His massive, muscular chest was gleaming with sweat as he stood at the edge of the ring, his hands taped and eyes focused on the other large man across from him. An announcer was talking about placing bets, and I found myself gravitating closer, hating that he had no one in his corner like the other man. I wasn’t worried about Stratton—he was clearly good at fighting, and honestly rather terrifying right now—but I still found myself wanting to be as close to him as possible.
The energy radiating off him was almost unnatural. It was lethal and dominating as he moved his muscles, his tattoos shifting with them, and cracked his neck. I was really torn between telling him to put on a shirt—because I could literally feel other women staring at him—or crawling on the stage myself and attacking him.
“Alright, you filthy bastards!” the announcer’s voice echoed through the space. “Place your final bets before we begin the round. Remember, it’s three rounds, two out of three wins the overall prize.”
I didn’t listen to whatever else the man was spouting, because I could see Stratton’s entire energy shift as he went from his normal temperamental brooding expression to something far colder. Where on earth was his head at right now?
I wasn’t positive I wanted to know.
The bell rang, and my head snapped to the center of the mat. Round one began and was over before I even knew it, my mouth popping open as Stratton knocked the man onto his back with several hits. Everyone exploded with excitement as I found myself bouncing slightly, feeding off the energy. I could feel bodies pushing against me, but they were easy enough to ignore, honestly.
Well, until some chick literally elbowed me and said, “Get the fuck out of my way.” Loudly. I scowled at her and looked back at the ring.
Oh no.
Stratton’s blazing blue eyes were locked right on me, and I felt myself shrink back slightly. Crap. I had no idea what to call the expression on his face, but it was filled with heat and a not so little bit of anger and concern. The bell rang again, and something in him seemed to snap into place.
In a fast movement, the guy who had been trying to advance on him was knocked out cold. Okay then. That was it.
The crowd went wild, those who had bet two matches on Stratton clearly thrilled. I watched as he grabbed the envelope from the announcer and made his way to the edge of the ring in a predatory movement. That was right about when a logical sense of fear hit me, and I backed up slightly, his gaze never leaving mine. Some chick tried to grab his arm, but he was over the ring and walking towards me, shaking her off easily.
Alright, he was pissed. Wow. This may have been a horrible idea.
“Stratton!” I chimed as he got closer, “So crazy seeing you here, you did so great— crap!” I yelped as he literally scooped me up over his shoulder, my stomach uncomfortably wedged over his muscular frame. I didn’t bother telling him to put me down, though—that’d be a waste of breath.
I deflated slightly as he walked ahead, the noise dying down with each step. Wherever we were going, we’d be somewhat alone. Let’s hope he wasn’t mad enough to kill me, because at this rate there would be no witnesses.
I was suddenly plopped down onto a bench as I looked around, realizing we were on one side of the park, far away from the match now. Who would have guessed they had a park here? Fascinating.
“Angel.” Stratton’s low, rumbling tone had me looking at him as I offered a small, hopefully innocent, smile.
“Hey you, Mr. Winner,” I teased, punching him lightly in the shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t actually be mad at me.
Stratton crouched down so that we were face to face as he searched my expression. Whatever anger had been there before was now gone, replaced by something far more delicate, and I had the urge to protect that.See?This was the reason I was here.
“It is very dangerous here, Dahlia, way more than you realize,” he said softly. “The gang I was talking about? They aren’t here tonight. But you being here is going to reach them, angel. This entire place is infested with fuckers that only care about one or two things. You shouldn’t be here, you deserve better than this.”
I straightened and looked him directly in the eye. “I am exactly where I want to be, Stratton.”
“Why did you show up?” he asked, his eyes darting across my face as if trying to find the truth there. I couldn’t help what spilled out of my mouth next.
“Because that’s what people who love one another do. They support one another. I know you think you have to do everything on your own. But you don’t. I am going to be here no matter what you are going through, no matter what you have or don’t have. None of that matters to me. I just want you. I’m here as long as you want me to be.”
Please don’t break my heart.
His blue eyes melted into navy as he kissed the top of my hand that he was now holding. His gaze shot up from my hand to my face as he tilted his head. “Did you say ‘love’?”
“Did I?” I blinked at him, not knowing how to handle this. “Love, you know, like care for—”
I sighed into a light, almost hesitant kiss that Stratton laid on my lips, my fingers brushing over his jaw. His large hands ran down my waist, cupping my ass as he tugged me forward so that I was completely wedged against him, our kiss showing our mutual dependence. It was a slow, almost careful kiss, and I could feel how tense he was, as if it was hard for him to keep it like this. I deepended it further, my fingers threading through his hair as he let out a low, almost pained sound in the back of his throat. I shivered, my toes curling as his fingers tightened on me.
When he pulled back, I offered a small smirk. “I’ll give you that one, but only because you won.”
He barked out a laugh and shook his head. “Christ, woman, what am I going to do with you?”
Lots of fun things, I hope…
“Are you done for the night?” I asked softly. He nodded, looking tired.