“That was some beautiful, shit, mi amigo. A little girly, though. I hope that vagina of yours can still train me,” Tony told Slade.
“So long as you’re actually at the Academy to train.”
All the men laughed, and over the next few minutes their friends said their goodbyes and departed.
When everyone else had gone, Jessica’s parents walked over hesitantly.
Slade looked over and saw them. Jessica stiffened next to him.
“Great time as ever to meet the in-laws, huh?” Slade laughed.
Jessica groaned. “Mom, Dad, this is Slade Martin. Slade, these are my parents, Thomas and Shannon Cross.”
“It is very nice to meet you,” her mother said in a small voice, not sounding at all like her usual snooty self.
“I am sorry for what my wife and I said out there,” Jessica’s father told Slade. “We misjudged you and your friends. We are very happy to see our daughter with a man like you. Someone who obviously loves her and is willing to take care of her.”
Slade reached up and caressed Jessica’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Yes, I love her very much and will always protect her and take care of her. She’s just…a little stubborn sometimes.”
Her father blew out a breath. “She certainly is.”
“Honey, your father and I are going to take the first plane out and head back home,” her mother said. “I’m sure you need some time to work everything out with Slade. Once everything’s all settled, call us and we’ll come visit a little longer. Okay?”
“Okay, Mom. Thank you. Oh, wait—I won’t have a house after next week because I broke my lease. I’ll call you with the new address once I find a new place.”
“Babe, can you hand me that notepad and pen over there by the table?” Slade asked. Jessica, not knowing what he was up to, obliged. Slade wrote something on it, then handed it to Jessica’s father. “Mr. and Mrs. Cross, that is my address and phone number. From now on, that’s where Jessica will be.”
“She will?” Mrs. Cross sounded bewildered.
“I will?” Jessica asked, sounding equally confused.
“You will. I want you by my side. We’re all in, remember?”
Jessica smiled and leaned down to give Slade a kiss on the lips. “I love you too, Slade. Definitely all in.”
Epilogue
A MONTH LATER…
“Listen up, guys!” Slade yelled at the ten men who were either clients or trainers.
“What’s up, boss?” Travis replied.
“For those who don’t know her yet, this is Jessica Cross. She’s going to be holding yoga classes here a few times a week.”
There were a few catcalls, cheers, and whistles.
“Relax, guys. There will be no fraternizing with the women who come to yoga. You got it?” A few expletives were yelled. “I don’t want to catch any of you assholes fucking around with any of her girls. And if anyone looks at Jessica with anything other than respect, I’ll personally KO you.”
“Yeah, right, old man,” one of the newer fighters yelled.
“We’re the same age, asshole!” Slade said as Jessica chuckled.
Jessica addressed the group next. “I’d love it if you guys sat in on some of the yoga classes too.”
There was a roar of laughter.
“Hey, don’t laugh until you try it,” Tony added.
“That’s pussy-shit. We ain’t trying that!” one of the guys yelled.
“I bet there isn’t one man in this room who can do an entire hour of my class,” Jess challenged them.
“Come on, lady. We fight men who weigh three times what you weigh. We can chant ‘om’ all day.”
“I bet you can’t.” Jessica winked at Francesca, who was standing to the side. She’d told Jessica to goad the guys with a wager. That woman sure knew how to handle men.
“I’ll bet a date with you that I can,” Travis teased.
“No way!” Slade snarled.
“With me.” In a formfitting red suit and her trademark heels, Francesca pushed herself off the counter where she’d been leaning. “Make it through one hour and you get a date with me. Easy peasy. Tony, you can’t participate—you’ve been taking her class for a while now.”
“Wait. What? No fair.” Tony looked crestfallen.
Jessica surveyed the men. “Okay, so whichever one of you can make it through an entire class—the entire thing, one hour, no bitching or complaining—will go out on a date with the lovely Ms. Silva.”
“Nice!”
“Can’t wait to see what’s under those tight-ass—”
“Shut the fuck up, Thompson,” Tony yelled.
