The smile she gives lights up her entire face. I pop one of them in my mouth and my taste buds rejoice. “Holy shit, that’s good!”
“Right?” Jax adds in.
“You’d have to be a moron not to like it,” Cade says and I can’t help laughing as Bailey glares at him.
“All clear?”
I turn to see East, Law, and Van at the door, all three looking longingly at the treats. Fucking traitors. All she has to do is bake them something and they go against years of conditioning. Before I can think of a sufficient punishment, Mark is at the door.
“It’s time. Wait, are all of you walking out with her?” he asks, voice incredulous.
There are usually only three of us, so I can’t blame him. I pop another cheesecake bar in my mouth and nod at him. He pushes past the guys at the door, nearly tripping in his haste.
“Did you make these? What are they? Can I have some?” he asks Bailey.
He doesn’t even wait for her to answer before his hand is inside the container.
“Fuck me, that’s good,” he moans as he stuffs his mouth.
“And there goes my fight night boner,” Jax says as he makes his way to the door.
“How many times do we have to tell you we don’t want to be subjected to your old man porn?” Van demands amidst our groans of complaint.
“You get fight night boners?” Bailey asks.
Everyone goes silent and slowly all eyes go to her. I think she’s blushing and fuck if it isn’t adorable.
“Would you like me to show you mine?” I ask. Without thought, her gaze drops to my crotch and I laugh. Her eyes bulge as she quickly brings them back to mine and she furiously shakes her head.
“I didn’t mean . . . that’s not . . . I wasn’t,” she stammers, still shaking her head.
“Well, she did bake again, so technically you have to show her, based on the trade agreement. Food for unlimited staring,” Jax reminds us.
“Oh dear God,” she mumbles as she puts her hands on her hips and tilts her head back to stare at the ceiling.
Everyone is laughing, except Mark, who’s still stuffing his face and telling us to stop teasing her. She may be embarrassed, but she obviously liked what she saw. Her dilated pupils and sharp breaths let me know that. “It’s okay, little mouse. You can look, remember? I’m even willing to take one for the team and let you touch.”
“This isn’t happening,” she mumbles before looking at Mark. “You came to tell me it’s time to go right?”
He nods his head, his mouth too full to speak. She dashes toward the door with a mumbled thank goodness, but I catch her by her arm. “Between me and Cade, always behind East. Jax, Law, and Van will be behind us. Never walk out without us.” She stares at me in silence, still trying to get her breathing under control. “All-Stars don’t lose, right?” She nods her head. “Especially not tonight, right?” Another nod and her breathing slows. If she’s this worked up from just a suggestion I can only imagine how she’d respond in bed. Why does she have to be married? “You ready?”
“I’m ready.”
I look up from her and see that everyone is waiting in the hallway just as I’d said. I hadn’t told them the order we’d walk out because I thought it’d just be me and Cade, but they obviously overheard me saying it to her. I check her hands once more then nod my head towards the door. “Make me proud.”
“AM I ALLOWED to know who I’m fighting yet?”
I glance at Cade and we both say no at the same time that Law says Corrine “Girilla” Rames. Bailey stops walking and turns to face him, her brow furrowed.
“Girilla?”
He nods his head and waits for the question we all know is coming.
“Like a girl gorilla?”
She doesn’t sound too surprised, just confused. “It’s a play on Liz Carmouche’s nickname.”
“So this chick has a nickname based off of somebody you obviously think I should know—which I don’t by the way—and y’all think I can beat her when I don’t even have a nickname?”
“Bay is a nickname,” East offers helpfully, or unhelpfully, judging by the look Bailey gives him.
“Relax, little mouse. Not all nicknames are earned and not everyone gets a nickname that fits them,” I say, hoping to keep her from going into a panic.
“I doubt anyone would just call her a girl gorilla for no apparent reason,” she exclaims.
“Miesha Tate’s nickname is “Cupcake” and she was number two in her weight class,” I offer.
“You want me to think about fighting Miesha Tate right now? Do I have to fight her? I don’t want to fight her! If I have to fight her I wholeheartedly quit. Right now!”
