by Matson, TC
“Levi!” I giggle. “You’re ravenous.”
He weaves his hand up my back and pulls me into him grinding his erection into me. “I can never get enough of you. Morning, brunch, lunch, snack, dinner, midnight snack. I’d take every bit of it.”
Although the floor ripples underneath my feet, I keep my wits. “In this case, dinner first.” I pat his chest, wink, and walk off with so much sway in my hips, I know he’s drooling.
Chapter 39
I fucking love the adrenaline that floods me at weigh-ins and this one has way more intensity to it. It pumps me up. Readies me for war. I’ve waited for this day for years and here I am. I’m ready.
Ryker has just been weighed in and now it’s my go to stand on the scales in front of hundreds of screaming people. They’re either here for me or him. Either way I don’t care. They feed my desire regardless.
I climb the stairs with Harvey, leaving Paige and Adam behind waiting on me. The first step onto the stage and people scream my name. I smirk knowing I’m going to deliver what they want. I’m going to win the championship.
I’m fucking pumped!
I stand on the scales showing no emotions and the announcer calls out my weight. I grin at the men and women howling out, excited with their fists in the air.
See? All this injects hype into my veins.
The usher points me in the direction to go for our fighter poses. Ryker and I are nose to nose, posing but ready to pounce. Flashes are in the distance as I zero in on the one I’m going to pummel. Gauging by his expression, he thinks I’ll be his next victim.
“I hope you’re fucking ready, douchebag,” Ryker spits.
I lick my lips and grin. “Have been for years.”
Ryker’s jaw muscles rise and he braces himself on his foot with tense shoulders and flashes a smile. “Ask Paige if she misses my touch yet.”
Rage zips over my skin and blacks out the world around me. I can’t hear a thing except my pounding heartbeat battering my breath. Several arms wrap around me as I lunge toward him. He takes a cocky ass step back and drops his fists.
I jerk out of everyone’s arms and exit the other side of the stage. People are talking to me. I can see their mouths moving, but I can’t hear a fucking thing as I glower at Paige.
Her hands are over her mouth. Her eyes wide. I grab her wrist as I pass her and pull her along beside me. Adam is saying something. Harvey is barking something. I can’t hear shit.
“Do you have something to tell me, Paige?” I growl, making my way through the crowd.
She doesn’t answer me.
I continue to make my way to my locker room and just as I get to the door, I stop, turning to Adam and Harvey. “Stay the fuck out,” I grit and then glare at Paige opening the door for her.
She shoves her hands into her hoodie and keeps her head down.
“Do you have something to tell me, Paige?” I repeat.
She doesn’t look up.
“What the fuck?” I roar, tossing a chair across the room.
The metal hitting the concrete is wicked and gets her attention. She jumps and I stalk to her. She backs against the wall with tears in her eyes. I bend so we’re face to face. “Answer me,” I say maliciously low.
She swallows. Her tears have left her eyes and are streaming down her cheek. “He…” she trails.
“He what?” I tilt my head. “He what, Paige?”
“We kissed.” Her voice shakes.
A malevolent laugh vibrates my chest. “When?”
“We weren’t together. It just happened. Nothing else.”
“I hurt you so you seek to shatter me? Are you that childish?” I hit the wall beside her head.
“No.” She drops her view back to the floor.
“Then what was it, Paige?”
“He caught me off guard. I haven’t seen him since.” Her voice is barely a whisper.
I grip her jaw, forcing her to look at me. “Why the fuck am I just finding this out now and from him?”
No answers come from her mouth.
“Answer me, dammit.”
“It was a mistake. I don’t want to know what you did when we were apart. We didn’t talk about it, so I didn’t bring it up.”
I laugh. “Have you lost your mind? You seriously think I was out doing a damn thing? Guilt, Paige. I was immersed in guilt, drowning in the sorrows of my mistake. But come to find out, you were out with the enemy.” She gasps, squeezing her eyes shut as I slap the wall again. “He fucking knows what you taste like.”
