His palm skimmed higher up her leg, and she felt his erection swell against her fingertips. Alyson’s core clenched tight with anticipation as he pressed his face to the side of hers and brought his lips to her ear. “You look good enough to eat,” he growled low. Alyson’s hand tightened on his thigh, her palms itching to grasp him, to feel him against her.
“Do you guys need to get a room, or are you planning to fuck right here?” Spencer asked, causing Olivia to bust out laughing.
“Seriously, you two. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife. Haven’t you hooked up yet?”
Alyson sent her friend a warning look as she sat back in her chair, crossed her legs, and picked up the drink menu. Her entire body was tingling with sexual awareness, and she was so close to saying screw it and giving Jami the answer he’d been waiting to hear, that she could cry.
Shrugging it off, Alyson cleared her throat and ordered a shot of vodka to calm her nerves and a beer to wash it down. Jami shot her a knowing smile and ordered the same, plus a pitcher for the table.
After the waitress took their orders, Alyson scanned the place, surprised to find that it wasn’t as seedy as she had always pictured bars to be in her mind. It was a dark pit, just as she had imagined it would be, but the gloom was relieved by neon signs hanging over the bar and soft, recessed lighting throughout. The clamor of voices was loud, and the music was louder, but Alyson could definitely see the appeal.
It felt similar to when she and Olivia went clubbing, but without all the dancing. Here, people mingled with friends or sat by themselves, and their moods ranged from ecstatic to lonesome dove. Come to think of it, it was exactly like a club.
“So when is the next fight, man?” Spencer asked as he grabbed a complimentary peanut from the round dish in the center of the table, and tossed it into his mouth.
Still holding onto her thigh, Alyson was sure Jami could feel her muscles tense, but he didn’t show any signs that he had. “This coming Saturday.”
“Nervous?”
“Fuck no,” Jami scoffed, his head jerking back as though he was offended that Spencer would even ask. “The guy won’t make it to the end of the first round.”
Spencer pulled out his wallet and tossed a twenty on the table. “That says he’ll make it to the second round.”
“Not a chance.” Taking his hand away, Jami dug a twenty from his own wallet and tossed it on top of the other. “That says he won’t make it to the first bell and it’ll be a KO.”
Another bill landed on top of the others. Olivia sat forward, her eyes bright with excitement. “KOs are boring. That says that Jami will take him out before the end of the first round, and it’ll be by submission.”
“I like how your girlfriend thinks,” Jami said appreciatively. Looking at Alyson, he arched his brows. “Well, what’s your bet?”
Alyson had been sitting there, listening to their easy banter, and all the while, her stomach had been twisting tighter and tighter into knots. She hated the idea of Jami going into that ring. It made her sick that he could get hurt, or worse. The violence alone… And they were acting as if it were all some big joke. “I’m not betting,” she told them, then gulped down her beer.
“Okay, Ally is out,” Olivia said, not caring one way or the other, then started off on another topic that Alyson wasn’t paying any attention to.
Jami was watching her. She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her head. “What?”
He ran a hand through his hair, seeming aggravated, but she didn’t know why. “What’s up?” he asked tersely. “You in a bad mood or something?”
“I’m fine,” she said calmly.
“Then why didn’t you bet on me?”
He almost sounded hurt, which puzzled her. Alyson met his gaze and realized she didn’t see anger or aggravation there. What she saw was confusion and vulnerability. She thought about his question. He hadn’t asked why she didn’t bet, he’d asked her why she didn’t bet on him. Softening to him, Alyson touched his cheek, feeling the days’ worth of beard growth abrading her palm.
“Jami,” she started before realizing that they had an audience. She glance over at Olivia, who had her head propped in her hand, listening intently, and Spencer, who was busy staring at his phone.
She wanted privacy for what she was about to say. Scanning the room, she saw the juke box standing in a darkened corner, and a sliver of space surrounding it, and an idea occurred to her.
