Caged (Bound by Cage Book 1)

by Brittany Crowley

  Bringing his forehead to mine he whispers, “I love you too baby,” then he’s up and out the door.

  Now that he’s gone I start to get anxious. What happens if he gets hurt tonight? What if I can’t handle seeing him get hit? I decide to start getting ready to take my mind off of the fight. I decide to leave my blonde hair down but curl it off to one side. When I am done with my hair and makeup I make my way to the closet to grab my first dress of the night. I look at it on the hanger and sigh. I love this dress. It’s a purple spaghetti strap dress that has a form fitting bodice and a bit of a flare out from hip to knee and has a black belt detail that accentuates my waist. Sliding my feet into a black pair of pumps I finish off my look adding the necklace that Zander had bought me yesterday. It matches my outfit perfectly, I love it so much. Looking at myself in the mirror I barely recognize myself. My big green eyes perfectly accentuated by a smoky eye and my full lips colored in a bold red. My normal attire of jeans and a tee now replaced with this gorgeous dress that accentuates my cleavage perfectly. It’s not often I dress up but I can’t help but hope that Zander loves it.

  As I start down the stairs I hear hoots and hollers from Zander’s brothers in the living room and I start to laugh as heat flames up my cheeks. They are all standing around the living room waiting for me all dressed up. Well, dressed up for them I suppose. They are all wearing dress pants with a dress shirt, tie and vests all in a different color.

  “Don’t you boys clean up well?” I walk over to them kissing them all on the cheek. “Are any of you even half as nervous as I am? I think I need a drink or 20 to get through tonight!” As if they knew I was going to say that, Kyle leans down and grabs everyone a shot glass from the coffee table.

  “This is tradition for us before a fight, you are now a part of our family so you get added to the tradition. Raise your glass up for Zander going into beast mode tonight and kicking the shit out of that pussy!” I notice that Kyle took a shot and I look at him with narrowed eyes.

  “It’s tradition Sav! I’m only going to do one, these idiots always make me the DD,” I shrug my shoulders and we all yell “TO ZANDER!” and pound the shots back. I cringe as it burns going down causing me to cough a couple of times.

  “What the fuck is that? Ahhh…” they all start laughing at me.

  “And you call yourself a bartender. It’s Jäger!” Jay says as I’m still coughing through the burn. “Ah, I fucking hate black licorice! Does this tradition only involve Jäger? I cannot do that again,” they all laugh as we leave the suite to go find my Dad in the lobby.

  We find my Dad looking pretty dashing in his suit talking to the concierge. He has had the same suit since before my mom died and he had never wanted to get another because it is the one he had worn to their wedding. Seeing my Dad standing there in the new suit he just bought before we left brings tears to my eyes. I am so happy after all of this time he is finally moving on. He deserves to be happy.

  “Baby girl you look beautiful,” he bends down and kisses my cheek, then holds out his arm for me to grab as we head out of the hotel. “Just don’t embarrass me tonight, if you aren’t sure what you should do don’t do anything at all. I don’t want to be black listed after my first MMA fight!”

  “Thanks for being here dad, I don’t know what I would have done without you being here,” I say sarcastically.

  When we get outside, we see the limo out in front with Tim standing next to the door. As we are walking towards the limo I hear the paparazzo whispering about Zander’s brothers and I even hear someone question if they have seen me before. Looking to my left I see that slimy photographer from yesterday with his camera aimed at me. I look away quickly trying not to give him the shot.

  We get in the limo without an issue and before I know it we are headed for the venue. I pull out my phone and shoot Ash a quick text. I have been keeping her updated on everything I have been doing the past few days which has her enquiring about Josh’s whereabouts most of the time. I think she’s at the point where she is ready to give him a chance, but she wants to see what he’s like when he’s away in the city of sin no less. I discreetly took a pic of Josh in the lobby, so I shoot it off to Ashlyn. I immediately get a text back saying fucking hell woman, I think I need to change my panties! followed by the kissy face emoji. Swearing Josh to secrecy, I show him her response. He immediately gets a sappy grin on his face and puffs out his chest a little more. I want to show him that she’s just as smitten, that he’s not the only one invested in their relationship even if I am slightly breaking the girl code.

