Worth The Fight (Hard To Love Book 1) Read online

  I hear heels clicking on the wooden floor just before the woman walks around the corner.

  “You are a real piece of work, Zeke. How can you be so nice one minute and then throw me out the next? I thought we had a connection, you told me I was special.” The snort of laughter comes out of me before I even realize what I’ve done, I swear I would take it back if I could. She doesn’t say anything as she walks over to me and slaps me across the face before storming out. She moves so fast that I wouldn’t have even known she’d done it if it weren’t for the fact that my cheek is stinging. I raise my hand and feel the heat on my skin where she struck. I guess I kind of deserved that one. I pick up my bag and rush to my car, determined not to be more than twenty minutes late.

  ****

  I walk into the gym totally expecting Bryce to be standing just inside the door tapping his watch like my mom used to do when I was younger and would come home late. I was strangely disappointed not to see him and I look around the gym. I still don’t see him, which adds to my confusion. I take my bag to the locker room and only stay long enough to get a bottle of water before returning to the gym. The place is eerily quiet this morning, there are usually half a dozen bodies working out or sparring in the ring, but it’s completely empty. You know when you watch horror movies and the world has ended, you just don’t know it yet? Well that’s what this is like, I feel like I'm completely alone in the world.

  Walking to Coach’s office, I look inside to find it empty as well. This is starting to freak me out a bit and I look around warily as I walk towards the back workout room. All the equipment is on the main floor of the gym, but there is also a separate room at the back that has a few hanging bags for specific one to one training. It’s rarely used because most of the guys preferring the public area. We like to train in front of each other, our egos making us work harder, work better than each other.

  I can hear a noise coming from inside the room. There are slapping noises and grunts, making it sound like someone’s working out. I approach quietly, not wanting to interrupt whoever is working out and I look through the door. The sight in front of me causes me to stop me in my tracks and all thought flees my mind.

  There inside the room is Bryce, and I can’t take my eyes off him. I would take a second to think about why I can’t look away and why my heart is suddenly beating erratically in my chest but it’s taking all the effort I can muster to stay standing. The guy working out in front of me is the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen. He’s topless and is wearing red shorts that are sticking to his ass with the sweat from his workout. Every time he strikes the hanging bag he's using his muscles contract and shake under the force of the blow. It takes everything in me not to reach out and run my hand over them, I want to know what they feel like under my hand. I want to dig my fingers into them, closely followed by my teeth. He grunts with each hit and I can feel it down to my core. In a few short seconds he's given me the hardest erection I have ever had. Just looking at him has me more turned on than any woman has managed. This is wrong. My dad's words suddenly boom in my mind. You’re not gay. There is no way in hell my son is gay, we just need to get those ideas out of your head. They’re wrong and there’s no fucking way you will think them. I repeat his words in my head again and again, trying to get my body under control. I won’t be attracted to a man, that just can’t happen.

  I turn and walk out of the room, needing to get myself under control before I speak to him. I need to get over whatever this thing is. I take some deep breaths before shouting out, knowing that he’ll hear me.

  “Hello! Anyone here?” I turn away from the door so when he comes out it won’t look like I knew he’s already here. The noise from the room stops, and I wait for him to exit the room.

  “Well, well, well. Look who decided to finally turn up. Nice of you to join me.” I take another deep breath before turning to face him, hoping it will be enough to keep my thoughts away from how he looks, how he would feel. When I do finally turn around I see that he has a towel in his hand and is wiping it over his body. My eyes automatically follow the towel’s path.

  “I'm like ten minutes late. Are you really gonna make me apologize over ten minutes?” I don’t like the look that passes over his face as he walks past me and towards the treadmill. He presses some buttons on the machine and stands next to it, looking at me with his arms crossed, obviously waiting for me to get on. I stare him down as I walk over and get on, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing that it bothers me. I can easily do twenty minutes of running, that’s not exactly pushing me to my limits. He presses the start button and watches me as I start out at a gentle pace.

  “One thing I don’t like is someone who wants to be the best but isn’t willing to give a hundred percent commitment. How much did you drink last night?” Who the fuck does he think he is? I can feel my anger start to build as he talks to me like I'm a kid.

  “I'm sorry, but who said you had any say over my life outside the gym? I'm pretty sure I hired your ass and I don’t need to answer to you.” He reaches out and presses the speed button, the pace suddenly increasing and making me need to concentrate more to keep my feet moving.

  “I'm your coach, and as much as you try to fight against me, I know what I'm talking about. You’ve made it clear you don’t want me, but Eddie hired me because I'm exactly what you need. So I’ll ask you again, how much did you have to drink last night?” I want to tell him to go fuck himself but the words don’t come out.

  “I didn’t have much, a few more once you left.” He reaches out again and increases the speed. My legs are starting to burn as he has me sprinting faster than I normally go. Shit, he's trying to kill me. My stamina is pretty good but I run long distances at a lower speed, this is getting difficult. I hear Bryce mutter something under his breath before looking away from me. That has my interest piqued, and even though I need to reserve my energy for the run I want to know what he said.

