Sweat dripped into Ash’s eyes, momentarily obscuring his opponent. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs from the last punch he took. He ducked another jab and hit his opponent with a series of strikes to the side and back that brought grunts of pain from his opponent. Van Koslov, otherwise known as The Brick, went down onto one knee, panting.
Grinning, Ash jumped back, giving the other man room to recover and get up. Ash was having too much fun to end things now. The match hadn’t lasted nearly long enough and this guy was supposed to be one of Sitnikov’s best. Ash needed to put on a good show if he was going to attract another sponsor, and sponsor’s tended to enjoy long fights with plenty of dirty hits and blood. So far, neither of them has started spontaneously bleeding.
Ash’s gaze swept the warehouse, searching out some of the bigger players. He was pleased to see Tyson King, one of the city’s most prominent businessmen with a penchant for illegal fights and underground gambling. The big, dark-skinned man was deep in conversation with his loyal bodyguard, and Ash’s friend, Daniel Mercer. King could easily afford to sponsor Ash in the fights. He would be a good one to impress. Sitnikov himself wasn’t in attendance, Ash noted, though several of his soldiers were.
He glanced back to check on the welfare of the guy he had just put down. Yup, still down. A short, sharp laugh cut through the cacophony of the cheering crowd, pulling his attention from the cage. Looking up, his gaze was caught by the most captivating woman he’d ever laid eyes on. It wasn’t her physical attributes that held his attention. She was no showstopper like the boss’ wife, Shania, who was all curves and breathtaking sexuality. (Thank fucking god his boss couldn’t read minds or Ash would be fish food for even realizing Shania was a looker – Khalid was beyond possessive of his new wife.)
There was something different about this woman. She was on the short side, small-boned and delicate. But the attitude coming off of her, like a tropical storm surge, was enough to get Ash’s heart pumping for more than the fight. She was wearing a black, zipped up hoodie with a silver lightening bolt on the front over black leggings and combat boots. The hood was up, obscuring her hair and casting shadows over her face. He couldn’t see her eyes from this angle but he could see her full lips, painted a deep purple colour.
She must have realized his attention was on her, because she flashed him a grin and slowly licked her lips, showing him exactly what a wicked tongue like hers might do to a man.
Ash felt his goddamn body responding to her invitation. Right there in the ring, surrounded by hundreds of people, he was about to sport an erection. Not that he cared. Sometimes the adrenalin of the fight had been known to affect guys in a similar way. She would know who his cock stood up for though, he was sure, from the way she deliberately teased him.
She was everything Ash was attracted to in a woman, bold, striking, aggressive. A bad little girl. He could tell. He wanted to fuck that badness out of her in a way that nearly had him leaping out of the cage and stalking toward her.
As if sensing his thoughts, she tilted her chin up, shot him the finger and strode away toward the back of the arena. Ash was trying to determine if he had just fallen in love when a fist connected hard with the side of his head.
Oh yeah. He was in the middle of a fight. It was a damn good thing his head was made of concrete. With a slashing grin, he turned back to his opponent, determined to put the man down as quickly as he could and go find the sexy little bitch that dared to tease him while he was in the middle of a fight.
The fight lasted another three minutes. To Van’s credit, the guy put up a hell of a fight when Ash decided to get serious. Unfortunately for Van, he was no match for Ash. Very few men were.
After the fight, Ash had brushed off well wishers, groupies and, much to Dan’s amusement, even an overture from Tyson King in favour of searching the warehouse for the little beauty who seemed determined to stay out of his reach. Frustrated, he headed for the showers, wondering if he would see her again or if she would remain an elusive memory. Just the recollection of a pair of lips he was almost certain to jack off to.
He rinsed shampoo from his hair and ran a hand over the short blond strands, spiking them up. He leaned forward, a hand against the wall and water pouring done his muscular back and taut ass.
He was contemplating just jacking off right there in the shower where anyone could walk in and see him, while picturing her purple tinted lips wrapped around his throbbing cock. As if to prove his concern, a husky, feminine voice spoke from several feet behind him.
“Whose dog are you, fighter man? Do you belong to Khalid Casino or Tyler King? You for sale?”
Ash stiffened, annoyed.
Other fighters loved the pussy thrown at them after a fight. He wasn’t one of them. He enjoyed fucking as much as the next guy, but he wanted to be the one doing the chasing. Being fawned over by cheap whores for his ability to make other men bleed just didn’t interest him.
“Get out,” he snapped, not bothering to turn around. “I’m not interested.”
The tension in the change room noticeably ratcheted up a few notches, as though her temper was a physical presence. He arched a brow and looked over his shoulder at the woman interrupting his shower, ready to give her an earful and send her packing.
Of course it was her standing behind him, looking like she might stab him if she had something pointy at hand. He should have felt her presence the way he had in the warehouse earlier. He blamed his dulled senses on the waning fight adrenalin. Her hood was pushed back revealing shoulder length black and blue hair. Just the tips were a bright, vibrant blue, as though she had leaned over and dipped them in a paint can. Her eyes were icy blue, rimmed in heavy black make up.