  Getting to the venue, we are ushered in by security. I guess Zander wanted a body guard on us just in case Julio decided to try something at the last minute. After the weigh in I asked him what was said that upset him so much. He wouldn’t tell me exactly what he said, just that it was a misogynist remark about me. It makes me so mad that we’ve been so careful, yet he still found out about us. I’m sure he has someone at the hotel paid off to watch Zander, so when they saw us together all the time they put two and two together.

  We are right on time, as soon as we take our seats it’s time for the first fight. As each fight takes place my anxiety gets higher and higher. A guy already had to get carted off to the hospital by ambulance because he was down for the count and wouldn’t wake up. Not to mention every single fighter has probably left the ring needing stitches somewhere on their face.

  Everyone starts cheering as the main event is about to take place. The lights cut out in the arena as a video of Zander plays over the Jumbo Tron making me a little emotional seeing clips from some of his important fights playing. In between the clips are shots of Zander talking about his thoughts on the fight and his opponent. He has the right amount of swagger and humility when he talks making him a fan favorite.

  The place goes into a deafening roar as the lights go up and Rob Zombies Dragula comes blasting through the speakers. My Dad leans in and yells in my ear that this is Zander’s entrance song to which I immediately start jumping up and down cheering like a lunatic. Zander doesn’t appear until the chorus of the song starts and if it’s possible, everyone goes even crazier. I jump up and down screaming my head off with the rest of them, even my Dad is going crazy with Josh, Jay and Kyle. Making his way down the aisle that leads to the cage he is jumping up and down screaming looking like he is fully in the zone. We have great seats right in the front, right where Zander will be walking by us to get to the octagon.

  Finally, he gets to the front row and rounds the corner heading towards us. Reaching his brothers and my Dad he pulls them into a group hug while they all scream getting pumped up. When he gets to me he surprises the shit out of me as he pulls me flush with his body, cupping my ass and lays one hell of a kiss on me in front of the whole arena. Pulling away much too soon he gives me a wicked smile and winks. In a daze, I wish him good luck as he makes his way to the entrance. I smile to myself realizing the cats out of the bag now.

  His entourage is walking behind him, most of them I exchange hellos with because I’ve met them at the gym. As his trainer Jim walks by, he looks nervous as hell. I pull him into a hug and tell him Zander has this in the bag! He smiles at me, shakes his head and yells something about superstitions. As Zander’s song ends I know Alverez, is coming out next. My Dad explained to me the fighter that holds the title gets introduced second.

  He definitely doesn’t get the same amount of hype from the crowd as Zander did, I might have even heard a couple boos. In his video, he came across as a cocky asshole, he didn’t even try to be a little bit humble about the fight. Zander is the clear-cut fan favorite in this fight and Alverez doesn’t seem bothered by it.

  He comes out to LMFAO’s Sexy and I Know it, shaking his hips the whole way like this is all a big joke. I think he is making a big mistake underestimating Zander, I just hope this fight doesn’t get too out of hand. As he makes his way to go by us Dante jumps in front of me, shielding me from him. This must be Zander’s order because as I look u
p at him in the cage he is staring intently, watching Alverez like a hawk. He stops in front of us and blows me a kiss then starts thrusting his hips provocatively which at this point, I think he is only hurting himself by pissing Zander off. I can see the tick of agitation in Zander’s jaw, he is so ready for this fight to start to release his frustrations.

  When they are both in the ring, the announcer starts announcing the fighters.

  “Ladies and Gentleman this is the main event you have allllll been waiting for! Introducing first out of the blue corner, this man holds a professional record of 16 wins 2 losses. He stands 6 feet 4 inches and weighed in at 263 pounds. Fighting out of Austin, Texas we have Zannnnnnderrrr “The Hitman” Cagggggge!” The whole arena is going crazy as Zander bounces on his feet shaking his arms out trying to keep his muscles loose.

