I roll my eyes. “It’s your funeral.”
“You can tap out at any time,” Manny tells Tiny. “If he drops you, for the love of god, stay down.”
“I’ve never been dropped before,” Tiny says, holding out his hands so that Manny can put his gloves on.
“You’ve never fought against Rage before,” Manny warns.
Once he finishes with Tiny, Manny puts my gloves on. “Don’t hit him too hard.” His eyes are trained on mine.
I nod once. I’m not in the best mood. This isn’t a great idea. “You sure about this?” I give Tiny one more chance to bow out.
He snort-laughs. “Course I am.”
“It’s just a friendly sparring match,” Manny reminds us. I can see by the look in Tiny’s eyes that there’s nothing friendly about this as far as he’s concerned. There are always guys like this. Not necessarily bad, but out to prove something. I’m doing well on the MMA circuit, and they want to say they beat me.
Manny tries to put a headguard onto me, but I shake my head. “I’m good.”
Manny goes over to Tiny. “Me too,” he says.
“Put it on,” Manny insists.
“I’m good!” Tiny grinds out.
We get into the ring. Manny is going through the various rules. Things like not hitting below the belt and what constitutes a knock-out. He goes on to talk through the rules concerning tapping out. I listen with half an ear. I’ve heard it all before. Truth is, I’m tired. I don’t want to be here.
We knock gloves, and then it’s on. Instead of feeling me out, Tiny comes at me right from the start. I duck, and he hits air.
I have to say, the guy packs a punch. If his swipe had connected, I would be feeling it. The second I come up, he throws a left, lifting his knee at the same time. I think he was hoping I would duck again. It’s a bold move. I have to give him credit for being all in.
The problem with all in is that it means I’m all in too. I punch Tiny. It’s a loud thump that gets him square in the jaw. I follow it up with a left hook to the side of the head. Tiny goes down like a ton of bricks.
Many groans. “I told you to go easy.”
“What do you mean?” I frown. “I didn’t break anything.” I look down at Tiny. He’s fast asleep. “He’ll have a headache, but he’ll be just fine.”
“That’s not fine.” Manny points at Tiny. “It was supposed to be a fun sparring match.”
“It’s his own fault,” I grumble, holding my hands out to Manny so that he can take off the gloves.
Manny laughs. “I guess so. Do you feel better?”
I glower at my manager, who laughs harder. Tiny moans, his head rolls to the side. He’s starting to come to. I grab my things and leave.
5
Nia
There is beauty in darkness. You just need to be willing to look harder to find it.
It’s nighttime, and all is quiet. I look at my hands, studying them. I see blood, even though they are clean. The blood of many is on these hands.
I can safely say that they deserved it, every last one of them. Just because they deserved it, didn’t mean I wanted to do it. That I set out to become what I have become. There is one man out there who still deserves to die for what he did. For what he wants to do. He’s evil.
I. Hate. Him.
For the last year, I’ve dreamed of what I will do to him when I am finally ready to face up to him. His day of reckoning is coming. With each breath I take, it draws nearer.
I need to stay strong.
I look down at the form in the bed. The sheets are low around his waist. Tangled around his hips.
I have to say that he is beautiful when he is sleeping. When the demons he wrestles are quiet. When his mind is blank. His features are smooth. His eyes are closed. Dark lashes fan his cheeks.
I am able to admire his beauty. The sheer strength within him. Strength that comes from more than just sinew and muscle; there is magic in him too. An immense power inside that he may not even know exists. He is afraid of his power. His strength. The markings on his chest are more than just for show. I see symbols and runes within the lines and designs. They’ve been carefully hidden within the swirls and patterns. Instead of working to ward off evil, they are here to keep it inside and tethered. I feel sorry for this man. Why does he hide away? Why does he keep himself tethered? I know something happened to him when he was much younger. There are rumors of a power-surge in the dragon lands. His name has been whispered. I explore the markings. There are a helmet and spear, as well as a wild boar. All symbols of Ares. All fitting.
My gaze moves back to his face. To the scar that cuts through his eyebrow. I reach my fingers towards his face…that scar. Made by one of my kind, or so it is rumored. Must be, since the scar is still so prominent.
Quicker than lightning, he grabs my hand. His eyes are open. “What the fuck?” he roars. He goes from lying down to standing in less than a split second, not letting go of my hand at all. His other hand closes over my throat, and my back is against the wall.
His touch is firm. It doesn’t hurt. I can still breathe but talking will be difficult.
His eyes are blazing. His jaw is tight. His frown is deep. I watch as recognition bleeds into his gaze. “You,” he whispers. His hand relaxes a smidgen before tightening back up. “What are you doing here?” he growls. “You followed me?” His eyes narrow on mine. “You fucking followed me!”
I don’t attempt to speak. I stay calm and keep my eyes on his. He takes hold of my wrists and lifts my hands above my head, holding me trapped against the wall. His big body is just an inch away from mine. I feel the heat radiate from him. I can feel the menace rolling off him. “You’d better start talking.” His eyes drift down. He sucks in a breath. “You’re naked… Fuck!” he snarls the word.
“You wanted sex,” I say by way of explanation. “Here I am.”
His eyes flare with surprise, but he quickly schools his emotions. His frown is back. It’s deep. “Sex…yes. Yesterday at the club. What I didn’t want was for some crazy to follow me home. That’s fucking stalking. To come into my house uninvited…” He shakes his head. His eyes are narrowed and hard.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I whisper.
He lets me go completely, his lips twitch with the start of a smile. At least, I think it’s a smile. I take him in. Tall, well-muscled without being beefy. He’s naked and aroused.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he grinds out. “You’re going to tell me what the fuck you’re doing here before I get angry.”
I shrug. “I came for sex,” I try again. Men love sex. It makes them a little crazy. I’m going to use sex to get Rage on my side. My other plan didn’t work. I’m running out of options. Maybe he would be more willing to help me if we were sleeping together. There’s another important reason why I need him to have sex with me as well. I hope it works.
“That’s not going to happen.” He shakes his head.
“Why not?” I look down at his member. “You’re aroused. You were at that club last night because you were looking for sex. You wanted me.”