The Fighter's Defiant Lover (The Burton Brothers Series Book 4) (4 page)

Dustin waited for his breathing to slow before he pushed himself away from her so he could see her face. She had a silly grin on her lips. He couldn’t resist tasting them one more time.

“That was amazing!” She told him. He let go of her wrists, and she floated into his arms.

It had been. But he was sweating like a pig and the hot water wasn’t helping him cool down. “If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to be lobster boiled.”

Jasmine nodded and toying with the hair at the back of his head. “Feeling a little woozy myself. Need to hydrate.”

Dustin nodded and climbed from the hot tub, his legs a little weak. He grabbed two towels from the cabinet next to the house and wrapping one around his hips before turning to hand her the other one. His mouth dropped open, and his body started to respond again.

She was standing up in the water, all but her knees exposed to the chilly air, the water sluicing from her skin and the moonlight bouncing off her curves. Her nipples had hardened in the cold and stood out, dark and jutting from her creamy skin.

“God, you’re gorgeous.” When he saw her blush and pull a face, he closed the distance between them and wrapped a hand in her wet hair. “You don’t believe me?”

Jasmine shrugged and climbed out of the tub. She wrapped her bathrobe around her and put the towel around her head. “It’s a body. A damn good one—I keep it in shape. But I…well, I guess I’m not used to guys being sweet.”

Dustin kissed her and grabbed her hand.

Jasmine held back. “Wait. My water.” She grabbed a bottle of sparkling water, then followed Dustin inside. There she shivered. Throwing an arm over her shoulders, he took her with him to his basement apartment. He turned on the lights and the heater.

Jasmine glanced around. “Nice. I’ve been bugging Rachel to give me a tour but she called this your sanctuary.” She picked up a weight and hefted it once. “No wonder you have muscles.”

“You hungry? Tired?”

“Yes, a little. And no—after sex like that?”

Grabbing her hand again, Dustin pulled her with him into his theatre room. He dropped her hand and spread his arms wide. “What do you think?”

Jasmine looked around her, her mouth open and her eyes wide. Dustin glanced around, too. He’d painted the walls a deep burgundy, and the ceiling black. Rachel hated it. On the far wall, he’d hung the biggest flat screen you could buy. “Wait until you hear the sound system.”

Touching one of the black leather recliners in front of the screen, she smiled. “I’ve seen some great setups in Vegas, but this is better. Intimate.”

“I think Beck bought the place just for this room. He wanted a place for Rachel and Chaz, but he is not a shopper. The guy simply called a real estate agent, told her what he was looking for and came home a day later with the keys.”

“Wow! Fighting must pay pretty well. Or is it the fight studio that makes your money?”

“It’s a dojo, and that place breaks even on a good month. That’s a labor of love. But Beck isn’t fighting for a few months—he’s got his hands full helping Rachel out with her son. And from what Mason said about that whole bone marrow transplant thing he did for Chaz—very not fun.”

Jasmine flopped into one of the recliners. “Did you bring me in here to just show off, or are we going to watch a movie? Hey, do you have any popcorn?”

He pulled her up from the chair, kissing her hard. She let her fingers trail down his naked chest. “Your skin is cold.”

“Yours is, too. Go take a hot shower, grab one of my shirts or something. I’ll make the popcorn.”

She backed away with a smile. “Only if it’s one of your shirts.” She bounced into his bedroom before he could say anything. He hoped he’d left it in some sort of clean state—he wasn’t exactly a tidy guy. And he kept telling himself this was good.

Grabbing a pair of sweats off the floor—they looked clean—he pulled them on and went to make popcorn. Yeah, this was good. Two adults having fun—okay, having amazing sex. But that didn’t mean anything.

Except she was Rachel’s best friend, and living in the same house as him, and he wasn’t sure if she was more likely to break his heart or he was going to do a number on her. He had no illusions about her. She was a dancer—something of a flake, if she could just up and leave her life as she had.

