“Okay, not bad. You’re holding yourself a little too tightly and can still put a little more force in the jab. With the right technique, a jab at the right time could throw your opponent off balance and will give you time to make your next move.”
Melanie nodded her head and continued to work on the jabs. She felt proud at Zane’s comments and wanted to keep them coming.
The rest of the session went a little slow, however she felt like she was making progress. He was able to detect some of the alterations Tobias had forced her to make. It took time for her to attempt to focus on doing it correctly. Zane was understanding; he knew it was going to take time. Melanie started to apologize for some of her mistakes, but he wouldn’t allow it. He told her that she wasn’t allowed to apologize for something that wasn’t her fault. He did warn her that it would be different when they were past the correction phase of training, though.
Two hours later, they were wrapping up the training session. Melanie felt good that she had been able to focus on listening to Zane. However, now that it was over, she started noticing his body again. She also noticed they were the only ones in the gym.
She looked up to tell him thank you and caught him staring back down at her. She licked her lips and saw his eyes darken as he watched her tongue. It seemed she wasn’t the only one having trouble keeping their emotions on a professional footing.
“Zane, thank you. This means the world to me.” Melanie felt herself walking towards him, having an overwhelming desire to kiss him again. She watched his eyes flare before he stepped away from her.
“Melanie, what did I tell you about those come fuck me looks? Quit looking at me like you want me to take you on the mat,” Zane rudely stated.
Fucking asshole, she thought to herself. She knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
“Fine, but don’t think I’m going to be available when you decide you do want me.” Melanie huffed and started to storm away.
She had only taken two steps when she felt his hands grab her waist, jerking her around to face him. Before she could make a sound, he slid his hands down to her ass and lifted her up. She fastened her legs around him in response, her arms wrapping around his neck.
They were locked in a battle of stares as he carried her towards the wall, pushing her back up against it. She moaned in response. This was her fantasy coming true—a sexy, strong man picking her up like it was nothing and kissing her senseless.
He leaned into kiss her neck and then worked his way up to her ear. She felt goose bumps ripple across her skin as his mouth worked at her body, using his teeth to slightly nip at her. She could feel her dampness, and with her soft pants, his dick grazed slightly into her through his thin shorts. She wanted more of him.
With that thought, she rubbed herself even harder against him. She tried to kiss him, however he lifted her up even higher, taking a nipple into his mouth through her shirt, causing excitement to shoot through her body. She gasped out loud and moaned his name. This was everything she’d imagined it would be.
All of sudden, she felt herself sliding down the wall as he set her back on the floor. Her knees were weak, so she leaned against the wall for support.
“What did you say about you not being available to me?” Zane asked her.
Melanie was pissed as she realized he had just been proving a point. She went to kick him, yet he easily grabbed her ankle and leaned into her, his other hand grazing her inner thigh, brushing his fingers across her wetness with his fingertips.
“So wet, so quick. I never thought you would grow up to be easy. I can have a girl just as sexy as you underneath me in ten minutes with one phone call. The question is, can you find another coach? I told you to make your choice before we started training. I won’t fuck you and train you at the same time because you’ll spend more time thinking about my dick than your next move. Now, do you want me to train you or not?” He shrugged. “I’m game for whichever you choose.”
Melanie reared back and punched him in the face. “How dare you, you shithead!”
Zane barely flinched. He laughed but finally let her go. “Melanie, go home. I’ll see you in a couple days. You need to rest your body after today.” With that, he started towards the front of the gym.
Melanie followed behind in silence, cussing herself. Why did she lose all of her senses every time she was close to him? Every time she tested him, he showed her who was really in charge. She would be more cautious of letting him see she was attracted to him in the future. Besides, with any luck, his callous attitude would eventually kill any attraction she had for him.
She gathered her composure, walking out the door without looking back while saying, “See ya, Zane.”
* * *
Zane watched her storm out of the gym, shaking his head. All those years growing up around so much testosterone must have caused Melanie to be forward and not afraid of her desires. That was what he liked about her; she didn’t play the shy, coy role that annoyed the shit out of him with other women. She had grown up with so many male influences that she probably didn’t see the need to play the usual female games.
As he thought about the last two hours with her, he realized how much he liked being able to share his love for the sport with someone that was as passionate about it as he was. Ever since he had been kicked out of the league, there had always been a part of him that felt angry and wanted to leave it behind, but at this moment, the burden he had placed on himself didn’t feel as heavy.
He didn’t know what he was thinking, grabbing her up like that. He had told himself over and over again that she was his best friend’s sister and to be respectful. He had to admit to himself, though, that he wanted her. Bad.
He was just going to have stay on task and continue to train her. Plus, he figured she was angry enough not to set herself up again. He knew it wouldn’t be safe to become attached to her, yet something about Melanie brought out feelings that he had suppressed since Faye.
