Chapter 24

It’s been brutal. I understand why Axel decided to wait until later into the night to bring Peony here. I don’t think she’d have the stomach to sit through the whole event.

The second challenge. One on one bare knuckle fist fighting, without weapons. The winner of each match progresses to the next round of the Hunting Grounds, the loser is eliminated.

So simple, but an effective way to assess the competition.

I was so pissed when Axel sent Zie to pick Odi up instead of me, but I’m glad she didn’t have to watch me fight. Zie, the lucky bastard, was drawn to fight first and his opponent was so fucking green he all but pissed himself as Zie came at him. Zie threw one mean punch and knocked the little baby out clean. My match wasn’t as straightforward. I won, but it wasn’t easy and I’ll be feeling it tomorrow.

I know Axel is spitting feathers that none of us drew any of The Gods to fight, because things in the business world have been getting tense. One of their dealers has been attempting to steal from a supplier and we were forced to politely remind The Gods who actually runs this town. Unfortunately, all warfare is firmly off the tables while we’re competing in the Hunting Grounds because of conflict of interest or some bullshit, so Axel has had to settle for imposing penalties and restrictions on their businesses, all the while hoping he could at least get to beat the shit out of one of them tonight in the name of entertainment.

No such luck though.

At least I don’t have to leave Odi’s side tonight now that my fight is done.

Over the chaos of The Pit, no one would hear the elevator, but I’m watching it like a hawk while all other eyes are on the fight taking place in the ring. I don’t even know how many fights down we are now, nor how many are left to go. All I know is that Axel is going to be one of the last to fight, and the crowd is riled up for that.

My eyes are on them the second the doors slide open and an uncontrollable grin stretches across my face at the sight of them. Odi looks stunning, wearing one of my old hoodies and not a lot else, and Zie looks pissed. Horny and pissed which probably has a lot to do with the bright red lipstick smeared all over his face.

My grin morphs into a smirk as he approaches.

“Fuck off,” he hisses. I chuckle. I didn’t need to say a word.

“Looking good, babygirl,” I say, pulling her in close and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I bury my head into her neck and take a deep breath. “I wondered where that fucking hoodie went.”

She laughs lightly but then asks, “Did you just sniff me?”

“Yeah,” I reply with an unapologetic shrug. “I wanted to check if it really was my hoodie, but all I can smell is your arousal.”

Her jaw drops, but no sound comes out. I give her a wickedly flirtatious grin and Axel joins us before she can respond.

I don’t miss the way her gaze darkens and she drinks in every inch of his exposed, inked skin. My jaw clenches and my shoulder muscles tighten. The dickhead is only wearing long, baggy shorts, even though his match isn’t for a while or so yet. It’s completely unnecessary, though the expression on Odi’s face doesn’t seem to agree with me.

Axel scowls at my arm where it’s still draped around Odi’s shoulders and I give him a smug look in return. He gives Odi a once over, frowns, then turns to Zie.

“I told you to rough her up a bit, not fuck her.”

Zie opens his mouth to speak but Odi cuts him off. “Please, he left his tiny dick in Deathfall two years ago. Along with his balls and his big girl panties. He wouldn’t know how to fuck if a whore gave him an instruction manual.”

Axel stares in astonishment at her. I don’t bother to hide my snort of amusement at her angry retort. I wonder what Zie did to piss her off so badly.

“Why are you bleeding?” Axel’s eyes narrow and I notice the shallow cut on Zie’s forearm, which he sheepishly covers.

“She was armed.”

“Was?”

“I took the knife off her.”

I wink at my girl, fucking proud. Though I honestly expected her to stab Axel first out of all of us. Probably me a close second.

“Did you though?” Odi asks, with more sass than I’ve ever heard from her. She pulls a switchblade from the pocket of my hoodie and waves it in front of Zie’s face. I recognise it as the one from under her pillow. That’s interesting. I wonder if she’s been armed every time she’s interacted with us. More to the point, why is she armed? And did she have that knife before she knew we were at Trinity, or did she get it after?

“You said you didn’t have any more weapons on you!” Zie sputters in protest.

“I don’t,” Odi replies at the same time as Axel hotly demands, “And you just took her word for it? Why didn’t you check her?”

