The Fight Club - Boxed Set

by Becca Jameson

  Jenna set one hand on Emily’s shoulder. “That’s Byron. He’s the cornerman. He helps out with all the guys from Joe’s gym.”

  Emily nodded. And then she jerked when the bell rang again.

  “That’s all they get. One minute,” Jenna said.

  Rider came forward more aggressively this time. He threw an insane leg kick to the other guy and while the guy was bent at the waist, Rider grabbed him in a neck hold and punched his face several times.

  Jesus. Emily felt oddly conflicted as her mind rooted for Rider while something deep inside her told her she was crazy to find this brutal sport so exhilarating. A man was getting beaten to a bloody pulp right before her eyes, and she was enjoying it.

  Come on, Rider… Knock him out…

  As if he could read her mind, Rider lifted his knee into the air and gave the man a hard jab to the face. Rider’s opponent hit the ground hard when Rider released him. The crowd screamed. Those who had remained in their seats jumped up to pump their fists in the air.

  And Emily found herself caught up in the excitement, yelling along with the rest of the crowd.

  As the announcer declared Rider the winner, he turned toward Emily and winked again, just as he had before starting the fight.

  A chill raced down her spine at the attention. Her world froze in that instant. Nothing else existed but Rider and her heartbeat.

  And then he turned and left the ring on the opposite side. She could only see the top of his head for a few minutes before he disappeared.

  “Girl, you really got into that.” Katy’s voice brought Emily back to the present. As if she’d been in a Rider vortex, she’d filtered out everything around her for a moment, watching him step down from the cage and walk away. Suddenly the noise of the crowd swooped back into her, filling her entire body with the vibrations of the sounds.

  Emily wrapped her arms around her center as if to protect herself from the invasion.

  She met Katy’s gaze. “That was intense. I feel drained.”

  Katy grinned. “That’s one way to put it.”

  “You don’t enjoy it?”

  “Not at all. I mean I can tolerate it occasionally, but watching my man pummel some guy to the ground isn’t my idea of Friday night entertainment.”

  Jenna leaned in. “And worse than that—watching some other dude beat the shit out of Mason.”

  “Well, yeah. I can see how that wouldn’t be fun.” Emily tried to rein in her excitement. Why the hell had she found this sort of thing so invigorating? She never would have expected a reaction like that from herself. If someone had asked her yesterday if she would like to go watch MMA fighting, she would have looked at them like they had two heads.

  And here she was. “So, what now?”

  “Rafe fights after a few more guys and then we get out of here,” Katy said.

  “How many guys are in this fight club of theirs?” Emily asked.

  “Six.” Jenna grabbed Emily’s arm and pulled her back a few feet so someone else could step up closer to the cage for the next fighter. “I think Conner and Zane fought before we got here. I’m not sure when Gage fights.”

  The next hour went by in a blur of noise and movement. When other fighters took the ring, Emily found herself learning the lingo and getting into the sport of it. Clearly Katy and Jenna weren’t so engrossed, but that didn’t matter.

  After Rafe finished, Emily followed her new friends toward the back of the room. An official-looking man with an ear piece and the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen pushed open a door for them to pass through. The second the metal door sealed shut, the noise stopped. “Oh my God. I can’t believe how loud it is in there.” Emily tapped her ears a few times, still hearing the ringing in her head.

  “Yeah, I don’t usually stay that long. There are a lot of fights tonight.” Katy turned around to face Emily as they headed down a long hall.

  “Where’re we going?”

  “To the locker rooms. We’ll wait outside the doors for the guys to come out.”

  “Ah. Okay.” She felt like a groupie. The MMA fighters were like a rock band. It kind of invigorated her all over again.

  And yet, you aren’t Rider’s woman.

  She sobered at that thought and tried to control her emotions.

  It didn’t take long to arrive outside the locker rooms, and moments later Mason emerged. He’d been the first of the three men to fight, and he took Jenna in his arms and kissed her soundly. “It wasn’t too bad, was it?”

