Tease

by Sapphire Knight

  We’re getting closer to the stadium entrance, and now the chant from the crowd reminds me of an enormous football game.

  Rip! Stomp. His! Stomp. Head! Stomp. Off! Stomp, stomp. Ripper, Riiiipppeerrrrr!

  It’s enough to get my own heart going, knowing what’s about to happen. Goosebumps spread over my skin like a wildfire making me shudder. Thankfully Gav doesn’t notice. He’s ‘in his zone’ right now. I’m never this nervous, but this is huge tonight. He could be the next heavyweight champion of the world by the time the hour’s over.

  Not could be. He will be. I have to stay confident and positive. This is Gav we’re talking about—he’s a fucking badass, this is his sport.

  Just before we make it to the arena entrance, the hard chords of Adrenalize begin to thrum through the massive space. In This Moment is pumped up as well, doing their best to ‘adrenalize’ my man.

  This song, I swear. It’s become everything to us. His first UFC fight he played it to fuck with his opponent. No one has a female lead singer as their walk-out song. It’s always rock with guys belting out lyrics or rap. Not my Gav; he said let’s be different and went with a chick singing metal.

  He caught a lot of flak from the other fighters when they found out. They’d taunt him about it over and over, and then they’d fight and get their asses handed to them. It was great; karma at its finest.

  In a way, it fit perfectly into our lives as well. The love and pain—the addiction to each other—we went through it, and we came out even more in love. I learned through our trials and tribulations that I’m a fighter as well. Gav is mine, and no one will ever make him or me, forget the love that we have for one another.

  The difference in noise volume from the hall into the arena is shocking. Everyone’s on their feet, either screaming cheers or obscenities toward us. I thought I was prepared for this. I’m not.

  This is nowhere near the crowd size there was for Jace’s fight. Did they add more seats? This place seems even more massive than what I remember and how can it be so full of people and still be safe? A mob of people is an understatement; I think most of those standing don’t even have seats. That has to be against the law. This could turn out so bad. Gavin thinks he’s invincible, and he usually is; but if this number of people decided to rush the walkway or something, they could easily kill him.

  My thoughts are brushed aside as Gav practically drags me down the pathway toward the cage. Luckily it appears that his fans are over here, so nothing’s being thrown at us. I’ve had the popcorn and nachos dumped on me from angry fans before; it’s no fun.

  Jace walks behind me as bright gold and white fireworks shower beside us, and the overhead colored lights go crazy, shining all over the room into the crowd. In This Moment’s tiny blonde singer’s clad in a skin-tight leather cat suit with matching black leather bunny ears screaming about ‘being addicted to this and feeling like a god.’

  Thanks to her outfit, I no longer feel weird in mine. MGM had their personal shopper pick out my dress, claiming we were going to be on TV, so I had to wear something to best encase the event.

  It turns out that their idea of perfect is a mini dress full of fake diamonds. Can’t say I’m that surprised, they did go completely overboard with the concerts and fireworks. Walking out with Gav, it looks like I’m one big sparkle in the lights next to him. I was worried it would draw too much attention, but I think the leather bunny ears and cat suit have me beat.

  Thank God.

  We stop near the cage, Gavin lifting his arms up and letting go of my sweaty grip. The moment our contact breaks, Jace’s heavy hand comes down protectively, holding my shoulder and keeping me grounded. Sin peels the hoodie and sweat pants off my man, revealing a wall of muscles. Even with the noise from the band blaring throughout, you can hear every female in the building swoon over him.

  Bitches.

  Gavin’s built like no other. Normally you see the heavyweight fighters, and they’re full of fat with some height. The only reason Gav even fits in the heavyweight bracket is because the weight of muscle compared to fat. He’s so chiseled; he comes off as lean. You’d never guess that he’s two hundred and sixty-five- pounds. He’s also six foot four, so he wears his weight like the average gym rat would wear one hundred eighty pounds.

  It’s not all puff and fluff either; he’s strong. He’s toned by strength and agility training mixed with Muay Thai, Brazilian Jui Jitsu, and wrestling. He may not be as fast as a little featherweight fighter, but if my man lands a hit on you, you’re going to hurt. Or get knocked out—depends on the location.

