Blood & Fists: Bare-knuckle Series #1

by Marie Deveraux

  Peter chuckled and shook his head, “I hate you.”

  She raised an eyebrow before placing both of his hands on her hips. He thrusted his hips, “Settle down boyo or I won't let you have dessert.”

  He moved to kiss her and she placed her hands on his chest, stopping him. He sat back on the couch, defeated.

  “Point one: plot,” whispering into his ear. She traced her lips around his ear. His hands gripped her hips tighter.

  “Terrible writing. Poor script and uninteresting characters.”

  She slowly began to grind on his erection.

  “Fuck,” he breathed “this is so not fair.”

  She gave him a wicked smile as she moved her lips down to his neck and kissed him. His hands moved down to her ass and he gripped her hard.

  “Point two: Inconsistencies in setting.”

  Olivia nibbled on his lip as she moved her hands down his chest. She scooted back so she could undo his belt. He tried to move his hands under her shirt but she grabbed his hands, “Naughty boy, if you continue that, you won't cum for a week.”

  He groaned and bit his lip, she was driving him wild. Olivia waited until he obeyed and moved his hands back to her hips. “Good. You deserve a tiny reward for that.” She kissed his lips. She thrusted her tongue into his mouth, he met hers with eagerness. Breaking the kiss, “And finally ...” she unzipped his pants and teased his cock through his boxers. Peter bit his tongue and dug his fingernails into her hips.

  “The final point ...” She began to stroke him fast and moan. She knew how much her moans drove him crazy. He moaned as he felt his orgasm building. Olivia slowed her stroking and kissed his lips, “... the final point is that … it's a shitty movie!” She let go of his cock and hopped off him, giggling. Peter blinked and looked at his lap where she'd been a second ago and then to her smiling as she inched towards their bedroom.

  “Goodnight, blondie,” she giggled as she ran into their room.

  Peter shot up and kicked off his jeans, “Oh, you are so dead Livvy!”

  18

  Olivia closed the heavy back door of the gym. She leaned against the rough brick building and waited a few minutes to make sure she wasn’t followed outside. She zipped up her green hoodie and casually strolled down the alleyway behind Paddy’s. To Peter, Dux, Batista, or anyone else, it appeared as though she was getting some air after a workout. Olivia kicked a glass beer bottle, sending it skittering under an empty dumpster. As she turned left at the end of the alley and looped back around the block, her eyes began to look for him.

  She pulled out her ponytail and let the breeze cool her sweaty hair. The bike repair shop that shared a wall with Paddy’s Gym sat on a busy street corner with a stoplight, worn and damaged benches dotted along both sides of the street. It was there that Olivia spotted the man with the shaved head. The corners of her mouth curled at the sight of him, she was relieved to know he was nearby and always watching.

  He was peering over his sunglasses at an old edition of the Chicago Tribune, pretending to be interested in some old sports statistic. To the average person, he appeared to be a businessman in a black suit, waiting for the bus. She put her hands in her hoodie and strolled over to the bench he was sitting on. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as she sat down and pulled out the plastic coffee stirrer he was chewing on. Without a word, he handed her a section of the newspaper.

  Looking down at his section of the Tribune, the man asked, “Everything ok?”

  Olivia nodded, “I’m happy to see you again.”

  “Me too.”

  “That being said, you’re sticking out like a sore thumb around here in that outfit. You might want to change into a shirt and gym shorts. You know, look more hip or something.”

  The man made a retching sound and they both laughed.

  The man smiled over at her, “Consider it done.”

  Olivia flipped over the newspaper, “Everything else in order?”

  “Yes. No hiccups so far. If anything changes, I’ll extract you immediately.”

  Olivia gave him a small smile and stood, dropping the newspaper on the spot where she had been sitting. Without glancing back, she strolled down the sidewalk towards Paddy’s.

  19

  Olivia inhaled the humid air hanging around the docks as she sat and taped up a few of her fingers and began her routine for fight night. Dux and Batista, always silent and contemplative before a fight, were already making their way towards her, wet and old wood floorboards creaking under their feet.

