Beat (The Beat and The Pulse #1)

by Amity Cross

  Hammer broke our standoff first, a sly smile on his face. “I'll see you in the cage, Fuller. You better fuckin' bring it.”

  “Wouldn't dream of leaving it behind.”

  My guts started to squirm. I'd just let the asshole know how much I cared for Ren and I wouldn't put it past him to try something. This was exactly why I didn't want to bring her here. They'd try and get to her and it would be all my fault...again.

  Spinning sharply on my heel, I turned into a sweaty and glowing Ren. Fuck, she was beautiful. My cock started to harden and I resisted the urge to drag her into the back and go at it.

  “Who was that?” she asked, glancing around me.

  I flung an arm around her shoulder, breathing in her scent. “No one. Absolutely no one.”

  Chapter 28

  Ren

  I'd won.

  I'd smashed my fist right into Rogue's temple and it was lights out.

  I'd won.

  “Ren!” Josie shrieked. “What happened to your face?

  Snapping out of my daydream, I blinked hard at my friend and shrugged. I'd forgotten my cheek had been split open. It wasn't that bad...really. It had only bled for a minute.

  “Ren?” Josie was staring at me.

  “It's just a scratch,” I said, waving her away. “I covered it best I could with concealer.”

  Seth had pretty much said the same thing when I walked into the cafe an hour earlier. A cut on a girl’s face and people went ballistic. It was even worse with them knowing I took MMA classes on a daily basis.

  Last night…shit. The Underground was something else. I let my inner beast free in the cage and it was like some kind of drug. Is that what Ash felt when he let loose? If it was, then I finally understood his need to fight without boundaries.

  I’d been hauled from the cage into a whirlwind of sudden adoration from the crowd, other fighters and the referees. Even some of the bookmakers had asked me if I was going to fight again, and then huddled into discussion about what odds they could put me up for. Ash had led me to a makeshift office in the back of the warehouse where money was being flung around like it was nothing. Some guy had shoved a wad of fifties into my hand and pushed me out the door. I didn't realize I'd win that much money for beating Rogue, I thought that was reserved for the fighters on top of the leaderboard. Fighters like Ash. I was a newbie, but they'd given me two thousand dollars.

  Two thousand dollars.

  I could move out of Beat and get my own place, but the only way I'd be able to pay rent was if I got more hours at the cafe or...

  Ash would never allow it. He was proud that I'd actually won, but I was smart enough to know he was pissed. He didn't want me to go but I'd forced the subject and to top it all off...I'd gotten into the ring, right into harm's way.

  We both left with a wad of cash, his was a lot bigger than mine, and came back to Beat. Needless to say, after a fight like that and seeing him all sweaty and in raging fighter mode, we fucked like rabbits until we passed out in my storage closet. No questions, no arguments, but that was coming and when it did, it was going to hurt more than any punch Rogue had landed on me.

  “What’s going on with you and Ash?”

  I stared at Josie, blinking hard. “Oh, shit,” I exclaimed. “No, he didn’t do this. I was in a fight.”

  “A fight?” She looked me up and down. “You’re in a proper competition, I hope. You better be or I’ll have your ass, Ren Miller.”

  I wondered if The Underground really fell underneath the banner of ‘proper’.

  “I won,” I said, still riding high. “I actually won and I’ve never won anything in my entire life.”

  Josie started to laugh. “How the hell did we become friends?” she asked gesturing between us. She stood there in her tailored business suit and sculpted blonde hair and I was this disheveled fighter that worked in a coffee shop. Light and dark.

  Realizing that was the first time I described myself as a fighter, I smiled.

  “I have no idea,” I replied. “But I’m going with it.”

  “Can I come watch?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure if I’m going to fight again,” I said with a frown. I didn’t know if The Underground was the kind of place for someone like Josie. She’d be too easily led astray, or then again, she might be the one doing the leading.

  Josie rose her eyebrows at me. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she declared. “From that stupid look on your face, I know you will.”

  I couldn’t help grinning. Yeah, I’d totally do it again, with or without Ash’s permission.

