“I love you like a sister, sweetie, but we have reached the ‘tough love’ portion of this whole episode. You were emotionally fragile and said shit you didn’t mean. He went all caveman and didn’t fully listen to your concerns. Both of you were wrong and both of you were right, in different ways, okay? I mean, he sent someone to change the locks on our door, for crying out loud. I let you be angry, then sad, then depressed, and now we are going tonight so you can supporthim, and you can both move past this. I know for a fact he misses you and has been going crazy without you. Jack said so.” She finishes lacing me up, and I can barely breathe.
“Jack? Since when do you talk to Jack?”
Allie gives me a smirk. “Don’t worry about me and Jack. We’re going to be late if we don’t leave right now. And I’m driving that dreamboat you call a tank. Let’s go.”
Taking as deep a breath as I can manage, I glance at myself in the mirror and wonder what Ledger will think of this outfit. My boobs are always impossible to minimize, but tonight they’re their own main event, pushed up higher than I thought possible in this corset. Tight leather pants complete my look. Sighing, I lock the door behind me and follow her to the car.You’ve got this, Sloane. Failure is not an option. Go out there and get your man back.
Parking and walking into the building, I realize this is a different caliber of event than the one I had attended previously. There are at least five times more people here, with security everywhere and professional lighting trained on the main cage. Thank God for Allie, who seems to have been texting Jack, because he comes to get us near the entrance to lead us back to our seats.
He glances at Allie, then at me. “I’m glad you’re here. Ledger has been pretending not to look toward our seats during the fight, but he’s a terrible actor.”
“We’re late?” I ask, horrified that Ledger thinks I’ve abandoned him on the night of his biggest fight of the year. We might not have been speaking, but I know his training regimen has been brutal in the lead-up to tonight.
“Some head of something blah blah insisted on moving up the main card so he could fly out early tonight to be in Europe by morning, made some big charity donation in the fighter’s names, so Ledger agreed to it. They’re in round five now, and I think he’s finally got this guy where he wants him. He’s pretty fucking good, honestly. The best Ledger’s faced since…”
Jack continues, but I’m no longer listening. Ledger,myLedger, is beat to shit in a way I’ve never seen before. Clearly, his opponent, Cameron Lee, is on a totally different level than the fighters I saw Ledger take down with no effort. We lock eyes the way we always do when we’re in a room together, and I see happiness and sadness and relief and love flit across his eyes as mine fill with tears.Holy shit,I hate seeing him like this. I want him out of the cage and back home with me, soaking in the bath and cuddling up in bed…
I’m thinking of ways to convey to Ledger that we need to get the hell out of here when the eye contact that means so much to me costs him. A heavy blow lands on his cheekbone, and I scream.
Jack pulls me into my front-row seat. “Sit, Sloane. He’s happy to see you, but he needs to get his head out of his ass. Sit and watch. That’s the best way you can help him right now.”
I know he’s right, but I feel like I’m going to throw up and die from the adrenaline coursing through my body right now. Lee lands blow after blow, forcing Ledger into the far side of the cage, then gets him in some sort of headlock, where he can’t move at all.
Clearly, it was a mistake to be here. All I’m doing is distracting him. I’m getting ready to stand again and bolt out when Jack puts a hand on my arm.
“Stay. He’s going to need you after this either way.”
I sit back down in time to see Lee saying something into Ledger’s ear. Whatever it is transforms him. He lashes out, slamming his head back into the other man’s nose and breaking free from his grip. He’s turned the tables, pushing back our way and raining down blows on the other man. It’s obvious this fight is over, but technically, he’s still on his feet, so Ledger doesn’t stop. It’s vicious, and I wince as I see teeth go flying. His nose is now basically a diagonal instead of a straight line, and he’s barely even got his hands up anymore to defend himself. Ledger hits at his ribs, and they’re close enough now that I hear cracks from the force. As Lee sways on his feet, Ledger makes the briefest eye contact with me, and…that’snotmyLedger. I’ve only ever seen that look in the movies—when a man is out for blood and vengeance, and he doesn’t care who he hurts to get it.Holy fuck.I assumed that actors exaggerated, but…I’ve never seen anything like Ledger at this moment. He’s covered in blood, bruised, and has to be exhausted, but he’s standing tall, as if he could take on an army of Lees and win.
