Stand Of Honor

by Williams, Cathryn

  He was staring into her eyes, his lips almost touching hers. He wanted her. His nights had been spent thinking of her and now she was standing in his gym. Zane wasn’t about to let her escape twice.

  Melanie shoved at him, but he didn’t move an inch. “Fuck off, Zane. I’m here because I want you to train me,” Melanie breathlessly replied.

  He stepped back. “What?” He definitely hadn’t expected that for her reason of showing up.

  “I found out that the trainer at the gym was working with Macey Richards to screw up every technique I knew. Tobias had been telling me the wrong adjustments to make to my moves so that I would lose my first fight,” she rushed out the words. It was obvious she was trying to gather her senses. “I also found out that Tobias was sharing my strategies with Macey. They knew I had been watching Nick and Dad all those years and were trying to learn what I knew. I wasted almost two years for nothing. I want to take Macey on and beat her in the cage.” As she became heated and flushed with anger as she spoke, it made her look even sexier than she already did.

  “What does Macey have against you?” Macey was currently undefeated. Tobias, he was ambivalent towards. He was the fighter that had benefited from Zane being banned, while Faye and her gambling habit had been the one responsible for his downfall.

  “She’s another whore that was after Nick. Apparently, something happened between them and she wants to get back at him by watching me get beat up in the cage. She believed that was the best way to get her revenge against Nick. I know it sounds crazy, but I heard them talking in the locker room.”

  “I don’t think it sounds crazy. There is a lot of money involved in MMA fighting. The sport has become more popular over the last several years. If Macey keeps fighting the way she is, she’ll get offered some serious cash,” Zane replied, leaning back against his desk.

  He could see how upset Melanie was over the situation. He also recognized that their plan was a pretty damn good way to get even with Nick. Everyone knew how close Melanie and Nick had been ever since they’d lost their mother. He still believed it had to do more with trying to hold Melanie back than revenge against Nick, though. If Melanie had half of her brother’s talent along with a good coach, she would be a force to be reckoned with. Seems like Macey had taken care of that problem.

  “Why are you coming to me? What about Rex and Nick?”

  Zane couldn’t understand why she had been training with Tobias in the first place. Tobias had created a decent living from his fights, but he never really fought against opponents that were much of a challenge, which was why he had never climbed any higher in the ranks. After winning by default, Tobias was only able to hang onto the title briefly. He had slowly slid backwards in the rankings, eventually switching to coaching before he lost his chance to make any money out of fighting at all. Who wanted to be trained by a loser?

  Melanie’s face went from sad to neutral in a flash. “Dad won’t train me—he doesn’t think it’s a sport for women. I tried for years to change his mind, but he refuses. I’ve had to do it on my own,” she said. “Nick supports me, but you know he’s too busy right now.”

  Zane personally thought it was shitty of both Rex and Nick. Rex, he realized in hindsight, had merely wanted a ready sparring partner for Nick—his golden boy. Still, there was no reason Nick couldn’t have stepped in and taken on his sister’s training.

  Zane didn’t say his thoughts out loud, seeing Melanie’s obvious idolatry for her brother in her green eyes.

  She looked up at him with determination. “I know you’re the one that can get me there. I want the championship. I’m going to make Macey pay for this.”

  Zane looked back at her. She couldn’t do this simply out of revenge against both her father and Macey; she had to want it simply because she wanted it for herself.

  “Are you doing this just to get back at them both?” Zane asked. “Be honest with yourself right now. Why are you really doing this?”

  Melanie opened her mouth to speak but hesitated. She seemed to be at a loss for words.

  “Melanie, I love this sport. It’s what I want to do every day when I wake up. I know what it feels like to be angry and mad at the world, but when you fight, you can’t let the negative thoughts cloud your thoughts. It requires the focus and drive to be the best you can be and not let anything hold you back,” Zane explained. “So why do you want the championship?”

