The Fight Club - Boxed Set
Page 89
At least she was dressed appropriately. Jeans and a tank top were worn by most of the women in attendance, and there were many. Perhaps half the spectators were women. They were as excited about the competition as the men.
Suddenly, the room filled with the booming sound of the announcer describing the next two men to fight. She caught the majority of what they said as she squeezed into a small spot near the fence. Why she’d found it necessary to weasel her way to the center of the action she would never know.
“…In the red corner, we have Rider ‘The Enforcer’ Henderson. Weighing in at one eighty-two…” The crowd cheered so loud she couldn’t hear the rest of the description. “…and in the blue corner, we have Gage ‘The Ranger’ Holland…” Again the cheering covered the announcer’s voice. The entire room vibrated from the loud speakers and the stomping spectators.
Two women wormed their way next to Sabrina. They were smiling broadly and giggling.
One of them, the one with long blonde curls, bonked into Sabrina and turned to apologize. “So sorry.” Her deep green eyes widened as she steadied herself by grabbing Sabrina’s arm. “It’s so crowded in here.”
Sabrina smiled. “No problem.”
“Who are you here to see?” the woman asked.
“Oh, uh, no one in particular.”
The blonde glanced around. “Are you alone? You just came to watch fighting by yourself?”
Sabrina had to admit it was a bit strange, but it wasn’t as though she could tell this stranger the real reason she was there. Yeah, I’m stalking my lit professor from last semester. He’s a Dom, and I saw him enter the arena. I’m just hanging out hoping to see what he’s doing here.
The other woman leaned forward to address Sabrina. She was shorter, closer to Sabrina’s height. She had blonde hair also, the soft curls making her look younger than she probably was. “Don’t mind Kayla. She’s new.” She reached out a hand. “I’m Emily, by the way. Do you come to these often?”
Sabrina took her hand. How had she managed to make friends in this crowded, noisy arena? “Sabrina. And I’ve never been to a fight before.”
Kayla looked shocked. But she twisted her head around when a bell sounded. It obviously indicated the start of the match. “Go, Gage,” she shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth.
Emily nudged Kayla’s hip with her own playfully and followed the shouting with her own. “Yay, Rider. You got this.”
Sabrina gasped. “You know them? Both of them?”
Kayla smiled and nodded, but she didn’t take her gaze off the action. “Yep. Sometimes they fight each other. It’s damn fun.”
Emily added, “For the one who wins.”
Craziness.
Sabrina focused on the fight. The men were evenly matched. They were almost the same size. Huge. And they both had muscles that made her drool. Sabrina had never considered herself a tattoo gal, but the tats on these guys were amazing.
As the two men fought, their bodies quickly covered in sweat, Emily and Kayla shouted over each other. It was all in good fun, as evidenced from the smiles on their faces and the way they kept teasing each other with a gentle shove.
Sabrina had no idea what the rules were, but there weren’t many it seemed. It was a combination of wrestling and boxing as far as she could tell.
The announcer kept a running litany of what was happening, but it sounded like a jumble of kicks and punches and holds. After a few minutes, the bell sounded again, and both men went to their corner.
“They get a break?” Sabrina asked.
“Yep.” Emily glanced at her. “One minute. Always seems like five seconds, though.”
“How many rounds are there?”
“Three,” Emily continued. “Unless one of them takes the other down beforehand. Which isn’t likely to occur between Rider and Gage. They’re pretty evenly matched. Rider’s a cop. Gage is a K-9 trainer. They don’t mess around.”
“I see.”
“Now, the next guy up after them is another story. He’s never been knocked out. You’re in for a real treat. He’s amazing to watch. His opponent won’t have a chance.”
Sabrina didn’t have any idea why she found this so invigorating, but she was actually getting into it. “Awesome.”
Sure enough, the match between Rider and Gage was close. Too close to call. When it ended, the referee had to let the announcer know who had the most points. Gage was declared the winner, but Rider didn’t look too torn up about it. They left the room razzing each other.
“‘The Gladiator’ is next,” Kayla said. “The crowd is always wild for him. As soon as he comes out, we won’t be able to hear ourselves think.”
It didn’t take long before the volume in the room rose to a new level. Sabrina lifted onto her tiptoes to see what all the hoopla was about.
And then she swayed forward, almost falling on her face before she could stop herself.
Emily grabbed her arm to steady her. “Careful.”
Sabrina swallowed over her shock, not wanting these two women to find out she actually knew this “Gladiator,” as they called him. Her face heated. Stunned, she took a few steps forward, as though drawn to Dr. Bascott by a magnetic pull.
Holy mother of God, he was gorgeous. He’d made her panties damp and her voice squeak so many times over the last nine months, she couldn’t count them. But this was an entirely different level of hot.
Sabrina’s mouth was dry. She couldn’t even lick her lips. They were parted. Hell, she was panting. Her nipples pressed into the lace of her bra, making them feel suddenly too large. And there was no describing the knot of lust in the pit of her stomach that made her pussy pulse.
Dr. Bascott. My, oh my, are you a pile of surprises. First BDSM. Now MMA.
