Black Belt in Love (Powerhouse MA Book 3)

by Winter Travers

  She handed back the card and crossed her arms over her chest. “I call a rematch.”

  “What? Are you serious? I didn’t realize that you were such a sore loser.”

  “You cheated somehow, Dante Craig. I know it.”

  I tucked her under my arm as we walked out the exit toward the car. “I promise the next time we go mini golfing, you can keep score and you’ll see firsthand that I didn’t cheat.”

  She scoffed. “Yeah, because I plan on kicking your ass next time.”

  I pressed her against the side of my car and caged her in with my arms. “Are you only going to talk about me being so amazing the whole time we eat?”

  “I guess that all depends on where you’re taking me.” She crossed her arms over her chest trying to put space between us. “I can be picky about what I eat.”

  I leaned in and rested my forehead against hers. “I find that hard to believe, honey. On our last date, you ate half a plate of nachos that was the size of a garbage can lid and a huge ass burger. Then ate a huge ass sundae.”

  “You didn’t see me eat that,” she insisted.

  “No, I didn’t. But I know you ate it all, didn’t you?” I teased.

  Her gaze lingered over my shoulder. “I don’t think I have to answer that.”

  “Your non-answer is all I need to know that you licked the spoon and the bowl when you were done.”

  She glared at me but didn’t protest.

  “I thought we could go to Mac’s.”

  Her face perked up, and her eyes lit. “By the strip mall?”

  “Yeah. I haven’t eaten there in a while.”

  She slightly moaned and closed her eyes. “Oh, my Lord. I eat there every Wednesday with Karlton. And then sometimes every Friday.”

  I chuckled and brushed her hair off her face. The wind had picked up on the last few holes on the course and it looked like a storm was about to roll in. “You wanna go somewhere else?” I didn’t want to take her some place that she went all of the time.

  “What?” she squawked. “Just you mentioning Mac’s has got my mouth watering. We are so going there.” Mac’s was a greasy spoon diner that was a block away from the karate and yoga studios. All of the food they made was amazing, and the pie was even better.

  “Do I get to have pie?” Kennedy asked, reading my thoughts.

  “I think you might like food a lot, honey,” I muttered.

  “When it comes to Mac’s, I love food. If you don’t like Mac’s, we can’t be friends,” she said passionately.

  Kennedy was definitely not one of those chicks who weren’t afraid to eat. “Mac’s it is, then,” I laughed.

  She reached up and cupped my cheek. “You know that whole decoy with benefits thing we talked about?” she asked quietly.

  I gulped and nodded. Please don’t let her be having second thoughts.

  “Feeding me yummy food is the way to benefits.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed my body against her. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, and I sent up a silent hallelujah that she melted into my touch. “You’re everything I never imagined you would be, Kennedy.”

  “Is that good?” she whispered.

  “It’s fucking amazing.”

  Her arms wrapped around my waist and she rested her head on my shoulder. “I guess I can accept that.”

  “So, how about I feed you and then we can go back to my place to watch a movie?”

  “You looking to cash in on those benefits, ninja?” she giggled.

  “Maybe,” I admitted.

  She hummed and tilted her head back to look at me. “Feed me and then a movie. But only if I get to pick what we watch.”

  I looked down at her and knew that I’d let her do whatever she wanted as long as I got to spend more time with her. “Hmm, I guess I can agree to those terms,” I said hesitantly.

  She lightly slapped me on the shoulder and laughed. “Look at you, trying to be all coy,” she giggled.

  I wrapped her up in my arms and pulled her away from the car. “I don’t want to scare you away before we even start, Kennedy.”

  A small smile spread across her lips. “I like when you call me Kennedy, but I like honey even better,” she admitted.

  Kennedy was opening up to me, but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. She let go and just enjoyed life when she wasn’t thinking about it. As long as I didn’t point it out that she was letting me in, everything would be fine. “What about Ken?” I asked lightly.