“I hate how yoga pants look on women,” Travis hollered. The entire class fell silent in shock. “Said no man…ever!” he finished. The entire group burst into laughter.
Tony grabbed Francesca’s wrist and pulled her aside. In a low voice he asked, “What the hell are you doing?”
“None of these guys will be able to do twenty minutes of this class, forget an hour. You know I’m right.”
“Absolutely not. You’re not going to whore yourself—”
“Whore? Who said anything about whore?”
“I’m not allowing—”
“Excuse me? Who the fuck do you think you are? Reel it in, macho man. I’m not your responsibility. We don’t even get along.”
Tony said something under his breath in Spanish.
“Tomorrow. Ten in the morning,” Slade reminded the guys. “One entire hour. No bitching. You stick it out, she goes on a date.”
“Get ready to date us all, honey!” another new guy yelled.
Francesca and Jessica laughed. Tony rubbed his face in frustration.
—
The next morning, Jessica was sitting in the front of the gym, stretching, when twelve guys strolled in. It was a sight to behold. Twelve huge, mostly tattooed, mostly gorgeous, mostly domineering men. Not one stood less than six feet tall, and all were as wide as Slade, if not wider.
“Good morning, linda,” Tony said, grabbing her hand and planting a kiss on it.
“Morning, Tony.”
“Howdy, Jess. You like my yoga gear?” Travis asked.
Jessica looked up at his shirt and burst out laughing. Across the front it said, I’d flex but I love this shirt.
“Cocky, aren’t you?”
“Oh, darlin’, I love it when the word cock—”
There was a loud cough. “All right, all right. Let’s get this show on the road.” Slade punched Travis’s shoulder playfully, although a little harder than necessary.
“Okay, guys. Grab one of those mats.”
The guys grabbed mats and spread them out on the floor.
“Basically, you guys are going to do what I do,” she told them. “You don’t have to overdo it. Just do the best you can.”
The first few minutes began with a lot of catcalls and whistles every time Jessica stretched or moved. Each time she came close to one of the men to adjust a pose, they winked or flirted. That lasted about ten minutes. From then on, there was silence and grunts. Jessica could’ve been naked and no one would have noticed her. After forty-five minutes of class, the only two remaining were Tony and Thompson. Thompson, the newest fighter to join the academy was arrogant but in great shape. During the final minutes of the class it looked like an all-out competition between the two men.
Francesca walked in, wearing black leggings with black stiletto boots that went to her knees and a loose-fitting sheer black blouse that went just past her ass. She looked less formal than normal but definitely overdressed for the gym.
“Seems you have two winners, Frances. Tony and Thompson,” Jessica said.
“Nope. Just one winner. Tony wasn’t in the competition,” Francesca corrected her.
Tony’s eyes narrowed.
“So when’s the date?” Francesca asked.
“After I catch my breath and the blood rushes back to my head, I’ll let you know,” a red-faced and exhaus
ted-looking Thompson said with a weak grin.
Tony stormed out of the gym.
“Harder than it looked, wasn’t it, boys?” Francesca addressed the other men, all sprawled out on their mats.
They just grunted.
—
The following day was Worth the Fight Academy’s grand reopening. It had been postponed almost a month due to Slade being hospitalized. Most of the town was there, as well as the fighters. Only one person was missing: Tony.
After most of the people had left, the gang took the party to the Pier. Jessica sat on Slade’s lap as she talked across the table to Francesca.
“What crawled up Tony’s ass? Why wasn’t he there?”
“Who knows? He’s probably getting drunk with some skank as we speak,” Francesca answered.
“You need a man, Frances. I want to find you a guy,” Chrissy slurred.
“No thanks, hon. I’m good.”
The eyes of Chrissy, Jessica, and Jamie Lynn narrowed at Francesca, but her demeanor had changed so drastically, the women thought it best not to ask any further questions.
“Hey, Vi, how are you settling in? Town treatin’ you well?” Travis asked Violet.
Violet glanced sideways at Cain, who was scowling, before answering Travis. “Yeah. For the most part everyone’s been welcoming. I’m starting next week at Chrissy’s medical office.”
