Knockout

  She wanted to be there for him and offer her support, but she had promised herself that the first time was the last time. She never wanted to enter that madhouse again. She had no desire to see anyone get hurt. She didn’t want to see blood or bruises. She didn’t want to hear the vomit inducing sound of flesh against flesh that couldn’t really be described unless you heard it with your own ears. She didn’t want any part of it, but even as that thought rolled through her head, she recognized its absurdity.

  She wanted Jami, but she was rejecting the most important part of his life. He was a fighter. He had worked hard to get to where he was and he damn sure wasn’t going to give it all up because she couldn’t get past her own hang-ups. And she would never dream of asking him to.

  His theme song began to play and she knew, at that moment, that Jami was entering the ring.

  “If you’re going, it needs to be now,” Spencer said forcefully as he stood anxiously beside the door.

  Olivia, thankfully, had hung back. Now, her friend appeared by her side and slung a comforting arm over her shoulder. “He really wants you out there.”

  Chewing the inside of her cheek, Alyson nodded. “I know he does, but I’m not sure I’m ready for it.”

  “You did fine last time. You didn’t faint or puke or anything. Don’t you think it will be better the second time around?” Olivia asked, squeezing her shoulder.

  Miles moved to stand by Spencer, and looked out into the hall longingly. “We’re missing it,” he muttered to himself as he inadvertently caused guilt to rise up.

  Alyson had a choice to make, but did she really? On the surface, it was so black and white. Either she went out there and took the seat waiting for her, or she didn’t. But she sensed that there was so much riding on her decision than that. If she took that seat, it would be a declaration to Jami and everyone else that she was there for him. She would not only be giving him her support, but she would be proving to herself that she was stronger than her history.

  If she chose to stay behind, she would be proving what a coward she was and showing Jami that he had placed his faith and friendship in the wrong person.

  She didn’t want any of that.

  So there was only one choice as far as she could tell.

  Sucking in a deep breath, Alyson drew back her shoulders and wrapped her arm around Olivia’s waist, holding onto her for dear life. “Okay,” she said shakily. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “Are you sure?” Olivia asked, even as she began walking her out the door. Spencer closed the door behind them, and then stepped around them to take the lead.

  A nervous laugh bubbled up her throat. “No, but Jami needs me, so I’m going.”

  By the time Spencer directed them to their seats, Jami had already been introduced. Now, he was standing in the octagon. His eyes found hers immediately, and Alyson blushed at the intensity of his stare.

  With a slight lift of her hand, she waved to him as she smoothed her dress down and took her seat. Miles sat on her left, and Olivia and Spencer on her right, penning her in. Not that she thought it was a deliberate move to keep her from making a run for it, but the thought did cross her mind once or twice as the ‘“Lion’” stepped inside the cage.

  He looked bigger and fiercer than she imagined. He oozed pure menace as he pointed two fingers to his eyes then aimed them at Jami. He has his eyes on him. Acid burned in her stomach. As the announcer made the introductions to the audience, she looked to Jami.

  He stood near his corner, appearing alert and relaxed. The first real sight of him left her awestruck. She hadn’t seen him without his shirt since he’d decided to move into the heavyweights, and even though she had seen a lot of him and knew he was putting on weight, nothing prepared her for that moment when she finally got to lay her eyes on all that naked skin.

  Jami was massive. His arms, his thighs, even the Dorsi muscles along his sides and back were overdeveloped, giving him an incredible V-shape. When he started bouncing on his toes to warm up, his pecks and abs tightened and released.

  Her tongue fused to the roof of her mouth.

  Olivia leaned over and spoke in her ear. “FYI, your boyfriend is hot.”

  He isn’t my boyfriend she automatically corrected her friend in her mind. But she wanted him to be. Maybe he sort of was? They did kiss, after all, and he wanted her. That much he had made plain already. He’d also made it known that he didn’t want anything more than that.

  It was kind of screwing with her head. She wanted him. He wanted her. But they couldn’t be together together? She was so busy pondering the nature of their relationship that Alyson missed the starting bell. The excited cheers of the crowd as Jami crashed into his opponent were near deafening.