Taking Jami’s hand, she stood and tugged him from his chair. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Jami asked, puzzled, but when she looked back, she could see the slight smile touching his full, sexy mouth. That’s exactly what she was going for.
“I want you to dance with me,” she told him as they reached their destination and she turned into his arms. Crash Kings’ ‘“You Got Me’” played around them, and Alyson raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t dance,” Jami confessed, even as he held her close and began to sway side to side. “But I think you got me right where you want me, don’t you?”
Alyson belted out a laugh and pressed her forehead to his chest. They danced and enjoyed the feel of one another for a few moments before she lifted her head to look at him. “It’s the fighting. Everything about it…it gets to me,” she explained. She was jumping right in there. No holding back. “You remember how it was, growing up…with my dad. It’s hard, and I…I worry about you. I can’t help it.”
Jami listened silently, watching her intently as she poured out her heart to him. “You’ve always protected me, and I guess the hardest part about it is that I know I can’t return the favor. If something bad happens, I can’t do anything about it, and you’re important to me.” Unexpected emotion shook her voice, and Alyson blew out a heavy breath before she continued.
“So forgive me when I don’t place a bet, Jami, because I could never put money on something when it means that you could get hurt in the process. But don’t think that it means that I’m not betting on you, because I will always bet on you.”
Jami looked stricken as he cupped her face. His calloused thumbs wiped the wetness from her cheeks and leaned down to kiss her lips. “Damn, babe, you’re killing me,” he rasped, gutted. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he crushed her to his chest. With her face buried in his shirt, Alyson could scarcely breathe, but she didn’t care. Just then, she couldn’t imagine a better place to be.
Closing her eyes, Alyson relished his touch, his strength surrounding her. Jami was so intense, his moods shifting at the drop of a hat, and yet she felt like she understood him. He shared the same history, traveled a similar path, and although they split off for a short time, the trail had come together again. They were connected on a deeper level than just friends.
Whenever they spent time together, she felt like she couldn’t get enough. When Jami looked at her, she shivered. When she heard the sexy timber of his voice, her insides quivered in answer. And when Jami touched her, she trembled, every cell in her body flaring to life. Even when they argued, she felt invigorated, turned on, and so completely aware of him. He was beautiful, charming, strong, intelligent, and beyond sexy.
She felt an undeniable magnetic pull to him and she couldn’t ignore the fact that Jami reached her on a level that no one else ever had. He got her, and she got him. It was that simple. And as they danced slowly to the music, ignorant of the beat, she realized that she didn’t just love him because he was her friend. She loved him because he was so much more than that. Jami was her confidant, the shoulder she leaned on, her protector, and every time she set her eyes on him, she couldn’t help wanting him to be her lover, too.
Jami was…everything.
Tilting her head back, Alyson looked up at him. His brown eyes met hers, tinged with concern, and filled with undying tenderness and affection.
“Yes,” she blurted out.
Tilting his head, Jami wore a brief look of confusion before it shifted into one of understanding. That sexy
half-smile appeared, and his eyes grew hooded. “Yes?”
Alyson wet her lip, and then dragged her teeth over it. “Yes,” she said, shocked with herself even as her body lit with nervous excitement. Nervous because she wasn’t sure what to expect. Jami was so intense. Excitement because she was more than ready to experience everything about him.
“Are you sure?”
Alyson nodded.
“Okay, then I vote we get the hell out of here.” Dropping his arms, Jami laced their fingers together and began dragging her toward the door.
Laughing, Alyson pulled him to a stop. “Not so fast, mister. Did you forget we didn’t come here alone?” Tipping her head at their table, Jami followed the motion.
His face screwed up. “They know how to get home. They won’t even miss us,” he said in a pleading tone.
Shaking her head, Alyson tugged on his arm until he complied and followed her back in the opposite direction. “Where’s Spencer,” Alyson asked Olivia as she took her seat. Taking a pull of her beer, she scrunched her nose up at the flat taste. Beside her, Jami shifted restlessly in his chair.
Looking annoyed, Olivia cast a look over her shoulder as she spoke. “He got a call and took off. I think he’s outside.”
