Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (12 page)

“Lucy?”

Nothing.

“Warrior?”

Silence.

“Tommy?” she finally said.

Crickets.

What the hell?

She hurried into the kitchen and opened the back door, then stumbled to a stop. Tommy was

rolling around on the ground, Warrior and Lucy hopping around him. Paws landed on his stomach,

shoulders, and head as he laughed out loud. He jumped to his feet, crouching low. The dogs

immediately lowered their front legs, barking, and when they sprang forward, Tommy lunged at

them, which sent both dogs sprinting into a circle around the yard.

Tommy stood straight, hands on his hips, a grin making his already handsome face even more

attractive. Mischief and humor brightened his green eyes. Head high, gaze meeting the world, he

looked invincible. Dominating. And so incredibly sexy her heart crashed against her breast.

So, why did she have a sudden sense of doom?

Because no other man made her feel like this. Because no matter what damn road she took,

her heart always led back to a man who called her sister. Because she was seriously beginning to

fear that she really would end up a spinster.

No!

Did she not get any say in this at all? Why did her heart get all the control?

She didn’t want Tommy.

When he spotted her, he jogged to her side and kissed her cheek. Unlike the kiss Brody had

given her, this light peck scorched her skin. She did everything she could not to flinch away.

Thankfully, she succeeded.

“How was your date?” There was an edge to his voice that confused her.

She frowned. “What is your problem with Brody?”

“I don’t like him.”

“You don’t— Jeez, Tommy, you don’t even know him. How can you not like him?”

He took another step forward, crowding her personal space. As his body came within inches,

where just a slight lean forward and their chests would touch, her throat tightened. The scent of

his musky cologne enveloped her, and she inhaled, ensnared by the spell of Tommy Sparks—the

spell she’d been under since she was ten.

He brought his face closer. “I know enough that I don’t like him with you, and I want you to

stay the hell away from him.”

A thrill shot through her. Before she could stop herself, she said, “Why? Are you jealous?”

Something flashed in his eyes as a muscle jumped in his jaw. “I don’t do jealousy, Julie. You’re

my best friend. It’s my job to look out for you, and that man has ulterior motives. You need to stay

away from him.”

She jerked back, stung by the insult. “Did you seriously just say the only way Brody would be

interested in me is because he has a secret agenda? What the hell, Tommy?”

“Don’t make it sound worse than I meant it. That man is up to something, and I don’t trust

him. I especially don’t trust him with you.”

Anger buzzed inside her. She was no longer the crying ten-year-old maiden he’d swept in and

saved with his wooden sword. She was a grown woman who could take care of herself, and it was

about damn time he saw it. “You don’t get to make demands on me. If I want to see Brody

Minton, I’m going to see Brody Minton.” She poked him hard in the chest. “I’m done with your big

brother shit. So drop it already.”

As she whirled to leave, a feral growl erupted from behind her. Strong fingers latched onto her

wrist and spun her back around. His other hand snaked around the back of her head, and then his

mouth was on hers. His fury was evident in the biting crush of his lips against hers, and all she

could do was stand there, absolutely stunned. He kissed her hard, the taste of him searing through

her senses as his tongue sliced between her lips to sweep hotly through her mouth. Once. Then he

froze. And it was over.

He stumbled back, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Fuck!” He shoved a hand through his hair, then stormed off toward the house, muttering

curses the entire way.

Pressing her fingers against her punished lips, she stared after him, just as horrified as he was

about the kiss. Because that hadn’t been a kiss from a man who’d wanted to kiss her. That had

been a branding of ownership.

And Julie Rogers was owned by no man.

…

What the hell had he just done?

Tommy slammed the back door behind him as he stalked into the kitchen. Fucking hell. Julie’d

said the word “brother” again, and he’d simply lost it.

Next thing he knew he was grinding his mouth against hers. He never kissed like that. Out of

outright jealousy…out of an anger-induced bitterness. That kiss had been the equivalent of his

performance the night he defended his title—mind-numbingly pathetic.

Jealousy was not something he’d ever dealt with, and if it made him do stupid shit like this,

then he’d rather do without.

Julie slammed into the house behind him. “What the hell was that, Tommy?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “A mistake.”

“No freaking joke.”

Yeah, she was pissed. She had every right to be, too. For more than two decades he’d done

nothing but tell the woman she was his sister, and just when she started getting close to some

guy, he pulls a chest-pounding me-Tarzan-you-Jane stunt like that. And for what?

Nothing. There wasn’t anything he could offer her instead.

Except, maybe, a damn good time in bed. But as much as his libido was all for that option, his

heart wasn’t in it. He’d rather have his friendship intact. Which it wouldn’t be if he was his

mother’s son—and so far he was.

Her hands jammed onto her hips. “I’m waiting for an explanation, Tommy.”

“I don’t have one,” he ground out.

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

He clamped his jaw. What did she want him to say? That he wanted to fuck her? Lay her down

right there on the floor and pound into her hard? Have his way with her, as he’d had so many

women in the past?

With a growl of anger, she shook her head. “This living situation isn’t working. I really think it

would be best if you found somewhere else to go.”

Stunned, his mouth dropped open. “Julie—”

“I do not like being kissed like I am owned, especially by a man who has never once looked at

me like I’m a woman. I don’t know what it is about Brody that has you all worked up, but you need

to get over it. Do you understand?”

Fusing his teeth together, he remained silent. He had kissed her like he owned her, and he

regretted that. But she was so wrong about the woman part, and for the first time, it bothered him

that she had no idea how fucking hot he found her. Okay, maybe he had spent years only seeing

her as a sibling, but he didn’t anymore. Never would again. That was the damn problem.

