Lily stared at him in shock but the surgeon came in, cutting off her attempts to question Dominic.
Jazz had dressed the part perfectly for his hospital visit, ensuring the trust of the staff there, but he was back in his usual black attire for his visit with Shannon Smith. He found him immersed in a stack of paperwork inside his office at Smith Brothers Fight Club. Shannon glanced up as Jazz entered the office, and his eyebrows rose in surprise. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Shannon Smith.”
“Well you found him,” Shannon said smiling radiantly. He shined with an inner light that Jazz had only seen once before in Kera’s father, Dan.
He held out his hand for Shannon to shake. He really hated for anyone other than his family to touch him, but exceptions had to be made when dealing with normal people who were accustomed to such interaction. “My name is Jazz Anderson, and I run a charitable organization that puts together major events in order to raise money for families who have no place to stay while their children undergo treatment for cancer.” It was a huge lie of course, but he figured God would forgive him since he would make sure every penny did indeed go to that charity if he was forced to actually put the event together. “As I understand it, you used to have a man that fought for you professionally by the name of Weave Sparks. I am putting together a match, and, since he had a huge fan following before he dropped off the map, I think he would be a real draw to my event if he would be willing to fight again for the first time there, but I was unsure if he was still represented by your organization.”
Shannon sat back looking thoughtful as if he hadn’t considered Weave returning to the ring before Jazz had put the idea in his head, which was the point. “As far as I know he isn’t fighting any longer, and his wife is extremely sick right now so I don’t know if he would even be willing to consider it, but if you leave me your information I’ll ask him.” He looked away for a moment as if the idea was really beginning to take root. “He’s still in fighting shape,” he added absently.
Jazz wrote his cell phone number on a sticky note and the name of a fake corporation while making a mental note to get Dan started on making the company look real. If Weave accepted, they had a lot of work ahead of them making this lie into the truth.
Bob’s parents offered to take Kyle before leaving the hospital and Bob was quick to accept their help. Now that they knew Kera was going to pull through, Lily and he had some things they needed to work out. They rode in silence until Lily finally broke it. “If you don’t mind, you can just drop me off at the fight club. I’ll call Aunt Alyssa and see if it’s okay for me to stay with her and Uncle Walt until I can get a flight back home.”
Bob’s heart sank at her words. He had thought that after their kiss she might be slowly warming up to him, and she had been more than loving to his son, but apparently it was only human kindness that he had been witnessing. He tried to wrap his mind around it. He tried to force his heart to accept it but a block from the club he slammed on the brakes, jerking the wheel until they were sitting parked on the shoulder of the road. Horns blared and people cursed, but Bob didn’t care; they
were
having this out now.
“Why,” he growled. Checking his tone he started over. “Why are you leaving me again? Why are you always fucking leaving me?”
“You never asked me to stay,” she told him calmly, and the truth of her words slammed into him as his mind raced to remember every word spoken between them since Louisiana. Bob closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to alleviate the pressure that was building there between his eyes. After a few calming breaths the pain eased, and he looked over to find Lily watching her lap. Her hands were clasped tightly, her knuckles white. Silent tears ran down her cheeks. Reaching over, he covered her clasped hands with his until she twisted her hand, linking their fingers. He brought her hand to his mouth, inhaling her scent as he placed a light kiss on the back of her hand. “I love you,” he said against her skin.
“I love you too.”
He checked the line of traffic beside him before making a U-turn. Lily didn’t protest the change in direction. She had sealed her fate with her words, and he wouldn’t be allowing her to escape him again.
Shannon poked his head questioningly into Kera’s hospital room and waited until Weave waved him inside before moving to sit in the empty seat at his side. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s doing really well,” Weave told him quietly. “Her surgery went exactly the way the doctors had hoped. Her surgeon was bit surprised that the valve was not as damaged as they had first thought, and now they’re wondering if she’d had some sort of infection hidden in her body that they hadn’t known about that was making her weaker than she should have been.”
