Wrestling Desire 2 (A Contemporary Romance)

by Michelle Cary

  As she came down from her release a frown slowly appeared on her face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You didn’t come.”

  “That’s okay. We can fix that.” Before she could reply he rolled them over, taking her underneath him. Then he repositioned himself between her legs and thrust. Her hands flew to his chest and she let out a contented sigh.

  He moved back and forth, enjoying the endorphin high he allowing pleasure to sluice through him. Sweat beaded his brow, and his breathing shallowed as the burn in his groin grew. The tension became unbearable and then he was thrusting home. “Hell!” He muttered as his body jerked and spasmed and he poured part of his very soul into her.

  He leaned down and took her mouth in a gentle kiss, then pulled out and dropped down next to her. She turned to him and curled herself into his chest. He wrapped both arms around her. “That was amazing,” he murmured as he kissed the top of her head. “It was,” she yawned and nuzzled against his chest. “I wish we could stay this way forever.”

  He stroked a hand along her back. “Me too, baby. Me too.”

  Chapter 5

  Emma opened her eyes and a second later bolted for the bathroom. She didn’t even have time to turn on the light before she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. Her stomach lurched and rolled as what remained from dinner came back up.

  “Em? Are you okay?” Holt’s concerned voice came from the doorway, but her stomach wouldn’t stop cramping long enough for her to speak. Within seconds he was by her side, pulling her hair up and out of the way with one hand while rubbing gentle circles along her back with the other. “Should I get help?”

  She managed to shake her head as dry heaves twisted her stomach. Finally after another moment she sat back on her heels and rested her head against his chest. Her skin was damp with sweat and she struggled to regulate her breathing as her stomach continued to churn.

  “Are you sure I shouldn’t get help?” Holt asked again.

  Feeling like a limp noodle she shook her head again as her body began to shiver. “Not yet.”

  “Are you sure, baby, because I can call Doctor Andrews.”

  Despite a sudden chill through her body, she noted that her stomach began to settle and she started to feel marginally better. She nodded. “I’m sure. Help me up.” Gently he helped her to her feet. Emma leaned against the bathroom counter and rinsed her mouth. “I think maybe my stomach’s just upset over everything taking place with you and Bryan. Or maybe I just ate something that didn’t agree with me, that’s all.” At least she hoped that’s all it was. Honestly, she hadn’t been feeling right for months, but her stomach really started bothering her a few days ago. She finished and looked at Holt in the mirror. “Let’s try to get some sleep.”

  The concern on his face warmed her heart, but the last thing she wanted was for him to worry. He had enough on his plate right now without adding her to the mix. She turned to face him and placed a hand on his bare chest. The feel of his heart beating beneath her palm filled her with a sense of security. No matter what curve balls life might throw her direction Holt would be there. “Please don’t worry. I’m sure it will pass.”

  He stared down at her for a moment before embracing her in a hug. His lips brushed over her forehead and he sighed. “Let’s go back to bed.”

  When she awoke the next morning the nauseous feeling still lingered, but thankfully she didn’t feel as if she were going to puke again. Holt rolled over and looked at her. “How you feeling?”

  “Okay.” She sat up and took a deep breath. Maybe the worst was over. “I think I’m going to grab a shower.”

  Holt nodded. “Take your time and I’ll see if Garrett is up yet.”

  Still feeling weak, she made her way to the bathroom, stripped and stepped into the spray. The hot water felt good against her skin, sluicing through her battered system. She went to work washing her hair. Maybe the stress of the last few months had finally caught up with her. Stress was a funny thing, it had a way of eating at a person and exposing their weaknesses.

  She opened her eyes and immediately closed them again as the room began to spin. Grasping for purchase she snagged the shower curtain but the movement threw her further off balance and she tumbled head first into the wall and dropped to her knees with a thud. Her vision blurred and her head lulled to the side as she struggled to stay conscious.

  * * *

  Holt opened the door to find Jill standing on the other side. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to check on Emma. She was really upset after what happened last night.”

