Page 51 of Caged Heat

Knowing my looks and charm wouldn’t be enough to win this was a novel feeling. In fact, they hindered me more than they helped in the octagon. When the bell rang, everything came down to hard-earned skill and determination, and I reveled in that.

“Gentleman, let’s have a clean fight.”

I nodded, my smirk growing as I pounded my fist into my hand. The urge to look for Ella was strong, but I stayed focused, knowing if I saw her right now, I’d either get hard or too distracted and get punched first. Neither were options I wanted, so for now, it was best to ignore the amazing woman I’d been lucky enough to find.

The bell dinged, starting the match, and my mind hyper focused on the man in front of me; everything else disappeared.

August had made me watch The Bullet’s fights over and over for the past two weeks in preparation, so I wasn’t surprised when he flew at me, attempting to take me off guard and to the mat early. Side-stepping him, I kicked out with the opposite foot and struck him in his kidney. He fell forward, the momentum of his charge propelling him toward the mat.

Taking the opportunity, I pounced and pinned his shoulders as I clung to his back. He swung out, twisting as he tried to pry me off. When that didn’t work, he delivered a few punches backward to the ribs, knocking the breath from me. Breathing through my mouth, I counted to ten as I ignored the pain. Crouching down, he flipped me over his head, successfully releasing me from my hold.

Jumping back up, I danced on the pads of my feet as I assessed him. He had a cut to his forehead and was favoring his left side. Internally, I high-fived myself, but outwardly I stayed focused and zoomed in for my next strike.

This time I stepped into him, stopping his foot as he kicked up, then twisted his foot around and flipped him over. Dropping his leg, I delivered a quick set of jabs before stepping back and kicking out. He jumped forward, narrowly missing my foot and flipping me like I’d done to him.

He spit on the ground, wiping the blood from his mouth. Gross. Now I had to watch where I stepped so I didn’t get his nasty spit on me. My lip must’ve gone up at his action because the huge man laughed, the sound dark and deadly.

The Bullet charged in his signature move, and I barely managed to get out of his way. We both fell to the ground as we grappled; I pulled his leg back and locked his head between my legs. Throughout the whole move, I couldn’t help but smile and laugh. This was the most fun I’d had in such a long time.

“Why are you laughing, psycho?” he spat, his face red between my legs.

“Aren’t you having fun? I am. It’s so fun.” I shrugged my shoulders, or as well as I could, with my arms holding him. The Bullet looked at me like I was crazy, breaking my hold and flipping us over. We exchanged a few more blows before the buzzer sounded.

“That’s round one!” the ref shouted, telling us to let go of one another.

Untangling ourselves, I grinned as I headed to the corner where August stood. He shook his head, the corner of his mouth curving up as he watched me. He handed me a water bottle, and I poured it over my face and mouth, spitting into the bucket and replacing my mouth guard.

“You enjoying yourself?” he asked once I was cleaned up.

“Yeah, I am,” I heaved out between breaths. My chest moved up and down as I gulped down the breath, my heart pounding as it beat against my chest.

“You know what will be more fun, Jacks?”

I shook my head, taking another swig. “What’s that, Aug?” I teased.

“Fucking our girl until she can’t walk. But go on out there and have fun. I’m sure she’ll wait.” He glanced off to the side, and despite my better judgment, I followed. My eyes snagged on the most beautiful woman, her blue-gray eyes staring at me as she smiled. Her cheeks were rosy as she stared, giving me a small wave.

“Go.” August shoved me, and I blinked, realizing the break was up and it was time to return to the fight. I hated that August had broken my concentration, but he had lit a new fire under me with a solid focus—Ella.

The smirk I’d worn last round was gone, and I stared at The Bullet blankly, calculating the best ways to end this the quickest. The bell dinged, and it was go time.

Our bodies flew at one another, strikes and jabs dealt between both of us. I didn’t feel a thing, though, as I focused on the opponent before me and getting him down as quickly as possible. The Bullet attacked with a roundhouse kick, but I evaded it and threw a fist at his body, following it up with a double-collar tie, pulling Bullet’s head down to my knee.

He stumbled back as I let go, falling to the ground, and I delivered a few more hits to ensure he would stay knocked out.

“KO!” the ref shouted, calling the match.

My chest heaved as he lifted my hand, the crowd’s noise piercing my ears as it rushed to meet me. Sweat poured off me, mixed with blood from a few scrapes, and my muscles ached. It had been a good match, and I’d enjoyed fighting someone on a similar skill level for once. I knew there were things I’d done well, others I needed to improve on, and that August would make me know them backward and forward before my next match.

But all I could think about were the blue-gray eyes staring at me from across the cage.

The second my hand dropped, I stalked forward, heading for the gorgeous woman I was lucky to call mine. Everyone and everything around me ceased to exist, and my focus was only on her. Winning my first real fight felt amazing. The culmination of my hard work and skill coming to fruition. It was a buzzing in my head that filled me with euphoria.

But as I neared Ella—watching her eyes dilate as my intention became clear—I felt more alive, powerful, and worthy. Winning her heart had been the ultimate treasure, and I knew nothing else would ever come close.

My hands gripped her face, and I pulled her to me, our lips crashing together in a heated embrace. August slapped my shoulder, his gruff voice the only thing that could’ve made me move.

“Let’s take this show on the road.”

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