Page 12 of No Fear
A bell rang somewhere overhead and the crowd erupted in cheers again. Her heart thumped so hard when she saw the man in the ring with Remy take a swing that she thought it would burst out of her chest. She stopped breathing again as she watched Remy block the blow and unleash one of his own. His connected, blood flew and she had to look away.
“No, you watch this.” Ford turned her by the shoulders to face the cage again, “You watch him. You watch him and you decide if he’s really what you want.”
“I…”
“Look, I saw your face when he claimed you. You were surprised. You had no idea he was gonna do that which means most likely, you’ve got no clue what you’re gettin’ yourself into bein’ with a Bomar so you watch him and you decide… is he what you really want?”
Rachel stared back up at the bearded Bomar and worried her bottom lip. Was he trying to… help her? Warn her away? Something in his eyes told her that he was, but she didn’t know why that would be. Was he warning her off Remy? Or off Bomars in general?
Since he didn’t look like he wanted to talk about it, or much of anything really, she simply tilted her chin up and forced herself to do what he asked. She hated violence. She hated blood. But he was right. She had chosen to come here and she had to deal with what that meant.
She winced as she watched another of Remy’s fists connect with his opponent and the guy doubled over, protecting his ribs. For a split second, she thought Remy was preparing to finish him off. He put his hands on his shoulders and looked as if he were going to bring his leg up and break the man’s face on his knee but then he simply shoved him away. He paced the ring, breathing hard, sweat dripping from him and blood on his knuckles.
Remy’s gaze met hers again through the crowd and she shivered as his dark eyes danced with intensity. He was beautiful. Beautiful and scary. And she knew that she should be scared, terrified of the violent animal pacing that cage. Everything she knew about fear said that big and strong and violent and Bomar added up to a bad bet on her part.
But this was Remy. The same Remy that had touched her so gently just moments before he walked into that cage and drawn blood. The same Remy that had sworn he would come back to her and take care of her once he was done. She wasn’t scared of Remy.
She shivered as she watched his opponent come back upright and the fight continued. It was hard to explain why it was that the man swinging his big fists in that cage didn’t fill her with fear. He just didn’t. There was something about him, something in his eyes, that made her believe that this, all of this dark and dirty Bomar persona was just that, a persona.
She knew he wasn’t doing this because he liked the violence. He wasn’t doing it as an outlet for his anger. He was doing it to save his brothers. Skylar had told her that. And the fact that her boss had stopped warning her off the dark-haired Bomar boy only added to her conviction.
No matter what anyone else said, Remy Bomar was a good man. She knew it. She could feel it. That was how she’d known that she could go to him. That was why she’d come here tonight. And he would take care of her, she knew that too.
She trusted him.
“Hey there darlin’.” A smooth voice drawled near her ear a moment before a large hand slid around her waist. “You look like you could use some company.”
Rachel turned instinctively and came face to face with the most beautiful man she’d ever seen in real life. That knowledge was instant and there was no denying it, but that wasn’t why her palms started to sweat and her throat threatened to close off. Fear roiled in her veins because recognition came hard on the heels of that knowledge and along with it came the absolute certainty that she was also looking at one of the most dangerous men she’d ever met.
Not that she’d ever been formally introduced to Lincoln Bomar. She’d never been brave enough for that. She all but hid anytime he came into the salon or anywhere near her. But from the grip he had on her hip and the way it tightened when she tried to slide away from him, she didn’t think that was going to be an option this time.
“I-I-I..” She bit the inside of her cheek and silently cursed her tongue.
Why couldn’t she simply speak like a normal person? Why did she have to stutter any time her nerves got the better of her? If she could just say what it was she wanted to say maybe someone, anyone, would take her seriously, but of course she couldn’t do that. Instead she stammered each and every time her fear spiked and she couldn’t seem to make it stop. Overcoming her fear was the only fix but that wasn’t a possibility when faced with Lincoln freaking Bomar.
“I… No thank you.” She finally managed.
The man beside her laughed as if that was the most amusing thing he’d heard all day. The laughter softened his features, which she couldn’t seem to look away from. He really was ridiculously handsome and when he looked back at her she couldn’t help but think he had the most interesting eyes. Not blue, not really, more of a blue-green, like sea-glass. They were absolutely captivating.
A loud roar cut through the barn and she jumped when reality crashed in all around her. She was in a dangerous place. She was dealing with a dangerous man and she’d let herself get distracted. Stupid, she mentally slapped herself back to attention in time to catch Lincoln’s grin, which was just as mesmerizing.
Yeah, that was the word for it, she decided. He’d mesmerized her just like a snake. She should avoid eye contact. It was her best hope for not completely falling under his thrall.
“Seems my cousin has a problem with that idea.”
“Wh-wh-what idea?”
“Me keeping you company.” Lincoln nudged his chin towards the cage, “He seems more concerned with me talking to you than the guy gunning for his kneecaps.”
“Oh…”
“Or maybe I’m wrong and he’s glaring at you.”
She couldn’t help it, her eyes snapped back to his, “Wh-what? Wh-why me?”
Lincoln simply stared at her. Slowly, that amused look crawled back over his chiseled face. His eyes practically twinkled when he grinned at her again.
“You really don’t know, do you? Interesting. It’s been a long time since I met a woman as innocent as she appeared to be. He’s glaring at you because you haven’t told me to get my hands off his property yet.” His eyes flickered over her shoulder and narrowed, “Ford, make yourself useful elsewhere. I’ll keep an eye on Remy’s friend.”
