Reevaluating my decision to keep them alive, I’m distracted while leaving King’s kitchen and stop in my tracks when I spot Lake in the foyer with Aria. She glows in a way she hasn’t in a long fucking time. It’s what convinces me my choice is correct.
“Saint!” Her excitement lights me up when she spots me.
She gives Aria a quick hug, then runs to me, jumping into my arms so I catch her, not hesitating to take what she wants. With my hands on her ass, she kisses me like it’s the first and last time. Sweeping her tongue into my mouth until I take over and devour her the way she likes. I press her to a wall and groan as she wiggles against my aching dick, knowing I can’t have her right now.
Drawing back when my lungs protest, I say, “You’re coming to Destin tonight.” She nods, a sleepy, lusty look sparkling in her eyes.
“You’re fighting, right?” she asks. I nod and brush a knuckle along her jaw, transfixed by the flush in her face. “Who else is coming?”
“Bish, East, and Nol.”
Her expression relaxes in relief as she slowly glides down my body to her feet.
“Is what I’m wearing okay?”
My eyes cast down. She’s wearing a long black sweater, dark blue leggings, and a pair of leather ankle boots.
“Yeah, you’re perfect.” And she is. Her confidence continues to grow, an inch at a time, and fuck, it’s addicting.
Bets get placed around the screaming arena as we wait in our designated area. Bishop tapes my hands while Nolan and Easton stick close to Lake. Her wide eyes roam the warehouse, constantly flicking back to the metal cage where two fighters go at it like they want to kill each other. They probably do.
“You in the right space for this?” Bishop asks, drawing my attention from my woman.
Grunting out a “yeah,” he still appears skeptical. “I’m fine.” It doesn’t matter how many times I reiterate that, I don’t think he’ll believe me until I win the fight.
“This guy is big, man. He’s dirty and will do his best to fuck with your head.” Meaning, he’ll mention Lake in some way or another. That’ll only piss me off.
As the current fight ends, Bishop taps my hands, so I know he’s finished. Lake comes over, looking worried as she stares at me. “Don’t get hurt, please.”
Pulling her closer, I press my lips to her head, then let her go. I won’t make a promise I’m not sure I can keep. Sure, I’m a beast in the ring, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get hurt.
The cage doesn’t make me violent; it simply removes the layers that are in place, hiding who I truly am.
The announcer, a stout man in his forties, calls my name, and the crowd roars as I enter the cage after my opponent. Until he makes his bones, he gets no recognition, but from the look in his gaze as our eyes lock and the door shuts, he believes tonight will give him that.
It won’t. It never does.
The rattling of the cage settles into my bones as the crowd closes in. Faces jam into the chain links, hungry for violence and shining with the high. They enjoy this in a way they can’t reveal in their personal lives. We’re not human here, we’re all animals.
My opponent, Roger, does that thing men do when they try to mask the fear they don’t realize they’re feeling yet. Smiling a little too wide, bouncing on his feet, and trying to make noise so the silence doesn’t drown him.
My calm unnerves the new fighter, and with the way his temple pounds, I can see it angers him that I’m so casual about his look and size.
As we bump hands before the bell rings, he leans in, voice low and intimate, and says, “She’s watching you, Saint.” I don’t bother looking back; I recognize the baiting tactic. I also know Lake is protected. “Maybe I’ll take her home tonight.”
The fury makes an appearance as my nostrils flare and eyes narrow on him. Any humanity left living inside of me disappears. This wasn’t supposed to be a fight to the death, but if he utters one more word about my woman, that’s what it’ll turn into.
The bell rings, a loud clanging in my ears, but I don’t move, don’t rush Roger, not when I know he’ll come to me. He has no patience, no control, and as he steps forward, fist cocked back to swing, I flash him an evil grin, making him falter as air rushes past my face from the force of his punch, missing the mark. It’s then he realizes he’s out of his depth.
Side-stepping his body, my fist plows into his kidney, causing him to grunt, and his footing falters as he spins towards me, but I’m two steps ahead and on his other side, nailing him in the ribs.
His shaky laugh is pathetic as he tries to distract me. “What’s she going to think, seeing you become a monster?”
My amusement disarms him as I move swiftly, securing him in a headlock and pounding his gut. “She already knows.” My gaze lifts quickly to see her watching me, a multitude of emotions swirling in her pretty blue eyes, but none of them show that she’s disgusted with what she’s witnessing.
Roger tries scrambling out of my hold, but I tighten my grip until he’s out of breath, and the crowd grows louder, wilder. Just when he’s about to pass out, I release him, and he drops, cracking his face off the floor and groaning.
Stepping away, I give him the space to get to his feet as everyone watches on. Some wonder why I’ve backed off, others silently plead with me to end him. I’m not here to kill, not tonight anyway.