  “I’ve been mad at Dad for so long and have always wanted to prove him wrong. I want to show him that women can compete. I guess somewhere along the road I shifted my focus to my dad,” Melanie admitted. “But, Zane, I remember watching you and Nick train with Dad. I’ve always desired to do this, too. I feel as passionately as you both do. There’s nothing else I want more. I can let those things go and prove that I’ve got what it takes to do this.”

  Zane wasn’t sure how he was supposed to train someone he wanted to fuck. If he agreed to take her on as his student, aside from his own uncertainties, would she be able to just be his student? He was pretty sure she felt the same chemistry he was feeling.

  “If I train you, then there can’t be anything personal going on between us. No little ‘come fuck me looks’ or crying on Nick’s shoulder when I yell at you.”

  Melanie stared at him for several minutes. “I can deal with those terms.”

  Damn, that wasn’t the answer he had been hoping for, however he had laid the ground rules, and he would stick to them.

  “All right, Melanie, I’ll train you. We’ll start Monday.” Zane had a feeling he was going to regret it, but he wasn’t ready to hand Melanie over to another trainer to screw her over. Eventually, she would become disheartened and give up, proving her father correct in his assumptions.

  Besides, Zane was perfectly willing to help Melanie prove Rex wrong in any way.

  * * *

  Zane was closing the gym for the night when he heard the front door open. He didn’t have to look to see who it was.

  “We have another job for you.” A large envelope was placed on the counter. “Same terms as before.”

  Zane didn’t acknowledge the man as he left the gym. He sighed. It was a good thing Melanie had decided not to become entangled with him. Until he pulled his ass out of the mess he was involved in, he didn’t have the right to touch a woman like Melanie.

  Chapter 7

  Melanie was sitting at a table, overlooking the river at the seafood restaurant. It was a beautiful, sunny day and she typically enjoyed watching the boats glide across the water. Today, however, she was distracted. She was meeting Nicholas for lunch. She needed to find out what had happened between him and Macey. She also wanted to tell him about Zane training her.

  She was beginning her training with Zane tomorrow and she didn’t want Nicholas finding out from anyone else. She needed a place to train and trusted Zane to take her to the top. Macey was too influential and had several friends in the business. It would be extremely difficult to find a new place to train where Macey couldn’t find some kind of way to screw with Melanie. God, she wanted to beat Macey so badly.

  She could now understand Zane’s anger toward her dad after the way Tobias had betrayed her trust. She had only worked part-time with Tobias for the last couple of years, though. Zane, on the other hand, had trained extensively for several years with her father and had believed himself to be like a son to him. It must have been like a knife in his back.

  “Hey, sis,” Nicholas greeted, causing her to jump slightly

  She waited until he sat down and ordered a drink before speaking. “Hi, Nicholas. Thanks for meeting me.”

  “Anytime. What’s wrong?” Nicholas always knew when something was going on.

  “What happened between you and Macey Richards?” They were always direct with each other; there was never any point in beating around the bush.

  “Why do you ask?” She could see Nicholas was surprised she knew anything.

  “I found out that she and Tobias have been trying to set
me up for failure in the cage. I overheard them the other day. Macey said she couldn’t wait to see your face as you watched me get the shit beaten out of me.” She still couldn’t fathom anyone having that much hatred for Nicholas.

  “Christ, that stupid bitch. I had no idea her and Tobias were working together. You always said you and Macey worked out at the same gym, but it sounded like there was no interaction, so I figured she had moved on.”

  “So what happened?” she asked again.

  “About two years ago, Macey started coming to the gym. Or actually, she would wait outside for me. She was just starting to develop a name for herself and seemed to think we would be a good match. I let her talk me into a few dinners with no commitment. You know I always let them know that I don’t have time for anything serious. She seemed okay with it. We did get along well and had several sleepovers, but I made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t serious.”

  Melanie was glad he hadn’t led the woman to believe it was more than it had been.