  She shrugged. “Eh. At least you made it quick for me.” She smiled up at him, her chin on his chest.

  “Yeah,” he gave her a wry grin, “well, that’s the only thing I’m going to make quick for you this evening.”

  Emily flushed at the implication, as though she were eavesdropping on what should be a private moment. She envied their easy banter and the way Mason obviously adored her.

  The door opened again, jerking Emily’s attention to the next man to come out.

  Rider.

  Her breath caught.

  God that man is sexy.

  His hair was wet, a few drips clinging to the ends. One eye was slightly swollen, but not so much most people would notice. And Lord, his shoulders… In his trademark black designer T-shirt almost a size too small, he filled the entire hall with masculinity.

  Emily licked her lips as he approached her. She wanted to fling herself at him and lick the line of moisture running down one side of his cheek from his hair.

  When he reached her side, he heaved his gym bag up higher on his shoulder and hip bumped her. “What’d you think?”

  The jarring motion knocked her down a notch from the elation she’d been experiencing. This was Rider. Not hers. She couldn’t claim him. He’d simply been polite when he’d allowed Jenna and Katy to bring her here.

  She was his student in this strange new world, not his woman.

  She lowered her gaze, unable to continue looking at his face without choking on her disappointment. She shrugged. “It was okay. I’m glad you won.”

  Katy laughed. “Okay?” She grabbed Rider by the arm to get his attention. “She loved it. Personally, I think she has a screw loose,” she teased, “but to each his own. I guess some people find the fighting exciting.”

  Rider set a finger under Emily’s chin and lifted her face to meet his gaze. He lifted one eyebrow in question, a smile quirking the corner of his mouth. “Is that so?”

  Emily forgot to breathe. With him so close to her, she could smell his soap, his aftershave. He’d brushed his teeth.

  Suddenly it was all too much, and she wished she could disappear and never have experienced this evening. Every time she did something that involved this hunk of man, she fell deeper into his world—a world where she didn’t belong and couldn’t stay. Not only did she know this on a personal level, but she also knew it was Rider’s opinion too.

  Luckily the door opened again and Rafe came out to break the awkward moment.

  While everyone was talking, Rider leaned down. “Did you drive here?”

  “No. The girls picked me up.”

  “Okay, so you’re with me now.” It wasn’t a question. He took her hand in his and started walking, tossing words over his shoulder as they stepped away. “Meet you guys at Extreme.”

  “My stuff’s in Katy’s car,” Emily pointed out as she glanced down and remembered she wasn’t dressed for Extreme.

  “Easy enough,” Rafe said. “We’re all leaving now anyway.” He took Katy’s keys from her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as the other two couples followed Emily and Rider out of the arena.

  When they exited the building into the Vegas night, Emily exhaled as though she hadn’t breathed properly the entire time they’d been inside. The evening air was cooler than usual and felt fantastic against her heated skin. Rider left her beside a sleek black Corvette and jogged the distance toward Katy’s car to retrieve her bag.

  Emily set her hand on the hood of the car and tr
ailed it reverently down the warm metal surface. The man never ceased to amaze her.

  “You like it? I told you I had a car.” She whipped her head up to find Rider standing closer to her than she expected, his eyes dancing with appreciation.

  For me or the car?

  “I do. Much better than the back of your bike.” As soon as the words came out, she remembered her last ride on that motorcycle.

  Apparently Rider did too. He closed the gap between them and straddled her body with his own, pressing her back into the passenger door and setting his hands on the roof of the car. He leaned his face down to meet hers. “As I recall, you rather enjoyed the back of my bike last time you were on it. A little too much.”

  Emily closed her eyes against his intensity.

  “Look at me, baby.”

  She let them flutter back open, but meeting his gaze was difficult. He sucked her soul out…and she feared he would trample it and leave her without a life when he was done—intentionally or not.

  “What’s in the bag?”

  She swallowed. “A change of clothes for the club.”

