Uppercut

by Terra Kelly

  I lifted my head. “You talk too much.”

  He closed his eyes and lightly laughed. “All I was going to say was, I think we should add the pool to the list.”

  “Oh, I like how you think.”

  I tightened my legs around his waist and struggled to control my need. One second my mouth was over his, and then I moved to the sweet spot behind his ear and back to his mouth. When he moaned, my body reacted. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this much need for one person. What was it about this man that had me wanting to climb his body and fuck him until I couldn’t see straight?

  “Lily, I’m not going to make it to the bedroom if you keep that up.”

  I lifted my head to see what was around and then pointed to the rug. “We can just test this pretty thing out now?”

  “Um, no,” he said, pushing open a door. “Bed first. Plus, in here is where all the condoms are stored.”

  Forcing my eyes away from his beautiful face, I looked around the room. It was enormous. “You could fit my whole house in this room.”

  He let me down. “I doubt that. You have a cute place.”

  I rolled my eyes and mocked him. “I have a cute place. Well, la de da, Mr. Moore.”

  Before I had a chance to say another word, he flung my body over his shoulder and walked over to the bed. “Ms. Waters,” Julian said, throwing me on the bed. “We need to stop this charade.”

  I sat up on my legs. “Oh yeah, and what charade is that?” He surprised me by lifting his shirt over his head and starting to unbutton his jeans. I let my body fall back against the headboard to enjoy the show.

  “The real deal.” He slid his jeans down. “Don’t get me wrong, phone sex with you is fucking amazing.”

  “But,” I teased.

  He dropped his boxers, and my mind went blank. He was erect, beautiful, and I wanted to devour every inch of him. Julian looked down and then back at me. “Eyes up here while I’m talking to you, Ms. Waters.”

  “Huh?” I kept my eyes glued below his waist line.

  Julian started to crawl toward me. “I want you naked and under me in like ten seconds. Think you can handle those demands?”

  “You know I don’t take direction well.” I reached forward and stroked his erection.

  He grabbed both my hands. “You can’t touch me with clothes still on.”

  I didn’t hesitate. My clothes ended up flying in every direction. I threw my hands out to the side. “Better?”

  “Much.” Before I could take back what I wanted, my body magically ended up under him.

  “Can we discuss these stealth moves you have?”

  “Why, you want to learn a few?”

  “Maybe.” I lifted my leg and rubbed it back and forth over his hard length.

  “Lily,” he breathed.

  I placed my hands on either side of his head and pulled his face closer. “Julian,” I said, kissing him but this time it felt different. We didn’t have the gym, a phone, or any apprehensions in the way. Just two people who obviously craved one another. “Can we get the first round out of the way?”

  “Why the rush?”

  “Because I know the first round will clear away all the pent-up desire. Then the second round”—I wrapped my legs around his body—“will allow us to explore all the things.”

  “What do you want me to do, Lily?”

  “I want you inside me and now.”

  After our phone sex, my dreams had been amazing. All I could think about was how he would feel deep inside me. Then without warning, I felt the tip of his erection touch the entrance to my core, and I sucked in a breath. “More,” I breathed.

  He pushed carefully, and every time he would go deeper, my body screamed for a release. “You feel amazing, Lily.”

  “I want to be on top,” I demanded.

  Julian didn’t argue, instead he wrapped his arm around my body and turned us carefully so we didn’t separate our already joined bodies. Once we were settled, I sat up and started to move back and forth, trying to find a perfect rhythm. I reached my fingers down and started to create little circles over my sex.

  “Let me,” he said, reaching his thumb up and taking over.

  I stretched my arms back and placed my hands on his thighs. We started to move at a faster pace. My head fell back, and I let my body take what it had craved for several weeks.

  “Julian,” I breathed.

  “Don’t stop, Lily.”

  Oh, I had no plans to stop. Instead, I increased my pace in need of a release. His thumb continued to pleasure me, and I found I couldn’t get enough of the feelings running through my veins. My orgasm crashed through me, but I needed more. I felt Julian grow bigger deep inside, and I cried out his name. Then he yelled and pulled my body down closer.

  We lay there entangled for several minutes, and then I felt movement in my core. I lifted my head. “You can’t be ready yet?”

  “Why not?” He chuckled.

  “I should’ve told Charlie I wouldn’t see her until next week.”

  He burst out laughing and rolled me onto my back. “I do have plans for you that could take a while.”

  “Show me.”

  15

  “This is where I struggle,” I said uncomfortably. My head was squished in between Julian’s legs. My one arm was stretched out in front of me over his chest.

  He loosened his grip. “Always be at the ready and keep your torso up. Don’t fall forward because that will make it easier for me to tighten my hold.”

  “Like this.” I put my body back in place, but this time I avoided leaning over.

  “Exactly. Now lift up.” His legs loosened their grip around me, which enabled me to free my body.

  “Shit, I let my body always sag forward.”

  “Yeah, I would need to look at your old fights, but that’s my guess.” He motioned for me to get back in position. “Now, another thing, your arm can’t be out in front. You need to have control of every limb, so you’re prepared to free yourself at any moment.”

  “Show me what you mean,” I said, reaching my arm over his chest in front of my body.

  “Well, you can lift your torso up, but you still are not focusing on your arm.” He used his left hand and pulled me down onto his chest. “So, if you are not in control of your arm, the move with the torso won’t mean a damn thing.”

  “From the top,” I insisted.

  “You don’t tire easily?” Julian said, wrapping his legs around my body.

  “Haven’t you already figured that out? I mean”—I rubbed my hand over the bulge forming only inches from my face. I licked my lips and patted my hand on the mat—“we could test this out just to prove a point.”

  “Focus.”

  We ran through the move several more times until I felt comfortable with how to free myself. I stepped away, needing a break, and grabbed my water. “I’ll practice with Charlie at the gym.”

  It was nine at night, and we’d had sex six times. At around seven, Julian had joked about practicing in his home gym. My idea of a home gym and what I was standing in at the moment were two completely different images. His gym took up the whole area of the basement and mirrored his gym I went to every day.

  “My brothers just arrived,” Julian said, walking over to a bench in the corner of the room.

  “You must have super-human hearing?”

  He pointed to a monitor on the wall. “They never knock.”

  “So you installed a monitoring system.”

  “Well, it was better than what used to happen.”

  “They loved walking in on you when you were getting it on with some hot chick.”

  “Something like that.” He reached for my hand and tugged me close to his body. Right as he was about to say something, both of his brothers moaned. “And then there were four.”

  “Five actually,” Brooks said, rounding the corner and coming into view.

  “C, you’re here.”

  “And you’re fully clothed,” Char
lie teased.

  I pushed at her shoulder. “Shut up.”

  Julian walked back over to the bench and turned off the music on his phone. “Why are you all here?”

  Charlie wrapped her arms around my waist. “Because of you.” She kissed my cheek and leaned back. “So the meeting blew like a five-dollar hooker, eh?”

  I rested my head against hers. “Something like that.”

  She stepped away and sat down, patting the mat in front of her. “Tell me everything.” I groaned. “Shut up and sit, woman.” Reluctantly, I finally sat down and crossed my legs. “Tell Momma Charlie everything.”

  “You know I hate Momma Charlie, right?”

  “Fine, tell me then, dammit.”

  I let out a deep sigh. “The woman only wanted me because she found out my father was Johnny Adams.”

  “Wait. What?” Charlie said, sounding confused.

  “Yeah, she really pressed the notion that changing my name would help my career.”

  I noticed her scowl. “What a fucking bitch.”

  Brooks sat next to Charlie. “Wait, so let me get this straight. You get a call from AFC, and they only want you because of your father’s last name? And your father is The Punisher? This is breaking news.”

  “Yup. I’m sorry. I made Julian and Charlie promise to keep the information to themselves for now,” I said, standing up and walking over to the heavy bag. “My dad was against me fighting with his last name, and I don’t plan to change it anytime soon.” I started to punch the bag, visualizing Angela with each blow to the leather. “There are several small fights coming up. I’ll enter them.”

  “We’ll both enter,” Charlie said, grabbing a hold of the bag. “We’re in this together remember.”

  Brooks stepped up beside us. “You could go above Angela and talk to Chuck Anders, the owner of AFC.”

  I stopped and turned to face him. “I’m not here to fuck with the system. I want to do this on my own.”

  He put his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t say that to piss you off.”

  “My father started fighting on the street.” I shook my head at the thought. “He had to work his way up. The Punisher wasn’t famous from the start. It took him almost fifteen years before he finally could say he made it.” I felt my mind wander back in time.

  “You coming, Lily Bug,” my dad said, reaching out his hands.

  “I’m here, Daddy.” I jumped up into his outstretched hands. “Where are we going?”

  He beeped me on my nose. “What did you say you were dreaming of the other day?”

  I turned my head to the side, trying to remember. “Ice cream.”

  He chuckled as he locked the door to our apartment and carried me down the long hallway. “You always want ice cream,” he teased. “When Momma cooked us that delicious steak dinner—”

  “I said, I wanted to try lobster.” I felt my eyes go to the size of saucers. “Are we going to have lobster, Daddy?”

  “We are, baby. Your momma is going to meet us there.”

  The thought took me by surprise. “But didn’t you say it was really expensive and was just a special treat?”

  “That you can finally enjoy, Lily Bug.”

  “Lils, you there?” Charlie squatted down in front of me.

  I was now sitting on the bench with my arms resting on my thighs. I lifted my head. “Yeah, I am.”

  “Where did you go this time?”

  Charlie knew I had a habit of letting my mind wander. “Just a thought about Dad.”

  She squeezed my knees. “Hey, seriously, fuck this Angela chick. You don’t need her, Lily.”

  I placed my hands on top of hers. “I can’t have the lobster yet, but maybe I’m almost there.”

  “And now you are speaking gibberish.”

  Bending down slightly, I kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” I stood up to face Julian. “Maybe I need to head home.”

  This whole time, he kept his distance, letting me work this out with Charlie. When I mentioned leaving, he shook his head in protest. “I think you should stay.”

  His words caught me off guard. The emotions of my father running through me and then everything with Julian, I felt like I had read too many Nicholas Sparks books in one sitting. My chest felt tighter with each step he took toward me. The moment he cleared the distance and wrapped his arms around my body, I had to pull out The Punisher in me and be tough. I wasn’t ready to show my emotions to Julian, and I most definitely did not want his brothers to see my tears.

  I turned to Charlie. “Is it okay to stay the night? Did we have plans?”

  She actually rolled her eyes and reached for Brooks’s hand. “Girl, you don’t answer to me. You can stay as long as you like, sweets.”

  Julian started to say something, but I threw my hand over his mouth. “I will see you tomorrow, Charlie Bear. Love you.”

  “I mean, you can stay as long as you like,” Julian mumbled around my hand.

  “Let’s get to know each other first,” I said, removing my hand. “Hell, I don’t even know your shoe size.”

  “Well, you kinda do.” He reached for my hand and tugged me closer.

  “Close your eyes,” Julian purred beside my ear.

  I was sitting on the couch and jumped at his words. “How am I going to finish Pretty Woman with my eyes closed.”

  He reached over and hit pause on the remote. “Okay, now that Julia is waiting, will you close your eyes?”

  I settled back. “I guess.” I heard rustling behind me, so I lifted one eye lid just a fraction to see what was going on.

  “No peeking.” After what felt like forever, he said, “Okay, open your eyes.”

  On the coffee table in front of me was an array of toppings. “What is this all for?” I said, moving closer to the table.

  “A little birdie let it slip that you love everything about ice cream.”

  I didn’t know what to say. My dad used to do crazy surprises just like this when I was still living at home. This gesture caught me off guard. “Julian”—I cleared my throat to avoid any tears from forming—“why did you do this?”

  He sat down beside me. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted to find a way to cheer you up.” I reached for his hand and kissed each knuckle. “Getting you flowers seemed silly, since I have a damn rose garden in my back yard.”

  “It would be silly.”

  “While you were enjoying the movie, I sent a text to Charlie.”

  “On my phone?”

  “No, Brooks sent me her number.”

  I reached forward and grabbed a mini gummy bear. “Wait, you had all this stuff here?”

  “Blue Cat grocery store delivers.”

  He had no idea how much this meant to me. “What kind of ice cream are we devouring?” I moved onto his lap and peppered him with light kisses all over his face.

  “Charlie said you only like vanilla.”

  I leaned back. “Exactly, and do you know why?”

  “I guess it’s because then you can enjoy the flavors of everything you top on it.”

  “Right. You really did do your homework.”

  “When I want something bad enough, I study long and hard.”

  “Oh really, Mr. Moore?” I teased. “How bad do you want me?”

  “Bad enough that I even paid extra for the real gold flakes.”

  I didn’t even know what to say. All I could do was laugh and then laugh some more.

  “I think that’s my favorite thing about you.”

  “What’s that?” I said in between trying to control my giggles.

  “Your laugh. I could listen to it all day long.”

  “Even when I snort?” I winked.

  “Especially the snort.”

  I touched the side of his face and brushed my finger along his jawline. At that moment, I knew everything was fitting into place exactly how I hoped it would. I knew my dad would be happy for me. His words rang in my ears. “Don’t settle, Lily Bug. Get wh
at you really want.”

  I wanted to make a name for myself on my own…and I wanted Julian.

  16

  Two months later…

  “You ready, Lily?” Julian said, leaning on the side of the ring.

  “Yup,” I said, continuing to dance around on the balls of my feet. I hopped side to side while punching at the nothing in front of me. “Met my weight.” I stopped. “I worried I would be a pound over.”

  “But you weren’t,” Julian reassured.

  My goal was to be a Bantamweight champion. With my body type, it was easy for me to keep my weight between 130-135. Since the meeting with fucking Angela, I decided to ignore the bullshit and just do what I love. Fight. This was the first of five fights that would take place over the next year and half. I was now fighting for Spartacus instead of AFC, which still felt off most days, but I was thankful for the opportunity.

  Spartacus was well-known and many fighters started with them before moving on to AFC. I’d talked to a couple fighters who had around twenty fights in the can but still had not been asked to join an AFC fight ticket. They were totally fine staying with Spartacus. It had been the same process with them; Julian and I had to go to a meeting, and we’d both hoped it didn’t end up like the last one. While at the meeting, they’d asked how many fights I felt comfortable signing up to complete. That question had taken me off guard. Then I realized it was their way of inviting me to fight for them.

  Julian became the trainer I’d needed for the last several years. Jake just never had it in him to give me what I needed. When I was at the gym working out, Julian was all business. At his house, he was like a big teddy bear.

  “Lily,” I heard Charlie yell from behind me. “Did you see the news yet?”

  I jumped down from the ring and reached for her phone. On the screen there was a picture of Julian with his arm around my waist. “What the—?” Turning toward Julian, I held up the phone. “Did you see this?”