Page 3 of Ignite
“Twenty on Blade for the win?” he asked, and Inodded.
Handing over the cash, he gave me a ticket stub and immediately turned to call out the odds to another person behind me. Moving away, I stared at the bet and shivered. Who knew such a little thing could make me feel so…alive.
Deciding to find a spot on the bleachers to watch the fight, I sidled through the press of people, loving the anonymity. I didn’t know a single person, and they didn’t know me. I wasn’t the butt of anyone’s jokes, no one gave me bitchy side-eye, and no one definitely looked at me as if I was beneaththem.
Finding a spot halfway up the bleachers, I sat, watching as a man walked into the cage with a microphone in his hand. The people around me craned their necks, their attention turningforward.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” the ringmaster—was that even what he was?—roared into the microphone. “The next fight of the evening sees two of your favorites go head-to-head. Fighting for Championship points, this bout is going to bebrutal.”
I squirmed in my seat, my body picking up on the energy in the air. This whole thing seemed like a big deal. People were invested, calling out the names of their favorite fighters…it was a whole underground movement happening right under the city’s nose. It wasincredible.
“Our first fighter cuts like a samurai sword and moves like a ninja…it’sSabre!”
The crowd roared, the bleachers shaking as everyone stamped their feet. Watching the cage, I saw the door open, and a man strode into the spotlight. Gasping as I saw how ripped he was, all my womanly bits zinged in appreciation. The fighter known as Sabre wore nothing but a pair of silk shorts with a wide waistband, a patch of some sort sewn on the front. His muscles rippled as he flexed, moving to the far side of thecage.
Wow. Just…wow.
“And challenging for the points is your favorite pair of fists, the man who’s right hook is sharper than diamond-cut steel, the man who’s remained undefeated in his last ten bouts…the one, the only,Blade!”
The second fighter prowled into the cage, and there were enthusiastic screams from the female portion of thecrowd.
“Do me,Blade!”
“Fuckme!”
“Let me suck yourcock!”
I narrowed my eyes at the blatant sexual advances and studied the fighter known asBlade.
Immediately, I could see the difference between him and the other guy. He was just as built, his muscles well defined and enhanced with two full sleeves of black and gray tattoos, but there was something in the way he moved. Something I couldn’t put my fingeron.
I studied his face, his short messy hair, his eyes, and the stubble on his jaw and decided he was completely my type of man. As if I would ever have a chance with all the glamazons throwing themselves athim.
As the two fighters faced off, I saw the stains on the ground—it was concrete, no mats or padding in sight—and realized the brown splatters were old bloodstains. Fiona’s boyfriend’s mate Tony wasn’t kidding, then. This place was seriousbusiness.
I began to feel uneasy about the fight, but I was here now, and it would look weird if I got up and left while everyone was glued to the cage. If I wanted to live, then I had towatch.
A bell rang, signaling the start of the fight, and the two men launched themselves at each other, punching, kicking, and dancing around one another like lethal weapons. The crowd cheered as Blade sank his fist into Sabre’s stomach. They called for blood as he slammed his opponent onto the concrete and chanted his name as he dominated the fight withinminutes.
To me, the scared little mouse that I was, it was a bloodbath. Raw male aggression filled the air, whipping the entire place into a frenzy. I felt like a little fish in a pool ofsharks.
Blood dripped from Blade’s face, but it poured from Sabre. He was on the ground, his hand slamming against the concrete as he spat to the side. Red smeared across his lips, and I felt sick. As the fight was called in Blade’s favor, I rose to my feet,horrified.
Pushing through the crowd, I turned, searching for the way out. That…it was confronting. The brutality of it all. People came here for fun? What was I thinking cominghere?
In my haste to find the exit, I found myself in a secluded area of the warehouse. I didn’t know how long I’d been walking around in circles, but I was glad for a little breathing space. That was until I realized where I was. A few people lingered, but they all looked hard as hell. Bad guys and their women. It felt like I would be flogged with a chain at anysecond.
Turning, I smacked into a hard chest and squeaked as two big hands grasped my shoulders. Staring up into the scarred face of an extremely tall, built, and mean-looking man, I began totremble.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he drawled, his gaze lowering to my breasts. “Lookin’ forsomeone?”
“N-no,” I stammered. He looked like Vin Diesel served with a side ofugly.
“Are you lost?” he asked, licking his lips. “I can help you find nirvana, baby. It’s right here on mycock.”
I froze, fear starting to overcomereason.
“No need to be frightened,” the man said. “I’m a fighter here. I’ll look after you. We’ll have a good time. I’ll even let you be on top for awhile.”