“Good. You know where to find me if you need anything, sugar,” Travis said with a wink.
Cain slammed his beer mug on the table and walked away.
Travis shrugged. Violet looked away.
The rest of the evening passed with drinks, laughter, and good company. By midnight, all the men were drinking beer by the pool tables and the women were chatting loudly at a booth.
The door to the Pier opened, and all the women stopped speaking, which meant that the bar was suddenly quiet. Which meant that the men stopped playing pool to turn around and figure out what was going on.
Jamie Lynn was the first to speak. “Jesus Christ Almighty! Who the hell is that?”
“Wow,” Jessica muttered, her mouth open.
“OMG!” Chrissy exclaimed.
“Holy…wait.” Francesca squinted. “Enzo?”
The man turned, showing them a black faux hawk and devastatingly beautiful green eyes. His face, which had looked angry, relaxed. He strode over to Francesca and grabbed her hand.
“Frankie?”
“Enzo? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Brazil. And please, not Frankie. It’s Frances or Francesca.”
“Long story,” he told her.
“Where’s Isabella?”
“Even longer story.”
Tony chose that moment to walk into the bar. His eyes narrowed when he saw Francesca and the man with the faux hawk still holding her hand. Tony coughed. Francesca chose to ignore Tony but took advantage of the moment to address the rest of the drooling women. “Guys, this is my cousin, Lorenzo Silva.”
“I remember you,” Slade said. “You used to train at WtF when you were younger.”
“Yeah. Slade, right?” Enzo said.
“Yeah, man. You were good. You still fighting?”
“I am. Not so much these days, but yeah, in the small European circuit.”
The rest of the guys came by the table, and Slade introduced them.
Then Enzo turned to the booth where the women sat. “And who are these beautiful ladies?” he asked, his eyes zeroing in on Jamie Lynn.
“This is Chrissy, Slade’s sister. Jessica, Slade’s girlfriend. Jamie Lynn, Travis’s sister.” Francesca pointed behind her to remind him who Travis was. “And this here is Violet, a friend.”
Enzo shook all their hands but leaned in to give Jamie Lynn a kiss on the hand. Her face blushed red.
“So, are you staying for a while or is this just a vacation?” Francesca asked.
“Heard you bought the ol’ gym. Thinking of staying around for a while.”
“Great. Look forward to seeing you at WtF. Come on, let’s get some booze in you,” Jack said as he led Enzo to the pool table.
“Oh, my! He’s…wow!” Chrissy said.
“Yeah, he is. JL, you all right? You look a little flushed,” Violet said teasingly.
“Uh, yeah. Fine. He’s just so…so…”
She never finished her sentence, but all the women nodded, knowing exactly what Jamie Lynn meant.
—
Three days after the grand opening of the Academy, Slade was holding Jessica’s thigh up with one arm while bracing himself against the shower wall with the other. Her tongue was doing wonderful things to his tongue while he pumped in and out of her as the hot water fell on them. Five minutes earlier he had walked in on her showering, and the primal instinct to be inside her took over. But Jessica was nothing if not an eager participant.
“Slade. Don’t stop!” she yelled as her muscles tightened. They came together, sliding down the wall to the floor of the shower.
“Good morning, lady.”
“Good morning, baby,” she said with a lazy smile.
She kissed him, and then they turned off the water and got out of the shower, taking turns drying each other. She put on one of WtF’s T-shirts and a pair of ratty shorts and was heading downstairs to make them breakfast when she heard a loud yelp from outside.
Jessica stopped everything and went running outside to see what was going on. She found Chrissy crawling around on the grass with six weird-looking Chihuahuas with black and white spots.
“Chrissy, what happened?”
“Oh my God. That witch just left them on my porch. She rang the bell and left. They’re getting away. The pups—grab them, Jessica.” Jessica stumbled around grabbing puppies and placing them in a big hamper, but every time they’d grab one, another would escape and take off.
