AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ARES
Present Day—Flintlock, Tennessee
The moment the set of knuckles connect with my face, I feel my eyebrow split open, but I don’t let the pain register. Instead, I take out my opponent with a powerful right hook, followed by a jaw-breaking left upper cut. He drops to the floor in a bloody, crumpled heap, instantly knocked out cold. The referee raises my arm in victory, and the crowd gathered at Oscar’s Gym roars with pleasure. Some of them have just made a lot of money.
My opponent, Sven ‘Scorpion’ Slott, has never been beaten. I was the underdog, despite my size and strength and the fact I have never been beaten. But Scorpion has more fights behind him and is freakishly fast on his feet, making him a favorite with the crowd.
Once a week, I come here and toy with my opponent before sending him to sleep with my fist. It earns me five hundred dollars per fight, seven hundred and fifty if I knock him out. It’s not going to make me rich, but it fucking makes me feel good.
Coated in sweat and with blood dripping down my face, I leave the ring, and immediately two girls step in front of me. They’re blonde and cute, their full lips pink and glossy, their eyes sparkling with interest and maybe a bit too much alcohol. Despite the sweat and blood, they attach themselves to me, one sliding her hand up my chest, the other licking her lips as she curls her arm around my bicep. They’re circuit groupies—women who follow the underground fighters from fight to fight, hoping to warm their beds for the night. They make their interest crystal clear, but I’m not interested in what they’re offering. Just like I don’t indulge in the club girls back at the Kings of Mayhem clubhouse, I don’t touch circuit groupies. If I need to satisfy an itch, I scratch it at The House of Sin just out of town because no strings are how I like to roll.
“You were amazing out there, Ares,” says the girl wrapped around my bicep.
“So big and strong,” says the one running her hand up my chest. “I love a man who’s hot and sweaty.” She presses her body tighter to mine. “If you come with us, I can show you just how much.”
She bats her long eyelashes. She’s pretty, cute, and a college girl.
But it’s not going to happen.
I won’t mess with fans, and I’m not in the market for a girlfriend. Sex is a complication I don’t need right now.
“Sorry, ladies, I’ve gotta hit the showers.”
“We can come with you,” bicep girl says eagerly. “We can wash your back and anything else that pops up.”
She digs her teeth into her lower lip, and out of nowhere, I’m tempted. She’s gorgeous and sexy and after a fight—especially one that’s inflicted a little pain on me—I’m turned on. I’d planned on taking care of my arousal in the shower, alone, but maybe a little assistance could be enjoyable.
But then I think about King Pin.
We used to fight together in the underground circuit. He was a champion who liked to indulge in the circuit girls. Lots of them. Unfortunately, one of them became obsessed with him after a one-night stand, and when he didn’t return her interest, she shot him dead a few months later.
Just another reason I avoid female company.
It’s too unpredictable.
My right hand isn’t.
“That’s a real sweet offer, but not tonight,” I say with a wink.
“Maybe we could come and see you at the clubhouse,” the other girl suggests. “Keep you company for the night?”
Okay, that makes me pause.
How do they know I belong to a motorcycle club?
I keep my private life separate from my underground fighting. I don’t tell anyone I’m a King. But these girls have clearly done their homework, and that’s a red flag.
I untangle myself from them both. “Maybe another time.”
Not hanging around to hear their protests, I make my way through the bar toward the locker rooms where the fighters can shower and change.
Inside, Doc, Jack, and Paw are waiting for me.
“Scorpion got you good,” Paw says when he sees the blood on my face. He grins happily. “You losing your touch, big fella?”
Paw likes to tease.
“A bit of pain is half the fun,” I reply, crossing the locker room to where the benches line the wall.
