Against the Ropes
Page 105

I try to get around him but he stops me with a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“Jake. Let her through. There’s no need to be cruel.” Amanda finds her voice and Jake turns in her direction. There is so much heat in the look they share, I take an involuntary step back.
“You would know about cruel. You broke up with me over nothing and jumped into bed with someone else so fast it made my head spin. I was just a game to you.”
Amanda sucks in a breath. “It wasn’t like that. You don’t understand.”
Jake steps toward her and takes her chin between his thumb and his index finger. He tilts her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I understand. Perfectly. You don’t respect men. You reel them in, you play with them, and then you throw them away. But I’m not like the others, sugar. It doesn’t work that way with me. When I want a woman, I don’t play around.” His chest heaves and his body trembles. For a second I think—no, hope—he will kiss her, but then he lets her go and steps away.
Amanda sucks in a breath and swallows. “You’re making a mistake.”
Jake folds his arms. “You made the mistake, Amanda. We had something special and you threw it away.”
Her face crumples. “Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”
“I thought you knew.” He runs his hand through his hair. “I thought you felt the same way.”
Someone groans. A body hits the mat. I push past Jake and run toward the ring, using my first aid kit as a battering ram. When I reach the raised platform, I stagger back in relief. The warm-up fighters are just leaving the ring. I’m not too late after all.
Max and the Pulverizer climb into their corners. The crowd cheers. Max’s tattoos gleam in the overhead light. A sweaty Pulverizer glows like a honey-glazed ham.
Amanda comes up beside me, and her eyes widen. “Ohmigod,” she breathes. “He’s a mammoth. They must have just pulled him out of the ice. He’s three times the size of Max. Look at his hands. They’re like bricks.” She lifts an eyebrow. “You know what they say about the size of a man’s hands.”
“Amanda! Do you ever think about anything except sex?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes. I think about debt collectors chasing my best friend, the occasional legal brief, but that’s it.”
“Max is a good fighter. He’ll use brains instead of brawn.”
“Brains aren’t going to save him,” she hisses. “One hit from the Pulverizer and his head will split open like a melon.”
“Amanda!”
“Sorry. It just doesn’t seem like a fair fight.”
The crowd hoots and hollers. I turn back to the ring; Pinkaluscious climbs through the ropes, clad in her trademark pink Lycra. Her horsehair ponytail flaps in the nonexistent breeze. She trots over to Max and throws her arms around him. This time, however, she doesn’t stop at a hug. She presses her mouth to his lips and gives him a deep, long, wet kiss. The crowd heckles. My stomach heaves.
“Maybe I made a mistake.”
“No.” Amanda grabs my arm and holds me fast. “They aren’t together. He still wants you.”
“How could you possibly know that?” My voice rises high enough to attract the attention of the people around us.
“Because he’s looking at you,” she murmurs. “And his heart is in his eyes.”
I glance up. Max is watching me. Like magic, his hard eyes heat and soften. A smile ghosts his lips. In that split second, I know I am forgiven. And I know something else.
I love him.
Obsidian clears out the front row with a low growl, and we take our seats behind the Pulverizer. I drum my fingers on the first aid kit until Amanda smacks my hand to make me stop.
The bell rings. Max and the Pulverizer dance around, feeling each other out. The Pulverizer moves forward with a jab and front kick, and Max comes back with a one-two punch. The Pulverizer staggers back and Max hits him again, this time in the jaw. My stomach clenches but I refuse to take my eyes off the ring.
The Pulverizer shakes his head and charges in with a few more right hooks. Max avoids them easily, but the Pulverizer is unstoppable. He tries to take Max down, but Max evades him and gives him another double punch. He moves in and out so fast it looks like he’s dancing.
“Max…Torment seems to have the edge so far,” I whisper to Obsidian.
“That’s because he’s dominant in boxing. As long as he stays on his feet, he’ll be able to hold his own. But he’ll be in trouble on the mat. The Pulverizer is known for his grapple technique. He used to be a pro wrestler.”
The Pulverizer attacks Max with kicks from his long legs. Max sidesteps them and jabs him in the nose. Blood trickles over the Pulverizer’s lip. The round ends and Max retreats to his corner. Jake, Homicide, and Blade Saw give him water, pat him down, and talk him up.
The bell rings and Max goes on the attack, thudding his knee into the Pulverizer’s solar plexus and then taking him down to the mat.
“That’s a double-leg takedown,” I say to Amanda. She snorts a laugh and shakes her head. “You’ve been hanging out here way too much. I never thought I’d hear you of all people describing fight moves to me.”
“The Pulverizer is going for a guillotine,” Obsidian says.
Sounds scary. I clutch the handle of the first aid kit so hard, my knuckles turn white.
The fighters break apart and grapple on the mat. Obsidian lets out a long, low whistle. “Didn’t slow Torment down. He’s looking for a kimura now.”