Redemption

by Tia Lewis

  Gina took a step forward, her red-tipped fingernail trailing down the center of my chest. "I was just thinking how good we were together Tony. And we were fucking good together, remember? That bed, we used to burn those sheets up." She chuckled, dropping her finger and tilting her head, a slight smile on her lips. "I miss you. Don't you miss me?"

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her to fuck off. She hadn't been there for me when I needed her the most, and now that I was on top of the world once more, she wanted back in. I wasn't stupid. But despite the need to get rid of her, there was a small piece of my heart that she belonged in. She had been the first girl I had loved, the first girl that had seen me as me and not Rampage. Gina and I, we had some good times together, but good times weren't enough to keep the relationship going. "Gina, I," I started.

  "Gina, wow it's been a hot minute." Benji appeared at my side, a drink in his hand as he looked at the two of us. "You're looking as hot as ever. It's good to see you, Gina."

  "You too, Benji," she said, giving him a wide smile. "Tony and I were just catching up."

  "Were you now," Benji asked looking at me. I gave him a shrug, hoping to hell he knew me better than that. "Well I hate to break up this reunion but Hannah just walked in, and I know she will be looking for you, Tony. Just wanted to give you a heads up."

  I looked over Gina's shoulder to see Hannah standing at the bar, a confused look on her face as she was looking directly at Gina and me. Dammit. I didn't need her to be thinking that way. I didn't want Gina. I wanted her.

  Gina must have put two and two together for she reached over and kissed me softly on the cheek, her perfume assaulting my nostrils. "Don't be a stranger, Tony," she said, giving Benji a little wave before waltzing off, that grin on her face telling me she had done what she had set out to do. Dammit. Why had she just come right back into my life when everything was going so damn well? "I'm in deep shit."

  Benji laughed. "Well I wasn't going to say it, but yeah you might want to go make it up to her. I've seen those looks before, and that is one that you don't want to see, man."

  I shot him a dark look as I walked over to Hannah, feeling nervous and wanting to punch something, hard. "Hey you. I'm glad to see you."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hannah

  I wanted to turn around and walk out, pretend I hadn't seen that exchange with Anthony and that woman just a second ago. It was pretty clear to me that they had history together, but it hadn't escaped my notice that he had looked vaguely uncomfortable in the exchange. That meant something at least. Still, I couldn't compete with the rail thin woman, with her perfect hair and killer outfit that had ever guy in the room following her around while I smelled like flour and was pretty certain I had some in my hair as well. I shouldn't ask, but my pride wasn't going to let me just ignore it. He looked nervous, like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing, and every alarm went off in my head that that woman wasn't just any woman. She had been someone special in his life, how special, I didn't know. "Who was that, Anthony?"

  His eyes darkened, and he ran a hand through his still wet hair, his words coming out in a growl. "Hannah, don't go there."

  I crossed my arms over my chest, my traitorous body dying for him to touch me. I hadn't seen him a few days since New York, busy getting ready for a massive sweets party that had literally taken up every waking moment of my life up until now. Benji had come by the bakery and asked me to come tonight, and while I needed to finish a few things in the bakery, I had put them aside only to walk in and see some woman all over my man. A woman he was refusing to tell me about. "Don't tell me not to go there, Anthony. Would you like for me to leave then?" I was exhausted, and the last thing I wanted to be doing was fighting with him tonight, over some woman. I was far beyond that at this point in my life.

  Something shifted in his eyes and he dropped his stony expression, something very vulnerable in his eyes. "No, please don't leave. I, hell, I've missed you so damn much."

  His words tugged at my heart, and I dropped some of my anger at the bleak expression on his face. I had missed him too, terribly. "Congratulations on the magazine cover."

  A faint flush covered his cheeks. "Thanks. The article was really good."