  “After a couple of weeks, I quit seeing her and moved on. I told her that I wasn’t interested in seeing her anymore. There was no going back and forth; I cut it off clean with her. Then, about a month later, she saw me at a restaurant with another woman and went berserk. She practically ripped my date’s clothes off before I could get them separated. I dragged her outside and told her that if she pulled another stunt like that, I would file stalking charges against her. She seemed to listen and I forgot all about her.” Nicholas’s handsome face grimaced.

  “About a month later, I walked in my apartment door to find her lying naked on the couch with a glass of wine in her hand. I could tell she had worked hard to prepare for the moment. She had the lights dimmed and candles lit throughout the room. She thought I wouldn’t be able to resist.” Nick shook his head as he finished telling the story. “I picked up a blanket and told her that I couldn’t be with her. I told her she deserved to be with someone that had the time to commit to being with her.”

  “As I walked to put the blanket over her, she threw the wine glass at me. I was able to dodge it, but then she hit me in the chest with the fucking wine bottle.” Nick became angry with the memory. “I called the police. She was dressed by the time they arrived and apologized, but I filed stalking charges against her the next day anyway.”

  “She stays away from me now, but I guess she figured since she couldn’t get at me any longer, she would take her revenge out on you. That damn bitch knew you were my weakness.”

  “Yeah, that must be why she’s using Tobias—to get him to do what she wants.” Melanie sighed. Some women were so evil and conniving.

  “I’m lucky I overheard them. Tobias had just told me that it was time to start thinking about a real fight. I would have been lucky to get out of the cage in one piece.” She shuddered, thinking about what could have happened. She couldn’t wait to get back at them.

  “Nick, I went to Zane.” Melanie saw her brother’s eyes widen, however he remained silent. “I asked him to start training me.”

  “Really? What did he say?”

  “He said yes. Is that going to be a problem for you?”

  Nick paused before replying, “You know Zane is still angry with Dad, right? He’s pretty much mad at the world, but keeps everything inside. I keep waiting for him to finally let it all out. You might trigger that response and I worry about you.”

  “Why would you think I would bring it out of him?” Melanie was confused; Nick seemed overly concerned at the moment.

  “Melanie, you’re a bag full of emotions. Plus, you’re quick to speak your mind. I can see you getting under his skin. I know he would never hurt you, but he’s been holding so much in. Hours with you may affect him more than he knows.” Nick had experience with Melanie; she would stop at nothing until she got her way. “This might actually be good for him, but you need to be prepared. He’s been disappointed his whole life and doesn’t believe in anyone. I haven’t been able to pull him out of his shell, though maybe you can.”

  Melanie had been so focused on herself that she really hadn’t tried to look at Zane as a whole. She had recently been thinking of him as a means to an end. As she thought back to the night at the club, she recalled seeing the surprise in his eyes when they’d stopped kissing. She realized that he had let himself get out of control and had been just as shocked as she was at how quickly they’d responded to each other. She wasn’t going to mention that to Nick, though. She didn’t want him to know about that night at the club. Zane had said that there wasn’t going to be anything personal between them if he trained her, therefore she saw no need in Nick knowing about something that wasn’t going to happen again.

  “I can handle it. You know I can,” Melanie replied. She was never one to back down.

  “I know. I wish I had the time to work with you, but I know Zane will do an excellent job of helping you reach the goals you’ve set for yourself.”

  “He better, or I’m going to tell him that you’ll kick his ass.”

  Nick grinned. “I feel sorry for him already.”

  Chapter 8

  Melanie was practically skipping down the sidewalk. She had just come from class and was on the way to Zane’s gym. It was less than a mile from campus, so she’d decided to walk to their first session together to give her time to settle her nerves. She knew she was attracted to him and that she had to get a grip on her emotions. She was there to train, not make out—no matter how much she wanted to jump him.

  Even with that thought, she looked at herself in the glass of a shop before she reached the front door of the gym. She was wearing an emerald green fitness tank and black capris leggings. She was glad that she had a natural tan; the tank and her coloring brought out her green eyes. She wished she could do more than just a ponytail with her hair, but she didn’t want him to realize that she was trying to look good for him. She reminded herself again that she was there to train.