She was a good-time girl, and a girl not really that long out of a very unstable relationship. He gave a groan.
What was he doing?
He should have gone out, found a girl in a bar, and gone home with her. One night, and thank you, ma’am. Instead here he was on home turf, and messing with a girl who would mess right back with him. This was still not a good idea.

And then she walked out in one of his T-shirts that barely covered her with miles of legs showing. She smiled, those dark eyes dancing, and asked, “What kind of movies do you like?”

Oh, he was so in trouble here.

It was just a one-night thing.

Jasmine kept telling herself that. It was the only thing keeping her from waiting in ambush and jumping Dustin’s bones again. She told herself she needed to behave. She was not jumping into a relationship that was great sex and then finding out that was the only great thing.

She’d done that with Frankie.

And, yeah, Dustin was no Frankie. The man seemed responsible, kind, sweet—but he was also just a tad obsessed with his fighting. She didn’t want to swap one guy who had an addiction to drugs for another guy who had an addiction to the ring. No, she was looking for a normal guy to go with the normal life she was building.

Sure, honey—tell yourself another one.

She ignored that irritating voice. Great sex is just great sex. It wasn’t going to make a relationship. They’d burned out their lust and could now be friends. But her body wasn’t buying that line, either. So she kept busy. As in way busy.

She stopped every day to see Chaz, and stayed so Rachel or whoever else was with him could head out for rest and meals. She also decided Rachel needed help with housework, and that sure as heck kept her busy for one weekend solid.

She worked really hard not to be lurking, waiting around for Dustin. She did not listen for his car, or his showering, or anything else. But she couldn’t resist the lure of stopping by the Burton dojo when she got off work early one day.

She knew Dustin was running most of the classes this week, and the urge struck her that it’d be cool to watch him in action. She had taken some self-defense classes while in Las Vegas, and even tried her hand at a form of hand-to-hand combat used by the Israeli military. But she’d never really tried kick boxing or anything similar to mixed martial arts.

She arrived at the school and took a seat with the other spectators. Dustin was working with the younger students, while another guy sparred with an older fighter. She watched Dustin explain moves to the kids and praise them and give soft corrections.

He’s going to make a great father one of these days!

The thought shook her. Where had that come from? Who the heck was looking for daddy material? That was it, time to go.

She was getting ready to sneak out when Avery and Alice walked in. Avery was looking very pregnant these days, and Jasmine wondered how Dustin would like being an uncle. She also knew Alice was expecting, but Alice wasn’t showing the way Avery was.

The two women immediately spotted her and headed to her side. “Fancy meeting you here. Are you here drooling over Dustin?” Alice asked, only to receive a sharp elbow to the ribs from her sister-in-law, Avery. “What? He’s packing some serious muscle these day—his form is looking great. So is his ass.”

“Gross.” The look on Avery’s face said she absolutely did not want to hear more about her brother’s ass. She waved a hand at Alice. “Well, you should know about form, but next time, let’s leave it there.”

Jasmine grinned. “Actually, I was just getting ready to head out.”

“Why?” Alice asked, a confused look on her face.

“Well, Dustin didn’t exactly invite me down here, and so far we’ve kind of been…well, let’s just say we’re trying not to get in each other’s way too much.”

Alice gave a nod, and Avery tucked her hand into Jasmine’s arm. “Come with us. We know just what you need.”

Jasmine let them drag her towards the back hallway, surprised when they pushed through another doorway and entered a secluded training area. She looked around her and then murmured, “I would have never guessed this place had this much room.”

Alice smiled. “This is the boys’ private training area. Since they only use it during the day, we’ve been using it in the evenings.” Alice walked around, flipping on the lights and stopped in the middle of the mats.

