by Tia Lewis
Benji's expression changed, and I wondered what it could be about. "Yeah, he's inside. Hey Hannah, will you do something for me?"
I felt the worry start to set in as I looked at him, seeing the worry on his face. "Sure, what is it?"
Benji looked at me, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Listen, take care with Tony okay? He hasn't had it so easy the last few months, and I feel like you are good for him. Don't give up on him too soon."
I felt my heart slide deep into my chest, knowing partly what Benji was talking about. Anthony was vulnerable, but so was I. "Don't worry, I'm not out to hurt him."
"I don't think you are," he said, walking away. "Have a good night, Hannah."
"Yeah, you too," I said, swallowing hard before walking into the gym. It was empty save one lone man standing in the cage, throwing punches and kicks at a set of pads that had been tied to a pole, the smack of his kicks and hits echoing in the empty building. Careful not to disturb him, I sat down on the bench outside of the cage and just watched, marveling the way his muscles rippled with each move. Anthony was truly a weapon, someone that I should be scared of. But I wasn't. The way that he moved, it was like art, his skin glistening in the dim light. I don't know how long I sat there before he noticed me, a smile curving on his lips. "Hey, you."
"Hey," I said softly, rising to walk over to the cage. "Sorry. I didn't want to bother you."
He leaned against the cage, his arm resting above him. "You would never bother me, Hannah. What's up?"
"Nothing," I said with a sigh. "Just the same old stuff. Why are you still here?"
He flexed, his rippling abs taking my breath away. "I have to keep up with my girlish figure."
I laughed, glad that I had come in here after all. "Maybe I should get in there with you then."
His eyes darkened. "There's nothing wrong with your figure Hannah, but if you want, I can give you some pointers."
Figuring I might need it in the future if James continued to bother me, I kicked off my shoes and walked over to the door, letting him open it before I walked into the cage. "It's softer than I imagined," I said as I walked on the mats.
"It's not any softer when you fall on it," he chuckled, leaning over to brush his lips over mine. "Sorry, I had to do that."
I blushed, thinking how I would like to throw him down on this mat and have my way with him the way my body had just reacted to the simple kiss. Reaching out, I touched one of his gloves. "I did do a good job on your cake then."
He flipped his glove over and grasped my hand lightly, looking down at it. "Can I tell you a secret?"
"Sure," I said softly, wondering what he could want to tell me.
"That was my first birthday cake."
Shocked, I looked at him, my heart wrenching in my chest. His first birthday cake? What about when he was a child, when every child should have the experience of a birthday celebration? Now I understood what Benji was trying to tell me. Anthony had experienced a hard life of some sort. "I-I'm glad it was one of mine then," I finally forced out, tears clogging my throat. He looked up and gave me a quick grin. "Me too."
He looked away and cleared his throat as I struggled to maintain my composure. My heart went out to him, the overwhelming need to make everything right in his life eating away at me. Anthony needed someone to care for him, and I wanted to be that person. "So," I finally said, trying to lighten the mood. "You gonna teach me to kick your ass?"
He chuckled and motioned for me to follow him to the pads he had set up, stripping off his gloves in the process. "Wait right here."
I watched as he exited the cage and came back a moment later with a set of gloves, pink in color. "Here," he said, reaching for one of my hands. "Let me help you get these on."
Anthony worked the gloves over my hands, the padding on my knuckles feeling heavy on them as he told me to flex them. "It takes some getting used to," he said, stepping back. "But I can't have you breaking your knuckles."
"That would be a major job hazard," I answered, balling my fists up and throwing a punch at the pad. "Ouch!" It hurt like the dickens, my knuckles stinging even though the padding was there.
He rescued my hand, a grin on his face. "Slow down there baker."
"Is that my cage name now?" I teased as he stepped behind me, his hands sliding up my arms.
He pressed a kiss on my neck unexpectedly, a sizzle of heat sliding down my body. I was acutely aware of his body pressed up against mine, his arms around me to guide my own arms into the punching motion. Screw the lesson now, I was in Anthony's arms and loving every moment of it. "You have to be fluid with your movements," he said softly as his hands gripped my forearms and moved my arms. "Like you are punching through water. Slow and easy."
I allowed myself to lean against him as his hands slid up my arms and onto my shoulders, massaging the back of my neck lightly. "Mmmm," I sighed, closing my eyes, the lesson now all but forgotten. "That feels wonderful."
"I'm glad you stopped by tonight," he said near my ear, his warm breath causing goose bumps to pop out over my skin. "You know, I thought about you all day."
"A-all day?" I stammered as his hands roamed over my shoulders.
"All day," he repeated. "You sure aren't learning a whole lot right now, Hannah."
Oh, I was learning a great deal, how he could literally drive me into a whirlwind with just a few breathy words and a touch. I was in some serious trouble with Anthony. He spun me around and his hands framed my face before his lips descended on mine, his kiss hot and heavy. I gasped as the fire licked up my legs and settled into the center, flinging my arms around his neck to pull him as close as I could. I felt crazy hot, worried that I might literally explode with heat as his tongue did the dangerous tango with mine.
