went to ‘look around.’” She made air quotes.
“Jesus, Katie, way to be a creeper. Did you follow them?” Fee asked.
“No. I’d had too many shots and went to barf in the bathroom.” Katie also swiped one of Shiori’s fries. “I got lost on my way back. And I saw these two together at the rope demo station. Knox was tying her up in some fancy rope pattern. Like he’d done it a hundred times before, which kinda freaked me out. So anyway, I figured something had to be going on.”
Shiori patted Katie’s hand. “Can’t pull anything over on you.”
Fee choked on her drink, and Katie smacked her hand into the table. “That’s what I try to tell everyone, but no one believes me.”
“I believe you, sweetheart,” Deacon said to her chest.
The empty chair next to Knox was yanked back and spun around. “Well, if it isn’t Black Farts and Blue’s Clues. God. Is it like a Sensei Ronin Black mandate that you guys train together and hang out together? Do you wash each other’s dicks too? That might be kinda hot to see.”
Knox turned around and faced Mia, a scrappy redhead who trained with Steve Atwood.
Before Knox could say anything, Deacon jumped in. “I don’t remember anyone inviting you to sit with us. So beat it, skank.”
“Make me, Scarface.”
“I’m surprised your pimp let you out of his sight. Unless you’re here drumming up business? It’s a waste of your bad breath, because you’d have to pay us to fuck you.”
Shiori silently watched the exchange between Mia and Deacon.
Mia looked at Knox. “Yep, still hate this ass-licker as much as I thought I did.”
“What are you doing here?” Knox said.
“Saw the sad-sack table and thought I’d swing by and say hey.” Mia’s gaze roamed over Knox’s face and chest, then dropped to his crotch. “You’re looking good, big man. Very good. It’s been a while.”
Not long enough.
“Excuse me, but who are you and why are you at our table?” Katie asked.
Mia laughed. “Please, please, please make my day and tell me Barbie Perky Tits is one of your new fighters?”
Jesus. “Mia. Stop stirring shit and go.”
“But it’s so fun. I can admit Sensei Atwood sent me over here to check out the competition.” Her gaze swept the people at the table and she sneered. “And this is it? Pathetic. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Sensei Atwood? That’s what he’s calling himself now? What a fuckin’ pompous prick. Tell your no-balls boss he’s welcome to come over and size me up himself,” Deacon said.
“I don’t think her pimp is here,” Fee said. “Didn’t Atwood end up banned from this bar a few months back because he’d gone into a ’roid rage?”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Mia snapped.
“Ooh. Hit a nerve, did I, puta?” Fee said.
“I’ll hit a nerve. In fact, I’m gonna hit all of your nerves,” Mia said, adding a nasty smile. “Gonna be a long match for you, with me doing a ground and pound on your face. Or will you show your true pussy self and tap out? Like my last ten opponents.”
“But you’re still fighting in the minor leagues, aren’t you? Why is that? Oh, right, because you suck—and I’m not just talking about all the guy’s dicks in the whorehouse where you train,” Deacon said.
Mia laughed. “No wonder Knox is the only one of you Black Farts assholes I ever fucked. He’s got the smarts to know when to keep his mouth shut.”
Christ. Thanks for that, Mia.
Then Mia rested her head on Knox’s arm. “I miss those days. How about if we ditch these losers—”
Mia was there one second and gone the next.
Shiori had fisted her hand in Mia’s hair and pushed Mia’s face into the table, chicken-winging her left arm. “Don’t you fucking touch him again. And get out of here before I break your fucking arm in such a way your fighting days are over for good. Understand?”
“Your newest cunt girlfriend is messing with the wrong person, Knox. Call her off.”
“Don’t you dare,” Deacon said to Knox. “For once Mia is entertaining me, seeing her pinned to the table like a bug to a board.”
“Let her go,” Maddox said to Shiori. “We wouldn’t want her to claim she was injured prior to the fight as an excuse on why she gets her ass handed to her.”
Shiori released her and immediately backed up into defensive position.
Mia rubbed her neck and glared at Shiori. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, bitch—”
“I’m Ronin Black’s sister, bitch, and I know a little bit about fighting dirty. So watch your back.”
