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“I’m glad he does,” I reply, my gaze slipping past her and back to Hudson talking to Carter and the King.
“Yeah, me too.”
Silence falls between us as her gaze flits over my face and drops to my chest. I must look a fucking mess, but it doesn’t bother her. It’s not like she hasn’t seen me fight in the cage before.
“You lost focus today,” she says eventually. “Clayton almost bested you.”
“It was a momentary lapse of concentration. I had things on my mind.”
“What things?” she asks softly, casting a tentative gaze over her shoulder to make sure no one close by is listening in on our conversation.
“You know full well what I’m talking about, Princess,” I reply, my fingers twitching to touch her. I keep my hands at my side, knowing that if I did touch her, I might not be able to stop, blood, sweat and broken ribs be damned.
“He could’ve killed you,” she whispers.
“No, Princess. I would never let that happen.” I shake my head, chewing on my split lip, tasting blood.
Her gaze drops to my mouth and she frowns. “What?”
I breathe out slowly. “What you said earlier…”
She takes a step back, and I see her shutting down, closing herself off. “What about it?”
“Did you mean it?” I drill my gaze into hers, willing her to say what I want to hear. That, no, she didn’t mean it. That she still wants me. That I’m the only man she’ll ever want, that she’ll ever let touch her.
She doesn’t.
“Yes, I did mean it. I willneveroffer myself up to you again,” she says firmly and without a shred of doubt in her gaze.
Biting back all the words on the tip of my tongue, I say the only thing I can. “Good.”
* * *
“That was an epic fight!”Dom says, wincing a little from his own split lip and black eye from his fight with Ramone. We’re sitting in the fighters’ rest room situated off the changing room getting fixed by Joey.
“Clayton nearly had you beat at one point,” Joey says with a chuckle as he sews up the deep gash to my cheek. I barely register the pain, too fucking distracted by thoughts of Kate.
“Yeah, he did,” I shrug, the dull ache in my ribs is nothing compared to how fucked-up in the head I am over Kate. I’d pushed her away, and whilst in the long run it’s better for the both of us, it sure as fuck doesn’t feel good. In fact, it fucking hurts in a way that messes me up far more than a few cuts and bruises do.
“First time ever you’ve been close to being bested, am I right?” Joey continues, tying off the thread.
“Guess so.”
“What’s up, Beast? You ain’t gloating like you usually do after winning a fight,” Dom says with a wink to let me know he means no disrespect.
“Absolutely nothing, mate,” I say, taking a sip from the bottle of whisky Joey brought in place of any real painkillers. I grimace at the cheap as shit muck, but at least it’s helping to take the edge off.
“You sure?” Dom pushes, rolling his shoulder and pressing against a bruise swelling on his bicep.
“Yep.”
Joey catches my gaze, blotting at my face with a damp cloth. “You’ll do,” he finally says, giving me a terse nod as he gathers up the bloody cloth and used needle and chucks them into the bin.
“How’s Ramone holding up?” I ask, if only to pull the attention away from me.
Dom grins, taking the bait just like I knew he would. “Broken arm, cheekbone and missing several teeth. But it’s the bruised ego that’s effed him up more.” Chuckling, Dom smirks. “Thought he could get the better of me.”
“We all knew you’d win. You’re like a pit bull in the cage. I was surprised you didn’t rip his ear off like you did Bonner’s a couple of weeks back,” Joey remarks with a wry grin.