“That’s great,” Shannon exclaimed. “Hey man, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something? It’s club business, so, if this is not a good time, feel free to tell me I’m being an insensitive ass.”
Weave couldn’t help but smile. Shannon was always selling, but they had all made a ton of money for just that reason. “I’m flying so high right now, knowing that Kera is going to be okay that I’m feeling very forgiving, so shoot.”
“There is this charity fight coming up, and I would like for you to represent Smith Brothers Fight Club as its headline fighter.”
Weave was shocked into silence and Shannon shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Finally Shannon cleared his throat and added, “If you don’t want to ever fight again just say so and I’ll never ask you again. I just thought that since you’re still in fighting shape that maybe you were still training with the intent of fighting again one day, and with Kera on the mend….” he trailed off, shrugging.
“Yes,” sounded a quiet voice from the bed. Both men startled at Kera’s words. “Yes,” she said, sounding stronger, “My husband would love to represent your club.”
Weave nodded before clearing his throat. “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
Lily followed Bob inside his house, and she automatically began to pick up Kyle’s toys as they made their way down the hall. Bob turned to find her arms full, and his eyes lit with laughter. He obediently opened the door to Kyle’s bedroom so she could toss them in. In his bedroom, they both kicked off their shoes and climbed into bed as if they had been doing the same routine for years.
He tugged and she snuggled until they were positioned perfectly in each other’s arms with her back pressed against his chest. “You should get some sleep while you have the chance,” his arms tightened around her letting her know he had heard her, and even though her body hummed with awareness being this close to Bob, she still felt her eyes growing heavy. The stress of the past few weeks had drained her mentally and physically, and she knew that Bob had to be feeling the same way. She fell into a light doze but her eyes flew open at the feel of Bob’s hand pushing up the hem of her shirt. His lips moved along the column of her neck, coming to rest below her ear. “I can sleep later,” he whispered. “I’ve missed you too much.”
Lily turned her head, capturing his lips. For so long he had avoided any real intimacy with her, denying her even a simple kiss, but this was the second time he had willingly kissed her in the past few days, and she reveled in the feel of his tongue brushing hers. His shaggy brown hair fell forward, tickling her face, and she brushed it behind his ear then held him in place, not allowing him to pull away. She wanted it to go on forever. His hand found her breast, and his thumb brushed over her nipple. She nearly moaned aloud from only that small contact. She rolled to her back and he straddled her hips. Sitting back on his heels, he tugged his shirt over his head, revealing his heavily muscled and tattooed torso. She never got tired of looking at him. She had watched him for hours when he had sparred at the gym, envying the sweat on his skin the closeness of his body. Now she was able to run her hands up his stomach and chest until she encircled his shoulders, pulling him down on top of her. He braced his weight on his arms as her fingers sought the button on his jeans. She shoved the jeans down, cupping his bare ass between her hands. She could feel his muscles flexing beneath her fingers, and a rush of moisture pooled between her legs in answer.
Bob kicked free of his pants while gently tugging the clothes from Lily’s body. She had always been the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and he wanted to taste every inch of her body but he couldn’t wait; he needed to be inside of her. Her inner thigh brushed his hip as she lifted her knee, and he entered her slowly, savoring every second. She tried pressing closer but he forced her to accept his will. He held her gaze as he rocked slowly against her. He needed her to see his love for her, and know that this meant something to him. “Will you stay?” he asked breathlessly.
She nodded and his heart soared with triumph. He pulled out slightly and she groaned in protest before he rocked against her once more. The pleasure rolled down his back and he held back a gasp. This was a torture that ran both ways, but he managed to hold back his own orgasm until he had her screaming his name a second time. As the waves of pleasure tore through his body, he held her tighter, part of him fearing she might disappear if he didn’t.
EPILOGUE
Weave hadn’t forgotten a single moment of this life—the seconds before a fight began when even the air smelled like your dreams coming true. The noise from the crowd would be deafening until it was drowned away as he focused solely on winning. This was his world. He knew what his opponent was going to do before he did it, and he easily won his match. He laughed aloud as his arm was raised in victory: he was a man on top, and it was all because of Kera.
