Bull: An MMA Stepbrother Romance Page 9

  They walked along the perimeter of the gym making sure to stay off the wrestling mats. As the reached the back of the gym, they came to a faded old plaque.

  “They still have it. I’ll be damned,” he said. “I wondered if it would still be here.”

  Lisa read the plaque.

  In Loving Memory of Tony Mata, whose tireless dedication to the youth of our great city, the community, and the sport we all love so much we shall never forget.

  Beneath the inscription were the names of dozens of kids grouped by year. Beside each name was the list of their accomplishments. Every year for fifteen years there was at least one state qualifier. Several years had state champions or runners-up.

  “That was my grandad,” Jake said. “He taught me everything I know about wrestling. He was like a second father to me.”

  “He...he died?” Lisa asked, afraid to pry.

  “Yeah, he died when I was 15. Heart,” he said as he touched his chest.

  “I’m...I’m sorry,” Lisa said.

  “Ah, yeah, that’s just...one of those things. I made out a lot better than most of my friends. Most of those guys never even knew their dads, much less their granddads. Cole didn’t. Shit, Pops was the closest thing Cole ever had to a father. Old Cole was there with me through almost every practice. God, so many fucking hours of drills. Pops volunteered here for...forever. He loved it. Fucking loved wrestling. Loved the kids, you know? Besides his family...this was his life. He just wanted to share it with the community. Teach kids, keep them off the streets. Discipline, respect, hard work. All that. One of these days I’m going to do that. Give back. Honor my Pops.”

  Lisa grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled herself close to him. He seemed lost in thought, in his memories. She was afraid to say anything, afraid to intrude. He needed this time for himself.

  He reached up and touched the plaque. “This one’s for you, Pops,” he said. He tilted his head away from Lisa and cleared his throat. “Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here,” he said.

  Just as they turned to leave a man came up to them. “Can I help you, folks,” he said. It was one of the coaches. He had wandered over to them while the kids took a water break.

  “No, thanks,” Jake said. “We were just leaving.”

  “Hey, are you...Jake Mata? The MMA fighter?”

  Jake laughed. “MMA what? You must have me confused with someone else.” He grabbed Lisa’s hand and pulled her behind him as they walked out the door.

  Lisa looked behind them back through the glass pane of the door. Inside she could see the man reading the plaque they had just read. He suddenly grew animated and turned to the kids. He was pointing at Jake and saying something she couldn’t understand.

  Chapter 17

  Proof

  Lisa wasn't prepared for what a world MMA title fight was all about. She knew there would be a pay-per-view. She knew posters and billboard signs would be all over Vegas. She didn’t know about the endless procession interviews. The days since the fight announcement had been a whirlwind. “Selling the fight,” they called it. She had barely seen Jake.

  This morning was another TV morning show interview, the third one they had done. Jake and Cole had brought Lisa along. Rebecca Swift, the attractive female host, was interviewing them. Lisa watched from the monitor offstage.

  “Jake, you’ve caused quite a stir in the division, not just with your fights, but with your antics out of the cage. You’ve bounced from model to actress at a rate that would make Hef blush. Some people are saying your good looks are why you got the title fight. What do you say to that?”

  “I say those people have never felt my elbow crack their skull,” he said.

  “But do you think it played any part at all? Your so-called marketability?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t care. My good looks didn’t beat Beast. My elbows did. My power double-leg takedown did. When I was breaking him with strikes he wasn’t blowing kisses at me.”

  Rebecca giggled. The pitch, the way she adjusted herself in the seat. It all seemed a little flirty to Lisa.

  “Are you with anyone now? Some Hollywood A-lister perhaps? Could you give me the scoop?” Rebecca asked as she batted her eyes at him.

  It was Lisa’s worst nightmare. She thought of running from the studio for a split second, but before she could Jake had answered.

  “I’m with Lisa Dane,” he said.

  “Lisa...who?”

  Jake smiled. He turned to where Lisa was and motioned her to join him on stage.

