The most elaborately designed tattoo circled both his biceps, something geometric. Above the design on his right biceps was an inscription. And another one rested on the left side of his abs. She couldn’t read the words clearly from where she stood, but she fully intended to get a much better visual in the near future.
And then he turned around. One shoulder blade sported a beautiful red, white, and blue fallen soldier tattoo with a boot, a helmet, a rifle, and a flag.
Kayla swallowed back the burn in her throat that told her some members of his team had not returned from combat. Not that she hadn’t imagined this to be the case, but with the proof staring her in the face, she felt his loss deep in her gut.
She flinched when the announcer called Gage’s name. “And now for the first of the middleweight contenders. In the blue, weighing in at one hundred eighty-two pounds, we have Gage ‘The Ranger’ Holland…” He continued listing Gage’s accomplishments as well as those of his opponent.
Kayla pulled from her reverie and found herself inching forward, trying to get closer. She watched Gage bounce around in his corner, his back to her. She didn’t think he’d seen her, but that was probably just as well since she felt kind of foolish, like some sort of groupie.
When the bell rang and the fight started, Kayla flinched. The opponent swung fast, knocking Gage to one side with a hit to the side of his head. She must have screamed, or growled.
Emily giggled in her ear. “He’s okay. It’s normal. Gage takes a while to get in the groove. He likes to let the other guy throw a few punches first so he can learn his style. He’ll get a handle on it in a minute.”
After a few more punches and kicks that did no real harm, Gage swept his foot out and knocked his opponent to the ground.
Kayla jumped so she could see better, as illogical as that was since it lasted less than a second. She found herself pushing through the crowd until she came within a few feet of the stage. There were chairs, but no one was sitting in them. She found Gage on the ground wrestling the other guy as though trying to pin him.
Emily must have made her way to the front in Kayla’s wake. She was right next to her in a heartbeat, her hand on Kayla’s arm. “That’s called a takedown. He’ll try to get the other guy to a point where he either can’t get up or the referee calls it.”
Whatever it was, it was intense. Gage was on top of the other man, straddling his body. The guy was bucking against Gage and defending his face against the blows. Suddenly he twisted to one side and managed to throw Gage off. In seconds, they were both standing once again, circling each other. They each threw several punches and kicks. When Gage grabbed the guy around the neck and fought to take him down again, Kayla fisted her hands together in front of her. The entire thing was exhilarating. She felt the stress as though she were actually in the ring.
“That’s a clinch hold,” Emily explained.
And then the bell sounded, and Kayla watched as the two men separated. Gage turned and headed in her direction, but she didn’t think he saw her. When he reached the corner, a man wiped his face and squirted water into his mouth.
“That’s Byron. The cornerman. He works with all the guys.”
Kayla nodded.
“They fight for three five-minute rounds with one-minute breaks.”
“How do they win?”
“Either one guy knocks the other one out, the ref calls it, or the losing man taps out. If none of those things happen, the referees judge based on some enormous point system I haven’t managed to understand, but it’s usually obvious who has had the most takedowns, holds, jabs, all of that.”
The bell sounded again, and both men bounced on their feet toward the center, circling each other in a sort of dance.
Kayla held her breath as Gage kicked his opponent high, across the stomach. The guy barely flinched, not surprising since they both had abs made of steel. “God, is there anything they can’t do?”
Emily nodded against Kayla’s shoulder. “Yep. No eye gouging. No punches to the groin. Certain strikes to the head and kidneys aren’t allowed. There’s a long list, believe it or not. It always looks like anything goes when watching, but not really.”
Kayla stood rigid as she watched Gage throw a right hook that knocked his opponent back several steps. He followed it with several left punches to the guy’s chest and arm. And then Gage circled the man while he was trying to get control and wrapped one arm around his neck in a tight grip from behind.
“That’s a choke hold. Gage is good at it. He’ll take the guy down to the ground in no time.” Emily clapped. “Go, Gage,” she yelled. She really was the only one out of the women who found this invigorating.
Sure enough, within seconds Gage had his opponent on the ground and then slid over his chest, completely in control. After incapacitating the man, the referee stopped the match.
The booming voice came through the speakers again. “And the winner of this first middleweight match is Gage ‘The Ranger’ Holland.”
Gage bounced into the middle of the ring and waved at the crowd.
Kayla was shocked when he turned to face her, waved, and winked. She had no idea he’d known if she was even there, let alone where she was standing. Next, he disappeared at the gate on the other side of the cage.
Jenna stepped up behind Kayla. “Mason is next. Think I’m gonna be sick.”
Kayla twisted to see her expression and knew she was sort of kidding. “That was awesome. You don’t think so?”
“Ugh. Not so much. But I’m here. I try my best to put on a brave face.”
“Where did Gage go?” Kayla asked.
“Locker room,” Katy said. “He’ll probably come out here in a while since he was the first of the guys. Usually we go hunt them down, but it’s early.”
Kayla watched the next match while Jenna held her breath and sometimes put a hand in front of her face to peek through her fingers. Mason was also a strong fighter. In fact they called him “The Bullfighter.” He fought all three rounds, but he won.
