I think about my asshole father, standing over me in the hospital, gloating like the summer sun. Congresswoman wifey'll be at his side, giving me that fake sympathy she does so well. And she'll have all the confirmation that I'm scum underneath it, a fucking moron who couldn't stand flirting with danger.
All because I had to satisfy my ego against my billionaire father's.
I think about Claire. She'll never fuck me if I don't win this fight, and I can't blame her. It's not about being pounded to a pulp by a stronger man.#p#分页标题#e#
The only one beating me right now is my own fucked up lack of discipline and self-control. It's everything she scorns, and all because my dick's begging my brain to let him jackhammer between her legs twenty-four seven.
I can still move, so I'm not dead. I have to fight. I can't fucking give up.
Fat Boy's tiny eyes whirl with dark excitement. He's cold, stunned, frozen in disbelief. The bastard probably can't believe he's done it, beaten Ty Sterner on his own turf. The asshole has a few heavenly seconds where all the incredible possibilities of winning flash before his eyes.
That's all he gets before I bolt and uppercut the fucker's jaw with both fists, before the ref can call the win.
I hear the crack. It's loud and sharp as lightning. If I haven't broken his jaw, then it's splintered at the very least, and he's probably lost a few teeth.
The audience surrounds us in a deafening, chattering blanket as I jump, landing on top of him. Something primal rips through me. My senses are so overwhelmed I can barely see, but I don't need to as long as I can feel him underneath my fists.
I punch him in the guts and keep on going 'til I can't feel my own arms. It's a miracle I'm able to get up and fight like this after losing all my oxygen, but this fucker won't manage because he's not as lean and buff as I am. His bulk fucks him over.
The primal thing tears out my throat. I'm hollering like a chimp with rabies as I beat the bastard blind, holding back from killing him only because I think about the same scandal that'll erupt if I put his ass in a coffin. I have to protect this club.
My lungs won't work. My heart's about to crack my ribs with its damned thunder. My muscles are gone, and there's just stones fixed to my bones, hard and unyielding.
I fall down next to Fat Boy, face-to-face, staring into his barely conscious eyes. “What the fuck did you wanna say to me? Before the fight?”
He growls. I land one more punch and his head lolls back. “Just fucking tell me. Do it.”
“Wanted to say it's me. I was gonna be the man to beat you. Ty...fucking...Sterner.” The last part's like a whisper.
He stops trying to get me off him and goes flat, his huge body softening beneath me. The referee comes over and starts slapping the ground, doing the final countdown.
Shit, shit. I roll off him and struggle to get up. I manage to hold myself in a push-up position with my exhausted arms, anything to keep this from going to a draw.
Slap-slap-slap. The ref's palm keeps hitting the floor, and I lose count.
I barely realize it when he's standing up, speaking into the mic. “Ladiiiies and gentleman! It's been hella close, but we have our winner. It's Ty Sterner. Always undefeated.” He pauses for a second, but adds one thing over the crowd's hurricane force scream. “Undefeatable.”
V: Undeniable (Claire)
I've never seen anything so brutal in twenty-two years on this earth.
Just a second ago, Ty's beautiful blue eyes were fading, winking out like dead stars. His head was turned my way all through the commotion, even when the man was on top of him, beating him senseless. I can't believe he saw me through the pain and the blinding spotlights, but his eyes were searching.
Searching for me.
Karl, the Swede, was laughing before, chuckling and slipping me drinks when the match started. He went dead silent as soon as Ty went down. I never knew hundreds of people jammed into the same small place could be so deathly quiet.
Everybody forgot to breathe until Ty pounced and began punching the big man like something possessed him. I sat glued to my seat¸ watching my step-brother with a whole new worry.#p#分页标题#e#
His eyes were different. They flashed crazy, angry murder, alive with the same ruthless energy in his fists. I watched him smash the other boxer to bits, and it scared the hell out of me.
I'm still afraid he's going to kill this guy and wind up in jail.
Obviously, I didn't have a clue what I'd gotten myself into. When Ty said fight and slipped me those tickets, torturing me every hour, I came because I couldn't resist. I couldn't lie and brush off the attraction, the fire threatening to burn me alive whenever I'm in his arms.
I expected something rowdy, clean, and civilized. I didn't expect to see men bloodied and brought to the brink of death.