AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It sent a chill through me, and goose bumps broke out along my arms. Being this close to him, in the dark, was a very bad idea. I was suddenly less worried about his life and more worried I’d give into the sizzling attraction that still blazed white-hot between us.
“This was Apollo’s idea?”
I felt him shrug. “Hethinksit was his idea.”
“You’re manipulating him now?” I asked, thinking that didn’t sound like Valen. “Do you think, if the two of you do stupider and stupider things together, he’ll never find out you betrayed him?”
His body was so close to mine. Every fibre of me was hyperaware of him, despite being unable to see much of him. He pressed against me closer, and I could feel the anger rolling off him. It must have taken a lot of effort for him to not press his hand against my throat, but I felt it twitch beside mine.
“What we did takes two, love,” he said slowly and pointedly.
My fingers brushed his. “But I don’t owe him anything, Valk,” I said sweetly. “I never promised him anything.”
I could feel the anger emanating from him.
My fingers slid up his hand, over his wrist, and I met no resistance. “You’re not wearing my cross,” I said. He wasn’t even wearing his cuff.
I felt him twitch but I didn’t know if he was trying not to come closer or walk away. “I couldn’t risk losing it in the cage,” he said softly. He still sounded angry, but like he was trying very hard not to lose his shit with me. “Come. I’ll take you to Apollo.”
He pushed away from me with what seemed like some effort, and I followed him further down the corridor. He finally pushed his way into a back room that was clearly used as a changeroom. Apollo was in there, sitting at a couch and talking to another guy like they were the managers working out the cut of the fight. If that was how it even worked.
“Apollo,” Valen said harshly, and Apollo turned.
When he saw me, he smiled. “Babe!” he said, and I wondered if it was just an alcohol buzz or something harder that he vibrated with.
I went over to him, and he wrapped me in a warm hug and kissed me deeply. He didn’t feel overly high, he wasn’t sloppy or anything. But he felt…reckless.
When he finally pulled away, he took my hand and brought me over to the couch. “You can take thirty percent off the top if Valk wins,” he said as he sat and, given his hand in mine, forced me to sit with him. He relaxed back and put his arm around me.
“Thirty? Cocky little bastard,” the other guy said, ignoring me entirely.
Apollo shrugged. “It’s Valen fucking Kincaid. You gonna bet against him, Cundy?”
“He’s fighting Peskov,” the other guy, Cundy, pointed out.
Valen scoffed as he went to a locker and started pulling off his shirt. “I’ve fought Peskov,” he said.
“Aye,” Cundy said. “And he put you in the hospital for a month.”
It felt like every single organ tried lurching out of my body at once. “What?” escaped me as barely a whisper.
“I’ll be fine,” Valen said.
Cundy threw his hands in the air. “Fine. All right. I’ll take it. Thirty if Valk wins.”
Apollo nodded. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
They shook hands and Cundy walked out. Apollo looked to Valen, and I followed suit. Valen was wrapping his hands in what looked like bandages. It was enough to take my eyes off even the gorgeous body he had on display in just a pair of light shorts. Valen’s eyes flickered over me, and I dropped mine. I felt Apollo shift.
“Where the fuck’s your cross?” Apollo asked Valen. His tone was a mix of concern and accusation.
My eyes flew up but, if Valen was feeling anything remotely close to guilt, he didn’t show it. He just looked resignedly bored.
He just shrugged. “It’s fine, man.”
“No fucking way,” Apollo said. “You never take that off. What happened to it?”
Valen gave nothing away. “Chain must have broken.”
