Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (29 page)

He hesitated a few seconds, then said, “Because I did.”

She halted.
Say what?
“Has Mike lost his mind?”

“Surprisingly, I think this was the smartest thing he’s done for my career since taking me on in his

gym.”

She tried to figure out what he was saying but drew a blank. “What do you mean?”

“Ethan offered me a comeback fight …in four weeks.”

Shock slammed into her. A fight? A
real
fight? Not that she should be so surprised; the man was good.

But still…

He was going back in the cage. Back where he changed to someone else. Back to where he ignored her.

Panic clawed at the back of her throat, but she shoved it down, forcing herself to concentrate on the

conversation. “D-Did you say four weeks?”

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t enough time. They needed more time. “That’s, um…great.”

“Guess who I’m fighting?”

“Do I even want to know?”

“Ricky Moon.”

Her heart stopped. Then thumped hard with disbelief. It took her a minute to be able to form coherent

words. “They’re giving you a chance to win your title back?”

“Yep.”

She stared up at him, saw the excitement, the pride etched in every line of his face, and felt like a

complete bitch for feeling nothing but fear. He loved to fight. This was what he was meant for. Being in that

cage made him come to life. She
wanted
that for him so badly it hurt.

But she wanted
him
more…and that was so selfish.

“How do you feel about it?” she asked.

“I feel like things are finally falling back into place,” he said. “It feels good.”

And that was what scared her most. “What’d they offer you?”

His grin said it all. He was going to be paid, and paid well.

“Eighty-five to just show up.”

Eighty-five thousand dollars. Holy crap. She swallowed. It was less than what he’d made when he first

fought Ricky Moon but a whole lot more than he earned modeling for catalogs. “Doubled if you win?”

“Yep. Ethan said we’ll talk long-term contract after the fight. Even though our conversation went really

well, I think he wants to make sure I’m not going to go in there and screw off like I did before.”

“Did he give any details?”

Tommy nodded. “Depends on if I win or lose, how I perform, and of course how the fans react to my

return. Promotion for my return will start as soon as I sign the contract for this fight.”

“You haven’t signed yet?”

“Ethan is sending Mike all the paperwork. I’m supposed to sign tomorrow. I was glad about that. It

gave me a chance to talk to you first.”

“Me?”

He took a step closer. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay with it.”

She stared up at him. Who was this man? It sure wasn’t Tommy “Lightning” Sparks, a man who did

exactly what he wanted and only told her about it afterward.

“My opinion shouldn’t matter.”

“It does matter.” His voice was low, almost a whisper, but the words were strong. “My decisions affect

you now, too. It’s not just about me anymore.”

Was it possible he wouldn’t revert? He was saying all the right things. Making sure she was included in

the decisions he made. He’d never done that before. He hadn’t needed to, because they’d only been friends.

But now they were a couple. And he’d
included
her. The tension eased out of her shoulders and she

smiled, really smiled. “Oh, Tommy. I want you to win your title back.”

He smiled, tinged with relief…and happiness. “I won’t be home much.”

Home
. He’d started using that word a lot lately. It gave her a warm feeling. Them together. A family.

One day maybe making a larger one.

“I’ll be waiting. Go train your ass off and beat that Ricky Moon.”

He cupped her cheek. “You’re wonderful, you know that?”

His lips found hers in a sweet kiss. He pulled back just an inch, his breath warming her face. She slid

her palms up his shoulders, behind his neck, and tugged his head down. When his mouth met hers, she

angled her head to the side, swiping her tongue across the seam of his lips. He shuddered against her,

inhaling a deep breath.

His arms wound around her waist, fingers splaying across her back as he deepened the kiss. When he

finally pulled back, desire clouded his green gaze. “Woman, I’m trying to be all sweet and shit, and you’re

making me hard as a rock.”

She chuckled. “While I do like the sweet, I have so much fun when you want to get dirty.”

“So you’re okay with me putting an end to the wooing, and just taking you back home and doing nasty

things to you?”

Her stomach fluttered. “Do you have something new to show me?”

“Baby, I have all kinds of tricks up my sleeves we haven’t tried yet.”

A shiver raked over her. “Then you need to get me home. Fast.”

As Tommy pretty much dragged her back to the house, she felt light and happy.

They were really going to make this work.

Chapter 14

Tommy straddled the vinyl grappling dummy, pummeling it with quick left-rights and tossing an elbow

in here and there. Sweat poured down his face and arms. He’d been grappling for almost an hour, first

starting with a live partner to work on his technique, then switching to the dummy so he could strengthen

his hits. Satisfaction coursed through him with every loud pop of his fist hitting the torso-shaped bag.

“That’s enough for now,” Mike called. “Let’s take a break.”

Tommy rose to his feet, using his forearm to wipe the sweat off his brow. After tugging his gloves off,

he grabbed a towel.

Mike motioned him to the office. When he entered, Tommy noticed a TV set up. “What are we doing?”

“Watching your fight against Ricky Moon.”

He blew out a breath. “Well, that won’t take long.”

Mike didn’t even try to make him feel better about it. Just sighed and said, “Nope, it won’t.”

Mike never sugarcoated anything. If a fighter screwed up, he didn’t get a pat on the back and a “we’ll

get him next time.” Nope, his coach let him know exactly how he’d screwed up, then went on to train him

to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

Tommy pulled a chair closer and sat down. Mike cued up the fight, fast-forwarding through all the

fanfare of the entrances to the actual fight where Tommy and Ricky were circling each other. Tommy

frowned at the laziness of his stance. He wasn’t braced or even protecting his chin correctly. Hell, he didn’t

even look like he wanted to be there. Like he was bored. Or so damn cocky that he thought the fight would

be easy. Probably the latter.