  The arena was in an old rickety harbor on the northern shores of Lake Michigan. The boundaries were marked by eleven empty crates on four sides, forming a square. No concrete, all decaying wood. Rotting, wet, and slick. Peter and the bookie picked the fighting spots, usually in or near Driscoll territory. Different locations made for different challenges for the fighters. Peter, the bookie, and a couple of men from the Russian family were off in the corner in deep discussion.

  Footsteps announced the last two opposing fighters approaching their bench. The other one had arrived on the heels of Dux and Batista. Olivia looked up from wrapping her hands and froze. Pressing her lips together, she stared at the Japanese fighter as he sat down, his eyes never leaving hers. Eito. He gave her a tiny nod before rummaging through his bag for something. Her lips almost twitched into a smile but she’d caught herself.

  Eito stripped off his shirt revealing hard and toned muscles. Half his body was covered with various assortments of traditional Japanese tattoos called irezumi. The overall theme was a giant red and black dragon wrapped around his lower stomach, around his back, and over his shoulder with the face of the dragon staring out from his chest. Olivia knew all of his tattoos very well. She’d paid for all of them.

  People began to file in, Eito was scanning each and every face as they walked in. The bookie was walking towards their bench and she motioned for him to come over. This got Dux’s, Batista’s, and Eito’s attention. Olivia whispered a few sentences to the bookie. Peter was busy talking with the Russians and missed the exchange. The bookie nodded and walked over to Eito.

  Olivia put up her hair in a ponytail while watching the bookie lean down to speak with Eito. Dux and Batista were looking between the two, confused on what was happening. The bookie walked back over to Olivia and whispered a few words to her. She nodded and responded to his questions. The bookie pushed back his tan hat and shrugged before pulling out a black permanent marker from his pocket and writing a one on her shoulder. He scurried over and wrote a one on Eito’s shoulder.

  Olivia and Eito both nodded to each other. Peter looked up to see the exchange, his eyes flicking between the two fighters. Eito smirked as he watched Olivia unwind the strips of cloth and tape from her wrist and hands. She wouldn’t need any of that tonight. Peter took in a sharp breath as he watched Olivia tuck the wraps back in her bag, the seeds of jealousy starting to take root in his mind.

  The dock arena was almost full capacity and go time would be any minute. Confused on what had just transpired, Peter motioned for the bookie to come over.

  “What was that about?”

  “She requested to fight him.”

  Folding his arms made his black t-shirt strain against his chest and arms, Peter raised an eyebrow, “Did she give a reason?”

  “According to both of them, they’ve fought before, back in Japan. And, uh, they’re going to do martial arts. They’ll follow the rules, it’ll just be like classic kung fu or something. I don’t remember what type they told me, it’ll be different. More money, more bets.”

  Peter didn’t like this at all. If he was honest with himself, he knew it was jealousy. He didn’t miss feeling this way, he’d almost lost Cara because of his dumb jealousy. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  He blew out a breath, “Ok, I don’t like it but let’s see what happens.”

  The bookie nodded and tipped his hat towards his boss. Peter chewed his lip as he watched the bookie move to the center of
the room and begin his welcome speech. Peter leaned against the back wall and scanned the room. Several more of Sawyer’s men were here in those awful yellow ties.

  Rumor on the street was Sawyer was low on income and needed cash to pay off the cartels and move guns before the Feds found them. Peter wasn’t surprised that Sawyer’s men were here trying to win large amounts money fast. If you valued your life, you never missed payments to the cartels.

  Olivia and Eito moved towards the center of the room, floorboards creaking beneath their feet. The heat and humidity was making everything sticky. How Sawyer’s men were still in their suits under these hot conditions Peter couldn’t fathom. His green eyes shifted to the center of the sparring floor as he heard the bookie yell “Fight.”