After Mia stormed away, Knox tried to talk to Shiori, but she held up her hands and said, “Not now,” and walked over to the bar.
“Guess that ends our night out,” Katie said.
Knox put his hand on Katie’s arm and looked at Fee. “Give it about ten minutes before you leave to make sure she’s gone.”
“Good idea.”
“Fee, do you have any fight tapes from the smokers you’ve done?”
“We have some; Black Arts has some. Why?”
“I want to see how Mia fights. I want you to be prepared for anything. Guaranteed she’ll be gunning for you now.”
Deacon clapped Knox on the shoulder. “Hope you’ve got a way to deal with Shiori, because She-Cat has turned into a tiger and she’s out for blood.”
Like I didn’t already know that.
Shiori had her back to the table and was scanning the crowd.
To Maddox, Knox said, “You want me to stick around?”
“No. Go ahead and take off. I’ll make sure Fee and Katie get out of here okay.”
“Thanks, man. See you tomorrow.” When Knox set his hand on Shiori’s shoulder, she flinched, which pissed him off. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“The fuck if I know, but we’re not staying here.” He moved his hand to the small of her back and steered her around the side of the booth. He caught the owner’s eye and indicated they were going out the back door.
Knox took her hand and led her through the kitchen and into the alley. He nodded to the cooks having a smoke break as he headed toward the lot where he’d parked his truck.
But Shiori was having none of it. As soon as they cleared the alley, she wrenched her hand free from his and leaned against the side of the building.
“What?”
“I’m just supposed to ignore the fact that you slept with that horrible woman?”
Fuck. “Ancient history.”
“How ancient?”
“Two years ago.”
“Were you in a relationship with her?”
“No. We ended up at the same events. We ended up fucking. That’s it.”
She came chest-to-chest with him. “That’s not it. What kind of events?”
“Fights. She was fighting. I was doing whatever the fuck Ronin wanted me to do. After a fight, she got horny. I was convenient.”
Shiori shrank back.
“What? You think you’re the only woman who has that primal urge to fuck a man stupid after you’ve beaten the crap out of someone? Jesus, Shiori, that’s human nature. We’re all like that.”
“I’m nothing like her.”
“No shit.” He counted to ten. “Can we go now?”
“Fine. Take me home.”
They didn’t talk on the way to her place, but the air in his truck was heavy with tension.
Neither did Shiori speak in the elevator on the way to her penthouse. But once they were inside? She unloaded like he’d never seen.
He let her pace and yell in Japanese until he worried she’d have an aneurysm from the way the vein in her neck visibly throbbed.
“Shiori,” he said sharply. “Calm down. And for fuck’s sake, switch to English so I know you’re not yelling at me.”
“I’m tired of yelling. I wa
nt to track her down and I want to make her fucking cry.”
Knox took the hand she’d balled into a fist. “Why? Because she banged me a couple of times? Big deal.”
“That’s my question. Did she bang you? Or did you bang her?”
“I don’t fucking remember, okay?” he shouted, and then felt like a total dick. “Look, I can’t change the past. But you weren’t there, so you don’t get to go attributing meaning to a meaningless fuck.”
She stared at him, the picture of confusion.
“What?”
“I’ve never felt this angry before. I’ve had moments of jealousy when I saw you flirting with Katie or any of the other students who drool, giggle, and make lewd gestures when you walk by. But it was different tonight. I wanted to crush her. Then I wanted to fuck you in front of her.”
“And at any point during this violent fantasy of yours was I wearing a collar or on my knees?”
“What? No. Why would you even ask that?”
He crowded her against the wall. “Because that’s who you are. You saw Mia as balls-to-the-wall Dominant. I had sex with her, which means she probably dominated me. And since you’re my Mistress, you want to prove to her—and to me—that only you dominate me now. No one else.”
“Yes, goddammit. That’s what I want her to understand.” Her gaze met his in challenge. “That’s what I want you to understand.”
Knox pressed his lips to her forehead. To the corners of her eyes. To her cheeks. To the curve of her smile. “I do understand, Nushi.”
When Shiori initiated a kiss, any gentleness he’d used to calm her down was gone. It was replaced with passion, heat, and ownership. “I need to fuck you,” she panted against his mouth. “But I’m feeling vicious,” she warned. “Think you can take it?”
