[The Submission Fighter 01] • Hooked

Even a wallflower has wants…

Alice Cross was a safe bet. She learned a long time ago that being quiet was easier than sticking your neck out, and it had led her into a life of tranquility and normalcy. All she had to do was enjoy what she had, and not question the void that seemed to linger in her heart.

He knows he can take a punch.

Micah Anderson, with a crooked and bloody smile, has climbed his way to the top of his MMA division on brute strength and frightening tenacity. If there’s one thing he knows how to do, it’s talk with his hands – hit first, ask questions later. Easy.

But this woman might just be his weakness.

Micah thought he was tough as nails, but the second he locks eyes with Alice, he takes a blow like nothing he’s ever felt before. This girl spells trouble, and what’s worse, Alice is finding that for the first time in her life, she can’t stay away from temptation…

**EXCERPT**

She followed him into his dining room, as he placed the plates on the gold table cloth between the centerpiece of white, long-stemmed candles. As the two ate, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you doing all this for me?”

She was sincere. No man she had ever known had put this much time, thought, or effort into being with her.

He reached across the table and grabbed her hand with a bit of force, as he squeezed her palm against his. “Because I want you.”

“You want me?”

“Yes. I want you. Here. With me.” He put his arm around her. “I don’t know what it is about you. I don’t know why I should even be attracted to you and interested in making this more than what it was last night, but I want to do this for you.”

In the two weeks of knowing her, she had become this fixture in his life; this promise of perfection. His life wasn’t just about what happened inside the ring or at the gym. Instead, it was about the tiny pieces she made up. She was a puzzle, and he wanted to fit himself in. He wanted to learn more, explore more, and be more than he could have ever been before. He was ready.