  Not wanting to see, but unable to look away, Alyson watched as the men exchanged blows to the face. She gasped and covered her mouth each time Jami’s head wrenched back and to the side. Her stomach threatened to roll over as blood stained the canvas.

  By the end of the first round, Jami had sustained a cut to his left cheekbone that was immediately iced and packed with Vaseline. His opponent, Lion, had received a broken nose and now sat with long Q-tips shoved up his nostrils looking miserable but ready for more.

  When the second bell sounded, both men popped to their feet and closed in on one another. Alyson flinched when Jami’s arm shot out, catching Lion in the jaw and knocking his head to the side.

  Lion hopped back and shook off the blow, then, with an evil grin, he spat out blood and came back swinging. Bringing his arms up, Jami blocked the first series of brutal hits aimed at his head, but as Lion continued to pummel him and Jami continued to step back, she saw what was coming next.

  Lion was moving Jami’s body toward the ropes, right where he wanted him. If Jami allowed himself to be pinned, he was going to get hurt. Don stood on the other side of the ropes, shouting at Jami. Seeing the problem, his fans joined in, directing him to the left and the right, to hit back, duck away, anything to avoid what was coming, but Jami was the one in the ring.

  Blow after blow rained down on him and Jami backed up until his back connected with the thick rope. That was when Alyson saw why they called him the ‘“Lion.’” He was ferocious.

  He was a blur of motion, his arms swinging out from his body and his fists making contact with any exposed flesh they could find. Lion hit Jami from all sides—the ribs, the torso, his forearms, and stomach.

  Miles was on his feet along with Olivia and Spencer, shouting along with the rest of the crowd for Jami to hit him back. Pressing her hand to her lips, Alyson concentrated all of her energy on Jami, willing him to move, to do something just so that he wouldn’t continue getting hurt. She didn’t care if he won or lost, just as long as he made it out alive.

  Just when she was sure that Jami was going to lose, he skirted to the side and tucked himself into a ball. The audience cheered as he rolled away and came back up on his feet. Facing Lion, Jami danced around the ring with his fists near his face.

  As he shifted, Alyson was given a full visual of his injuries. Every inch of his body was covered in red marks. Some of them were already turning purple, and most of them were the size of a softball. There wasn’t an inch of skin on him that hadn’t been touched, and she wept for the pain he must be in. But he kept going. Her fierce fighter stayed on his feet and waved his hand, taunting the man who had savagely beaten him to come get more.

  Alyson shook her head in disbelief. Despite it all, Jami was still fully in the game.

  Lion came at him again, this time employing his long legs. Spinning around, his right leg came out, but just as it would have connected with Jami’s face, Jami reared back. Just as fast, Lion left his feet and his body twisted, bringing the other leg around for a second kick.

  Reaching up, Jami caught him with one hand on his ankle and the other around the tree trunk of a calf. He brought him down, slamming Lion onto his stomach, and dropped down on top of him. Jami didn’t let up on his attack. Climbing onto his back,
he kneed Lion in his side over and over again, as he struggled to get his bucking body under his control.

  Lion wasn’t giving up easily. Twisting like an alligator trying to escape his captor, Lion managed to get onto his back with Jami still seated on top of him. He socked Jami in the gut, and Jami grunted as his body folded over.

  Alyson bit into her lip, tasting blood as she watched the events unfold right in front of her. There Jami was, fighting with everything he had, and it still didn’t seem to be enough. No matter what he gave out, he got double in return.

  They traded punches, kicks, and positions at least a dozen more times before the bell rang, and they returned to their respective corners. Alyson had only a moment to breathe a sigh of relief before they were back at it again.

  Halfway into the third and final round, both men were bloodied, bruised, and tired. It was evident by their slowing moves and the many times they came at each other and locked up that the men were nearing the end of their stamina.