Anthony tore his lips from mine and stepped back, running a hand over his head, his breathing harsh. I struggled to catch my breath as well, wondering how on earth I hadn't combusted on the spot from his kiss. Dear lord, this was turning out to be much more than I had anticipated. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I didn't mean to kiss you like that."
I wanted to tell him that I had enjoyed every living moment of that hot kiss, but he looked extremely embarrassed and mad at himself for doing it, so I held my tongue about that. Stripping off the gloves, I walked over to him and dropped them in his hand, my breath stilling my chest as I looked at the heat dancing in his eyes. We would be good together in bed, no excellent together. There was no doubt about that. Reaching up on my toes, I lightly kissed his cheek, tasting the saltiness of his skin on my lips. "I'll see you later."
He said nothing, his body still as a statue as I walked toward the cage opening, taking the first step out before I heard his words. "Why?"
It was the way he had said it, much like the way he had told me about the birthday cake. There was a hint of underlying desperation, like he couldn't believe that I would be seeing him later. I mean, he was hot, and we clearly had chemistry, why wouldn't I? Unwrapping every layer of Anthony was going to be a great thing. I turned back to look at him, giving him a sassy smile. "Because you are sexy as hell without a shirt."
His eyes widened before he burst into laughter, his laughter following me all the way out of the gym. It was now my mission to have him laugh more often. Anthony the fighter wasn't going to even know what hit him.
Chapter Eleven
Anthony
"That's it. Hit it harder. Watch for the sweep. Damn man, you got it."
I grinned as I wiped the sweat out of my eyes, loving the look of astonishment on Benji's face as he bent over, his hands on his knees. Larry was nearby, a look of approval on his face at the improvement I had made on my moves, all of that extra time in the cage working on my conditioning now paying off.
"Damn man," he said again, sucking wind through his mouth. "I swear, I think you are faster than me today."
"Should have laid off of those cupcakes," I mentioned, stripping off my gloves, feeling damn near invincible. Part of it was because
I had pushed myself to the breaking point last night after Hannah had left, taking out my frustrations on the punching bag until I couldn't feel my hands anymore. She was too good for me, making me feel things that I hadn't felt since Gina. No, I don't think I had felt them with Gina. Her easy comebacks, the way that I found it easy to laugh whenever I was around her, she was turning my life upside down, and I wasn't so sure I hated that fact. Even now I longed to see her, knowing that she was right next door damn near killing me.
"Hey if your girlfriend wasn't so fucking talented, I wouldn't be putting on the extra pounds," Benji remarked, stripping off his gloves and taking a long drink of his water.
I shot him the middle finger as we exited the cage, not because he had called Hannah my girl. I was starting to warm to the idea that we could be good together. Hell, I couldn't even look at the cage the same way without picturing her there and that hot fucking kiss we shared. Now with this fight looming and Hannah in my life, I felt that turning of the tide, everything starting to fall into place in my life. I was actually looking forward to getting up in the morning.
Larry stepped in my path, his eyes on mine. "How's that knee? I noticed it buckle in one of your moves."
I lost all of my good feelings, my eyes narrowing. "Fuck off, my knee is better than ever."
Larry didn't budge, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah and I'm Santa Claus. Tell me another lie."
"I'm not lying," I ground out, hating the fact that I couldn't hide anything from my trainer. He knew every move and how my body was going to do that move, how it was going to react to a punch or kick better than I knew my own self at times. Yeah, my knee was bothering me, a lot. I hated I had that weakness, but I had gotten really good at hiding the pain from Benji so he wouldn't capitalize on it. I just had to hide it from my opponent and needed to see him fight in person to understand his weakness. All fighters had one, and any good fighter studied their opponent to find them. That was part of the reason I was going to the fight. The other was just to spend time with Hannah in an area I was familiar with. The baking competition, hell I would be like a bull in a china shop, but there was not one part of me that wanted to disappoint her and renege on me going.
Larry shook his head. "You are going to re-injure it and where will that leave you? You won't even be able to spar in the cage anymore, Tony! What part of that don't you understand?"
"I'm going to be fine. Have a little faith in me, Larry."
Larry chuckled, his expression still dark. "Faith. Faith isn't going to get you through this fight, Tony. Common sense and a bit of luck maybe, which currently you have neither of. Rethink this thing. Don't ruin your life because you feel like you have to prove yourself."
I opened my mouth to respond but a glimpse of honey brown hair caught my eye, and all of the angry words died in my throat. Arguing with Larry could wait. Hannah was here. Brushing past Larry, I walked over to the front of the gym, where Hannah was already being crowded by Travis and Benji, their shit-eating grins pissing me off.
"So you baked these for us?" Travis was saying, as Hannah held onto the box, her eyes bright with excitement. "Please tell me they're your cupcakes. I've gained five pounds alone off of those cupcakes."
"They're cookies, sorry," she said, handing him the box. "I overbaked on an order and figured you guys would like them."