Slade ran out to see what all the commotion was about. When he saw the two frantic women he began to laugh. “It’s going to be awesome to see you and Jack trying to find these ugly-ass dogs a home.”
Jessica was sitting on the grass. One of the puppies was licking her face and another one was jumping on her back, trying to bite her hair. Jessica was laughing uncontrollably. And then it happened: she looked at Slade, her big doe eyes pleading.
No! No! No! I am not keeping one of those puppies. No way in hell!
Just then Jack pulled into the driveway in his police car. He got out of the vehicle and surveyed the scene.
“Slade, please,” Jessica begged. “Look, she loves me. And this one too. We can’t leave your sister with a new practice, a wedding to plan, and all these dogs. Please, baby. Look.” Jessica held the puppy out to him, and the sucker growled. Drogo’s offspring evidently came with the Slade-hating DNA. “So sweet, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, real sweet.”
But the moment Jessica looked at him with those eyes…how could he deny her anything? Slade took a deep breath and released it before shaking his head wryly.
Jessica grinned. “Is that a yes, Slade?”
“Can I ever say no to you?”
Jessica squealed. “Oh, Slade. I love you!” Still holding both pups, she gave Slade a big kiss before cuddling with the puppies some more.
Slade looked up at Jack, who had a knowing smirk on his face. Words were not necessary; he knew exactly what his best friend’s expression meant. Finally, Slade had the thing he’d never thought he would have. The thing he’d never even thought he wanted. He had the same thing his best friend had with his sister: he had the love of a woman. Not just any woman, but the woman he loved with all that he was.
To my very own black belt—my husband
Acknowledgments
Once again, and probably forever, I have to thank two important ladies I adore. First, my wonderful agent, Sarah E. Younger. Had you not loved Against the Cage, this whirlwind year would not have happened. Thank you so much for everything you do. Second, Junessa Viloria, my lovely editor. You make me a better writer and storyteller without making me f
eel like a dummy. I couldn’t have asked for a better editor. I feel truly blessed that both of you are behind this series.
The wonderful ladies of #ladieswritenight. Thank you Rachel, Anna, Tif, and especially Violet, who helped me so much during the beta-reading process. I wish you all luck in your writing endeavors and can’t wait to see your books on the shelves. See you tonight, ladies!
Having fans is a surreal experience and I want each and every one of you to know how much I appreciate you for buying Against the Cage, reading it, and taking the time to review it. Because of you, I was able to write Full Contact and, I hope, dozens more books. So thank you, fans! I wish I could hug you all.
Bloggers are so important in this industry. You all take time out of your busy lives, read our books, review them, and then help spread the word—all for the love of books and good story. There are just too many bloggers to thank and I wish I could thank each and every one of you individually. You guys have been unbelievably supportive and I thank you all. A huge thanks to another wonderful beta-reader, Leisha (rolopolobookblog.com). Your comments are invaluable. Had it not been for you, Slade would be waggling his eyebrows all over the place! Toni Aleo, I have adored your books forever! The fact that you loved Against the Cage gave me validation that maybe it really was a good story. Thank you for your support and friendship.
Last but not least, I want to thank my family. My parents, who help me so much with my kids so that I have time to do the thousands of things I have to do every day, including meeting many deadlines. My dad, for being the person who inspired me to be such an avid reader. If I didn’t love to read as much I do, I wouldn’t have the passion to write. My kids, who may never ever ever read any of my stories (especially Full Contact)—Mommy loves you.
And finally…my black-belt/jiujitsu/MMA-encyclopedia/cheerleader/super-dad husband. I don’t know of any man as supportive as you are. You watch the kids every single night so that I can go do what I love to do—write. You never get upset or jealous over the time I spend away. You are truly one of a kind. Your support and belief in me have never faltered. You’ve become an integral part of my writing. When the dreaded writer’s block comes knocking, I talk it out with you and you always trigger a thought that helps me move forward in the story. I love you so much and hope you know that I feel blessed every day that you are who you are and that I’m lucky to have you in my life. You’re Jack, Slade, and Tony all rolled into one.
Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) Page 25