It was the sight of Jazz Anderson that made Weave realize it was all her; Kera had done this. He didn’t understand how she had known, or how she had done it, but she had been the one that had fixed his life, and he hadn’t even seen it happening. She had been the one to put the idea in his head that maybe Bob needed some help with Kyle, and because of that suggestion now he felt as if he had his brother back. She had been the one to help him cope with the worst of his withdrawals in Manhattan, and now he realized she was the one who had orchestrated this entire fight, forcing Shannon to see that Weave was healed and ready to fight again. He sought her out with his eyes, and when their gazes met, he mouthed, “Thank you.”
A smile touched her lips before she mouthed, “I love you,” in return.
Kera had been impressed by Bob’s choice in women. She was truly beautiful and obviously strong enough to handle one of the Spark’s men, which automatically made them friends. Lily had stood by Kera’s side during Weave’s match, but she was practically bursting at the seams with excitement and Kera finally broke. “What has you bubbling and dancing on your toes?”
Lily shoved her hand beneath Kera’s nose, “We’re going to be sisters!” Kera took Lily’s hand between hers and looked closer at the diamond engagement ring.
“You’re going to adopt Kyle.” The knowledge popped into her mind and out of her mouth before she could stop it, and she stumbled to cover her mistake, “I mean, since the two of you are getting married and Kyle doesn’t have a mother I assume you mean to adopt him.”
“Yes I do. Bob and I have been talking about it, and I love Kyle like he was my own,” she shrugged. “It seems like the right choice.”
“I think it’s wonderful!” Kera exclaimed, trying to infuse as much enthusiasm as she could into her voice, but her mind was still reeling from the shock that she’d been able to
see
Lily’s thoughts when she’d touched her.
“Oh my gosh, I see my uncle over there,” she told Lily, making her excuses. “I need to talk to him about something before he gets away.” she hugged Lily so she wouldn’t think she was being short then spotting Jazz, Kera made her way to his side. “You said I would be cured of my sight; you lied,” she told him.
Jazz’s violet gaze swung in her direction. “It was a test; you passed”
Confusion furrowed her brow. “Why was I being tested? I don’t understand.”
“A man who never prays for anyone else deserves a woman who only thinks of him. When I told you you’d lose your sight, you didn’t think at all of yourself—you asked how you could help him without it—it was the right thing to say.”
“I still don’t understand how you ended up getting involved in all of this. You’ve watched many people die. Why should I be any different?”
“You make him better and he’ll be great; we both know it. We need someone who has seen the darkness so that he can recognize it when he sees it in others.”
“So he will find his way into Safe Haven after all?”
Jazz held her gaze but avoided her question. “I also owed a debt to your father. Long ago he did something that kept my wife safe, and now we are even, I should think.” Jazz looked over her shoulder and Kera knew Weave was there. She could feel his presence as surely as if he’d touched her, and she grinned in response. One corner of Jazz’s mouth lifted in semblance of a smile. “This is my cue to leave,” he told her, disappearing into the crowd.
Weave’s arms encircled her waist, and she leaned into his touch. “Do you have any plans when this thing is over?” he asked, causing her to laugh.
“Hmm I’m not sure. What did you have in mind?”
He moved closer and whispered a suggestion into her ear that she felt sure was illegal in a few states. “I don’t know,” she told him regretfully, “that guy over there made me the same offer not fifteen minutes ago,” she nodded towards a random man in the crowd. “Why should I take you up on it after I told him no?”
“Because he can’t do the things for you that I can.”
Kera’s head fell back against Weave’s shoulder, her eyes closed in pleasure. She knew he spoke the truth; there wasn’t a man alive that could do the things for her that he could. There wasn’t a man alive that could keep her alive simply by loving her.
THE END
AUTHOR BOOKSHELF