Page 13 of Ignited

Boomer stayed behind Cisco as they headed over to get drinks, letting the big guy shove his way through the crowd like a moose breaking a trail in the snow. Some dude took offense at one point and tried to punch him, but Cisco just absently caught the punch in his enormous hand and twisted, leaving the dude sinking to the floor with a messed-up wrist as they moved on.

It was like Boomer had his own private bodyguard, only he didn’t have to pay him. Bonus.

Not that Boomer couldn’t handle himself in a fight, if he had to. Brawls just didn’t usually give him the same kind of happy they gave the Sanchez brothers, and he was already edgy. The last thing he needed was to lose it and go wolf.

His own brother had disappeared almost as soon as they got inside. The bro couldn’t ever settle down in an unfamiliar place until he knew where all the exits were.

At the bar, they got a few sixpacks so they wouldn’t have to keep going back and forth, and then they headed for some recently emptied seats near the front of the bleachers. They were joined by the bro, who’d finished his circuit of paranoia.

They got to the seats at the same time as a bunch of human guys, but Cisco loomed over them and growled while Boomer’s brother put on his ‘I’m a psycho and I’ll cut you’ face, so they ended up with the seats, no contest.

Boomer didn’t pay much attention to the first few fights. Cisco and Matéo cheered and placed bets and laughed when they got spattered with the occasional blood spray. Boomer’s brother drank beer and shook his head whenever one of the fighters did something stupid.

Boomer drank beer and waited.

Finally it was time for the Siberian Tiger Queen. The place got almost quiet as they announced her, and then she walked out to a huge cheer, mixed in with some boos and hisses.

Boomer forgot his beer, forgot to close his mouth, forgot everything. She was amazing in the photo; in real life she was unbelievable.

She was tall and lean, dressed in nothing but black spandex shorts and a tank top with a snarling white tiger face on the chest, and that jewel right between her collarbones. She was sleek and strong, with muscle rippling in her arms, grab-my-head-with-your-thighs-yes-I’ll-beg legs, an absolutely stellar butt, and…

“Close your mouth,” his brother murmured.

“No point,” Matéo said. “It’s just going to drop open and start drooling again.”

Boomer didn’t fucking care. He barely heard them.

Because she was a tiger. A real one.

She’d turned, and one side of her head was partly shaved. The skin there was black and white striped, blending right into the stripes in her hair—and he’d bet a month’s salary it wasn’t tattooed.

Little-known factoid: tigers had striped skin as well as striped hair. Thank you, eighth-grade science.

Her first opponent was Hulk-huge with crazy eyes, confident and graceful and surprisingly light on his feet.

Didn’t help him. They only went four rounds, and she had him pinned and tapping out. The next one was a boxer and a martial artist, and had her on the ropes a couple of times. Didn’t matter.

She was lithe and fast and scary strong, and the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Getting punched in the face only made her laugh, and the blood made her laugh more.

She took the second one down in two rounds.

Cisco kept trying to bet on her, and Matéo kept stopping him because the odds were so bad he’d end up losing money. And the asshole kept talking about naked wrestling her, which made Boomer want to punch him. If the Siberian Tiger Queen was going to naked wrestle an Outlaw Ridge wolf and suck him dry, it sure as fuck wasn’t going to be Cisco.

The Tiger Queen’s third opponent was called the fucking Macho Man, and obviously couldn’t wait to put this uppity woman in her place. She broke his arm. Her apology was clearly insincere.

After her third fight, there was a short break. Karisma retired to her corner, where some dude wiped her down with a towel and gave her a water bottle. Every time he ran the towel over her skin, Boomer wanted to punch him too.

She suddenly seemed to feel him watching her, because she turned slowly and looked right at him. He felt like the air was sizzling between them, like things buried deep inside him were waking up and coming to life.

The announcer stepped up with the mic and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special treat for you tonight. The Siberian Tiger Queen has agreed to a challenge fight. Do we have a volunteer from the audience?”

Guys started falling over themselves trying to get in the ring with her. The bouncers held them back, waiting for the announcer to pick someone. Matéo nudged Cisco, but he shook his head. “How can I ask her out if I beat her up?”

Boomer’s brother said, “More important, how can you ask her out if she beats you up?” But his eyes were on Boomer, because he knew what was going to happen next.

Boomer put down his beer, and looked up at the Tiger Queen. Karisma. Met her eyes.

He stood up and called out over the noise of the crowd, “I’ll do it. I challenge you.”