Page 136 of Scars Run Deep

Well, maybe Asher had somehow managed to convince him that this was what needed to happen, that I wasn’t going to back down.

I was about to find out either way as Asher stormed toward the ring.

My breath caught in my throat as he pulled his tee up over his head as he went, tossing it off to the side, and bearing all that cut muscle and ink.

I swallowed it down and shored up my focus as he entered the ring.

“Your move, little beast,” he said, as he assumed a fighting stance, his eyes in that sexy focused state.

That was a bad idea. You didn’t want the first move against Asher Monroe. It was much easier to react to what you could see coming.

“I insist,” I said, crooking my finger and settling into my stance.

“As you wish,” he responded.

That sinister smirk was out on full force then, sending a shudder through me.

I shook it off, knowing that was what he wanted, to incite trepidation, to get under my skin and have me second-guessing myself.

The hell I would.

He threw his fist.

I deflected it easily, bringing my arm down.

Too easily.

Was he just warming up?

I knocked him back with a push kick.

He worked with the momentum and skidded back just slightly before steadying himself.

Why had he allowed it to connect at all? He could’ve evaded it, I knew how fast he was.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“You’re—”

He used my distracted state to his advantage, lunging at me with his real speed and hooking his arm around my neck, capturing me in a chokehold.

I went to ram my elbow back to dislodge his grip, but he anticipated it, twisting to the side, then shoving his knee into the back of mine, forcing my left leg to give way. It hit the floor with a thud.

He took me down all the way rapid-fire before I could react to extricate myself.

And then he was on top of me, flattening my back, using all his weight to hold me to the floor.

His hot breath fanned over the side of my neck. “You are absolutely fucked now, sweetheart.”

I struggled beneath him and he chuckled darkly.

Fuck him for thinking that was it.

I wasn’t out of options, or moves.

I proved that in the next second, as I jerked sharply to the side, forcing all his weight at an angle, forcing him to redistribute it and actually shift.

---