“Actually, I do only have the one blade on me tonight. I just stole it back when you were distracted. You know, when you were tongue fucking me against your dick extension car…against my will, I might add.”

Oh, Odi did not disappoint in bringing the drama tonight.

“Are any of you pricks going to get me a drink and explain why the fuck I’m here?” she snaps.

“Allow me,” I reply, holding out my arm to her. She hesitates, her eyes flicking between Axel and Zie, and then she takes it. I know she’s only done it to piss them off but if she wants to use me to wind both of them up, I am more than willing and ready. I guess I’m the lesser of three evils, in her eyes at least.

We leave the other two staring in our wake as I carefully guide Odi through the crowded space toward the bar on the far side of The Pit. It’s too rammed to keep her on my arm the entire way, but when we can no longer walk two abreast, I push my way through the throng of people, firmly keeping her hand in mine.

When we reach the bar I wordlessly hold up my fingers to order us two rum and cokes when I catch the bartender’s eye. I come here for normal fight nights often enough that the staff all know me, and my tipple of choice. A moment later our drinks are in front of us and Odile takes a sip of hers and grimaces.

“Not a fan of rum and coke?” I ask.

She shrugs, turns around to lean back on the bar with both elbows and glances around. “What is this place?”

“It’s known as The Pit.”

“Fitting, the whole place looks like a damn dive.”

“It’s part of the hotel. The Arcelia Grande. We recently invested in her. She’s currently closed to the public for renovations, but she’ll be up and running soon enough.”

Odi wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Seems to me like there’s a lot of work to be done before this place is ready to function as a hotel. So tell me, what kind of hotel needs an underground fighting ring in its basement?”

“The special kind,” I reply with a wink.

“And you guys own a hotel now?”

“Sort of. We’re more, silent investors on this particular venture,” I explain evasively. “Call it a philanthropic passion project if you like.”

Odi opens her mouth like she wants to ask something else but a massive roar goes up from the crowd, distracting her. A second later the bell goes to signal the end of the fight. Cheers and clapping fill the air. I slide in close to whisper in her ear.

“If you have questions, babygirl, just spit them out. I’m sure we can find a way to trade information together.”

She shivers but doesn’t rise to my teasing bait.

“Do you own any bars or clubs too?” She eventually asks. I grin, knowing she’s referring to Peony’s and Trinity’s.

“One or two.”

“Which ones?”

“I’m sure none that you’ll have heard of. I hear you don’t get off campus much so you mustn’t know the area well at all.”

“And how would you know?”

“You know what Axel’s like. He always has eyes on you.”

“Even this past week?”

“Especially this past week. We were stuck in the city on business the entire time. He wouldn’t leave you alone like that.”

“Oh so he’ll know all about the guy who drugged me then…” she snaps, her face instantly becoming thunderous. “Or did he orchestrate it? Was he hoping I’d pass out again? Does he need to fuck with my birth control some more or did he want to tattoo my ass this time?”

I blink in shock. Whoa the tone of this conversation took an unexpected turn. I grab Odi by the elbow and pull her close. The noise in the bar has reached fever pitch with the commentator announcing Hades as one of the next fighters.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I growl. I know Axel wanted us all to watch The Gods’ fights so that we could take notes on their skills and pitfalls, but this is way more important.

“Let go of me!” Odi cries as I drag her back through the crowd with a lot less care this time. I shove people out of my way, ignoring the shouts and grumbles of protest, and the fearful apologies when they realise who they’re snapping at.

“What’s going on?” Axel asks when I stop and jerk Odi before him. He looks down at her and scowls. “I told you to dress appropriately. It’s baking in here and you’re going to be too hot in that scruffy jumper.”

Only Axel could call a vintage Jimmy Eat World tour hoodie a scruffy jumper. Granted, I wasn’t even alive when that tour took place, but that’s not the point. I fucking love that hoodie and it’s not scruffy.

“Oh, I didn’t know you cared about my welfare,” she spits back, full of sarcasm and venom.

I honestly don’t know what the hell just happened. One minute there was flirty banter, the next Odi’s spitting mad.

Axel steps into her space, his bare chest brushing against the material of her makeshift dress, his nose inches from hers. He speaks too low for me to hear what he’s saying to her, but I see the way Odi pales, before defiance flashes in her eyes and the set of her jaw hardens.

