Page 3 of The Game

I sat taller on my sofa cushions.

Never had I been interested in blood sports. As a doctor, my job was to heal people, and it had given me countless examples of how to avoid getting badly hurt. But there was something about this man in this moment that woke a deep need in the centre of my brain in pure, carnal lust.

Perhaps it was the bright-red blood. Maybe the sheer power he held in that huge body. I had no idea, but I was captivated.

The clip changed to show segments of the fight, then moved to a ringside interview. Malachi popped out his mouthguard and swiped the blood and sweat from his face.

He grinned.

My lady parts tightened.

The interviewer, a beautiful woman with red lips and killer cleavage, talked about the fight and the opponent being aided out of the ring behind them. “That makes an unbeaten season for you, Malachi. Warrior by name, warrior by nature.”

He gave a self-deprecating shrug. “I didn’t choose the nickname, but it fits.”

God, his voice. Low and deep. I squeezed my knees together, unable to shift the ache that had taken hold of my lower belly.

She asked him about a move he’d pulled, and he gave an insightful answer, so matter of fact, though one of his eyes was blue-black and swelling, and fresh blood dripped from his cut.

The interviewer gave him an appreciative once-over that made me want to cat-claw her. “A little bird tells me you’re taking time out. What’s next for the man no one can beat? Plans for training? Plans with a lady?”

Malachi showed no reaction to her flirting but looked directly into the camera, his dark eyes alert and filled with some kind of intrigue. “Let’s just say there’s a special woman out there for me, and I can’t wait to chase her down.”

The clip ended. I paused the next one that appeared in its place.

My pulse jumped out of time.Chase her down.Surely he hadn’t meant the same kind of chasing that I’d fantasised about? It was a coincidence, created by my imagination, but God, that image was strong.

I closed my eyes and lay back on my couch. My apartment sat on the banks of a river, and outside my floor-to-ceiling windows, the glittering city of Deadwater reflected back at me. I could watch the view for hours, but right now, I didn’t want the view watching me. Leaping up, I swished the curtains closed then dropped back down to my couch and paged through the video until the fighter filled the screen once more.

A quick check of my phone gave me six minutes until my food arrived.

A countdown to get my unexpected lust out of my system. With my gaze on his beautiful face and incredible body, I opened my dressing gown and slid my hand into my silky sleep shorts.

My clit throbbed. I was so wet for this man, a complete stranger, but at least he’d never know what I’d done.

He’d never know that I had pictured his big hands with split knuckles on my breasts. His dirty mouth between my legs and his opponent’s blood smearing my thighs.

I stroked myself to a fast climax in the name of The Warrior and I regretted nothing.

* * *

That was, until 3AM when I woke with a start and couldn’t get back to sleep. He’d been in my dreams, chasing me and catching me. I tossed and turned but abandoned the attempt and took up my phone.

By themselves, my fingers typed in a search term I’d heard the doctors use. ‘The game.’

It brought back a whole load of nonsense until I narrowed it down to my city, then, buried in a chat forum, I discovered a thread from a year ago with people discussing a rumour. It centred around a nightclub called Divide, owned by a man named Arran Daniels, apparently a gangster.

I knew that club. I’d never been there—I’d grown up in Surrey and went to medical school in London, only moving to Deadwater on placement—but Divide was infamous. It had a strip club inside the same building, a fact that turned up my nose.

Yet down in their basement, according to the gossip forum, they hosted a dark game.

I read the comments with rising and undeniable interest.

User917: The men are held in pens like animals. Bare-chested and with masks on. Hot as hell. They start fights even before they’re released.

Showgirl25: I call bullshit. How would you know?

User917: Because I watched it on the cameras.

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