Page 4

Chapter

Four

BONES

A rms wrapped around my waist and tugged me back.

For a second, I was floating.

The next, I was face down on the mat, my nose pulsing in pain.

River, that fucker.

This was supposed to be a simple scrimmage—something to send the Circuit to showcase our abilities—but apparently, River wasn’t too happy about his loss at Heathens Hollow.

And he was clearly trying to get his revenge.

I kicked out from under him, rolled over and sent an elbow into his side. His grunt was extremely close to my ear. So was his follow-up chuckle, and that sent goosebumps down my arms. I rolled to my knees and pushed to my feet, gloves in front of my face. River followed suit, tapping his gloves against mine like he was restarting the match.

Like we hadn’t been sparring for the past five damn minutes.

Duck, jab, punch, block, juke. Over and over we danced around Smiley’s ring. I got in one hit. River got in two. He kicked me once, so I kicked him twice. The entire time, he had a smirk on his angular face like kicking my ass was the most fun thing he’d done all week.

I sent a punch straight for that damn sexy smirk, but River grabbed my arm and flipped me. His hard body pressed me down against the mat, my arm locked in his legs. Every time I tried to move, he jerked harder on my arm so that pain shot up my shoulder. I tried to roll away, but he had me pinned beneath slabs of abs and muscle.

As I was about to tap out, a shrill whistle cut through the air.

“Enough. Don’t break his arm, you dumb fuck.” Frankie slipped through the ring’s ropes, his frown so big, it could probably be seen through space.

River climbed off me. That smirk was still on his face when he held out a hand to help me up. “Sorry, Bones. You good?”

More like humiliated. Annoyed. Angry. Stupidly turned on . You named it, I felt it.

I took his hand and hopped to my feet. “Can’t feel my shoulder, but what can you do?”

“I swear to fuck, if you get hurt even before we apply…” Frankie glared at River. “I told you to take it easy.”

He shrugged as he re-tied his long black hair back into a bun. “That was me taking it easy.”

“And it was absolutely perfect!” Ari slipped into the ring next, Lotto close behind. They held their phones close to their chests. “We have such good footage. There’s no way we’re not getting picked.”

“I do my best to impress.” River winked at Ari.

She rolled her eyes and threw the towel slung over her shoulder at him. “Save it, Casanova.”

“That’s a compliment, you know.”

I frowned at River. So not only was he pushing into my gym, he was pushing onto my girl, too? Annoyance pricked at my veins. Too bad arousal did, too. River was built like a damn statue. His cut muscles gleamed with sweat. His shorts were so tight, the outline of his cock pressed against the fabric. When he caught my eye, his lips slid into an all-knowing grin.

I tore myself away, shifting so my cock stopped throbbing. I was just wound up, that was all. The past few days had me on edge.

“We’ll edit this and send in our application by tonight.” Lotto clicked a few times on his phone then turned to Frankie. “Did you get in touch with Venom?”

“Venom?” River raised an eyebrow. “What do you need him for? He’s been out of the scene for years now.”

“But he spends a shit ton of underground bets,” Frankie explained. “Knows the best odds.”

“So?” Ari asked.

“So the odds are saying we’re not the only ones from the underground trying out for the Circuit. So are Pulp, Firebrand, and Evac.”

“Fuck.” I ran a hand over my jaw. Those were the best of the best. Damn legends in the ring and the scene. Brock “Firebrand” Turner was a fat-necked bastard with a penchant for curb stomping his opponents long after the bell rang.

“And Venom says Smite and Ka-yo are teaming up.”

Lotto’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “But I heard Smite and Meteor were teaming up under Beatbox Fitness.”

“If those three are on the same team, we’re fucked.” River slung the towel around his neck. “Smite is the only one who’s beaten me twice.”

Frankie’s lips twisted. “And he’s also one solid hit away from being the main star of Looney Tunes. Not something the Circuit will be looking for. Trust me.”

The mood in the room shifted immediately. Frankie wouldn’t want to sit out something as big as the Circuit. If it were me, I’d do a whole host of dumb shit to bring my team to glory. Hell, I almost did it with Nero all those months ago. But for Frankie, that dumb shit stopped just short of losing his life. That wasn’t worth a paid trip to Vegas and possible continued sponsorships.

“Oh, fuck off, guys,” Frankie said when the silence stretched too long. “It was just a comment.”

“And Heathens Hollow is just an underground ring,” Lotto quipped.

“Actually, about that.” We turned to River, who took off his gloves and threw them aside. “Troy’s been bugging the shit out of me. I assume it’s the same for you guys.”

“Unfortunately,” Ari confirmed. “I got another voicemail this morning. He isn’t too pleased with how long we’re taking.”

“Well, he can fucking wait.” Frankie motioned to Ari and Lotto. “Edit the videos. You two.” He pointed to us next. “Shower off. I’ll go talk with Venom again and see if the Beatbox is legit or not. If it is, Teo might not be enough.”

River snorted. “But I like him. Reminds me of a chihuahua.”

“And he’s as yappy as one, too. Now get going. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

We broke to do our own things. I followed River to the locker room, stripped down, and threw aside my sweaty shorts. When I turned to the showers, River was already walking off. His ass was as toned as the rest of him. I had to force my eyes up as I went in after him.

He turned on one of the showers and slipped beneath the stream. Water clung to his body and slid down the lines of his abs and V-line. I stood under the showerhead next to him, scrubbing at my face. The cold water did little to calm the fire threatening to swallow me.

“Thanks for the spar,” River said.

