Stand Of Honor (16 page)

She leaned her head back
, closing her eyes, pushing her hips further towards him. She felt him lean forward, taking her clit into his mouth. Between his fingers and his mouth, she felt ready to explode. Just when she thought she was going to finish, he stopped and stood up. She blinked her eyes open and looked up at him.

“Why did you stop?” She was on t
he verge and wanted the release.

“I’m not ready for you to finish yet
, I want to come with you.”

Zane scooped her up
in his arms and stood her facing the island, pressing her upper body down. Her fingers grasped the opposite edge of the counter as his feet widened her stance.

“Baby, that ass and those heels. I thought of fucking you just
…” his cock found her warm entrance, “like…” he groaned, letting the tip slide in until just the head of his cock was inside of her, “this.” He thrust his cock in with one strong assault.

Melanie gave a small scream at the feel of him inside of her. He showed her no more mercy than he had Tobias earlier in the evening
, making her submit to the demands of his driving body as he pounded inside of her like a man who hadn’t had sex in years, instead of just that morning.

“You like fucking me
, Melanie?” Zane asked as his hand slid around her stomach, lowering to find her clit and rubbing it as he continued to fuck her from behind.

“Hell, yes
,” Melanie moaned, thrusting her hips backward.

“Then get used to it because this pussy is mine
.” His mouth went to the side of her ear, making her shiver as his tongue traced the shell. “And I like to fuck a lot.”

“I can handle that
,” she groaned as she felt the full length of him filling her.

She felt herself about to climax and started moaning loudly.
That’s when she felt Zane start to go at her even harder, as if he sensed her about to come. He had learned from the first time they had gone to bed together that she liked it hard. Thank goodness that was the way he liked to give it to her.

Her climax had her screaming out loud and she felt
his own release inside of her at the same time. Thank God she was on the pill; she loved the feel of him naked inside of her.

When he
took a step back, turning her around to face him, she leaned forward, brushing her mouth against his in a brief kiss.

He was looking down at her body
, and she glanced down to see one breast in her bra and one hanging out.

“Damn
, Zane, next time give a girl a little warning before you jump her bones,” Melanie said as she stuffed her breast back inside her bra.

Zane grinned at her unrepentantly. “That was just taking the edge off. We’ve got the rest of the night to do the rest of what I’ve been thinking about doing to you.”

As she bent down picking up her jeans and panties, she felt Zane’s eyes on her ass. She had to walk to the door to get her top and she caught the fire in his eyes reigniting as she walked back toward him in just the high heels.

They
then went into his bedroom, taking a shower together. Melanie could tell from Zane’s face that he was tired. It had been a long day for him and she was sure the adrenaline rush had been spent during their fuck session in the kitchen.

“Zane, I can’t take anymore right now…” Melanie tried to stop him when he
lay down on the bed and pulled her on top of him. She straddled his hips, his hard cock nestled against the opening of her cunt.

“Oh
, yes, you can,” he said while his hand guided her down onto his cock.

This time, he let her do all the work as she slid up and down his cock
, fucking herself as he lay back, watching her breasts swing with each movement of her body.

“Oh
, my God,” Melanie groaned as he pushed his hips upwards at the same time she came down.

When he
reached up to play with her nipple, the sensitive bud responded to his touch, tightening into a hard, little nub that he rose up to take between his lips. His hands went to her ass, taking control and slamming her down onto his cock. Her pussy began to quiver as she climaxed when his teeth gently bit down on her nipple. His own climax followed when she brought her pussy down on him, grinding her orgasm out on his jerking cock.

Melanie fell to the side as she worked to catch her breath
, and he moved up to lay back beside her.

“I don’t know how you do that to me,” she said between breaths.
It amazed her at how her body responded to his every touch. It was what she’d always hoped for when she met the right person.

“I might know a thing or two about women,” he replied smugly.

Melanie rolled her eyes. He could be so sweet and then turn into an ass in the blink of an eye. Either way, she would keep him for the night. She was too tired to move.

“You
’re lucky I’m too tired to get out of this bed and go home.” Melanie rolled to her side, rubbing the fine hair on his muscular chest.

“Go to sleep
. I know you have to be tired. Women don’t have the stamina that men do.”

“Is that so?” Melanie said
, her eyes narrowing on his know-it-all grin.

“It’s a proven fact.”

“Those are fighting words, asshole. I’m about to prove to you exactly who has the most stamina.”

Zane’s body gave a jerk on the mattress as Melanie’s mouth went down on him.

It took her a good hour, but in the end, she proved her point.

*
  *  *

The next day
, after Melanie had returned to her apartment, Zane pulled out the envelope. Inside was a picture of a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties. Zane hated when it was a woman. They usually had kids or were with a man. It was always hard to find them alone.

He read her background.
She was a delivery driver for a locally owned grocery store. It was the perfect cover job to sell the product. She had skipped town a week ago, and it was Zane’s job to track her down and retrieve the money she had stolen. He looked further through the papers to see how much she had taken. It was over fifty thousand. Fortunately, the documents included her whereabouts; she was staying in a rundown hotel along the ocean.