  Both fighters took a step back from each other and in unison made one hand into a fist, used their other hand to cover it, and raised it to their chest bowing to each other. As they rose from the bow, Olivia and Eito shifted into the same side stance with their fists raised. Shifting their weight, they became lighter and more agile as they danced towards each other. Olivia’s blue eyes roamed up and down his body, trying to find any twitches or unusual movements that would give her indication that Eito was getting ready to strike.

  Even after eight years, she found it practically impossible to read him and know when he’d open with a straight punch. The style they practiced was intentionally fluid and avoided patterns and fixed moves. Olivia decided to give him the opening strike. She extended her thumb from her right fist and brought it up to her face. With the pad of her thumb she swiped at her nose and gave a hint of a smile. Peter chuckled, covering his mouth. Anyone who was a hardcore fan of martial arts films knew that gesture.

  Eito was quick and connected with her upper chest. Olivia saw an opening and closed the distance with a sidekick that landed on the side of Eito’s head, tossing his head back and to the right. He snatched her leg as she let her leg fluidly move back towards the floor. Olivia dropped and rolled backwards to get out of his grasp, but he was almost on her as she popped up from the roll.

  He began to unleash explosive hand attacks that Olivia deflected and attempted to counter attack with alternating punches. They were close enough that as she redirected one of his hits, she hooked her left leg around his and dragged him down to the floor. His elbow connected with her jaw as she tried to brace her fall. The wood was slick and her palms skidded catching splinters as she was flipped over onto her back.

  Eito had jumped back to his feet and was turning to advance on her again before Olivia shot up, her back was facing him as he moved toward her quickly. He moved to strike her in the back which would send her close to out of bounds. She ducked at the last second and curled her body up tight as pushed herself backwards through his legs. He turned in a flash as she shot up and jabbed as her fists collided with his face. Olivia only got a couple punches in before Eito began to parry and counterattack with punches and a few sidekicks to Olivia’s shoulders.

  On the last sidekick, Olivia’s elbow connected with Eito’s knee and caused him to bite back a curse in Japanese. Slightly limping, Eito and Olivia circled each other, both attempting to catch their breath. Panting and drenched in sweat, they were beginning to run out of stamina, both knew the fight would end within the next few punches.

  Olivia switched stances and began to attempt to strike a punch with her less dominant left fist. She hopped a step back every time she moved in close in order to not give him time to take advantage and wear her down.

  From their previous fights together, she knew he guarded his weak areas, his rib cage and chest, and it would be impossible to get to without getting behind him. Feigning nervousness, she tried to chew on her lip through her mouthguard. It was going against the basics her training and showing body twitches, giving Eito an indication that she would strike soon. He was ready to counterattack with his right fist as she closed the gap between them and started moving her left fist towards his face.

  At the last second, Olivia turned around backwards and locked her knee with his as she swung her body towards his back. This caused Eito to trip forward onto his knees. He tried to grab Olivia as she turned towards his back, but she was too fast and got in three hits to his ribs, cracking two of them.

  Rolling on his back so she wouldn’t have anymore access to his rib cage, Eito shot his foot up, letting it collide with her chest, knocking the wind out of her. Gasping for air, she grabbed his foot and began to twist his ankle. Eito bared his teeth and grunted in pain.

  Before Olivia could break his ankle, he raised his hands, submitting the win to her. In a flash, Olivia let go and bowed to him. Eito stood, favoring his uninjured knee and bowed. Cheers and shouts erupted as the bookie declared her the winner of the first fight. Olivia gave him a small smile and a wink as she walked towards her bench.

  “Well, fuck, I can’t compete with that,” Dux said, shaking his head.

  20

  Olivia could tell Peter was pissed as soon as she got into the Porsche. Her jaw ached as she watched him stare out at the road. He drew in a long breath and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

  “It’s not you,” he said, looking over at her as they pulled up to a red light.

  She jiggled her foot, “Then what’s wrong?”

