Page 1 of Risky Fight

Prologue- Roark

Five years ago

“Winner by TKO.” The announcer is barely audible over the ripping roar of the fans who are packed to the rafters. I’m in disbelief myself — maybe it was the head shot he landed, but this seems fuzzy and completely unreal to me. The ref is holding my arm up, and the sound is deafening. I can’t see clearly, my left eye is swollen and hurts like a bitch.

I can hear Lou, screaming like the banshee she is from ringside. My girl is my biggest supporter, she is at every fight. My four-leaf-clover, the lucky charm that keeps me winning. Even when I am convinced I can’t.

“That’s my man!” she hollers over the din of the crowd who are slowly settling down for the wait until the next fight. Once the formalities are over, I’m ushered out of the octagon and back down the tunnel to the dressing rooms.

What a fucking night.

The guys who are always in my corner are there waiting to clean me up and celebrate with me. We’ve been waiting for a win like this, a win that will get me a chance at something bigger — a belt. A title fight, that has always been my goal. It feels fucking good to know I beat that guy. I am so close I can taste the title like the copper taste of blood in my mouth.

“You did good, kid.” My old man pats me on the back as the coach unwraps my hands and my best friend starts to ice my face. “You did damn fucking good.” I know he doesn’t love the fact I fight, but this is safer than picking fights outside the octagon. Not in our line of work. He knows if I didn’t do this, I’d get my ass in trouble.

“Roarkie, my boy.” My manager Raymond comes into the room with a shit-eating grin on his face, like he has just won the lottery. “You are a hot commodity now, and we need to have a serious chat. Lad, there’s a promoter out there who has a very generous offer for you.” My dad’s attention is piqued and he turns to face Ray. We’d hope this would get attention from a bigger promoter.

“Yeah,” I mumble a bit, my head hurts and the adrenaline has worn off so I have hit the wall, “what sort of an offer?”

“One with six figures attached to it, but they have some conditions.” I don’t know if I like conditions, I have a hard time following rules. But six figures sounds damn tempting. I might be persuaded.

“What conditions?” I ask cautiously, not wanting to let him see how interested I am until I know what the stakes are. I’m not stupid any offer that good will have a catch. Probably a big one. “I don’t like the sound of that, don’t tempt me with money and then get all full of shit with conditions.”

“They want you to go with them. Tomorrow. That’s first, the money is all above board, the other conditions are about marketing. They have to sell you as the pretty boy you are to keep the screaming chicks in the audience.” I squint at him, “Lou has to go. They’re not having you attached. You have to be single and sexy to sell tickets.” My head says this is a no brainer, I am going. My heart says I love Lou and leaving her was never part of my plan — we planned a future together.

How would I tell her this? I know Lou is not everyone’s cup of whiskey, but she’s my soul mate. We sort of just gravitated to one another and became a couple, it’s natural. I’m not sure I want to do this without her. But, six figures — I could come back and she might even understand it. Who am I kidding? Lou won’t understand, she will rage, cut off my balls and hate me forever. She would gut Raymond for even suggesting this.

“Have you met Lou?” I remind him who my girlfriend is, “she’ll castrate me, and you,” I say. My father frowns. He is not team Lou and never has been. Her brothers are all bad news and she comes from a less than desirable family by his low-low standards. I already know what my answer has to be, I can’t turn this down. My family will never forgive me for chasing a girl over this opportunity.

“Roark,” Raymond says, “you need to think about your future. Most fighters only have few good prime years in them. There’s a clock and it’s ticking.” He is right, I know it but something still isn’t sitting right. “Cut her loose, you’ll find the girl for you once you’re established and they have a marketing machine behind you. Boy, now is not the time to start thinking with your pecker.” I nod, not ever one to waste words.

“No one say a word to her,” I tell them, knowing she’ll be in here soon enough, “nothing. You set it up, and I will deal with Lou. I can leave with them tomorrow, if you give me tonight.” My father gives me an approving look over the top of his dark framed glasses, he knows I am choosing him and my family over Lou. It’s a fight we have had before. It’s my time to shine — I can feel things are falling in place.

“Your old man and I will deal with the admin, you go celebrate you deserve it. If we need you, we’ll call or text,” Raymond says to me but his eyes are on my dad. I know they’re thick as thieves, I am a meal ticket to Ray. My father just wants to be proud of me, and I finally have a shot at giving him that. I get a few more hugs and manly pats on the back before the men behind my fighting career leave, and Lou comes in the like the hurricane she is.