  That night, Ash didn’t leave with the Twins and Dean gave me a look as they walked out the door. When I came back from my shift at the coffee shop, Ash kept glancing at me, while I watched their training session with much more interest than usual. Now that I didn’t have to hide the fact that I was staring at his ass all day, I was free to listen more closely than usual.

  It turned out to be extremely beneficial and when Dad saw me sitting in the wings he looked rather pleased with himself. When I started taking classes, he was all over the fact that I was showing an interest, but it had dropped off into a steady stream of nothing. Now that I was sitting here, not ashamed of my attraction to Ash, he was all fucking ears. Typical.

  “I liked you watching me today,” Ash declared, prowling over the mats toward me.

  The studio had emptied out pretty quick for once. There was no class tonight and for the first time I was bloody glad. I could have Beat and Golden Boy to myself. Train for a few hours, or go upstairs and fuck my hot beefcake of a man? Sex counted as exercise didn’t it? The way Ash liked to screw, it sure was.

  “I liked watching you,” I echoed. “Especially your ass.”

  “I know you like my ass.”

  I cocked my head to the side.

  “I saw you lookin’ at me all those times, darlin’,” he drawled, running his big paws over my waist and cupping my ass. The motion sent me straight into his body and I felt his cock against my stomach.

  “Fuck. Really?” I joked.

  “You knew I caught you. I also knew you stuck your ass in the air any chance you got.”

  “I did not,” I exclaimed. I really didn’t, but trust a guy to go straight for the dirt.

  “Ren,” Ash started, all the playfulness dropping from his voice.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can you make me a promise?”

  I pulled back slightly so I could read his expression. I wasn’t going to like this. “No.”

  “You haven’t even heard what it is.”

  “I know what it is and my answer is no.”

  “I can’t stand it,” he moaned, cupping my face in his hands. His forehead came to rest against mine. “Don’t go back.”

  Reaching up, I ran a finger over his lips, just like I’d done the other night…right before I turned around and beat the shit out of Rogue.

  Suddenly, I was in Ash’s arms and he was carrying me up the stairs two at a time. He kicked open the door to my storage closet and dumped me onto the mattress, eliciting an exasperated cry from between my lips.

  He climbed on top of me, kissing a trail from my cleavage to my mouth, biting on my bottom lip. He was hard again. There was definitely no off switch on his dick.

  “What do you win if you take the whole thing?” I asked as he moved to my neck. If I got two grand, then he must be raking it in week after week. No wonder he was able to finance Beat like he’d been doing. He must be rolling in a bed of fifties every night.

  Ash shrugged, not seeming interested and bit into my skin softly.

  “You don’t care about winning?”

  His expression tightened and he rolled off me, sitting up. “Oh, I fuckin’ care about winning Ren. I just don’t care about what I win.”

  Typical male. Though I wondered why he didn’t care about the money. It was a normal human response to get excited about a little extra cash. I knew I did.

  I sat up behind him
, resting against his back. “Do you fight every night?”

  “No, not every night.” His fingers tightened around the blankets.

  “Then…”

  “Sometimes I just go to watch,” he murmured. “What? Did you think I was going some place to pick up, then coming back here to you?”

  I felt a flush rising. I always turned bloody red.

  “I’m not an asshole. Not where women are concerned. If I was fucking somebody else, I wouldn’t have come back here.”

  “Oh,” I squeaked. The bad ass fighter from the night before had totally vacated the building.

  He shifted on the bed, so his body was pressed against mine. “How could I fuck some other woman when all I can think about is you?”

  “Good,” I declared, running a hand over his thigh.

  “It’s you and me now Ren. There’s no going back.”

  The notion should’ve scared me a little, knowing that I still had deep rooted abandonment issues, but I didn’t care. I was totally in lust with Ash Fuller and if he said we were solid, then it must be true.

  “What about tomorrow?” I murmured, leaning into him, so I could press my lips against his neck.

  “You want to go back for more?” Ash didn’t seem to thrilled with the idea.

  “Why not? I mightn’t win the championship, but I can win a few fights.”

