Page 15 of Natasha
"M'sorry," Silas murmured to her. He bent his head, catching her green eyes with his blue ones. "Should have just stayed focused and got you out of here soon as the fight was done."
"What's going on?" Natasha whispered to him. She got her answer a moment later, when the woman from the ring appeared beside them.
"What the fuck is going on over here?" the brunette asked, hands on her hips.
"Nothin', nothin'." James grinned at the woman, an innocent look on his face. Silas opted to not answer and instead shrugged silently.
Natasha bit her lip and leaned into Silas. She didn't know what trouble Sam was referring to, but if she had wanted the woman gone before, now her wishful thinking increased by a hundredfold.
"Bullshit." The woman flashed her teeth at James with a barely restrained sneer. She turned to regard Silas, and Natasha felt her face pinch when the loathsome look on her face instantly transformed into almost adoration.
"Silas?" she questioned, voice sweet as sugar.
"Just a misunderstanding," Silas replied finally. He shifted, turning Natasha with him, and nodded at Sam. "We were just leaving. Soon as we get paid out. Sorry for the trouble, Tori."
"Oh, so that's the way it's gonna be then?" The woman sighed.
"Tori. Come on, doll. You know how they are." Sam smiled at the woman and gestured between Silas and James with a flick of his hand. "Like cats and dogs, these two. No need to worry 'bout it."
"You know the rules of the circuit. Absolutely no fighting outside of the cage. I don't care if it's hair pulling, none of it." Tori raised one perfect eyebrow at the men. Then she seemed to notice Natasha's presence and pinned her with an interested look. "You say it's nothing, but she tells me something different. Fighting over a piece of ass? Really, gentlemen?"
Natasha jerked at Tori's casual comment about her. "Excu—" she began, but Silas' hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off her retort.
"Not fightin'," Silas replied with a smirk. "Don't gotta fight for what's already mine."
"Is it?" James tilted his head to the side. He nodded to where Natasha was now glaring at Silas over his hand. "Looks like the pretty little doll's got somethin' to say if ya let her."
Silas snorted at that. "Stay the hell out of this, James."
James glared. "Make me."
"Ah, ah." Sam waved a hand at Silas, and Natasha tried to yank her lips away from Silas' palm, but the big blond didn't let her move an inch. He slid a hand down to her hip and squeezed it in warning before he pulled her tighter against him.
Natasha wanted to scream, to kick out at Tori for calling her a piece of ass. But most of all she was angry at the way Silas was treating her, so she did the only thing she could think of and bit down on his fingers. Hard.
Silas winced at the gesture and whirled around, turning his back on the others. "I thought you had manners. Keep this up, and you're going to find out what happens to little girls when they're disobedient."
Natasha continued to glare up at him and, without hesitation, proceeded to bite down harder. Silas let out a sigh and turned to Sam. "That's it. Take her. Now," he growled, handing her off to Sam.
"But—" Natasha dug her feet in when Sam wrapped an arm around her and began to lead her away. A dark look from Silas had her going quietly. She looked over her shoulder to see James wiggling his fingers at her in goodbye before Silas stepped in front of the other man, blocking him from sight. She wished she could hear what they were discussing, but it was impossible to tell with only Silas' bare back to her.
"Guess I was off the mark," Sam said, his voice holding a hint of laughter.
Looking away from Silas, Natasha gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"
"You've got teeth, not claws."
Natasha couldn't help the smile that curved her lips, and she grinned, teeth flashing brightly under the lights of the warehouse. "I have both, actually."
Sam opened the warehouse door to the night and led her to Silas' car. "I'm going to put you in the car and then, little kitten, then we are going to be good and wait for Silas. Got it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Blowing out a sigh, Natasha gave Sam a curt nod, a pout on her face as she slipped into the car silently. Natasha leaned back in her seat and bit her lip. How long would she have to wait, and what would be the reaction when Silas joined her? Suddenly, the car ride back to the dance studio didn't look so appealing. She looked at the car door and briefly contemplated making a run for it before deciding that facing Silas' punishment was infinitely better than braving Queens past midnight. Tugging his hoodie closer, Natasha leaned against the car door and sighed. She wasn't sure where the urge to bite him had come from, or why she had suddenly felt like she was up to verbally sparring with James. Hadn't he frightened her, all of five minutes before that?
Tori, Natasha thought with a glare. It had been easy to lose her head once Tori had appeared. She raised her eyes to stare at the warehouse door as Silas emerged from inside. Had Tori touched him? There was something about the woman's dismissive attitude, her crass assertion about Natasha, that set her blood boiling. It bothered her that the woman seemed to have power over Silas. Natasha knew it was because of the rules of the fighting circuit, but that didn't mean she was going to let the other woman talk down to her.
"You're going to find out what happens to little girls when they're bad." Silas' words came to mind when Natasha's eyes met his unwavering stare. There was nothing soft in his eyes now as he strode forward toward the car.
"Shit," Natasha whispered, sinking down into her seat. She watched Sam greet Silas, an envelope passing between them before the pair of men clasped hands. Sam turned from where he'd been leaning against the car and gave her a small wave before he loped off back toward the warehouse.
