by K. D. Jones
Rachel had caught her off guard with that move. She wouldn’t get the chance the next time. Zara was more experienced, but she was now pissed off and that could work to Rachel’s advantage.
They circled each other, each taking turns punching and kicking. Rachel tried her best to avoid getting hit, especially since Zara had the strength of a Bestial. Rachel returned as many hits as she could. Zara refused to block Rachel’s hits, taking them square on.
Rachel tried an overhook move. She wrapped her arms around the top of Zara’s arms to hold her in place. It didn’t help that the other woman was much taller. Zara was able to drop down and break out of the hold.
Rachel wasn’t sure of the time. She was breathing heaving and her body was completely sweat-soaked. She was pleased when Rage called the start of round three. Each of them had landed some pretty tough hits and moves. She wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to hold out though. The good news was that her stamina was increasing and she had learned many new moves, thanks to Sersan and Talon. The bad news was that her time was up.
One minute Rachel was limping around the mat, trying to keep her distance from Zara. The next thing she knew, the other woman had reached out, pulled Rachel up, and tossed her over her hip. Rachel landed hard on the mat and Zara had her in a submission hold.
“Match over!” Rage called out.
Zara released her and stood up. She looked down briefly. “Better, human.”
“It’s Ra … chel,” she croaked out as Zara turned and walked away.
Their trainer came over to look down at her. When had he arrived? “You need practice getting out of submission holds.”
“I figured that. Thanks for the input.” She pulled herself up to a sitting position.
“I’m surprised you made it three rounds with Zara. She must have taken it easy on you.” The trainer turned his back on her as he went to watch another match going on between Taurus and Hammer.
Rage squatted down next to her. Rachel looked at him curiously. What did he want? Did she look okay? Damn it! It didn’t matter what he thought of her.
“I’ll help you with your submission holds,” he offered.
“What?”
“Your first sanctioned fight is tomorrow night. I’ll work with you today and tomorrow after breakfast to help with the submission holds. Don’t want you making the rest of us look bad.”
“Is that the real reason?”
“I just don’t want to see a beautiful woman disfigured. I’ll meet you inside the cage in ten minutes.” He stood and walked away. He smiled, knowing that she was eyeing his backside.
Why was he offering to help her? She thought to herself, He thinks I’m beautiful. Does he think I’m sexy too?
“A one-on-one with Rage? It’s your lucky day.” Talon said as he lowered his hand to help her stand up.
“Does he do that a lot? Help train people?”
“Not really. He trains with his friends. He may make suggestions, offer some pointers. Help the trainers out when needed. But he has never offered a one-on-one like this to anyone new.”
“I guess I’m just special.” Rachel smiled at Talon and gave him a wink.
“We both know he wants to fuck you till you pass out.”
She inhaled quickly. He can really do that? Rachel couldn’t help but want to find out for herself first hand. “Well, he can want all he wants, but it’s not going to happen.” Even she didn’t believe that.
Talon laughed. “Deny it all you want, little human, but I can smell you arousal from here. You want to ride him till the sun comes up.”
They could smell her arousal? Oh boy. That was nowhere in the brief she was given. Focus, Rachel, focus on the investigation. “Are you coming to the dinner tonight?”
Talon was silent as he thought about her question. “Yeah, I’ll be there. Have fun with your submission training.” He walked off.
Why did that sound so sexual? She shook her head and walked towards the cage in the center of the room. Rage was already inside the metal bars. He had taken off his shirt. Damn, that man was built like a brick house. She had a sudden urge to rub her hands all over him. She shook her head. She needed to stop this way of thinking.
“Ready?” he asked as she climbed into the cage.
“I guess so. What moves are we going to practice first?” She had her back to him. She was surprised when she felt her legs knocked out from under her. “What the hell?”
“Never turn your back on your opponent.”
She propped herself up on her elbows. “I know that already.”
He moved back so she could stand up. She kept her eyes on him as she got back to her feet. They circled each other, both analyzing the other’s movements.
“Your opponents are going to be bigger, stronger, and faster than you. Accept that and find a way to circumvent.”
“Circumvent? They are bigger, stronger, and faster. How am I supposed to get around them?”
“There are three things you need to learn if you want to stay alive in the circuit. One, know your opponents’ location at all times. Two, know your opponents’ weaknesses. Three, know what techniques to use as countermeasures.”
“Right, sounds easy.”
She was surprised when Rage moved quickly and pulled her back up against his front. Then he placed the blade of his forearm against her throat and pulled straight back, holding his arm tight with his other hand. “This is a typical choke hold. How do you get out of it?”
Rachel struggled and pulled against his arms. Normally she could break the hold if she was fighting another human. But the Bestial fighter was just too strong. “I can’t.”
He sighed heavily. “Break the hold by grabbing my forearm and turn your body towards my shoulder. Then pull down on my elbow and bring my wrist up over your head. You will be able to place me in a figure forearm bar.”
Rachel followed his instructions and found that it worked. “I did it.”