Lust hit him like a punch in the gut. He just stared at her, taking in every detail of her small, fuckable body.
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re ‘interested’ asshole, you couldn’t tap this if you were the last guy on Earth!” she snapped, hands on hips, combat boots spread apart. “Tell me, are you always this arrogant, to assume a woman would seek you out just for sex?”
“Yes,” he answered, without hesitating. “They don’t come for the conversation, that’s for damn sure.”
She stared at him with those big blue eyes and then started to laugh. “You got a set on you, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he confirmed flashing her an arrogant grin. “Want to come see?”
She snorted indelicately and clutched tightly onto her army green, spiked purse. “In your dreams.”
“Fuck yeah!” he agreed quickly.
He heard her breath hitch and knew right then and there that she was interested in him too. He turned to face her, his full, erect penis jutting proudly from him body. Her eyes flew to there without thought, and widened.
She licked her lips, a gesture he was starting to realize was less provocative and more a sign of her nervous interest. He wanted her bad. But sensed, despite her boldness, that she was like a bird ready to fly at the slightest movement.
“Why did you come here?” he asked.
She licked those gorgeous purple lips again and looked at him through her dark mask of make up. “I’m vetting you.”
He laughed, guttural and loud and shook his head. “You can vet me any time, baby. What do you think you saw out there?”
She shrugged and arched a brow at his dismissal of the veracity of her words. “Powerful. Hard jaw and head. You don’t go down easy. You have good style, but you rely too much on your ability to hit hard and fast, not enough on skill and training. Which I assume you have, right? You’re easily distracted.” She cast him a wicked look. “And you’re too arrogant. You could too easily underestimate your opponent. Overall, not a bad prospect, but a wild card for a potential sponsor.”
He frowned and really looked at her. He had no fucking clue who she was, but she knew what to look for in a fighter. He was beginning to believe she really was there as a scout. How could he not know her?
The city was big enough, with a population of a few million people, but the illegal fighting circle was small. If she was as knowledgeable as she sounded he should know who she was. His interest in mystery woman just deepened.
“Who are you?” he demanded bluntly.
She paced toward the entrance of the shower room and back, spinning on her toes gracefully, despite the heavy boots she wore. She was lithe, like a dancer, her movements sleek and bold. God, he wanted to get his hands on her so bad his body pulsed with the need to reach out and grab her.
“Anya,” she said with a shrug.
“Anya.” He repeated her name in a sexy deep voice. “Who are you, Anya baby? How come we’ve never met before?”
She grinned. “So arrogant, Ash!” she chided. “Assuming we’ve never met each other. Have you had so much pussy in your life that you can’t remember one more face in a sea of women? For shame.”
He growled, “I’d remember you Anya. There’s no comparison between you and the women I’ve known. We never met before today.” He looked at her shrewdly. “But you know me. I’d bet money you’ve seen me around.”
She tossed a cheeky grin his way and continued to pace, running a small hand along the tiled wall behind her.
“You’re so cute, Ash. You know just how to flatter a girl.” She batted her long, silky eyelashes at him and said in that husky voice that went straight to his groin, “maybe I should order the napkins now – Ash and Anya, I can just see the wedding invites, what an adorable couple!”
He didn’t care for her sarcasm, but he had to acknowledge that he did like the sound of his name on her lips, especially when she talked about them having any kind of relationship. While the street hardened criminal in him cringed at this fledgling desire to pick up any scraps she might toss his way, the man wanted to possess and woo her.
“You need a spanking little girl, or maybe something else to occupy that bratty mouth of yours.”
She rolled her eyes and snorted. “Oh, baby boy,” she mocked him, “you’d have to be tough enough to back that shit up.”
He’d had enough of her teasing. Time to put her mouth to better use.
He moved so quickly she barely had time to blink as he lunged across the shower room for her. She was closer to the exit door and whirled around to run. He chased her, dripping across the change room and caught her right as she reached the door. Grabbing her arm, he swung her around and slammed her back against the lockers next to the door.
Anya gasped and tilted her head up to stare at him with wide, frightened eyes. He had no intention of hurting her, but he was glad she was taking him a little more seriously. She had made a stupid move, following a champion cage fighter into a dimly lit change room alone and then questioning his ability to tame her. That kind of challenge could only end one way.
He hunched his naked shoulders and dropped his head down into the crook of her neck, under her jaw. Water dripped from his hair down her neck, trailing into the neckline of her hooded sweater. Inhaling her sweet fruity scent, he grew even harder, his cock reaching out to brand her belly. He fisted a hand in her hair and pulled her head back so he’d have better access to her delicious throat.
She moaned and brought her hands up, hesitantly placing them against his wet biceps. She curved her small fingers around the muscles and flexed her short fingernails. She said nothing about his blatantly sexual hold on her, simply tilting her jaw slightly to give him better access to the tender skin of her throat. She was an intriguing mix of boldness and innocence. She went toe to toe with him verbally, but then submitted to his physical aggression.