  “Sorry, missed that. Want to repeat what you just muttered?” He looks at me before walking away, ignoring my question. I reach out, press the stop button and jump off the machine. I follow behind him, keeping close so he knows I'm not going anywhere.

  “Oh, don’t go quiet now. You’re normally so talkative, so spit it out.” His eyes flash to mine before walking off again. He’s really pissing me off with this ignoring me thing. I catch up to him, matching his fast pace as he moves across the gym. When I get close I reach out and grab him by the arm, turning him towards me before stepping into his personal space.

  “Spit it out, Bryce. Tell me what the fuck you said.” His eyes are full of fire and I honestly think he might punch me. He tries to step back but I don’t let him put any space between us. He must realize that I'm not going to let it go because he leans in, anger seeping into his words as he speaks.

  “Fine, you want to know what it was. I said that I thought it would take more than a few drinks for you to finger fuck some woman in the middle of a club. Really fucking classy, Zeke.” I'm not shocked by the anger I hear in his voice, I knew he was pissed off about me ignoring him last night.

  “Fuck you. You had your own opportunity to get some action last night, it’s not my fault that you’re too fucking stuck up to get your dick wet.” I should feel bad about the way I made him feel last night, but the anger is taking over and I can’t hold my tongue. If I thought he looked ready to hit me before I had definitely underestimated him. I can now feel the anger vibrating off him and I actually brace myself ready for him to attack. Just as I'm sure he is about to floor me, a voice echoes through the gym from behind us, saving me from having to defend myself.

  “Hey, sexy.” Asha’s voice breaks the tension between me and Bryce, making him back away from me slightly. His eyes never leave mine, the dark anger still clear in them.

  “Get in the ring and ready to fight.” With those words he walks away from me. I let him go this time, it’s probably better to let him cool off before we fight.

  After getting g
loved up I enter the ring, closely watching a pacing Bryce. He looks dangerous in here, and it doesn’t look like he has lost any of his anger. I notice he isn’t wearing his own gloves and instantly want to remove mine but I know I can’t. I usually train with just wraps, but I've been ordered to wear training gloves until my hand is strong again. I hate it, it takes the thrill out of the hit. I have a distant thought that this fight might become more real than our usual sparring, and I want to feel my hand connect with Bryce’s skin without the protection of the gloves.

  “I want you to show me what you can do. No holding back, I can take anything you can give me so do your worst.” That’s all he says before holding his fists out. I bump them before my eyes move quickly over to Asha who is standing to the side watching us. A thump to my head brings my attention back to the guy in front of me. He probably thinks I was looking at Asha to flirt with her, to make sure she was watching me, but I was actually trying to silently tell her to leave. I don’t think this fight is going to end well and I don’t need her running back to tell the other guys what happened here.

  I bring my hands up in front of my face, protecting myself until I see how he fights. I don’t want to make the first move, but apparently that doesn’t bother Bryce who kicks out and catches me in the ribs. It doesn’t hurt but there is enough power behind it for me to realize that he isn’t playing. He bounces away from me, making sure I can’t retaliate. I watch the way his body moves, trying to predict what he’s about to do from the way his muscles move. I'm getting frustrated as I realize that he hides his movements well and his muscles don’t contract until the second he lashes out. I'm still trying to watch him when his fist comes out and catches me on the side of my head. He’s pissing me off and I think that’s his plan, he wants to get me angry so I lose my concentration and it’s fucking working. I throw my first punch but he easily avoids it and I end up chasing him. It’s time to take control of this fight.

  I fake moving left and Bryce’s stance changes just enough for me to take advantage. I throw a right hook and catch him on the shoulder, knocking him off balance. As he tries to right his body I put my shoulder down and barge into his chest, taking him to the mat. His arm instantly comes out, wrapping around my neck to try and roll my body off. His power is immense and I wonder for a second why he doesn’t still fight. I feel his arm tighten around my neck and I know I need to get out of the choke hold quickly. As I fight to get my arm in between his, his legs wrap around my waist and I know that I'm losing my advantage very quickly. Bryce rolls to the side and I have no option but to move with him, putting my body under his. His legs lose their hold and he moves his arm from around my neck to lean his elbow onto my throat.

  He looks down at me and a shiver runs through my body. Feeling his chest on mine, skin to skin, is like a burning heat. My breathing becomes labored and I know it’s not from the exertion of our activity, it’s from the hot man that’s lying on top of me. I feel the pressure of his arm slacken and use the freedom to gain the upper hand. I buck my hips and turn, reversing our position so I'm lying on top of him. This seemed like a good idea but now I'm lying on top of Bryce between his legs. I can feel my cock harden before my brain has a chance to register how we’re positioned. Bryce’s eyes widen and I know he can feel how hard I am. I need to get out of here now. I push up from his body as quickly as I can, grabbing Asha as I leave the ring to hit the showers. I need to work out this frustration and she will be the perfect way to do it.