“Don’t get cocky. You need to know the hold moves and the breaking hold moves. Then adapt those to be specific for your opponent. Your first match will be against a Sorian halfsie. What do you know about Sorians?”
“They are super-fast, fast enough to cause wind tunnels if they run circles around you.”
“Correct. They are only slightly stronger than a human, so you just need to concentrate on their speed.”
“I won’t be able to match their speed no matter how much I practice.”
“You have to compensate for that. What counter moves can you use against someone who moves really, really fast?” He waited to give her a chance to answer. He huffed when she shrugged. “Come on, human … think. Did you ever box before?”
“Yes, of course I boxed.”
“What is the golden rule of feinting?”
“Always do something different than expected.”
“Right. A Sorian can’t create a wind tunnel unless they have their target in the center. Your job is to be anywhere but in the center. Feint, then move to a different location to throw them off.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“You think so?” He gave her a gleaming look. “I’m not as fast as a Sorian, but let’s see if you can keep me from putting you in the center.”
That was all the warning she got. For a big man he was light on his feet. He ran around her, forcing her to step back, moving her to where he wanted her to be. She was confused, not knowing where she was supposed to go. Then he suddenly stopped.
“Human, you are not even trying!”
“It’s Rachel.” She grunted when she was spun around from behind. “Okay. Let’s try that again.”
Rage began running around her again. This time, Rachel moved in the opposite direction from where he seemed to be moving her. During his next pass, she turned her body and threw a punch at him. It landed on his side. Though it was not enough to knock him down, it threw off his momentum, causing him to spin out of his circling path.
“Better, … Rachel.” H
e wasn’t even breathing hard. “We can pick back up this evening after dinner. We need to work on more holds.”
“Wait, tonight is another special dinner for the fighters to celebrate the start of the circuit. There’s going to be a band and Sersan says there’ll be a dance floor, too.”
“If you would rather dance all night instead of practicing the moves needed to ensure you live through your first sanctioned fight, then by all means go ahead.”
“We can at least go for a little bit.”
He nodded his head in agreement. They stared at one another without saying anything else. Then he let himself out of the cage.
“Are you sure this looks okay?” Rachel asked Sersan and Alana. She felt so small compared to these half-alien beings. They were beautiful and exotic. Even Sersan with her oddly shaped, scaled head was hot. Sersan wore a green sparkly halter dress. Alana had a flowing pale yellow dress that complimented her lovely blond hair. Rachel was feeling insecure in comparison.
“I think you look hot, for a human,” Sersan said.
Rachel wore a black sheath dress that left her shoulders bare. It clung to her curves like a second skin. It hit three inches above her knees. If she were any taller or the dress any shorter, she wouldn’t have been able to bend over at all without exposing herself. She started to pull her hair up in the usual ponytail, but Alana stopped her.
“It’s so silky and shiny. Do all pure humans have hair this soft?” Alana asked as she helped brush Rachel’s hair into golden blond waves down past her shoulders. She learned the hard way that her hair was a liability. During one of her practice matches, the female Priman, Gana, had used her hair to pull her back into a submission hold. She was reconsidering shaving it off, but it was too late to do that now.
“Zen is going to fall all over himself trying to convince you to go back to his room with him.” Alana giggled as she put the brush down.
“What about … the other male fighters?” She almost asked what would Rage think. She caught herself just in time.
Sersan shook her head. “Zen will be more receptive to humans than the rest of the men.”
“So none of the others, except Talon and Zen, have been with humans before?” She found that hard to believe.
Alana blushed. “Of course the men have had sex with human women. Some have shared multiple women at the same time. But other than the occasional sex, none of them have tried to build a relationship with a human, except for Talon.”
Hearing that made Rachel feel slightly depressed. Why should it bother her that Rage only thought of human women as good for a fuck but nothing else? She wasn’t here to start a relationship anyway. She was here for an investigation. She hoped to get some time alone with Talon to try and get some more information from him. He’d been opening up slowly about Lindy. She forced herself to push away her thoughts of Rage and focused on Talon.
Chapter 8
Holy shit! Rage held his breath as he watched Rachel talking with Talon in the corner of the banquet room. She wore a tiny black dress that left nothing to the imagination. Every curve was hugged by the thin material. His cock was stiffer than the steel bars of the fight cage.
It was bad enough watching the easy camaraderie she had with his friend, but now the other men were clamoring for her attention as well. Hammer was there with his impressive size, though he would never make a move on Rachel because he was shy when it came to women. Taurus had been drinking and was showing off by finding things to climb. He growled when Zen stepped closer to get her attention. His fingers rubbed up and down her arm, lingering there longer than necessary.
His beast roared to life, demanding he cut off Zen’s offending hand and claim his woman. Where the hell did that come from? She wasn’t his. He stormed up to the group.
“I will be in the training facility if you want my help.” He briskly turned around and walked out of the room.
If Rachel didn’t know he was a Bestial, she would have sworn he had some Voltan in him. Flames were showing in his eyes.
“You and Rage are doing some … special training?” Zen asked with raised eyebrows.
