“Hold it! Three!” I hear Darryl scream. “Two!”
A second later, the bell dings and the pressure subsides. Junior slips away from me and jogs over to his corner.
What the fuck?
I blink a few times, still lying on the floor, dazed. He almost beat me. I shake my head and climb to my feet. I shake and squeeze my elbow. It feels bruised and tense…
he almost had me with a goddamn arm bar.
“It’s okay
,” Darryl says as I drop onto my stool. “The next round is yours.”
Darryl and Jackson are in my face. I try to focus on what they’re saying, but my heart pounds loudly in my ears.
That was too fucking close. He almost had me and he would have if the bell hadn’t gone off.
“Wate
r,” I demand and Jackson hands it to me.
I suck down a mouthful of water and swish it around my dry mouth before swallowing it.
Darryl goes over our game plan in detail, but I’m way too worked up to listen. Instinctively, I glance over my shoulder and seek her out. Olivia’s wide green eyes peer at me through the gaps in her fingers. Her long, chocolate hair is messy and disheveled, like she’s run her fingers through it, and even with her hands guarding most of her face, I can tell she’s worried for me and I have to change that. The next round is mine.
I will not lose. Not today.
Olivia
I suck in a sharp breath but I don't cry out like I want to. Every cell in my body presses against my skin, urging me out of my chair and towards him. Every atom that I’m composed of demands I protect my fiancé…and yet I remain in my seat, silent and obsessed, watching his every muscle spasm, lip twitch, and every clench of his jaw as Junior straightens his arm out. I’m on the edge of my seat, absorbing all of the energy and anxiety inside the massive arena into my tiny body. I’d chew my nails if I hadn’t already chewed them to the bone.
C’mon, Seth, tap out.
I don’t care if he loses, but I care if he gets hurt. I see Seth’s elbow begin to bend in the other direction and the pain on his face sends a sharp arrow of panic into my chest. Anxious sweat begins to bead on my skin and I rake my fingers through my hair. I witness exactly four more seconds of Seth’s pain before I can’t take it anymore and I shield my face with my hands.
The bell ri
ngs and I peer through my fingers.
“Holy hell!” Selena giggles, practically bouncing in her seat. “That was so fucking close!”
She rocks her bony shoulder into mine and I jerk to the side, ignoring her. Jackson has a stool down in Seth’s corner before the bell stops its annoying chime, but Seth remains on the floor—dazed. Like he can’t believe he’s still in the fight. He shakes it off and climbs to his feet and stalks towards his team before dropping onto his stool. While Darryl talks, Jackson checks his body and hands him a water bottle. Seth takes a quick mouthful of the water and glances over his shoulder at me. I heat up under his gaze and I can’t pinpoint what he’s thinking, exactly. Jackson slaps a bag of ice down on his shoulders and Seth barely flinches at it. I look over at Junior’s team and they seem really happy with the first round…there’s no doubt in my mind that he won it. Seth needs to finish this before it goes to the judges. He’s already lost one round.
The stools are pulled away and the teammates leave the ring.
Ding.
Round two begins.
Anticipation crackles through me, setting my blood alight. I lean my elbows on my knees and press the tips of my fingers to my forehead.
They circle each other watching, waiting for an opening. Junior is the first to break and lashes out with a hard kick. Seth grabs his ankle and yanks Junior off balance, pulling his leg past his torso and then launching forward and punching him straight in the nose. Blood gushes almost instantly and I suddenly feel under the weather. Dread swirls in my stomach, mixing with the nausea and I sink in to myself.
Why do I do this to myself?
Junior wipes his nose with the back of his glove, but never drops his hand. He swings at Seth, but Seth ducks and lunges toward Junior. He grasps his neck with his left hand and begins delivering a series of devastating punches to Junior’
s stomach. Junior attempts to bring his knees up to protect his torso, but fails and Seth drives him back until he’s pressed against the cage. Seth’s eyebrows are drawn together, his lips parted in an aggressive way, exposing his white mouth guard. My eyes begin to sting and are screaming at me to blink, but I don’t. I don’t want to miss a second of this fight.
With a second wind, Junior drops low and rushes
at Seth with a vengeance. His thick, tattooed arms wrap around Seth’s legs and they both hit the canvas with a slap. There’s a flurry of fists and legs before Seth rolls quickly, coming to rest on top of Junior. Junior blocks his head as Seth starts to rain heavy punches and elbows down on him. The referee gets in close, ready to call the fight in Seth’s favor as a result of a TKO at any second. Jackson and Darryl are yelling directions at him and urging him to keep going. The crowd is so loud I can't make out their exact words, but when I look over at Junior’s corner, I see the look of panic in his team’s eyes. They don’t want an experienced fighter like Junior Moset to lose to an amateur like Seth. I almost smile. They were wrong to ever underestimate my man. Seth is fierce and fast, like a train. When he reaches full speed, he’s unstoppable and you better get out of the way. With terrifying speed, he hits Junior over and over and over again. When Junior blocks his face, Seth drops his fists to his stomach. He hits him with wild abandon, showing no finesse, no rhythm to his strikes. He wants to win and he wants to win in the most devastating way possible. I shiver, glancing away from Seth as he dominates Junior. I don’t think Junior is going to have much of a face after this. Seth’s chest rises and falls rapidly, like he’s run a marathon and a half. It’s splattered with his opponent’s blood and I watch as the crimson dots glisten under the bright lights. Seth draws his arm back and Junior refuses to block it, he lies there breathing heavily, waiting for the ref to call it. Before he strikes Junior one last time, his eyes flick to me and my heart whams against my ribs. His dark eyes linger on me, waiting for me to do something. I realize I’m shaking my head at him…because I understand what he wants. He’s asking my permission to hit Junior one more time—a defenseless, injured Junior—and I shake my head because it’s wrong. He’s already given up. With a swift nod, Seth swings a leg over Junior’s head, grabs his arm and falls backward. Junior doesn’t tap out at first, but when Seth flicks his hips, Junior slaps the canvas so hard the spectators in the back can probably hear it.