With that, she starts to head back to the office, but the guys block her path. Van turns her around and points her back in our direction. I expected this freak out when they originally said she could fight, not the night of the damn fight. What has she been thinking this whole time? She’s extremely lucky to even be on the ticket. Most fighters wouldn’t get this chance until after they’ve brawled in a dirty back alley with bare fists and no rules for a few years.
“This is our fight. Exhibition only. The chick you’re fighting is only known because she fought here last year. We host this annually for the hopefuls that want to be seen and try their hand at UFC eventually. Nico being the reigning heavyweight champ brings the other fight clubs, scouts, and managers all looking for fresh talent; the rest is up to the fighters. You don’t need to worry about fighting them, though, as skinny as you are, you’re still about six pounds too heavy for their weight class. I think you could take them though, so if you win tonight, be prepared to lose more weight and be even skinnier,” East says from up front.
“You think I’m too skinny?” she questions as she looks toward him.
The transformation is instant. Her shoulders slump, her arms wrap around her waist, and she drops her gaze to her feet. Offering no answer, East’s eyes meet mine. In fact, they all watch me. What the fuck is this? I never said she was too skinny out loud. Truth be told, as skinny as she is, I still want her. I fought it as hard as I did because everything about her scared me. I never felt half the urges I do for Bailey with Janae, and I was supposed to marry her. I still think she could stand to gain a few pounds, but seeing her pose for the promo flyer caused something inside me to splinter and come apart in a million pieces. Now every one that I rebuild is shaping into her.
“I tried to gain weight. He just doesn’t like it when I’m over 145,” she mumbles.
And fuck if that doesn’t make me want to go on a rampage. Who the fuck is this guy she’s married to? How could he treat her like this? Break her down likes she nothing and only exists in his image?
“Tell us who he is. Tell us and I fucking swear he’ll disappear,” Cade declares.
Bailey’s head snaps up to him and she looks positively horrified. Not because of what he said, but because she just realized what she said. She’s become so comfortable around us she forgets that she’s hiding things. The triumph I should feel from that revelation is tainted by the thought of another man, a man who doesn’t deserve her, having this much control over her. I turn away so she doesn’t see the rage in me. I want her to think that only comes out in the cage. I need her to not realize that it’s a part of me that’s always simmering just beneath the surface.
“What the hell is this? It’s show time, let’s go!” Mark says as he walks towards us.
Too late he notices the tension. Before he can ask about it, Cade wraps his arm around Bailey’s shoulder and leads her away. Jax hangs back with me.
“You good?”
“I want him,” I confess. “I want him by his fucking neck, away from her, and banished to the Seventh fucking Circle of Hell.”
“Don’t we all,” he agrees.
Hearing her call my name as though she’s worried about me, calms the storm that’s brewing within. Forcing myself to breathe deeply, I turn and join her.
It takes e
very ounce of concentration to keep me from focusing on the gentle slopes and grooves of Bailey’s body once she drops her sweatshirt and pants. My hands tingle with the need to touch her. Make her scream my name over and over as she creams around my cock. Fuck. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts. Do not think about sex with Bailey right now.
I find myself chanting that even after the fight starts. Seriously, how can she be so skinny and still have hips? Skinny thick? Is that a real thing or did I just invent it? I’m all for taking due credit. Fortunately, Bailey’s helping me out because her focus is shot and it’s showing in her fight. Nothing screams “no boner” like the object of your attention getting her ass kicked. She’s drawn into herself and I don’t think there’s any way to pull her out. The girl gorilla is about to win this in the first round and Bailey looks as though she couldn’t care less. I scream for her to attack when there’s an opening. Mark screams for her to block when there isn’t. She listens to neither of us. The only good thing about the fight is that she’s still aware of her biggest weakness. She’s not letting Corrine take her down because she knows she’s no good on the ground. With thirty seconds left in the round, Mak pushes her way next to me.
“What happened? She’s not fighting back. What’s she doing?” she asks, yelling to be heard over the roar of the crowd.
We watch as Bailey’s entire body flinches and she barely turns. Girl Gorilla’s fist connects with her nose and blood pours. Mak curses and stomps her foot. “Bracing,” I answer. Mak’s head jerks around to me and I do believe I’m seeing her angry face.
“Why would she brace?” Mak asks.