“Alice has been teaching me some self-defense moves.” She patted her belly. “Even this doesn’t have to slow you down. So one of these days I’m going to surprise Mason when he least expects it. I wasn’t a big fan of fighting—and I’m still trying to get used to being okay with my brother going into the cage.” Avery pulled a face, and Jasmine decided there must be some kind of history there. She’d heard a little from Rachel about Avery and Dustin having had a brother who’d died, but Rachel hadn’t mentioned how. Now Jasmine wondered if there was more to that story.

However, Jasmine wandered over to a punching bag and grabbed it. “I supposed there’s something kind of cool in being able to toss a man on his backside.”

Avery tipped her head to the side. “Rachel said something one time—that she thought you’d do well on the circuit.”

“The fighting circuit?” Jasmine asked. She shook her head, “No way! There were some women at the last gym I trained at that thought they would make great kick boxers. They both ended up having to have multiple rounds of plastic surgery just to hide the scars from having their faces split open by their opponents. That is so not for me. I can handle myself, but I have nothing to prove about needing a dick to be a badass.”

Avery choked, but Alice studied Jasmine. “You’ve got a good reach.” She tossed Jasmine a set of gloves and headgear, “Want to go a few rounds with me and show me what you’ve got?”

Jasmine caught the gloves and headgear and looked down at her attire. She was wearing black yoga pants, an oversized sweatshirt in a leopard print, the shoulders of which were cut so that one side hung halfway down her arm. Matching three-inch leopard-print stilettos completed the outfit, with a black, fleece wrap to help keep out the cold.

“I’m not exactly dressed for a sparring match.”

“No problem. Slip off your shoes and wrap. We’ll go barefoot.”

Avery reached into her bag and then tossed her a black piece of fabric, “I just laundered all of my stuff. You can borrow that sports bra since that sweatshirt doesn’t look like it’s going to stay up once you start moving around.”

“Thanks. And how do I let myself get talked into this.” She looked back at the door and then asked quietly, “So no one knows we’re back here?”

Avery walked over and locked the door before turning to her with a grin. “Doesn’t matter if they do.”

Jasmine looked at Alice and then nodded. “Okay. Let’s bring it.”

Dustin and Jay shut off the lights and then headed for the back of the dojo. Jay’s wife was already waiting for him, so he took off. Dustin finished up some paperwork, leaving notes for Mason and Beck, and headed for the men’s locker room.

As he was passing the private training area, the sound of feminine laughter and what sounded like shouts of victory stopped him in his tracks.
What the hell?

He placed his hand on the doorknob, but it was locked. He leaned closer and heard several voices. He grinned when he heard one deeper laugh and then a higher giggle. Avery and Alice, he decided, had to be in there.

Shaking his head, he reached above the door and grabbed the safety key, unlocking the door as quietly as possible. It would be fun to see what they were up to before they knew they were being watched. Pushing the door open, he slipped inside, keeping his back to the wall and edging toward the hanging bags to his left. It wasn’t just Alice and Avery.

Alice was most definitely present and geared up. And she was squaring off against Jasmine. The skin tight yoga pants hid nothing of Jasmine’s long, lean legs, and the black sports bra left her midriff bare, framing a flat stomach.

She had gloves on and her hair pulled up into a ponytail that hung through the back of the headgear. When Alice switched feet and performed an excellent spin, roundhouse kick to Jasmine’s head, Dustin almost yelled out a warning. Things happened so fast, he ended up just standing there with his mouth open in awe.

Jasmine slid to the floor, scissoring her legs around Alice’s ankle and sweeping her foot out from under her. Jasmine rolled to avoid Alice as she went down. Jasmine jumped on her and sat on Alice’s hips and put her hands down to pin Alice’s shoulders.

Avery burst out with laughter, clapping her hands.

Sitting back, Jasmine asked, “You okay?”

Alice gave a nod and they helped each other to their feet while laughing.

“Okay. Now that was just plain awesome. You have got to show me that move,” Alice told her. “What kind of self-defense training have you been doing again?”

“Well, the last instructor I was working with was in the Israeli special forces. I’m not exactly sure what to call it.”

