out of practice and still saw the suspicion in everyone’s eyes. He had done nothing wrong, however his reputation had taken a hit. Once that happened, the quality of fighters willing to fight you decreased to the bloodthirsty fuckers who just wanted to cause pain, not to advance their skill level.

Rex was a different story.
Zane harbored more resentment against his trainer than Faye. He was still friends with Rex’s son, Nick, but the almost father-son relationship that had developed with Rex during his training had been destroyed.

Luckily, Nick
hadn’t minded the close relationship between his father and Zane. He treated Zane like a brother, and when the shit had hit the fan, he had been the only one to stand beside him, believing in his innocence. They didn’t see each other as often; Nick stayed busy with his growing fame. While Zane wasn’t jealous of Nick, he couldn’t help resenting the direction his life had taken. The person he blamed for that was Rex, Nick’s father.

Rex eventually did apologize for believing the accusations against him,
yet Zane wouldn’t forgive him for that day in the cage. He had publically turned against him, and that had been the nail in his coffin that had destroyed his career. Nicholas was a good friend, but his father was a bastard.

A sound from the front door pulled him from his memories.

“Zane, what’s going on stranger?” Speak of the devil. As if his thoughts had made him appear, Nick walked into the gym, grinning at him.

Zane smiled.
“If you weren’t so busy on some bullshit commercial all the time, I might see you more often. Really? You’re doing athlete’s foot commercials now? Don’t you have any pride?”

Nicholas laughed.
“Fuck off. I’m doing a Hooter’s commercial next. Figured that would counter the athlete’s foot gig.”

Zane whistled.
“Now that’s more like it.”

“So how’s the training going?
I see you’ve added some more rings. Business must be good.” Nicholas whistled in admiration, looking around at the apparent changes in Zane’s facility.

After proving his innocence and taking some time to travel and clear his head, Zane
had ended up opening his own training facility. He couldn’t escape what was in his heart. This was his world and always would be.

“Going al
l right. I’ve got some kids with potential and some that will get their asses handed to them on a platter if they try to go into the cage anytime soon,” Zane replied grimly.

“Zane, what are you doing
, man? I’m tired of you pissing your time away training these punks when you should be preparing yourself to fight. You’re wasting your time when you should be the one in the ring. I know the league screwed you over, but they know it, too. Quit acting like the whole world turned against you. You still have fans that believe in you and want you back. It’s time to get off your ass.” Nick’s voice was heated. “This resentment bullshit has to stop. It’s destructive and no good is going to come from holding on to this grudge you’ve built up against my father. He doesn’t give a fuck if you fight again. You’re only punishing yourself. If you don’t get your head out of your ass, it’s going to be too late.”

Zane sighed.
This was Nick’s thing; he would stop by occasionally to try to convince Zane to come back to the fights. Nick wanted to make things right between his father and Zane, but neither were ready for that step.

“Not yet
, Nick. Not yet,” Zane hedged.

“When
, Zane? When your muscles are for shit? When you’re twenty pounds overweight and ten years older? Time doesn’t stand still for fighters; you see that every day. You’re training the next generation. Move on, brother. Move on. Fighting takes everything from us as it is. Don’t let it take it all.”

Zane was afraid it already had.

Chapter 3

“Trish, let’s go!” Melanie waited impatiently for Trish to finish getting ready.

It was Saturday night and Melanie was ready to go.
She had just barely made it through another beat down of a week with training, and a night of dancing would help her forget that she wasn’t improving. That, and a few drinks wouldn’t hurt, either.

“Okay!
What’s taking you so long?” Trish asked teasingly. She had on a low cut, black, sleeveless top, a red mini skirt, and four inch heels. She looked hot.

Melanie rolled her eyes and grabbed her keys.
They planned to leave her car at the club and take a cab home.

“I call dibs on the first hot guy we see,” Trish declared.

“You always do.
Then I’m stuck with his ugly friend. Why can’t hot guys go out together?” Melanie grumbled. “Don’t be surprised if I leave you then. I’m not getting stuck with Mr. Can’t-find-my-own-dick-with-my-own-two-hands while you’re screwing Mr. Ten-incher in the corner.”

“Good for you
, girl!” Trish took pride in Melanie’s brief walks on the wild side. She never took men seriously. Actually, she never took anything seriously, and couldn’t understand Melanie’s own commitment to becoming a fighter.