  She took a deep breath and opened the door. “Hi, Lincoln,” she greeted the man behind the counter.

  “Hi, Mel. How was class?” Melanie had met Lincoln a couple times in the past at Nick’s fights. He was funny, always making people laugh.

  “Good. Just ready to graduate. I’m also getting ready to take the GRE so that I can apply for PT school.” Melanie smiled with the thought of becoming a physical therapist.

  While she was talking to Lincoln, she caught sight of Zane in one of the rings. His back was to her so he had not seen her enter the gym. It gave her time to observe him in action without him knowing.

  He was wearing fitted black shorts, and she was glad to see he wasn’t wearing a shirt; she could see the muscles across his back and that he was literally glistening with sweat.

  He was letting the other man throw punches at him, easily dodging each one of them. They moved around in a circle, and she could now see what she’d pictured under his shirt that night at the club. It was even better than what she had imagined in her thoughts. Every muscle was perfectly defined.

  Her eyes took in his rippling abs along with his dark, tousled hair and his face full of concentration. As she openly gawked at him, all of sudden, he went into offense. He moved closer to his opponent, who was a head shorter than him, and was able to slip in an upper cut. Zane quickly swept the man’s legs out from under him as the man stumbled back from the unexpected punch. In a matter of seconds, Zane was on top, forcing the guy to tap in surrender.

  “Damn, Zane, you’re so fucking fast,” the guy from the ground said in admiration.

  Zane bounced up and reached down a hand to help the guy up. All the other men were laughing; it was an opportunity to make fun of yet another one of them that couldn’t stand a chance against Zane. No one had been able to make Zane surrender. They would occasionally make bets among themselves, but so far, no one had collected.

  Zane laughed and opened his mouth to reply when he spotted Melanie watching him. As they caught each other’s eyes, the men looked towards the front door to
see what had caught Zane’s attention. She heard some whistles in the background, but she was lost in Zane’s eyes, not catching anything they might have actually said.

  It was at that point that she started having second thoughts. How was she going to be able to listen to anything he told her when all she could think about was his lips on hers and his tongue down her throat?

  “All right, guys, enough. Shut your mouths and get back to work.” Zane walked out of the ring towards Melanie, and she saw the admiration the guys had for him as they immediately jumped to do as asked.

  She felt herself breathing heavily as he walked across the gym. She was pulled out of her daze when she heard Lincoln grunt. She glanced towards him and saw the knowing look in his eyes.

  “Shut up,” she snapped at him.

  Lincoln raised his hands in the air. “I didn’t say anything, girl.”

  Melanie started to snap again, but then realized he really never had actually said anything. She rolled her eyes and went to meet Zane.

  “Hi, Zane.” Melanie looked up into his grey eyes. His face was beautiful and hard at the same time, making her want to reach up and pull him to her. “Thanks again for agreeing to train me.” She tried to pull off a casual tone, yet damn, the man had tattoos on his bulging biceps. She was a sucker for tats.

  “Let’s see what you got.” Zane turned to walk to one of the rings in the back of the gym. It was around a corner so that the others in the gym could not easily see them. She was glad for that, feeling like she was starting over again since Tobias had screwed her moves up so much. She knew it was going take some time before she was able to regain any self-confidence.

  Zane walked onto the mat and turned back to her. “Let’s just start with some punches. Let me see your jabs.” He put on a punching mitt and waited for her to start.

  Okay, Melanie thought, no small talk. That was probably for the better.

  She turned her body slightly to the side and put herself in a position to throw a right jab at him. She was nervous and couldn’t fully focus, so her initial jabs were weak. She could see in his expression that he expected more from her, though, and that was exactly what she needed to let her nerves go and force her to execute the jab properly. She had to get her mind off his body or she was doomed to fail before she’d begun.