Chapter One
Emma didn’t even notice the haze of the dust anymore. She didn’t notice it especially when she was watching the fist of her boyfriend’s opponent collide with his cheek. Blood splattered out of Nathan’s face for the first time that night and she cringed. She watched as he stumbled backward and blinked, as if he suddenly felt confused about where he was and what was going on.
She didn’t even notice when she had grabbed a big lock of her flowing, natural red hair to twist it around her hand the more anxious she grew. She winced as Nathan’s opponent took advantage of his confused state to deliver another punch. Then another and another, until he stumbled back against the ropes. The crowd around her exploded in screams and booed at Nathan, making her stomach clench even tighter.
“Get it together!” a drunken man to her right screeched in near panic.
“The fuck! Blast that fucker, Nathan! What is this shit?” another man, immediately behind her screamed in fury.
She knew he had bet a large sum of money for her boyfriend Nathan to win and it seemed now like he was going to lose. She also knew Nathan always heard these types of hoots and hollers from the crowd, and it affected him. She couldn’t imagine how it wouldn’t. Now she only hoped it spurred him on to beat his opponent and not overwhelm him instead.
Emma gulped and closed her eyes when the opponent’s fist flung out at Nathan again. She didn’t want to watch it anymore, but she had to be ringside– for her boyfriend and for her job. It was loathsome. She opened her eyes again, but looked off to the side. Past a small opening in the crowd she saw the bar area where the cocktail waitresses were gathered, waiting on the drink orders they needed to deliver to their customers. She heard some sort of crack in the ring and she winced. She didn’t want to turn around and look at whatever had caused such an awful sound, she only hoped it wasn’t a part of Nathan’s body.
So she chose instead to focus on Elaine, who was delivering a drink to a man even though he clearly didn’t need any more alcohol. She was wearing a tiny, tight leather vest that pushed her cleavage far out and exposed her tight abdomen paired with miniscule denim shorts from which the bottom of her ass cheeks peaked out. She had opted for flat boots that day, but she still looked fantastic and all the men loved her.
It was the typical attire for the women who worked as cocktail waitresses at The Ring, the dusty old place owned by Nick for these underground fights.
Emma shuddered. To think she once dated that millionaire who set up and run this place made her blood run cold, especially now that it was home to the man she truly loved. It seemed like an entirely different life when she had been with Nick. Now she was working at this place, essentially working for him.
It was strange the way things happened. She turned back to look at Nathan, who was still getting knocked around. She could see the dried blood on his chin and the cuts on his face. He was going to have some serious swelling and bruising in no time at all. She gulped and held back the tears that had been fighting to come out for a while now.
“Let me place a bet on The Tank,” a hoarse and slightly slurred voice said into her ear.
Emma turned to see a man leaning over towards her, holding a big wad of cash.
She cleared her throat, “Betting is closed the moment the bell rings in round one.” She looked at him with a stern look on her face. He was one of those jokers who waited to try cashing in on what looked like the obvious winner. Of course it bothered her that her boyfriend’s opponent was the one in the lead, but not as much as these men who tried to push her around, make a quick buck, and try to impress her with a big wad of cash she was sure hadn’t been earned by any honest means.
Mainly bored millionaires with low moral compasses populated this place and a lot of them weren’t honest men. Their wealth hadn’t been inherited or amassed in a legal way. And those who earned their money legally were still despicable men, in her opinion. The Ring attracted a certain kind of individual; the type of individual Emma found repulsive. But it was the world she was a part of and she couldn’t wait to escape it.
The man eyed her with annoyance, shoving the big wad of cash into his pocket. “Fucking bullshit,” he barked at her. She could hear him muttering more expletives as he stalked off into the crowd with a strut.
“He would have lost his money anyway. They don’t call Nathan the Comeback Kid for nothing,” Emma’s co-worker, Laura, said as she leaned into her ear.
Emma smiled for the first time since she had set foot into The Ring that night. She turned and looked into Laura’s kind, brown eyes and sighed. It was likely her friend and co-worker was right about that, but waiting for Nathan to have his ‘comeback’ was always gut wrenching for her. She hated the whole process of it.
Every time she watched her boyfriend get hit it felt like getting hit herself. She felt the physical and emotional pain of every single punch and she wasn’t even in the ring. Her thoughts were broken by going into a fit of coughing, brought on by a man who had stepped up beside her and blown cigarette smoke practically right into her mouth.
She had grown used to inhaling smoke second hand, the haze of it constantly hung in the air. But it was entirely different to have it blown into her mouth. She saw the man look at her with a condescending smirk, but he made no motion to step away. Emma took a step back and looked over at Laura with annoyance. It wasn’t the time to get into some kind of pointless argument with the man.