Alyson glanced at the doors. “What? He just left? When?”
Waving her hand, Olivia made a sound of disgust and grated, “I don’t know, like, right after you left. I’ve been sitting here alone forever.”
Feeling guilty, Alyson placed her hand over her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry, sweetie.” She looked at Jami. “Does he do that often?”
Jami shrugged. “No more often than anyone else I know. It’s not like I keep tabs,” he added when both women glared at him. He raised his hands in self-defense. “Look, I’m not his keeper. If you want to know where he went, call him.”
“Sure, ‘cause that totally worked the first ten times,” Olivia said scathingly. Standing, she slung her purse over her shoulder. “Look, I’m done waiting around. I’m going to head home and stick my head in the oven or something. If you hear from him,” she told Jami, “tell him I died.” Blowing Alyson a kiss and promising to call her later, she left.
Slumping back in her seat, Alyson frowned at her ruined beer. “Well, this sucks,” she commented.
Turning to face her, Jami licked his lips as he gave her a salacious look that gave her goose bumps. Trailing his fingers lightly down her arm, Jami traced the light blue veins from the inside of her wrist back up the inside of her bicep until his knuckles brushed the side of her breast. “They’ll work it out, but if it really bothers you, I know something that will take your mind off it.”
“You know,” Alyson said, laughing, “I went into this expecting to seduce you, and you completely turned the tables on me.”
“You were going to seduce me?” Jami’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.
Alyson nodded. “That was the plan anyway.”
“Hmmm,” he hummed. Leaning in, his hand went to the back of her head and pulled her closer until his mouth hovered over hers, his warm breath filling her lungs as she breathed him in. “Aren’t you just full of surprises?”
***
Did she realize what she did to him? Jami had been dying since the moment they met, but he hadn’t realized the extent of the damage Alyson had cause until she accepted his offer.
The sexual tension between them was stronger than anything he had ever experienced before. Every time Jami looked at her, his body responded. Alyson was beautiful, and when she did that thing with her lip, she drove him crazy. He wanted to touch, taste, bite, and ravish her entire body. So far, he had managed to restrain himself, but now, all bets were off.
When she said yes, agreeing to be with him, no strings, Jami felt his tightly leashed control snap. Now that they were unsupervised, their friends long gone, he planned to make good on his offer. He was going to take Alyson home and love her body like he’d been craving to do since the moment he set eyes on her.
But first, he needed to taste that mouth.
With his hand gripping the base of her neck, Jami pulled her to him. He kissed her gently at first, feathering his lips over first the bottom, and then the top until her breaths came heavy and fast.
As her eyes slid closed, Jami licked across her full bottom lip. It was soft and plush, a sensitive cushion against his mouth, and Jami couldn’t resist. Sinking his teeth into her lip, he sucked it into his mouth and nipped her with his teeth.
Inhaling sharply, Alyson’s eyes shot open wide and Jami grinned mischievously. “I’ve wanted to do that since day one.” Moving closer, Jami opened her legs and pulled her forward until her bottom hit the edge of the chair. Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her firmly, drawing a lone, agonized moan from her.
He answered back, growling low in his throat, wanting to devour her right there, uncaring that they were in public. He wanted every part of her, and he couldn’t wait. Tracing her lip with his tongue, Alyson opened her mouth and he slid inside. She tasted of bitter beer and her own brand of sweetness as Jami licked every corner of her lush mouth until they were breathless and panting with need.
“You wanna get out of here?” he asked, his voice strained as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
She gave him a drugged smile, a row of perfect white teeth sinking into her lip as he looked up at him. As she opened her mouth to respond, Jami was distracted by a commotion at the front of the bar.
Alyson’s head lifted to find the source as Jami stiffened beside her. As the giant man laden with thick, heavy muscle caught his eye and began leading his entourage toward their table, Jami instantly regretted coming out this evening. This was just one of many reasons he avoided public outings. The other was probably still standing outside, waiting with her Sharpie, hoping for another glimpse of him before he left.