  A bolt of panic shot through her. She wanted to run. If she could have, she would have, but her legs weren’t responding.

  “Lisa, come join us,” he said.

  Lisa finally managed to shake her head. There was no way in hell she would get on screen with them.

  Rebecca pretended Lisa didn’t even exist and changed the subject.

  “Tell me, Jake,” she said. “Are you worried at all about Oliveira’s striking?”

  “Nah, part of the game,” Jake said.

  “But two of his last three opponents had to go to the hospital. They both received nine-month mandatory medical suspensions after those fights,” the lady pressed. “Surely that has to make you at least a little afraid.”

  “Afraid of Oliveira? No. On any given fight night, any one of us might take the kind of damage most men will never experience in their lives. It’s what we do. We’re not like most men. Men like me...we could never have an office job. Sit in a cube in front of a computer all day? No way in hell. I live for this. And this Saturday night when I take that belt from Oliveira all the pain and hard work will be worth it. I don’t want an easy life, Rebecca. I want glory. And I will get it.”

  “Those are bold words, Jake. We certainly wish you the best of luck. But the betting–”

  “Let me stop you right there, Rebecca. Luck has nothing to do with it. This is about hard work. Grit. Being the best. Oliveira didn’t get where he is because of luck. He got there by wrecking the hardest men in the world. When I take that belt from him it won’t be because of luck. It will be because he finally met his match. I’m the Baddest Man on the Planet and I’m going to prove it.”

  “But, don’t they call the heavyweight title holder the Baddest Man on the Planet? Not the light heavy champ.”

  Jake chuckled. “Some do. Those fatties move like molasses. If I made a trip up to heavyweight it would be a vacation for me compared to the shark tank of light heavy.”

  “Interesting,” Rebecca said. Her own confidence seemed to be cracking.

  “The betting lines have become ever more lopsided since the fight announcement,” she continued. “You’re now a +625 underdog. Those are the most lopsided odds in Light Heavyweight Title history. I understand you need to be confident, but–”

  “No. Again, it’s not confidence,” he said, interrupting. “It’s understanding. Are you confident that two plus two equals four? No, you know two plus two equals four. You understand addition. That’s just how two plus two works. Me going in there net Saturday night? It’s like two plus two. I’m not confident I will win, I know I will win. That’s how this works.”

  “But the lines–”

  “Gamblers draw those lines. Not fighters. They don’t know shit. They may have looked at some of my earlier fights. They think they know me? They don’t. Yeah, I lost a couple of my earlier fights, but that was before I knew what I was doing. Those fights weren’t the same Jake. I’m +625? Then I recommend you go put $16,000 on me. It will be the easiest 100 grand you will ever make.”

  Lisa listened to Jake parry the interview questions like a master. Any time Rebecca tried to sow some doubt, Jake shut her down. Before the interview was over Lisa could tell Rebecca was a true believer. She would go home and make that $16,000 bet. That’s what Jake did to people. His belief in himself was absolute. When you were with him he swept you up in it.

  It was part of what made him so attractive to Lisa. It was part of what made it all seem too good to b
e true. It still didn’t make sense to her.

  She, Cole, and Jake made the trip back to Jake’s hotel room in silence. She kept her head down, afraid that Jake would bring up the incident during the interview at any moment.

  Jake’s hotel room was a magnificent suite that overlooked the Vegas strip. Once inside Cole said, “I’ll get some dinner going, Jake. You relax.”

  Jake was already on his fight weight diet. Lean fish, veggies, grilled chicken. It was the beginning of the weight cut. Cole liked to manage everything that went into Jake’s body at this point.

  “Thanks, brother,” Jake said. “Lisa, can we talk for a minute?” he said.

  This was it. Time to answer for her cowardice.

  Jake led her into the bedroom of the suite and closed the door. He took her to the window. “Look out there,” he said.

  The strip was crawling with people. Even now it teamed with people. It wasn’t the dazzling scene it would be at night, but it still made an impression.