“He’s helping with submission holds.”
“I bet he is. If you come with me to my room, I will gladly show you all the submission holds you want.” Zen winked at her and gave her a sexy smile.
“No thanks, but I appreciate the offer,” she told him. Zen shrugged as he turned his attention to a halfsie behind him. She looked at Talon, who was frowning. “Are you okay?”
“I like you, Rachel. You are the first human since Lindy that I would consider a friend. Just be careful around the male fighters.”
Warmth filled her at his concern. “I will.”
Her heart raced faster and faster as she made her way to the training facility. The lights were dimmed except for a few lights over the cage. Rage stood inside the cage with his back to her. He had taken off his shirt and his skin seemed to glimmer. When he turned around, he gave her a once-over from head to toe, making her shiver and goose bumps pop up all over her.
“You’re going to ruin your pretty dress.”
“I’m wearing a pair of fighting clothes underneath that the GCFA sent for me.”
Rage couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. She started at the top, rolling the material down and down until she had completely peeled off her dress. Underneath, she wore what looked like a strapless sports bra and tight boy shorts. He recognized the GCFA logo on the shorts and bra.
“That’s what they sent you to wear for your sanctioned fights?” His voice was deep with desire.
Rachel entered the cage and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s pretty snug. The top has attachable straps, but I left them off so I could wear the dress.”
Rage had to fight his beast back, but it was difficult since the man was wanting the same thing. Tear those scraps off her body and take her. She belonged to him. He shook his head. Thoughts like that were dangerous.
“I’m surprised you could tear yourself away from all the men panting after you.”
Rachel gave him a curious smile. “Jealous?”
“Not even a little bit, human.”
She lurched forward to punch him in the ribs. “My … name … is … Rachel!”
The punch didn’t hurt. He barely moved from impact. “Pitiful. You’re going to have to do a lot better than that.”
Rachel actually growled. She circled around him, looking for a weakness. Any kind of weakness. This was different than before. There was a charge to the air around them. Sexual tension mounted high. She could see his arousal pressing against his tight pants. It turned her on even more.
She tried to kick out at his knee, thinking that had to be the weakest part of his body. Nothing else about him seemed vulnerable. But she was too slow with her movements.
“I’m surprised, human. All that dancing you did this evening made me think that you could move your body.”
She had to throw him off somehow. “You were watching my body, huh? Did you like anything you saw?”
“What I saw was you rubbing your body over every male there,” he growled out.
Her distraction worked. She was able to land a few kicks and punches. Rage recovered quickly each time. She wasn’t sure how long they went at it. They were both sweating before long.
Just when she would get her arms around Rage, he would break away. Then he got his hands on her. He elevated his hips and rotated her over, landing her flat on her back. He mounted her, pulling her arms up over her head and wedging his lower half against hers.
“Match over, Rachel,” his voice was thick with desire. His dark brown eyes had turned black while they were fighting. They seemed to smolder down at her.
She became very aware of every part of him that touched her. Everywhere that skin met skin sizzled. She tried to wiggle out of his grip, which only succeeded in pressing his lower body more firmly into hers. She moaned from the pleasure.
“Damn you, human,” he growled before he lowered hi
s lips and took her with a kiss that rocked her whole being.
His tongue plunged inside of her mouth. He didn’t let go of her arms as he rocked himself into her crotch. She responded by sucking on his tongue and rubbing her body against his.
“Rage,” Rachel moaned his name when he finally released her lips. He trailed kisses down her cheek, her neck, to her shoulders. His hands squeezed her breasts through the sports bra.
“You taste sweet. So sweet.” He leaned back to gaze at the sports bra covering her. He grabbed the material with both hands and ripped it off of her. “Beautiful.” He gently cupped one well-rounded mound with his large hands. He brushed his thumb across her nipple, making it form into a taut nub. “Mine.” He bent down and took the nipple into his warm mouth.
“Oh yes.” Rachel arched her back in an attempt to put her breast further in his mouth. Her head was thrown back and she moaned in pleasure as he teased her nipple with his tongue. It was driving her crazy. No man had ever made her feel like this. Not from just kissing her breasts. She protested when he released her nipple, then sighed in pleasure when he moved to the other breast to lavish attention on it. She became restless, needing more. She needed him inside her where she ached most.
His hands moved down to tug on her boy shorts. These did not tear as easy as the bra, though they did rip a little. She giggled when he growled with frustration. He released her breast and moved back to use both hands to pull her pants off, along with her underwear. Rachel kicked off her shoes quickly.
Without the clothing, the scent of her arousal was much stronger, making his head spin with desire. He lowered himself back down and began nibbling and licking her stomach. He swirled his tongue around her belly button. Rachel tried to unhook his pants but she couldn’t reach him. He pushed her hands aside as he quickly unhooked his own pants and shoved them down his legs. He resumed kissing and nibbling his way down until he reached her bare sex. Damn, she shaved herself. The skin was delicate and exposed. He blew warm air over her pink feminine folds.
“Rage …” Rachel wanted his mouth on her.