  “I see.” He removed one hand from the top of the car and cupped the side of her face. “It seems a bit heavy. I hope whatever you brought covers less of your sexy body than what you’re currently wearing.”

  She nodded, too choked up to speak.

  He stroked his thumb across her cheek, meeting her lower lip on one corner and nudging her mouth open. In the next instant, he slid one knee between hers, forcing her thighs apart, while his thumb slipped between her lips to enter her mouth.

  The clean taste of his soap hit her tongue.

  “Suck it, baby.” He pushed his thigh up higher, rubbing against her pussy as he commanded her.

  Emily would have fallen if he hadn’t been supporting her. She wrapped her lips around his thumb and did his bidding, her body suddenly completely under his control, having not one ounce of respect for what she might have ordered it to do.

  “Oh, baby. That’s so sexy.” His voice was rough. “I do so wish you weren’t wearing these jeans.”

  She grabbed his waist, to hold on. Not that she was in fear of slipping away, but she needed to anchor herself more mentally than physically. She wrapped her fingers in his shirt and balled the hem in her fists.

  “You’re amazing with your tongue, baby.” He kissed her forehead. “And it really makes me hot that you enjoyed the fight. My cock jumped to attention the second Katy mentioned it. I’m wondering why you played it so cool. Hmmm,” he mused, not expecting an answer that she couldn’t give anyway with her mouth full of his thumb.

  Finally, he slipped it out from between her lips. He stepped back as though suddenly broken from a trance. His brow was furrowed as he fished the keys out of his pocket and opened the door so fast, she swayed from the missing pressure.

  He didn’t let her fall, however. He had his hands on her arm and waist in an instant and guided her into the passenger seat. He grabbed the seatbelt and reached across to secure her before tossing her bag over the seat and shutting the door.

  Emily couldn’t catch her breath. Her pussy was soaked from the attention, and now her heart beat wildly at the instant change in direction.

  She gripped the armrest on the door so tight her fingers hurt.

  Two seconds later, Rider jumped into the driver’s seat, fired up the engine, and peeled out of the parking lot.

  Emily’s body pressed into the seat as they drove. She didn’t dare speak or move a muscle, unsure what his mood was, or why it had shifted so quickly. One second he’d been softly talking to her while his tongue worked slowly in and out of her mouth; the next second he moved like a bat out of hell as though he suddenly remembered he needed to be somewhere else right that moment.

  Rider handled the car like he handled his bike, smoothly and precisely, as though he were a trained professional racecar driver.

  Emily still gripped the door with one hand and her thigh with the other. It wasn’t long, however. In ten minutes they pulled up behind Extreme, and Rider jumped out of the car as fast as he’d entered, rounded the hood, and extricated Emily from her seat as though she wouldn’t have been capable herself.

  He grabbed her bag and one of his from the back, wrapped her hand in his huge one, and headed for the entrance so fast, she could hardly keep up.

  Reeling from all the vehemence of Rider’s hurried movements, she never had a chance to ask where the fire was.

  Her legs wobbled from the arousal that had spread through her body while she’d leaned against the car. She felt a sense of urgency also, but hers stemmed from the need to be fucked. Against the car would have been fine.

  Why had he broken off the contact so abruptly and now dragged her into the club?

  “Rider?” she pleaded.

  He nodded at Frank on their way through the back door and then pulled her against him inside in the dark corridor. “Shh, baby. Please.” He stroked her face with his hand again, lingering on her lips. And then he moaned and dropped his head.

  A heartbeat passed. She could hear both her heart and his pounding in her head.

  And then they were on the move again, Rider pulling her along behind him. He paused when they reached the front desk and spoke in hushed tones with Harper. Harper nodded, glanced at his computer screen and then gave a one-word answer that must have been satisfactory to Rider. “Three.”

  Rider nodded and trudged forward again. His grip on Emily’s hand was tight, controlling, demanding. Part of her was annoyed at his highhandedness and unwillingness to communicate with her. But the rest of her was titillated beyond reason.