The thought of that money hungry bitch hardened his resolve not to become involved with Melanie. He wasn’t meant to be with anyone and she sure didn’t deserve to become involved with someone with his kind of baggage.
He pushed all thoughts of Melanie aside. He had a job to do tonight.
* * *
Zane sat in a dark sedan across the street and observed a man exiting his car before he looked up and down the street as he made his way towards the front door of his house. Zane watched him quickly jab the key towards the handle and miss several times because he kept looking behind him as he tried to unlock the door. Zane could sense his fear.
The man finally entered the dark house and Zane noticed he didn’t turn on the lights. His plan to make it look like no one was home wouldn’t work tonight.
Zane stayed in his car for another hour to give the man time to think he was safe for the night. It was always better to catch them off guard.
When enough time had passed, Zane stepped out of the sedan and then quickly walked across the street to the front door. He slipped the key out of his pocket, quietly opened the door, and pulled the pistol out of his jacket as he entered the house.
Chapter 9
Melanie continued to train with Zane over the next several weeks. She was happy with her progress. It hadn’t taken her long to recognize the difference between Zane and Tobias. She didn’t feel as if she was going to have her ass handed to her when she entered the cage with Zane as her coach. He had done an amazing job of adjusting her moves, and she truly felt like she was much closer to her first real fight.
She and Zane had somehow managed to keep it professional, although there was no denying the chemistry between them. She knew he had been burned so many times before and probably didn’t think too highly of her since she’d practically thrown herself at him the first few times they had been around each other. Not caring for a repeat of those occurrences, she made it a point to stay on track and work on her technique.
What conversations they did have were ca
sual; about school and various interests they each had. Still, there was always that moment at the end of each session when they were alone in the gym and it felt like the air could explode between them. She was determined not to make the first move, though she was getting tired of waiting for Zane to accept what was between them.
“Okay, dodge my punch and throw your weight against me when I’m off balance,” Zane instructed her during their session centered on takedowns.
She prepared for the punch, quickly ducking below it while moving towards his body. She then threw her body weight against him and actually forced him to fall back a few steps. She hadn’t been able to take him to the mat, but getting him off balance was significant for her.
“Great job, Melanie. That was your best one today,” Zane complimented.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, trying to control her smile and not act so giddy from his compliment. She didn’t feel bad letting his accolades go to her head. Hell, the man ate it up as much as she did.
Melanie observed the respect he received from the men and the looks he received from the women. She wanted to beat them up every time she saw one of them glance his way. Fortunately for her, the couple of women training in the gym were Lincoln’s clients, so she didn’t have to think about him spending hours training with any of them. She was aware that she was feeling possessive of him already. She smirked to herself. The beauty of being a female cage fighter was that she could scare off her competition with a glare.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Zane stated. “How are you feeling about things?”
Melanie jumped. What did he mean, what was she feeling? Oh, he meant about training.
“I feel like they’re going well. I hate that I wasted all that time because of that bitch and asshole, but you’re a good trainer.”
She saw Zane smile at her candid response.
“What’s so funny?” she asked. She liked it when he smiled, it was rare.
“Your mouth. You have a sweet, innocent look, but you cuss like a sailor. Being around men all your life, I can understand.” Zane said it nicely, so she knew he wasn’t insulting her.
“I know; it comes naturally. I guess I should work on it.” Melanie supposed she wasn’t the most feminine woman he had been around.
When her mother had been alive, she had made an effort to keep Melanie out of the gym, but after her death, her father had let her hang out there as much as she had wanted.
“What are you doing tonight?” Melanie was caught off guard by the question, and could see the surprise in Zane’s eyes. It was as if he couldn’t believe the question was coming out of his own mouth. She had a feeling he hadn’t planned on asking her that question tonight, he had never asked her anything personal. She would ask him another day what caused this random forwardness.
“No plans. I thought about renting a movie. My roommate, Trish, went home for the weekend,” Melanie replied. Why was he asking? she wondered.
“Do you want company?” Zane was looking at her so seriously that she didn’t know what to think.
“Uh, sure.” Melanie tried to hide her shock. “The only problem is, our TV is messed up; I was going to watch it on my laptop.”
“We could watch it at my place,” Zane softly replied, making it even more obvious that he wanted to spend time with her.
Melanie had all but given up hope of him making the first move. She had been considering taking a couple of shots of tequila and jumping him after a session one night. Her escalating frustration had been spinning several lurid fantasies through her mind.
She looked up at him and tried to read his face. It was like looking at a blank piece of paper; he wasn’t showing any emotion. It brought back the memory of him asking her dad to train him…
Oh, my God, he’s putting himself out there for me! She knew this had to be hard for him; he wasn’t one to ask anyone for anything.