  His mouth guard is already in so he gives me a brief hug. I know he’d kiss me if he could, but it’s better this way anyhow. He needs to stay focused on the fight, not sex. He does the man hug thing with Jace and Sin; then I’m being steered toward the ringside seats by Jace.

  I should have told him I loved him again.

  They pat down Gavin, inspecting him for hidden wounds and weapons. It only takes a second, and then he’s bouncing around the cage before we can make it to our seats.

  2.

  My butt hits the chair as the band stops playing and the announcer starts listing Gavin’s weight and height. Without the music playing, it’s the perfect opening for Jace to start talking my ears off.

  “Wish Chyna doll could be here with us,” he grumbles sullenly.

  “I know, it sucks, but she needs to listen to the doctor and not travel.”

  “First kid, and she’s laid up on bed rest. I felt so damn guilty for coming, but she insisted on it, being Gavin and all.”

  “I’m sure she’s okay; her gram will love having a reason to stay and fuss over her.”

  “That lady’s a trip.” He chuckles making me laugh as well. Chyna’s grandmother is full of shenanigans, always off getting into something. “I’m going to be real, though; I’m worried that with the complications she’s having now, that she won’t want more.”

  “More kids?”

  “Yeah, I want at least five.”

  His response brings on another wave of giggles from me because there’s no way in hell that Chyna will pop out five kids. My bet’s on two.

  Music floods the stadium again as Sick Yuppies begin to strum a few chords of Bone Crusher’s fight song. Jace doesn’t let it deter him though and continues telling me about a few outrageous things he’s ordered for his soon-to-be baby boy.

  I wonder if Chyna knows this time. When he first bought their house he had a baby room designed and filled it to the brim with baby supplies. I figured Chy would run for the hills, but I think it made her love him a little bit more. Jace is a good guy. He’s not Gavin, but he fills the best friend spot nicely.

  A shadow falls over me, blocking out the overhead lights and I swear Jace growls next to me. My gaze snaps up, discovering that the shadow is the Bone Crusher and his walk-out crew. They look like a group of thugs. More like wannabe gang bangers than his coach and younger brother. I know exactly who they all are; I did my homework on them. In fights like this, you can never be too careful, and it’s always good to know not only the opponent but his trainers, partners, friends, family, etc. Gavin taught me that before he’d let me anywhere near his fighting side.

  I’m not supposed to speak to him. Gavin warned me to never talk to his opponents, or they may say something ugly. I have enough respect for my man to heed his warning, so I remain silent.

  Mere seconds pass of us staring at each other and then Bone Crusher spits at my feet, grunting like I’m in his way. I’m nowhere near him, though; he has plenty of feet in front of me to get by.

  I don’t even know what happened; next thing I know, my shoulder’s aching from Jace damn near flying over me to get to this guy. Shouting and chaos break out as Jace and Bone Crusher try to land hits on each other.

  An animalistic noise comes from the cage, causing me to glance over and find Gavin climbing the wall of the octagon. With one leg over the top, he drops like fucking Spiderman or something and charges s
traight for us.

  This is bad. This is so bad right now.

  It feels like I’m trapped in a tunnel as security fights off fans that are attempting to charge over the barrier fence separating us from them so they can join in on the growing fight. At this point, everyone directly around us has either scurried out of the guy’s way, or they’re trying to pull someone off, so it stays semi-fair.

  Gavin’s able to get close enough to throw a swing and then we’re surrounded by big, tatted up Russians in suits creating a durable barrier between Gavin, Jace, and the Bone Crusher’s crew. They were sitting directly behind me, and I didn’t even pay attention.

  It’s the motherfucking mafia.

  Tate, Viktor, Nikoli, Alexei, and Spartak to be exact and boy do they not appear to be amused in the slightest. They’re also Gavin and Jace’s main sponsor, so I’m guessing they’re protecting their investments right now.

  I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to be around mobsters before.

