Right to the kidney.
Tavish threw punch after punch at the bigger man, barely escaping the deadly right hook that had ended lives.
A punch to his temple had him seeing double for a moment.
“Tavish!”Florentia yelled from outside of the ring.“Move!”
He could hear the fear in her voice, and that made him even angrier at the massive man in front of him.
He stepped out of The Butcher’s way, barely avoiding a left uppercut, that would’ve surely knocked him on his arse.Right, left, right, it was always his da’s most deadly combination when he was a boxer feeding his struggling family in Ireland.
They exchanged blow after blow, until the round ended.Tired and in need of a breather, Tavish went to his corner of the ring.Fionn jumped in to be his knee man, and Tavish perched on his brother’s knee.
“That’s one brutal bastard,” Fionn said as Dutch passed Tavish some water.
Florentia stood at the ring, her friend, by her side.“Tavish, once this is over you are not allowed to fight ever again.”
“You’re ordering me around, Princess?”he asked, looking down at her, those green eyes shining and vibrant.
“Get that bastard down!”Dutch shouted, leaning into the ring.“The kidney’s the only way he’ll fall.”
“Aye,” Tavish agreed.
“Florentia!What do you think you’re doing?”a dark-haired woman with a pinched face lined with wrinkles, grabbed Florentia by the arm.“You’re embarrassing yourself, let’s go Primwood is here.”
“Get your hands off me, mother!”she shouted, taking her arm from the woman.
Tavish could admit that the two women looked nothing alike.Where Florentia was beautiful and fierce, her mother was disapproving and stone faced.
“Have you no dignity?Do you really plan to be thisIrishman’s whore?”Florentia’s mother spit at are.
Tavish was prepared to leave the fight, when suddenly, Florentia shocked him.
“Yes, as a matter fact I do, mother, and I’m going to love every second of it,” she said, boldly.“Now do us both a favor and never contact me again.”Florentia turned, officially dismissing her mother.
“You ungrateful little?—”
“That’s enough.You’ve made enough of a scene, we’re leaving,” A gentleman who greatly resembled Florentia said, pulling his wife away.“I’m sorry,” he whispered to his daughter.
She stilled but didn’t respond as she discreetly wiped at her cheek.
The roar of the crowd was near deafening as the bell rang, officially ending Tavish’s rest.It was a hard first round, The Butcher intended on killing him, but that wasn’t going to happen.
Tavish had a loud Irish family to live for, and a woman he was damn certain he’d fallen in love with.
“Bloody fecking hell!”his ma shouted, as she joined Florentia and Lady Woodmere at the ring side.She was dressed in a fancy ballgown, a strange gentleman and lady stood behind her.“I can’t leave you three alone for one bloody moment.”His ma reprimanded his brothers as Tavish walked to the scratch line.
He chuckled at her language, knowing perfectly well where all the O’Brien’s truly learned to curse.
“I’m going to kill you right here in front of your precious duchess, your family and all the knobs that came to see the new duke,” The Butcher snarled at him.
“After I beat you today, if I ever see you a-fecking-gain, I will kill you,” Tavish’s voice was low and deadly.
He would not allow that bastard to ever touch his family again, and the fierce blond standing outside the ring, her green gaze locked on him, was his family.
Right punch to the nose.Left to the jaw.Right to the kidney.Left to the kidney.Punch after punch, round after round, Tavish stood toe to toe with The Butcher, beaten, bloody, but not defeated.The entire fight his family shouted encouragements at him, Florentia’s deep husky voice carrying over them all, giving him strength to continue.
When the sixth round began, Tavish was nearly dead on his feet but he wasn’t going to allow The Butcher to win.Allowing that to happen would be accepting death, and he would not accept it.He had a life to live with his duchess.
