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.He had a job to do tonight.* * *Zane sat in a dark sedan across the street and observed a man exiting his car before he looked up and down the street as he made his way towards the front door of his house.Zane watched him quickly jab the key towards the handle and miss several times because he kept looking behind him as he tried to unlock the door.Zane could sense his fear.The man finally entered the dark house and Zane noticed he didn’t turn on the lights.His plan to make it look like no one was home wouldn’t work tonight.Zane stayed in his car for another hour to give the man time to think he was safe for the night.It was always better to catch them off guard.When enough time had passed, Zane stepped out of the sedan and then quickly walked across the street to the front door.He slipped the key out of his pocket, quietly opened the door, and pulled the pistol out of his jacket as he entered the house.Chapter 9Melanie continued to train with Zane over the next several weeks.She was happy with her progress.It hadn’t taken her long to recognize the difference between Zane and Tobias.She didn’t feel as if she was going to have her ass handed to her when she entered the cage with Zane as her coach.He had done an amazing job of adjusting her moves, and she truly felt like she was much closer to her first real fight.She and Zane had somehow managed to keep it professional, although there was no denying the chemistry between them.She knew he had been burned so many times before and probably didn’t think too highly of her since she’d practically thrown herself at him the first few times they had been around each other.Not caring for a repeat of those occurrences, she made it a point to stay on track and work on her technique.What conversations they did have were casual; about school and various interests they each had.Still, there was always that moment at the end of each session when they were alone in the gym and it felt like the air could explode between them.She was determined not to make the first move, though she was getting tired of waiting for Zane to accept what was between them.“Okay, dodge my punch and throw your weight against me when I’m off balance,” Zane instructed her during their session centered on takedowns.She prepared for the punch, quickly ducking below it while moving towards his body.She then threw her body weight against him and actually forced him to fall back a few steps.She hadn’t been able to take him to the mat, but getting him off balance was significant for her.“Great job, Melanie.That was your best one today,” Zane complimented.“Thanks,” she mumbled, trying to control her smile and not act so giddy from his compliment.She didn’t feel bad letting his accolades go to her head.Hell, the man ate it up as much as she did.Melanie observed the respect he received from the men and the looks he received from the women.She wanted to beat them up every time she saw one of them glance his way.Fortunately for her, the couple of women training in the gym were Lincoln’s clients, so she didn’t have to think about him spending hours training with any of them.She was aware that she was feeling possessive of him already.She smirked to herself.The beauty of being a female cage fighter was that she could scare off her competition with a glare.“I think that’s enough for today,” Zane stated.“How are you feeling about things?”Melanie jumped.What did he mean, what was she feeling? Oh, he meant about training.“I feel like they’re going well.I hate that I wasted all that time because of that bitch and asshole, but you’re a good trainer.”She saw Zane smile at her candid response.“What’s so funny?” she asked.She liked it when he smiled, it was rare.“Your mouth.You have a sweet, innocent look, but you cuss like a sailor.Being around men all your life, I can understand.” Zane said it nicely, so she knew he wasn’t insulting her.“I know; it comes naturally.I guess I should work on it.” Melanie supposed she wasn’t the most feminine woman he had been around.When her mother had been alive, she had made an effort to keep Melanie out of the gym, but after her death, her father had let her hang out there as much as she had wanted.“What are you doing tonight?” Melanie was caught off guard by the question, and could see the surprise in Zane’s eyes.It was as if he couldn’t believe the question was coming out of his own mouth.She had a feeling he hadn’t planned on asking her that question tonight, he had never asked her anything personal.She would ask him another day what caused this random forwardness.“No plans.I thought about renting a movie.My roommate, Trish, went home for the weekend,” Melanie replied.Why was he asking? she wondered.“Do you want company?” Zane was looking at her so seriously that she didn’t know what to think.“Uh, sure.” Melanie tried to hide her shock.“The only problem is, our TV is messed up; I was going to watch it on my laptop.”“We could watch it at my place,” Zane softly replied, making it even more obvious that he wanted to spend time with her.Melanie had all but given up hope of him making the first move.She had been considering taking a couple of shots of tequila and jumping him after a session one night.Her escalating frustration had been spinning several lurid fantasies through her mind.She looked up at him and tried to read his face.It was like looking at a blank piece of paper; he wasn’t showing any emotion.It brought back the memory of him asking her dad to train him…Oh, my God, he’s putting himself out there for me! She knew this had to be hard for him; he wasn’t one to ask anyone for anything.“That sounds good.” She smiled up at him and saw his face soften slightly before it reverted back to his poker face.It’s about fucking time, she thought to herself, wondering what had made him change his mind, then deciding she didn’t care.She was glad that he had.She wasn’t going to be able to hold herself back much longer [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]