Or that’s what he thought right before he felt the tiny, subtle shift of her hips, giving her better leverage for a knee to his vulnerable groin. It was a damn good thing he could read other fighters so well or he would likely be rolling around on the floor cradling his bruised balls.
He took a calculated risk, letting her bring her knee up before blocking her attempt to unman him. Before her knee could connect, he moved swiftly to wedge his hips between her legs. Grabbing her waist, he picked her up off the floor, slammed her back into the lockers and pinned her with his much bigger body.
The breath whooshed out of her and she held on to his shoulders tightly so she wouldn’t fall. “Ash!” she gasped as he ground his cock into the vee of her thighs, wetting her clothing and forcing her to feel his length against her covered pussy.
“You shouldn’t play with the big boys if you can’t handle the heat,” he growled, before capturing her mouth in a heated kiss.
Her luscious lips had been begging for his attention, even if her sarcastic words said otherwise. He took her mouth with all the erotic aggression he had felt since first setting eyes on her. Forcing her head back against the locker, he devoured her lips, mouth and tongue. Plunging his tongue into her mouth over and over, sweeping it across her teeth and stealing her breath, he fucked her mouth until she was gasping and begging for release.
He backed off for a second to give her room to recover. She took several gasping breaths, staring at him with glazed eyes before reaching up, tugging his short blond spikes in between her demanding fingers and yanking his head back down to hers for more.
He didn’t require more prompting. He swooped in for another long, intense kiss. She moaned, sending streaks of lightning straight to his groin. Ash brought his naked leg up between hers and let her body slide a few inches down the lockers until her pussy was balanced on top of his rough, thick thigh. She sighed in ecstasy and wiggled her hips, experimenting with friction.
“Oh god!” she moaned, tilting her head back and moving her hips back and forth across the top of his thigh.
Even with her heavy combat boots dangling alongside his calves, he held her up easily. He took hold of her hips and helped her rub her pussy along his leg, delighting in the moans of pleasure that escaped her gorgeous lips.
“Fuck baby,” he growled. “You look so fucking good just like that.” He could feel the wetness of her pussy seeping through the thin material of her leggings. Knowing that she was finding her pleasure with him, he wanted to lay her down on one of the benches, strip the damn leggings from her and sink balls deep into that snug little cunt.
She whimpered and bit her lip between small, white teeth. She jerked her hips faster, close to orgasm simply from rubbing against his thigh. He grasped a hand full of her hair when he sensed she was close, tipped her head back and plunged his tongue deep into her mouth, swiping it around, forcing her to take him.
He swallowed her scream as she came all over his leg and held her while she shuddered and collapsed against him.
He was definitely in love.
Ash had never seen anything like her. He had also never been so turned on in his life. Giving her time to enjoy the aftermath of an intense orgasm, he held her tightly and waited, determined to give her a few minutes before taking things further. He fully intended to plant his cock in one of her orifices. But he wasn’t a total pig, he could wait a few extra seconds. Even if his dick was telling him to get on with things.
“Let me go,” she groaned, her sexy voice shaky from orgasm.
“It’s okay baby,” he said, moving his leg back and gently letting her slide down until her feet touched the floor. He steadied her when she would have stumbled.
She swept her long eyelashes up to look at him with striking blue eyes.
He couldn’t quite place her expression. He wanted to go with wonder or awe, but for some reason he thought she might look angry. Damn it. He was starting to suspect she wasn’t interested in helping him out with his raging hard on any more. Maybe he’d scared her with the intensity of his sexual advance. He usually wasn’t this way around women, but something about her had him twisted up, demanding he stake a claim immediately.
“Easy, baby,” he said, a hand still on her arm.
She shoved his hand away and stepped back. “Don’t touch me,” she snapped.
“What the fuck?” he said, confused, and backed away from her.
“Hands off the merchandise,” she snarled, her sassy attitude returning full force. “That shit’ll get you killed big man!”
Her snide remarks pissed him right off. “Excuse me, baby, but you were the one grinding that little pussy all over me. I’m pretty sure I’m not the one giving off mixed signals here.”
She did indeed look ready to commit murder now. And still his penis was stiff as fuck, begging him to make nice with her. The way she stood, the way she pursed her lips. Even annoyed he wanted to kiss her and force her little body to take more orgasms from him.
“Okay, look Anya, let’s just talk,” he said, in what he hoped was a conciliatory tone instead of the tone of a man who knew he was about to suffer blue balls, but still wanted, pathetically, to be near the object of his lust.
She looked pointedly down at his cock and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, okay, I’ll put some clothes on. Then we can talk.” He turned to reach for the boxer briefs, jeans and T-shirt he’d placed on the bench before his shower.
The moment his back was turned he felt a rush of cold air across his bare ass as she flung the locker room door open and bolted. He should have known. The woman was a box full of contradictions mixed with a bratty mouth and a sexy as fuck body.
Ash growled and sent his fist into a nearby locker, bending the metal. He was going to find out exactly who mystery woman was. Find out where she lived and everything about her. Hopefully once he did that, he would be calm enough to play the wooing game until she admitted she wanted him as bad as he wanted her.