Brooklyn's Baddest: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance

by Susan Westwood

  “Oh no… I’m so sorry, Lisa. I know how much you put into this. You really think he’s got that much going for him?” she asked uncertainly.

  “Yes, I do. I know it. I mean, I know it in the deepest part of me. He could be one of the greatest, Bonnie. I’m talking world class fighter, if he could just pull his head out of his ass for five seconds and stop acting like a jerk. He came into my office today to apologize and we got into a fight. I know he’s working hard for it, and I can see him trying, but he has to want it enough to make it happen, or it won’t happen. I feel like we’re all riding the razor’s edge and I put us on it… all of us, the dojo, our reputation, our future, and Masahiro and Koichi, and there’s almost nothing I can do about it.

  All of our fates are riding on whether or not Jake can pull it together and get his life straightened out long enough to become the success that I know he can be.” She closed her eyes and felt her stomach turn tightly, making her feel as though she might throw up. The stress of it all made her whole body sick.

  “Honey, it’s going to work out. Don’t think about it too much. You’re doing all that you can, so leave it to him and see what he does. If he fails, you just go find someone else.” Bonnie said with earnest support in her voice.

  “Bonnie… it’s not that easy. Champions don’t grow on trees. Men who are willing to commit themselves fully to the training and the competitions and the lifestyle and have the talent to win as well… they’re rare. Really rare. I found a diamond in the rough, and if he doesn’t work out, I can’t count on another diamond to just land in my lap. It has to work with him, and it has to work now.” Lisa reached for her glass of water and hoped that it would calm her nerves and her stomach.

  “Well, I hope for the best for you, then. In the meantime, try to find some way to relax and don’t let this stress you out so much. You sound terrible. Get some rest, okay?” The kindness in Bonnie’s voice was like a soothing balm to Lisa, and she thanked her best friend and said goodbye to her.

  She realized that Bonnie was right and she just needed to relax and get some sleep. Her rest had been cut short the night before and she knew that she’d probably feel better after resting more.

  Chapter7

  Jake knew that he was going to have to work extra hard to make up for his screw ups, and he knew that Masahiro, Koichi, and Lisa would be watching him closely. He came to the dojo early every day, he trained hard and with quiet respect. He backed off from going after Lisa so much, though it was the last thing he wanted to do. All three of them watched him just as closely as he suspected that they would.

  One week passed, and the tension between them began to subside. There was genuine kindness from Koichi, though he didn’t ease up in his training at all. Lisa also seemed to have lost the edge to her anger with him, and though they didn’t see one another much, she was reserved and polite to him, offering him a gentle word when she saw him, and sometimes even a smile.

  Another week passed, and Koichi helped Jake prepare for his second competition. The competition was a local one that Corbin would not be fighting in, and Jake felt that while it was a step backward in some ways, he also saw it as an opportunity to get more competition experience so that the next time he faced Corbin, he would be better prepared. He strongly suspected that that was why Koichi had placed him in the local fight, but it was a move he agreed with, and wanted to commit to.

  The day of the competition came, and again, Koichi only trained him for half a day. Jake didn’t stop in to see Lisa as he had before, but instead he just hoped that she would be in attendance for the event. When he looked up into the seats from the fighting floor, he saw Masahiro, Koichi, and Lisa, all seated together and watching him once more. He looked around a little more and found Evan, who was sitting next to a plain clothed Muldoon. He nodded at them and they waved back and gave him a thumbs up. He felt good inside seeing that Muldoon was there, too. It felt like he had more support and power in his corner, and it bolstered his confidence.

  The match began and he held his concentration with a steel grip. With his mind on his opponent and on his own movements, he was able to dodge every strike that the other man made at him. Jake moved like water, here for one moment, somewhere else the very next moment, and totally fluid in every action. The other man never touched him, and Jake was able to strike him to the extent that his opponent was on the floor in a matter of minutes from the first buzzer.

  Jake was declared the winner, and when it was announced over the loudspeaker, it felt to him for the first time in his entire life like he was on top of the world. Everything he had done to get to that moment was worth it, he told himself, and he finally knew what success tasted like.

  His eyes went straight to Masahiro, Koichi, and Lisa. All three of them looked well pleased, and Lisa grinned at him proudly. As he walked from the mat, he promised himself that he was going to know an even greater feeling of accomplishment when he fought Corbin again, and he swore to himself that he would win that match when it happened.

  Muldoon and Evan were both elated for him, and when Muldoon told him how proud he was of him, clapping him on the back and lifting his chin with a wide smile on his face, Jake had to swallow the emotion that knotted in his throat. Evan was so happy that all he could do was shake his head again and again, hugging Jake and telling him how well he had done.

  Masahiro bowed to him and gave him an earnest smile. “You have honored the dojo, and your teachers. Well done,” he said, quite pleased.

  Koichi grinned at him. “You did everything just the way that you should have. Well done.”

  Jake bowed low to both of them and nodded at them. “I did what you’ve taught me. Thank you, Masters,” he replied happily.

