Page 133 of Conquered

“Is this really necessary?” I ask his retreating back. It is a gorgeous back.Sigh. He turns around, narrows his eyes at me, growls and then stalks off.Possessive bastard!

Accepting defeat, I pull my arms through the armholes, tying a knot in one side, so that at least it’s a little bit out of my way. I select the music, pop the earbuds in, and make my way over to the mats in front of the mirrors.

For a time, I just lose myself in my practice. I love the flow, and synchronising my movements with breath. The burn of the stretch, and the shake of pranafeeling so good. I’m winding down, my eyes closed as I breathe deeply, when I feel a warmth before me, smelling woods after the rain and fresh sweat. My lips lift up in a smile as I open my lids, to find honey brown eyes smiling back at me.

Taking my earbuds out, the sounds of the gym come rushing back in; the hissing out of breath as guys hit the punch bags, thebell that sounds every three minutes. Leaning over, I place my lips against Kai’s, surprising him.

All of a sudden, his hand comes up to grip my hair as he deepens the kiss, his tongue exploring mine. Sparks fly between us as I get lost in the feel of him, my hands running over his sweaty arms as his tongue destroys me in the best possible way. I hear catcalls and whistles when we finally break apart, both of us panting and blushing at the attention.

Of course, Loki’s voice is the loudest. “Come on, love birds!” he shouts, and I look over to see Jax getting ready to go into the ring.

My gaze returns to Kai’s, his pupils blown and nearly swallowing his irises.

“What’s going on?” I question him.

He takes a deep breath. “Jax is going to spar, and it’s a sight not to be missed,” he replies, getting up from his crouch and holding out his hand to help me up from the floor. I can’t help but notice that he adjusts himself, trying and failing to be discreet about it.

We walk over hand in hand to where Loki and Jax are, and I hearBelieverby Imagine Dragons start to play in the background.

“I think the big guy deserves a good luck kiss don’t you, Pretty Girl?” Loki teases, a shit eating grin on his angel face.

I turn to Jax more than happy to oblige. Before I can take a step, however, he grabs the front of my throat and pulls me to him, slamming his lips to mine and demanding entry with his tongue. I open to him, matching him stroke for stroke, and as he begins to pull away, I bite his bottom lip hard, tasting copper and earning a low rumble from his throat which does all sorts of things to Her Vagisty.

I was never the best at playing sub.

His eyes are like blue fire as he steps away, a drop of blood dripping down his chin, and a promise of retribution in his gaze, which I am one hundred percent behind.

“That was hot as fuck, Pretty Girl,” Loki purrs in my ear, pulling me close for a searing kiss.

“Your girl fuck anyone, Jax? Does she charge?” I hear a voice sneer from the direction of the ring.

I break the kiss snarling, intending to rip this arsehole a new one, but I see Jax stepping into the ring, practically charging the other guy in there.

“Oh shit!” I hear Loki say as Jax aims a brutal high kick to the guy's head.

The shitstain’s head snaps to the side, the crack audible, but he keeps his feet. Jax doesn't even pause, landing punch after punch on his opponent's torso. The dull thuds of fists hitting flesh, sound like the noise of the tanks firing near my uncle's house in Wiltshire, where he lives on the edge of the Salisbury Plain Army training zone.

The guy manages to land a few punches that just fucking bounce off Jax, not even slowing him down, as Jax kicks him again in the side of the head. My pulse races with excitement, and far from being repulsed by the violence, I can feel my core become slick as I watch.

I hear Enzo's voice as he steps up beside me. “He still juicing, Loki?” he asks, and I hear Loki's sharp inhale.

I tear my gaze from the fight to look at Enzo.

“Juicing?” I ask, thoroughly confused. His eyes soften a little.

“Steroids,cara mia,”he says softly, eyes sad. This time Loki curses, and although I can still hear the sounds of the fight and the song, it’s as if from a distance.

“Steroids?” I repeat, still not quite sure what he’s talking about.

“Si, cara mia. Jax has been taking anabolic steroids since the beginning of the year. Hisfathergives them to him and supplies others at the school through Jax,che padre!” Enzo spits the word father out, and I’m inclined to agree.

I flush with anger, going white hot for a moment.That motherfucking shitbag of an excuse for a father!

Looking back at the fight, I see Jax deliver a final punch, knocking the other guy out cold. He lands with a resounding thud, and before I really think through what I’m doing, I pull myself up into the ring and storm over to a panting Jax.

I vaguely hear Loki and Kai shout out, but I’m so angry that I’m not thinking straight, reaching out to grab his shoulder and force him to face me and my wrath. Only, it backfires slightly as Jax spins around, eyes wild, and clearly not seeing that it’s me as his own hand shoots out, grabbing me by the front of my throat, whilst tackling me to the ground.

All the breath rushes out of me as I land on my back hard, with him on top of me, knees either side of my hips, and his hand wrapped around my neck, squeezing. I can feel blackness starting to creep in around the edges, my hands clawing at his hand until suddenly his eyes clear.