He would track her down and collect the money soon.
He usually completed his jobs in a matter of days, but this job would require travel. Because he always delivered, they never gave him a deadline for the retrieval, so he had some time.

Zane leaned back on the couch and made the decision he had been putting off confronting for years.
It was time to find a way out.

Chapter 19

“And win
ner by knock out, Zane Phillips!”

Melanie jumped up in joy for Zane.
It had been a month since their first fight and they had both won the two additional fights they had been in. She was getting noticed a little more by the press, considering she was winning and from being related to the famous Nicholas Brooks. She was getting nearer to being able to go to the next league and even closer to challenging Macey. She just needed to win one more fight in order to move up.

Of course
, Zane was getting much more attention due to his return and the wins he had earned. The fans adored him. It was a great story for the press—the false accusations and the amazing comeback. A couple of endorsement deals were trickling in and some of the pay-per-view channels had contacted him to let him know that he was on their radar. If he kept winning, the sky was the limit for him. Zane, on the other hand, didn’t seem interested in any of the offers. Melanie thought it was strange, but just figured he wasn’t trusting his newfound fame.

Their relationship was amazing,
however, she noticed that same tension in him after each fight that she had sensed after his first fight, when they had gone out with Trish and Landon. She planned to talk to him tonight. It had been hard holding back her questions this long. She had a tendency to keep asking until she got what she wanted, but this time, she’d sensed Zane didn’t want her asking questions. Enough was enough, though, and she was becoming increasingly worried about the look on his face when he thought she was asleep or not paying attention. Something was bothering him and she wanted to help.

She waited outside the cage for him
, and as usual, had to watch some of the bitches try to get his attention as he spoke with the press and then Lincoln. Melanie had become more laid back in dealing with them, figuring it was something she was going to have to cope with. Zane was hot. There were always going to be available women, yet she believed he wouldn’t fool around on her. He always seemed aloof when women approached him, and so far, he had done nothing to make her suspicious.

She watched Zane make his way towards her when he finished the obligatory question and answer session with the press.
As he walked her way, she heard one of the journalists ask a question he must have ignored.

“So when are you going to challenge the champion?”
he yelled.

Zane didn’t acknowledge the question.

Melanie jumped. Zane saw her reaction to the question and looked into her eyes.

She cursed herself
. How had she not even considered where this was leading? She had been so happy about Zane doing what he loved to do, but she had never thought about what every fighter in this league was shooting for. The championship.

Melanie felt like she had just taken a blow to her gut.
Zane and Nick were in the same weight class. The only way for Zane to be champion was to fight Nick. Fuck, how was she supposed to handle the two men she most cared for in the world fighting against each other?

“Are you okay?”
Zane asked her. He knew her well enough to know what she was thinking.

“No, I’m not right now, but let’s get out of here
. I don’t want to do this in public.” Melanie felt herself getting upset and there were too many people and cameras around.

“I’ll get my stuff and meet you at the car,” Zane replied.

Melanie nodded and walked outside.
He had given her his spare key, so she was able to at least sit inside behind the tinted windows while she tried to gather her emotions. It didn’t take long for Zane to join her.

He slid into his seat and started the vehicle.
As he drove to his house, he glanced at her occasionally, however, he remained silent.

They reached his home and pulled into the
garage, turning the vehicle off then they turned to look at each other.

“Well, now I know what’s been wrong with you after each fight.
You knew where this was going the whole time. I was just too blind to see it,” Melanie said.

“I know
. It’s been difficult for me, too. I don’t want to fight him, but Melanie, I’m not doing this for the hell of it. I want it just as much as Nick did before he became the champion.”

“I don’t even know how to react right now.
I care about you both. This sucks,” Melanie sighed with frustration. How was she supposed to watch and support both men at the same time? She didn’t want to choose.

“Melanie, I know how close you and Nick are.
I’m not expecting you to pick a side. But Nick knew this was going to happen eventually. It would have happened before if I hadn’t gotten thrown out of the league.”

Melanie shook her head.
The thought of them fighting hadn’t occurred to her and now she was picturing how bloody it was going to be with the two best fighters in the cage. It was going to be torture to watch.

“I know,” Melanie replied.

She wondered what Nick thought about it
. He always came across as so laid back. Sometimes she wondered what was really going on in that head of his.

“So when are you going to challenge him?”
Melanie already knew the answer.

“I’m ready now.
I’m going to talk to Nick first. He knows it was just a matter of time,” Zane replied with determination.

She was associated with the two most alpha males she knew and now they were going to go head to head in the cage.
She felt sick.

“Are you going to be okay?” Zane asked,
although she could sense it didn’t really matter how she felt. This was going to happen, regardless of her feelings.

“I don’t know
.” Melanie leaned her head against the seat and looked away.

Zane opened his door to get out
while she did the same. They went inside and didn’t say much for the rest of the night.

Part of her was angry that Zane wanted to challenge Nick, but on the other hand, if it were anyone but Nick, she would expect Zane to fight for the championship.
She even felt guilty thinking about Nick keeping his championship when she knew Zane was such a good fighter. If not for Tobias, this situation would have come to a head years before. Then she would’ve felt guilty because Nick was her brother and deserved her support.