“Hello, sexy fighter bot of mine.” She launches herself at me, kissing me so anyone who might have thought otherwise know I am very much taken. “What a fight, but look at your pretty face. You let him mess it up.” She turns my face, her fingers on my chin and softly kisses the temple beside my swollen eye. Beneath her hard exterior Lou is soft, she loves me in her own strange, sometimes demented, way. “Everyone is already talking about partying at Abby’s after the fights are done,” she says to me, always up for a bit of a good time. My girl isn’t going to miss a chance to show off with the winner.

“That sounds good to me. My Old Man and Raymond are talking to a promoter, but if they don’t need me, we can go celebrate.” She bounces on her feet, the soft curve of her perfect fit body is pressed against my chest and my cock likes the warm friction a little more than I can I hide.

“Hmmm. Is someone excited to get some post-fight action?” she whispers with a wicked little smirk on her face — the no sex before a fight rule always makes this part of fight night one to look forward to. “Later, after Abby’s at my place, I am going to take care of you, make you forget about everything but me.” She rubs her hand down between us teasing my hard cock. Grabbing it suggestively while licking her sweet, glossy lips. “Did you say a promoter?” She finally catches onto what I said, and steps back. “Oh my god, that’s huge! I knew this was going to be your night. I fucking told you so.” She did— she always tells me I am going to do big things. How am I supposed to just leave her here? We wanted a bigger, better life together.

Kids, and white picket fences, all of it. We had spoken about wedding rings and how I’d propose to her — now I have to choose. I know what they mean, I understand it is a business decision, but my heart can’t quite get on the same page as my head.

We watch the last two fights of the night, a ripper of a heavy weight fight and then the title fight and the one everyone was here to watch. My heart thumps an extra beat knowing that’ll be me soon, I will be the draw card fight.I am so fucking ready.Lou sits next to me, and like always, my hand is on her thigh and she screams and calls the ref names.

It won’t be the same without her — but that could be me in there and I want that more than I want Lou. I’m an asshole for even thinking that way, but I can’t change the fact I am hungry for the fame and the fights. I’m not a good guy, I never was and I never will be. I was born and bred into the underworld and there is no way I’ll dig out of that in my lifetime. I accept this who I am — so does Lou.

***

We are among the last to leave Abby’s Pub, and I am in a hurry. Lou has upped her teasing to a level that might get us arrested for public indecency and I am not about to cause a scandal, not when I have a promotion deal on the table. We need to get to her place, so I can take care of the situation in my pants. There’s no way to even hide the raging boner I have.

“You’re the fucking devil, you know,” I whisper in her ear, grabbing a handful of her perfect round ass as we get to my car. “Teasing me like that in public, I should bend you over the bonet and fuck you right here. You little nymph.” Lou giggles and gives me a suggestive look. “But you’d like that, so I think I will just make you wait. A bit of punishment for all the torture I have had all night. What were you thinking in that skirt? It’s like it’s a handkerchief, I can see your ass cheeks when you lift up your arms.” I squeeze a little tighter so she can feel my jealousy. I don’t like it when men look at my Lou, and I especially don’t like it when she makes it impossible for them not to. “You wanted to get into trouble, didn’t you?” I ask, and before she can answer I kiss the cheek out of her filthy mouth. Sliding my tongue over hers, making sure she knows what I have in mind for tonight.

She just nods her head, and when I open the car door for her, she gets in, making sure to flash me, she’s got nothing under that skirt. I get a full view of her perfect pink pussy — and I know it’s dripping wet with the anticipation of the way I am going to fuck her senseless tonight. God, I can’t wait to taste her, to make her scream my name and come so hard she sees the same stars I do when I get hit in the face.

There is nothing sexier than Lou when she is in the throws of an orgasm — I can’t get enough of her, even after all our time as a couple. I drive faster than I should, wanting to make the most of the night with her. The heaviness of knowing it’ll be the last time is tugging at me, but she doesn’t know that. This is goodbye to Lou for now and I want to make sure it’s one we both remember long after I’m gone.

“Get inside,” I hurry her ass along as she takes a minute to find her keys, “so I can teach you a lesson about short skirts.” She looks back at me over her shoulder and there’s a flash of pure sexiness in her eyes as she turns the key in slow motion, purposely pushing my buttons and making me wait. I press my body against her back, I can feel the bruises from the fight starting to set in. “Don’t tempt me to screw your brains out in the hallway, your neighbors might complain.” I slide my hand slowly up the inside of her thigh, dipping under her skirt. Ghosting over the lips of her wet pussy just enough to make her gasp and open the door in a hurry.

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