“Because it’s what she’s used to.” This is a very weird conversation to be having when yelling is the only option.
“Husband?” she asks.
I nod my head. If anyone could know the mind of an abused woman, I guess it’d be Mak. The bell rings and Mak is moving. She’s in the cage with us and before we can say anything to Bailey she holds a hand up. Did she just silence me?
“Why are you here?” Mak asks as she grabs Bailey’s face in both hands.
Bailey tries to look at me, but Mak holds her steady.
“Why are you here?” she demands, voice forceful and low.
Bailey meets her eyes and a silent conversation passes between them.
“It has to change,” she finally answers.
“You think being scared is going to change it? You think letting her beat on you like that is going to change it?” Mak asks.
Bailey shakes her head.
“What’s going to change it?”
“I have to fight.”
“You have to fight,” Mak confirms with a nod. “You do not stand there and take it. You do not become a fucking punching bag. You do not stand there and brace for whatever is coming.” Her eyes flick to me for a moment, then just as quickly go back to Bailey. “You do not go gentle, you fucking rage and you let them know who the fuck Bailey Ross is.”
By the time the bell rings again, I’m sure of two things: Mak isn’t going to stop until Bailey and I are a real couple based off her quoting my rage tattoo. Also, she’s one hell of a motivational speaker. I could stand to go a few rounds after that little pep talk. I focus on Bailey, who’s still taking hits. Even with Mak’s speech, she’s not doing well. I want to be upset with her. I want to pull her from the cage and scream a bunch of stuff that she won’t process until it’s too late. But then I realize the mistake we’ve all made. Bailey has been the victim of abuse for quite some time. She showed promise with us and fought back with us because we never really attacked her. She knew she was safe with us. She knew that no matter what she did, she wouldn’t have to face any repercussions. This is different. Corrinne is doing her best to hurt her. Her only goal is to inflict pain on Bailey. She’s not fighting back because she’s not okay. She’s gone back to bracing because, mentally, she’s not in this fight. She’s in one that could end her life. How could I not have realized this sooner? The next blow drops Bailey down to one knee. I open my mouth to scream for the ref to stop the fight, but Mak must see my intent because she cuts me off by slapping her hand over my mouth. What in the hell?
“Rage Bailey! Fucking attack! That bitch ain’t got shit on you!”
I distinctly remember hearing that Mak wasn’t a curser. Whoever said that was clearly mistaken. Calling her out will have to wait though because the tides are finally turning. I swat her hand away and focus on the fight. Corrine rushes towards Bailey and raises her right knee. I want to look away, but I don’t even blink and I’m glad I didn’t. Bailey slips her left foot forward, her right knee slide backwards, and somehow she’s nearly in a split. Without pause or preamble, she grabs Corrine’s knee and yanks it past her head. With Corrine off balance, it’d be easy for Bailey to pull her down, but she doesn’t. She manages to lift herself up, taking Corrine’s knee over her left shoulder. Realizing too late what’s about to happen Corrine scrambles to push Bailey off of her. Rising to her full height, Bailey’s right arm goes around Corrine’s waist. I could be imagining it, but there’s a pause. A moment where Corrine looks down into Bailey’s face and her eyes scream ‘I underestimated you.’ Bailey lets out a fierce cry as she twists her body around, using the momentum of their combined weight to slam Corrine onto the mat. Stunned, Corrine doesn’t move when Bailey mounts her. She doesn’t block when Bailey begins to rain blow after blow down on her. In the end, she can’t move because Bailey wins by KO. When the ref calls the fight, we rush the cage and I grab her by her hips, raising her above my head. She smiles down at me and grips my shoulders as though I’d let her fall. I’d never let her fall.
“Tis BEEN WEEKS, Lee. At some point ya have ta do things my way. I canna wait for you forever and from the looks of this, ya have no intentions of following through on ya words.”
Connor angrily tosses a magazine at my face and I fumble to catch it. When I finally get a good look at it, I freeze. There on the cover of one of the gossip magazines I subscribe to is a picture of Nico, his arms wrapped tightly around my thighs as he holds me up. The picture catches him at an angle, but it’s obvious he’s grinning as he looks up at me, a very rare sight. His eyes aren’t visible, but mine are. My smile is shy, but my gaze isn’t. It’s pure, unadulterated adoration. A look filled with tenderness, devotion, and joy. Feelings I thought I was only capable of sharing with Kaelen. I had no idea I even looked at him that way. The headline reads, “The Savage Prince has finally found his Savage Princess,” and I wonder if Mak had anything to do with it.