I push off the wall, my chest heaving. “I can’t fucking believe you,” I mumble abrasively. “What’s with bitches and their kisses? Allison got me. You got me twice. Wesley then Ryker. And I wonder where your insecurities come from.” My words are cold. “Here’s a little piece of advice.” I throw another chair across the room. “You can’t fucking keep me by fucking me over!” I roar.
I’m beyond raging mad. Furious is an understatement. I try a cold shower, thinking it’ll calm me down, but boy was I wrong. Ryker had this planned. He knew what the hell he was doing. You can’t fight with emotions and this asshole struck the right nerve. Suckered me in right where he wanted me. This isn’t just a fight for me any longer. I’m out to destroy his career. Annihilate his pretty-boy face. When I’m done with him, I want him unrecognizable.
I hear the door open seconds before a very angry Paige with mascara under her eyes rips away the flimsy white curtain.
“It was you!” she scathes, shoving me into the wall. “You made me do it!”
I pull her into the cold water, backing her against the wall again, but she bucks back shoving me in the chest. “You made a mistake while you were with me. You left me, Levi. You! I didn’t plan that. He flew in like a vulture catching me off guard. It was you I missed. It was your lips I wanted. Don’t you dare berate me for what happened after you left me,” she snaps.
Water batters our bodies. She’s fully dressed and soaked down to the bone. Her eyes are on fire, her chest is rising and falling. She pushes past me out of the shower and turns back.
“Why do we have to have such a complicated relationship? Why can’t it be easy?” Her voice is softer and less mad. “I’m sick of having a rocky relationship with you.”
I don’t stop her when she leaves. I’m still too pissed and conflicted.
Although Adam said he brought Paige back to the hotel after our explosion, I’m not expecting her to be here. She has a tendency to run from problems, so you can only imagine my surprise to see her sitting on the couch, changed, and staring at the TV.
She glances up to me as I place my bag on the recliner.
“What else is there?” I ask.
She purses her lips and shakes her head.
I sit on the table in front of her rubbing my hands between my knees. “You know how sucker punched I felt? That shit came out of nowhere. And then knowing the very man I must face in one of the biggest events in my life also shares the knowledge of how amazing my girl tastes.”
“I’m—”
“Let me finish,” I interrupt her. “You want to know what I did while we were apart. Nothing. I basked in the glorious misery I laid upon myself. I was training to fight the man you were out with.”
“It wasn’t like that,” she says full of sorrow.
I fill my lungs. “I’m sorry for getting so upset.” Her brows knit together at my apology. “I don’t want to be the worst thing in your life.”
“You’re not. You just come with an insane temper.”
“Guess that’s how I deal with my insecurities,” I tell her.
“What the hell do you have to be insecure about? Have you seen yourself?”
I spread my arms. “Sexy as hell? Yeah,” I deadpan. “But, Sunshine, I’ve lost you once. I don’t want to feel that again. All this up and down shit…”
“It’s a roller coaster,” she finishes my sentence in a sigh.
I clench her hand. “All this is so different and perple
xing. You and me, we’re stark contrasts of each other but we balance each other. I didn’t like that look in your eyes.”
“What look?” she asks.
“You were scared of me. I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me. What I did…” I rock my head from shoulder to shoulder. “How I handled that, I scared myself. I promise I’ll try my best to talk instead of snapping from here on out. I don’t ever want you terrified of me.”
She scoots to the end of the cushion and kisses my cheek. “I love you with more of me than you’ll ever realize. Can we please get off this ride now? I hate roller coasters. They make me sick.”
My lips pull up.
I know we’ll make mistakes, it’s just how we get on the other side that matters.
Chapter 40
Last night not only scared the hell out of me, but it also relieved me. Levi promised he’d try to tame his temper to help steady out our relationship. The rockiness is playing hell on us, straining our bond. I’m sick and tired of the unnecessary ups and downs. Either we’re in or we’re out. No more in betweens.
Now, with his fight moments away, my nerves are clawing at me. My mind is racing. If he loses, will it demolish his pride? If he wins, will it blow his ego? Most importantly, are we going to be all right either way? I’m super nervous.
