The coarse ropes that line the ring brush against my exposed stomach. Kyan is bouncing on his feet in front of me as I wrap his hands for the fight.

"Good and tight, ginge." 

I roll my eyes. "I know how to wrap, fucktard."  

His gaze is fixed over my shoulder and I twist, following his line of sight to Haven who is taking bets next to her dad.

"You like to live dangerously, princess," I say to Kyan.  

A devious smile works over his lips. "Oh, I think little Haven might be game." 

I laugh. "Larry is going to rip your dick off and feed it to you if you go near his eighteen-year-old daughter." 

"Ah, ginge,” he looks at her again, “some risks are definitely worth taking." 

"You're impossible." I glance up when someone shifts to step beside me. Finn has his permanent scowl fixed in place. I quickly drop my gaze away from him. I don't know why. I'm not one for being anything less than balls to the wall about everything, but I'm not sure there's any way not to feel a little awkward right now.  

The last time I spoke to him we had a fight, then we kissed, and I left, because that's always the mature way to handle situations like that.  

"Gotta check your wraps," Finn says, raising his voice over the growing crowd spilling into The Pit. Kyan holds his hands out and Finn inspects them. Ever since Brandon got sliced up by a guy with razor blades in his wraps one time, everyone gets checked. "Okay, you're good." Finn slaps Kyan on the back and Kyan ducks through the ropes into the ring. The other fighter still hasn't come out.  

"You okay?" I ask as we stand shoulder to shoulder, facing the ring.  

He releases a heavy sigh and turns to face me. "Yeah. You?" God, could this be anymore awkward if we tried? What are we fourteen? Jesus...        

"Yep. I'm great," I say with far too much enthusiasm.   

The cringe worthy silence reigns on for several moments before Finn clears his throat. "Can you wrap?"

He holds two rolled wraps out to me and I take them, tucking one between my legs as I take his outstretched hand. I focus on winding the material around his outstretched fingers, up his wrist. I can feel his eyes on me as my fingers brush over the tight muscles of his forearms. I finish wrapping him and pause, pulling my hand away slowly. The crowd roars around us, but all I can feel is the silence between us.

"Sorry," we both blurt at the same time. I smile and finally look up at him. His dark eyes study mine.

"I’m sorry I kissed you," he says.

My heart drops a little. "Are you?"

His lips press together. "Are you?" He waits for my reaction.

I narrow my eyes and step closer to him until my breasts rub against his bare chest. He doesn't move away, only looks down at me. I reach up, lightly running my fingers along his chest. His taped hand meets my hip, but he doesn't pull me closer. I watch the slow path of my manicured nails over his tanned skin. I tip my head back and lift my eyes to his lips. The air fills with this tension pausing as though holding its breath. Pushing up on tiptoes, I press my lips to his gently. His arms wind around my back and he tugs me closer to him. The kiss is short and sweet, but full of possibilities.

"I have to fight," he says, against my mouth.

I nod. "Okay, go kick some arse." A small smile pulls at his lips before he releases me, his hand slowly gliding over my back. The bell rings signalling the end of Kyan's fight. I don't know whether he won or lost.

"And next in the ring..." Larry’s gruff voice rumbles through the speakers announcing Finn. I can't stop smiling as I turn away from Finn and glance into the crowd, but the smile quickly falls when my eyes land on Silas. He's standing far enough back so as not to be easily seen. I guess hoping he’ll be hidden behind the cheering, drunk men.

I glance at Finn quickly. "Good luck in your fight." I squeeze his forearm before disappearing into the crowd, bee lining for Silas. He stands like a rock, his arms at his sides, his muscles rigid tense. He looks hard and dangerous and I can practically feel the anger rolling off him in waves. I've never feared him and I'm not going to allow myself to right now. Besides, we're in a room full of people. What is he going to do? 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I say with a snap when I reach him.  

He grabs the top of my arm, his fingers digging into my skin hard as he drags me across the room and roughly pushes me against the wall. His hands land on the wall either side of my head, caging me in. Suddenly, the room full of people that felt like a security blanket a few moments ago now fades into the background, irrelevant and inconsequential.  

It's just me and a very pissed off Silas. His jaw ticks repeatedly and his nostrils flare. I know him well enough to know he's about two-point-five seconds from losing it.  

"What do you want?" I ask, quietly this time in a bid not to agitate him.  

A humourless laugh slips from his snarled lips. "You're fucking the fighter?" 

I glare at him. "It's none of your business who I'm fucking Silas. You were supposed to leave. Why the fuck are you following me?" 

His gaze slips down my body. "I always knew you were a whore, just like your sweet sister." He smirks, and I lose it. My temper spikes, my fist curls and I punch him in the face. His head snaps to the side before his gaze shifts back to me, his eyes ablaze with a whole new level of anger. Oh, fuck.  

"Fuck you, Silas." Yep, I can't help myself.  

His teeth grit and he flexes his neck to the side, the movement causing tension to wind through my body. "You are fucking mine, Hope!" he says with a roar. He pulls his fist back and I flinch, throwing my hands in front of my face. His fist slams into the wall next to my head and I choke on a breath. He brings his face inches from mine in an attempt to kiss me. I shove against his chest, trying to move away from him, but it's pointless. I turn my head to the side, and that's when I catch sight of Finn storming towards me. Relief fills me just before Silas is ripped off me. And then all hell breaks loose.