  I nodded, though the pictures were my favorite. Lillian and I had drooled over them earlier, reminding me how lucky I was to have someone like him in my life. I had also been pretty shocked to read his response about having someone in his life, hoping that I was the person he was talking about and not just some phony answer to keep his private life private. It was hard not to be like this after the night we had shared in New York, learning each other's bodies with every touch, every kiss. "It was," I echoed as he reached for me, sighing as his arms wrapped around me. Just like that, I melted against his hard body, allowing him to tenderly kiss me on the lips. "You taste like sugar," he said softly, giving me a smile.

  "That's a baker's scent," I joked, stifling a yawn. God, I was tired all of a sudden, my body feeling like it weighed three times more than it did.

  His eyes narrowed as he looked at me, concern all over his face. "When's the last time you actually slept, Hannah?"

  "Oh, I slept a few hours last night," I lied, thinking a few was more like two but who had been counting anyway. "I have this huge party coming up, and it's taking me a lot of time getting ready for it." Besides, it was going to put the bakery on the map if I could pull this off. It was the big time that I had hoped for, the one that I had been waiting on. I was going to be losing a lot more sleep if this party was a success.

  "You need sleep," he said, releasing me. "Come on. I'm taking you to my place."

  "Y-your place?" I echoed as he grabbed my hand. I had never been to his place. Well, he hadn't really been to mine either so this was a huge step in this relationship. Was I ready to go to his place? I was dying with curiosity to see what kind of person Anthony was outside of the man I had already fallen in love with.

  He pulled Benji aside and said a few words to him before pulling me out the door and toward his car. "Are you sure you don't want to stay?" I asked as we reached his car, feeling bad that he was leaving so soon. "After all, it's your party."

  "They can party without me," he stated, opening the door. "Get in."

  I sighed and climbed in, leaning my head on the seat. I was tired, feeling as if I could sleep for weeks. Anthony climbed in and gunned the engine, pulling away from the curb. "When is the last time you ate?" he asked softly as he maneuvered the car down the street.

  I laughed. "Don't worry. I haven't forgone any food today." Lillian and I had worked through lunch, but we had managed to snag a few sandwiches from the local deli in the process. "I'm fine, Anthony."

  He slowed at the light, looking over at me. "You're not fine. I can see it all over your face, Hannah."

  I looked at him, seeing the concern on his face. He could be extremely sweet when he wanted to be, but I still wanted to know about the chick that was all over him just a few minutes ago. All of this sweetness wasn't erasing the obvious look that had passed between them. "Are you going to tell me who she was?"

  He sighed, moving the car forward. "Hannah."

  "No, don't do that to me," I said, reaching over to touch his knee. "I'm not mad, and I am not jealous." After all, I was the woman that was heading to his place, the woman he was trying to take care of, not her. "Come on, just tell me."

  "Fine," he forced out, covering my hand with his. I was surprised to feel a slight tremble in his touch and became immediately on edge about what he was going to say. "She's my ex. We were together two years before she left me right after, after my injury."

  "Your knee," I said. Hey, I had looked him up after all. The internet was crawling with articles about his injury.

  He nodded, his jaw tight. "Yeah, my knee. She bailed on me not long afterward."

  "I'm sorry," I said immediately as he slowed in front of a large apartment building, moving the car up a ramp and into a garage. What a
bitch. When he probably needed her the most, she up and disappeared. I wanted to tear her head off of her shoulders.

  Anthony maneuvered the car into a parking lot and shut off the engine, his hand squeezing mine briefly before releasing it with a sigh. "It was a while ago, Hannah. She means nothing to me anymore."

  He might not like her anymore, but it was clear on her face that she wanted him back. I was a woman, I knew that look.

  "Come on," Anthony finally said, climbing out of the car. I followed him, and together we walked to the elevator, the doors sliding open nearly immediately as soon as he touched the button. I marveled at the sleek elevator as he pressed a floor and then leaned back against the wall, his hands in his pockets. "You do know I am telling you the truth right?" he asked softly as the elevator started to move.