  “Now out of the red corner, this man holds a professional record of 18 wins, 5 losses. He stands 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed in at 260 pounds. Fighting out of Sacramento, California we have Juuuulioooooo “The Hell Raiser” Allllllverezzzzzzzz!” The crowd cheers again, but like before, with not as much enthusiasm. Now everybody is getting pumped up because the fight is about it begin!

  The ref pulls both fighters to the middle of the octagon to explain the rules as they are both staring each other down. The tension in the air is so thick you could cut it with a knife. He tries to make them touch gloves, and reluctantly they do so. At this point, all of their trainers and entourage have exited the ring, everyone anxiously waiting for the main event to start.

  The crowd begins to cheer as the ref gives the sign for the fight to begin. Like a bullet Alverez dives toward Zander trying to get him in the stomach with his knee, but at the last second Zander shifts, deflecting his move. Again, Alverez goes in for the attack shoving Zander into the cage trying to get him down to the ground where my Dad said he is most comfortable. While he’s trying to take him down Zander capitalizes throwing Alverez into some sort of a headlock. Trying to fight him off, Alverez starts to land punches on Zander’s stomach. Eventually Zander has to let go and they separate. They trade a couple blows and before we know it the first round is over and both fighters head to their corners. I notice Alverez has blood coming out of a cut right above his eyebrow and strangely this makes me ecstatic. They both look completely pumped up as they reach their corners. I know this is going to be an insane battle between the both of them, neither one is going to back down.

  The second round starts as Zander charges explosively at Alverez hitting him with a series of kicks to his stomach. Alverez grabs Zander’s leg on the last kick and knocks him to the ground which has me jumping out of my seat. He gets him in some sort of hold where he has an arm around his neck and one of his arms between his legs. I gasp covering my eyes with my hands, not able to see the pain that I’m sure is displayed on his face. After what feels like an hour my Dad nudges me telling me to stop being a girl because Zander’s okay. I look up and see him fighting his way to his feet. How he got out of that hold I have absolutely no clue. I thought he was just about to lose.

  “Sweetie don’t you listen when I talk? I told you that one of Zander’s strengths is getting out of submission holds. Christ why do I even try to explain anything to you?”

  The guys go at it again and are in a tangle of limbs against the cage when the bell rings and the ref separates them as the second round comes to an end. Both fighters seem to be struggling and panting for breath. Alverez looks a little worse for wear but not by much. His face is bleeding even more with his eye looking severely swollen and he keeps grabbing at his ribs. Zander’s eye is swelling and he seems to be favoring his arm from that submission hold. I so badly want to run up there and kick the shit out of Alverez for Zander.

  I feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest as we go into the final round of the fight. Everyone is on their feet as the ref signals for them to continue. I look over to my Dad and the boys, they are all screaming like lunatics! I look back to the ring and see Alverez and Zander circling each other. Looking like a lion about to attack their prey. Trying to lunge for each other a few times, they keep deflecting each other. Alverez gets a few body punches in on Zander making him stagger. He tries to capitalize when fast as lightning Julio charges in trying to take out Zander’s legs.

  “Oh fuck!” I hear Kyle yell out.

  Alverez must have misjudged how impaired Zander actually was because Zander kicks him right in the side of the head as he’s diving and Alverez lands on the ground with a thud as Zander chases him down to the floor.

  HOLY SHIT! Everyone is in complete shock waiting in anticipation to see if Alverez is knocked out. The ref waves Zander off of him signaling for the bell, the fight has been ended by knockout!

  Tears form in my eyes and I can’t keep them from leaking over, I’m so overcome with emotion. My Dad and Zander’s brothers all tackle me into a group hug, we’re all going crazy! I look up to the ring and I see Zander on his knees with his head in his hands, clearly overcome by the biggest moment of his life. Looking up at me with tears in his eyes he mouths “I love you” as he bangs his fist on his chest. Fighting back a sob I put my hand over my heart and mouth it back. This is his moment, the moment he has been fighting his whole career for and has finally accomplished. He is the new Heavy Weight Champion and I am so incredibly proud of him.

