Title: Fighting Dirty
Series: Worth the Fight #5
Author: Sidney Halston
Publisher: Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 5, 2016
In Fighting
Dirty, a geek-chic cage fighter proves that appearances can be deceiving .
. . and oh-so-tempting.
With his preppy clothes and horn-rimmed glasses, Enzo Silva is the last guy anyone expects to find in a mixed martial arts gym. A wealthy Brazilian banker who never had to fight for anything, Enzo’s stuck in the amateur circuit—but he burns to make the pros. Maybe that explains the heat he feels whenever he’s around Jamie Lynn Calhoun. The pint-size, magenta-haired bartender with the Texas drawl is everything he’s not . . . and everything he craves.
Tough as nails and independent to a fault, Jamie Lynn—JL to her friends—works hard to pay her bills and keep life simple. Enzo is doing his best to complicate that. Even though she likes to bust his balls, he’s got some kind of a nerdy-hot vibe that makes JL wonder if she might finally be able to let her guard down. It might do the boy some good to spend some time in her world, where blood, sweat, and victory are as sweet as the first taste of real love.
With his preppy clothes and horn-rimmed glasses, Enzo Silva is the last guy anyone expects to find in a mixed martial arts gym. A wealthy Brazilian banker who never had to fight for anything, Enzo’s stuck in the amateur circuit—but he burns to make the pros. Maybe that explains the heat he feels whenever he’s around Jamie Lynn Calhoun. The pint-size, magenta-haired bartender with the Texas drawl is everything he’s not . . . and everything he craves.
Tough as nails and independent to a fault, Jamie Lynn—JL to her friends—works hard to pay her bills and keep life simple. Enzo is doing his best to complicate that. Even though she likes to bust his balls, he’s got some kind of a nerdy-hot vibe that makes JL wonder if she might finally be able to let her guard down. It might do the boy some good to spend some time in her world, where blood, sweat, and victory are as sweet as the first taste of real love.
Chapter 1
Lorenzo Silva sat on a stool at
the Pier, the local bar where everyone in the small town of Tarpon Springs hung
out. Not an hour ago, he’d signed his divorce papers and overnighted them to
Brazil where his ex-wife, Marianna, still lived with his now ex-best friend. And all he could think was that he was
finally free.
He almost wanted to stand up and do a little happy dance.
Almost.
That
would be something very unbecoming of a Silva.
Instead
he stared across the bar at the object of his insane attraction for the last
year: Jamie Lynn Calhoun, or JL, as everyone but him called her. She was five
foot nothing, and today her short pixie-like hair was a light pink, with red
nails on one hand and black on the other. The liner around her blue eyes was
heavy, and her red lipstick contrasted quite severely against her pale skin.
Her overall style made her seem a decade younger than her actual age, thirty.
She had on the required shorts and T-shirt that all employees of the bar wore,
but she’d added black combat boots that went past her ankles and weren’t even
completely laced. She had an intricate tattoo along one entire arm that
resembled a lace pattern, while the other arm was bare. He wondered where her
other tattoos were hiding. His eyes roamed up her body as her legs moved in his
direction.
She
leaned her forearms against the bar, giving Enzo a peek at her small, perky
breasts. “Were you starin’ at my ass, sugar?”
What he
liked most about her was that southern drawl she had from being born and raised
in Texas. It seemed out of character with her punk rocker image; it made her
seem . . . softer.
“I may
have been.” He lifted his beer at her and winked.
She
reached forward and straightened his glasses. “You seem different today.
Happy?”
“Happy isn’t quite the word I’d use. More like ecstatic.”
She
leaned closer, her familiar flowery scent flooding his senses. “What could’ve
possibly been that exciting at the bank that would make you ecstatic?” She
loved to tease him about his job, which for some reason she thought was at a
bank. Probably because he was always wearing suits—unlike most of the laid-back
people he’d met in town.
“You do
know I don’t work at a bank right?”
She
tilted her head to the side, genuinely surprised. “Really?”