Axel chuckles and runs a finger down her cheek. Odi looks like she wants to bite it off.

“What happened?” Axel asks again, turning to me.

“Fucked if I know. We were talking about her social life this past week and she flipped out on me, claiming you were behind some guy drugging her.”

“Not some guy,” Odi spits, interrupting me. “My flatmate, Rob. He’s a fucking creep.”

“And you think I somehow got this guy to drug you? Why?”

“Who knows why you do anything you do.” She shrugs, but I can tell she’s still hopping mad.

“On the contrary, everything I do is always for a very good reason, little doe. Now tell me exactly what happened with this guy.”

“Nothing.” She huffs in frustration. “But Hector thinks—”

“Who. The. Fuck. Is. Hector?” I grind out.

“He found me last night. He took me home.”

“Some random guy took you home and put his hands on you?”

“I was drugged! He caught me when I passed out. It’s not like we did anything, and besides, Hector isn’t a stranger. I know him.”

“If you were drugged then you don’t know what the fuck he did. He could have been the one to drug you,” I argue.

“Hector wouldn’t do that…unlike some people I know,” she adds on. Axel’s face darkens in annoyance and my lips twitch. She has a point. Prick. But I’m still not happy about this Hector fuck sniffing around. I don’t understand why Axel’s head isn’t exploding right now.

“Axel,” Zie interjects. “Your fight is up next suddenly. Looks like a couple of guys have pulled out. Pussies. Anyway, you need to go get ready.”

Axel gives a frustrated growl and his face flickers in annoyance when he glances at Zie.

“Kaiden, you”re on babysitting duty. Zie—”

“Exfuckingscuse me!” Odi shrieks. “I do not need babysitting!”

“True. You’re The Doe. So I guess it’s more pet sitting…or is it zoo keeping?” Axel smirks. I swear I can see smoke coming from Odi’s ears. “Zie. Find this Rob guy, you never know, he might be here tonight and I can have a little chat with him after my fight. Otherwise, we can pay him a visit in the morning.”

Odi pales as Axel walks away. No doubt she remembers what the outcome of one of Axel’s little chats usually looks like. I don’t know why she’s so concerned though; if this guy did drug her, he deserves a lot worse than a ‘little chat’ with Axel.

Ignoring the dirty look Zie gives me before he leaves, I sling my arm back around Odi’s shoulders and pull her close.

“C’mon babygirl, let’s get near the front and wind Axel up a little.”

“How do you plan on doing that?”

“I’m sure we can incentivise him to win.”

“I’d rather distract him so he loses.”

I chuckle. “You know that’s never going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Remember how Axel always hated to lose?”

“Yeah.” Her lips twitch in a smirk. Probably at the memory of the odd occasion when Axel would fail, and as a result would absolutely lose his shit.

“Well he’s even worse now.” I wink and she laughs, but I’m not actually joking.

He’s damn near insufferable with his need to control everything, but as the only person to ever take a bullet for me, I guess I can tolerate his little quirks. He may have a stone-cold solid lump of rock where his heart should be, but at least it’s in the right place. Who knows, that lump of coal might even turn into a diamond under the right sort of pressure.

“Who’s he fighting anyway?”

“Some cocky little shit. He’s pretty high up in the professional MMA circuit, but like I said, cocky as fuck which will be his downfall. He’s being sponsored by one of our biggest business rivals, so Axel really has something to prove.”

“Who knew the hospitality industry could be so cutthroat?” she replies dryly and I internalise a laugh as I pull her through the crowd towards the ring.

Axel is in his corner, preparing to kick ass by shooting death glares at Harry, who’s acting as the commentator announcing him. We stop once we’ve pushed our way to the very front, standing directly in his line of sight. Odi seems surprised to see her cousin standing up there but she doesn’t comment on it.

In the other corner, Axel’s opponent is getting a last minute pep talk by his trainer, who also happens to be the head enforcer for Axel’s father.

Harry announces the other guy – ironically named The Kid on account of his size – and he hops off his seat and waves to the crowd like he just fucking won already.

“Whoa. You sure Axel can take this guy?” Odi asks, her eyes like saucers as she takes in The Kid’s height, weight and width. He does cut an impressive figure, and he has the stats to back it up, but he’s arrogant. Probably more so than Axel, if such a thing is possible.