Ricky took advantage and had him in a clinch within two minutes in the first round. One knee to the

face and Tommy was out cold, just as he’d done to Tate the day before. Mike forced him to listen to the

announcer declare Ricky the new Middleweight Champion and watch his opponent lift
his
belt over his

head.

Mike paused the fight. “What did you see?”

“A fighter not defending his title.”

“Damn straight. Do you think Ricky Moon will be like that when you meet this time?”

“Nope.”

“No. He won’t. He’s going in this to win, Tommy. He’s not going to give you back your title the same

way you let him win it.”

Ouch
. But Mike was spot-on. Tommy hadn’t even tried to fight that day. He might as well have handed

over the belt to Moon the moment they’d entered the octagon.

Tommy hung his head. How could he ever have stepped foot inside the cage and not given it his all?

But he had. And he’d paid the price.

He lifted his head and looked Mike in the eye. “That won’t happen a second time.”

Mike smiled. “Am I looking at the fighter who won the title from Pete Griffin?”

“You bet your sweet ass you are.”

“Then let’s pull up a different fight to study.”

Mike traded DVDs again, and Ricky Moon came up fighting against Buddy Triton. He hated the fact that

his coach had to show a completely different fight for Tommy to really be able to pick apart his pending

opponent. But he understood. If he wanted to see all of Moon’s weaknesses and strengths, it wouldn’t be in

the fight against him. And he was going in completely prepared to win this time.

Tommy pointed to the screen. “Moon is weak on his feet.”

Mike nodded his approval. Watching Moon, Tommy couldn’t believe the man had won the belt from

him by KO. His reach was shorter and any time his opponent went to brawl, Moon tried for a takedown.

“Man, but he’s good on the ground.”

“Almost as good as Richard Sentori used to be.”

Richard Sentori used to be the Welterweight Champion until Dante “Inferno” Jones had won the title

from him a year and a half ago. Since then Richard had lost his last two fights, and if his losing streak

continued, he would be forced to retire from fighting.

Tommy studied the fight closely, seeing how Moon concentrated on the lower body as he wrapped his

body around Triton’s left leg and twisted. “Kneebar.”

“Moon has won with a variety of leg-locks. He’ll win any way he can, but if he’s controlling the fight,

most of the time he will go for a submission with the leg.”

He glanced at his coach and smiled. “I guess I need to make sure he doesn’t control the fight then,

huh?”

…

Julie sighed as a whirring sound penetrated her sleep. Slowly, she opened her eyes, zeroing in on the

noise in the kitchen. What times was it?

She looked at the clock on the cable box.

Almost two in the afternoon.

When had she fallen asleep?

It had been a week since Tommy started training for the fight. While she was at the clinic, the

workweek had sped by. But today, her day off, had dragged. She’d stretched out on the couch after lunch

and must have dozed off from sheer boredom.

As she sat up, Tommy walked out of the kitchen, holding a shake.

Her stomach growled. A smile split his lips when he saw her. “Hey, beautiful. I was about to wake you

up.”

Beautiful
. A pleased shiver went through her. “I hope that’s for me.”

He stopped by the couch and leaned down. She didn’t hesitate to tilt her head back to accept his kiss.

She’d come to expect them. Tommy might not be around as much, but when he was, he was touching her,

kissing her, or holding her.

When he leaned back, he handed her the shake. “Chocolate and peanut butter.”

“Mmm.”

She took a long sip from the straw, very aware of Tommy watching her. Closing her eyes, she made a

show of enjoying it with a long, satisfying, yummy sound, then licked her lips.

“You naughty girl,” he growled, slipping his hand between her legs and rubbing his knuckle against her.

She moaned. Arousal flooded her body, and her nipples tightened. Tommy might be away a lot, but he

made sure to take her as often as possible when he was here. In the process, he’d conditioned her body to

respond to him in an instant. “But we don’t have time for naughty today. I’m planning for sweet.”

She opened her eyes and lifted a brow. “I’m listening.”

“It’s a surprise. I’ve spent so much time at the gym this week, I just wanted to get home, and I didn’t

shower. I’m going to take a quick one, and then we’ll leave.” He pointed at her as he backed out of the

room. “Do not follow me. I said quick. And anything I do to you won’t be quick.”

She shivered.

After he went into the bathroom, she walked to her bedroom. Looking in the oval mirror above her

dresser, she cringed at her reflection. Her hair was knotted on one side from her nap. Thanks to Tommy

keeping her up late most nights, dark circles stained the skin beneath her eyes. Grabbing a brush, she

worked the tangles out of her hair, dabbed a little concealer under her eyes, and added a bit of mascara to

her eyelashes and eye shadow to her lids. There was no point bothering with lipstick; he’d have it off

before they left the house anyway.

She glanced down at her yoga pants and T-shirt. Nope. If they were going out, she was dressing up.

Studying her closet, she pursed her lips. Casual? Sexy?

She went to the bathroom door, opened it, and smiled when he bellowed, “I told you not to follow me!”

“I just wanted to know if you have to go back to the gym today.”

“Yeah, practice from six until nine tonight.”

She closed the door. Better not wear anything too sexy, then. They wouldn’t have time to play. She

finally settled on a pair of designer jeans that she knew looked amazing on her and a tight red sweater. After

she pulled on her knee-high boots, she walked out into the living room and found Tommy already waiting

for her.

Dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans that hugged his butt and a button-down flannel shirt that stretched

across his muscular back, he looked rugged and completely edible. The fabric clung to him, teasing her

with the body she yearned for.

His gaze raked over her and heated. “I’m one lucky fuck.”

He strode over and grabbed her by the waist, then kissed her hard. She leaned into him, opening her

mouth without hesitation. God, she loved kissing him. Loved being in his arms. She wrapped her arms