Deciding it’d be best to ignore the magazine, I look from Connor to the hall where I can clearly hear voices. Feminine voices, mixed with Rory and Connor’s dad. I spent the day at the office and walked in to find him waiting near the door. As he said, it’s been two weeks since he came home. I take any opportunity to avoid being around him, especially being at the office. I know he’s hinting at me having the birth control implant out, but he should have been more specific. I agreed to take it out. I never agreed to let him take advantage of me not having it. “Who’s here?” That voice is not his stepmom’s. It grates on my nerves to know there’s an unknown woman in my house, around my child. The smile Connor gives me is telling. I won’t enjoy whatever happens next and the muscles tightening at the base of my skull hint at a migraine.
“Someone who thought it was time the two of you met. However, we can make all of this go away if you just give in to me,” he says as he steps closer to me. Too close.
I force myself not to flinch at his touch, repeating the mantra in my mind just as I do continuously when I’m at the gym, or fighting, or just about anything these days. Don’t flinch, don’t flinch, don’t flinch. His hand slides between my legs, palm caressing my thigh as he brings his lips to mine. I jerk my head back and grab his wrist. He doesn’t try to overpower me, just smiles and shrugs his shoulders. I feel a sense of loss when I see his smile. Connor is a very attractive man. Beautiful even. I used to think I was lucky to have him. Then I re
alized that attractiveness didn’t extend inside.
“Doona say I never warned ya lass,” he says as he turns and heads to the family room.
Kicking my heels off, I rush to follow him. Dread pools in the pit of my stomach, making me want to slow down, but I push forward. Connor has always threatened to take Kaelen away from me and I fear that he has finally made that threat a reality. Entering the room, I stop short. Rory stands near the roaring fireplace, his stepmom, Teagan, and his father, Killian, flanking him. They all share the same posture; shoulders tensed, faces pinched, and eyes narrowed. I’m used to this look from Killian, but Rory looking this way means the situation is dire.
“Piuthar,” he greets. He calls me sister, but his eyes don’t meet mine. He almost seems embarrassed.
On the floor near the window and surrounded by action figures is Kaelen. His bottom lip trembles, eyes glassy, and he looks as though he wants to run to me, but he doesn’t. The reason for my hesitance makes a sound of disapproval. A woman. A woman dressed to the nines in a silk skirt and blouse and five inch heels. A woman who reaches out and wipes away the tears now streaming down Kaelen’s chubby cheeks.
“Do not touch my child,” I hiss as I cross the room. I don’t know what’s going on, but I won’t stand aside and allow him to be in pain: physical or emotional. I slap her hand away and she chuckles as I snatch Kaelen up. The sound is chilling, pure ice. I glare at her as Kaelen buries his face in my neck and sobs. She slowly gets to her feet. There’s not an ounce of warmth in the smile on her lips, nor in her eyes.
“Somehow, I think I fit the category of mother better. Wouldn’t you agree, Bailey?”
She says my name as though it’s vile and unholy on her tongue, but the rest of her words knock the air out me. My world is upended and I feel bile threatening to rise in my throat. I have no logical response—hell, I don’t even have an angry response, which would be great right now— because as I stare at her it’s obvious she’s telling the truth. This woman is Kaelen’s mother. She recognizes the moment I know who she is because her cold smile turns smug and triumphant. I look to Rory, but his eyes don’t meet mine. He’s embarrassed, but not for himself. He feels it on my behalf. His parents have turned their glare on the woman and I know their anger is only because she threatens their livelihood. They care nothing about me or my feelings. They know this woman is more of a danger to Connor than a bargaining chip. Connor. I turn my head so I can see him from the corner of my eyes, but I can’t face him directly right now or I’ll attack him. I would never risk that in front of Kaelen, nor will I risk letting him out of my arms for her to touch him again. “You would dare?” I say.
Heart of a Savage Page 7