  In one final effort to get Lion down on the mat, Jami swept his leg out, knocking the man off balance. Lion fell like the giant he was—with a loud thwap! Jami pounced on him, stepping over his body, and grabbing hold of his legs. Placing one foot in between, Jami threw his back onto the floor and pulled against the leg in his hand.

  Lion’s back arched off the floor and his face twisted in pain as he let out a howl. Banging his fists against Jami’s shoulder and back, he tried to force him to let go, but Jami was not about to go anywhere. Now that he had him, Alyson knew Jami was going to hold on until the guy either gave up, or passed out.

  Circling them like a shark, the ref monitored the situation closely. Alyson didn’t know how he could stand it. If she were up there, she would have called it already, but she didn’t know or understand the rules. All she saw were two men practically killing each other in hopes of one day getting a belt for it.

  Twice Lion demonstrated his feline grace and rolled onto his side to try to get away, and twice Jami brought him back, pulling down harder each time on that leg until she was sure it would dislocate. Finally, with an agonized sound, Lion’s hand slapped the canvas, and the ref called it.

  As Jami stood, his eyes landed on Alyson, proud and triumphant. He wanted her to watch, and she had, but now she was out of there. With a tight smile, she forced herself to her feet and, cradling her weakened stomach, started making her way back to his room.

  Behind her, all around her, she could hear the celebratory chanting as Jami was announced the winner. He would be moving on to the next round, to the next opponent, and she was happy for him. She really was. But she couldn’t stand to be in there another second.

  Feeling as if she might throw up, Alyson dropped into a chair as soon as she entered the room, and she leaned forward with her head in her hands.

  “Why did you take off?”

  The sound of Jami’s voice startled her. Jerking her head up, Alyson’s first instinct was to cover her eyes. Jami’s face was a series of swollen bumps, gashes, and heinous bruises, all topped off with a healthy smearing of blood.

  He looked at her through one swollen eye, as the other was already sealed shut and covered in black and blue. “I couldn’t sit there any longer,” she admitted, grimacing as she slid her gaze over his battered body. Was there no part of him left untouched?

  Alyson’s stomach cramped as he stared at her, searching her eyes. He looked furious, ready to argue, but then he must have seen something in her that got through to him, because his eyes softened. Finally, he held out his hand to her, and she went to him without hesitation. Carefully, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his sweaty chest, uncaring what happened to her dress or how she might smell afterward. She was just happy to be in his arms, to feel him there with her. “Are you okay?”

  His chest shook with pained laughter. “I’ll live.”

  Tipping her head back, Alyson couldn’t stop her grimace. “You look like hell,” she said, reaching up to tenderly trace a bruise forming on his jaw.

  Wincing, Jami said, “It happens a lot. You better get used to it.”

  Surprised and relieved that he didn’t seem to be mad at her anymore, Alyson asked, “You still want me to come see you fight?”

  “Are you saying you will?”

  “Can I wait back here if I do?”

  “Nope.”

  “Fine. Do I have to stay until the end then?”

  Tightening his hold, he smiled and kissed the tip of her nose, then each of her eyelids, followed by her forehead and ending at her mouth where he pressed a feather light kiss to her lips. “I’d like you to.”

  Even though he looked like he’d just gone ten rounds with a sledgehammer, Alyson couldn’t resist his charms. “You play dirty,” she claimed as she leaned into him and kissed him again.

  Hissing, Jami’s head jerked and he sucked his lip into his mouth. “I’m sorry,” Alyson rushed out, her eyes wide with worry. “I forgot.” Inspecting the split in his lip, she wanted to kick herself for being so careless.

  “It’s fine,” Jami assured her, then kissed her again to reinforce his claim.

  “You ran out of there like your ass was on fire. What are you still doing on your feet?” Don came bounding through the door with Spencer, Olivia, Miles and the rest of Jami’s gang on his heels. By the looks he was receiving from his guards, Dwayne, Will, and Collin, they weren’t too pleased with his disappearing act either.

  Giving Alyson a cursory glance, Don pointed Jami to a bench against the far wall. “Sit your ass down. We need to get you cleaned and stitched before everything swells up.”