“That sounds good.” She smiled up at him and saw his face soften slightly before it reverted back to his poker face.
It’s about fucking time, she thought to herself, wondering what had made him change his mind, then deciding she didn’t care. She was glad that he had. She wasn’t going to be able to hold herself back much longer. It satisfied some girly shit deep inside her that he’d finally made the first move. She hadn’t been the first to break unless she counted that first day of practice, and she didn’t.
Her heart was pounding while she waited for him to close down the gym for the night. As he finished up, they walked out and he turned to lock doors. After he finished, he looked for her car in the parking lot.
“I usually walk here,” she explained. “It’s close enough to campus and my apartment, so I don’t use my car unless it’s cold or raining.”
Zane frowned. “It’s not safe for you to be out at night like that. Once you develop a pattern, someone can easily keep track and follow you.”
Melanie smiled. “I carry protection and stay alert.”
Zane scrutinized their surroundings before responding, almost as if he was searching for someone. “It’s still not safe. Drive your car when our trainings last until after dark.”
Melanie tried not to read too much into his over-protectiveness. She should just be content they were going to be spending time together outside the gym.
“Okay,” she replied.
Zane shook his head at her, tuning in to the fact that she wasn’t taking him very seriously. She smiled in return; she could tell he was dead serious about her not being out at night. Melanie had a bad habit of thinking that just because she knew so many different types of self-defense, such as boxing, judo and wrestling, that she had the ability to defend herself. Luckily, so far she had never been forced to use her skills to defend her life. Zane was right, though, she did need to be more careful. If she made a mistake in overestimating her abilities, it could be the last one she made.
“I have extra clothes in my bag, so I can just change at your place after we get the movie,” Melanie told him. “Any movie you want to see?”
“What were you going to rent?”
As Melanie thought about what she’d planned to rent, she blushed. Her taste in movies wasn’t typical for most women; she tended to like the raunchy ones, but she’d never shared that secret with anyone.
“I was just going to see what’s at Redbox,” she replied without looking him in the eyes.
“Really? You expect me to believe that?” Zane was laughing at her now. She had to remember that he’d known her as a kid and could tell when she was hiding something.
“Oh, just some silly comedy, but we can look together and pick one.” Melanie forced herself to sound casual as they walked to his car.
He opened the passenger door of his 4-runner and she slid onto the leather seat. As he went around to get in the vehicle, she pulled up the Redbox app on her phone.
“Do you like comedies or action?” she asked him.
“Any movies out right now that are both?”
She scrolled through the list, looking for movies that seemed to meet the criteria. “Have you seen 21 Jump Street?”
“No. That works for me,” he replied.
Melanie reserved the movie at the closest location. “You can drop me off at the box; there’s not always much room to park.” He pulled up to the curb and she hopped out to get the movie.
As she put her credit card in, she saw the message stating her movies were on the way. Crap, why was it plural…? Shit! The other movie had already been reserved, so it was sending both out.
She glanced back to see if he was watching. Fuck, he could see everything. She grabbed both movies and walked to the vehicle.
“Did you see another movie you wanted to watch?” He looked amused.
“My other reserved movie came out too, but I can watch it another time.” Melanie started to put the movies in her bag, yet before she could finish the movement, his hand snaked out and grabbed them out of her hand. Damn, he was always so fast.
He
looked at the movie and laughed out loud. “‘Piranha 3DD’?” he inquired.
“Shut up, Zane. I saw the first one on HBO, so I felt like I needed to watch the second one, too.” Melanie was embarrassed. No one knew she liked watching naughty movies.
“I have no problem watching a movie named after a breast size.” He smiled at her.
“Yeah, I know; a movie full of naked women, what guy wouldn’t?” She punched him in the shoulder.
“Hey, it was your choice, not mine!”
She could tell he was enjoying her discomfort and finally forced herself to relax.
“I like B monster movies, too. My ideal movie would be if they did a movie ‘Sharknado 3DDD’.”
Zane had a lighter side to her surprise. Melanie laughed at his lame joke, enjoying spending time with him.
“Fine, you caught me.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” he whispered. “I’m good at keeping secrets.”
Melanie felt that tingling sensation shoot through her body at his touch. She glanced at him and merely nodded.
He continued to tease her on the way to his house, however he never let go of her hand.
Chapter 10
When Zane pulled onto a road with houses on big lots, Melanie was curious to see what type of home he lived in.
They drove to the end of the road and pulled up to a large, two-story, brick home.
“Wow, nice house,” Melanie exclaimed. “It’s beautiful. Did you have it built?”
“I worked with an architect to come up with the design and helped build most of it. I had just finished up some endorsement deals before I was kicked out of the league, so I decided to put the money towards the house and the gym.” Zane pulled into the garage and turned the vehicle off. They both got out and then entered the house.
Stand Of Honor Page 5