  “Come on in.” He stepped back and motioned for Jill to enter. “She’s in the shower right now. It’s been a rough night.” He started to close the door and spotted Garrett walking toward him.

  “I’m sorry I overslept,” Garrett offered as he slipped past Holt into the room.

  Holt let the door close behind him as he turned back to his friends. ”No big deal. We also slept in a little. Emma had a rough night so I wanted her to rest a little longer.”

  Jill frowned. “That’s twice you said rough night. What happened?”

  Holt glanced at the closed bathroom door. “She woke up in the middle of the night puking her guts up. She thinks it was something she ate, but I’m not so sure. I think maybe this situation with Bryan is messing with her.”

  Jill appeared to consider Holt’s words. “Come to think of it, she hadn’t looked all that well over the last week or so. Maybe she’s got the flu or some stomach bug.”

  “Maybe,” Holt replied. “I wish she would have let me call Doctor Andrews though.” He just finished his sentence when a loud thud came from inside the bathroom. His heart jumped and he went to the door. “Emma?” He knocked. “Emma, baby, are you all right?”

  His question was met with silence and the fine hair on the back of his neck stood up. Something was wrong. He glanced at Jill and Garrett. “Wait here, I’m going in.”

  He opened the door and his heart damn near stopped at the sight before him. Emma was on her knees draped over the side of the tub and blood dripped from her head. “Emma! Oh God.” In two strides he crossed the room and crouched in front of her then brushed her wet hair out of her face. “Baby, are you with me?”

  She lifted her head, her glaze eyes looking up at him and he thanked God she was still conscious.

  “Oh my God,” Jill gasped from the doorway. “Garrett, go get Doctor Andrews. Emma is hurt.” She rushed forward, grabbed a towel off the counter and moved in to help.

  “I got her,” Holt said as he carefully pulled Emma from the tub and lifted her into his arms. “Get a couple of towels.”

  He carried Emma to the bed and gently laid her down. “Baby, you still with me?”

  Emma gave him a small nod.

  “Let’s get her dried off.” Jill moved in from the other side of the bed. Here’s a small towel, see if you can staunch that bleeding.”

  Holt took the towel and gently placed it over the cut on Emma’s forehead while Jill set about drying her. She pulled the sheet up over Emma’s body and draped a towel over her exposed breasts.

  Holt kept his attention focused on Emma’s face looking for any change in her condition. “Baby,” he whispered as he checked the cut and reapplied pressure when it began to bleed again. “What happened?”

  Emma licked her lips. “Dizzy,” she managed to say as she swallowed hard. “Fell.”

  “Okay, baby. Just hang in there, Garrett went for help.” He stroked a shaky hand against her hair as he struggled to keep his fear under control.

  “What’s going on?” Doctor Andrews appeared and Holt sent up a prayer of thanks. Jill stepped back making room for the doc to take her place.

  Holt made quick work of bringing the doctor up to speed. “Doc, what’s wrong with her?”

  “I don’t know yet, Holt, but let’s see if we can figure it out.”

  “What in the hell happened,” Bryan’s panicked voice filled the room. Holt
glanced over his shoulder to see Bryan with Garrett standing not too far away.

  “She was sick last night,” Holt explained. “Then she was in the shower this morning. Apparently she got dizzy and fell.”

  Bryan stepped to the end of the bed and placed a hand on Emma’s leg. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Don’t know yet,” Doctor Andrew’s answered as he checked Emma’s vital signs. “Emma, how long have you been feeling sick?”

  “A couple of days.”

  Holt’s eyes widened with her statement. “A couple of days? Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?”

  “I thought it was stress,” Emma shrugged. “And I didn’t want you to worry.”

  She didn’t want him to worry. Holt barely refrained from rolling his eyes. He wanted to throttle her for not telling him, but at the same time he wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and protect her from the world.

  “Was last night the first time you vomited?” Doctor Andrew’s continued.