“I’ll start looking tomorrow,” he bit out.

She gave a curt nod. “I don’t think we should go to the wedding together, either. In fact, I

want to go with Brody.”

First she refused a ride from him at the park, and now she wanted to go to a fighter’s wedding

with a fighter who wasn’t him? Another wave of jealousy punched him right in the sweet spot,

making him see stars. That violent urge to brand her as his almost crippled him.

“You would rather take him to the wedding?”

She nodded.

He felt his nostrils flare. “Fine. Go with him. I don’t care.”

Oh, he fucking cared. He cared so fucking much that if he didn’t leave this room right this

second, he was liable to punch a fist through a wall.

He stormed past her down the hallway and slammed his bedroom door.

Inhaling deep breaths, he stalked around the room. The kiss played over and over in his mind.

Did Brody kiss her differently? Better than he did?

The question made his body quake with anger. Images of her in Brody’s arms tormented him,

making Tommy fist his hands and want to pummel something.

No, he did not want her with that man.

He didn’t want her with any man.

He wanted her for himself.

Considering his certainty that he took after his mother, that had to be the most selfish thing

he’d ever wanted. But, God help him, he couldn’t sit back and let another man steal her away. He

could only hope there was some romantic tenderness inside him somewhere. Julie deserved a man

who was insanely attracted to her but who could still sit on the couch with her, hold her, kiss her,

without pouncing on her in blind lust.

Maybe if he could do that much, the urge to flee from her in the morning wouldn’t set in and

ruin their friendship completely. Maybe with her, he could stick around.

And he planned to prove he could do just that.

To her…and to himself.

…

Julie slipped into the house, giving the dogs a good ruffling as they trotted up to greet her. She

glanced but everything was quite. Tommy’s rental car was outside, so he had to be here. Today

would be the first time she’d seen him in a week. Somehow she’d been able to avoid him, ever

since she told him she wanted to take Brody to the wedding. God knew she’d had to stay away.

Once the anger had worn off, the realization had set in.

Tommy Sparks, the man she’d spent more of her life in love with than not, had finally kissed

her.

Without one ounce of passion.

On the surface, she’d known that. It was why the kiss had made her so furious. The meaning,

however, had taken a little longer to sink in.

Even though he’d kissed her, he still wasn’t attracted to her. How could he be, and be so cold

as he touched her?

Mortification set in, so ugly its shame had burrowed deep in her chest and, for the second time

in a week, she had cried over Tommy. Mostly she’d cried for the teenage girl who’d always believed

that one day a wonderful kiss would change the way Tommy looked at her.

Because that girl had just been proven wrong.

It hadn’t been wonderful, and it hadn’t changed him. If anything, it had made things a whole

lot worse.

In her teenage fantasies, some other boy’s interest in her would always spark a fit of jealousy

that had Tommy yanking her to him and kissing her. But unlike what had happened in reality, in

her fantasy as soon as his lips touched her, his jealousy fled. He would groan against her mouth in

passionate desire, gather her close to his chest, and thoroughly kiss her in a way that made every

fantasy she’d ever had seem like child’s play to the real thing.

It was supposed to be awe-inspiring, mind-blowing…life-altering.

Okay, yeah. It had been life-altering—just not in the way she’d fantasized. She’d had to face

the fact that Tommy had finally kissed her…and hadn’t felt anything. That had been a hard truth

to swallow, and she’d spent the entire week coping with her turbulent feelings. She’d slip out of

the house before he got up, remaining at the clinic for lunch, then staying out with Brody or

Melody until late. When she got home for the night, she’d pass Tommy with a quick good night

and go straight to her room. One thing was clear, though—he hadn’t found a place to live yet. And

she couldn’t continue avoiding him in her own home.

It was time to let it go and move on.

The kiss had been a mistake. Nothing had changed between them. Their relationship was the

same as it ever was.

So tonight, instead of going out, she’d decided to stay and face the music. Just her luck he

wasn’t anywhere in sight. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of Merlot. Now she

just wanted to slip into a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt and enjoy a glass of wine before she took

a long bath and enjoyed a second glass of wine. God, that sounded heavenly. She really missed

her quiet evenings at home.

After she changed, she wandered into the living room. Still no Tommy. She went to the back

door and opened it. Grunts and oofs immediately assailed her.

What in the world?

Tommy and Mac were wrestling on a blue mat they’d laid down on the grass. All kinds of

equipment was scattered around, as well. Grappling dummies, pads, gloves, even a freestanding

bag with one of those sand-filled bases. So Tommy was trying to get back in the cage.

Good for him.

She stepped out on the patio and waited until they broke apart. “How’s it going?”

Tommy’s head snapped over in her direction, and the smile that came to his lips made her

heart stutter.

“Hey, stranger,” he said. “Good to see you.”

“Seems you’ve got quite the operation going on.”

Chuckling, he jogged over and dropped a kiss on her cheek, as he always had, as if they hadn’t

had a huge argument a few days before. “Yeah, been doing this every day since the park.”

“Here?”

“Yep.”

Wow. She really had been MIA.

Mac walked over with a duffel bag full of gear and slapped hands with Tommy. “Okay, I’m out

of here.”

“All right man, see ya tomorrow.”

Mac disappeared through the back door.

“Can I get you to help me with something?” he asked her as he used a towel to wipe the sweat

off his face and neck. “I’m rusty on some of the grappling moves and could use the practice.”

She hesitated. Not that she hadn’t done this in the past. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted