Fierce-Ella (The Fierce Five Series Book 5)

by Natalie Ann

Cade was the last of the brothers he’d expected to see this morning. The two of them had yet to talk since the news of his and Ella’s dating became public knowledge. Ella had said all her brothers were good with it, yet they were all keeping their distance too. He found it amusing since he was the guy they all chatted with often up until a month ago.

  “What was he bringing over?” Travis asked Ella, walking forward and pulling her into his arms. He didn’t care one way or another if Cade walked back in the door, he was getting a morning kiss.

  And when she wrapped her arms around him tight, he knew he wasn’t letting go even when Cade walked back in, which he did with a box in his hand.

  Cade seemed to hesitate again, but Travis only grinned at him.

  “Alex wanted me to drop these off to you,” Cade said, trying to recover, but he still looked off balance.

  “What is it?” Ella said, moving forward. Travis was going to be obstinate and follow close by. He was trying to push the mortification of the tears out of his head from the night before. The best way to do that was to give Ella’s brother some grief or at least make him feel uncomfortable.

  Cade did his best to avert his eyes and opened the box to start pulling out T-shirts and hats. Women’s clothing by the looks of it.

  “Oh, this is nice,” she said, holding it up. It was a red shirt that had “Fiercely Ella” printed on it.

  “I figured you’d like that one. There’s one for Jolene and Gavin too. Alex wasn’t sure about putting the Fiercely Gavin on a woman’s shirt, but I told her to give it a try. I don’t think too many guys are going to wear a shirt that says Fiercely Ella or Jolene on it though. Alex was looking at targeting women.”

  “I’d wear your sister’s shirt,” Travis said. “Don’t be a pussy, Cade. I’ve seen you in pink. Don’t you want to wear your mom or sister’s name proudly?”

  Cade looked up startled and Travis held in his laugh. “You’re joking, right? You’d seriously wear a shirt like this?”

  Ella turned and put her cool stare on him and he knew he’d backed himself into a corner. “Sure. Why not?” He wrapped his arm around Ella’s shoulder and yanked her close. “I’m proud of your sister. I’ll wear her name if she wears mine.”

  This time Cade laughed. “If you can ever get her to wear any T-shirt with a name on it or matching T-shirts with someone, then you’re way ahead of any other man that has ever been with her. Or I should say any other person in general. No one messes with Ella’s wardrobe. Hell, she probably won’t even wear one of these T-shirts.”

  Travis turned to look at Ella, who was doing anything but looking at him. “Would you wear my name?” he asked seriously. Probably more serious than he meant to.

  She hesitated and finally said, “On a T-shirt? No. Nor will I wear one of these unless it’s for a promotional function.”

  “I told you, dude,” Cade said. “But more power to you for putting her on the spot. Not many would dare.”

  Ella rolled her eyes. “Tell Alex thank you and I’ll get back to her on these. I think they’re all great and we can talk about it on Wednesday.”

  “Not a problem,” Cade said and turned to leave.

  “Cade,” Ella said. “Thanks for not making too much of an ass of yourself this morning and embarrassing me.”

  Cade turned his head and eyed Travis. “As Brody said, it’s not like I can shove Travis in a locker so I guess I just need to learn to accept it.”

  A few minutes later Ella went back to making them breakfast. “Am I that bad of a person that your brothers are struggling with this?” he asked.

  She turned suddenly. “No. Not at all. It’s probably because you’re that good of a person that they are.”

  “Care to explain that to me?”

  “I told you that my brothers scared everyone away on me before, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I didn’t tell you that Cade told me they did because they never felt anyone was strong enough for me. Or good enough. They’d decided they couldn’t scare you away even if they tried. They aren’t going to bother wasting their time.”

  He smiled and pulled her in close. “So they’ve accepted me.”

  “In their way, yes.”

  He’d take it as a win.

  And an hour later he was taking another win from her. Or maybe this was the one win because he’d lost most of the others when it came to her.

  “Really, Travis. My arms are killing me. Drop down,” she said, letting out a huge gush of air.

  They were in her spare room doing yoga. He still didn’t know how he got talked into it. Probably because he wanted to see her tight little ass in some flexible positions.

  He’d been right, he had very little flexibility or balance. He was muscling his way through as much as he could.

  Including the plank. She was determined to prove her strength and beat him at this. She’d bested him at every part of the other poses, but he could hold this all day. They’d been in this position for four minutes already. He was shocked she was still pushing it, but her arms were starting to shake. They’d already been doing various poses for over thirty minutes.

  “Hell no. Let’s try one handed.” He picked his left arm up and put it behind his back, holding the pose like that. “What was that thing you did earlier, dropped down and curled back up to a snake or something? Can you drop down and push up on one arm? How about a few reps?” He showed her what he was talking about to rub it in some more.

  She growled at him. “No way. I could have done one handed thirty minutes ago. Drop down,” she said again.

  “I’m just warming up. I could go another ten minutes easily. Want me to switch arms?” He did it before she could answer, just pushing himself up with his right and catching himself with his left.

  “I’m not going to be able to beat you,” she said. “Not even in my wildest dreams.”

  “Not a chance in hell,” he said.

  “You said that about me getting you to do yoga,” she pointed out. “Yet here we are doing yoga.”

  He didn’t like the reminder. “I was motivated by getting you hot and sweaty,” he said, not afraid to be sexist and admit that.

  She lowered herself right away to the floor, then came over and sat on his back. “If that is all you wanted, you should have just said so. Now how long can you stay like this?”

  “Sweetheart, I’d never let you fall.”

  She stretched out on top of his back, stomach down, her lips on his neck. “That’s good to know.”

  “You think a little kiss is going to get me to drop down?” he asked, snickering.

  “Nope. This might though.” She reached her hand around and cupped him. He wobbled for sure but didn’t drop.

  “You aren’t playing fair.”

  “Who said anything about fair?”

  “Well then,” he said, just before he bent his elbows, then rolled so that he was on his back and her on top. “Don’t let me stop what’s on your mind.”

  “Not a chance,” she said, then laid her lips to his.

  Not Her Name

  Monday morning, Ella looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway. She came marching forward to sit across from her.

  “You’re causing your brother to have a fit.”

  “Which one this time?” she asked. Growing up she enjoyed doing that, as an adult not so much. Especially when her mother got involved.

  “Cade. The minute he left your house on Saturday he came over and I could have sworn he might have been shaking.”

  “Why? Travis didn’t do anything to him,” she argued. “They even laughed at my expense together.”

  “Not that. I don’t think Travis would do anything to your brothers or your brothers to him. It’s the fact he walked into your house and knew that Travis had spent the night.”

  “They all know we’re dating. What’s the big deal?” she asked, trying to figure it all out. Sometimes her brothers had some loose screws.

  “Those boy
s have a weak spot for you and you know it. It’s hard for any man, father or brother, to think of a sister or daughter sleeping with a man.”

  “So what does Dad have to say about it? We haven’t talked that much about things. Is that why he’s staying away?”

  She didn’t want to be hurt over it. As much as she wanted her brothers’ approval, the one man she wanted it from more than anyone was her father. She hadn’t been able to go down the father-daughter relationship talk road with him just yet. In her mind it was best to just let things ride out.

  “Your father seems good with it,” her mother said. “He hasn’t said otherwise to me if he wasn’t.” Which meant something because her parents never had secrets from each other.

  “Then why are you frowning as you say that?” she asked her mother. “Or are you still annoyed that you didn’t get to pick Travis out for me?”

  “I still had a hand in it. You can keep telling yourself I didn’t, but we know I pushed you to make a move when you’ve been hiding for years.”

  She leaned back in her chair. “Why do you think I’ve been hiding, since you seem to know me so well then?”

  “Ella,” her mother said, sighing. “No one is ever good enough for you. You’ve had high expectations your whole life and you felt no one could fill them.”

  “That’s not true,” she said. Sure, she wanted what she wanted out of life and especially in a man. But she didn’t think her expectations were any higher than the fact someone would want her for her and not her name. Or would at least stand up to her family for her. That wasn’t asking for much, was it?

  “Something had set you off and you’ve never said what. It has to be more than your brothers being overprotective with you. They’ve been like that your whole life and we’ve encouraged it. Why won’t you tell me what is really going on?”

  There was no use arguing with her mother. “Because it’s old news. We all have to learn from things in life and it was a learning experience for me.”

  Her mother hesitated for a minute. “All of you kids have had to try to find your way and your identity. You’re not alone even if you think you are.”

  “I’m far from alone,” she said, laughing. That had never been her thought or problem. She knew her brothers had a harder time finding their identity in life. She’d always known who she was, and though she struggled being the only girl and worried over being the weak one, she never really felt that inside.

  Her insecurities weren’t anything that had to do with who she was, but rather what she wanted or needed and to find a way to get it.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “You just want me to confide in you like the boys have probably done, but it’s not going to happen.” She didn’t want the mother-daughter talk right now in her life either.

  Her mother crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried her hardest to stare her down. Ella gave it back just as fierce since she’d learned from the master. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”

  “I get it from my mother,” she said, mimicking the move with her arms now.

  Her mother’s shoulders dropped. “Fine. Since you’ve been dating Travis for close to two months, how about seeing if he wants to come to Easter dinner in a few weeks?”

  She snorted. “I’m sure he wants to spend the holiday with his father, or maybe his mother, instead of coming to our house and experiencing the circus show.”

  “Is that your way of saying we are all clowns? Because we know how you feel about clowns, yet you still come over all the time.”

  She’d never thought of her family as clowns. Well, maybe Cade, and she’d already come to the realization that she wasn’t afraid of him, so it was probably time to stop hiding her fears in general.

  “With the exception of Cade, you’re all more like the freak show than the jugglers.”

  “We are, aren’t we?” Her mother said, grinning. She knew her mother would get the joke. “You could ask and find out if Travis wants to come over. His father is more than welcome too. You know we welcome everyone.”

  So much for distracting her mother from this conversation. Her parents had an open door for the extended families now and Ella figured it’d be offered to Travis. “I’ll think about it. I don’t want Travis to feel like he’s being ganged up on.”

  Her mother laughed. “Really? All your brothers brought their women around the family and none of them ever felt ganged up on.”

  “It’s different and you know it. It was just me that any of the women would have to deal with, not four of me.”

  “Oh, Ella,” her mother said letting out a laugh. “One of you is more than enough. Your brothers know how protective you are of them. You all but threatened all the girls at one point or another telling them they better not break your brothers’ hearts.”

  She grinned. “So?”

  “So you don’t think your brothers have the right to feel that way about you?”

  Her smile dropped. “My heart is ice cold.”

  “It’s as cold as Italian ice on a hot summer day. What happens to that sweet frozen treat when it’s been in the sun for a few minutes?”

  She narrowed her eyes at her mom. “What’s your point?”

  “My point is, ice melts when it comes in contact with heat. You’ve found your flame, Ella. Stop trying to fight it so hard or blow it out.”

  “I don’t need a man to ‘complete me.’ I don’t need one to change who I am.”

  “Sometimes you are just like your father.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  “Your father was so stubborn. I can’t tell you how hard it was to wear him down, but I did it.”

  “You’re good at wearing us all down,” Ella said, laughing.

  Her mother’s head started to bob up and down. “Years of practice with your father. My point is, when you find the right guy in life, you don’t have to be strong anymore. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. And you won’t be frozen either.”

  “Whatever you say, Mom,” Ella said, grinning, but she knew her mother spoke the truth because she found she was the weakest she’d ever been when she was around Travis.

  All her cold tendencies were out the door like those weak men that’d hit on her for years.

  She was slowly falling in love with the person Cade had dubbed the Mountain Man for his sheer size and last name.

  She was losing a part of herself that she’d locked up tight for years.

  She was terrified of letting anyone know though.

  Subtle Threat

  Travis felt like he was the cog in the wheel of a Fierce takedown.

  He’d had no problem dealing with Ella’s family for years. He’d even been in a room with them all at one point.

  They’d all had a mutual respect for each other. Or so he thought.

  Then again, he’d never been the man that was sleeping with the baby girl of the family before now.

  He was going to be ganged up on, he could tell. The minute he walked in the door, all four Fierce brothers were sending glares his way making the chill zone feel like he was in Alaska right now.

  “Boys,” Ella said, “sit your butts down now.”

  Surprisingly, all four of them did just that. The glares didn’t stop though. He did what he always did in a situation like this...he laughed.

  “One on one you guys don’t say much, but band together and I’m supposed to be nervous?” he asked.

  Gavin walked in the room, bigger than all his sons. “Not at all,” he said.

  That might be the only man in the house that Travis would back down from. Not because of his size, but because he was Ella’s dad.

  “I’m going to show Travis around the house and you boys can all find your places. Ladies,” Ella said turning to her brothers’ significant others, “put yourself in my shoes.”

  Aimee laughed. “Gee, Ella. I remember a subtle threat at one point when I started dating Brody.”

  Ella smiled. “I bel
ieve it was prefaced with how much I really liked you though.”

  “She has you there,” Brody said to his wife, putting his arm around her and pulling her in close.

  Jessica had one of her nephews in her arms, Mason the other. “I was never threatened. Were you Nic?” she asked of Aiden’s wife.

  Nic laughed. “I might have gotten a tiny little warning, but that was about it. I won Ella over with my cannoli. Now that I think about it, I got more warnings or threats over my desserts than Aiden.”

  “Guess we know where I rate when it comes to sweets in Ella’s eyes,” Aiden said.

  “I never said anything to Jessica because she’s a sweetheart. And I didn’t warn Alex away from Cade as much as maybe I should have warned her about Cade.”

  Travis watched as everyone burst into laughter, including Cade.

  “I know how Cade is,” Alex said, looking at her fiancé. “I just take him for a car ride if he gets on my nerves.”

  The room roared with laughter this time, but Travis wasn’t sure what that was about and didn’t want to ask. It seemed everyone was calming down.

  Until Jolene Fierce walked in the room with two beers in her hand. “One for you, Travis. I know how much you like Ella. Fiercely Ella, that is. And one for you, Ella.” Jolene handed the beers over. “Just remember, Travis. That beer was called Fiercely Ella for a reason. You might need to watch your back a time or two.”

  “Mom!” Ella said. “You of all people I expected to have my back.”

  “She takes after her mama,” Gavin said. “Just remember that piece of information, Travis.”

  Travis tipped the beer to his lips, put his arm around Ella and told Jolene, “Thanks for giving up on finding her a man. She has one now, so you can stop. You did well with the others though, I can see.”

  There was dead silence in the room over that statement as Jolene’s face paled and three of her sons all grinned. “Why does everyone keep saying that?” Cade asked.

  Ella grinned at her mother. “I’ll let you deal with that while I show Travis the house. Sucks to be you right now, doesn’t it, Mom.”

  She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the big family room they’d been standing in. “Was that bad of me?” he asked.