Below the Belt

by Sidney Halston

  Before she could answer or even contemplate his question, he leaned down and placed his lips against hers. It wasn’t urgent, but it was heartfelt. He just wanted the contact, and he took it. She pulled away first.

  “You kissed me,” she said in a low voice he barely recognized, her hands moving to her lips.

  “I did,” he replied, a bit puzzled. They’d already done so much; why was she suddenly so awed by a kiss?

  Her lips turned up into the most devastatingly beautiful smile he’d ever seen. “Do it again.”

  He smiled back, their gazes locked, and the world seemed to bottom out as he drew her close. “Open your lips for me, cariño. I want to taste you.”

  She was so taken aback by the forwardness of his command she couldn’t do anything but comply with his request. It was, after all, what she had asked for. His lips pressed against hers and his tongue sought entrance. He tasted of beer and Tony—something new and delicious. The moment his tongue touched hers, any fight she had in her, any snarky remark, instantly died and was replaced by the need to have him closer. His knee pressed between her legs and she moaned, rubbing herself against him as their tongues fought for control. She pulled away and tilted her head to give him better access to her neck. “You didn’t kiss me last time,” she sighed between breaths.

  He paused and pondered that statement for a second. “Damn, you’re right. I’m sorry about that, cariño. I guess I lost my mind last time. I was too eager when I saw you didn’t pull away. I hope I didn’t come across as a dick. That wasn’t my intention. Let me make it up to you. Let me kiss you all night. Everywhere.” He placed his lips on hers again.

  Cariño—that endearment was going to be the death of her. She was sure of it. The way he rolled the r resonated throughout her body. Every time Tony said it, Francesca’s heart skipped and a knot formed at the pit of her stomach. And then she remembered how quickly that feeling could be ripped away and replaced with devastating heartbreak. Nope, the instant gratification was not worth it in the long run.

  Abruptly she pulled away. “I told you I don’t want this, and neither do you, so stop confusing me.” She needed his mind on MMA, not on having sex with her again. The financial well-being of the Academy depended on Tony’s success. His winning would not only bring in money but would give the Academy the renown it needed in order to bring in other big-name fighters. Plus, she didn’t want to be in a relationship; she’d been down that road before and it had left her broken. To make matters worse, making out in the very gym where she’d found love once brought back too many painful memories.

  He didn’t say anything; he just kept looking at her until finally she couldn’t stop her words. “I was hurt, Tony. A guy from this gym right here hurt me, and it took me a long time to get over it. Every time I walk in here, that’s what I think about. I can’t go through that again.” Her admission was startling. “I will not go through that again.”

  He pressed his body harder against hers. “Listen to me. I’m going to erase the memory of that boy from your mind. I want every single one of your thoughts consumed by me, even if we have to fuck in every corner of this gym to make sure that whenever you walk in here your only thoughts are of a real man fucking you, how good it felt, and how good your pussy felt wrapped around my cock. You’re all I’ve thought about for the last two weeks. Shit, if I’m being honest, you’re all I’ve thought about since I met you. I want to do it again, and this time with a lot of kissing.”

  Francesca’s mouth was open, and for the first time in her life, she was speechless. His lips were so close to her ear as he whispered the dirtiest words he’d said to her yet that she was certain he could see the vein pulsating on her neck, the flush of her skin, and the slight tremble that ran up her spine. And if she hadn’t been turned on before, she certainly was now.

  “Boy?” she asked.

  “Cariño,” he said, “I have four sisters, so I know a few things. Someone, a boy, fucked with your head at some point. You’re uptight and have a twenty-foot-high steel vault around you. Whoever he was, he wasn’t a man, he was a boy, because a real man wouldn’t make you feel like that.”

  Tony caressed her neck with his hand. When he touched her the world disappeared. But she really did not want him to know the effect he had on her—she wanted to keep up the I-don’t-need-a-man façade. Unfortunately, her stupid eyes closed and her stupid vocal cords chose that moment to release a little whimper when he came close.

