Page 114 of The Genius
“Tap your hand,” I demanded and spoke in a low tone. “You don’t want to miss out on the rest of the weekend because you’re injured, do you?”
Nikola refused to give up and with the energy of a bull on steroids, he bucked me off him and we both got up again.
“And here I was trying to go easy on you,” I muttered.
Our audience was cheering and commenting when Nikola gave some impressive kicks that had me move back and block.
“Careful, Marco,” Shelly shouted to me and it gave me a surge of energy for my fierce and aggressive counterattack. This time I didn’t go easy on him, and with my signature roundhouse kick, I knocked him back with such force that he fell into the circle of our audience. Oscar, Tristan, and Plato picked him up and pushed Nikola back to face me for another round of kicks and hits.
When I knocked him down for the third time, he was smart enough to stay down.
Mila ran to Nikola, worried that he was injured and calling for Finn to provide medical assistance.
“I’m fine,” Nikola muttered and slid his thumb over his teeth to check that they were all there.
“Marco, you didn’t have to beat him up like this. He’s bleeding.” Mila’s tone was blameful and then her eyes fell upon Raven. “There will be no more fighting tonight. You and Nero will have to wait until tomorrow.”
“I don’t know.” Raven tilted her head and gave a mischievous smile to Nero. “I worry he might not be able to sleep tonight from fear.”
“That’s sweet, Raven. You think I’m intimidated by you.” Nero shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’ll be sleeping like a baby looking forward to our fight tomorrow.”
“Dancing demons, you’ve got moves, my friend,” Hunter came to give me a manly hug. “Fuck, that last kick was cold.”
The Nmen were all high on the adrenaline of the fight and chatting in loud voices. My eyes searched for Shelly’s but she and most of the other Motlander women were already walking back to the school. Looking over her shoulder, Shelly’s eyes met mine and disappointment filled me. She wasn’t impressed.
It hurt my pride and without thinking, I called out. “Hey, Shelly, aren’t you glad you have a strong protector?”
Several of the women gave me strange looks and Rochelle, her sister, asked Shelly out loud. “What does he mean by that? Is Marco your protector?”
There was a moment of uncertainty in Shelly’s eyes as they darted to the other people around her. I wanted her so badly to tell the truth.
“Yes, he is.”
Rochelle stopped and lifted her hands, with a puzzled expression. “Since when?”
My heart beat fast, waiting for Shelly to finally tell her sister that she and I were together.
“It’s a recent thing,” Shelly began, her posture tense. “Advanced Technologies is paying Marco to be on stand by when I need to go somewhere.”
“Oh, I see.” Rochelle nodded before she walked on.
I stared after the two sisters.What the fuck?
“Great fight.” Storm pulled at my arm to congratulate me and I turned to face him with fire in my eyes. “Holy shit, the fight is over. You look like you’re ready to go another round.”
I was furious with Shelly for reducing me to a paid bodyguard instead of acknowledging that I was her mate. Her rejection of me sexually earlier, combined with her dismissal of my role in her life and the adrenaline from the fight, had me on edge.
“Are you okay?” Storm asked.
“I’m fine. I just need to get wasted.”
Storm lit up. “Now you’re talking. Hey, let’s get our fighters some beers. Nikola can use the bottle to ice his bruises and Marco can drink it to celebrate that he’s still a kick-ass fighter.” Laughter broke out as we headed back.
“Need a hand?” I asked Nikola, who was being supported by Finn.
“Not from you.”
“Don’t be a sore loser. At least I let you keep all your teeth and you don’t have any black eyes.”
