Page 30 of Beautiful Fiend

Because we don’t want stupid-ass fights to stop us from enjoying our evening, NSC comes in through one entrance and the Kings through the opposite one. We occupy one side of the ring and their crew the other side. No mixing. We all know the lightest spark starts a wildfire between us, but we also want to see our fighter beat the other one.

I can’t see Caden tonight and it keeps my spirit light. I want to have fun, to celebrate my win. What’s better than watching NSC win an underground fight after the good news I got?

We don’t do much else in this town. When people are not stealing or dealing, they hang around in parking lots, in front of the high school or local grocery store. We make bets on illegal fights and keep the war going with the Kings. Just like any other wrong side of the tracks, we’re bored and abandoned by the government. We do what we can to keep ourselves sane and occupied.

Xi opens another beer by the time we settle right in front of the ring. The warehouse is packed, but everyone lets Emma through since she’s essentially everyone’s boss.

In our corner, a guy I don’t even know is jumping on the spot and rolling his shoulders, waiting for the fight to commence. Unlike the MMA gloves I wear, this guy isn’t wearing anything.

I used to do that, but I would never risk fighting with bare hands again.

“Who’s that guy?” I ask Emma.

“That’s Titan,” she smiles.

I raise an eyebrow at her. “Titan. Who uses ridiculous names likeTitan?”

“You can only wear a shit name if you earn it,” Lik agrees with me.

“Oh, he’s earned it,” Emma nods. She grabs the kid who takes the bet money by the back of his neck and gives him fifty bucks. “Place that on Titan.”

“What the fuck,” I choke. “Stop flaunting your money. You could have given that to me. I can’t even take my car to college ‘cause gas is so expensive.”

“When Titan wins, you can have those fifty dollars. I’ll take the rest.”

I shake my head and turn toward the ring again. My heart drops when I see Caden in it. He’s topless, and I have a perfect view of his defined arms. I’ve never seen him without a shirt on.

Usually, he parades around town with ripped jeans and a black t-shirt. He’s got an edgy, punk look with chains hanging from his jeans and a leather jacket. Usually, he’s wearing layers of silver necklaces around his neck and a silver moon earring with multiple thick rings on his fingers that people on the receiving end of his fists will never forget.

But not tonight.

No, tonight he has on black gym shorts that hang low on his hips and show his white boxers and perfectly carved Adonis belt. His rings are gone, as they’re not allowed even in underground fights, but mainly…mainly he’s topless, and my heart just won’t get over it.

Caden is not a big guy. No, he’s the kind of tall and perfectly defined type of man. Muscles only and nothing else. They are so prominent right now as his tattoos move over his chest and stomach as he laughs. His bestie Ethan must have said something to mock Titan because Caden throws him another look before practically bending in half from laughter.

A band tightens around my lower belly as his deep voice reaches me and he runs a hand through his hair. He’s not warming up. He’s not jumping around getting ready by throwing punches into thin air like Titan is. He is just…laughing. He’s carefree and so unaware of the danger from the beast that seems to be twice his size.

A bell rings from somewhere. There are no refs in our fights, just a random bell that starts the round and a guy falling unconscious to end it.

Caden turns to Titan and gives him his most demonic smile. The easy laugh now gone as the man I know he truly is, takes over.

They gather around each other, jogging in a circle for a few moments. Titan wastes no more time. He charges Caden, but the latter is too quick. He avoids the double punches and circles the ring.

“Might wanna try that again, big boy,” Caden taunts him.

They exchange a few punches, yet both seem entirely unreceptive to pain. I get it. Adrenaline is numbing the pain right now, but one will fall before the other, and Caden is practically avoiding everything.

Caden manages to corner Titan close to where we are standing and punches him so hard three times blood spurts all the way to my feet. He looks up as Titan wobbles, and his gaze locks with mine.

I feel the world disappear as his piercing eyes cut through mine. My soul gets agitated, and my stomach flips. There is no one else in this room except the man who has taken pleasure in hurting me. My body and brain refuse to acknowledge that they shouldn’t let him make us feel this way. He is as beautiful as a god and as dangerous as the devil himself.

Caden must be as shocked as I am because Titan manages to land a powerful punch to the side of his face and he is forced to take multiple steps back as he comes back to reality.

“What the fuck just happened?” Emma snorts. “King was winning, and he just stopped fighting.”

“He did?” I ask, completely lost.

“What were you looking at if not the fight?” Xi mocks me.

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