  Peter accelerated after the light turned green, “I have a problem with jealousy. I’m just trying to ignore what my mind is telling me, which is very hard at the moment.”

  Olivia tugged at her ponytail, “If it will help, ask your questions. I’ll answer them truthfully.”

  Hitting another red light, he gritted his teeth, “Did you fuck him when you were in Japan?”

  Shaking her head, “No. Never.”

  Peter rolled his shoulders, “How did you not get thrown into the sex slave and prostitution rings over there?”

  Olivia massaged her sore jaw, “My parent’s money. I was able to live in the more tourist areas and avoided the Yakuza ruled areas as much as possible. Bribed them when I needed to.” Peter hit the accelerator as the light turned green. His mind kept raising more questions, feeding into his jealousy. He shook his head, responding to a question that his mind wanted answered.

  “How many?”

  Olivia’s eyes watched him as she answered, “I think seven, that includes you …”

  He glanced over at her, “You think?”

  “Unlike a man, I don’t keep track of my sexual conquests. Hence, why I said ‘I think’. Would you like a list of my one night stands too, sweetheart?”

  Peter glared at her. Peter’s foot hit the Porsche’s accelerator a little to hard when the light they were stopped at finally turned green. They both lurched forward in their seats before hitting back against their seats. Olivia crossed her arms and stared out at the empty side streets. The silence between them stretched on for a few minutes. Nearing the parking garage, Olivia’s eyes stared up at the building that she’d come to call home.

  “Do you have any more questions concerning my sex life?”

  Peter’s jaw clenched while he entered in his code for the parking garage and pulled through. He remained silent as he pulled the Porsche into his parking spot. Olivia threw up her hands, “You fucking asked me!”

  Peter ground his teeth, putting his car in park and turning off the engine. Without saying a word to each other, they both got out of the car and made their way towards the elevator. Olivia’s throat tightened standing next to him as they rode the elevator up to their apartment. If he only knew this would be one of their last nights together. Naturally, they had to spend it having their first fight. Her bare arm was next to his and she could feel the tenseness in his body.

  The apartment door thudded behind them as Peter engaged the deadbolt. Olivia walked in, dropping her bag on the ground. Peter avoided her, hovering in the kitchen pretending to be looking for something eat. Olivia stripped off her sticky clothes when she reached their bedroom and yanked open the dresser drawer that contained her clothes. She th
rew on some pajamas and grabbed her pillow from their bed. Yanking a throw blanket off the back of the couch, she curled up and turned on the television. Her chest hurt from having the wind knocked out of her, she wouldn’t be surprised if she had a cracked bone in her shoulder, and now he was being a stubborn jealous asshole.

  Peter watched her from the kitchen and rolled his eyes, “So what you’re sleeping out here now?”

  Olivia looked over at him and snapped, “Until you stop being a jealous ass, yes. I understand why, but Jesus, that was in the past, before I met you. Let it go.”

  He scratched at his beard and barked out a bitter laugh, “Let it go. Yeah, sure. I’m going to bed.” He walked into the bedroom and slammed the doors shut.

  21

  He was gone when she woke a little after noon. Her self-doubt was creeping its hands around her throat as she sat on the floor in the shower, letting the hot water loosen her sore muscles. She knew this spat was temporary, but the timing was awful. She debated with herself if she should show her face at the gym considering he’d be there. Maybe she should tell him everything.

  She threw on khakis and a long sleeved black shirt and stood staring out at the Chicago skyline. Pressing her forehead against the glass, she watched the city below. Blowing out a breath, she told herself out loud, “Everything will be ok. You know this.” Her chin quivered before she clenched her fist and swallowed all of her emotions.

  One knock at the front door made her suck in a breath. This was a bad sign. She opened it, knowing it would Eito. As much as she wanted to tease him about almost breaking his ankle last night, she could see from the look on his face that it was time. The timetable had moved up. She wasn’t surprised. She had expected this with the way things had been shifting over the past few weeks.

  “He’s doing it this evening isn’t he?”