“You want it, sugar. Don’t deny it.”

“I didn’t deny anything,” I retorted. “Double or nothing.”

Rebel's smile spread into a grin, his eyes flashing with interest. I’d just thrown a leg of meat into the lion’s den. “Double it is, Sweet Lips.”

He pressed his fingers against his lips and held them out to me like a promise before backing away into the crowd, off to fight some other hulking specimen.

Double or nothing? Oh fuck, what was I thinking?

Chapter 8

Rebel

Not wasting a moment, I stepped into the cage as Max announced my name to The Underground.

My eyes were on the prize. Charlotte was going to get more than double. She’d get at least quadruple her investment—I’d see to it personally.

My opponent was a guy named Steel. He was a place below me on the leaderboard and a crowd favorite, so everyone was expecting a good show with lots of blood. We were the same height and similar weight, but he was slightly more built. We were a solid match for one another, but this was my first Championship and his third. Steel was classified a veteran in these parts, and I was fresh meat.

“I heard you’re pussy-whipped,” Steel said, trying to work me up with his words.

I smirked. It was all in good fun with that guy, but nothing could touch me tonight. “Not gunna work, asshole.”

“No slacking or showing off for your woman, Rebel,” he shot back. “Give it to me good.”

“And you reckon I’m the one that’s whipped? What’s up your ass?”

He snarled at me, cracking his neck. He was an angry son of a bitch tonight, which meant I had my work cut out for me. That was good enough for me, it meant I’d have a lot of adrenalin to work out with Charlotte later on. Women liked a good show of male domination in this place, and I hoped she was on the same wavelength. If she wasn’t, she’d soon see what all the fuss was about.

A lot of fights were easy in this place, but as the season went on and the weak were weeded out, things became more difficult. I was on top, but I had to work harder for it each time I went into that cage. That meant I took more hits and had to land more.

Max called it, and the fight was on. Steel was fast and landed a few early punches, but I refused to be taken down. We grappled to deadlock and had to be separated to our lines before being pushed back in. The crowd was frustrated and so was I.

I’d promised double or nothing, and I didn’t know if my cock would recover if I didn’t get Charlotte what she wanted. Her challenge had been like waving a red flag in front of an angry bull. An angry, horny as fuck, bull. All I could think about was having her against that wall, being inside her, making her come…

Steel’s fist connected with the side of my head, and I fell against the side of the cage—dazed for a split second—before coming back at him with a roar. My shoulder slammed into his gut, right where it needed to be to knock the wind from the bastard. Fuck, my dick was overriding my ability to fight.

I kept my forward momentum going, driving Steel across the center of the cage, and when I had enough force behind me, I lowered my stance and sent him careening over my shoulder. There was an excited roar from the crowd, and I turned on my heel. Steel was on the ground, gasping for air while trying to push himself back onto his feet. Stubborn prick.

Crowbar had been an easy enough fight, but tonight was working me hard. Steel was a tough contender and had me running in circles, until now. I had a chance to end the fight before he could end me.

I came round back and kicked his weight from underneath him. He’d gotten in some good hooks while I was fantasizing about fucking Charlotte, and I’d have the lump on my skull to prove it tomorrow.

Shoving a knee into his back, I raised a fist for the knockout, the crowd smashing their feet against the bleachers and rattling the cage.

Tap Steel, I thought. Fuckin’ tap.

He struggled underneath me, his pride driving him to what would be a painful end. He left me no choice.

I struck, my fist slamming hard against his head, and he went limp.

KO.

It was part of the scene, but I never liked knockouts. Those were the rules The Underground flew by, few though they were, and I had to abide by them. Fight until someone taps or can no longer continue. Fighter’s code.

Out back, the noise from the arena was muffled, which was heaven for my aching head. It throbbed where Steel had clocked me one, but the headache tablets were already doing their thing. He would be cursing me until the day he died or until he managed to get me back. Fifteen minutes later, he was still out on a stretcher, dead to the fuckin’ world.

Yeah, we all got hurt here, some guys got hurt beyond repair, but we all knew the risks when we signed up. Willing participants only. Still felt bad when I had to punch a guy into darkness.

Splashing water on my face, I gave myself one last look in the mirror before I pulled on a shirt and left the change room to go claim my prize.

Charlotte.

It had been a good win. A really fucking good win.

Stepping out into the hall, my gaze collided with the woman herself. All five-nine, blonde hair, blue eyes, legs up to her armpits, inch of her.

She was standing in the exact same place I’d found her the other night, and it got me to thinking that it wasn’t a coincidence. She was looking for something, but who knew what. A pretty thing like her had to be trouble if it was more than fucking she was after. I wasn’t even sure she wanted that despite her body telling me otherwise. People with motives in this place were a dangerous combination.

I stood behind her, and she jumped, turning to face me with a hand over her heart. She was definitely up to something.

“Again?,” I asked, watching her reaction.

“I was looking for you…” she said, trailing off. “Double or nothing, remember?”

I saw right through her lie, but I still wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She had an agenda, but I wasn’t sure if I was a part of it just yet.

“No runnin’ this time?” I drawled.

She shook her head, her blue eyes never leaving mine. Bold little thing. Seemed to have grown in her overnight.

My gaze dropped to her lips before returning to her baby blues. “Who are you, Charlotte?”

She swallowed hard. “Call me Charlie,” she said. “Nobody calls me Charlotte.”

I edged closer, positioning my body right in front of hers. We were close enough to touch, the air seeming to charge between us…a promise to what was coming. I didn’t make a move, letting the anticipation do all the work.

“Why did you come to The Underground, Charlie?” I let the sound of her name wrap around my tongue and let it wash over her. There was a great deal of power in a name. A great fucking deal.

Her breathing began to quicken. “I wanted something more.”

Raising my hand, I picked up a lock of her hair and twisted it around my finger. It looked like gold. “More?”

“I was unhappy,” she said in a rush.

“Boyfriend treat you bad?” I asked, my gaze rising to meet hers.

She shook her head. “There is no boyfriend.”

If there was, he was a fool for letting her come to a place like this alone. She was a baby fucking lamb in a den of foxes. Best I devour her before they did.

I closed the inch of space between us, my hand burying into her hair, and crashed my mouth against hers. Her lips parted in a gasp, and I curled my tongue around hers, taking. I was in command, and right now, she was mine.