Her eyes lifted to mine and whatever she found there was enough to make her spit too. I grinned at her as my heart pounded for that.
“Hold the shot, baby,” I encouraged and she took it from me without question.
Denise continued to struggle against my hold on her, cursing my name and growling plenty of other colourful things at me, but I ignored her as I grabbed her jaw and forced her mouth open.
I didn’t even have to say a word before Tatum poured the spit filled shot straight into Denise’s mouth and I slammed her jaw closed again as I forced her to swallow.
“No one insults my girl,” I snarled in my deadliest tone and Denise shivered beneath me as several more punters backed away from us.
“And let’s be honest, sweety,” Tatum said in a tone almost as dangerous as my own. “That’s not the dirtiest thing you’ve had in your mouth tonight. But you might wanna take the hint – Kyan is mine. So back the fuck off before I’m forced to really hurt you.”
I knew it was just the part she was playing, but fuck me, I actually liked the way it sounded when she claimed me like that.
Tatum reached out for the shot intended for me and knocked it back with a savage look in her eyes which I wanted to bottle.
“I thought we were meant to be having fun tonight, baby?” she asked, mocking me. “Can we get on with it?”
“Fuck yes.” I dropped my hold on Denise and left her to scramble upright behind us as I took Tatum’s hand again and we dove into the crowd.
Sweaty bodies in plaid shirts and leather jackets surrounded us and we carved a path between them, sometimes having to shove them aside as we went and even throwing the odd punch to make sure they moved. There were a lot of people wearing masks and latex gloves and I wondered if that shit would really be of any use to people who were packed together like sardines. I was just hoping that no one here was infected or I was pretty sure we were already fucked.
Tatum took it all in her stride, looking just as at home here as any of these fuckers, though her skin was certainly cleaner and her clothes more expensive. But she didn’t look rattled. Didn’t even look disgusted. In fact, she was lit up from the inside out and riding on the same high that I was always chasing by coming here.
“Hey, sweet thing, how much for a ride on your merry-go-round?” a rough voice drew my attention and I turned to look just as Tatum threw a punch into the throat of the big motherfucker who’d spoken.
He dropped like a sack of shit as she snarled at him. “Keep your hands to yourself, asshole!”
“Did you just touch my girl, Merl?” I snarled, dragging Tatum behind me as Merl tried to push his way to his feet. I threw my boot into his chest with a brutal kick to knock him back down.
“Fuck!” Merl cursed. “I didn’t see you there, Kyan. I was only checking out the goods.”
“He grabbed my ass,” Tatum hissed and I kicked him again as rage spilled through me like a vat of acid.
“No one touches what’s mine,” I growled, kicking him again and again as he tried to crawl away from me.
A circle opened up around us as people watched and even exchanged the odd bet but before I could really go to town on him, Tatum caught my hand and dragged me around to look at her.
“I think he got the message,” she said in rough voice, her heated gaze telling me she didn’t mind me stepping in to be her hero one bit. Not that she’d exactly needed my help, but that only made her hotter. “Don’t let him ruin our night.”
I actually fucking smiled at that. Our night. Like this really was a date and I wasn’t just some asshole taking his pet for a walk.
“If you say so, baby,” I agreed and I didn’t miss the way people were looking at us. But fuck it, Merl was already down and bleeding, I could do better than beating him up and in that moment I was enjoying the feeling of her hand in mine enough to let my issue with him go. For now anyway – the next time I saw him, he’d be in a whole world of pain.
I turned to spit on him for good measure before tugging Tatum into the crowd again as we started to close in on the ring.
I had to shove a few people aside and cursed at them until they got out of the fucking way.
We finally made it through the crowd to the edge of the ring where two huge guys were stumbling away covered in blood.
“Mike!” I shouted, drawing the attention of the asshole who ran this operation and his face lit up like he was seeing Santa on Christmas Day, not just some fucker who won every fight he entered. But that was why he loved me. The odds against me were so good that idiots threw their money at the bets in the hopes of winning big and the odds for me winning were shit because everyone knew I’d win. But they poured money into that all the same, just to see a tiny return. So basically when I fought, he made a shit tonne of money and the crowd were all in.
“Kyan!” he cried like we were old friends. His two front teeth were missing and his belly hung low over his waistband. He caught sight of Tatum and swept his faded baseball cap off as he bowed low to her. “And you brought a real lady down here too!”
“Naw, she’s just as dirty as me, aren’t you baby?”
“Dirtier,” she agreed, her eyes lighting as she looked out at the ring.
There were hay bales stacked around it to keep the crowd back and more than a few blood splatters lining the filthy wooden floor. It was so fucking beautiful, I was damn near brought to tears.
“You wanna wait the next round out?” Mike asked. “I promised a doubles round next. Or you can just pick a teammate if you wanna go in now?”
“I’ll do it,” Tatum said suddenly, her gaze snapping back around to us.
Mike scoffed a laugh. “You can try your luck in a ladies bout if you really think you can handle yourself, but a sweet little thing like you is better off waiting back here for your fella to finish up. You can kiss him better when he comes out victorious.”
“Fuck that. I want in,” Tatum demanded and the dangerous look in her eye said she meant it. I swear my dick was hardwired to that fucking look.
“This isn’t some pretty fight with rules, baby,” I warned her as I looked her up and down. “There’s no gloves, no mouth guards, no one to say you can’t break some bones.”
“What’s the matter, Kyan?” she taunted. “Are you just afraid that I’ll prove my balls are bigger than yours? Or is it that you really are Saint’s little bitch and you’re afraid to bring me back to him with bruises and busted knuckles?”
I growled at that suggestion. And in all honesty, the thought of her with bruises and busted knuckles was just a turn on. Fuck what Saint had to say on the subject. I turned back to Mike with a smile that offered no argument.
“You heard the girl, she’s in. And if you want me to fight tonight there won’t be any complaints on that.”
Mike’s face paled as his gaze slid over Tatum’s small frame and she arched an eyebrow aggressively. He cut a glance towards the two big motherfuckers who’d just entered the ring on the opposite side, wetting his lips nervously.
“You accept responsibility for this, Kyan,” he warned. “I don’t want you screaming in my face when she gets hurt.”
“I’d be more worried about those guys,” Tatum scoffed and fuck me, I wanted her more in that moment than I’d ever wanted any girl.