There were a lot of things to want to fight about in The Ring and cigarette smoke wasn’t one of them. She looked back at Nathan, but her vision was out of focus. She wanted this to end; not the fight, the lifestyle. Everything about the underground fighting lifestyle was something she very much wanted to leave behind– everything except Nathan that was. She looked at his strong body despite the punches he had already taken and knew he would fare well in California alongside her. He was as strong in spirit as he was physically.
Getting out of this underground fighting lifestyle and moving to California wasn’t a distant dream for her, even if it often felt like it. They were very real dreams she wanted. She needed them.
She looked at Nathan and her heart started pounding. As much as she loved him she couldn’t continue on in this type of life. She couldn’t continue to watch him get beat time after time before he turned around for the win. She hated every danger associated with The Ring. She was approaching the breaking point and she was approaching it fast.
As her eyes followed Nathan’s clenched fist, colliding with The Tank’s already bruised cheekbone. As she watched Nathan land a solid punch her mind raced with a million emotions. It tore her heart of her chest to think she would have to leave him behind if he refused to get out of this fighting circuit and move to California with her.
It wasn’t for lack of love and she knew it. She was confident in how much Nathan loved her, just as much as she loved him. But he had his own goals and motivations. Not only did he want to be crowned the best fighter in the underground world, he wanted to go at it professionally. That thought alone was enough to twist her insides so much she felt nauseous. How could she even handle that? But at the same time, she could see the worry in his eyes if she mentioned him giving up fighting. It was all he had ever known, from the very first moment he decided to do something for money. It was his only skill and passion. At least that was his point of view on it and himself.
Her only comfort was that, if he ever did go pro, it was likely not like the underground scene. She knew she would never be okay watching him take a beating, but maybe it would be more bearable if it wasn’t in such a despicable place. Or maybe those were the things she told herself to be okay with him following her to California and continuing to pursue his dreams away from Nick and The Ring.
She had no clue how any of it would work and it was something she tried not to think about in too much detail, only because it made no sense any way she framed it. She figured she was drowning herself in negativity and creating unwarranted confusion.
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Nathan ducked and narrowly missed a powerful swing from The Tank. Nathan’s opponent stumbled against the ropes before quickly turning around and facing him again. Emma let out a sigh of relief after avoiding that one. The one punch seemed like it could have knocked him out entirely if he hadn’t ducked down in time.
Every muscle in her body was tense as she watched the fight continue, the thundering of her pulse in her ears drowned out the drunken cheers around her. Right then a loud smack resonated from the ring just as the bell rung. Nathan had given the other man a swift punch to the gut. Emma held her breath for a moment as she watched The Tank double over, clutching his stomach. The crowd went wild, jumping up and down with excitement when The Tank didn’t stand back up.
It was a punishing uppercut that finished off Nathan’s opponent, declaring him the winner. Once again he had lived up to his title “The Comeback Kid”. He had turned around and came back with something to end the fight, even after such a bad beating at the start. The crowd went wild but Nathan only punched the air upward for them before immediately leaning against the cage and staring across the crowd, directly at Emma.
Emma felt her heart skip a beat. She smiled back at him, trying her best to ignore the cuts and dried up blood covering up his handsome face. Despite all that, his smile shined as bright as ever when he looked at her. She let out a sigh of relief. No matter how much she hated seeing him step into that ring and fight, watching him win was the best feeling in the world.
It wasn’t because he was the winner of the fight that made her heart fluttered. It was because as soon as the other man hit the canvas, knocked out, it meant Nathan was safe– at least for the time being. Nathan blew her a quick kiss with a wink. He gave a little wave and then ducked out of the ring, heading off to the locker room for a shower.
Emma turned around and set to work on paying off the winning bets with Laura by her side helping her to finish up as quickly as possible, all the while making sure everything was accurate. She ignored the disgruntled curses from the men who were angry for having bet on The Tank. She even ignored those enthusiastically discussing the way “The Comeback Kid,” always managed such a surprising and spectacular ending.
She hated hearing them talk about it so easily, as if it were no big deal that the man she loved could come so close to being beaten to a pulp before finally delivering the wining blow. All these men cared about was being entertained and winning money, although they didn’t suffer for any lack of income.
She hated the slithery men who eyed her with obvious hunger and spoke to her as if she were some easy piece of meat. They were the same men who tried to sneak a smack on the ass to the cocktail waitresses or assumed it was their job to provide afterhours entertainment if they requested it.
A lot of them thought she was just another woman they could try to coax into quick sex before dumping her off like it was no big deal. She hated those men. She disliked most of them really, they didn’t really treat her with any actual respect. But she knew that wasn’t unique to her– it was just their general attitude toward all women and any people who fell below their social status, no matter what they had done to get there in the first place.
“Go ahead,” Laura whispered in her ear with a grin. Emma smiled and nodded, handing the rest of the cash and envelopes to Laura before heading off to see Nathan.