  “I’m not bragging when I say there is not a woman out there on that strip I couldn’t have in bed within 24 hours. I believe that. I’ve never failed.”

  Lisa looked down, avoiding his gaze. She nodded her head. She knew it was true.

  “I’m in here with you. Not them. You. You’re my girl. You’re the one I want. That’s the end of it. You need to be with me now. I need you, especially this week.”

  He lifted her chin with his strong hand and met her gaze with his. “Are you my girl?”

  Lisa hesitated. She wanted to be. More than anything in the world she wanted to be. Something inside her just wouldn’t let it happen. She still feared she would let him down, that he would tire of her. He would find someone more beautiful, sexier, better in bed.

  “Why do you hesitate?” he whispered.

  Lisa closed her eyes. “I...I want to be your girl. I just...you could have anyone. What if you...”

  “What if I what?”

  “What if you get tired of me?”

  “I won’t.”

  “What if you don’t like...what if I’m not good enough...in bed,” she finally admitted.

  “You will be,” he said with supreme confidence.

  She pulled herself away from him. “You don’t know that.”

  “I do.”

  She looked away from him. “I sometimes I can’t make guys...” She was unable to see his face when she said it. “Sometimes I can’t make guys...cum.”

  Jake grabbed her and spun her around to face him. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing,” she said.

  “Doesn’t sound like nothing to me. Tell me,” he said.

  When she was with him she found him impossible to resist. “Please don’t make me talk about it,” she said.

  He grabbed her hands, brought them to his mouth and kissed them, one at a time. “Lisa, you’re safe with me,” he said. “You can trust me.”

  She considered it for a moment. Could she? Could she trust him? Would he drop her like a sack of rocks if he knew how lousy she was with men? She realized it didn’t matter if he found out now or later. He would find out.

  “I...I have trouble being...sexy, with men,” she finally managed to say. “I...you know I’m not experienced. I’ve only had one other man.”

  She found it harder to continue than she had expected and again her fight or flight response kicked in. It was always flight for Lisa. She fought the impulse to run from the hotel room.

  She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “We had sex many times, but...it was never good for him. I always...came,” she said. She looked at Jake to make sure her coarse language hadn’t upset him. “But he...my boyfriend, Roger...he almost never did. He kept telling me how to do it and I just kept...doing it wrong. I ruined it, almost every time.”

  She had stunned Jake. He said nothing at first. “Lisa,” he finally said. “I don’t know what that guy’s deal was, but that wasn’t your fault.”

  “He said it was. He told me, many times, how I needed to be sexier. I tried, I really did,” she said as she felt tears well up in her eyes. “I wanted to be sexy for him, but–”

  “Come here,” Jake said. “I want to show you something.”

  He pulled her to him and brought his mouth to hers. He kissed her softly. His tongue darted into her mouth and she opened her lips to receive it. She sighed and melted in his arms as he took from her what he needed. It felt so good to give herself to him. If only she could fulfill his need. If only she could be the woman he needed.

  He finally pulled his mouth away from hers. He took her hand and guided it to his shaft. It was hard. It snaked around his thigh under the constricting folds of his denim jeans.

  Her body had responded in kind. She could feel the wetness form in her sex. She burned once again in her core and yearned for him to touch her there.

  “You feel that?” he said as he looked into her eyes.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “That’s what you do to me,” he whispered back. “A kiss from you does that to me. Do you doubt me now? Do you doubt how much I want you?”

  She shook her head, “It’s not the same, though. You say that now. But what happens when...we’re finally together. What if you can’t?”

  “That won’t happen.”

  “It will,” she said. “You don’t know what it’s like with me.”

  “God, I can only imagine,” Jake said.

  “No, not like that,” she said. “It won’t...be good.”

  “It will be,” he said.

  She still shook her head. She turned away from him in embarrassment. He didn’t know. He thought he did, but so had Roger. And every time Roger had initiated sex with her he found out once again how terrible it was. Lisa always came, sometimes more than once. Roger almost never did.

