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“Go get him, Dani,” Noah said, humor plain in his voice.
Sean beckoned her closer. “Think you got what it takes, sweetheart?”
Dani’s words were nearly a growl. “Don’t fucking call me sweetheart.”
Jesse felt like there was an insider joke he didn’t yet know about these two, but as he watched Sean and Dani grapple, one thing was clear: tension roared off the two of them—and not all of it was about the fight. He couldn’t help but wonder if they used to date or something, because there was a kind of volatile personal—maybe even sexual—chemistry between them.
Sean had bulk, but Dani had speed and flexibility. So even though Sean managed to pin her fairly quickly, she worked her way out of it just as fast and even managed to get her legs around his neck, pulling him onto his side. In a move that was all muscle, Sean flipped himself and pinned her again, but Dani was fighting it enough that he couldn’t force her to tag out, so he managed to reach out a hand to tap a new teammate in—Tara.
It was the first time Jesse got to see just how good she was. She was stronger than Dani, though not as flexible, so the women were well-matched.
“Go, Dani,” Jesse called, cheering for his teammate even though it killed him a little to do so. Dani came down on top of Tara, and Jesse thought the woman had her, but at the last minute, Tara twisted her hips and got a leg up and around the back of Dani’s neck. Dani rolled out of the failed hold and reached out a hand…to him.
Jesse tagged in, and now it was him and Tara alone on the mats. And, damn, whether he pinned her or she pinned him, he’d be a fucking winner. “Is this when the ass-kicking happens, Hunter?”
She glared, then sprang for him.
Satisfaction and competitiveness roared through his gut, and nearly twenty years of training and experience held him in good stead as Jesse grabbed hold of Tara with his arms and worked to gain leverage with his legs. She successfully fought against getting pinned, though, and attempted to flip him. From the edge of the mats, their teammates called out guidance and encouragement, but all Jesse knew was the feeling of Tara’s body against his.
She escaped him a second time, her moves full of pure grit, and he got the distinct feeling she was fueled by whatever she’d gone through the evening before.
That’s right, baby. Take it out on me, he thought, coming up over her back and going for a rear-naked choke. He got a good handhold, and then flipped her until she was on top of him, her back to his chest. He got his heels around her thighs next and locked her to him, tight.
Tara struggled against the hold, trying to twist her hips and arch her back, but Jesse just squeezed harder, his body fucking singing from the contact. “Fuck,” she rasped, tapping out.
He let go of her right away. “Good match,” he said. She rolled her eyes at him but bumped his fist, and that was all the respite he had before another man he didn’t know was in the ring with him and it was on again.
After just a few more minutes, Jesse managed to tag himself out. And as he watched Noah grapple with a guy who had some serious burn scars on his neck and shoulder, adrenaline pounded through his body. It was a rush, and Jesse wanted more of it. Which was the moment he decided he was going to join WFC.
The only part of the afternoon he didn’t like was having to remain a spectator for all of the sparring, but he understood the rationale and would get his doctor appointment scheduled so he could be all in next time. When the whole thing wrapped up, Jesse let Coach know he’d be back, and then he joined Tara and about six others to hear them talking about going to dinner after everyone had cleaned up.
“So, what did you think?” she asked.
He peered down at her. Her face was ruddy and her hair was a shade darker from sweat. He’d found yet something els
e they shared in common in what was turning out to be quite a long list. And all of it made her appeal to him like no one had in so fucking long. Maybe ever. “As long as you’re okay with it, count me in. I’d like to join.”
Tara’s smile was genuine. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t have brought you if I minded. Game to join a small group of us for dinner?”
He was game to do anything if it meant hanging out with her. “Yeah, sounds good. I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” she said. “I can’t promise Murphy’s-level nachos, but this grill place we sometimes go to is really good.”
Her referencing their first night together did nothing to diminish the high buzzing through his veins. “As long as they have food that goes in my pie hole, I’ll be happy.” Tara chuckled.
Beside him, Mo laughed and clapped him on the back. “Sounds like you’ll fit in here just fine.”
And though it was totally said in jest, it hit Jesse more deeply than that. One of the hardest things since retiring was feeling like he no longer belonged…anywhere. And maybe, just maybe, Tara had helped him find another way to build the foundations of a new life.
Which was just one more way Tara Hunter had rocked his world.
* * * *
Tara could hardly believe how much difference a day made. Twenty-four hours before, she’d been in the midst of the worst panic attack in months. Now, she sat surrounded by old friends and new at the end of a very good day.
And Jesse had been a big part of it.
She’d woken up with the song he’d played for her in her ear, his phone still in her hand. Despite the fact that him leaving the cell there in the first place meant he might’ve heard how upset she was, he’d treated her exactly the same during the whole return trip back to DC. And then he’d still wanted to check out WFC with her, and their car ride to the club had been filled with conversation and teasing—and a few seriously hot moments that made her heartrate spike every time she thought of them.