“I’d be willing to bet on it, if you’re game?”

“Oh? What do I get if I win?”

“What do you want?”

“Out of this contest?” She smiles sweetly. I shake my head and she sighs. “Fine. If I win, I want you to owe me a favour.”

“What favour?”

“I don’t know yet, but I feel like it would be good to have one in the bank.”

“Deal. So long as it doesn’t involve killing my brothers or getting you out of this contest.”

“So no fucking with Zie or Axel?” she pouts.

“I said no killing. I’ll fuck with them plenty for you.”

Brightening, she nods and grins at me. “So does that mean you’ll happily kill someone else for me?”

“Anyone,” I tell her, deadly serious. Her face falls as she realises how serious I am, and I’m mesmerised as she swallows nervously.

I decide to go easy on her. “But I’m going to win this bet so it doesn’t matter. That said, if you need anyone killing, I’ll do it for free. It gets me hard.” I wink again, loving how easy the banter is between us, even though once again I’m being serious.

“Okay, well let’s pretend you might win. What do you want?”

“I need a date,” I reply without hesitation. “It’s parents’ evening next weekend and the family meal is obligatory for any students whose parents decide to attend. Both Axel and Zie’s families aren’t coming, but my dad is. Just my dad. I could really use you there as a buffer. You know…”

“I’ll do it,” she replies without hesitation. I must do a double take or look as incredulous as I feel because she quickly adds, “If you win. Which isn’t going to happen! Look at the size of that guy!”

“Deal. Now take off that fucking hoodie and show me what you’re really hiding under there.”

She fake gasps and pretends to clutch her invisible pearls in outrage but she can’t maintain the ruse for even a second, her jade eyes twinkling with mischief. She laughs and gives in. “You got me. How did you know?”

“Because as pissed off as this outfit has made Axel, I know you’re packing a bigger punch than that.”

She grins. “Maybe…here, hold this a sec.” She passes me her knife and a tiny little black bag with a wrist strap. I stare at the purse like it’s a bomb. “It won’t bite.” She snorts, and I scowl at her.

Kaiden fucking Kelly, ghost risen from the dead three times, scared of a woman’s purse? I don’t think so.

With great difficulty I force my wrist through the strap and let it dangle with a voilà movement.

“What do you think?”

Peony chuckles while I shove her blade into my pocket. “Cute. But I think red might be your colour, not black.”

Staring at her bright crimson lips, I’m inclined to agree. Before I can pull her to me and smear that lipstick all over both our faces, though, she turns away from me, back to face the ring, and pulls the hoodie over her head in one smooth motion and discards it on the edge of the ring.

Holy. Fucking. Fuck. Shit.

Red is definitely my colour now.

Odi’s scarlet dress is short, figure hugging like a bandage or a second skin, with straps which criss-cross over her shoulders and across her back. It’s a bondage lover’s wet dream. The rest of the rear of the dress is highlighted by a shiny silver zip that runs the length of the dress, right down the centre of her high and fucking mighty ass.

A two-way zip.

I could have some fucking fun with that and my teeth.

A territorial growl rumbles free from my chest and with a firm, bruising grip on her hips, I pull her against me and wrap one strong arm across her chest, locking her in place.

“Babygirl,” I mumble low in her ear. “Did you wear that dress to torture Axel or me?”

She giggles dryly. “Maybe both of you.”

“I see. Well, allow me.”

“What—” She gasps as I adjust my grip on her, sliding my hand into the front of her dress and cupping her breast. “What are you doing?! Someone will see!”

“As dazzling as you are in this dress babygirl, I promise you all eyes are on the fight right now. Axel’s kind of a big deal at these events.”

“But—” I tweak her nipple and it cuts off whatever it was she was about to say as she moans. She shifts back against me to give me better access and her tantalising ass rubs against my crotch.

Odi begins to turn to look at me but I apply pressure to her chest with my forearm. “Stay put, babygirl. Watch the fight. I know you like the view.”

I continue to tease her nipple which has hardened into a little bud, and whenever I get a little rough, she whimpers. The sound shoots straight to my dick, making it twitch and bob against her ass.