“How about opening up a can of whup ass?” Dustin said.

The girls all turned to stare at him. Dammit. He shouldn’t have said anything.

Alice put her hands on her hips. “Hey, I locked that door.”

“You don’t think I have keys for everything? And what do you think Bryant is going to say when he hears you’ve been rolling around—and just when is that baby due?”

Cheeks going pink, Alice started to strip off her gloves. “Dustin, don’t you dare worry Bryant. And this is the only exercise I get.”

Dustin shook his head. “You three are technically trespassing. And I am willing to bet Bryant and Mason think you’re out shopping.” He intentionally didn’t look at Jasmine. If he started, that was going to lead somewhere. Again.

Alice shrugged. “We’re letting off a little steam. Shopping is not a cure for everything, you know.”

Looking at his sister, Dustin asked, “And how about you? You clue Mason in that you’re learning to kick ass? What the heck happened to my sister who used to faint at the sight of boxing gloves?”

Avery shook her head. “This is supposed to be a surprise.”

Dustin pulled in a breath and finally looked at Jasmine. She still looked great. She also looked ready to take him on. She hadn’t pulled off her gloves. “Where do you fit into this little scheme?” he asked.

“I came down here to watch you, and these two saw me. One thing led to another and, well, I’ve missed being in a gym. My hips couldn’t take much more of days at work and not much more going on. Besides, Alice and I were just playing around.”

Dustin crossed his arms. He could see the challenge in her eyes, and a spark of something else. Lust, he was going to guess. He nodded to the door. “You two should go find your men.”

Avery frowned, but Alice looked from Jasmine to Dustin and back, and then pulled Avery from the training room, calling out, “You two play nice now.”

“So are we going to play nice?” Jasmine strolled over and stood in front of Dustin.

Reaching up, Dustin pulled off her headgear off, releasing her hair from the band that held it. “I guess that depends.”

“On what?” she asked huskily, leaning closer.

“That last move you pulled on Alice. Show me how it’s done.”

“Liked it did you?” Jasmine asked. He began to massage her scalp and she gave a groan. “God, that feels good.”

“I know something that would feel even better.” Dustin leaned in and kissed her. He took hold of her shoulders, sliding his fingers down her arms.

When he pulled back, she swayed. He nodded towards the mats. “Move?”

She blinked and smiled. “Do you really want me to teach you?”

Dustin scooped her up in his arms. “I was thinking I’d show you some mixed moves first.” He laid her down on the mats, stripped off his karate gi. Naked, he straddled her, keeping his weight off her but reaching up to pushed her arms above her head.

Looking up at him, she asked, “This is a martial arts move, huh?”

Dustin nodded. “Yeah. It’s called a full mount.”

“Full mount, huh?” Jasmine lifting her head to bite his chest. She grinned. “Want me to make it all better?” She licked the spot and gave a low hum.

Dustin was having trouble thinking.

Jasmine arched, which prompted him to lower some of his weight on her. She smiled. “What happens next?”

Dustin transferred her hands to one of his own and then trailed the fingertips of his free hand down her face and neck, to land palm down on her chest, just above the swell of her breasts. He pushed the sports bra up and slid it off, allowing the bulk of her breasts and her nipples to spring free. Lowering his head, he planted little butterfly kisses across each breast, stopping to suckle her nipples until she was writhing beneath him and moaning in pleasure.

He could tell from the sounds she was making that she loved having her breasts played with.

Panting, she whispered, “What next?”

He lifted his head and dropped a light kiss on her nose. Leaning down, he captured her lips again. He consumed her, stroking the roof of her mouth and going hard when she groaned and clenched her fists tight.

He knew his control was almost gone. She wiggled her hips, rubbing herself against his groin. He told her, “Next I make love to you until I can’t tell where you end and I begin.”

Giving him a siren’s smile, Jasmine batted her lashes at him. “Don’t keep me waiting.”