Jagged Harts, page 5
“You are different,” he murmurs, almost to himself like he is mulling over the thought and didn’t mean to say it out loud.
I give him my best saccharine smile as I nod. “Yeah, I am. But you’re not.”
My smile instantly drops as I push myself up to stand and walk away without another word. I tip back the last of my beer before tossing it into a nearby trashcan as I stumble a bit, making my way through the groups of remaining people, looking for Mckayla. I want to get as far away from Dax Hart as physically possible.
“Hey, darlin’. Whatcha doing?”
I turn around to see Cole standing to the side of me with a group of people that I haven’t seen before. I swear he knows everyone, and if he doesn’t know someone, he is friends with them in like two minutes of meeting them.
“Just looking for Kayla. Have you seen her?”
He smiles and waggles his eyebrows. “Yeah. She went home with Mr. Friend From High School. She asked me to give you a ride when you were ready.”
“Oh okay. Do you mind if we head out soon? I am opening tomorrow, and I still need to finish my lit paper,” I lie easily.
I finished that paper two days ago, but Cole doesn’t know that. He smiles down at me and takes a step closer.
“Not at all. Let’s head out.”
Cole says his goodbyes to everyone before he slips an arm around me as we walk away. While we weave our way through all of the party goers, I can’t help but discreetly look to see if Dax is still here. Sure, enough he is still here, and those hypnotic eyes are tracking me like a predator tracks its prey. His jaw is tight and his face thunderous. Who knows what or who has pissed him off this time?
Not my fucking problem.
CHAPTER
SIX
AUBREY
Since I opened this morning, my shift was shorter than usual. I was able to clock off by 3PM which was nothing short of a miracle with the insane lunch rush we got. I didn’t have anything else planned to do today so I decided to look up some local gyms and see if I could train somewhere close by. It isn’t like I am interested in actually entering fights or anything, though I wouldn’t say no if something came up, I guess. I just want to spar and keep my skills sharp. It is more like therapy for me than a workout. When I go for too long without being in a gym, I feel like I can’t breathe. It gives me the control I crave, the release I need.
I pull up to the gym on second street that Cole told me about. It is strictly an MMA gym where the other ones that I looked up only had MMA classes. Before I left work, I slipped into a workout tank top and my sports bra before I threw on a pair of black spandex. My hair is in a high ponytail, but it is so long that it still swishes against my upper back as I walk up to the front door.
When I step into the gym, the smell of leather and sweat fills my senses. To most it probably isn’t the best of smells, but to me it is home. A safe haven. As I walk towards the front desk, I look around to see several different sections throughout the gym with different heavy bags, speed bags as well as a weightlifting area, some treadmills and a couple of designated sparring mats. All of it surrounds the large octagon that takes center stage in the middle of the gym. My knuckles twitch in anticipation. Okay, maybe I lied. I think I am totally down for a fight today.
A guy in his early 30’s looks up to me from a pile of papers as he stands behind the front desk.
“Hey there. Looking for someone?” He asks with a polite smile.
I barely contain my eyeroll at the fact that he assumes I am just here to see one of their guys instead of wanting to join their gym.
“No. I am looking to join.”
His eyes crinkle a little as he looks at me curiously. “We aren’t a regular gym. This is an MMA facility.”
“I know, I can read,” I say dryly. Their damn sign literally says Glenfield Mixed Martial Arts.
Now his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline.
“Oh, yeah. Of course. Sorry. We don’t normally get many women interested. We offer a few introductory classes if you are wanting to get a feel for things,” he says as he grabs some membership papers and hands them to me. I take a pen and start filling them out immediately.
“I’m good. You got anyone available to spar today?”
“Like I said, we don’t get many women in here. Actually, I think you will be our first.”
I cock a brow at him while I continue filling in the forms. “So?”
“Well, you would have to spar with a guy.”
This fucking guy, I swear. Didn’t we leave this sexist bullshit back in the 20th century?
“That’s fine. Just don’t give me some rook. I want an actual challenge.”
“I don’t think you know what you are asking for,” a familiar voice calls out from behind me.
My body tenses in recognition before I turn around to face him. Dax is standing a few feet away from me with his arms crossed over his chest and a dubious look on his face as his eyes rake over me like I am less than satisfactory.
“You following me or something, short stuff?” Dax asks as several of his buddies surround us. I recognize sandy boy from the diner and their other friend with the dark hair. He looks bored while all the others have smug smiles on their faces. Let me repeat, the dark-haired guy is my favorite of their group by far.
I snort and shake my head as I push my completed papers to the receptionist dude.
“Short stuff? How fucking original. And no, I’m not. This may come as a shock to your delicate ego, but the world doesn’t revolve around you. I came to train and to fight. So, why don’t you get the fuck out of my face.”
“Ohhh, she sure has a mouth on her. I got something to keep that mouth busy, baby,” sandy boy winks as he grabs his junk.
Without hesitation I take a healthy step forward, angle my body just right and throw every ounce of muscle I have into one solid right hook. I connect perfectly with his jaw and the piece of shit drops like a sack of potatoes as he goes out like a light.