Emboldened by her pleasure, I push my luck. With my left hand, I slide it between our bodies, down to the hem of her dress. Normally I would just pull the material up and not give a fuck who saw, but thanks to an incredible feat of fashion engineering, this dress may just let me finger fuck Odi in public without anyone’s knowledge.

My fingers find their target – that shiny silver zip – and wrap around it. Slowly, I slide the zip up over her ass, parting the material. I can’t resist pulling away from Odi slightly to have a peek. A sinfully sexy black lace thong frames the perfect heart shape of her ass and I curse under my breath.

Sliding my hand along her silky thigh, I pull her back into my chest and curl my left arm around her hip. My fingers toy with the edge of her thong while Odi keeps her gaze locked on the fight. I can feel her pulse racing in every inch of skin that I’m touching.

“How’s Axel doing, babygirl?”

“H-he’s win-oh!” I push past the barrier of her underwear, and as expected, find her completely soaked. Her breathing hitches.

“Tut-tut, babygirl. Nice girls like you shouldn’t be getting turned on in public,” I admonish teasingly as I stroke my fingers over her sex.

I almost come in my boxers when she snaps back, “You never said I was nice. You said I was good.”

“Are you gonna be a good girl for me? Are you gonna let me finger you in public? Are you gonna scream for me?”

“If it helps me win this bet.” It’s cute that she’s trying to give me attitude and sass as I part her wet folds and tease her clit. Yeah, baby, act tough all you like, but I know that my strong arms are the only thing keeping you on your feet right now.

“Oh, so you’re only doing this to distract Axel?” Amusement colours my tone.

“Absolutely.”

“Then why are you fucking soaked and bucking against my hand, begging for more?”

“I like the violence.” Somehow I know she’s both lying and telling the gospel truth.

“Let’s see who’s really the winner when you cream all over my fingers. Be sure to time your screams of pleasure just right. We wouldn’t want an audience now, would we?”

I don’t give her time to respond, plunging one thick finger into her eager pussy. She moans but it’s lost on the sound of the crowd roaring as Axel lands a savage blow to The Kid. I nuzzle Odi’s neck and mark her with my teeth. I want to send a clear message to anyone in the room who dares look twice at her tonight. The Doe is taken. To my brothers, the message is this: I had her first.

I grind the heel of my hand against her clit as I slowly fuck her with my finger. She’s just as tight as I remember, but wet enough that I think she could take another.

Holding her tight against me for support, I kick her ankles a fraction wider and with a gasp, she complies, rearranging her stance so she’s balanced. It’s futile because in a couple of minutes her legs will be trembling like jelly, but it’s sweet that she tried.

My second finger pushes in with a little resistance, enough to make her grunt and shake under me.

“You’re so fucking tight, babygirl. I wonder what Axel would say if he could feel you for himself.”

She mewls, and precum starts to leak from the tip of my dick. The fucking symphony of sounds she makes is music to my pulsing cock. I wish I could fuck her right now and unleash a cacophony from her lips.

Instead, I take out my frustrations on her body. I double the efforts of teasing her nipples, twisting and tweaking in time to the frenzied movements of my fingers between her legs. My palm slams against her clit as my teeth sink into her throat and she screams. She’s coiled so tight I know she’s going to explode before the fight is even over.

Odi’s given up even pretending to watch Axel now. Her head’s thrown back against my shoulder and her eyes are closed in pleasure. She’s grinding against my hand, chasing her own relief, her sexy lips parted with every heaving gasp.

“Fuck. Please. Kaiden.”

I’ll never tire of those pleas falling from her lips.

A glance at Axel shows his attention is only half on his fight. Luckily he’s done enough damage to The Kid to have the upper hand so the sight of me wrapped around Odile like a vine isn’t going to get him killed. He knows exactly what’s going on: His jaw looks set to break and he’s as coiled to explode as Odi is.

“Almost there, babygirl. Come for me. Come all over my fingers and ride them like it’s my cock. Show Axel who you belong to while he’s watching and can’t do a damn thing about it.”

Axel unleashes a roar which drowns out Odi’s screams and she clamps down on my fingers with enough force that I have to fight to maintain movement. I slam my palm into her clit once more with enough force to hurt but it just seems to spur her orgasm on as she thrashes in my embrace.