The next two contenders weren’t anyone the women knew, so they relaxed a bit. It was hard to talk over the noise, but in between shouts of encouragement and boos of disappointment, Jenna told Kayla about the floral shop she owned. Kayla also learned more about Katy, the lawyer, and Emily, a high school librarian. They all seemed to know already that Kayla worked with Gage at the police station.
When the next match started, a hand landed on the small of Kayla’s back, followed by a chin on her shoulder from behind. “What’d you think?”
She twisted to find Gage’s face an inch from hers. Immediately every part of her body went on alert. He smelled fantastic, like soap and shampoo and Gage. His hair was wet and dripped onto her shoulder. He wore his usual black jeans and tee. “Loved it.” She smiled. “And congratulations.”
“Really?” He glanced at the other women.
Emily giggled. “She did. Thank God. Now I have someone on my side,” she teased, hip-bumping Katy next to her. She twisted to the ring as they called the next fighters, including her man, Rider “The Enforcer” Henderson.
Kayla watched, glad for the heels she wore that allowed her to see slightly better than without them. She was constantly aware of Gage’s presence at her back, though. He righted himself, but his hands held her waist on both sides, and his mouth tickled her ear repeatedly when he told her little details about Rider’s skills.
“Wow. That’s an amazing tattoo,” Kayla said as Rider turned away from her and she saw the expanse of wings across his back.
“So, you like tattoos?” Gage’s voice was teasing. His hands slipped around her until he held her firmly against his front, both arms crossed under her breasts.
She couldn’t breathe, and it had nothing to do with how tight he held her. She couldn’t concentrate on anything except how good it felt to have him behind her, touching her so reverently. Like a real date. Surrounded by his scent and his frame, she lost track of what round Rider was in. She never answered the
question about tattoos, but she did remember the details of the display on Gage’s body. And she hoped to soon see the words across his arm and six pack in the near future.
“He’s something, isn’t he?” Gage asked.
He might have been, but Kayla’s vision was clouded. And it didn’t improve any when Gage stroked the underside of her breasts with his thumbs. She took a deep breath and tried to stand taller and maybe dislodge him, but he simply chuckled and held her still. “So wiggly,” he whispered in her ear, his breath making her shiver. “Stay still.” He squeezed her firmly, and she lifted her hands to grasp his forearms as his thumbs stroked higher against her chest until he suddenly flicked them both across her nipples.
Kayla gasped, her nails digging into his arms.
“Put your arms down, baby,” he muttered. “Watch the match.”
She jerked her gaze toward the ring, not having realized the world had ceased to exist as she fell under Gage’s spell.
“Arms, baby. Put them at your sides. Submit to me.”
Here? She lowered both hands, but as she did so, a knot formed in her belly, and her pussy grew so wet she could feel the moisture gathering in her thong. Suddenly she wished she hadn’t chosen the jean skirt.
Gage yelled something out to Rider she couldn’t hear. To anyone else, she knew it would appear he was watching his friend fight with all his attention. But Kayla knew better. It was a show. The man mastered her in the crowd. His fingers worked magic on her nipples until they were so stiff they ached. He flicked them repeatedly, and whenever no one was looking, he pinched them, hard.
Kayla melted. If he let go, she was sure she would collapse to the floor.
Their first sort of official date had just begun, and already he had her in a state of arousal to rival any other date she’d ever been on. Not that there had been many. She’d been with no one since Simon and only a few men before him, none of whom she’d slept with. Simon had been a piss-poor excuse for a date after about a month of luring her into his web.
Had he ever been as attentive as Gage? She couldn’t remember. In the early days, she was so enamored, she would do anything for him. She was a virgin, even though she was almost twenty. And Simon played her so well, she never recognized the signs until it was too late.
Was she a poor judge of character? She thought about Gage, the way he looked at her, held her, made her so horny she couldn’t think straight. He managed that nearly every time they were together. Had it only been two weeks? She’d fallen hard. Just like she had for Simon…
Kayla stiffened. Worry ate at her and dampened the good feelings flooding her body. What if Gage was no different? After all, he was doing some of the same things Simon had in the beginning. Overly attentive. Focused intently on her needs. Saying all the right things.
Shit. She needed to slow this down before she made poor choices. She shoved the obvious differences from her mind—the fact that he hadn’t pressured her since she’d agreed to date him, the fact that he hadn’t had sex with her even though he’d slept with her in his arms, the fact that he’d taken such care with her when she’d stopped their scene instead of continuing to whip her and paying no attention to her needs. Still she worried.
The match ended as Kayla stiffened further.
Gage leaned to her ear again. “You okay, baby?”
She nodded, too quick, too hard.
He released her and took her hand. “Come on.” He lifted his gaze to the other women. “We’ll be back.” And then he led her away, totally the Dom. He didn’t ask her opinion. He simply pulled her by the hand.
He isn’t Simon. Not even close. Don’t read so much into this.
When they left the main arena and stepped into the lobby, the crowd thinned. The noise level lowered as the door shut behind them. People stood in long lines for snacks or the bathroom, but the hustle and bustle of the spectators was greatly reduced.