They were both in the mood to party,
blasting music in the car, singing “Baby Got Back” on the way to the club.

Once they reached the club, they were laughing as they walked to the door
, drawing the eyes of the men standing outside. The two complimented each other well. Trish was striking, always the first to catch the men’s attention. Tall and slender in a red skirt, she exuded an image of sensuality. Melanie’s appeal was more subtle; a curvaceous brunette, wearing a tight-fitting blue dress that showed her flat stomach and perky breasts. One had the look of a high class model; the other a playboy centerfold.

Once inside, they headed straight to the bar
where Trish ordered two tequila shots, and Melanie ordered a martini.

As they turned from the bar to check out the scene, Trish immediately grabbed a
guy walking past them.

“Hey
, sexy, wanna dance?” She didn’t even wait for an answer, pulling him towards the dance floor. She waved her fingers at Melanie as she strutted away.

Melanie smiled
. She wished she had a third of Trish’s brazenness. She sipped on the martini while scanning the room.

As she started feeling the effects from the drink, a man across the club caught her eye.
She could only see his profile, but she could tell that he was tall with dark hair and an athletic body. His shirt stretched across his chest, showing just how muscular he was. She could imagine running her hands under his shirt and feeling his muscles flex under her hands.

Trish always went for looks
; a handsome face did it for her. Melanie, on the other hand, preferred a good body. She really didn’t care if he wasn’t the best looking man in the room if he had a sexy body. And this dude had one.

She also noticed that she wasn’t the only woman looking at him.
He had two talking to him, as well as other women nearby hoping they could cut in. He was by far the hottest guy in here.

Melanie decided she was just going to
go for it. She finished her drink and then ordered two tequila shots for good measure. When she felt the liquid courage start to take over, she headed his way.

As she walked towards him, the lights dimmed for a slow song.
The drinks already had her vision a little hazy and with the lights dimmed, it was hard to see. She still managed to walk to him, step between the two women talking to him, and pull him to the dance floor. He didn’t resist.

When they stepped onto the dance floor, Melanie turned to him and pressed her body to his.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as his rock hard arms enveloped themselves around her waist. He pulled her even tighter against his body, his solid body fitting hers perfectly.

“Hi
.” She looked up at him breathlessly, wincing inwardly at her vapid sounding voice.

His face in the dim light looked familiar
, but she didn’t say anything, not wanting to appear even more dim-witted.

“Hello,” he replied.

They both stared into each other’s eyes as they started to move to the music.
The dance floor was dark, however she could see the intensity in his eyes before she placed her cheek on his shoulder.

Melanie could sense that this was a first for him.
He came across as a man who was always in control. He’d probably never had a girl just grab him and take him, but thankfully for her, he was going along with it. It usually wasn’t her style, either; however something about him had driven her to make the first move.

His body felt amazing against hers and she wanted to just stay in his arms.
They slowly moved to the music, and Melanie let herself rub her body against his. To her delight, she felt him get hard, so she continued to move throughout the song until he was fully erect. She heard a slight growl out of him and tried to contain her smile.

She felt his hands slide down over her ass as he pulled her up against his dick.
She had never gotten so wet so fast in her life. This time she gasped at her own response.

As the song came to an end, he pulled her across the floor to a more secluded area.
He pushed her against the wall, put one hand in her hair and then leaned down to kiss her. Melanie met him halfway. Their mouths colliding in a battle for control, each trying to conquer the other.

His other hand went to her breast
, squeezing hard until she stood on her toes, trying to fit herself more snugly against him. Their kisses were dissolving what control she had as he lifted one of her legs around his waist.

Melanie felt his long
, hard dick up against her wetness as she felt his hand slide the dress up her thigh. She knew he was the winner of this particular battle when she almost dissolved against his hand when his fingers brushed the crotch of her panties.

Slowly, she
started getting some of her senses back, realizing that this was a real man, not some college boy just seeing how far he could get.

“Wait…
I’m not ready for that,” Melanie panted. She wanted it, but knew things were getting out of hand. Her walk on the wild side had gone a little further than she was prepared for. The chemistry between them was incredible, though she wasn’t going to have a one night stand in a dark corner of a bar.

Melanie watched his eyes regain focus and was excited to see that she seemed to have
had the same effect on him. He seemed surprised, too. A flash of the strobe light crossed his face and she felt a different kind of shock go through her.