I let her ride me until her orgasm subsides and she slowly comes back to the present. When she’s calm, I remove my fingers and slip her thong and dress back into place. Re-zipping the back of the dress, I make sure she’s decent, just in case, before I spin her back to me. I briefly take in the plunging neckline of the front of the dress before I slam my lips to hers and mark her as mine for all eyes in the room to see if they care to observe.

That dress should have come with a warning, but I’m sending one to everyone else. Back off. The Doe is mine.

In this moment, as she fists her hands in my hair and kisses me back like I’m the air she needs to survive, I’m not convinced that I’d even be willing to share her with my brothers.

Fuck them.

Fuck them all.

I’ve wanted Odile Kemp for as long as I can remember, and ever since having her, that obsession has only grown. Now she seems to want me too, I”m not about to let anyone or anything get in my way.

We break apart as a savage roar from the crowd goes up, and over Odi’s shoulder I can see Axel has his opponent crushed onto the floor and is raining blows down on him like a man possessed. His face is cold, devoid of emotion, but his movements are frenzied and speak volumes: Axel saw our kiss and he’s enraged.

Good.

He looks up suddenly and catches my eye, and I taunt him with a grin. Slowly, I lick my lips. Axel does the same. Unconsciously, I think. Then he leans down to whisper in his opponent’s ear.

A howl of pain rents the air, louder than all of the braying cheers and the chaos of the room. The Kid frantically struggles under Axel, trying to buck him off and free his hands, but it’s no use: Axel has him pinned. He may not look much, but he’s pure steel under those mediocre muscles. Determined motherfucker too.

Axel sits up, blood dripping from his triumphant mouth. The Kid taps out and the bell rings. Wild cheers fill the room and Axel gets to his feet, leaving his opponent on the floor. Harry announces Axel the winner and attempts to raise his arm in victory but Axel socks him in the jaw in warning. More cheers go up. He grins and slips his hand into the pocket of his shorts.

“Ah, I think you broke him.” My tone is dark, tight with need for this incredible woman, but also seriously turned on by the violence playing out in the ring behind her.

“What do you mean?” She frowns as she gazes up at me. Even in her boots she’s tiny and I tower over her. It’s cute how innocent yet sexy she looks as she pouts her shapely lips at me. She’s still trying to catch her breath, and her stunning tits are heaving in the low cut V of her dress. It makes The Doe on her chest look alive, but even that can’t detract from how fucking sensational she looks.

“Well, Axel’s always been good at hiding his inner psycho, but I think this dress just snapped his control.”

I chuckle and ping one of her shoulder straps. It snaps against her skin and she pants, but her eyes darken with desire and she leans into me. Fuck. I need to get her out of here. Too bad the bedrooms upstairs haven’t been renovated yet. We won’t make it far before I have to fuck her against the first flat surface I can find. At the moment that would be the ring, and I don’t want a fucking audience right now.

“A dress did that?” She doesn’t believe me if her incredulous tone is anything to go by.

“What do you think?” I grab her hips and grind her into my dick before spinning her around to watch the fight once more. My straining dick is trying to burrow its way home between her tight ass cheeks.

“Maybe the dress,” I whisper in her ear, my teeth grazing her lobe. “Maybe the kiss. But the point is his opponent is missing an ear.”

“What?!”

“Look.” I point to the opponent who’s got to his feet but is cupping the side of his face where he’s bleeding profusely. “Maybe not the whole ear, but a decent sized chunk, wouldn’t you say?”

I laugh and point to Axel who’s staring, bloody-mouthed at Odi. His eyes are blazing with menacing inky flames. She shudders in my hold but doesn’t cringe away from the sight.

To taunt him even further I bring my hand, still slick with Odi’s cum, up to her mouth. Wordlessly she opens her lips and takes two fingers onto her tongue, cleaning the evidence of our tryst away.

“Good girl,” I whisper. “Axel’s so jealous right now, I bet he can’t even see straight. It’s only a matter of time before his control snaps and he storms over here to claim you.”

She whimpers and sucks me harder.

“I wonder if he’ll let me watch?”

She shudders from head to toe, but I know it’s not from repulsion. No, my babygirl has just had another orgasm, triggered by the filthy words whispered in her ear.

Interesting.

Everything about this girl surprises me.

I just need to decide if that’s a good thing or not.