Gage pulled her across the pathway and leaned against the wall, situating her between his spread legs and taking her face in both palms. “Talk to me.”
She lifted her eyelids. “About what?” God, had he really read her that well?
He narrowed his gaze. “Come on, baby. You froze, like something triggered a reaction you didn’t like.”
She chewed her bottom lip between her teeth until Gage stroked over the offended flesh with his thumb and tugged it free.
“You okay now?”
“Yeah.”
“I get it, you know. More than you think. You’ve been through something horrible. I’m not stupid. And I’ll do my best to make sure I catch your cues and stop when you need me to. But I’m fighting an uphill battle without all the cards.”
“I know.” Not that she intended to give him anything else to play with, but she understood. Her shoulders slumped. There was no way for this to work long-term. Her past was too painful to share with anyone, and Gage was too astute to let it slide forever., but God how she wished she could keep him. He was fucking sexy as hell, and he treated her like a queen—when she wasn’t busy wigging out wondering about his intentions.
Gage let out a slow exhale. He set his forehead against hers. “I can also read from your reaction that you think I can’t take the heat.”
She smiled wanly. He was spot on. She knew he couldn’t take the heat, at least not forever.
He grinned wider. “I can, Kayla. And I’ll prove it to you.”
She nodded subtly against his forehead. “There are some things I’ll never discuss, Gage.”
His gaze nailed her, eliminating everything else happening around them to just dull noise. “Let’s worry about that later, way down the line.”
She nodded again, but she wasn’t sure he understood how important this was to her.
“I’m so glad you came. I wanted to share this part of me. Did you really enjoy it?” Bless him for changing the subject.
“Yep. But I don’t think Katy or Jenna are very fond of the sport.”
“Nope. Not a bit. But they come occasionally for moral support. Most times they go to dinner or the movies while we fight.” He set his thumb on her lower lip and stroked back and forth, distracting her even though he continued speaking as if nothing about his action was making her arousal shoot through the roof again. “Emily enjoys it, though. If you want to come, you’re welcome anytime. She usually watches. You can exchange numbers and join her in the groupie section.” He grinned.
Kayla tried to catch most of his words, but she was far more interested in the heat rising across her chest from his thumb toying with her lip. In fact, she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out her tentative tongue and flicking it across the pad.
Gage groaned. He released her face with his other hand and smoothed it down her back, pressing her into his crotch. His cock bulged at her belly. There was no way to miss it. “You’re gonna kill me.” He rolled his head back against the wall and then released her, setting her away from him a few inches. “Let’s get back inside.”
Kayla followed behind him in the same manner they’d exited, him holding her hand in a way that was more possessive than guiding. His pressure on her fingers was more than gentle casual handholding, but not enough that she couldn’t yank free if she wanted.
He asserted his dominance with her in a way that was private, between the two of them. The average person around them wouldn’t notice.
When they reached the other women, Katy’s husband Rafe was about to start. Gage made fun of her as she winced before the first punch was thrown.
Katy scrunched up her nose. “Why on earth do you men find it necessary to pummel each other to death for fun? I’ll never understand.”
Gage settled behind Kayla again. He kept both hands on her waist, spreading his fingers wide enough for it to seem like he touched her everywhere all at once, but he didn’t resume torturing her nipples into stiff peaks. Not that he had to touch the tips for them to swell and stiffen. He did that simply by being in the room. But at least she was able to watch the
last fight with some level of concentration.
When it was over, at least the middleweight portion, Gage led them all toward the lobby, through an unmarked door, and down a long hall toward the locker rooms. One by one the other three guys emerged.
Kayla was fascinated by how much they each adored their woman. Considering she knew they were all Doms, it was intriguing how they interacted with each other and their submissives. Each man had subtle moves that demonstrated what Kayla knew to be true about their relationships, but nothing that would let anyone else around in the loop.
There were also two more men who came out. Gage introduced her. “The rest of The Fight Club. Zane. Conner. This is Kayla.”
Kayla shook both their hands. She recognized Zane as the man who fought as she was leaving the arena to talk to Gage. She must have missed Conner altogether. He was taller than all of them and older, maybe late thirties.
The ten of them left through a side door and agreed to meet at a local outdoor taco stand for a late night snack before going to Extreme.
Kayla rode with Gage. Nerves got ahold of her. She tucked her hands under her thighs to keep from fidgeting. It was strange being out with Gage as his date this first time. She’d known him forever, but this was different. He easily laid claim to her in a way no one could deny, and it was at once daunting and exciting. There was nothing awkward about the way he always had a hand on her somewhere, and even kissed her temple on occasion. It was comfortable. But was it too soon?
If this idea crashed and burned, which she had every expectation it eventually would, she’d never be able to step foot into Extreme again. And she liked the club.
She fought to keep her negativity at bay, smiling and making conversation with everyone while they ate tacos and stuffed themselves full of chips and salsa.
By the time they arrived at the club, Kayla was more or less at ease with the group. As usual, Frank was situated at the door to Extreme. For as long as Kayla had been coming there, he’d been the front line. He nodded at all of them and gave Kayla a double take when he realized she was with the group. He smiled on her way by.
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