“Really? I didn’t know he did that too.”
Braxton shrugged. “Sometimes they have to get another fighter to ref if the official doesn’t feel safe in the cage.”
“And the official doesn’t with tonight’s match?”
“Definitely not,” was all he said as he lifted the rope and waited for both Lyla and me to take our places.
I looked at the metal cage, and my gaze latched on to Barrick, who was already standing there grinning at me. I waved and he winked, making my heart do this crazy little jump in my chest.
I hadn’t seen him since he’d dropped me off Wednesday night, but he’d texted me the night before and earlier in the day. He hadn’t mentioned an Underground match tonight, though, making me wonder if these fights weren’t announced until the last minute.
Dressed in tight workout shorts and a black-and-white striped referee shirt, he looked massive up there compared to the fighter behind him. The other guy was leaner, but not by much, and maybe an inch or so shorter. I barely noticed him, though, as Barrick flashed me that damn dimple, making me forget about anything but him.
“And now…” The announcer’s voice filled the entire building, stopping all chatter as every eye was suddenly on the spotlight shining on the door I assumed led to a locker room. “The man we’ve all been waiting to see pulverize tonight. Howl-errr.”
The crowd actually started howling as one, like a pack of wolves in sync with one another. Beside me, Lyla was the loudest of them all, grinning, her eyes shining with pride as Howler came out.
Wearing only a pair of workout shorts that were molded to his thighs and hips, no shirt, and his knuckles taped, he looked like some blond fighting god. His face was impassive as he walked through the parted crowd, his eyes narrowed on his opponent in the ring.
“Don’t freak out, okay?” Braxton urged close to my ear. “If you get scared or anything upsets you, let me know. I’ll get you out of here.”
I didn’t understand what could be so upsetting, but I nodded. The only reason the last fight had been so hard to watch was because it had been Barrick getting pounding on.
The cage door opened, Howler stepped inside, and it became obvious why an actual official would be worried about their safety with the two fighters currently in the ring.
Barrick grabbed Howler around the waist, holding him back when he would have attacked the other guy, who was already running his mouth. Slinging him back with force, Barrick stayed between them, putting his hands out to warn them to keep back.
“This will stay a clean fight, or I’ll beat the fuck out of you both,” he snarled at them. “Do I make myself clear?”
The two men nodded, but I wondered how long they would follow the rules.
Barely two minutes in and both fighters were bleeding. The longer the match went on, the bloodier it got, and while I was having trouble watching, Lyla couldn’t take her eyes off Howler.
The other fighter, Chains, went to sucker-punch Howler, but he ducked at the last minute. The blow landed on Barrick, and he stumbled back. I gasped when I saw his mouth was bleeding.
“He’s okay,” Braxton soothed. “Nothing he can’t handle.”
I only nodded, my eyes glued to Barrick, unable to look away as he shoved Chains back, yelling at him to keep it clean.
For the next half hour, things only escalated more and more. There was no bell to ring to announce the end of each round because there were none. I didn’t understand the rules, but it was exhausting to watch two people beat the hell out of each other.
“Howler, knock his ass out, or I’m never going to talk to you again!” Lyla shouted when the two were pounding on each other close to our side of the cage.
His dark-blond head snapped up, his eyes going straight to her like he had some radar that told him exactly where she was. Something passed over his bloodied face, and he gave a single, firm nod.
“Knock him out, or kill him?” Braxton grunted at his cousin.
She shrugged without concern. “I don’t really care one way or the other. I fucking hate Chains.”
It took another few minutes, but then Chains was on the floor of the cage, knocked out cold. Barrick rushed to check the guy, making sure he was only unconscious and not actually dead as I feared.
A count of ten and then the announcer was proclaiming Howler the winner, while Barrick held his arm in the air.
“What took you so long?” Lyla yelled toward the cage, and Howler scowled at her before grinning.
I shook my head, not understanding the two of them in the least. It was too much of a headache even to try.
