Page 51 of Daughters of Chaos

Stitch throws me a quick glance as Reaper narrows his eyes. I don’t care who I face. All I know is I need to punch someone. I need to let out this red-hot energy. Now. They start moving faster, hitting twice as hard and throwing more punches.Soon, this fight will be over, and then I’ll get my turn.

In the blink of an eye, Reaper takes a hard punch to his stomach, doubling over. Before Stitch can land another blow, the rugged enforcer spins, knocking him off balance and pummeling him to the floor. Reaper twists his arm into an unnatural position, forcing him to tap out and end the fight.

With a smirk, Reaper faces me. “Guess it’s your turn. You sure you wanna do this?”

I reply with a dangerous smile. “Absolutely.”

Stitch eyes us warily, holding his head. “She’s stronger than she looks, man.”

Reaper’s jaw tightens. “I’m aware.”

His eyes meet mine in a challenge as I slide inside the ropes. I pull up my stance, giving him a cocky smile. “Let’s dance, Big Guy.” And we do.

After a long while, I find myself surprised, excited even. My nerves are finally calming, and with every jab, something inside me loosens. Reaper is surprisingly nimble, moving faster than he did with Stitch, making me work for every hit. He lands a few as well, hard hits to my arms and legs, not taking it easy on me because of what’s between my legs. A worthy sparring partner at last.

It's exactly what I needed. The others are too timid when they enter the ring with me, holding back, afraid to hurt me, or risk pissing off Viper. But not Reaper, no, he’s giving me what I need, what the others are too afraid to dish out.

I pick up the pace, landing a few hard jabs on his mountainous body, smirking at the grunts he lets out. I move swiftly, trying to disorient him. It works, and I step behind him, sweeping his feet out from under him. When I think I’m about to win, he lashes out, grabbing my ankle and pulling me down to the mat. For a second, I’m winded, giving him an opening to roll on top of me, pinning me to the floor.

He grabs both wrists in one hand, stretching his other arm across my chest, pressing down hard. I try to wriggle free, kicking out uselessly with my legs. He has me, and he knows it. I scowl up at him as he presses me further into the mat. “You done yet, Princess?” he asks with a leer.

I shift again before admitting defeat. His hard body has me pinned, and there’s no getting out of this. He quirks a scarred brow. “I can sit here all day. Only one thing will end this,” he taunts.

I grit my teeth as I glare at him. “Fine. You win,” I grind out.

Reaper keeps me pinned for a few seconds longer, relishing my defeat. When I’m about to unleash on him, he stands, offering a hand to help me up. I take it grudgingly as Stitch lets out a low whistle. “Damn. That shit was entertaining,” he says with a laugh.

“Never thought anyone would have the balls to pin you like that, Raven, except maybe Jesse.” His amusement doesn’t die down, not even when Reaper and I send him matching glares that would send any sane man running. He’s still cackling to himself when I gulp down some water.

Reaper approaches, cracking open his own bottle. I eye him as I wipe the sweat from my face. The raging fire inside me is noticeably cooler. “Thanks,” I say tightly, grabbing his attention, “for not taking it easy on me in there.”

He eyes me for a moment, making me wonder if he’ll bother with a reply. “Who says I didn’t?” he finally says before walking away, leaving me stunned.

The lights on the first floor of the clubhouse are all on when we arrive. Music is playing somewhere inside, and a handful of bikes are parked out front. I haven’t stepped foot inside since Viper and I had our last screaming match. I’m still not sure I want to be here now, but they guys had to drop by to pick up a package from Bear.

So, here I am, standing outside the threshold as Stitch and Reaper waltz through the door. I'm about to take a seat on thesteps when I hear someone call my name. Lace approaches, smiling as she says hello to Stitch and the others. “You want something to drink?” she asks.

When I don’t immediately reply, she tells me, “Nix is here with Raptor if you wanna come say hello.”

Well, shit.

With a sigh, I follow her inside, gazing around the room as we walk back to the kitchen. No sign of Viper—good, I don’t feel like having another screaming match in front of so many witnesses.

Around the living room, members of the MC sprawl out with drinks in their hands, many enjoying the entertainment provided by the club's sweetbutts. It’s not a full-blown party, but the guys probably need it after all the shit that’s been going down. I look away from the crowd when Lace hands me a beer. “How’s everything going?” she asks.

“Same shit, different day, I guess.”

Lace nods, biting her lip. “You know,” she starts, “it’s pretty brave—what you did—not many guys would have done that, let alone women.”

She’s talking about the fight outside the bar, another thing I’m not interested in hashing out tonight. I shrug it off. “I just trusted my instincts.”

She gives me a light smile. “Well, it was still badass, and I’m sure Reaper hasn’t said much, but I bet he’s grateful for what you did.”

I scoff, taking a swig of my drink. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

I’m saved from any additional conversation when Stitch appears behind her, whispering in her ear. With a smile, she excuses herself and disappears somewhere with him. Another survey of the room shows me Nix and Raptor cuddled up in a corner.At least she seems happy.With everything going on, I was worried she’d be a mess.

Looks like I was wrong.

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