  Stupid traitorous body.

  He chuckled. He did that often, she noticed. And that deep, raspy laugh made her feel all fluttery too.

  “What I was trying to say is that you don’t need to be tough all the time. You could relax. You could wear, I don’t know, jeans to work. For Christ’s sake, those heels and those business suits…” He shook his head. “Who are you trying to be, Francesca?”

  “You don’t even know me,” she said with what she hoped sounded like conviction, though it might’ve come out as self-doubting. That was something else he did to her—he made her doubt herself.

  “No one knows you,” he declared without hesitation. It made her flinch, and he must have noticed, because he moved back a little, as to give her some space. He was right. No one knew her. She was so far from who she wanted to be, she didn’t even know who she was anymore. “So, you gonna tell me who the guy is that fucked you up for the rest of us?”

  “It doesn’t matter, Tony. I am who I am, and this is me.”

  “Bullshit. The complacent women who let me take her, the woman who just kissed me and melted into me, is not tough, and certainly not hardened.”

  Francesca stood straighter. “Yes, I am.”

  She could see he was trying to rephrase his words. “You’re tough, cariño. You are. You are confident. Beautiful. So smart. But you’re afraid of something. I can’t understand what that something is and how I can fix it.”

  “It was just sex. It’s not your job to fix me, Tony.”

  He crouched down and placed his hands, his big warm callused hands, on the sides of her neck. He could break her neck with one single move; of that she was sure. She was also sure he’d never hurt her. “Don’t you understand?” He leaned in and kissed her again, and then again. It was fast but so soft and sensual. “I can’t stop thinking about you. You say you don’t want me, but you don’t pull away either. You’re fighting it, and I can’t understand why. I’m not a boy, cariño. I know what I want, and I want you. I’m going to keep trying, and when you’re ready to say yes, let me know, because I promise that I’ll make it good for you. But I won’t wait forever.”

  He released her, turned, and walked out the door.

  She slid down to the floor. Her life was chaos, and she didn’t know how to begin repairing it. Letting Tony into the chaos was only inviting more turmoil, and that was not something she was prepared to handle. But never again tasting his lips against hers—well, that just didn’t seem to be an option anymore.

  Francesca left the gym on shaky legs. She hated losing control, and she’d done it twice in one evening—first with Thompson and then with Tony and that kiss. But, damn, it was the best kiss she’d ever had in her life. It made her want to go out with Tony and throw out her no-men rule. She wanted to take him up on his offer for all the wonderful sex, but she was just so scared. By the time she got home, she was a wreck. She quickly changed into a ratty T-shirt and went straight to bed.

  Chapter 4

  A loud banging woke her up. She checked her alarm clock; it was only five in the morning. She ran to the door and looked through the peephole, then opened the door in disbelief.

  “Tony? What the hell are you doing here?” She stepped aside to let him in. “Are you okay?”

  He looked at her bare legs, making her self-conscious. She pulled her shirt down and crossed her arms against her chest.

  “Where’s your phone? We’ve been trying to reach you.”

  “Um…” She looked around. “I don’t know where it is. Why? What
happened? Who’s ‘we’?”

  “Everyone. Slade. Me. Jessica. That hurricane that was headed north…it’s not anymore. It’s headed this way. Fast. Slade asked everyone to go help board up the Academy. When you didn’t answer, we got worried.”

  “Shit. Okay, give me a sec.” She ran to her bedroom to change. “I can’t believe it’s coming to Tarpon Springs,” she yelled from her room. “Damn it. When is it expected to make landfall?”

  “Tonight,” he yelled back.

  “Okay.” She came out in shorts and a WtF T-shirt. “Let’s go. I’ll take my car.”

  —

  “What the hell, Francesca?” He stomped over to her car as she was getting out. “You drive like a lunatic.”

  “I do not!” She slammed the door shut and moved around him, avoiding any physical contact. He followed close behind.

  “Yes, you do. I can’t believe we made it here alive.”