Chapter 8
Mia
“Hold still so I can see it,” I grumbled as I dabbed at Barrick’s lip over dinner later.
We were sitting at some diner a few miles from the Underground with Braxton. It was just the three of us since Lyla had gone with Howler after the fight. Most likely to an after party from what I’d overheard them saying, so it was anyone’s guess when my roommate would be home later.
“It’s fine,” Barrick complained, popping a fry into his mouth and then stuffing one in mine. “My teeth just cut into it when I got hit.”
“It’s going to bruise.” I wanted to wail because his face had just started to heal after his own fight earlier in the week. The gash above his eye was closed, and he only had a single butterfly stitch over it. “Doesn’t it sting when you get that grease and salt in it?”
He rolled his eyes and pushed two more fries into his mouth. “You’re acting like I broke my jaw, firecracker. It was just a pop to the mouth.” Dipping a fry in ketchup, he touched it to my lips. “Come on. Eat for me.”
Sighing, I glared at him for all of a second before opening my mouth and biting the fry in two. Smirking, he ate the rest before picking up his burger that was brimming with veggies and condiments.
Shaking my head at him and what smelled like a really delicious cow, I stabbed a fork into my grilled chicken salad.
Across from us, Braxton was trying not to laugh as he enjoyed his own burger and fries. “What?” I groused, chewing my salad unhappily.
“You two act like you’ve been together for fifty years already. Are you sure you only just met?”
“Maybe we knew each other in a previous life,” Barrick answered, wiping his mouth.
“Maybe she ruled your world in that previous life,” his cousin countered.
Barrick’s dark eyes caught mine, his dimple barely peeking out as he nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed in a low, deep voice that made something pull deep in my gut. “Maybe she did.”
The diner suddenly felt suffocatingly hot. I picked up my water and took a long, thirsty sip in hopes of cooling myself off. What was it about the way this man looked at me that made me want to strip myself bare for him…in every way imaginable?
“Lyla’s probably not going to go back to the dorms tonight,” Braxton mentioned when the waitress brought the check, and Barrick handed over his credit card.
“Wait,” I told the woman, reaching for my purse. “Let me pay for mine.”
“Yeah, that will be no,” Barrick said, pushing the card and check into her hands. “Don’t listen to her, ma’am. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
Lips twitching, the middle-aged waitress walked off to process his card, and he just flashed me that damn dimple again. “You didn’t pay for the jeans, and I sure as hell am not letting you pay for your own dinner.”
“I can pay my own way.”
“Of course you can, little dancer. But you’re not going to while I’m around.” He focused on his cousin, who was watching us patiently. “What was that about Lyla?”
“She’s either going to go home with Howler or back to Judge’s place. Do you think Mia will be okay at the dorm all on her own?”
“It’s a dorm. Nothing will happen to me there. Jeesh, you two act worse than my dad.” I picked up my napkin, wadded it into a ball, and tossed it at Brax’s face. He deflected it at the last
second, hitting it with his hand and knocking it toward Barrick.
“Knowing Lyla, she’s liable to be there all weekend, especially if it’s Howler’s weekend with Josie,” Barrick said thoughtfully, then nodded his head decisively. “Let’s stop by the dorm and grab Mia some clothes for the weekend. She will stay with us.”
“Say what now?” I squeaked, glancing from one to the other like they’d lost their minds. “I don’t need to stay with you two. I have a perfectly good dorm room with a perfectly good bed and every other amenity I might need, thank you.”
“I’ll make you breakfast in the morning,” Braxton enticed. “Pancakes. Bacon. Eggs. Whatever else you might want.”
“No, really…” But pancakes sounded so good. I hadn’t had any in weeks, and I missed my dad’s Saturday morning special with a full breakfast he made himself since it was the housekeeper’s day off.
Barrick leaned in, touching his lips to the shell of my ear. “You can fall asleep in my arms,” he breathed before touching his tongue to my earlobe.