  When Alverez is able to get up, the ref pulls them both to the center of the ring as he raises Zander’s hand in the air as he looks up towards the heavens in thanks. The crowd is going completely insane! Someone is in the ring right away to interview Zander for the crowd. I can barely hear what he is saying over the deafening roar. When he’s done with the interview his trainers are in the ring running for him to celebrate. Kyle grabs my arm and starts pulling me towards the octagon and I try to resist but he tells me Zander wants me in there so I go. Once I get in the ring Zander makes a bee line for me, picking me up and spinning me around as we both laugh. Sliding me down his body he stops when we are eye level, I can see the depth of emotion in his eyes. I smile at him and plant a kiss on his lips. Putting me down he lets his brothers congratulate him, then moves on to my dad. I swear I see my Dad wipe a tear from his eye after he hugs Zander and congratulates him. I walk over to him and pull him into a hug.

  “Can you believe it Dad? This is insane!”

  “This is your life now baby girl, you better get used to it. I expect you to take me to every fight with you, I’m pulling out my I raised your ass for 18 years’ card,” laughing I nod my head in agreement.

  We are all being ushered out of the ring to the back of the building where Zander’s changing room is. We get in the room and everybody starts cheering again, still pumped up from the fight. After pure pandemonium, we head back to the suite to get ready for Zander’s after party. Josh told me earlier the winner got their party thrown by the owner of the MMA league in his penthouse. Luckily, it’s in the same hotel we are staying at so we don’t have to worry about drinking and driving.

  Slipping on the other dress I look in the mirror and get nervous with how much skin is showing. It’s a black satin material which makes it impossible to wear anything underneath. The top is a halter style and at least covers my essential body parts with a dip down the middle of my cleavage and is completely backless. The skirt goes to about mid-thigh and has a little flow to it when I walk. I just finished putting my black satin heels on when Zander comes out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel and freezes when he sees me. Immediately I can see the front of his towel tent, his erection begging to come out and play.

  Seductively walking over to him, I unwrap his towel and throw it to the floor. Palming my hand on his massive erection he doesn’t even let me pump my hand fully up his shaft, instead, spinning me so I’m facing the bed. Flipping the bottom of my dress up he groans when he notices I’m not wearing any panties. Zander leans over my back so that his lips hover right about my ear.

  “I have wanted you too fucking bad this week. This
is going to be hard and fast,” he growls out.

  Zander plunges his cock into me causing both of us to yell out. Massaging my breasts as he fucks me hard from behind has me gasping for air. Pinching my nipples hard, borderline painful, as he pistons in and out of me has me seeing stars.

  “I will never get enough of you baby. I can already feel your pussy squeezing my cock like a vise, god Savvy,” he growls out.

  Zander must be close, he’s thrusting into me so hard he has to hold my hips to keep me from flying onto the bed. Wrapping an arm around my stomach, the other travels down to my pussy as he begins to circle my clit with his fingers.

  “Oh Zander, right there, I’m going to come!” I yell out as my body begins to shake.

  “Come on my dick Savvy, I can’t hold back any longer.”

  We climax together, both of us moaning out for each other. With a few more thrusts we fall to the bed in front of us. We lay there catching our breath, still connected with Zander spooning me.

  “I wasn’t too rough was I baby? Seeing you in that dress on top of the adrenaline high from my fight, I couldn’t hold myself back.”

  “That was incredible, don’t ever apologize for fucking me babe. I’m not a fragile china doll, sometimes it’s nice to be dominated.” Zander spanks me on the ass and pulls out of me. I hear Zander swear under his breath and roll over.

  “Savvy I’m so sorry. I got so caught up in the moment I didn’t even think to use protection.” I begin to feel the evidence dripping down my thighs.

  “I’m on the pill,” I state matter of fact. I have been since I was 16 and my Dad saw an episode of Dr. Phil that scared the shit out of him. The next day he took me to the gyno and told me to “deal with it”.