  They left him and he turned his gaze to Lisa, who was waiting for him. She rushed to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him and kissing his cheek. “God… you were perfect. Thank you. Thank you so much for working for this and reaching this goal.” Then she stepped back and looked directly into his face. “Do you see what you’re capable of? This… this and so much more. Can you see that? Can you feel it?” Her eyes searched his and he nodded.

  “I can… and I have you to thank for it.” He pulled her close to him and kissed her tenderly, taking his time and letting his mouth linger on hers a long moment before letting her go. “Thank you.”

  She felt her cheeks warm, and she looked around them both quickly to check whether anyone else had seen him kiss her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was sure that no one had noticed.

  He tipped his head a little. “What… you don’t want anyone to see me kiss you?”

  She bit her lower lip as she looked up at him. “It’s… it’s just best that we keep this a business relationship. That’s all. I mean, we talked about this. It should just be business,” she said, looking up at him and hoping that he would see that.

  Jake shook his head, his mouth curving into a wicked half smile. “Oh no… no. You said that. I said that you and I aren’t even close to being done. I want you, and when things level out at the dojo again, I’m going to have you. There’s no stopping that.” He leaned close to her again, as if he was going to kiss her and taste her mouth deeply, and she gasped and backed away quickly, making him chuckle.

  “Jake!” she scolded him. He laughed at her and gave his head a shake.

  “It’s going to happen, baby. It’s just a matter of time. There’s no denying the fire between us.” He reached his hand up and nicked his finger beneath her chin, looking at her with hungry eyes. “You can’t tell me that you don’t want me just as much as I want you, no matter what kind of rules you try to put into place between us. I know you want to feel it again… that incredible fire between us, and I’m not going to stop until we get there again. It’s too good to ignore, and you know it.”

  She couldn’t respond. Her breath had frozen in her somewhere, and all she could do was look up at him, pleading silently with her eyes that he not push it any further there at the are
na. He laughed softly as he read her plea and let his hand fall from her face.

  Lisa congratulated him again and told him goodbye, leaving him as she hurried out to her car, thrilled that he had won, and anxious beyond measure that he was so determined to make love with her again. She knew he was right. She did want it; she longed for it in her heart of hearts, and especially in her bed alone late at night. But she knew that it was the worst possible thing that they could do. Come hell or high water, she told herself, it wasn’t going to happen again, no matter what Jake Allen wanted.

  Koichi told Lisa that he was entering Jake into another competition right away. He said that he wanted to keep Jake focused on his training and his fighting, and get him more used to the competition arena before he met Corbin again. Lisa agreed with him.

  She wanted to keep her distance from Jake while he was training, but try though she might, she couldn’t help herself from stealing silently to hidden corners where she could watch him train with Koichi, but where he couldn’t see her. She didn’t watch very often, or for very long, but she was certain that she had gotten away with it until Jake walked into her office one late afternoon as the sun was just about to go into the golden hour.

  He surprised her as she was putting files into the filing cabinet. She turned with a start, her eyes wide as she caught her breath. Giving him a smile, she turned back to her filing cabinet so she wouldn’t need to look at him directly. That was becoming more and more difficult for her to do without wanting to be near him.

  “Well hello there. What can I do for you?” she asked lightly, slowing her filing so that she wouldn’t finish it while he was there.

  He chuckled a little and took steady purposeful steps toward her, not stopping until he was standing directly behind her. He hadn’t left much space between them and she found herself holding her breath as she tried to focus on the drawer in front of her.

  “Well, I wondered how you were, and thought you might be missing me, so I figured I would come by to visit you.”

  “Why would you think I was missing you?” she asked breezily, as if her heart hadn’t skipped a beat. She raised her eyebrows a little and looked intently at the files in front of her.

  He came closer to her and rested his hands on her shoulder blades, running them down her back slowly as he spoke. “Because I saw you watching me train. You sneaked by, and I know you thought I didn’t notice you, but I did.” His hands reached her waist and he held them tight over her hips, giving them a squeeze.

  “It’s okay, Lisa, I miss you, too.” His voice turned husky, and he pulled her against him and moved his lips delicately over her ear as he whispered. “You do miss me… don’t you? I know you do. I saw the way that you were watching me. You don’t have to be ashamed of it, baby.”

  Jake let his lips drift with feather softness from her ear down her long slender neck, kissing her skin tenderly as he went, though he held her tight against his own hips. “I miss you. I think about you all the time. I want you. I’m not afraid to say it.”

  He pushed his stiffening erection against her and she gasped as her eyes closed and her head fell back against his chest. Her breath began to come short and swift as one of his hands slid up from her hip over her ribs to her breast. He cupped his palm around the lower swell of it and rubbed his fingers back and forth over her hardened nipple. A moan escaped her, and she wished she could turn herself off as fast as he turned her on.

  “Jake…” she whispered with some effort, “we… we can’t do this…” she tried to sound like she really meant it. She knew that somewhere deep in her, she did mean it, but her body was totally unwilling to cooperate with her sense of logic.