Goose bumps popped up on my entire body, and a delicious shiver went down my spine. Damn, he really knew how to sweeten the deal.
“I… Um…” I cleared my throat. “So, pancakes?” I said in a weak voice.
Barrick’s laugh rumbled in his chest, and Braxton grinned. I picked up my water glass, draining the rest of it in two gulps just as the waitress returned, and Barrick signed the slip before pocketing his card.
Still grinning like the devil he was, Barrick stood and offered me his hand. “Let’s go. I’ll even help you pack a bag.”
“Sweet of you,” I sassed but didn’t try to pull away when he entwined his fingers with mine and he walked me out to the Jeep.
Braxton climbed in the back as his cousin opened my door, but before I could move to get in, Barrick was touching his lips to the back of my neck. “I really want to see what all the fuss was about when you first got to the Underground tonight. Will you show me?”
All I could do was nod because I couldn’t find my voice to speak. He tapped me on my rear, urging me inside with a husky laugh at my ear. “You’re so damn beautiful. Let’s go, firecracker. Need to get you home safely.”
Back at my dorm, I made quick work of packing a few things to take to the cousins’ house for the weekend. Just pajamas, a change of clothes, and a few toiletries to get me through. They stood in the doorway watching me, and I handed over my small case before grabbing my books so I would at least get some studying done.
Barrick frowned down at the light weight of my case. “This it?”
“Yeah, why?” I slung my bag over my shoulder, made sure I had my phone charger and laptop, and then picked up my keys.
“I don’t know. Just figured girls needed more than this.”
I rolled my eyes and closed the door to my room. “I’m not most girls. I only take the necessities. Something you learn to do when you spend a good bit of your life living out of suitcases.”
“You went on tour with your pops a lot?” Braxton asked as he hit the button for the elevator.
“When I was little, they would do a tour every summer and take all of us kids. But that stopped thirteen years ago.” I pulled up my text messages, focusing on them so I didn’t have to look at either cousin. “But I was talking more about my summers in a different country, learning new styles of dance.”
Barrick’s hand touched my back, his fingers slipping under the sweatshirt and rubbing soothing circles on my bare skin, as if he knew I needed comforting. I did. Thinking of that last tour my father’s band did all those years ago was still a vivid nightmare I relived all the time.
“That must have been fun,” Braxton commented. “Where did you go that was your favorite?”
I began to relax, feeling safe with the two of them. And with Barrick’s touch calming something deep inside me, I was able to concentrate on the good things from my past rather than focusing on the scary.
“Paris,” I answered honestly. “But only because ballet is in my soul, and that was where I got to spend the most time focused on it. Plus, Paris. Do I need to say more?”
“You’re a girl, so no, I guess not. Paris is supposed to be every girl’s dream destination, right?”
“Maybe, I guess. Except my cousin Nevaeh. She would rather go to London and just disappear in all the libraries.” Any library would do with her, though. The smell of old books while she spent hours skimming through one from cover to cover was her happy place. “Speaking of which, I’ve arranged to Skype with her so she can help us with that first paper we have due for English.”
“But she’s a kid,” he said as we stepped off the elevator.
Barrick opened the front door, holding it open for me, but once I was through, two other freshmen came out behind me. They looked him over hungrily, and one of them even sucked on her lip as she glanced at him over her shoulder while she kept walking.
And he winked at her.
Jealousy hit me dead center, knocking the breath out of me for a moment. Clenching my jaw, I fell into step beside Braxton, determined not to let what just happened get the better of me.
“What do you mean ‘kid’?” I asked as we walked to the Jeep.
“She’s what? Twelve?”
“No, she’s about to turn sixteen in a few months.” And that was all I was going to tell him about her for now. I was super protective of Nevaeh.
Braxton opened my door for me, and I climbed in just as Barrick reached us and tossed my case in the back seat.