The man was ripped. Huge. Even bigger than she’d thought. Or perhaps that was just the impression she had with his shirt off, wearing nothing but thin shorts. His chest was scattered with a dusting of hair that made her want to plant her hands on his pecs and squeeze.
And then there was his tattoo. She couldn’t swallow. She understood why they called him “The Gladiator.” His right shoulder and pec were covered with the intricate design of some sort of leather armor. Absolutely stunning and gorgeous. Making the superhuman man more out of this world.
She swallowed. Get a grip on yourself.
“…And in the blue corner, we have, Conner ‘The Gladiator’ Bascott…”
She thought she might faint. He had that much of a pull on her.
“You okay?” Emily asked.
She nodded. She couldn’t bring herself to tear her gaze off Dr. Bascott, her professor slash Dom slash fighter slash one-time lover. He’d never taken his shirt off that day at King Pizza. If he had, she might have collapsed into a pile of goo on the bathroom floor.
“I know he’s hot. Warned you.” Kayla giggled.
“You did.” Sabrina licked her lips again. She still didn’t glance in the direction of Kayla and Emily.
Before the fight began, the two men took the center of the cage and bounced on their feet. By some strange aligning of the planets, Conner’s gaze landed on Sabrina. The shock on his face was palpable. His eyes widened, and he hesitated long enough to make both Emily and Kayla turn in her direction.
Sabrina could feel their gazes. The heat in her face increased. She knew she was beet red. Just as quickly, Conner jerked his gaze back to his opponent as the bell sounded.
“Do you know him?” Emily asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Kayla asked.
“I didn’t know he was a fighter. I had no idea he was ‘The Gladiator’ you spoke of.”
“Really? It’s a coincidence?” Emily’s voice rose over the crowd.
Sabrina didn’t take her gaze off Conner. “Sort of.” No way was she going to tell these two she’d followed him here.
The shorter man swung at Conner, landing a punch to Conner’s cheek.
Sabrina winced.
Sabrina cringed. If she thought the man was an ass in class and at the club, she couldn’t imagine how much his asshole-ishness would increase if her presence broke his concentration.
Although a part of her secretly felt a surge of pleasure she had such an effect on him. Served him right.
After several tense moments, Conner found his groove. He straightened his spine and took control of the match. The crowd roared. His opponent backed up several paces until he hit the fence.
Conner spun around and kicked the guy high on his bicep. The man stumbled but didn’t go down.
Sabrina held her breath. Her heart pounded in her chest. She’d never been so invigorated by anything in her life. Her best submissive scenes did not compare to this. Conner Bascott screamed virility. And she had never wanted him more than she did right then.
When the bell sounded, ending the first round, Conner headed for the corner farthest from Sabrina. Just as well. She felt a twinge of guilt for her presence. Like the girls had said, the minute was far too short. It didn’t seem that Conner had caught his breath when the bell sounded to begin the second round. His heaving chest was nothing compared to the other guy’s, however.
The man had a fierce look on his face, but it didn’t match his ability to deflect Conner’s advances. Suddenly, Conner circled behind his opponent and grabbed him in a chokehold.
Sabrina gasped.
“Don’t worry. He won’t hurt him,” Emily said. “Not permanently, anyway.”
The man’s knees buckled when Conner swept out a foot. They both went to the ground, Conner on top, straddling the man’s chest and holding him down by the neck with his forearm. The referee circled the action, taking in every angle.
Sabrina hoped his main goal was to ensure no one got killed. That seemed imminently possible.
“Conner is well known for his ability to pin a man to the ground,” Kayla said.
Suddenly, the man tapped the floor, Conner leaped to his feet, and the crowd went wild.
Emily and Kayla jumped up and down, screaming along with the rest of the spectators.
Sabrina stood rooted to her spot, staring at Conner’s fucking hot body and wondering how in the hell she was going to explain herself.
She flinched when Conner turned toward her and made eye contact. His face was hard. He gave no indication of his mood, but he did glance to the side at Emily and Kayla and furrow his brow. And then he was gone, his back to her as he left the cage.
“Come on.” Emily grabbed Sabrina’s arm and tugged her through the crowd.
“Where’re we going?”
“To wait for the guys to come out of the locker room.”
Sabrina gasped for a breath of air to no avail. It seemed the room was suddenly devoid of oxygen.
When they stepped into the lobby, the two women regaled Sabrina with ten thousand questions about how she knew Conner. Where did she meet him? How long had she known him? Was she attracted to him? Wasn’t he the sexiest man ever?
Sabrina dodged most of their questions easily since they piled them on so fast neither Kayla nor Emily paused long enough for Sabrina to answer.
She did manage to piece together more details about Conner. For one thing, he seemed to be a member of some sort of fight club. Kayla’s and Emily’s men were also members. There were six in all, and if she wasn’t mistaken, Sabrina was pretty sure, from reading between the lines, all six men were also Doms. Interesting.
∙•∙
Conner couldn’t believe his eyes. What the hell was Sabrina doing at the arena? Not just at the arena, but front and center, and seemingly chatting it up with Kayla and Emily.
