She also saw a slow grin form on his face as he finished his tea and set down the empty cup. “Finally…” he drawled in a seductive tone.
Lisa’s eyes shot up immediately to meet his gaze. “That is not what this is. Not at all. Now get that out of your mind and get your things. We’re going. This is just to give you a safe place to stay the night. You are an investment for me and for this dojo, and I’m just not taking any risks in you being injured. We can’t have that.”
He rolled his eyes a little and chuckled as he followed her out to her car. “Oh, and I’m not getting injured every day letting Koichi run me through the ringer in his little pond back there.”
She narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. “You’re being trained, not injured.”
He reached up and rubbed his sore shoulders as he climbed into her car. “Could have fooled me. I feel injured.”
“Keep up with your flirting and your trouble making and you’ll be injured; I’ll do it myself,” she snapped at him as she drove away.
He chuckled again and gazed at her face. “Promise?” he asked with a grin.
She groaned in frustration and refused to look at him the whole way to her home. When she pulled into her long driveway and up to the house, the sun was just setting, and everything was bathed in a golden glowing light.
Her home was a single story ranch, built in a Japanese style. The roof was wide and overhanging, and the grounds were manicured perfectly into a continuing garden that seemed to disappear around the sides of the house.
Jake looked at it in awe as she pulled her car up to a wall that turned out to be a garage door. He’d never have guessed it. The garage was immaculate; he had only seen garages that clean and orderly in auto mechanic magazines. He had never believed that anyone kept their garage so clean. As they walked into the house, he looked around and it felt as though her home was a continuum of the dojo they had just left, though the design of it was slightly more modern. It was simple and elegant, streamlined and symmetrical.
It felt strange to Lisa to have anyone in her home with her, particularly a man, but she wasn’t about to risk him being attacked again at his own home. She had already taken a chance on him and risked far more than she had with any other fighter that she had brought to the dojo. She wanted him safe, and there was no safer place for him to be than at her home.
She led him to the guest room and slid the door open for him, walking into it with him. Like the rest of the home, it was simply designed, though perfectly appointed, with a double sized bed, and beautiful wooden furniture around the room; a wardrobe, a chest, a table, and a silk and wood screen.
“You can sleep here.”
He gazed around the room, taking it in. It was as peaceful as the gardens at the dojo. He turned to look at her then. “Will you be sleeping in here with me?” he asked with a grin.
She sighed and looked away from him. He might be sore and tired, but it seemed like nothing was going to distract him from coming after her. “The bathroom is down the hall.” She turned toward the door to leave him.
Jake lifted his chin as she stood in the doorway and looked back at him. “Thank you. I do appreciate it.” He gave her a genuine smile and she knew that he meant it.
“If you need anything, please make yourself at home. The kitchen is open, and the back gardens if you want to walk around and see them.” She nodded at him and then walked down the hall, drawing in a long slow breath, and telling herself that it would be fine to have him there.
She went to her home office and sat at her desk, trying to focus on the work in front of her. She read the same page several times before she realized that she was only looking at it, and not really taking any of it in. The knowledge that he was right down the hall from her seemed to ensconce her thoughts and keep her distracted from thinking about anything else. Just as she had relaxed enough to read through the first page, she realized that she hadn’t given Jake any towels or extra linens.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, she got up from her desk and went to the linen closet. She was just about to take the stack of towels and cloths in her hand to Jake in his room, when he stepped out of the bathroom in front of her.
He was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Steam billowed in clouds around him as he stepped from the room, and droplets of water clung to the ends of the wet strands of his hair, tousled around his head, and ran in slow and wending rivulets down his body.
Lisa gasped and blinked in surprise, turning her head away from him and looking at the towels in her hand instead of at him. He smiled wide and walked toward her. “I… I forgot to bring you… uh…” she began, trying to focus on anything other than him as he drew near to her, and the wild pounding of her heart as she grew breathless.
“I found them,” he said, standing inches from her. He slid a hand over hers where she held the towels from underneath. The feel of his fingers touching hers, and the nearness of him, not more than a few inches from her, sent everything inside of her into a whirling, tumbling chaos.
She couldn’t speak, and she kept her gaze on the towels, trying to concentrate with everything in her on breathing, but even that was becoming more difficult. He reached his hand up to her cheek and touched it lightly.
“I know you can feel this electricity between us, Lisa…” he spoke in a husky voice, leaning so close to her that she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Why do you fight it? Why not just…” he trailed his finger slowly down her cheek and her neck, making her heart race. “…give in?” he asked as his mouth drew near to her.
She wanted to respond. She wanted to be able to think clearly and to tell him no, she wanted to remember all the reasons why it was a terrible idea for him to be so close to her, to touch her, and to let herself want him.
The soft curve of his lips brushed her cheek and her eyes opened wide. She turned her head to look at him and tell him he couldn’t do what he was doing, but as she did, he closed his mouth over hers and his hand slid around the side of her neck to the back of it, holding it as his thumb moved beneath her jaw, lifting her face to his.