  I swallowed, looking away from him as I gathered my thoughts. I would be lying if I didn't say I was a bit nervous about being with him or him not finding me exciting anymore. It was normal to feel those things when no future had been established or words of affection spoken. I had been through all of this before, but when I thought I could guard my heart better this time around, I was losing the battle quickly, if I hadn't lost it to him already. I thought I loved James. I was in love with Anthony and was desperately afraid that this was all going to end soon. "Hey," he was saying as the doors opened and we walked out. "Talk to me."

  "I'm scared," I blurted out as he stopped in front of a door, his key suspended in his hand. He looked at me, and I crossed my arms over my chest, hating this feeling. I wanted to take the words back, but it was the truth. I was scared to death. He could crush me if he ever turned his back on me. The feelings, they were way too strong, too emotional.

  Anthony's hand touched my arm, and I looked up to see him looking at me, a tender expression on his face. "I'm fucking scared, too," he said softly, his eyes searching mine. "It would be too easy if we weren't scared."

  I nodded, forcing the tears back that were threatening my eyes. He was right. I would be more worried if I weren't scared. He tugged on my arm and pulled me into his apartment, shutting the door behind us. "Welcome to my place."

  I walked down the hall and gasped as I saw the city skyline reflecting back at me through the floor to ceiling windows along his living room, the view one of the best I had ever seen. "This is breathtaking," I said, taking in his modern furniture and expensive electronics. It was clearly a bachelor pad now, any traces of any former women gone from the place. I wasn't going to go there with him. Whatever had happened prior to me was not my business.

  "Wait until you see the bedroom," he joked as I walked over to his kitchen, noting the top of the line appliances and granite countertops. Fighting was clearly very good to him and his bank account. I could cook up a storm in this kitchen. "Your kitchen is amazing," I said, running a hand over his gas range stove with double ovens.

  Anthony chuckled. "I've never had a woman tell me that before or look at me the way you are looking at my stove."

  I laughed and turned around, giving him a quirky smile. "If you want brownie points, just give me any kitchen gadget, and I will be yours forever."

  Something crossed his expression, and I bit my lip, wishing I hadn't just allowed the words to spill out of my lips. I really needed a filter sometimes. "I'll have to remember that," he finally answered, pointing to the fridge. "Do you want anything to drink? Eat? I think there's some food in there."

  I shook my head, hiding a yawn behind my hand. Man, I was really tired. "I just want to go to bed actually."

  "This way then," he said, pointing down another hall. I walked down the hall and into a massive master bedroom, with the same view of the living room. Gorgeous. Anthony came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against his hard body before pressing his lips to the side of my neck. "This thing between us," he said softly as I stared out over the skyline. "It's nothing like I have ever had before, Hannah."

  His words touched my aching heart and stole my breath away. He was preaching to the choir right now. The feelings I felt for him, well, just like I had said earlier. I was scared to death. "Me neither," I whispered.

  He nibbled at my neck, electricity coursing down my body before he turned me around, locking me into his strong embrace. "This is good right?" he asked.

  I placed my own arms around his waist. "This is good."

  Anthony gave me a tender smile and released me, pushing me toward his bed. "Up, we are going to take a long nap."

  I kicked off my shoes, not bothering to take off my clothes as I climbed onto his bed, sleep calling me from every pore in my body. Plopping down on a pillow, I turned toward him, watching as he pulled his shirt over his head, his magnificent body coming into view. I had licked and kissed every inch of that body, but still, the sight of him shirtless sent me into a tizzy. "You don't have to join me," I said as he kicked off his shoes and climbed in next to me, reaching for me. "I'm perfectly capable of sleeping."

  "I want to just hold you," he answered as I rested my head against his chest, his hand in my hair. My hand rested lightly on his stomach, the warmth of his skin under my fingers. "Talk to me," I mumbled, my lids suddenly extremely heavy.

  "About what?" he asked, his voice rumbling in his chest.

  "I don't care," I answered. "Usually when I can't sleep I quote recipes."