  “Yeah.” The glazed look in her eyes slowly began to clear, giving Holt a measure of comfort.

  “What about this dizziness? Have you experienced it before?”

  “No.”

  “When was your last period?”

  Holt’s attention cut from Emma to Doctor Andrews. “Why do you need to know that?”

  “I’m just covering all my bases,” Doctor Andrew’s replied.

  Knowing the implication behind the question Holt glanced from Emma to the doctor and back. “You don’t think she’s pregnant do you?”

  “I don’t know, Holt, but I have to consider everything.”

  “Um…a little over two weeks ago,” she finally answered.

  “Okay.” Doc nodded. “Probably not pregnant then.”

  A hint of regret flittered through Holt’s mind at Doctor Andrew’s statement which he quickly squashed. The last thing he needed in his life right now was a child.

  Doc continued. “Based on the fact that you’ve felt bad for a couple of days but only vomited once I doubt its food related. Something like food poisoning would have taken you down like a bullet and kept you there.” He rubbed his chin. “A couple of the Vixen wrestlers have been down with the flu and both have had similar symptoms. At this point I’m tempted to call this a virus.”

  “So it’s nothing serious?” Holt felt his muscles relax as relief swept through him.

  “I don’t think so,” Doctor Andrew’s said. “I’m inclined to believe it’s the flu, but if she’s not better in a few days we’ll reassess.” Doc reached over to take the towel from Holt. “Now let’s take a look at that cut.”

  * * *

  Two hours later Bryan stood at the foot of the bed and stared at Emma. “You should have let Doctor Andrews take you to the hospital like he wanted.”

  Feeling defiant, Emma folded her arms across her chest and stared back at him. Right now he was the last person in the world she’d take orders from. “And I’ll tell you just like I told him, I didn’t want to go.”

  “Why, Emma? What are you hiding? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that the emergency room doctors would eventually figure out that Holt did that to your head and it wasn’t an accident?”

  Fire flared in her eyes as she stared back at him. “How dare you. How dare you say something like that?”

  “Just tell the truth,” he pushed. “We both know it wasn’t an accident. We both know he did that to you.”

  “Jill was here when I fell. She knows it was an accident. Holt didn’t lay a finger on me. It was an accident just like we said. And you’re one to talk about telling the truth. Yeah, you know…why don’t we talk about your version of the truth?”

  “What are you talking about Em?”

  “I’m talking about how you practically blackmailed Gene into giving you the push toward the championship.”

  His eyes widened with surprise. “Who told you that?”

  “It doesn’t matter who told me. It’s true isn’t it?”

  Several long seconds passed before he finally answered. “So what if it is true.” He began to pace. “It’s my turn. Derek had his turn and now he’s gone. It’s my turn now. It’s my turn to prove I can be a champion.”

  “But blackmailing Gene into giving you the push? Really Bryan? Gene is like a father to us. He’s always been good to us. How could you do that to him?”

  “How could I do what, Emma? How could I demand the shot that I deserve?” His eyes narrowed. “You have no idea what it’s been like to be me. To either be known as Crusher Cruise’s little boy or Derek Cruise’s little brother.” He shook his head. “Nobody sees me for who I am. Nobody sees Bryan Cruise as being a great wrestler. I’m not the legacy. Derek is. All I want is my shot at the spotlight. All I want is to prove that I’m just as good as the rest of them.”

  “Gene would have given you that shot, Bryan. You didn’t have to try and blackmail him to get it.” She stared blankly at him. “I-I don’t even know you anymore.”

  He practically sneered at her. “You never knew me, Em. You’ve never even made an attempt to get to know the real me. Of course why would you when you had Derek, the great protector around?”

  “Derek protected you too. He took care of us.”

  He shook his head. “I thought we had a real chance for us to become close. The way you and Derek are close. But I guess that’s not going to happen now. What happened to you standing by me, Em?”

  “That was before I knew what you did to get the shot.”

  “I deserve a chance, Emma.”

  She nodded. “Yeah you do. But not like this.”