  Despite their unsavory backgrounds, Tate and Viktor have always been pleasant to us. They’ve taken us out for dinner several times to discuss business and had gifts delivered to the house. The other guys are their guards, and with the way they easily manhandled these assholes, I’d say they know their stuff.

  The main event hasn’t even begun, and shit’s already crazy. Is the fight going to happen now? If the UFC suspends Gavin over this scuffle, I swear to God they’ll hate me. I’ll call every damn news reporter I can find to tell them my side of the story as soon as possible if I have to. It’ll be a huge mess, and while the UFC loves drama with fighters, not siding with a fighter’s girlfriend will make them look like a giant bag of dicks.

  The music comes to a halt shifting majority of the attention off the three fighters currently trying to murder each other and onto the platform set up for the bands. The overhead system sounds off with the announcer demanding everyone to take their seats, or the event will be canceled without any refunds.

  The fans around us boo but end up chilling out; after all, money talks in the end. There are the few random guys still trying to start fights being dragged away by security, but overall, it’s calmed down. Gavin would be a wreck right now over all this, but he’s too pissed, busy concentrating on wanting to murder Bone Crusher to notice what just went down with the crowd.

  JT, the head honcho of the UFC, approaches us appearing so pissed off that he’s ready to pop a gasket. I’m over to the side, but still close enough to see and hear everything.

  “This was perfect, gentlemen; it’ll be a fight to remember.” He comes off so it looks like he’s angry at the fighters to the overall crowd, but he’s happy about this chaos. What a tool!

  Ignoring the man in charge, Bone Crusher glares at Gav, threatening him, “I’ll keep the belt and take your little puta.” He spits again, and I swear to God, something breaks inside Gavin. I’ve never seen him so furious before.

  He surprises me when, instead of murdering the asshat, he takes off for the cage. My Sugar’s on a mission and the Bone Crusher just secured a spot in the hospital.

  Bone Crusher rushes after Gavin creating a huge spectacle as he stomps up the stairs into the cage. I think Gav was expecting it because he turns around right before Bone Crusher throws another jab.

  The ref, Dan, rushes to get between them. He’s a big man himself, sporting long black dreads. Holding his hands out between them, he announces, “One point on Bone Crusher. Let’s keep it clean, gentlemen!”

  Dan taking away a point from Bone Crusher’s scorecard already, has me liking him as our ref. Some refs conveniently miss stuff and people get hurt because of it; this guy seems to be on his game.

  The announcer quickly fumbles out his spiel on the general rules so the fighters can get to it. Dan stays between them the entire time, watching them both like a hawk in case they try again to go at each other too soon.

  This has turned into a shit show, with two pissed off Alphas ready to do damage. That’s not even accounting for Jace, who’s currently panting with anger beside me or all the beefed-up mobsters ready to hurt someone at the drop of a hat.

  Jace pulls me down into the seat next to him; I hadn’t realized I was still standing. Viktor and Tate, along with their guys, take their seats behind me again just as the announcer rumbles out, “Leeet’s fight!”

  Dan backs away quickly. Bone Crusher charges without tapping gloves prior—a show of mutual respect in the sport. Gavin reads it immediately, bobbing out of the way to the left and swiping his opponent with a hard thigh kick.

  At contact I jump up, cheering him on. The quicker he can end this, the better. We have five sets of five minutes each. A total of twenty-five minutes of fight time since he’s the main event and it’s going to be the longest half hour of my life.

  “Come on, baby!” I cheer.

  It’s like my shout triggers a switch and the chants start again. This time it’s “Ripper! Ripper!” coming from his fans. Gavin needs this; he needs to feel how much support he has. The fans are with him tonight and even more so after the prefight bullshit.

  Bone Crusher comes at him with a combination of jabs, left right left, but once again Gav bobs to the side, counteracting with a hard right.

  It stuns jackass enough to make him blink, and I think he really sees Gavin for the first time. This isn’t another weakling full of fat like he’s used to playing with. This is pure competition, and he’s on Gav’s playground.