  He already looked swollen to her, but what did she know. With one last kiss, Jami released her, and Alyson went to sit beside Miles as she watched Jami being attended to.

  “Dude, you owe me twenty bucks,” Spencer said as he splayed himself out in a chair.

  “No idea what you’re talking about,” Jami muttered. That made two of them.

  “The bar? You said Lion wouldn’t make it past the first round. I said he would. You owe me.” Spencer’s eyes twinkled, pleased with himself.

  Jami shook his head, a small, playful smile curving his lips. “Yeah, I guess you did win, huh? Why don’t you do me a favor and bring me my purse?”

  Alyson laughed when Jami lifted his middle finger. Spencer returned with an obscene gesture that she was glad Miles hadn’t witnessed.

  “Wasn’t that the most amazing thing you ever saw?” Miles asked, his voice an excited whisper.

  Summoning a smile that had nothing to do with the fight and everything to do with the kiss Jami had just laid on her, Alyson said, “Yep, it was pretty amazing.” As she watched Jami getting bandaged, she couldn’t help thinking once again what a proud, beautiful man he was.

  Licking her lip, she tasted metal, reminding her of what Jami was all about, and what she could expect if she decided to go all in with him. Was she ready for him? She wasn’t sure, but she would find out soon enough.

  TWENTY

  “Suplexes are easy, man. I watch wrestling all the time,” Miles said with youthful confidence. “Holy—” Miles’ shout of surprise was cut short as Jami lifted the boy up, one arm locked around his shoulder and the other between his legs, and brought him back down on the mat. Smacking his palm against the mat, Miles tapped out.

  Jumping to his feet, Jami grinned as he reached out a hand to help Miles up. “What was that about easy again?”

  Panting, Miles shook his head. “It was joke! Can’t anyone take a joke anymore?” With an exaggerated limp, Miles hobbled away.

  Turning to face the three of them, Jami looked over Miles, then Victoria, his gaze finally landing on Alyson. She was busy picking the pale iridescent polish from her nails, pretending she didn’t notice that he was staring right at her.

  He had talked her into coming to the gym to start practicing the self-defense moves he had offered before, but it had turned into more of a wrestling match once he and Miles got toget
her. The entire time Jami was teaching Miles different moves, and demonstrating them by tossing him this way and that, Alyson had been watching him.

  Even though half of his face was still covered in aging bruises, most now a hue of green or yellow, it somehow managed to make him more attractive to her. He was rugged, dangerous, and she couldn’t get enough of him. He was dominating her every thought, whether at work or relaxing at home.

  Now that he had successfully won his first match, Jami had a little more time on his hands to focus on her. Not a lot, but enough to spend the end of each day with her. Don hadn’t been too pleased when she started showing up at his house again, but one look from Jami and he disappeared to his room, or he headed out to spend time with a couple of guy friends.

  Alyson refused to feel guilty about it. Don was unnecessarily rude to her, so if he couldn’t stand looking at her, it was his problem. She wasn’t going to sacrifice her time with Jami to appease the man.

  “Ally,” Jami said smoothly. His bare feet came into view, but Alyson kept her head down, pretending she hadn’t heard him.

  She knew she was being a chicken shit, but after seeing Jami in action, she was experiencing a little fear. Call it stage fright, being shy, what have you, but what Alyson was experiencing she didn’t have a name for. All she knew was that every cell in her body had been flipped on, and all she wanted was for everyone in the gym to clear out. Five minutes. That’s all she would need to satisfy her craving for the man.

  There was no way she could concentrate on proper defense strategies with him touching her, breathing on her. No, it was best if she didn’t get out there with him, because she would only end up embarrassing herself.

  “Ally.”

  Hadn’t he left yet? All right. Calm down. Might as well get this over with. “Hmm?” Raising her head, Alyson smiled innocently up at him. “Oh, my turn already? I was actually going to go get a drink real quick, so if you want to take Victoria first, that’s fine with me.”