  The idea seemed to piss Ash off and he shook his head. “Why? If you want money, I can give it to you.”

  “I don’t want your money,” I exclaimed, beginning to get annoyed. “I want to make my own way, Ash. My fists, my money.”

  “It's illegal, Ren. If anyone finds out...”

  “Nobody will find out.”

  “I don't want to ruin your life after-”

  “Oh, shut the fuck up, Ash.” I shoved his shoulder. “It was my decision and my decision alone to get into that cage. You had nothing to do with it.”

  “I should've stopped you.” He started to grind his jaw, eyes darkening into a storm.

  “And I would've fought you.” I turned, so I could wrap my arms around his waist. “You can't protect me all the time, Ash. I can take care of myself when you're not there, you know.”

  “I won’t allow it,” he snarled.

  “Fuck you, Ash Fuller,” I hissed at him, my hackles rising. “Don’t you go alpha male on me. I won’t be told what I can and cannot do.”

  His eyes were a whirlwind of fury. “You know there aren’t any rules, Ren. You pissed off a lot of people by putting Rogue down like you did. Next time won’t be so easy.”

  My heart twisted. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Ash. I know they’ll be out for blood.”

  “Once you step into that cage, I can’t protect you.”

  “I don’t want you to protect me,” I exclaimed. “Get it through your thick skull.”

  “Fuck, Ren,” he hissed. “Why do you have to fight me on everything?”

  “Not everything,” I replied, taking a deep breath. “Just this.”

  He grasped my shoulders, his expression falling into something closer to pain. “Why? Why do you have to fight? You could join a legitimate league. One with rules and fuckin’ paramedics on call.”

  “Probably for the same reasons that you need to fight,” I whispered. “It’s the only way it can come out.”

  “What?”

  “The anger.” I stared into his eyes and he didn’t have to ask what I was angry about. He was witness to it every day. A dead mother, a lost childhood….a family that didn’t want me, a half-sister that despised my existence and a life that had been shoved into a storage closet. I had plenty to be angry about.

  “You can’t stop me, Ash.”

  “I know,” he whispered. “It doesn't mean I won't try.”

  “Just don't beat yourself up over it, okay? This one’s on me.”

  The sparkle began to come back into his eyes. “You’re fuckin’ trouble Ren Miller.”

  “So you keep saying.” I smiled up at him. Fuck, he just kept…dazzling me. He just dazzled.

  “Stop lookin’ at me like that,” he grumbled. Trust him to be a typical man and ruin my moment.

  “Why me?” I asked.

  Ash cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

  “Yeah. Why? You were always…Monica…”

  His eyes narrowed in displeasure. “Ren, I was always like that with her to keep her away from you. She was always looking for a way to bring you down.” He shrugged, pressing his lips against the top of my head. “I distracted her.”

  My heart began doing backflips. All that time, he was trying to protect me? It annoyed the shit outta me, but it came from the right place….right?

  “I was angry with you for so long…” I whispered.

  “You’re still angry with me.” He started laughing, stroking a hand through my hair.

  I smacked my shoulder against his. “I think we’ll always be fighting over something.”

  “Why do you call me Maverick?” he asked, hooking a hand underneath my legs and tugging.

  “Well,” I said sinking into his lap. “Before you came back, I remember looking at your picture out in the hall-”

  “The one everyone licks?” His eyes narrowed as he chuckled.

  “That'd be the one.” I snorted at the memory of our first meeting. “I looked at it and thought you looked similar to Tom Cruise in Top Gun.”

  Ash started to laugh, his grip tightening around my waist.

  “Stop it.” I pinched him underneath the arm.

  With one fluid movement, he flipped me around so my back was flat on the mattress. Pressing a knee between my legs, he lowered his weight over my body. Fuck, I loved the feel of him over me.

  “You wanna know what I call you?” he murmured, pressing his lips against the corner of my jaw. That little spot right underneath my ear.

  “You better not call me babe or kitten or something equally puke worthy,” I gasped, the familiar ache Ash rose in my pussy, pulsing through my entire body.