  She leaned back and looked up at me. “Every time you call me Ken, you have to kiss me.”

  Holy fuck. “You do know that I will never again call you Kennedy or honey, right?”

  She quirked her eyebrow. “Until you get sick of kissing me.”

  “Now you’re just talking crazy.” Getting sick of kissing Kennedy was not possible. Ever.

  “We’ll see about that, ninja.” She threaded her fingers through my hair and leaned into me. “Now feed me,” she ordered.

  I pressed a kiss to her forehead and lightly slapped her ass. “Yes, ma'am.”

  I opened her door and helped her in the car. Before I shut her door, an idea popped into my head. “You think we could get Mac’s to go?” I would much rather spend time with Kennedy with no one around instead of in a crowded restaurant.

  “You’re shameless,” she laughed.

  “That’s not a no,” I grumbled.

  She wound her hand around my neck and pulled me halfway into the car. “It’s definitely a yes.” Her lips and tongue touched mine and every thought of taking it slow flew from my mind. All I could think about was having Kennedy in my arms.

  I jerked from her grasp and slammed her door shut. My legs couldn’t carry me fast enough around the car. I yanked open my door, slid into the car, jabbed the key into the ignition, and glanced over at Kennedy.

  Her breathing was short, and she looked at me with hooded eyes.

  “You got fifty different Kennedy’s inside of you, honey, and each one you let me see is better than the last.”

  “It’s just me,” she whispered.

  “And I’m damn glad you’re showing me you.”

  **********

  Chapter 17

  Kennedy

  “Can I ask a question?”

  Dante glanced down at me. I was laid out on his couch, my head in his lap while he was sitting on the end with his feet kicked up on the ottoman. He was my pillow, and he was a damn good one. “You didn’t ask that before the last thirty questions you asked during the movie,” he grumbled.

  I winced. “You don’t like the Kennedy who can’t shut up during a movie?”

  His gaze pierced through me. “She might be on the lower end of the list. Still adorable, just a bit chatty.”

  I turned my eyes back to the TV. “I tend to talk during movies.”

  His body rumbled underneath me. “I don’t think you needed to say that, honey. You demonstrated that well the past two hours.”

  Humph. And I had even kept half of my thoughts to myself. We were watching King Arthur, the new one with Charlie Hunnam, and I was successfully keeping all my comments about him to myself. “I was just going to ask you if you think there is going to be a sequel,” I huffed.

  He slowly combed his fingers through my hair and pointed the remote at the TV. The screen went dark and he tossed the remote on the coffee table. “More than likely. They left it open for there to be one.”

  I silently thanked God that there would be more Charlie Hunnam in the world. “Should we watch another one?” I had no idea what time it was, but I wasn’t tired.

  “Honey, it’s almost one, and I need to be up early.”

  I groaned and snuggled into Dante. “Let’s not talk about early mornings unless there are copious amounts of coffee involved.”

  “I told Kellan I would meet him at the studio to practice at seven.”

  I turned onto my back and looked up at him. “Why would you intenti
onally get up that early on your day off?”

  “Because I won today, but competition is going to be ten times tougher at my next tournament.”

  “Why do you still compete? I mean, do you really need to?” That might have come out the wrong way. “I mean, you’ve been doing this for a while, right?” And now that really didn’t come out the right way.

  “You trying to say I’m old?” he chuckled.

  “What?” I squawked. “Of course not. I just mean, uh, isn’t being a ninja enough?” I had no problem with Dante’s age. I mean, I was basically lying in the man's lap. No problem what so ever with it. But did he really need to compete and get his butt kicked?

  “I’m a fighter, Kennedy. It’s what I’m good at.”

  I sat up and scooted around to sit on my knees next to Dante. My fingertips grazed the cut on his face. “But do you have to get hurt doing it?”

  “This doesn’t happen all of the time. The guy got a lucky punch in today, and the damn mat cut me.”

  “Black eye and a cut, but you still won,” I said lightly. That didn’t really seem like a win to me.

