Stand Of Honor (9 page)

As they were finishing up, he saw a familiar face at the back of the restaurant.
Tobias was by himself, eating lunch. He wondered if Macey had dumped his ass after she couldn’t use him to fuck with Melanie anymore. As far as Zane knew, no one had found out that he was training Melanie, so it would be a surprise when she put her name out officially.

He had seen Tobias occasionally since the day of
their own fight, years before. Zane went to all the fights his clients were in, but Tobias had become less and less visible over the last couple years and wasn’t the fighter he had been when he and Zane had fought.

Zane wanted to knock the shit out of him for what he
’d done to Melanie, however he didn’t want anyone to figure out just yet that he was her trainer and he sure as fuck didn’t want anyone finding out they were involved.

He and Lincoln finished off their beers and paid the tab.
As they were leaving the restaurant, he heard someone call his name.

“Hey
, Zane, whatcha been up to?” Tobias slurred.

Zane turned around
to see a very drunk Tobias walking behind them.  He hadn’t wanted to be the one to start a fight and draw attention to himself. Zane grinned to himself. However, Tobias trying to start a fight with him was another matter.

“More than you, that’s for damn sure
,” Zane said, letting his eyes go to Tobias’s ruddy face and flabby stomach.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Tobias yelled at his back.
“Still pissed at the world? Poor fucker. League did you dirty. Couldn’t ever get over it, could you? Who knew you’d end up being such a bitch about it.” Tobias laughed, starting to stumble away.

In a matter of seconds, Zane had Tobias up against the
wall of the restaurant. Lincoln stood cover while Zane threw his fist against Tobias’s cheekbone. The fucker would remember pissing him off for the next week every time he looked in a mirror.

“Listen closely
, you piece of shit. You and I both know you had that win against me handed to you on a silver platter, and what did you do with it? Make a name for yourself? Fuck no. You pissed away the best opportunity you’ll ever have. Now everyone in the league thinks you’re just a drunk that doesn’t belong in the cage. Why don’t you do everyone a favor and quit?” Zane was working hard not to beat the shit out of him at that moment.

“It’s your fucking fault, you asshole,” Tobias growled back
, not even struggling to free himself.

“How the hell is it my fault?”

Tobias’s drunken rant continued, “Our fights were always close, but when the league shut you out, everyone blamed me. Faye played me, too, but no one saw it like that. All they knew was that you had been framed and I didn’t deserve the win.” Tobias shoved at him. “That bitch ruined my career.”

“Why would they connect you to Faye
? She was my girlfriend,” Zane asked, dumbass that he was, he still didn’t know the connection until Tobias spelled it out.

“Faye was everyone’s girlfriend
,” Tobias snapped. “She went with whomever she could get the most out of.”

Zane
’s head snapped back as if Tobias had struck him.

“She told me about your training
. Told me your weaknesses so you would lose that fight. Said we could make a lot of money and would run off together. She placed a huge bet on me to win except, when she cashed in, she took off without me.”

“Are you telling me that you knew I was being set up all along?” Zane asked very softly.

Something in Zane’s tone snapped Tobias out of his drunken stupor. He realized he had revealed his secret. Zane was angrier now than ever before. He had always blamed Faye, but she had been working with this son of a bitch all along.

Before Tobias could get another word out, Zane grabbed his throat and shoved him against the wall.
He punched him in the stomach and then put both his hands around Tobias’s neck, so he couldn’t breathe.

“Your career was ruined?
What about mine, you bastard?” Zane wanted to kill him, however he forced himself to let go, throwing Tobias to the ground, who immediately held his throat while trying to catch his breath.

“You want your career back? Start getting ready for a rematch
,” Zane said over his shoulder as he walked away.

Chapter 12

Zane was furious. The extent that Faye had betrayed him was like a kick to the gut
. To find out she’d had an accomplice brought back all the old memories of the time they had spent together with her watching his practices, the talks he’d shared with her as he laid out his strategy. He had practically told Tobias how to beat him.

He
attempted to recall if he’d ever seen her talking to Tobias, and now that he thought about it, Faye had always been talking to the other fighters, but dumbass that he was, he’d thought she was just trying to show an interest in his career. According to Tobias, she must have been fucking the entire gym while he had trusted her.

He punched the steering wheel of the 4-runner.
He was driving aimlessly when he decided where he wanted to go. He pulled into a parking place in the nearby apartment complex and climbed the stairs to knock on a door.

Melanie answered.

“Are you alone?” Zane asked.

“Yeah, Trish left about an hour ago
. Come in.” Melanie opened the door, stepping back to let him in. She looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

Zane
glanced down and thought about how beautiful she was. He lifted her up and Melanie wrapped her legs and arms around him as he walked them into her bedroom.

He was so full of anger
; he needed to talk and vent his anger or he was going to go find Tobias and finish him off. Zane forced himself to try to relax by sitting down on the edge of the bed with Melanie on his lap.

“Zane, what happened?” Melanie held his face in her hands and looked into his eyes.

“I saw Tobias earlier today. He was drunk as usual and started mouthing at me when I ignored him. I found out he was working with Faye all along. She had told him how to beat me so she could set me up for a loss.”

Zane needed to find a release from his anger, he wanted to go back and kick the shit out of Tobias again.

“That lowlife son of a bitch!”
Melanie went from concerned to furious in a flash. “Did you beat the shit out of him? You need to report him to the commission!” Zane felt Melanie shaking with her anger. “I want to find that bitch and beat her up myself.”