  Teeth nipped my neck. “Puke worthy?”

  “I ain't a baby.”

  Ash rolled his hips into mine, rubbing his cock against my thigh. “No, you're definitely not a baby, Spitfire.”

  “Spitfire?” I kind of liked it. It made me sound tough.

  “Spitfire.”

  His mouth caught mine again and he stroked his tongue against mine, softly at first, then deeper as I began to rub my clit against his cock. There were way too many clothes between us so I began pulling at his shirt.

  Ash was only too happy to oblige my wandering hands. He reached behind and yanked it off, exposing his tattooed chest, his mouth catching mine again. He seemed to have forgotten the fact that I wanted to fight at The Underground again and I was more than thankful for the distraction. He’d chastised me for using sex as a weapon the first night we hooked up, but he’d used it time and time again to try and distract me from getting what I needed. Violence, blood, fists and pain… I was only fighting fire with fire. We both got something out of it in the end, right? A fucking amazing orgasm.

  It wouldn’t be the end of our argument, but I was going back to The Underground for round two. Ash’s hand clamped around my breast and his fingers twisted a nipple through my bra. I arched into him, an expletive on my lips. Fuck…round two could wait until tomorrow night.

  My tank top was dragged over my head and then air kissed my breasts as Ash flicked the clasp open and flung the piece of lace over his shoulder.

  “Fuck, Ash,” I gasped as he licked a trail toward my breasts.

  “I intend to fuck you,” he murmured.

  Teeth grazed my right nipple before biting down hard. The painful sensation only mainlined a hot spark of pleasure right into my core and I thrust against him. I’d never get enough, I’d never want him to stop…Ash was mine.

  He thrust a hand down my knickers and found my clit, circling and pinching roughly. Our breathing picked up as my head pressed into the pillow, lost to the rhythm of his f
ingers.

  “God,” I cried out.

  “No,” he whispered, his lips curving into a grin against my skin. “Ash.”

  “Shut the fuck up and strip.”

  “If I didn’t want to sink into your pussy so much, I’d take you over my knee.”

  The thought of Ash spanking me had even dirtier thoughts springing to mind.

  His eyes widened with lust. “Shit, you’re picturin’ me smackin’ your ass, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah,” I breathed heavily, a haze settling over my vision. I was so fucking horny.

  With a growl, he stripped my bottom-half bare, flinging my shorts and knickers over his shoulder. His pants followed a split second later and I stared at his tattooed chest, my gaze burning down toward the V of his muscles and smack bang into his cock. It was hard and ready and all I wanted was for him to put it in and fuck me stupid.

  Ash thought he was a beast, but he had no idea what was living inside of me…what he awoke the first night he turned up at Beat. I was the animal wild enough to sate the hunger that lived inside of him. Me.

  Lowering himself over my body, the underside of Ash’s thick, heavy cock rubbed through my folds and I spread my legs wide, opening myself completely. With a groan, Ash began licking a trail upwards, his weight enveloping my entire body. His lips found mine the moment the head of his cock pressed against my pussy and the pressure was unbearable.

  “Ash,” I gasped against his lips. “I need you in me.”

  “I’m going to fuck you hard, Spitfire,” he moaned. “You’re so fucking sweet…”

  So, it was true. A beast did live inside of him and when he wanted to fuck, that was the beast I was falling for. The orgasm would come fast and would tear me apart. I fucking loved it.

  Ash thrusted into me with a grunt and my eyes flew open. Fuck.

  He didn’t give me time to get used to the sensation and slid back and thrust again, sliding me up the mattress.

  “Fuck,” he was muttering. “Fuck your pussy is so fucking tight. Do you like that?”

  I think I said yes, but neither of us seemed to care if I answered or not because nothing was stopping him now. God, he was so raw and magnificent and he was all mine. He hadn’t looked twice at those bimbos at The Underground. He’d only had eyes for me and it turned me on knowing he was hard, knowing he was going to take me the first moment he could. Fighting was our thing. We fought in the cage, pounded our aggression out in other ways and got the rest of our steam off together…all sweaty and naked.