“Nice round ass…”
Keenan shoulder checked his brother and said, “Shut the fuck up.”
The surprise on Aiden’s face almost made Keenan chuckle. Yeah. Ever since Tommy, Keenan rarely swore anymore. There was something about this feminine, sexy woman who fought the giant and, against all odds, seemed to win.
“It’s like that, eh?” Aiden’s knowing smirk irritated Keenan, but he ignored his brother. A sudden hush fell over the crowd when Ronan and his brother and coach Duncan made their way over. Several men slapped Ronan on his back, congratulating him on his win.
Keenan gave his cousin a quick hug. “I’m proud of you, Ro. You really are the best out there, man.”
“Thanks for coming to see me fight, Keen. I know it’s not your thing. Means a lot.”
Ronan whistled through his teeth when his focus shifted to the women fighting in the makeshift cage. “Ah, fuck. You know I’m a sucker for redheads… What’s that hot little number doin’ there against that fightin’ machine? Should I go get her before—”
He stopped talking when that same fighting machine got the wind knocked out of her by this smaller Luria girl. With a preciseness of a trained fighter, Luria slammed Paula against their side of the fence.
They were close enough to touch, and Keenan now understood the need to reach out his hands through the fence like those other spectators did. He clenched his fists by his side. She had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, making her even more beautiful up close and personal.
Loose strands of carroty hair fell before her eyes. She blinked and ended their staring contest. She moved closer to his side to kick Paula in her gut, and a hint of apples mixed with clean sweat filled his nostrils. The scent of apples surprised him.
As did her whole appearance. When she held his gaze, she seemed so sweet. But on the other hand, she’d just knocked a woman on her ass with the finesse of a professional boxer.
“It’s a good thing she already beat that Plower down. She shouldn’t be looking into the crowd like that,” Duncan mumbled next to Keenan.
The referee took Luria’s hand and held it up in the air. “And the winner is…. Luria!”
Droplets of sweat hurried their way down from her heaving cleavage, under her sports bra and over her bare and toned belly. He groaned at the thought of licking his way up from her damp inner thighs.
Fuck. He’d never been in instant lust before.
Never.
Not even with Tommy’s mom.
A man came into the cage and congratulated Luria on her win by picking her up and swirling her around. Keenan placed a hand on his chest, rubbing the pang of jealousy away.
“Hey, Devlin,” Ronan greeted the guy walking up to them. The man’s raven hair came to his jaw on one side while the other side was shaved close to his head. The haircut and his fighter’s physique gave him a badass look, making him fit right in at this place.
Devlin connected his knuckles with Ronan and said, “Congratulations on another win, Ro.”
“Did you see the hot redhead?” Ronan asked Devlin. Keenan searched the cage for her, finding it empty.
Devlin spat, “That’s my cousin Ryleigh. If I catch you sniffing around, better prepare to eat your dinners through a straw for the rest of your life.”
Ronan chuckled but didn’t respond. Although Devlin and Ronan had acted friendly toward each other earlier, Keenan understood how any man would try to scare Ronan off since he was a known manwhore.
“Ryleigh? Don’t you mean Luria?” Aiden asked Devlin.
“Would any of you fuckers let your cousin fight under her actual name in a place like this?”
Keenan whispered her real name, testing it out. Even though he knew two shits about her, he figured the name Ryleigh suited her better.
“I wouldn’t have let her come here at all,” Ronan said and cocked his head.
“You obviously don’t know Ryleigh, man. There’s no holding her back. She’s had a taste and now she’s hooked. You know the feeling, Ro. All I can do is keep her safe at these fights and be there for her.”
“You training her?” Duncan sounded eager to work with her as her coach.
“Yeah, along with my brother Kieran. He’s with her now.” Not a second passed before Ryleigh walked up to them with her cousin’s hand on her lower back. Dressed in oversized black sweatpants and a hoodie, she still had every man around her eyeing her up and down.