Page 203 of Irresistible Rogue

“So sneaky.”

She smiled at me. “I really am. I got you this.” She handed me a small box. It looked suspiciously like a jewelry box. A ring box. “For good luck,” she said softly. “For your fight.”

“Jolie…”

“Please, open it.”

I opened it. Inside was a men’s signet pinky ring. A lot like the one I used to have from the club. But this one didn’t have a black stone or an insignia for Bliss on it. It was all gold, and it had a D engraved into it.

My throat instantly closed up.

What the hell was she doing to me?

“For Daddy,” she said softy.

I blinked at the ring, trying to process.

“Or Dom. Or… dick? Big D? I mean, you can really take your pick,” she teased.

I looked into her eyes. “You can’t give this to me, Jolie. I know where you work. You can’t afford to be buying me a ring—”

“Okay, before you lecture me on this and refuse to take it, I got it for a steal. Danica makes custom jewelry out of vintage pieces. She travels a lot and she’s always combing through antique shops and thrift shops and wherever, to find treasures like this. She let me look through her stuff and she gave me a ridiculous deal on it. It’s an old ring. It was already engraved with the D. When I saw it, I thought of you. It was like, meant to be.”

I cleared my throat. “You don’t need to give this to me.”

“Yes, I do. It was because of me that you lost your membership at Bliss and your ring.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Jolie. I told you that.”

She gazed into my eyes. “I feel like it was, though. If it wasn’t for me—”

“I don’t care that I lost that ring.”

“But I do. I want you to have this one. I know you said it’s more of a Dominant move, giving gifts, so maybe I’m not supposed to. But I wanted to. I want you to wear it for me.” She swallowed, gazing up at me. “It’s for my Dom.”

We stared at each other and something heavy passed between us. Something that weighted me down. Like guilt or shame, but way more visceral. More terrible. More final, like the weight of something dying.

Why the fuck was she giving me a ring when she was leaving in a week?

But because I was a fucking sucker for her, I couldn’t say no.

“Okay,” I said, my voice gravelly. “But I can’t wear it in the fight.”

She took the box gently from my hand and closed it. “Then I’ll just hold onto it for you, until after.”

* * *

The fight was in an empty, out-of-use parking garage that was blocked off with chains. The limo parked on the street outside and we walked in. Lex had met us outside, where we parked, with his buddy, Maddox, and I asked them to walk in with Jolie, keep an eye on her.

I walked in with some of the guys in my training crew, because I didn’t want to be distracted. And Jolie Vola was, at the best of times, an absolute distraction.

When we reached the second level, where the fight was happening, the usual swarm of people greeted me. The rest of my training crew. Some friends, mostly from the gyms I went to. Buddy Black and his crew of dirtbags. And a couple of girls who sold drinks out of coolers for him at inflated prices.

While Buddy’s guys collected bets, both cash and crypto, someone had music playing, loud enough to get the energy going, but not so loud it would be heard from the street.

Obviously, we weren’t supposed to be here.

Anything goes sideways,I’d instructed Lex,get Jolie the fuck out of here.

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