“Ready?” he asked, his jaw tense as he glanced between his cousin and me.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked as I took my seat.
“Nothing. Not a damn thing,” he muttered, starting the Jeep.
Braxton laughed from the back seat. “You two are adorable when you’re trying to pretend you’re not jealous.”
“Who’s jealous?” I countered, clenching my hands in my lap.
“Oh, please,” Braxton said with a snort. “If you could breathe fire, those two girls who came out behind us would be nothing but ash right now. You redheads are dangerous.”
“Shut up, Brax,” I growled at him, feeling heat engulf my face.
“And this guy can’t even see straight when I so much as smile at you,” he continued, tapping Barrick on the back of the head none too gently. “Relax, dipshit. We’re friends. Right, Mia?”
“Yes, of course we are,” I assured him.
The tension seemed to leave Barrick’s shoulders, and he winked over at me as he put the Jeep in gear. “Ash, huh?”
I shrugged, refusing to admit anything verbally. “You wink at all the girls, it seems.”
“Winking is one thing, firecracker. Taking them to my house and letting them spend the night cuddled up to me is something else entirely.” Reaching over, he grasped my hand, wrapped his fingers around my fist, and placed it on his thigh. “There’s only one girl who gets that part of me, baby.”
Chapter 9
Barrick
Mia’s soft breath brushed over my neck as she snuggled against me like the bear I was. Even half asleep, I grinned, an involuntary reaction I’d had all week since the first night I met her.
She didn’t even have to be near me; I just needed to think about her—something I’d been doing a lot of—and my lips would tilt up.
I couldn’t remember the last time they had done that so effortlessly.
Sighing against me, she fisted her hand in the covers that I’d pulled over the two of us the night before. “Barrick,” she murmured so softly, I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her right or if my mind just wanted to hear it. “Barrick.”
There was no mistaking my name the second time. Or the needy little moan that went with it. My cock, already throbbing just from holding her all night, twitched against her lower stomach before I could try to stop it.
Fuck, this was a bad idea. Having her in my arms while she slept had been torture, but even now as I was trying not to come in my shorts f
rom just cuddling her, it was worth it.
This little firecracker, with her passion for dancing and her caring heart, had surprised the hell out of me. I’d known she was coming into my life; I just wasn’t expecting to react to her the way I did. It complicated everything, but in all the best ways.
She shivered in her sleep, burrowing against me as much as she possibly could without the two of us becoming one entity. “No,” she whispered, a sob in her voice. “No, no, no.”
Lifting my head, I looked down at her in the dim early morning light. A frown was puckering her brow, her breathing becoming more and more labored with each passing second.
Realizing she was having a nightmare, I cupped her face. “Mia.” She jerked but didn’t open her eyes. “Baby, open your eyes. It’s just a dream.”
Gasping like she couldn’t catch her breath, she snapped her eyes open. Frightened green eyes shifted from right to left as she tried to remember where she was. “Barrick?” she panted.
Brushing her hair back from her beautiful face, I tried to keep my voice steady. Something in her eyes, a memory maybe, was haunting her, and it hurt me to see it. “Hey. You’re okay. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
Still breathing hard, she nodded. “I-I know.” Sitting up, she leaned back against the headboard, tucking the covers up around her. “Sorry. This happens sometimes when I sleep in a new place.”
“Want to talk about it?” I offered, hoping she would. I needed to know what was chasing her in her nightmares so I could destroy it for her.
“It’s nothing,” she brushed it off, but she closed her eyes, gulping hard.
“Baby.”
Her lashes lifted just enough to peek at me. Fingers trembling, she combed them through my beard, and the action seemed to calm her a little. “It’s not fun to remember,” she finally said after a few minutes had passed. “I was a little girl, and my head sometimes blows up what happened. Distorts it and makes it scarier.”
“No matter how big the monsters are, I will always slay them for you, firecracker,” I vowed.
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