After a moment that feels like it lasts an eternity, he sends Lee to the floor with one more punishing punch. He’s out cold, and medical staff immediately approach to tend to him.The referee briefly lifts Ledger’s arm above his head in victory. The crowd is in pandemonium at this point, but it doesn’t matter. His fiery gaze is locked on mine, and people are smart enough to part for him as he exits the cage and comes straight for me. I don’t have a chance to even say hi or congrats or whatever you say to your Viking warrior of a man after he’s won a bloody fight before I’m unceremoniously picked up and thrown over Ledger’s shoulder.
He walks down a dimly lit hallway before opening a door with a code and shutting it behind us. He gently puts me down on the far side of the room, then immediately takes two large steps back, standing with his hands on his hips and his chest heaving. His gaze remains on the floor in front of him, not on me. As I glance around, it looks like we’re in a locker room. There are lockers, an open door to a small bathroom area, a fridge, a narrow dining table, and a couch…maybe this is for championship participants. At least it seems clean.
I’m trying to decide what I’m going to say to break the silence when he beats me to it.
“You need to leave.”
He’s still heaving, breathing heavier than when we entered, and the hands that were on his hips are now clenched into fists at his sides. I can’t tell if his nails are drawing more blood from his palms or if the blood was already there. “You need to leave. Now, Sloane.”
Usually in a confrontation like this, my first emotion would be hurt, and I would sadly capitulate to whatever the other person wanted just to remove myself from the situation. But something in me snaps. I love this man, I’m a grown woman, and I’msodoneletting anyone tell me what to do, even Ledger.
“Fuck. Off,” I snarl as his gaze finally snaps to mine. His stormy gray eyes are blown black as he zeros in on me. He’s opening his mouth to say something else when I stop him with a hand in the air. “I said fuck off. I don’t want to hear it. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care about our fight. We can figure all that out later. But you just got the shit beat out of you, then beat the ever-loving fuck out of that guy, and my place is here with you. I’m not. Fucking. Leaving.”
We stand locked in a staring match for what feels like forever before Ledger takes a few slow steps, stopping just short of touching me. I look up into his eyes and see him struggling with himself. He looks awful, like he hasn’t been sleeping or taking care of himself beyond the bare necessities to get ready for the fight. I’m going to beg him to come home with me and soak in a tub, but I don’t get the chance.
My beautiful, bloody warrior bends down, wincing, and kneels at my feet, hands unclenched and resting lightly on the backs of my thighs. He’s shaking as he leans forward and puts his forehead against my lower stomach.
I run a hand gently through his hair and press a kiss to the top of his head.
“Angel, you have to go.”
“I already told you…” I sigh, ready to try my best to overpower him and get him to the car.
“No, Sloane.” He pulls his head back and stares up at me, with a crueler glint in his eyes than a moment ago. “I am beyond fucking happy to see you. You have no idea. I love you, endlessly. And I want you. But if you stay in this room right now, I’m gonna fuck you, baby. Hard. And I really, really don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from hurting you.”
I release a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “Ledger, you would never—”
“Yes, I would.” He interrupts. “I would hurt you. Iwantto.” He tightens his grip on the backs of my thighs, and I suck in a breath. “I want to punish you for leaving me alone these fucking awful days, for making me miss you, for not giving me a chance to apologize for being wrong in our fight, and for being burrowed so damn deep in my heart that I don’t get a goddamn moment of peace when you’re not with me. I want to make you scream my name so that every single person in this building knows exactly what I’m doing to you. I want you walking out of here covered in hickeys and bruises from my grip so that anybody who didn’t hear can see that you’re mine. I can’t decide if I’m mad enough to not let you come, or to make you come until it fucking hurts. So please. Leave before I hurt you.”