  Anthony laughed. "Well, I won't be quoting that."

  I yawned. "Anything. Put me to sleep."

  His arm tightened around me as he started reciting what sounded like types of fight moves and I couldn't help but smile as I drifted off to sleep. I loved this man, no doubt about it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Anthony

  "Jab! No Jab dammit, not punch. You gotta catch him under the ribcage, or he is going to take you down."

  I bit down on my mouthpiece as I reset, my anger starting to build at myself. For hours I had been practicing in the cage, well past the time that I liked to leave, even forced to text Hannah and call off our dinner date tonight due to the extra practice I was needing. Benji looked exhausted and hell, I felt exhausted. My knee was hurting like a bitch, and I knew it wasn't going to take just an ice bath to get the swelling to go down tonight. It was probably better off that I had called off the date tonight. I would want to do extracurricular activities that my knee wouldn't be able to take.

  "Enough," Benji announced, pulling out his mouthpiece in disgust, flinging it against the cage. "Damn, Tony you can barely walk around."

  "I'm fine," I said gritting against the pain with each step. No, it was going to take a hell of a lot more than an ice bath tonight to get this pain to go away. I didn't need this now. Not this close to the match.

  Benji pulled off his gloves. "Well, I'm not. Go home, get Hannah to give you a massage. Hell, send her to my house if you don't want her to give you one. I could really use some relief."

  I stripped off one of my gloves and threw it at him as he exited the cage, his laughter echoing throughout the empty gym. I was beat, but the days were ticking down quickly, and I was nowhere near where I wanted to be with my knee. If I couldn't last a few rounds in the cage with Benji, Jose was going to eat me alive.

  "Tony."

  Okay, now I was hearing things. Walking over to the edge of the cage, I frowned as I saw Gina's outline at the edge of the stairs, a tentative smile on her face. "What the fuck do you want?" She had nearly ruined what I had going on with Hannah a few days ago, and I never wanted to see her again. "Get out."

  "Harsh," she winced, her smile turning into a frown. "Hey, I'm just here to apologize for the other night. Can we talk for a moment? Please, Tony?"

  I sighed and pulled off my other glove, exiting the cage. She walked over to one of the benches and straddled it, looking more like the girl I had met all those years ago, her hair pulled up in a ponytail and dressed down tonight in a t-shirt and jeans. The night I had met Gina she had come to see the match, the only girl in the building that had come to get my auto
graph after I had lost the match. Even with a split lip and swollen eye I kept her attention and from then on, we were damn near inseparable. Until my injury. Then she was gone like my career, leaving me nothing but memories that I chose to forget. I was making better memories with Hannah, a woman that could very easily be my future.

  I straddled the bench as well, toweling off with the towel as I flexed my knee back and forth, trying to ease the pain. "What do you want to say?"

  "I'm sorry," she blurted out, her eyes watering. "I know I am probably the last person you want to see after what I did to you after your injury, but I just, I can't help but think of the good times when I see you. I was wrong to leave you like that, Tony. You were good to me, and I fucked it all up."

  "Yeah, well I needed you, Gina," I forced out, the old wounds reopening as I thought about that day she left. "I was suffering and needed your help. You left me when I needed you the most. I thought you fucking loved me, Gina."

  She looked away, a tear rolling down her cheek. Damn I couldn't deal with the tears. I never could. "I'm sorry, that was harsh."

  "No," she said, wiping away the tears as she looked at me, a wobbly smile on her lips. "I was scared Tony. I didn't know how to help you. You worried me, you scared the hell out of me with your drinking."

  I couldn't disagree there. I was an alcoholic, through and through. It wasn't all her fault that she had left. I had driven her away as well with my drinking. "I didn't know how to help myself," I admitted, giving her a half smile. "But I got it all figured out now." I knew how to get through this pain that was in my knee, how to move on from a dark spot in my life. I never wanted to go that route again.

  She smiled back. "So who's the girl from the article? Is she the girl at the bar the other night?"