He lost his concentration for several moments, his mind racing to the woman standing next to the cage. He could feel her gaze boring into him. He’d never once in all the years he’d been fighting, found himself distracted by a woman, or anyone for that matter.
This wasn’t good.
She was under his skin. Had been for a week. Or perhaps months, but definitely worse in the last week.
Luckily, he pulled himself together and managed to put an end to his fight by the second round. Now what? Would she be waiting outside the locker room with the other women?
He didn’t say a word to Gage or Rider while they showered and dressed for the evening. The plan had been to head to Extreme next.
Conner took a deep breath and followed his friends out of the locker room.
And there she stood, for once looking timid and chagrined.
Conner glanced at the four other people staring at him and made a quick decision to drag Sabrina out of the arena before saying a word. He wasn’t about to confront her in front of everyone. Hell, he didn’t have the first notion what to say. He narrowed his gaze on her and wrapped his hand around her bicep to lead her away from the crowd.
Sabrina had the good sense to keep her mouth shut too. Neither of them spoke a word as Conner marched her out the front door and straight to his car. He didn’t release her arm until he leaned her against the passenger side with a hard stare, hoping to convey that he intended for her to remain where he left her.
He rounded to pop the trunk and dropped his bag in, slamming it shut harder than necessary. With his fob, he unlocked the car, and without making eye contact with Sabrina, yanked the passenger door open. He nodded for her to get inside and waited until she was seated before shutting the door and rounding the hood.
As soon as they were closed off from the world, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wasn’t sure it was wise to look at her. The woman could be hell on wheels most of the time, but he didn’t know how to interpret this new facet of her personality.
Her scent filled his car, which infuriated him. He had no idea why he was so pissed, but he needed to get a grip before he said something he couldn’t take back. He closed his eyes and breathed in her floral shampoo and the faint scent of her perfume. From the thorough look he’d had before the fight started, he knew she wore a tight, pink tank top that revealed enough to entice any man. Her jeans fit her ass to perfection.
He knew from staring at the ground as they’d walked to the car she had on pink flip-flops that matched her shirt, and her dainty toes were also painted the same shade.
His cock was rock hard. He held himself in check to keep from spinning toward her and yanking her mouth to his. He needed to rein in his aggravation, realizing he was mad at himself for allowing any woman to get the best of him. And she most certainly had gotten the best of him, considering she’d hunted him down while he’d had no clue how to find her.
“I followed you,” she blurted.
“What?” He turned to face her, confused.
“From the university. I followed you here.” She held her head up and kept her face devoid of anything discernable, but her hands were fisted in her lap.
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I was pissed. I wanted to confront you, but not on school property.”
“I appreciate that.” He frowned at her.
“You ruined a perfectly good relationship with the Dom I was with.”
“That Doug guy? He wasn’t right for you.” Inside he was secretly happy to hear this news.
“Really? How the hell would you know? You got one glimpse of our scene, and suddenly you’re an expert on everything?”
“Yep.” He knew he was being an ass, but he couldn’t stop himself. For his own personal sanity, he needed to put an end to this thing between them. She was twelve years younger than him. And even if he could overlook that small detail, he hated the way she made him lose all brain cells in her presence. Nope. The idea of seeing her ever again was a bad one.
Even if that did make him an asshole for also ruining the relationship she was in.
Sabrina lifted her arms and crossed them under her breasts.
His gaze roamed from her
face to her nipples, which were beaded beneath her shirt and bra. He licked his lips, fighting the urge to rip her shirt off and see them again. The edge of her dark pink lace bra stuck out the top of her tank top, making him nearly groan.
She was small. Tiny. And her breasts were also small. He was a boob man, but not in the same sense of most men. He loved the female chest, no matter the size. And frankly, dainty women with small breasts made him harder than huge boobs any day.
He remembered the pink tips, small but hard. The image was burned into his brain forever.
When she spoke again, he jerked his gaze up to her face. “Doug is a perfect gentleman, both inside and outside the club. I liked him. Who do you think you are waltzing into my life and threatening my date for no reason at all?”
He focused on the word liked and its past tense, fighting a grin. Apparently even without her phone number and address, Conner would win the prize. Hell, she’d come to him. He hadn’t had to hunt her down through less than reputable means. The only personal information he had on her was an e-mail address. He’d made no decision to hunt her down her yet. Even though the woman had his cock in her grip, he had spent the week trying to talk himself out of contacting her.
Sure, twenty-six was far better than eighteen. But still, that made him twelve years older than her. What sort of life experiences had she had? Questions had kept him up at night, tossing and turning as he pictured her submitting to Doug. How long had she been a submissive? If she could so readily bend over for a public spanking, she had to have some experience. She wasn’t a newbie.
In seven days, he hadn’t shaken her from his system. He wanted her more now than he had last weekend. He decided to push. “Yeah. I’m sure you did like him. But he didn’t make your panties wet and your nipples bead like they are now, did he?” It was a bold move on his part, and he turned to face her more fully, leaning his left forearm on the steering wheel.
Sabrina blinked. Her mouth fell open, and she tightened her arms around her middle, which only made her breasts stand out more, her sexy nipples more prominent. “Are you always this cocky?”