  “What Holt did was wrong. You know that.”

  “You’re right it was and he feels bad about it, but what you did was just as wrong. And two wrongs don’t make a right. I know that. But if you’re going to force me to choose. You’re gonna go there? I’m going to choose Holt.”

  Brian shook his head. “I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you would do that to me.”

  “And I can’t believe you’d lie to me. What would Derek think? Does he know about any of this?”

  “Derek! Derek!” He threw his arms in the air. “It’s always about Derek! What about me, Emma?”

  “What about you Bryan?” Emma looked at him and shook her head. “You go ahead and do whatever it is you feel you need to do. I’ll always love you because you’re my brother, but don’t ask me to stand by you. Because I can’t.”

  Chapter 6

  Holt walked through the inner halls of the arena on his way to see Gene. It had been a rough twenty-four hours and with Emma now sick it didn’t look as if it was going to get better anytime soon.

  He raised a hand to knock only to have the door swing open before his knuckles connected to the metal. A look of shock crossed Gene’s face and was quickly replaced by a smile. “Just the man I wanted to see.” He stepped back into the office and allowed Holt to enter. “I had a visit from Doctor Andrews this morning. How’s Emma?”

  More tired than he realized Holt dropped down into the closest chair and raked a hand through his long hair. He hadn’t bothered to pull it back that morning and with it now in his face he wished he had. “She’s resting. Since she refused to go to the hospital I made her stay in bed.”

  Gene slid into his chair behind the desk. “Is this more than just her normal nervous stomach?”

  All too fresh memories of her kneeling in the shower, bloody and dazed flashed before Holt’s eyes and he suppressed a shiver. “I think so. She’s dizzy too and last night she threw up for the first time. Doctor Andrews thinks it’s the flu.”

  “He should know, right?”

  Holt nodded, yet something in the pit of his stomach told him this was more than just the flu. “If she’s not better in a few days I’ll drag her ass to the hospital just to be sure.”

  “Good. You know I love that girl of yours quite a bit. Watched her grow up, I did. Her father was one of my best friends. It was hard on al
l of us when he died, but Emma, well she took it just a bit harder than the rest of us.”

  “I can see that. She get so sad when she talks about her parents that I try not to bring it up.”

  Gene gave his statement a nod. “Yeah, she’s a sensitive one. I didn’t see her doing well in a foster home so I decided I’d take her and Bryan in. She only had a couple of years left until she turned eighteen, but she and Bryan, they needed a home.”

  Holt cocked his head to the side and stared at Gene. “Emma told me you’re like a father to her. That’s part of the reason she has such a hard time saying no to you. She wants to please you.”

  “And now you.” Gene leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “I’ve love those kids like they were my own. Which is why having to deal with Bryan has been so difficult. If he’d been any other wrestler I would have just released him from his contract and been done with it, but Bryan has always been a bit reckless and hot tempered.” Gene sighed. “I suppose they all get that temper from their father. Derek is the same way when he gets angry, but Derek and Emma both have level heads.”

  Holt noted the faraway look in Gene’s eyes. The older man appeared to be losing himself in his thoughts, something that didn’t happen too often. “Speaking of which, what are we going to do about Bryan?” he prompted.

  A crease appeared in Gene’s forehead as he looked over the desk at Holt. “We’re going to let him stew. He has to learn that a shot at the championship is earned not demanded.”

  Holt figured Gene would say something like that, but he was getting slaughtered in the media. “I’ve already seen some of the reviews from last night’s show. I’m being vilified.”

  “So what if you are?” Gene pushed forward and rested his arms on the desk. “It’s not the first time you’ve been vilified in the fan’s eyes. Hell, Holt being a troublemaker goes with your persona.”

  “Yes, but being called a coward doesn’t. The reviews are stating that the only reason I won the title is because Derek was hurt and I’m afraid to face Bryan, which is why I did what I did. You know I won’t back down from any contender. I can beat Bryan fair and square.”