  “You exaggerate. I just wanted to get here fast.” She stopped by the front door and turned around. Her hazel eyes bored holes into his. “Relax,” she said before making her way in.

  He threw his arms up to the sky. “Ay, Dios mío, darme paciencia. Esta mujer me va a volver loco. Coño!” He was still ranting in Spanish when Travis walked by.

  “Tony? What on earth are you doin’?” Travis drawled.

  “Nothing. Just praying I don’t kill a certain woman who’s driving me crazy.”

  Travis looked up to the sky. “I don’t think God understood you. English, brother.” He playfully slapped Tony’s shoulder before walking in, Tony following.

  “Hi, Frances,” Travis greeted her. “Whatcha do to Ricky Ricardo? Found him talking real fast in Spanish.”

  “Nothing.” She looked at Tony. “He’s just moody, and the moodier he gets, the less you can understand him.”

  Travis chuckled. “Come on. Slade’s out back getting the shutters out.”

  “Thanks for coming to help, Trav,” Francesca added.

  “My pleasure,” Travis said, tipping his hat.

  “You’re welcome!” Tony huffed.

  “Thank you for coming to help too, Tony,” Francesca added with a giggle.

  —

  The sky was clear as the sun began to rise. It was the calm before the storm. Tarpon Springs had seen its share of hurricanes, but this one, Alice, the first of the season, was coming in unexpectedly strong.

  “Finicky fucking hurricanes!” Francesca said as she grabbed an aluminum shutter and dragged it to the nearest window.

  “Cursing is an art form with you, isn’t it?” Tony said as he grabbed the shutter out of her hands.

  “The damn weatherman said it wouldn’t come to town, and it’s coming. Then the son of a bitch said it was making landfall as a category three storm, and now it looks like the fucker’s coming in as a five.” Francesca kept ranting as she worked.

  “Why are you surprised? You’ve lived in Florida long enough to know that hurricanes do the complete opposite of whatever the forecasters say they’re goin’ to do,” Tony said with that dimpled smile she hated. Hated because it made her loopy and nervous, something she wasn’t accustomed to feeling, and the kiss last night had put her over the edge. But there were too many things they had to get done right now to keep thinking about a kiss. “Less flirting, more working,” Slade grunted as he screwed in one of the shutters.

  Francesca groaned. She was not flirting with Tony! Securing Worth the Fight Academy was the top priority for her. They had just spent a small fortune on renovations, and this hurricane had the potential to be very destructive. She wasn’t surprised that the entire team had come out to help. They all considered one another family and WtF their second home.

  By noon, the winds had begun to blow. Luckily, it wasn’t raining too hard just yet.

  “Francesca, you should go home,” Tony called to her through the howling wind. His tone was serious, but she wasn’t leaving. This was her Academy, her father’s legacy, and she had to make sure it was secure.

  “It’s my gym. I’m not leaving until all these shutters are up!” she insisted.

  Tony grabbed another shutter from her hand. “Jour going to get hurt,” he said, his accent more pronounced. Another nuance she had picked up on was that when he was angry, his accent seemed to come out more strongly. She stifled a laugh, since it didn’t seem he was in a playful mood.

  “I can take care of myself. Stop grabbing them from my hand.” She swatted the loose hair from her face and out of her mouth. “Get them from the pile so we can finish faster.”

  Tony swiped the screws out of her hand. “It’s not the time to be a pain in my ass. It’s time to listen to me. Go home or go inside. Carajo!” He slid the shutter into the rail and began to fasten it. She recognized the curse word. Yep, he was definitely not happy. “The winds are picking up. Landfall is in less than three hours.”

  At that moment, Slade came up to them. “Come on. Stop arguing and let’s speed this up. You,” he said, pointing to Tony, “carry the shutters up, and you, Frances, can fasten the screws.” Slade grabbed another shutter and walked around the building out of sight.

  “He’s right, boss, you’re gonna get hurt.” Travis took the shutter from her hand and slid it into the rail. “Anyway, we’re almost done.”