After Adam wrapped Levi’s hands, he immediately got into a zone. He’s listening to music, bouncing around and shadow boxing watching himself in the mirror with conviction in his stare.
There’s a knock on the door signaling he’s up next. My heart is thundering. I think I’m going to puke. He stalks toward me and pulls me out of the chair and into his chest.
“Remember what I said,” he says gravelly. “After this, you’re with me. I need you at my side.”
I’ve thought about this so much, torn between loving the idea and hating it. I stretch to my tiptoes and kiss his chin. “I guess you’ll be my pimp.”
A sexy, cocky ass grin pulls his lips up. “I don’t want you to have to worry about a thing. I’ll handle everything. Just hold my arm through all of it.” He kisses my forehead and when he pulls back all the tenderness is gone. It’s just determination, seriousness, and cold. “Head out to Blain.”
He bought Blain a plane ticket and admission in. He can tell me all he wants it was because he knows Blain wants to be here, but he’s doing it for me—so I don’t have to go through this alone.
I nod and whisper, “Love you.”
I pull open the door and he calls out, “The song is from back when the roller coaster was loading.” He winks.
I tilt my head confused and he frowns.
“I can’t promise this won’t get ugly.”
I take a deep breath and pull the door shut. Yeah, I know I wanted to tell him but decided against it since my throat is already squeezing shut at the thought. I can guarantee this will be the ugliest fight I’ve witnessed with him.
I make my way to Blain and he squeezes my shoulder as I step in beside him. “If the energy back there is anything like it is in here, this place is going to detonate on itself.”
“I feel like my skin is going to crawl off me,” I say.
“How’s Levi?”
“Stoic as usual.” My voice trembles and he squeezes me in by the shoulders.
“It’s going to be okay,” he says.
The lights cut off and immediately I feel like I’m going to pass out. I can’t get enough air. Music slams into my chest and a strobe light focuses on Ryker’s entrance.
First, all I can see is his hair—the brown and blond with a red streak—bouncing down the aisle. Checking the screen above the ring, I see his expression is solid. His eyes are dark, shoulders back with a crowd of trainers surrounding him as he strolls toward the ring.
He gets checked in and then sprints up the stairs, across the ring and to his corner. He rocks his head back and forth and leaps, pulling his knees to his chest. He scans around the cage, and his eyes land on me. He grins like a bastard, shaking his head. I don’t react. Our eyes are locked. I refuse to look away and show him the satisfaction of knowing he just crawled under my skin.
Then the lights go out again, and I push into Blain’s side. My whole body’s trembling from this. I don’t know if I’m scared or proud…or both. Either way, I don’t feel well. Blue lights flicker and bound around the packed arena.
Music erupts from the speakers and I can’t help but smile like a damn idiot. The first time I ever went and saw Levi fight, he came out to “A Warrior’s Call” by Volbeat then had the nerve to pick on me because I listen to heavy metal. He gave me such hell about it and now he’s playing it again.
The spotlight illuminates Levi’s entrance. His face holds no emotions, but his eyes are full of elation. His hands stretch out past the security surrounding him to high five the fans. The crowd is beyond deafening. The energy plucks my hair on the back of my neck.
The ref checks him in and Levi steps through the threshold of his own dream. He’s wanted this for years. Just as Superman needed fuel from the sun, Levi fuels from the crowd’s screams and raises his arms to them. He steps to his side with his shoulders back, oozing with confidence and with his two fingers motions for me to watch him. I haven’t seen that in almost a year and it makes my heart flutter.
Hostility ricochets off the men when the referee calls them to the middle to deliver the rules. Then both men tap gloves and back up. Everyone is on their feet.
The bell rings.
I don’t think I’m breathing.
The men come face to face in the center and waste absolutely no time showing how badly they want this. They duck and weave from the other’s strikes, guarding their faces from the damaging blows. Levi throws a huge right hand and backs Ryker up, but he advances and clenches Levi, kneeing him in the midsection. Somehow, Levi gets his arm under Ryker’s and stuns him with an uppercut.