The referee calls the fight and
the crowd goes mental with cheers and screams. Selena undoubtedly squeals the loudest and pulls me to my feet. Her arms surround me and she shakes me from side to side. I can’t do much with my arms forced down against my sides, so I glance back to the ring. The ring is suddenly filled with press and teammates and reporters. I can’t see Seth at all and I’m probably not going to for a while.
“We’ll wait for them back in the
locker room.” Selena smiles, hooking her arm around mine and dragging me from my row.
I let her lead me because my body is still in shock. What a flip around
…I bet everyone thought Junior was going to take that one. Not to mention Seth…and the look on his face when he was absolutely dominating Junior. Pure hunger. He wanted to win, and he did. He certainly did.
***
Selena and I jump as the room door swings open and crashes into the concrete wall. Whoops and cheers fill the otherwise silent room as loads of people fill it to the brim. Selena leaves my side the second Jackson makes himself present, but I decide to linger in the background on the couch. I’m sitting on my hands to stop the excited, anxious energy that still flowed through me. Will I ever get used to this lifestyle? I don’t like feeling like this, like I’m on the edge of a panic attack, but on cloud nine as well.
“I won.” His rough, tired voice hits me and clings to my
skin. As a result, goosebumps form. I look up at him from underneath my eyelashes and I unashamedly let my eyes drag up his slim waist and broad shoulders—even covered in someone else’s blood, he makes liquid pool between my legs.
“I saw.” I can’t help the smile that
pulls at the corner of my lips.
“Did you like it?”
I frown. My over-heated body tells me to nod, but my over-caring brain tells me to shake my head. “He started bleeding…”
Seth glances down at his blood-speckled body. “I think I know that b
etter than anybody.”
“Did you like it?” I ask, slipping across on the couch, s
ubtly inviting him to sit down.
He drops
onto the couch and his gloveless hands reach out to me. They grip my sweater and he pulls me close to his damp body. I grip his hard forearms for stability as my body presses against his. Blood from his skin soaks into the white fabric, but I’m too captivated by his raw power to care. I swallow hard as my gaze falls to his split lip.
“Do I give you the answer
you
want, or do I tell you the truth?”
“Always the truth.”
My eyes lock onto his lips and I follow them all the way to my cheek before they disappear into my hair—right by my ear. “I fucking
loved
it.”
The rumble from his chest vibrates down my spine and into my core, threatening to shake me to my foundations.
“Why?” I whisper back to him.
“To feel someone break under your control is addicting, to overpower someone who desperately wants to overpower you is thrilling, and to destroy someone who thinks they’re better than you is satisfy
ing.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. All of this, everything he puts himself through
, is only to prove that he is the best at what he does? Will I ever understand man logic?
“You do it all to be number
one?”
He shrugs. “
Well, I sure as hell won’t settle for second best.”
“
Whoooo!” Jackson hollers, interrupting Seth and I. “We’re going to hit the town hard tonight, ladies and gentlemen. You keen?”
I practically recoil from his words. No way in hell
am I going out tonight. I’m done with clubs and alcohol, for good. Well, I’m done with clubs, anyway. Alcohol, I might do a few more times.
Like at my wedding.
My wedding!
I
purse my lips against ‘squeeing’ out loud. I jump, completely pulled from thoughts of my possible wedding dress as Seth slaps his hand down on my thigh and squeezes me.
“What?”
“Do you want to go out?”
I shake my head. “I’ve had more than enough
…excitement”—his eyes flare—“for one night.”
Seth looks up at Jackson. “Sorry, man. We’re going straight home.”
Jackson blinks a few times. And then a few times more. “I get that she wants to stay home, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you stay home.”
Selena shakes her head at me, all while smiling like I’m the most interesting specimen on the planet.
“You won your first professional fight, man. Come with me tonight, have some fun and we’ll get back into training tomorrow.”
I nudge Seth’s knee with mine. “Go, have fun. I’ll still be here when you get home.”
His brown eyes roam me and I see the cog wheels in his eyes as he decides his next move. Deep down, I’m secretly hoping he takes Jackson up on his offer. Finishing the book I’m reading and getting a full night’s sleep is exactly what the doctor ordered.
“Fine.” Seth exhales. “I’ll come out with you.”
“Awesome!” Jackson whips around on his heel and dives into the madness of the excited teammates and over the other side to Darryl. Selena drops onto the couch next to me.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come out?”
I shake my head. “I need sleep.”
She pouts. “We won’t go to any
strip clubs.”
“
Strip clubs or no strip clubs, I want to shower, read my book, and go to bed.”
Selena rolls her eyes and leans forward on her elbows. “You picked a real badass here, Seth.”
Seth smiles a warm smile, eliciting one in return from me. And out of nowhere, he shoots forward, planting his lips on mine. I wrap my arms around his neck without thought and urge him harder against me.
Behind me, Selena groans and I feel pressure lift off the chair. “You two are dirty.”
I smile, not only because that’s awfully rich coming from her, but because we
are
dirty and there’s no one else in the world I’d rather be dirty with. Only Seth. Only the man who helped me put an end to my dead end relationship, supported me during the sudden passing of my father, and took me higher than any rocket ever could. I love him and every dirty array of public affection he gives me, and if that means I’m dirty…then I never, ever want to be clean.