  She knew he wouldn’t hurt a hair on her body under any circumstances. She knew he was an intense master at controlling her body also. And that was enough to make her trust him. Whatever was going on in his head, she would follow and find out. Apparently she was on a need-to-know basis, and whatever was happening, she didn’t need to know, according to Rider.

  Rider skirted the edges of the crowd, not paying attention to anyone as he dragged Emily along. He headed down the side hall where they’d used a room the previous week. Were they going to do so again? Was he perhaps angry with something she did and looking for a private place to reprimand her?

  That didn’t seem likely. He could have done that in the car.

  He stopped abruptly, yanked open a door with a three on the side, and slid them both into a small room. Emily tipped her head to see around Rider, wondering if the room was the same or similar to the one from last week. Maybe this was a good place to change her clothes.

  But she never had a chance to see anything because one second she was wide-eyed and peering around and the next second she was smashed against the door and Rider had his lips on hers, his tongue inside her, his hands gripping her face so hard she couldn’t move an inch. Her feet were hardly on the floor; he held her so tight.

  He moaned into her mouth, and she found herself softening beneath his rough handling. His lips alone made her brain scramble. Plastered against her like he was, she had no brain cells left to use for anything.

  All she knew was the deep, rough kiss making her knees wobbly, her pussy ache, and her nipples stand at attention to abrade against her bra.

  While he kissed her, he tugged on her shirt, breaking the contact with her lips for only the fraction of a second it took to pull the material over her head. He pulled the cups of her bra down next, forcing her breasts to be pushed up high and tight. And then his hands were all over them, molding them, squeezing. He pinched her nipples, hard. Too hard. And yet not enough.

  Her legs stopped holding her up, and she slipped a few inches down the door. But Rider was there with his thigh between her legs, pushing higher and higher until only the tips of her toes remained on the ground and her pussy dug into his leg.

  She groaned so loud, the noise broke her from a trance. “Rider… Oh, God.” What was he doing?

  And then he dropped her nipples and flicked the clasp on her bra
. It fell away from her in a flutter. She didn’t care if she never saw it again.

  His lips didn’t leave hers, devouring her, his mouth tipped to one side, his tongue plunging into her, tasting every crevice. And she responded in kind, learning everything about his taste anew.

  But his hands…his huge powerful magic hands trailed down her waist and went to work on her jeans. He popped the button and lowered the zipper, and then he tugged on the sides of the denim, forcing the pants down her legs until they pooled at her feet. She was trapped by the confining denim and her shoes, her ankles tethered together.

  Rider’s lips left her so fast, she gasped. He lifted her, turned to step three feet into the room, and set her on a rug in the center. “On your knees, baby.” He pressed her shoulders to get her to comply.

  She didn’t need any kind of physical reinforcement to go with his words, because her legs no longer worked. Easily, she dropped to her knees, her thighs attached to each other by the jeans at her ankles.

  Rider released her. “Oh, God, baby. You’re…” He didn’t finish. She had no way to fill in the blanks, but his voice was hoarse with need. All this rushing, it was to fuck her, not to reprimand her.

  She grew warmer, knowing she’d done this to him against the car in the parking lot of the arena. She’d made him want her so badly he couldn’t drive fast enough. And she’d accomplished all that by sucking on his thumb.

  Power. The power was overwhelming, making her sway as he released her to fumble with his own jeans. They were gone in seconds, as were his shoes and then his T-shirt. He stood gloriously naked before her, his cock at the level of her mouth where he stroked it from the base to the end and then released it just as quickly as though he’d burned himself.

  “Hands behind your back, little sub. Gaze to the floor.” He stepped closer as she obeyed readily. His cock bobbed in front of her, teasing her until she licked her lips. Moisture ran between her legs. She squeezed her thighs together to stave off the mounting pressure. Or perhaps to increase it.

  Rider closed the gap to nothing and took his cock in one hand to line it up with her lips. “I need to be inside your mouth, baby.”