The crowd lights up, screaming their heads off at the blow after blow. Although, Ryker’s rocked, he stays in, blocking with punches. Both back up and regain their footing, catching a few deep breaths. Anxiety is gnawing away at my skin.
Levi’s in the middle as Ryker circles him like a vulture. Their pace is quick, both having something to prove. They want the contract. They want the championship. They want to be champion. And they both want to move on to the pros.
Levi steps off to the left but isn’t able to get out of the way of Ryker’s kick. The slap of skin on skin silences the crowd for a beat. It’s gut wrenching. Levi shakes it off and charges Ryker, throwing a right over his head and immediately a left jab behind it connecting with Ryker’s nose. It doesn’t faze him and he counters hitting Levi.
“No!” I scream covering my mouth as Levi stumbles back.
He doesn’t go down and kicks Ryker in the stomach, something you do when you need to get your opponent away to give you a second to gather your surroundings.
The crowd is back on their feet, stomping and yelling at the fighters, who continue trading nasty blows. Then in slow motion, I watch as Ryker wraps his arms around Levi’s waist and takes him down to the mat. I gasp at the thud.
Levi hates the mat, and it shows because somehow he maneuvers out of Ryker’s hold and gets to his feet again. Levi smiles widely at Ryker shaking his arms out and lunges with a flying knee into his stomach. I just heard all the air exit Ryker’s lungs.
The bell rings, ending the first round. Both men stare each other down heading into their corners.
“Good first round,” Blain yells breaking my stare on Levi.
“Yeah,” I say.
He clenches my hand. “You okay?”
I shake my head. “No. I hate this.”
“Think of it as you watching it at home. You love a good fight.”
I shake my head again. “I love one of them. It’s killing me to see this. I’m a wreck.”
“It’s adrenaline, Paigey. It’s the excitement. Levi can handle his own.”
“Yeah, but it’s not—”
Ding! Ding! Ding! The bell interrupts me.
Both men are squared back up and Ryker takes the first strike. Levi ducks and counters missing. Again, they begin to trade blows. It’s so fast I can’t keep up. Levi loves competition. He loves going toe to toe and blow for blow, but this is killing my heart.
Ryker again latches on to Levi and takes him to the mat immediately dropping elbows to Levi’s face. Levi’s scrambling, but finally bucks Ryker off and gets to his feet.
“Oh my God,” I sigh.
Blood is spilling out from Levi’s face. There’s so much, I don’t know where he’s hurt. My heart sinks. He spits then smiles and pounds his own gloves. Back at it, they lug wild punches at each other, trading lefts and rights, kicks for kicks until the bell rings again.
I fall into Blain focusing on Levi. His arms are up, ice on his back, eyes are closed as he sucks in air. He looks exhausted. Harvey is yelling something and he nods. The medic has packed his nasty cut on his nose and under his right eye. And then…the fucking bell rings again.
The crowd screams as the men meet back in the center.
“I can’t handle much more,” I yell to Blain. And I’m not lying. I can’t watch this any longer. My legs are too wobbly. My stomach is in knots.
Levi steps in and lands an uppercut, rocking Ryker and ties him up in the fence. I’m in awe as Levi sweeps Ryker’s feet and takes him down to the mat. Fatigue has got to be setting in if he’s willing to take it to the ground. He mounts him and unloads a flurry of wrathful punches as Ryker tries blocking them.
Ryker twists, knocking Levi off balance and somehow wraps his legs around Levi clambering to his back. His arms are wrapped around Levi’s neck, locking him into a guillotine—an infamous ending move.
Levi’s scrambling to get out from it and finds a way to exit backward between Ryker’s legs. Then he returns the favor. Levi snakes his legs around Ryker’s midsection and pulls, but Ryker bucks and rolls off, struggling to get to his feet. Once there, Levi is already waiting on him, not allowing him to gain his bearings and starts tagging him in the face.