Chapter Two
Emma easily weaved through the thinning crowd of people and slipped unnoticed into the locker room. Just as she sat on one of the cold, wooden benches she heard footsteps. Looking up, she saw Nathan emerge from the shower area. There were a few drops of water still sliding down his tan skin here and there. He had nothing but a small towel wrapped around his waist, his perfect abs and all his muscles were on full display.
Emma swallowed hard. He looked at her and grinned, holding his arms open to beckon her over for an embrace. She stared at him for a moment longer. Even though she knew this might end and she was afraid of leaving him, there was no denying he was irresistible to her each and every time. Despite the cuts and bruises on his face, he was as handsome as ever. His body turned her on and knowing he knew how to push all her right buttons got her even more worked up. She stood up and walked up to him, leaning her face against his chest and enjoying the way his big, muscular arms wrapped around her smaller body.
He smelled like the body wash she had given him. His skin was smooth despite being slightly damp. She felt the cotton of his towel rub against her stomach that was exposed from her short tank top.
“Another one under my belt,” he muttered into her hair before taking a long sniff.
Emma shut her eyes. She wanted to congratulate him on another win and knew it would mean a lot to him to hear those words fall off her lips, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she turned her head and pressed her lips against his chest. She looked up at him lovingly, but there was something else in her eyes—desire. She knew he saw it too. His grin change into a knowing smirk.
She kissed his chest again and then another before standing on the tips of her toes to press her pretty, bow-shaped lips against his. Without another word, he leaned into her and kissed her slowly. It wasn’t long before his heavy hand ran up her back and drew her body all the closer to his, her large breasts pressed up against his exposed, damp body. He placed his other hand on her waist. Emma opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, relishing in the moment when his tongue slipped into her mouth and she could taste him.
The metallic taste of blood still lingered despite him having brushed his teeth but she didn’t mind it. In fact, she was used to that taste by now. Almost every time he had a fight, that was the way the kiss tasted for a couple days afterward. It was almost like an acquired taste to her by that point. She melted in his arms, her own lying limply over his shoulders, as she continued to kiss him. He was warm and sturdy.
Nathan pulled her in by the waist and Emma could feel his hardening bulge against her. She moaned softly into his mouth, immediately moving one of her hands from his shoulder. She ran it slowly down his body, enjoying the way every crevice of his define muscles felt under her fingertips before her hand landed on the soft cotton towel. She tugged it open and let it fall to the floor before walking her fingers down his defined and sexy pelvic muscle until she could feel the warmth of his cock against the palm of her hand.
His kissing slowed, as if he were waiting on bated breath for her to take hold of him. It was the same every time and it was honestly one of her favorite parts of the whole experience. There was something tender about the way he just waited for that first contact. And, as if right on cue, she loved the way he broke the kiss to draw in a rattled breath the moment she closed her hand around his manhood.
He wasn’t fully hard yet, but that wasn’t a problem; she quite enjoyed stroking him until he was fully erect. She liked the way he throbbed against her palm, the blood pumping through him until he was stiff. He groaned quietly with eyes shut as she jerked his now rock hard cock up and down.
Emma looked at him with wanting eyes before leaning up again, on the tips of her toes, to capture his lips in a fiery kiss. Nathan reciprocated that energy, his lips mashing against hers with passion. She moaned ever so slightly against his mouth to spur him on before finally letting go of his cock and placing her hand on his firm ass cheek. She gave it a squeeze and giggled into his mouth. Nathan smiled against her kiss as he slipped his hands under the hem of her shirt. He pulled away just enough to tear it clear over her head and fling it across the room.
She heard it hit one of the lockers before falling on the floor. He turned her around and took off her bra before pressing his lips against nape of her neck. Both his hands ran up her smooth, flat stomach before cupping her large, exposed breasts. She leaned her head back against his shoulder when his lips landed against the side of her neck and he started sucking gently, his hands busy massaging her breasts slowly. He always loved to play with her this way and it never failed to drive her wild.
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nbsp; Emma’s eyes clenched shut as she enjoyed the feeling of his hot, wet mouth on her neck and his fingers running over her hard nipples, sometimes teasingly giving a little pinch. She started grinding her ass against his bare cock, chest heaving with every deep breath she took. She let out a little moan when she felt one of his hands wander from her breasts down her stomach and start to unbutton her tight denim shorts.
He unzipped them and in an instant she felt the tips of his thick fingers running down until he slipped his hand under the waistband of her thong. She drew in a loud breath before whimpering when his index finger started running up and down her slit, now already soaking wet. She had started getting turned on the moment she saw him step out of the shower, and now with the kissing and bit of foreplay she was more than good to go.
Emma shuddered against him and bit back a loud moan when he pushed his finger inside her, hooking it upward slightly. He started easing it in and out of her before adding a second finger and speeding up his pace. He knew just how much to hook his fingers to tease that sweet spot inside her. He did it just enough to rile her up, but not enough to bring her to orgasm right away– he loved building her up just enough so that she would explode when the time was right.
SHOOT: A Novel Page 18