Good. Maybe the prick will learn a lesson in respecting women from now on.
The room is silent for a moment as I take a step back, rolling my shoulders out as I casually glance around like I didn’t just drop a dude nearly twice my size. All the guys around us are flicking their gazes from their knocked-out buddy to me. Some looks are shocked, some are pissed off and I notice that by the look on Dax and the dark-haired guy’s face they seem impressed, though Dax makes quick work of masking his appreciation.
“What the fuck is going on out here?” A man who looks to be in his 50’s calls out as he comes from a back office.
Before I can open my mouth to defend myself, Dax cuts me off.
“Chase was talking shit to our newest member. She delivered a fucking brutal hook right to the button. He is gonna have a hell of a headache when he wakes up.”
The man, who I am assuming is the owner, looks over to me with equal parts fascination and irritation.
“Because you are new, I will let it slide. But everyone knows the rules, no fighting on the concrete,” he says as he gestures towards the ground. “You fight on the mats. I don’t need someone cracking their head open and making a damn mess.”
“Yes, sir,” I say respectfully.
He nods seemingly pacified. “What’s your name?”
“Aubrey Davis.”
“Cameron Smith,” he says as he holds out his hand. I shake it and nod to him in greeting. “What are you looking to get out of coming here? Clearly you know how to throw a punch.”
“I just want to train. Maybe spar occasionally. Make sure that I keep in shape and don’t get rusty.”
Cameron nods. “Alright. Well let’s see what you got when you don’t have the element of surprise on your side. I am sure Josh already told you that we don’t have any other women that are members so you will have to be okay with sparring against men.”
“More than okay.”
He smirks a little before he nods. “Alright. Cane, you up for a fight?” He asks a guy that can’t weigh more than 140lbs.
Granted, he is probably the only one that is even remotely close to my weight class, but the dude is stick thin with hardly any muscle to him. It will be over before we even start.
“No offence, but I would like more of a challenge,” I cut in.
The Cane guy doesn’t seem offended at all, he almost looks relieved. Maybe he realizes that I would have whooped his ass and is glad that I don’t have to embarrass him in front of all of us buddies. Cameron opens his mouth to say something before Dax interrupts.
“Think you can take me on, short stuff?” He asks with a challenging look in his eyes.
This is probably dumb. Not only does he have well over eight inches on me as well as probably 100lbs of muscle, but he is a skilled fighter, brutal from what I hear. This wouldn’t be an easy fight, not even close. Then again, I never could say no to a challenge.
I give him a short nod as I roll out my shoulders again. Dax looks at me through narrowed eyes for a second before he turns and quickly strips off his shirt, only leaving him in his workout shorts before he jumps into the octagon and starts strapping on his gloves. Ink catches my attention instantly. Dax’s body is covered. I knew that he had some from what was peeking out at the clay banks, but I didn’t realize that he had so much. His entire back has black wings stretched across it, making him look like some avenging angel. Like an Angel of Death. I guess I know where the nickname comes from now.
The familiar dark-haired guy tosses me a pair of gloves and I catch them quickly just before they hit me in the face.
“These should fit,” he says as he walks up to me.
“Thanks,” I nod.
“You know, that might not have been a smart thing to do, getting on Chase’s shit list. He has been known to hold a bit of a grudge.”
I peek over his shoulder to see a now conscious Chase holding an icepack to his jaw as he glares at me from across the room. I shrug unaffected as I start slipping on the gloves.
“I am not worried about it. Besides, I never claimed to be smart.”
The guy smirks. “No, I guess not. I am Blake.”
I give him a tight smile and a quick nod. “Aubrey.”
He gives me a kind smile before glancing over his shoulder and taking a step closer to me as he bends his head down next to my ear.
“Watch Dax’s feet. He always takes a step before he punches.”
Keeping my face trained in a neutral expression, I give him a nod as he claps me on the back before he walks away to stand with the others. I do some light stretching to loosen up my muscles since I really wasn’t expecting to spar after only 10 minutes of being in the gym. I glance around the room to see that it is quickly filling up. I swear there wasn’t this many people in the gym when I first showed up. Looks like we are drawing quite the crowd.
“Got to say, I think we deserve a cut of the admission to the show, Cameron,” I call out.
He looks around as every person in the building is now circled around the octagon. Chuckling he rubs his jaw and nods.
“We’ll talk about it.”
Dax regards me respectfully from across the cage. He isn’t talking shit like most would. He isn’t demeaning me because I am a woman. Sure, he called me short stuff, so I owe him a few hits for that bullshit alone, but I am surprised that that is all he has thrown at me so far.
“Tap out and I will back off immediately. I don’t want to hurt you,” he says seriously.
I give him an amused look and my lips kick up slightly. “I can’t promise the same.”
Dax’s eyes spark to life with some type of emotion that I don’t have time to name as he watches me carefully. I pop my mouth guard in while he does the same before I walk to the middle and get into position. I hear Cameron yell fight in the background and my adrenaline skyrockets. I wait for Dax’s initial strike, but it doesn’t come. He is waiting for me to make the first move.