"Cookies," Benji said, giving her another smile. "Darling, they can be rocks covered in frosting, and we will eat them. Especially when you make them."
Hannah blushed, and I felt the white hot heat fill my body. Damn she was gorgeous when she blushed. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt despite the chilliness of the day, a smear of flour on her cheek and her hair pulled into a high ponytail. To everyone else she probably was just another girl but to me, she was fucking everything. When Travis reached out to touch her cheek, presumably to wipe off the flour, I nearly lost it, balling my hands into fists so I wouldn't deck him as I walked over to the group.
"Anthony," she breathed, her eyes connecting with mine, heat dancing in her depths. I inwardly grinned, feeling like the luckiest man on the damn planet as I reached out and slapped Travis's hand away, wiping the flour off myself. No one was going to touch her but me. I had been the lucky bastard to find her, and I wasn't into sharing.
"Hannah what are you doing here?" I forced out, eyeing Travis. Instead of giving me the dark look I expected, he chuckled and shook his head, holding up his hand.
"She brought cookies," Benji supplied, giving me a weird ass look. Yeah, I probably was shocking the hell out of them with my reaction, but this was Hannah. And she was off limits.
"I, um, I baked extra," she added, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "I thought the guys would like them."
"Hell yeah, any leftovers you can send our way," Benji replied, giving her a wink as he snatched the box from Travis. "I'll just go put these in the break room."
I waited until the two clowns had left before I blew out a breath, urging myself to calm down. These guys were my best friends, the guys that I could call on if I ever needed someone to have my back. Despite their flirting and teasing, they weren't out to take Hannah from me. "Thanks for bringing them over," I said, giving her a little grin. "We are going to lose our reputation for being bad ass fighters if you continue to ply us with sweets."
She gave me a grin, stepping close. I could smell the sugary sweet scent of the bakery on her, thinking that any other smell was going to be weird from now on. I hated sweets, but smelling them on Hannah made me want to lick her from head to toe. My cock twitched and I tamped it down, praying to whoever was listening above that she couldn't see the outline of my hard-on through my shorts. "How's work?" she asked softly.
"It's good," I answered, reaching out to touch her cheek briefly. Her breath caught, and I fought the urge to kiss the hell out of her right in the middle of the gym. "Though, I much prefer my partner from last night."
"The one that kicked your ass?" she asked innocently, laughter in her expression.
She had no idea. She had kicked my ass in more ways than one. "I'll take that any day."
Hannah stepped back and gave me a wink. "Maybe we can have a rematch soon."
I had every intention of having a rematch with her, but more along the lines of her in my bed, naked, real soon. "Maybe," I finally said. "But this time, I will win."
She laughed and stepped to the door. "Maybe. See you later, Anthony."
I watched her go, my blood drumming in my veins to go follow her. This relationship was starting to become an obsession, unable to keep my hands to myself whenever she was around.
"Dude, you have it real bad."
I turned and gave Travis a stare down. "What?"
"The baker," he added, rolling his eyes. "Come on dude, just admit it. She's gotten under your skin. Not that I blame you. She is hot."
I moved so fast that I didn't even realize what I was doing, jacking him up on the wall with my hand clenched in his tank top. "Hands off," I growled, my head pulsating with the need to punch him into oblivion. "She's fucking mine."
Travis didn't even struggle against my grip, laughing instead. "The only reason you are still standing is because I don't want to be the one that injures you right before your match and because you are so damn ridiculously in love dude. So, if you can let me down, we will pretend this never happened."
I let him down, not understanding the loss of control I had just experienced. Dammit, I had it bad.
"Don't worry," Travis said, clapping me on the back, still laughing. "She's good for you man. All the guys think so. Enjoy it and don't do anything stupid to blow this or all bets are off then. We'd all be lucky to find a woman like Hannah."
I watched as he walked over, running a hand over my face, feeling the anger drain out of my body. I had not felt this way when I was with Gina. So what was the difference? Why was I being so possessive with Hannah?
Chapter Twelve
Hannah
The next night…
The doorbell rang, and I hurried to the door, breathless as I gave myself one last look over. Tonight I had dressed without Lillian's help, sliding into a pair of black jeans that made my butt look awesome and a strappy top that clung to my own torso a bit more than I cared for it to. But it was going to be covered up with a jacket, so I really didn't care tonight. With my hair down and cute ankle boots on my feet, I felt like I was ready for anything. I just hoped this was appropriate for this fight tonight.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. "Hey."
"Hey," he said, giving me a slow once over that had chills shimmying up my spine. "You ready?"
I nodded, grabbing my keys off of the entry table before closing the door behind me, tucking them into the wristlet I had decided to carry tonight. Anthony stopped me as I started down the stairs, leaning forward to brush his lips over mine. "Sorry," he said with a slight grin. "I can't help myself. You look fucking fantastic tonight, Hannah."
I blushed, mainly because I knew if I tried to say something, it wouldn't come out right. Anthony made me feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet with just a few words. No one had ever done that. Not to mention he was looking at me like he could devour me. Now that was worth investigating.