  “Cole!” Jake yelled.

  Lisa turned to Jake as Cole came into the room.

  “Cole, is Lisa hot?” Jake asked.

  “Yes,” Cole said bluntly.

  “She doesn’t think so,” Jake said. “She thinks she’s not pretty enough for me. She says she’s not good enough in bed.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” Cole said.

  “Unbutton your shirt, Lisa,” Jake commanded.

  Lisa looked at him in disbelief. He couldn’t have just said what she thought she heard.

  “Unbutton. We'll settle this now.”

  Lisa looked from Jake to Cole and back. Surely he didn’t mean for her to undress with Cole standing there.

  “He’s seen you with my cum dripping from your mouth, Lisa. He said you were perfect then, but you didn’t believe him. You don’t believe me when I tell you how beautiful you are. I’m going to prove it to you. Once and for all. Unbutton...your shirt.”

  Lisa’s heart thumped in her chest. Surely he didn’t mean it. She looked for any sign that this was a joke but found none. She felt the embarrassment at how he commanded her in front of Cole, but there was something else. She wanted this. She wanted these men to see her. Sex had been such a miserable failure with Roger, but when she had sucked Jake it was different. He enjoyed it. He wasn’t pretending or sparing her feelings. He really enjoyed it. She wanted that feeling again, the feeling of pleasing a man like Jake.

  She reached up to unbutton her blouse.

  “That right there,” Jake said as he pointed to her hands.

  She stopped and looked at him.

  “How many women would do it? How many women would undress in front of two men like this? You’re amazing Lisa. You are the sexiest woman I know.”

  She looked at him and found no hint of sarcasm, no hint he was patronizing her.

  She unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall open in front of them.

  “Take it off,” Jake said.

  She took it off and stood before them in her bra. Her gaze was once again on the floor.

  “Take your bra off,” he said.

  Cole adjusted himself in his pants as he w
atched her.

  Lisa looked at Cole and back to Jake.

  “Show him,” Jake said.

  Lisa popped the clasp on her bra but hesitated.

  “I said take it off.”

  She tilted her head away from the men and let her bra fall to the floor.

  “Jesus,” Cole whispered as her breasts came into view.

  “Did you hear that, Lisa?” Jake said. “Do you still need proof?”

  Lisa said nothing.

  “Lisa, Cole is going to suck your tits now and you're going to let him. Is that clear?”

  Lisa wanted nothing more than for Jake to walk up to her and take her breasts in his mouth, but she knew he couldn’t. She knew he needed to save his strength. He was the lion. He needed to be hungry for his fight. But she burned...

  She nodded her head.

  Cole looked at Jake as if asking for permission. Jake nodded slightly.

  Cole walked up to Lisa. When he got near her he bent his knees and brought his mouth to her breast. He opened his mouth and latched it onto her nipple. It was hot and wet. He sucked hard and sent a bolt of pleasure to her core that ignited the heat in her sex. She fought to contain a moan, but it escaped her lips.

  “It feels good, doesn’t it Lisa?” Jake said. “You don’t have to pretend it doesn’t. You don’t have to deny your sexuality anymore. I know it does. It feels good doesn’t it?”

  She nodded.

  “Cole, show her your cock,” Jake commanded.

  Cole released her nipple with a wet plop and stepped back. He unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down as he released his cock. It stuck straight out, rock hard.

  “Do you see that?” Jake asked. “You did that to him. You.”

  Jake pulled out his own cock. The massive length of it stood out in front of him. “You did this to me. If Saturday was any other fight, I would fuck you right now and show you how much I want you, but it’s not any other fight. It’s for the world championship. I need every ounce of strength I’ve got. But you need to learn once and for all how desirable you are. Get naked.”

  She was passed the point of arguing, and the fire in her sex was passed the point of denying. She undressed and stood before the two men completely naked. This was what she wanted, what she needed. Her naked body aroused the two men, they couldn't fake it.