Knowing that I can’t catch him off guard like I did with Chase, I decide to test the waters a little bit. His reach far exceeds mine so I know that I will have to work around that. He may be stronger with a larger reach, but I am quick. I throw a few lack luster punches that he easily blocks, but that’s alright. It’s all about assessing your opponent and thanks to Blake’s little insider tip, I know what I need to win.
I throw a left jab to his torso and just as he twists to block it, he opens himself up perfectly for me on his right. As quick as I can manage, I bring my leg up and deliver a hard kick to his ribs. He jumps back and grunts in pain before his eyes widen in surprise. I see recognition flash across his face, like he finally understands that I am not some silly little girl trying to play with the big boys, but an opponent. Being the condensing bitch that I am, I crook my finger in a come hither motion before giving him a cocky smirk.
He effortlessly makes his way to me and finally starts throwing some jabs and hooks. I dodge them all as my eyes frequently flick down to watch Dax’s feet. If I wasn’t watching as intently as I am, I don’t think that I would stand much of a chance, honestly. He swings a lot faster than the guy’s back home do. Cole said that he was a big deal around here, I see why. His form is excellent and if he were actually trying to fight me, which I know he is not right now, then his blows would be pretty damn devastating.
I notice that he hasn’t gone for a face shot yet. I am not sure if that is just not done during sparring in this gym, or if that is special treatment on my account. Either way, I am not interested in being treated like a China doll.
Taking a step forward, I open myself up on my left side, knowing that it will be all too tempting for him to send a hit there. Predictably, he does and while he is busy hitting my side with a good amount of strength, I wind my right arm back to connect with his jaw, just like I did with Chase. Unlike his little shit of a friend, Dax doesn’t drop, though he does flinch and stumble backwards a few steps before he rights himself. I see him working his jaw slightly as he shakes his head.
Don’t worry, I didn’t break it, sweetheart. Not that I couldn’t have if I really wanted to.
Finally, Dax seems to be over the little cat and mouse game we have going. He holds his arms a little wider as he advances on me and I already recognize what he is trying to do, he is trying to take this to the floor. He is at least twice my size and if he gets me to the ground, it is as good as over.
I am a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which translates to me to being a badass and since BJJ is mostly grappling techniques, usually I wouldn’t be too concerned about being taken down. I am so much smaller than my usual opponents that I can typically wiggle myself out of people’s holds easy enough. I have a gut feeling though that tells me if Dax gets me on the ground, I won’t be getting up until he decides that I can.
He takes another large step until he is only a few feet from me. I toss an aimless blow as I back up to try to keep him out of arms reach, but he easily takes the hit and grabs me. I send a few direct jabs to his ribs. Each one earns me a feral grown that rumbles up from his chest. I don’t want to admit that the sound was probably the hottest thing that I have ever heard, so I push that thought away and contemplate how I can knock this fucker out.
Driving his right leg in between mine, he hits his knee against mine before expertly twisting our bodies so that I am off balance and fall to the ground. Being the cocky fucker that he is, he thinks that just because I am on the ground that I am going to call it quits, but he really doesn’t know me. While he is leaning over me, seemingly waiting to see if I am going to give up or not, I bat my eyes seductively and watch as his body relaxes just slightly and leans in just a little bit closer. Fucking idiot.
I quickly wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down into me. In the same moment, I twist around so that my leg has his right bicep locked down tight and my foot is pushing his face away. The move is called Omoplata, one of my favorites.
I can feel Dax begin to panic as he starts to struggle while I put more and more pressure on his arm. He tries to get out of it, but I am bearing down and putting everything I have into this move. I am channeling everything that I possibly can into this one moment. I am only maybe an inch or two away from breaking his arm, but the stubborn ass is refusing to tap out. Oh well, hope he isn’t right-handed.
Just before I can finish him off, I hear Cameron shout out to us. “That’s enough!” I look up around Dax’s body to see Cameron standing right next to us on the other side of the cage, his face carefully neutral. “You guys are done.”
Rolling my eyes, I scoff as I untwist myself from Dax and effortlessly stand up. Dax scrambles up to his feet as he shoots me an irritated glare. He isn’t able to hold it for long though. I see a small amount of humble admiration shine through the cracks of his façade. I give him a knowing but respectful smirk as we move to the edge of the cage.
“Do you know what you just did?” Cameron asks me gruffly.
I look between him and Dax before my eyes skate over all of the guys in the gym. Everyone is looking at me with shocked expressions except for Chase who looks like he wishes I would just drop dead, and Blake who is giving me a thumbs up as he grins from ear to ear.
“Almost broke his arm because he was too damn stubborn to admit that he had been beaten by a girl.”
Dax scoffs but his mask slips further, and he actually smiles. It is one of those barely there smiles, but it is a smile, nonetheless. It hits me then that I don’t think I have yet to see him smile since we met. It’s a shame because it is a sinfully sexy smile.
Fuck, shit. No. Not going there.
“You almost broke the arm of my undefeated Friday night fighter,” Cameron says as his stoic expression turns to an amazed smile.
I let out a dry laugh and lightly shake my head. “Damn, I guess you guys need some new competition then if a girl can come out of nowhere and get him into a position like that.”
