Page 102

“Want me to put you back in your chair?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the point in your argument?” I teased, placing my hands on her butt to pull her closer. “I hope all the women here see you on my lap and know they don’t stand a chance.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning close to rest her forehead against mine, hiding us in my hood. “I like that you don’t want anyone else.”

“You have no idea how much I fucking love you, Lou,” I whispered, tightening my hold on her. “Having you on my lap makes me stupidly happy.”

She giggled, leaning back to meet my gaze. “You make me happy too, even if I don’t know what these feelings mean.”

“Just promise me you won’t run if you get scared. You’ll tell me?” I asked, not hiding the vulnerable tone in my voice. “I couldn’t take that.”

“I promise.”

Luna

I winced and leaned into Riley’s side as we watched Maddox and Zane fight, bile sitting in my throat as Zane landed a solid hit to Maddox’s eyebrow, splitting it and causing blood to spatter on the second hit.

Riley’s arm went around my shoulders, but her eyes were glued to the fighting cage. I honestly didn’t understand how anyone liked watching people beat each other up.

We were standing closer to the cage than where we had been sitting earlier, and I could smell the blood in the air from the previous fights. They’d been brutal, and I was sure Skeeter had killed his opponent. Riley assured me the guy was fine, but he didn’t look like it.

I tensed as Beckett materialized beside Riley, her voice low. “I actually think Evans might have this fight.”

Riley didn’t look at her, but she sighed. “Yeah. Maddox needs to get his head in the game. What’s his problem? I’ve never seen him so unfocused in the cage.”

“Him and Jett had a fight earlier.”

“What about?”

Beckett snorted, annoyance on her face. “Laundry. It was Jett’s turn, but he didn’t do it because he was too busy gaming with Cruz and Drake.”

Riley finally turned to her, not letting go of me as disbelief filled her tone. “They got in a fight because Jett didn’t wash some clothes?”

“Yes,” she grunted, her eyes running over me before her lips quirked into a grin. “You look ill. Why do you keep coming to watch if it makes you sick?”

“Because it’s important to Riley,” I said without hesitation. “And I like spending time with her.”

Riley frowned, holding my gaze. “If you really don’t like it here, you don’t have to come along. I can always grab you on my way home and hang out.”

“No, it’s okay. I like being able to support Beckett and Maddox,” I reassured her before jumping as there was a loud thud over the music.

We turned our attention back to the cage, finding Maddox on top of Zane as he slammed his fists into his ribs.

“Get him, babe!” Beckett screamed, moving away from us to get closer. “Show him he’s your bitch!”

Riley chuckled, wincing as Zane somehow bucked him off and landed a fist on his nose, definitely breaking it. “This is going to be nasty by the time they’re done.”

They were going hit for hit, the pair of them covered in blood, and it wasn’t until Slash stormed past us while cursing that we knew it was over. They were going to kill each other if it wasn’t stopped.

It was labeled a tie, and they had to call a break to clean the cage before letting Beckett and Grim fight. The blood was everywhere, and I fought a gag as both guys walked past, actually laughing at each other as they accepted small towels from Beckett to try and stop the bleeding.

“You two are ridiculous,” she said as if she were bored but there was amusement in her eyes. Maddox shrugged, cringing as he pressed the towel to his nose.

“It was going well until it wasn’t.”

Zane scoffed, pulling the towel from his face to give him a dirty look, his eye already swelling under the blood. “You didn’t stand a chance, idiot. You were distracted as fuck in there.”