  His hand slipped beneath her blouse and then her bra, and his warm fingers moved over her skin, massaging her breast as he pushed his solid erection against her again. “Lisa… I know how much you want this. I want it too. Just stop coming up with transparent reasons why you think it shouldn’t happen, and let it bloom. There’s something so hot… so… alive between us. I know you feel it too. Stop fighting it. Stop denying it.” He lowered his hand from her breast to her thigh where he carefully slid her skirt up over her hips until there was nothing between them but her silken panties.

  “Jake…” she pleaded, barely able to breathe, wanting to feel him more than anything, and wanting to make herself say no. She tried with everything in her to remember all the reasons why she had told herself that it shouldn’t happen, but the few thoughts that surfaced to lucidity in her mind vanished the moment she felt his hand move over her belly and down into the front of her panties. His fingers stroked her and she moaned again, softly, as her breath became not much more than shallow gasps.

  He slid the silken barrier from her and a moment later she cried out in need as he entered her, standing behind her, his hands firm on her hips as he began to move in her. He was slow at first, feeling every part of her as they both closed their eyes and lost themselves in burning desire and pleasure, but the more of each other they had, the more they needed as their ache for one another grew more urgent. He began to push himself into her harder and faster as sweat beaded her forehead and she clung tightly to his hands on her hips.

  With a tremendous force, their climaxes bound them both, washing over and through them as they cried out and their bodies shivered with release. Panting and flushed with fire and bliss, they leaned against each other as the tension between them began to fade.

  “You’re incredible,” he whispered into her ear, still holding her to him from behind her. “So amazing.” He kissed her neck and her cheek, and she sighed as she let their fingers weave together.

  “I don’t know what it is about you that just gets to me… Jake. I really don’t.” she moved to pull her clothes back on and he did the same.

  Slowly she turned to him and looked up at him. “I know I said it before, but I mean it. This can’t happen between us again. We have got to keep it professional. I know it’s hot… I know there’s chemistry… but, really… it just won’t work here. Not for us,” she said just above a whisper.

  He sighed and frowned and took her in his arms, pulling her tightly to him. He looked down into her dark eyes and ran his hand over her long sleek black hair. “You are so beautiful, and you’re so smart, but I don’t know why you think that this won’t work.

  We can’t possibly deny ourselves this passion. I can’t imagine trying to hold something like this in. Can you? We have to surrender ourselves to it.” With that, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her for a long while, his hands moving over her body slowly, rubbing and massaging her gently.

  When he let her go again, she felt torn inside and she didn’t like it. She knew that she had to stop them from going further. “Jake, if it was just us, maybe… but it’s not just us. It’s your fighting career, it’s my business career, it’s the dojo and our futures and the futures of the others who work here… there are so many other things on the line that we can’t be selfish about our choices and our desires. It doesn’t matter how hot we get or how much we want this… connection… it just can’t keep happening. This has to be it. Okay? I mean it this time, Jake; this cannot happen again. At all.”

  She looked up into his steel blue eyes with determination and he sighed and saw that she did truly mean it. With a shake of his head and a sigh, he let her go and stepped back away from her.

  “Well… that was short and sweet. I guess I will just be here to fight then.” He sounded defensive, though he didn’t mean to, and she took a step toward him, raising her hand to him in a gesture of kindness.

  “Jake, I’m your friend and I’m here to support you. I’m not going anywhere, okay? We just have to… redefine the nature of our… relationship. That’s all. I’m here for you just as much as I ever was. We just have to keep it business. That’s all. We’re adults. We can do that.” She wished she believed what she was saying, but there was some doubt deep inside her.

  He shrugged and nodded at her. “Whatever you say. I gue
ss we’re just friends, then.” He gave his head another shake and turned, walking out of the door silently.

  She frowned and cursed herself for letting him make love with her again, especially there in the office. She knew that he was right; there was no denying the heat between them, but she was right in that they had to leave the hot desire behind them and focus on their futures at the dojo and the work at the dojo. Nothing could come before that.

  It was no surprise to her that she didn’t see much of him between the afternoon he left her office and the next competition. She knew that he had understood her and was listening to her, no matter what either one of them wanted beyond that.

  Lisa went to his competition hoping that everything between them would be alright. She didn’t know for certain until she saw him walk into the fight arena and look up into the seats for her and for Masahiro and Koichi. When he found them, he gave them all a subtle bow and he looked relieved to see her sitting there, watching him and supporting him. He smiled and gave her a wave, and she nodded back with a grin.

  Things were going to be alright; she could feel it. It was just going to be challenging to navigate letting go of their intimacy in the face of friendship. She promised herself that they could do it, and that they would do it. It was important to her to be there for him.

  He fought two opponents at the competition, and he won both matches. The emotional high that he left the competition with could not be matched. Masahiro was very pleased with what he had seen, and he told Jake so when he thanked him for his hard work and for his determination. Koichi was also pleased, and was very proud of Jake. He was also glad to congratulate his student and tell him what more they needed to work on together to progress Jake’s training.

  Evan was at the match as well, and when Jake was alone, he went to him and Jake hugged him tightly, happy to see him. “Hey buddy! I’m so glad you were here! So glad you could make it again. It means a lot to me to see you here.” Jake clapped him on the shoulder and Evan hugged him back.