Page 28 of Stolen Seconds

Time slowed, the blaring crowd becoming white noise as his opponent appeared in my line of sight.Luca.

My mouth parted as I took a step forward, the rage on his face unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

This wasn’t the mischievous brute I’d come to know. In the ring, he was a different person. His mouth was a vicious slash, his eyes deadly as he stared at the man opposite him with pure savagery.

It was his whole physique that screamed beastly. With only shorts on, he appeared bigger and taller than when he had clothes on. Muscles rippled along his tatted body; every inch of his skin marked with intricate designs. Not only tattoos butscars,marred along his back and torso.

I knew I should’ve been frightened to know I’d caught his attention, but all I could think of was how the chaos inside my mind stopped for a brief second as I took in his raw form.

He had depth, but why did that make me curious to know what lurked underneath?

Luca’s eyes flicked toward me and for a moment, he let me see what hid behind those caramel eyes. Then he smiled and swung his arm before it crashed into his opponent’s face.

“Hey!” Aurora called out, pulling on my arm and bringing me back toward her. “It can get crazy in here. Don’t go closer.”

Too late. For the first time ever, a man piqued my interest—but I’d never tell her orhimthat.

He was out for blood, moving fluidly,predatorily. If I hadn’t been paying close attention, I’d think he was dragging on the fight for longer than necessary.

He was putting on a show. One that had the audience cheering for him, women throwing their lingerie at him and men betting on him.

It was clearly not his first time in the ring, aiming hits back-to-back, enough to make the other man lose balance, but not enough to have him tap out.

“What’s a doll like you doing in a place like this all alone?”

If it wasn’t for the body pressed against my back disgustingly, I wouldn’t have thought the stranger was talking to me.

I stepped away and casually looked around me.What the hell?

Aurora and Roman were nowhere to be seen and if it was crowded before, the audience had doubled in size now.

“How about some company then?”

I turned and narrowed my eyes at the well-dressed man. He smirked, licking his lips as if I was a prize he couldn’t wait to take home.

I’d interacted with men like him before and I hated that previously, I’d needed to seduce them to retract information for the Bratva.

Not this time, though. I wasn’t on a mission.

I smiled at him, my blood boiling over men who thought a pretty face meant docile and compliant. “If I wanted company, I wouldn’t be here alone. If your miniature sized brain doesn’t understand what that means, letme simplify it further. Go fuck yourself, preferably somewhere far away from me.”

I faced the stage again, my breath catching in my throat. Luca had the man pinned to the floor as he mercilessly rammed his fists into his face, causing blood to splatter across his own. That wasn’t what had cold sweat streaming down my spine—it was that the brute had his gaze set on me as he nearly plummeted the man to death. Or maybe he was already dead.

“I can’t wait to break you into submission, doll.” Hot breath fanned my face, the stench of alcohol strong.

“Back off before you regret it.”

“Feisty,” he drawled, his hand snaking around my waist. “I like that.”

I nodded to myself. Looks like he’d regret it.

Grabbing his hand, I pushed back his fingers till I felt them crunch beneath mine.

“Ah!” He groaned, clutching his injury.

He took a step toward me, and I braced myself for his attack, but then he stopped. His eyes bulged as he gazed past me, terror evident on his face.

The audience’s screams became deafening as I turned around and saw Luca walking toward. . . me?

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