  He grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to my fingertips. “Stop focusing on that.” He grabbed me around the waist and lifted me into his lap. I straddled him and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “I’m thirty-nine, honey, but that doesn't mean shit. I can beat half the guys out on the circuit.”

  “I do have to admit that it’s pretty hot that you can beat up someone half your age.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “As much as I’d love to compete against those guys, I compete in the thirty-five and older bracket, honey. I just train against those guys which gives me an advantage against all the other old guys trying to get their asses kicked.”

  I ran my fingers through his silver hair and smiled. “You really are a Silver Fox Ninja,” I muttered.

  “You okay with that?”

  “With you being a Silver Fox?” I giggled. I was more than all right with it. “That’s a pretty good compliment.”

  “I’m not talking about that, honey. You’re twenty-five.”

  “Uh, good memory?” We weren’t even talking about me. Why was he telling me how old I was? We had already gone over the whole age difference.

  “I just thought I needed to remind you.”

  I cupped his face with my hands and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You’re a silly man, Dante Craig. I think our age difference might be bothering you more than it is bothering me.”

  He shrugged and wrapped his arms around me. “I know one way you can get my mind off of it.”

  “Oh, and what way would that be?” I asked coyly.

  “I think it’s about time we started working on this whole decoy with benefits plan.”

  “You do, do you?” I laughed. “I thought I was working on that with me sitting in your lap and all.”

  “This is a good start, but I think that we can do better.” His hands ran along my thighs and around to my butt, pulling my core flush against him. “Now we’re talking,” he growled. “Did I mention I loved you in this skirt?” He pulled up the black fabric, exposing my thong-clad butt.

  “Um, I thought you appreciated it, but I wasn’t quite sure.”

  “Holy fuck,” he gasped. His hands palmed my almost bare ass, and he buried his face in my neck. “A fucking thong, Kennedy?”

  I bit my lip and ran my hands down his arms. “It was Molly’s idea.”

  “Do I wanna know why Molly is telling you what underwear to wear?”

  I tilted my head to the side and smirked. “Molly, Hadley, Sage, and Karlton came over before you today. They helped me see the light a bit.”

  He scoffed while his hands continued to rub my butt. “I can only imagine what Sage had to say.”

  A grin spreads across my lips. “Well, at first, she didn’t have much nice to say, but by the time they were raiding my closet, she was helping as much as the others.”

  He hummed low and shook his head. “That woman is the last thing I want to be talking about when my hands are on your ass.”

  I threaded my fingers through his hair and tugged his head back. “Pretty sure I wouldn't be here right now if it weren’t for them. I was ready to bar the door and never let you in.”

  His hands traveled around my waist, tugging my shirt up. “I would have broken it down, honey. I wasn’t going to let you run from me anymore.”

  “Oh really?” I laughed. “You had it all planned out, did ya?”

  Dante gave me his sexy ass smirk and lied through his teeth. “I totally had it all under control.”

  “Well, I’m glad you didn’t have to break down my door. I’m pretty sure that would have terrified me,” I laughed. I was still hesitant about being with Dante, but the fact that it felt so good to be with him washed out any doubts I had at the moment.

  Dante lifted up, rolled us over, and my back landed on the couch. “I have to admit the whole decoy with benefits didn’t sound very good at the moment, but I’m totally starting to warm up to the idea.”

  His body covered me, and my legs fell open. “I had a feeling that might satisfy both of us.”

  His head descended, his eyes burning with desire. “I think the satisfying is about to come.”

  My arms wrapped around his neck as he captured my lips in a searing hot kiss. I whimpered under his touch and ran my fingers through his hair.

  His mouth was magic on me. I was in wonder and awe of the things he made me feel.

  Need.

  Hunger.

  Lust.

  I was panting heavily when his lips released mine. “Fucking hell, Kennedy,” he breathed.

  “You have amazing hair,” I babbled against his lips. It was thick and soft. Perfect for me to bury my fingers in and hold onto while he had his way with me.