  Chapter Six

  Bryce

  I listen to the sound of his retreating feet as I continue to lie on the floor of the ring. I'm not sure what just went on but I do know that it shouldn’t have happened. I let my anger get the better of me and I can’t do that if I want to keep my job. I couldn’t help myself though, when he walked in late, acting like he didn’t have a worry in the world, it pissed me off. I had no intention of actually making him run as punishment for being late, but when he challenged me I knew I couldn’t back down. He’s the type of guy that if you give in once then you’ll lose all control, and he will never listen to anything you say ever again. I should’ve stopped with the running machine and not let what happened last night bother me but no, I had to go and open my big mouth. I was just so pissed that he acted as though last night wasn’t a big deal and that he had been perfectly sober. If he’d been drunk I think I could have accepted that he’d acted like an arse, but if he was as sober as he's making out then he's just a dickhead.

  I run my hands down my face, not wanting to get up from my spot in the ring. I just want the ground to open up and swallow me, that way I wouldn’t have to try and work out what just happened between us. I swear I was just trying to assess his skill level and see how his technique has held up during his injury. Well that’s what I'm trying to convince myself now. Truthfully, I wanted to kick his arse and make sure that it hurt just a little. I let out a groan and sit up, feeling the muscles in my stomach pull in protest. My workout before Zeke arrived had clearly showed that my core is weakening so I need to work harder, make sure I get back to peak fitness. Maybe a fight with a top ranking MMA fighter wasn’t the smartest move. Especially when I'm apparently insanely attracted to the guy. Being in the ring with Zeke today taught me one very important thing, if I want to keep my sanity intact I can’t touch him. The first few punches were fine, but when he barged me and we fell to the floor, the feel of his whole body against mine made me feel like I was going to pass out. His body touching mine was like receiving an intense electric shock and I couldn’t help my dick’s reaction to it. Thankfully the way he was lying on me hid the fact that I was as hard as stone. I fought so hard against his hold in fear of him feeling my erection and firing me on the spot.

  I stand and stretch my body out before exiting the ring. I look around wondering where the girl that had caught Zeke’s eye when she arrived, had gone. I initially thought that he was going to put on a show for her, try to impress her with his moves but now I'm not so sure. He seemed as intent as I was to do harm, to win the fight at any cost and show me he was the strongest.

  My mind goes back to when he was on top of me, the memory that will be with me the rest of my life, and I realize a very important fact. Zeke had felt like he was hard and struggling with an inappropriate erection like I was. I shake my head, convinced that I got it wrong. I mean why the hell would he get hard when he was tangled with me? Was it knowing the woman was watching or was it something else? Was he feeling the same spark as I was? Shit. I could think about this for hours but the obvious reason would still be that being the centre of attention turns him on, especially if the voyeur is a woman.

  I sigh to myself as I make my way to the changing room, hoping that he’s already left. I curse silently when I hear the shower running, I guess this is my day for bad luck. I take a deep breath and prepare myself to be ignored, the reality of what I find is very different. The woman who had been watching us fight is now pressed against the half wall in between the showers, her hands griping the towel rail on the other side. She's moaning loudly and the reason for that is the sexy as fuck naked man who’s pounding into her from behind. My eyes track slowly up over Zeke’s body, watching how his muscles move as he thrusts into her. His arms tighten as he holds onto her hips, keeping her in place.

  Eventually I reach his face and see that he's staring right at me. As hard as I try, I can’t look away, it’s like his eyes are like glue, forcing me to stay locked in his stare. There is a heat in his gaze that I want to explore, but the major problem with that is where his dick is. It’s inside a woman, not me, not another guy. It’s pretty obvious that he likes pussy and I should walk away from this scene, but it’s like when you see a car crash. You know it’s going to be messy but you just can’t seem to pull your eyes away from what’s happening. I can hear him groaning from across the room and the sound is causing my softening dick to harden, pushing against the front of my shorts in a very obvious way. This is starting to be a constant problem around h
im, but this time it’s even worse. I want to look away but also I want to look down and see if I can get a glimpse of what he's packing, see what’s making the girl moan so much. I can’t though, I just keep staring into his eyes.

  There’s a sheen of sweat over his forehead and his pace quickens. His breathing changes and the muscles in his neck stick out, tightening as his rhythm falters. He’s getting close, and I know I can’t watch him come, it’ll be too much for me. But still I stand here, watching him move. I lick my lips and his eyes slowly move lower to stare at my mouth, causing my breath to catch in my throat. After what feels like a month, his eyes move back to mine as he lets out a groan and comes inside her. I’m actually panting as I watch his eyes darken in pleasure and his body shudders as release works though him. The muscles in his arms tighten as he grips onto her hips, his nipples hardening and making me want to feel them with my tongue. I can feel my balls pull up into my body, the telltale tingle down my spine tells me that I'm close to coming. I groan as I watch and I pray that the woman is making enough noise to cover it. I reach down and grab myself in an attempt to stop what I know is about to happen but I’m too late. I release into my shorts like a twelve-year-old boy who can’t control his body. I open my eyes, not realizing I had closed them. I try not to look at Zeke, but my eyes are drawn to him like a magnet. He's standing in the same spot, still inside of the women, but his eyes are on my, a look of lust on his face that can’t be mistaken. I look away, not ready to deal with this and what it means. Training is over and I will decide later what is going to happen tomorrow.