His Jersey Girl

Chapter 12

Gabriel

I slipped my left arm under Joey’s right before stepping forward and lifting him off the ground. The motion tipped him and with a push, I slammed both of us to the floor. His elbow came down on my shoulder as we grappled. Adrenaline raced through me, but it took only a couple of seconds before I was able to get him in an armbar. He tapped the floor twice and I rolled away, coming up on my feet.

Sparring sessions were nothing like a real match but they were necessary to drill and keep my reflexes honed. Moving in for another pass, I started toward him but the sight of the woman with gorgeous green eyes standing at the edge of the practice area brought me up short. I raised a hand to let Joey know we were pausing, not dropping my guard until he nodded in acknowledgment. Rocco had found me several good guys from local MMA gyms to work with, but Joey was by far my favorite. Fast for his size and smart, the man had an impressive mix of skills that tested my own abilities with each session.

The last few weeks had been a fascinating mixture of heaven and hell. Keeping my promise to keep my hands off Alyssa hadn’t been easy with the connection between us growing every day. I’d been falling more in love with both the woman and the Little girl as each moment passed. This was the first time she’d interrupted my sparring and there was no way I would make her wait.

She stood on the other side of the white tape we’d put on the mats—like I’d told her the first time I’d brought her with me—a small smile tipping up her lips. Our routine was that any time I was in the gym or sparring, she would spend the time writing on the laptop I’d given her. She insisted she was just borrowing it, but I would save that argument for another day.

My Little girl was a talented writer and there was no way I was going to let her go back to having to use notebooks and long trips to the library so she could get her work out into the world. Before I convinced her to give me her pen name, I’d never read a romance book. It wasn’t the type of fiction that I’d read, so I couldn”t really compare her talent to the others in her genre. But after I”d found out she was a published author, I”d taken the time to do a bit of research.

She had over twenty published books and if the reviews were to be believed, a devoted fan base. Words like brilliant and sexy were some of the most common descriptions of her work. I was determined to make sure that when she agreed to be mine the only type of work she’d ever have to do again was share her beautiful mind and stories with the world.

“Hey, princess. What do you need?”

She looked down as if nervous I might say no to whatever she was going to ask. Didn’t she know by now that I would give her the world if she let me?

“Zoe just texted. All the LJGs are getting together for lunch over at The Sandwich Bar. I know we had plans but I was hoping–”

“Of course you can go.”

Over the past few weeks Alyssa hadn’t left my side. I’d enjoyed every moment and hoped our future would contain much of the same, but I didn”t want her to feel like I was isolating her from her friends. The smile that lit up her eyes let me know made the right decision.

“Thank you, Da…” Her gaze flitted around the room and she cleared her throat. “Uhm, Gabriel.”

The first few days of our arrangement had been awkward. She’d tried to distance us by calling me by my name. As she grew more comfortable, and I proved to her that I wasn’t going to push her on a physical level she’d slipped more and more calling me Daddy at least while we were in private. Every time she used the title, I felt like I’d won a small battle. Keeping my hands and lips off the tempting woman was hard, but I knew in my heart she was worth the wait.

“You know you can call me whatever you want, wherever you want.”

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Okay, snookums.”

A laugh burst out of me and I tapped her nose with a finger. “Imp.” I loved the way that my girl walked on the right side of sassy without crossing into bratty.

She giggled and blushed, making her even more beautiful. “Will we be up in our room this afternoon, or do you have interviews?”

Just her calling it ‘our’ room was a victory, but I couldn’t let her see how happy it made me. I thought over the week”s schedule. The PR events for the match were coming more frequently with the event eight days away, but luckily there was nothing planned for this afternoon. I’d intended to spend a relaxing day with Alyssa at the private VIP pool up on the roof. Depending on how long she spent with her friends, I might have to adjust what we were going to do. Maybe we”d go out and do something special.

The week before a big match I reduced my workouts significantly to lessen the risk of injury and to make sure that I was in optimum shape for the fight. I hoped I could use that extra time to finally convince her to quit her day job with the casino and become mine. I wasn’t sure just yet how I was going to do that.

“Nothing is on the schedule except my evening workout.” I loved the way her eyes scanned up and down my body as if drinking in every inch of me.

“I don”t know how you do it. Your muscles have muscles.”

I made the muscles in question dance and she giggled.

“Okay, Daddy.” The last word was almost whispered, but it felt like a victory to have her call me that in public. “I”ll give you a text when we”re done and I”m on my way back to the room.”

“Don”t let Zoe get you into too much trouble.”

Her laugh was like music. “No promises.”

My heart ached as I watched her walk out of the gym. I’d never had the urge to keep a woman by my side twenty-four-seven before, but everything about my day was better when she was there. The need to keep her by me probably had to do with the fact that I knew she was still holding back. I wished she would understand that I didn’t see her as some sort of gold digger or property to be bought.

Several times I’d been tempted to tell her to go back to work so that we could date for real. Something inside me had resisted, knowing she needed to fully trust me before heading back into the snake pit. If I thought her job would make her happy it would be different, but I knew even with her jerk of a boss gone, being a masseuse wasn”t where her heart lay.