  His chest rumbled with laughter and his head slanted to the left. His lips claimed mine again, giving me a repeat performance of his previous knock-my-socks-off kiss. His kiss was hard and demanding as he slid his tongue into my mouth. This time, I couldn’t hold back and I let go, giving into him with everything I had.

  Our moans and groans mingled together as our hands roamed over each other’s bodies trying to touch and taste everything at once. His hand palmed my breast, his finger and thumb meeting with my nipple between them.

  Sweet mother above, I was ten seconds away from going off like a rocket. He rolled my nipple while his tongue caressed my mouth.

  “Dante,” I moaned against his lips. My hands bunched up his shirt in the back and pulled it up his body. His mouth disengaged from me, and he leaned back and took over pulling his shirt off. He tossed it on the floor, and his hands went to the hem of my shirt and yanked it up, exposing my bra-clad breasts. His fingers went to my bra, pulled the cup down, and my breast spilled out.

  His mouth crushed down on my breast and sucked the nipple into his mouth, brutally.

  “Lord,” I moaned as the heady sensation rocked my body and I arched my back, pressing my breast up to him.

  His hand went to my skirt, pushing the fabric out of his way, and he palmed my pussy. “You with me, honey?” he growled, his mouth brushing against my nipple.

  “Huh?” I whimpered? Was I with him? Lord have mercy, I had never been so with someone this much in my life before.

  He tipped his head back, his eyes connecting with mine. “Just making sure you still want this.”

  “You stop, and I’ll kick your ass, ninja.”

  A slow grin spread across his lips. “You got it, Ken.”

  “You know you gotta kiss me now,” I sassed.

  “Oh, I plan on it.” His hands went to the waistband of my skirt as he slid down my body, and he gently tugged it down. I lifted my butt, giving him room to pull it all the way down my legs. He tossed it over her shoulder and kneeled between my thighs.

  “Have I mentioned I love how big your couch is?” I was sprawled out on it, my head not touching the end, and my legs cocked open w
ith Dante between them.

  Dante hooked his fingers in my panties and tugged them down my legs one at a time. “I knew I needed a big couch to have my way with you on.”

  I scoffed and shook my head. “You’re such an ass,” I laughed.

  “But you like it, honey.”

  And lucky for him, I did. He was an ass, but he was the nicest ass I had ever met.

  “I do, but I think you could maybe use your mouth in a different way right now instead of talking.” I bucked my hips slightly and Dante shook his head, chuckling.

  “Fuckin' fifty different Kennedys, each one better than the last,” he grunted.

  I wasn’t sure which Kennedy he thought I was right now, but he seemed to be amused by her. I had never thought about myself the way he did, but it did make sense to me.

  His hands went to my thighs, gently trailing his fingertips in slow circles. His head descended as his hands traveled lower and grazed my bare pussy. He trailed a finger along the lips and a tremor rocked my body.

  Realization dawned on me that this was what I wanted, even if not eight hours ago I was fighting against this. When I stopped thinking so much and just started feeling, everything fell into place and felt right.

  He parted the lips of my pussy and gently blew on my clit. His finger flicked me and my hips bucked involuntarily. “God,” I gasped.

  “It’s just Dante, honey,” he chuckled.

  I didn’t even have a chance to laugh at his lame joke before his mouth crashed down on my pussy and sucked on my clit, hard.

  “Oh fuck,” I moaned. Christ on a cracker, Dante’s mouth should be registered as a lethal weapon. He knew how to use it and he wasn’t afraid to do it.

  My fingers threaded into his hair, holding on for dear life. A moan ripped from my lips, and I slammed my eyes shut as his finger plunged into my tight pussy. His tongue worked double time, flicking and licking me into oblivion.

  My release crashed into me with force so strong, my back bowed off of the couch, and I grasped the armrest behind my head. I panted heavily and gasped, “Dante,” when I was able to catch my breath for a second.