Melanie
was feeling just as angry as he was. He grabbed the back of her head roughly and pulled her face to his, shoving his tongue in her mouth. She met him back just as forcefully. He felt her nails digging into his back as they kissed each other before he leaned back to put her arms in the air so he could jerk her shirt over her head. He pulled his own shirt off next. He then stood up with her and threw her back onto the bed. She didn’t have a bra on, so he just had to pull off her shorts and panties. He took off the rest of his clothes before lying down between her welcoming thighs.

She ran her hands through his hair
, gripping him so he would keep his mouth where she wanted it. He kissed her hard as she wrapped her legs around him, pushing her pussy up to him.

Melanie wasn’t shy about showing him
that she wanted to fuck him; she was the exact opposite of Faye. Everything about Faye and their relationship had been fake—Melanie was real. She didn’t lie. She was honest to the point that she didn’t care if she put her pride on the line.

His weight against her didn’t prevent her from pushing back against his body as hard as she could.
He could sense how frantic she was, her body was writhing against his, just as demanding as he was.

He took one of her hard nipples between his teeth
, biting down slightly, feeling her body tauten while she gave a little moan of need. He kept the nipple between his teeth while he slid his other hand down to her clit. He let his palm slide back and forth, feeling her gasp at his touch. His hand continued exploring her slick flesh until he slid a finger into her.

Zane felt her responding to his touch
. Removing his hand, he slid down her body. Slipping his hands under her ass, which he lifted into the air before driving his tongue into her cunt. He heard her gasp as he held her straining hips in place, thrusting his tongue further into her pussy, discovering the sweet essence of Melanie herself.

She moaned his name
and Zane moved from her opening to taking her clit between his lips. He could feel her whole body trembling as he flicked it with his tongue.

Rising up
, he moved his body into position, putting his dick at her opening, the tip of his cock slightly entering. Melanie moved towards him in response. Zane wanted nothing more than to slam his dick all the way inside her tight sheath. His forehead lowered against hers as he tried to gather the last fragments of his control.

She looked up at him
. “Why are you stopping?”

“I didn’t want our first time together to be while we’re both angry at my ex-girlfriend and Tobias.” Zane was frustrated
. He was sure this wasn’t how she’d imagined their first time together, either.

“Zane, I’m pretty sure all you have on your mind right now is me.” Melanie urged him on by wrapping her legs around him to pull him inside of her.

Zane didn’t hesitate. He thrust into her, trying to be gentle, but she wouldn’t let him.

“Fuck me harder, Zane.”

He finally let himself succumb
, fucking her the way she demanded, sliding in and out of her hard and fast. She held onto his biceps as he continued to pound into the depths of her pussy. He spread her legs and pushed them into the air so he could go even deeper inside of her. He could feel how hot and tight she was as he moved inside of her.

As his
strokes pushed her towards the headboard, Melanie put her hands over her head to keep her head from banging against it. He pulled her slightly down the mattress, grasping both her wrists in one hand, trapping them above her head as he slid in and out of her.

She thrust her breasts towards him,
and Zane leaned down, taking a nipple in his mouth. When she tried to pull her hands out to touch him, he released her wrists before feeling her nails scorch his back as he continued to fuck her.

He liked the feel of her on his cock, the taste of her nipple in his mouth, and the tight grip of her hands as she reached down to grab his ass as she pulled him deeper
inside of her. Zane looked down at her, seeing the desire in her face as he continued to pound his dick inside of her.

He
felt her tighten on his dick. Feeling Melanie’s orgasm, he wasn’t able to hold back his own climax. When he felt her shaking slow down, he moved to her side as they both recovered.

“Oh
, my God. Oh, my God,” he heard Melanie muttering.

Zane grinned.
“Are you okay?”

Melanie elbowed him in the ribs as she rolled towards him. “I was beginning to think you were never going to take me to bed.”

Zane frowned, rolling onto his back. “It’s hard to seduce my best friend’s kid sister.”

Melanie frowned down at him. “I’m a grown woman, not a kid. It’s not like you were taking my virginity, Zane.”

“Not by much as tight as your pussy was.”

“I can go out and get laid a couple more times if it makes you feel better
,” Melanie teased him out of his relaxed mood.

“Don’t even joke about that, Melanie.” Zane rose above her. “Fuck around on me and I’ll break every bone in his body.”

“I didn’t notice you breaking anything of Tobias.” Melanie looked at him shrewdly.

Melanie was right
. When Tobias had told him that he had fucked Faye, he’d felt more betrayed by Faye than jealous. Even when they had been together and he had seen her with the other fighters, he hadn’t been jealous. Then, let Melanie joke him about other men and he was ready to beat the wall over something that hadn’t even happened.

They were both still breathing too heavily to say much, but she
still rolled over and said, “I’m so sorry about what happened to you. I don’t think I ever had a chance to tell you before.”

Zane nodded his head and pulled her to him.
She put her head on his chest and wrapped an arm around him. He knew he didn’t want to be anywhere else at that moment. They stayed wrapped in each other’s arms for the next few minutes.

“I’m training again,” he
announced suddenly, wanting to share the news with her.

“What?”
Melanie had started to doze off, yet he felt her jerk fully awake with his statement.

“I started training with
Linc today. I want to fight again.”

“It’s about damn time.
Do you know that you take forever to make your mind up about something?” Melanie teased him. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to wait much longer for you to fuck me.”