When I stepped away from my shower and opened my eyes, River’s ocean gaze pierced me to the core. Steam from his shower danced around his head, but I saw his smirk clearly. And that damn sexy smirk told me he’d noticed my eyes drifting a little too low.

“For the WCC.” I turned my shower even colder to fight off the thrum in my body.

“Either way.” River slipped closer and lifted a hand to test the temperature of my shower. “Do you always take ice-cold showers after fights, Bones?”

Shit. He was toying with me. The tilt to his playful question proved that. I swallowed and tried to shrug as nonchalantly as possible.

“When I get my ass kicked by a beefcake, sure.”

“Beefcake, huh?” His laugh bounced off the tiled walls, and he stepped closer, his long black hair clinging to his wet shoulders. “I take that as a compliment.”

He was so close I felt the deep rumble of his chuckle against my side. Fuck, I needed to get my head on straight. But when River ran a hand down his abs, my traitor eyes followed. His dick was already half-hard and twitched when his hand ghosted over it.

My mouth went dry. His cock was long and thick in all the right places. My body throbbed; I had to turn to the side slightly, so he didn’t see the beginning of my erection.

“Whatever,” I said.

“You know, before joining Perk’s Gym, I’d never really joined a team before. The whole experience kind of taught me something.”

“Am I supposed to care?” The question came out gruffer than I intended. It was hard to keep my mind on anything other than my twitching cock.

But then River slid behind me, his body pressed up against my back. I gasped when his hard length slipped across my ass. I tried to shift away, but his strong arms gripped my hips to keep me close. He forced me against the shower wall with no resistance. I should have pushed him off. Told him to stop. But when his cock slipped into the crack in my ass and he let out a deep groan, that thought flew out the fucking window.

“Teamwork is important, Bones.” His growl pounded into me harder than the stream of water. He reached around and wrapped a hand around my cock and jerked once. “And I need to see if we work well together.”

“Fuck you,” I grunted with absolutely no bite. My hips bucked into his tight grip. He held onto my cock as I started fucking myself into his fist.

“Gladly, if that’s what you want.” He leaned closer and his lips brushed along the tattoo on my shoulder. “But first, I want that cock of yours in my mouth. Oh, and Bones,” he teased, squeezing his hand on my dick so hard, I gasped. “Feel free to fuck my mouth like you’re already fucking my hand.”

I swung around. “You motherfu?—”

River caught my shoulders, pushing me back against the tile. His mouth covered mine before I could finish my sentence. His kiss was as bruising as his fighting style. He pried my lips open with his tongue and immediately took charge, owning my mouth like he’d owned me in the ring. I grunted into the kiss when our dicks touched. River smirked and began grinding our members together, a strong hand on my throat pinning me in place.

When he tried to pull back to breathe, I bit his lip so hard, I could taste blood. He tried to jerk away but I threaded a hand into his hair, keeping him pressed against me. River wasn’t the only one who refused to back down. If he thought he was winning this fight, he had another think coming.

“If you want my cock so bad,” I growled against his lips and forced down his head. “Go ahead. Hopefully your throat’s ready for a beating.”

“As much as my ass is.” His blue eyes swirled with lust. “So I hope you’re a team player.”

My cock throbbed when he bent so easily for me. He gripped my hips and took my length into his mouth in one bob. When the tip of my dick hit the back of his throat, he moaned. The vibrations brought goosebumps to my skin. He rocked slightly but didn’t move.

I looked down and caught his wicked gaze. River lulled his tongue out and gave the only signal I needed.

I grabbed the side of his cheeks and began fucking his mouth. Pleasure surged through me, but something even hotter took over my body: domination. River in the ring was a fucking menace. In this bathroom? He was my fucking bitch. I slammed my cock into his mouth until he was a moaning mess, bracing himself on my thighs to keep from falling back.

His head tipped back slightly. I gripped his hair and forced him back on my dick. Each of his grunts and whimpers vibrated around my length. I could barely hear anything over the pounding of my heart in my ears and the slap of my balls against his chin.

I exploded into his mouth without warning, forcing my cock back against his throat as I came. My body kept jerking long after my release. I stared down at him with bleary eyes as he fought to breathe. Something about seeing him so vulnerable made me feel invincible.

“Don’t swallow,” I demanded and tugged my flaccid cock from his mouth. “Spit it out in front of your knees.”

He did as commanded. My lips pulled into a smirk. “Now fuck your fist and come on top of mine. Fuck up and you won’t get to come again at all.”

River immediately wrapped his hand around his twitching cock. His pace was brutal from the start. When he fucked up into his fist and moaned, I could see every single ripple of his abs. Every single twitch of his thighs. Fuck, he was a handsome man. The small seed of guilt in my stomach was washed away with another wave of lust. We would definitely be doing this again, guilt be damned.

It didn’t take long for River to finish. His head fell back, long hair splayed out on his back. His moans rang in the open shower room. His release splattered all over his hand and cock, joining what was left of mine on the shower floor. For a moment, it was just the sound of his heavy breaths and the still-running water.

Then he laughed, the sound strangely jarring for what the fuck we’d just done.

“Good thing we’re in a shower.” He stood and washed off his soiled hand. “Easy clean-up. Not that one of us needs it.” His wink sent shivers through me.

I didn’t know what to say so I kept quiet. The evidence of our tryst washed down the drain until all that was left was the tingling still in my body.

River turned off the shower and wrung out his wet hair. “I’m looking forward to our continued teamwork, Bones.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder and leaned in. His tone was pure heat when he whispered, “I also look forward to seeing what else you can do.”

He left me standing there like a damn idiot, cock half-hard and practically begging for another show of his fucking team spirit.