  “I’m not leaving, guys. So let’s just finish. You’re wasting time talking to me.” She continued to fight with her hair. “And will everyone please stop taking things outta my hands, damn it!”

  Travis shrugged and continued working.

  “Suit yourself,” Cain said as he took more fasteners and shutters from the pile.

  It took another forty-five minutes, but finally the shutters were all on. Slade left to finish preparations on his house, as did Travis and Cain. Tony stayed. He always stayed. Lately he seemed to always be around.

  “What’re you doing?” Tony asked once they were inside the gym and he noticed that Francesca was moving equipment and furniture.

  “I’m just making sure there’s nothing breakable by the windows.”

  “The windows are all secured. You don’t need to do that. Let’s get out of here before the winds get too strong to drive.” He walked toward the front door.

  “You’re sure? You think everything’s secure?”

  “As secure as they can be. Come on,” he said again, but this time with a little more force in his tone.

  She nodded, turned off the lights in the gym, and locked the door. He was waiting underneath the awning.

  “Who’s helping you with your shutters at home?” he asked.

  “Oh, mine are easy. They’re the accordion ones that are permanently on the window. All I have to do is close ’em and lock ’em. The only bitch is the glass sliding door, which I have to board up, but it’s only two or three pieces of plywood.”

  “Come on, I’ll follow you to your house and help.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’ve got it.”

  “I’m not going to stand outside in a hurricane arguing with ju, Francesca.” The r in her name seemed to roll off his tongue for hours. “Coño mujer! If this is about the kiss last night, forget about it. You want to pretend you’re not interested? Fine. That’s cool. But today, you are not going to fight me on this. Get in dis damn fucking car. I’m following ju.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond, instead grabbing her hand and pulling her toward her car. She was going to have to learn Spanish in order to keep up with this man.

  But with the rain pounding against the awning and the flashes of lightning, she knew he was right; this was not the safest place to argue. And even though the hurricane had not yet reached its height, it still took her twenty minutes to make what was normally an eight-minute drive back to her house.

  Tony was out of his car and next to her before she was able to close the door of her car. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her quickly to her front door.

  “Point me to the plywood, nails, and hammer,” he said. “And stay inside while I do
this.”

  She rolled her eyes. Ignoring his request, she walked out to the shed in the backyard to get the wood and tools.

  “Do you ever listen? A man would need to have the patience of a saint to be with you. You’re so hardheaded.”

  “I am not,” she said as she handed him some nails. “I just know where everything is. I’ve labeled each sheet of plywood so that it’s easy to put up. We can do it together and be done in twenty minutes, or you can do it alone and take an hour.”

  “Alone, and take the hour.”

  “That was more of a rhetorical statement.” She yanked the hammer from his hands. “I’m helping.”

  He shook his head and walked out of the shed. “Let’s start with the accordion shutters. Those are easy, and at least everything else will be protected while we do the boards,” he said. “Can you at least agree to that?”

  “Yep. Good idea.”

  She took the windows on one side of the house and he took the other, closing the shutters.

  Twenty minutes later, they were in her backyard finishing the last of the windows. She looked over at him, and through flashes of lightning, she could see that his white T-shirt was soaked through. She looked down at herself and noticed she was in no better condition, but this was no time to worry about her appearance.

  The winds had picked up a lot, and it was difficult to close the last shutter. Francesca’s hands were stretched wide trying to bring the two parts of the shutter together; she groaned and grunted but couldn’t do it. Then she felt a body—a wet, hard body—press against her back. His arms mirrored hers and gripped right above her hands. In what seemed like an easy motion, he shut it, flipped the fastener, and locked it. But he didn’t move.

  And neither did she.

  She wasn’t even sure if she was breathing.

  Francesca couldn’t hear much because of the rain and howling wind. But she could feel him. Tony’s body was pressed tightly against hers, with her front against the wall, her hands still gripping the window slightly above her. His hands took her wrists and pushed them against the window and then he pressed closer to her.