When I turned around, I saw Rocco talking with Joey. It was unusual, but for this last fight of mine, he’d agreed to be both my manager and my coach. It had actually worked out better than either of us had guessed. My friend was thriving in his new role. While we were both enjoying owning the gyms, Rocco seemed to miss having a more hands-on role.

Back at the start of our business venture, he’d done personal training and coaching for some of our more talented clients. As time passed, we’d both gotten caught up in the business side of things and making time for anything else was impossible. Maybe after this was over and things slowed down, he’d try his hand at coaching professionally. The job would be a good fit for him.

Rocco was giving Joey some advice and telling him ways to get around my defenses. The young fighter was just starting to make a name for himself, and I could see him going far in the league. Maybe he would be my friend”s first professional client.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be on my side? Don’t give him all my tricks,” I teased.

“No, I’m supposed to be making you better. That means making sure your opponents are a challenge.” We all laughed. Rocco nodded to the door. “Where”s Alyssa going?”

“Out to lunch with her friends.”

“Does that mean I might actually get lunch with my friend? There are a few things we need to talk about.”

I looked up at the clock and saw that there were only fifteen minutes left in the practice session. It was probably best that we stopped now, since I doubted my mind would be focused.

“Sounds like a plan.” I looked over at Joey. “Thanks for all your help.”

We shook hands and he took off with a wave. I grabbed a towel to wipe myself down.

“Good to see you letting your girl off her leash.”

Annoyance heated my skin, but I did my best not to snap. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’ve been so focused on her for the last two weeks that I”ve barely seen you.”

I shook my head. “What are you talking about? I see you every day, twice a day.”

“Yeah, but you take off the second the clock hits the end time.”

“I’ve gone to every PR event and interview you’ve set up. Sorry if I’m not having sleepovers and doing your nails but I thought you would understand.”

We were close but had never spent every day together, even at events like this.

Rocko shook his head as if I wasn”t getting what he was saying. “You”re my best friend, and I’m not trying to ride your ass. But you”ve been completely MIA from the businesses and we haven”t had a single conversation in weeks that hasn”t been about the fight. I know you and I know you and Alyssa are new, but I didn”t think you were the type of guy to cut off everyone in his life because he was getting it on with some girl.”

I tilted my head back in frustration. “I”m not getting it on with some girl.” He knew she was special to me even if I hadn’t shared the fact that we were taking things slow.

He held his hands up as if trying to placate me. “I wasn”t trying to insult her. I know she”s special to you, and I”m happy for you. But what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t check in and make sure you”re okay?”

We’d been caught up in our own little bubble for two weeks. Truth was, I hadn”t called my friend because I hadn”t wanted to explain the arrangement between Alyssa and me. Maybe it was time.

“We”re taking things slow.”

Rocko snorted. “You”re living together. Spending every free moment of every day that you have together. That is not taking shit slow.”

I took a deep breath and let him in on the part I knew he wouldn’t like. “It is when she”s sleeping in the guest room.”

“Are you for real right now?”

“I”m serious.”

“You”ve taken her to the aquarium, the Cape May zoo, and every other fun destination within a two-hour radius of here. You spend every moment you aren’t sparring spoiling her. She sits quietly in the corner watching you practice or workout or hangs out in the office while you do interviews.” His eyes widened as if he finally understood. “But you”re sleeping separately?”

“Yes.”

“You mean you haven”t…”

“No, we haven”t.”

“Damn man, you have it bad.”

I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated. “She didn’t react well when I asked you to have her paid as my private masseuse.”

“Why not?”

“She thought I was trying to buy her. Looking back, I can see her point. But she almost walked away for good when she found out.”

“You wouldn”t do that. Hell, technically, I”m paying her, not you.”

If only Alyssa agreed with those technicalities, but she didn’t. The time we’d spent together over the last few weeks had been amazing. Physical relations weren’t the most important thing in a relationship, but it was hard to resist temptation when I knew how good we could be together.

“I know that, and you know that, but trust is a hard thing for her. I”m hoping showing her how much she means to me will convince her to give us a chance. That my wanting to spoil her doesn”t mean that I think she”s a sugar baby.”

Rocco shook his head. “I guess that explains your new aggressive style in practices. All that frustration has to go somewhere. Maybe I”ll tell her to keep it up until after the match. Might give you the edge that you need to win.”

“You do that, and it won”t be his ass I”ll be kicking. But seriously, since other than the press events we have scheduled, the next week is going to be calm. I”m hoping to convince her to come live with me or to let me move down here until she”s ready to come up there.”

“You’re that sure of her?”

“I am. How good is your own Little chase going?”

Rocco smirked. “Wonderfully frustrating. I’ll tell you all about it over lunch.”

I would never understand why he liked women who gave him so much trouble. “All right, let me grab a shower and then let”s go out and get something to eat. You can tell me all about your brat and help me plan how to win my Jersey Girl.”