  They hop around the cage, concentrating, trying to pace each other. It feels like they do this forever. Whichever one of them picks up the other’s pace the fastest will most likely be the one to make good contact. It’s all about rhythm and timing, and it must be perfect to get the right hit.

  Bone Crusher paces Gavin’s pattern first, and sure enough, he strikes him with a powerful inside thigh kick. He didn’t know that Gavin was waiting for it though and Gav gets off another right jab. Bone Crushers eyebrow splits on contact making the crowd roar in triumph as blood trickles down his cheek.

  “Breathe, breathe, breathe.” I chant quietly to myself. If I don’t say it out loud, I may hold my breath until I pass out.

  Jace chuckles beside me for the first time since we arrived. “Relax, Aria; no puking, okay? Ripper knows what he’s doing.”

  I can only nod in return. I haven’t puked at a fight in over a year, but he’s right, tonight I may break that streak.

  The bell dings at the end of the first round, and I fall into my seat exhausted. I’m not the one fighting, yet a large portion of the energy and adrenaline I had has already escaped me.

  Each guy in the cage goes to their respective corner, and Jace sprints over to Gavin’s side, no doubt giving him some advice or encouragement. I’m left to stare at my love sitting quietly on the small stool while he listens to Sin and gets cleaned up. He’s not bleeding but he’s a sweaty mess, and some of Bone Crusher’s blood is on his right hand.

  Is it wrong that I’m enjoying the fact that my boyfriend has been the one to draw blood first? It’s a sign of what’s about to happen. Gavin’s doing what he always does. Even though he’s wound up and angry, he’s still taking his time and fighting smart. I’m so damn proud of him.

  In no time the fighters are back on their feet, murder in their eyes. They trade hits and kicks for two more rounds until finally, Bone Crusher starts to get worn down. It takes one slip of his left foot and Gav has him on the ground, pounding away at his face. He goes to town on the Bone Crusher, straight ground and pound—Gavin’s favorite.

  People started calling him ‘Ripper’ for a reason. You see when Gav gets you on the ground like he has Bone Crusher now, his fists are lethal. He rips through the skin like he’s cutting up a juicy steak. By the time the ref can get him pulled off of you, you’re toast. In the Bone Crusher’s case, he’s about to be on his way to the hospital.

  Never disrespect Gavin’s mother or girlfriend, because he always comes to collect on it.

  The Russian
s behind me cheer as the announcer calls the fight. Immediately I’m screaming, so happy that it’s over and Gavin’s okay. He’s more than okay. He’s won! He’s the new UFC heavyweight champion of the world.

  His status just went up about ten notches from regular badass. I thought I was proud before, but this takes the cake. He’s so strong and disciplined; he deserves this.

  I wish his brother would’ve shown up to show his support. They used to be extremely close, but the rift between them has only grown larger with time. I don’t think they’ll ever get back to where they were before Gav and I got together.

  His dad is supposed to be here somewhere. He left a message saying his flight was delayed and he’d try to sit with Jace and me, but not to worry if he couldn’t make it to our seating area. I hope he missed the skirmish in the beginning. He has a lot of respect for his son and the way he’s taken this sport by storm, I’d hate to see any of it waver because the Bone Crusher decided to be an assface.

  “He did it!” Jace yells beside me, wearing a big smile.

  “I know! I can’t believe it!”

  “Let’s get out of here before it gets bad with everyone trying to leave. It’s pretty early; I bet everyone’s gonna want to go party.”

  “We can’t just leave while Gav’s still in the cage; I want to go see him.” My eyes fall on my man who currently has his arms raised in the air being named champion.

  “I already spoke to him and Sin about it. The doc’s going to look him over quickly; then he has to get to the Gala.”

  “I thought it was just a dinner at the Gala, though.”

  “No.” His icy blue eyes grow wide. “It’s so much more, and he’ll be getting awards, I’m sure of it.”

  It must be a really big deal if they already have a plan in the works. It’s exciting to know that Gavin will be getting some awards also. I’ll proudly put them on our shelves in the living room so everyone can see them when they visit.

  “I wanted to be up there celebrating with him, but if you say we need to go, then let’s move it before we’re bum rushed by everyone.”