Lisa’s breath caught and everything in her tensed, but as Jake’s mouth moved over hers and he parted her lips, the tension gave way to the heat burning in her core and the stiffness of her body eased, almost as if she was melting into him.
He let go of her fingers beneath the towels, and slid his hand over her waist and down the side of her hip, squeezing his fingertips against her body as he went. The stack of towels she was holding fell from her grasp and landed in a pile on the floor at their feet. Her thoughts were going in a myriad of directions and it felt to her like the only thing that did make sense right at that moment, the only thing that she was sure of, was how much she wanted to feel Jake holding her, and how much she needed him to kiss her.
As the ache for each other ignited in each of them, growing stronger, their kisses became more impassioned, and her hands slid over his chest to the back of his neck where she held on to him snugly, bringing him closer to her. Holding her hip firmly, he pulled it toward him as he pressed himself against her, pinning her to the wall in the hallway. He groaned softly as she moved herself against the stiffness of his desire, and a soft sight escaped her.
With a surprised look at her as he paused in his kiss, he grinned, knowing that she was going to be all his that night. His cocky grin would normally have put her a little on edge, but at that moment, there in his arms with her heart pounding wildly and her body burning to feel his connected to it, his confidence only served to drive the deep need in her for him even further.
He spoke, his voice was deep and husky. “Do that again,” he told her thickly, staring straight into her coal dark eyes, “and I’ll take you straight to your bed.”
She couldn’t believe the words she heard herself say to him, but once they were spoken, she didn’t want to take them back. She meant them with everything in her. “That’s exactly what I want you to do. I can’t fight this anymore, Jake�
�� I want you.” She replied in a velvet voice, staring straight back into his eyes.
It was as if there had been a bonfire suddenly lit in him. He crushed his mouth against hers, kissing her with abandon as she gripped him tightly with both hands. In one movement he picked her up and carried her to the door at the end of the hallway. The doorway she had expressly forbidden him from entering when she had first given him the tour of the house earlier that night.
Jake set her on her feet beside her bed, his hands never leaving her body. With swift movements he shed her of her clothes until she was bare before him, and his eyes and hands drifted over her with the lightness of a feather.
“You are so beautiful…” he whispered, staring at her and running his forefinger and thumb down a thick strand of the long black hair framing her face.
She felt her cheeks warming to as much as the rest of her was heated. Not knowing or caring where the boldness in her move came from, Lisa placed her open palms on his bare chest and slid them down over the hard knots of his muscles to the edge of the towel still tied at his waist. With a gentle tug, she loosened it and let it drop from her fingers and his hips.
Letting her eyes drift over him, she felt her breath catch, and he reached for her then, pulling her into his arms and closing his mouth over hers again for a lingering kiss before he laid her back into the cool sheets on her bed.
Lisa knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she had determined that what she was doing would never happen, but every other one of her senses was overwhelming her with an undeniable desire that she was compelled to give in to. She told herself silently that she would deal with the consequences of their night together later, if there even were any consequences. Bonnie’s words kept coming back to her, telling her that there was nothing at all wrong with her having a steamy fling with him, and she had to admit to herself, as his hands and hot mouth canvassed her body, turning on every part of her, there was nothing more that she wanted than to have him with her right where he was.
Jake had forgotten how sore and tired he was, and how much his body hurt. The shower he had just come from refreshed him somewhat, but the feel of Lisa’s body in his hands and beneath him made him forget everything except her and how good it was going to feel to finally have what he had wanted so badly since the first time he had seen her.
His mouth moved over hers, kissing her until she was breathless, and when he heard her heart pounding in her breath, he slowly brought his lips down her throat, kissing softly until he reached her breasts. He twisted the tip of his tongue around her hardened nipples before sucking on them and tugging gently at them with his teeth.
His fingers massaged and stroked her silken skin, caressing it as he made his way down over her belly into the fold of her legs, where he teased her for a few moments, nibbling at the sensitive flesh on her inner thighs before pressing his mouth against the core of her, tasting her fully, manipulating her body with his tongue and fingers as she began to moan softly and move herself against him.
With increasing fervor, he kissed harder and faster, drinking her in as she grabbed the pillows around her, clenching them desperately until she cried out in pleasure and shuddered as her orgasm overtook her, leaving her blissfully weakened. He moved himself up over her and pushing her thighs further apart, he moved the tip of himself against her but not into her.
Gazing down into her eyes he brought his lips close to hers. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he teased her, rubbing the head of his shaft back and forth over her tender folds. She grasped his shoulders tightly and pushed herself against him hungrily.
“Yes! Yes… Jake… this is what I want… please!” she gasped. The smile faded from his face and she could see the flames of intense desire in his eyes. “This is exactly what I want too,” he barely managed to whisper as he pushed himself slowly into her depths.