Knox stepped back and pulled off his shirt. Kicked off his shoes. Shucked his jeans. Naked, he stood in front of her and taunted her. “You think you can break me? You think I can’t take what you want to dish out?” He gave her body a slow perusal before he met her eyes again. “Bring it.” Then he walked away.
She let him get to the bedroom before she took him down with a full frontal sweep.
And she tried her damnedest to break him. They didn’t speak beyond grunts and moans and the occasional scream. She didn’t need to direct him, because somehow he knew what she needed.
They fucked on the floor.
They fucked against the wall.
They fucked on the bed. Twice.
They fucked against the windows.
When she came the last time, her body shuddering violently as he plowed into her, she whispered, “Mine. You are mine. I’m never going to let you go.”
He closed his eyes, his muscles aching, his body absolutely fucking spent. He had scratches and bite marks and hickeys from his neck to the tops of his feet. He’d never felt so used. So owned.
And nothing in his life had ever felt so right.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
FIGHT night had finally arrived.
Spirits were high when they set up camp at the event center.
Knox and Blue were handling the promotional duties. The referee was present in the locker rooms for the weigh-in. Luckily, none of the fights would have to be scrapped.
Maddox remained low-key but involved. Deacon, Ivan, Terrel, and Fee were on the roster, along with three other fights. He’d drilled his fighters relentlessly. So Knox had ended up on his ass plenty of times, since he was the only one big enough to go head-to-head with Ivan. Shiori had been called on to spar with Fee. Blue had partnered with Deacon. But all the prefight prep did was cement the other problem with their training program—not enough practice partners.
The promotion side was much more hectic than getting the fighters pumped up in the locker room. The payouts were nominal for this type of event; the experience for the fighters was worth way more. But each winner would get a payout, so Knox would have to stick around and wrap that up afterward. Ticket sales had improved, so maybe they’d recoup some of the up-front costs.
Two other MMA programs provided fighters besides Steve Atwood. Apparently, as acting head of Black and Blue Promotions, it was Knox’s job to make everyone feel welcome and foster camaraderie among Colorado dojos. Which was fine. He wasn’t bad at glad-handing. But Ronin was. So how had he made it through these things? Because Amery had been with him?
Was that why Knox wanted Shiori by his side?
She’d stayed in their fighter’s room as support for Fee.
Katie walked by in her ring-girl outfit, and Blue’s eyes about bugged out of his head.
“Man, why do you still go all slack-jawed and stupid when you see her?” Knox suspected Katie went out of her way to sashay past Blue as many times as possible. Plus, she stayed in her getup after the event ended while she did final reports and tallied up payouts.
“Because every fucking time I see her dressed like that, I’m reminded there is a god and he has a nasty sense of humor to place an apple like her in front of a snake like me.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” Blue walked away.
“Where are you going?”
“Bathroom to rub one out.”
Like he needed to know that shit.
Knox did the final run-through with the announcer and the sponsors. He made sure the judges had everything they needed. He even managed to keep a civilized tone with that smarmy prick Steve Atwood.
Fifteen minutes from fight time, Knox and Blue walked into the fighters’ room and saw complete chaos.
Fee was lying on a bench. “What the hell happened?” Blue demanded.
Ivan pointed to the portable lockers the event center had brought in. “She went to put her bag in her locker. The handle stuck, so she pulled on it and the whole thing came down on top of her.”
Blue murmured to her in Portuguese.
Tears rolled down her face and she shook her head.
He stood and walked over to Knox.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s in no shape to fight now. We can have medical check her out, but she’s confused and in pain.”
Fuck. “Get her seen. That’s what’s important.”
Blue motioned to Gil, and he crouched down by Fee. Then he returned to Knox’s side. “What now?”
“We cancel. We’ve had to cancel fights before, so it’s not a big deal.”
“I’ll go tell the announcer and the judges,” Blue said, and turned to walk out.
“Wait!” Shiori shouted.
Everyone looked at her.
“We don’t have to cancel the women’s bout. I’ll fight in Fee’s place.”
The fuck that was happening. “I appreciate the offer, but this schedule tonight is good enough—”