Sensing the tension coursing through his body, Alyson slipped her hand into his and murmured so only he could hear her, “Holy shit, he’s huge. Do you know this guy?”
“His name is Bret Cordova, but in the ring, they call him the ‘Iron Fist.’”
Blanching, she asked, “Isn’t that the guy you’re supposed to fight?”
“That’s what they tell me.”
“Is this going to be bad?”
Good question and one he didn’t have an answer for. “Just stay close, and if something goes down, get behind me.” He felt a tremor work its way through her and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Look at me,” he urged. “No matter what happens, I’ll protect you. Got it?”
She stared into his eyes for one long second before nodding.
“Well, if it isn’t The Judge come out to play.” Strutting up to them, the group stopped at once and stared them down. The only one who was smiling was the guy at the head of the pack. “Treating your lady to a night of fine dining, I see? What do they say about you again?” he asked rhetorically, tilting his head to the side as he pretended to think. “Oh yeah, judge, jury, and executioner, right? You probably didn’t even get a choice, did you, sweetheart?”
Gritting his teeth, Jami took a step forward, distracting him from Alyson. He didn’t like his eyes on her, and he damn sure didn’t like him talking to her. “That’s right, Bret, judge, jury, and executioner,” he said slowly, enunciating each word. “You should make peace with your God now, because you won’t get a choice how you lose once I have you in that ring.”
Grinning, Bret stepped closer and leaned forward. Pressing his fists into the table, the movement doubled his size. Bret leveled an amused, danger-filled look at Jami. “You think you can beat me, Judge?”
With a tight smile, Jami retorted, “You know what they say about iron.” Bending slightly at the waist, he held his stare. “It rusts.”
Bret eyed him, the intensity of his stare making Jami’s muscles bunch, ready for a fight. Beside him, Alyson responded by taking a measured step back, placing herself slightly behind him. At least she was listening.
Just when Jami
thought shit was about to hit the fan, Bret threw his head back, and laughed uproariously. Jami frowned as he watched the whole group burst into laughter. What the hell is happening?
Struggling for breath, Bret held his stomach as he looked up through teary eyes. “You’re all right, man.” Extending his hand, Jami reached out on reflex and grasped it in a firm handshake. “I hope I didn’t scare you,” Bret said to Alyson. Redirecting his attention to Jami, he straightened, still wearing a giant smile as his eyes skimmed over him. “I like to check out the competition whenever I can.”
Jami did the same, noting his mammoth size and already configuring some of the moves he would use on him when they went toe to toe.
“I hear you were undefeated in the light-heavyweight division.” Jami nodded his confirmation. Looking him over again, Bret shook his head. “What are you now, two-ten, two-fifteen? Don’t worry, man, I’ll go easy on you. Assuming you can get past The Lion, that is.”
Jami didn’t take offense to his comment. He knew he wouldn’t have any trouble taking out The Lion, but with Bret? In comparison, anyone would look small going up against this behemoth, but that didn’t mean he had it in the bag. Jami had taken down men a hell of a lot bigger than himself in the past. There was no question he could do it again, and he would. “Don’t worry,” Jami cajoled, “come game day, I’ll be ready, and I’m going to wipe the floor with you.”
“Is he always this overly confident?” Bret asked Alyson in his smooth, easy voice.
The soft, alluring smile he gave her sparked Jami’s temper, and he took a step in front of her, blocking her from view. Prepared to leave, Jami pointed to the stack of twenties as they rounded the table and said, “Drinks are on me. See you in the ring. And in case you don’t recognize me, I’ll be the one standing over you with my arm in the air.”
Chuckling, Bret saluted him. “Good luck, Judge, you’re going to need it.” Jami turned to glare at him, but Bret wasn’t looking at him. His attention was fully on Alyson, who was turning her head to watch him as they passed by. When Bret winked at her, Jami almost lost his shit. Was that the kind of guy she was into? Is that why it took her so long to say yes?
Knockout Page 14