Her breath was gone and her heart was nearly beating itself out of her chest as she wrapped herself around him and they began to move in unison, a perfect rhythmic cadence in the dance of love. Lisa opened herself fully to him, and he moved in her with all of himself, strongly, completely, holding her tightly against him as he thrust himself into her over and over, until at last they both cried out in tremulous release, their orgasms shared, their bodies slick with sweat and their wills both totally surrendered to the ecstasy that bound them together as one.
He rested beside her afterward, kissing her softly and running his fingers over her face and her hair as she looked back at him, completely sated. They said no words, but as the night grew longer, their touching and gentle kisses grew more fervent and hunger overtook them again, driving them to take each other once more until a long while later, when she, riding atop him, cried out, and he felt himself flood her again with every ounce of passion in him.
It wasn’t until the wee hours of the morning that they finally fell asleep in each other’s arms, and when they sun rose, so did both of them, pleased that their desires had been satisfied so fully.
Chapter6
They vowed to each other as they drove to the dojo that morning that what had happened between them would not change anything with their work environment at the dojo, and that all would be as it had been. Lisa wasn’t entirely sure that could happen, but she was determined to make it work out.
When they arrived, she smiled and said goodbye to him, and he grinned back and went to the water garden, where he began his day of training. He hadn’t been in the water for long before he realized that he was filled with a tremendous peace, and that his movements were much more fluid than they had been when he started. He noticed it most when he realized that he wasn’t hearing the splashing he had heard since he had begun his training.
With great focus, he concentrated on his breathing, his form, and his technique, and before the middle of the day, he heard Koichi’s voice from the side of the water.
“Jake… you may stop.” The voice was solemn and kind.
He turned and looked at Koichi in surprise. Koichi was standing before him in a gi with his hands folded behind his back.
“You want me to stop?” he asked in surprise, hoping he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Yes, you may stop. You have accomplished what you set out to do. I have been watching you practice your kata for an hour, and you have not splashed a single drop of water once. You are ready for the next phase of your training. Come out.” He smiled and nodded, and Jake’s heart nearly stopped in his chest.
Slowly, and with a feeling of uncertainty, he walked from the water to the walkway where Koichi was waiting for him. Koichi handed him a towel, and he dried himself off from the knees down. It was only then that he saw Masahiro watching him from a doorway that was only open enough to frame him. He could not look away from Masahiro, once his eyes met the old man’s, and he stood there with the towel in his hands and his heart in his throat as the older man came to him.
Masahiro looked at him intently. “I have seen great improvement from you, Jake Allen, and I think it is time to show you the world into which you are about to live. Please, get your shoes and meet Master Koichi and I at the front gate.”
Jake nodded and bowed, and minutes later he was at the gate where he found Koichi, Masahiro, and Lisa all three waiting for him. His heart quickened at the aspect of what was to come, and at the sight of Lisa, who took his breath away as she looked up at him with pride and happiness in her eyes. He tried not to let his eyes move over her body, remembering exactly how she had felt making love with him, but the only way he could keep it from his mind was to look away, and looking away from her was nearly impossible for him.
They all got into Lisa’s car, and Jake sat in the backseat with Koichi, while Masahiro rode in the front and Lisa drove them. He looked out of the window as they traveled along, wondering where they were going and what new changes were coming to his life.
A short while later she pulled into a parking space at a different dojo. Masahiro turned and looked over his shoulder at Jake.
“This is the Momose Dojo. This is our biggest rival dojo in the eastern United States. We will take you inside for a look at the competition that you will be facing. It is always wise to know who your competitor is and where they come from. It gives you an edge, because knowledge is power.” He nodded once and then stepped from the car, and the other three followed him.
Together they entered the dojo and were greeted by the manager with a respectful bow and a polite welcome. Masahiro smiled and said that he and his group were interested in a tour of the place, and the manager obliged them and walked them through the public parts of it, stopping at last in a studio where a class was in session.
All four watched the class silently for a few moments, and Jake noticed that one man in particular kept looking over at him. He was a bigger man with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He looked from Jake to Lisa, and then to Koichi and Masahiro. With a glance and a subtle nod to the teacher of the class, he stepped out of the line formation and headed over to the group of four, and the manager of Momose Dojo.
“Well, Masters Masahiro and Koichi, what a surprise to see you here.” He said with a hint of insincerity and a bow. Then he gave Lisa and hungry and lingering gaze. “Lisa… it’s always good to see you here. You should come visit me more often. I think you’d like it.” She clamped her jaw down tight and narrowed her eyes at him.
It was then that the man turned his eyes to Jake. “And who is this?” he asked with a half laugh as he shot a glance back to Koichi and Masahiro.
Koichi looked at Jake. “Jake Allen, this is Mike Corbin. When you are entered into the regional competition, this man will be your opponent.”
Jake, who was already irritated with the cocky man in front of him for the way he had spoken to his two Masters and to Lisa, drilled his eyes into Mike Corbin’s gaze. He searched, immediately, looking for the weakness; looking for the thing that would bring Corbin down.
Brooklyn's Baddest: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance Page 9