He
laughed. “Yes, really. I help run my family’s business. We acquire properties
and businesses and—”
She held
out her hand and cut him off. “Yeah, banking seems to sum that up nicely.” Then
she leaned over the bar and gave him a once-over. “Damn, are you wearing
flip-flops? Are those cargo shorts? On a Wednesday at one in the afternoon?
Where’s the rest of your business suit? Oh my God.” She put her hand over her
mouth in an over-the-top gesture. “Did you finally have that stick up your ass
surgically removed, Pretty Boy?” She slid back down to her side of the counter
but reached her palm to his head. “Or maybe you’re sick or something? Fever?”
“Ha ha.
No, I took the day off,” he said looking down at his clothes. He was wearing
his favorite designer polo shirt and linen shorts. It wasn’t like he was
wearing a ratty shirt with holes on it or anything. “I signed my divorce papers
today. I’m finally free of that evil witch.” He pumped a fist into the air.
“Come, have a drink with me. I’m sure you can cut out early.”
“Just because
this doesn’t seem like a lucrative career choice compared to the small empire
you’re running, it doesn’t mean I don’t have responsibilities. I can’t just
‘cut out early,’” she said with an indignant glare.
“I wasn’t
being judgmental. Sorry if it came across that way. I just want to have a drink
with you, maybe even a meal.”
After
making him suffer a little, she finally relented and said, “Just a quick one. Gotta
work.” She lined up two shot glasses, filled them with tequila, and handed him
one. Then they clinked glasses. “To divorce!” she cheered before tipping it
back.
He held
his by the rim and laughed. “No. That’s a terrible toast. Not to divorce. To
getting rid of my money-grubbing unfaithful ex-wife. May she rot in hell!”
“Whoa!
Bitter?”
“Nah.” He
shrugged. “I’m over it. Just wanted to get that out. I’ve never done that
before.”
“What?”
“Call her
out. I just really needed to get that off my chest.”
She laughed.
“That was it? You can do better than that. Last guy I broke up with, I burned
all his clothes.”
“Damn,”
he said, looking worried. “Well, I’m done talking about her. Go out with me,
Jamie Lynn. I want to celebrate.”
“Can’t.
Told you, I’m working.”
“What
time do you get off?”
“At
five.”
“Okay,
here’s the plan. I’m going to get in my workout at the Academy, then I’ll meet
you back here at five. You’ll spend the rest of the day with me.”
She
snorted and rolled her eyes as she walked away to tend to another customer.
“Keep dreamin’, darling,” she said over her shoulder. “The answer is still no.
Just ’cause you rule that little empire of yours with an iron fist—”
“What?”
he said with a snort.
“Just
assuming from your usual staid personality that you’re some sort of a
hard-assed boss. But that’s not the point. The point is that I’m not one of
your employees, someone you can dictate orders to,” she said as she mixed
drinks. “Besides, I have plans.”
Plans?
This was
the second time she’d rejected him because of “plans.” He’d asked her out
repeatedly for months. And five weeks ago, he had even grabbed life by the
balls and kissed her—a brazen act that had surprised both of them. The kiss had
been off-the-charts hot, startling even him. She’d melted into his arms and given
herself over to him completely, and for the minute their mouths had been
connected, he’d thought there was no possible way she’d turn him down again.
Except she had, even though he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
That kiss had said it all. The way she’d trembled in his arms and moaned softly
couldn’t be denied. Why she was so hesitant to go out with him was something he
couldn’t understand. He didn’t know what was holding her back; he didn’t think
there was another man, though he couldn’t help but wonder.
Enzo
finished his drink, slapped more money than necessary on the counter, waved
goodbye, and left. He wasn’t going to give up. Not at all. Tomorrow he’d try
his luck with the little pixie again.
#1
Against the Cage
#2
Full Contact
#3 Below the Belt
#4 Laid Out
USA
Today bestselling author, Sidney Halston lives her life with one simple rule:
"Just Do It"--Nike. And that's exactly what she did.
After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she's not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She's a reader first and a writer second. When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn't have it any other way.
After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she's not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She's a reader first and a writer second. When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn't have it any other way.
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