25. Margaux
MARGAUX
C asinos had nothing on this place, even the seedy ones that Reina had only taken me to once. Loud music played while people cheered.
I couldn’t see over hordes of people blocking the view.
“There’s a roped-off area that serves as a ring. It’s basic, but it’s also illegal gambling,” Knox said.
The four of them weren’t letting me out of their sight.
Two next to me and two right behind me. The shirt Knox gave me was huge and worked well as a dress.
Still not what most of the women here were wearing, but I didn’t stand out nearly as much.
It was black like most of the stuff they wore.
Talon’s tie was red though, and I liked the contrast. It made for a decent belt. If only my uncle could see me now.
“You do not get out of our sight. You understand?” Jett said. I looked at him and realized that if he were the one being serious, then the odds were that I should probably listen. I liked the way Jett and Ronan grabbed my hands in theirs.
“I’ll be right back.” Knox walked away. I really liked the way his back muscles flexed as he pushed through the crowd.
“Where is Knox going?”
I lost him in the sea of people.
“To put us on the list. The fights just started, but what everyone is cheering about are the ring girls. They give the gamblers time to place bets as the fighters get announced,” Ronan was practically shouting to be heard over the crazy.
“Drinks?” Jett asked.
I stayed next to Ronan and Talon, keeping the wall safely in place while waiting for Jett and Knox to come back.
“I want to see the girls,” I finally said, trying to make myself taller and realizing it didn’t matter when I already had heels on that added a couple of inches and I still couldn’t see.
Ronan’s hands reached under my arms and set me on his shoulder.
“Ronan, put me down. I don’t want to hurt you.” I sounded concerned, but it made me laugh.
His hand wrapped around my thighs.
“You wanted to see.”
Right. I did. I looked over the crowd of what I realized was mostly men now.
Some of them I would question whether they qualified as men or boys.
Once I got over the crowd, that’s when I saw the girls and my jaw dropped.
Reina had really tried to broaden my horizons, but this? Not much was left to the imagination.
“Why does she even need a bathing suit? Is that what that even is?”
I could feel Ronan chuckling under me and thought that had to be the first time he’d ever reacted to anything I’d said.
Other than possessive cavemen. I liked it though.
I took them however they came, but to be happy?
When I looked down and saw a real genuine smile on Ronan’s face? I realized I liked that a whole lot.
“Put me down. I can’t unsee that.”
Talon reached for me and grabbed me down just as Jett dodged a girl, not paying any attention to anyone.
“Here you go, Margaux. Rule number one of fight club, don’t drink anything without a lid,” Jett said. He then handed me a bottle of water and gave the others beer.
“What the heck? Jett, that’s sexist.”
I stepped forward while his hands were still busy holding three more bottles of beer. I grabbed his junk and looked up at him.
“Pretty boy, you want me to play with you later?”
He just nodded like a fool.
“Then you will be giving me a beer just like the boys. Right?”
For all the immaturity that was Jett, he could go from cute to demon in seconds, and I almost forgot what game I was playing. He pressed his cock into my hand.
“Margaux, whatever you want.”
He had to lean down to get to me, but he kissed me for a single second.
“Put the water in my pocket. It’s for the fight. This,” he said, “is yours.”
I took the offered bottle just to have Talon grab it and twist the top for me before giving it back. I took sip, and a moment later, Knox was back.
“Here you go boys. Strip.”
“Wait, what? No. No stripping in public.”
Talon winked and unbuttoned his shirt and handed it to me.
Knox took a permanent marker and wrote a number on each of their right shoulder blades.
“For betting. So they know which number is who,” Knox explained.
I twisted my mouth in thought and memorized each number.
“Will you have to fight each other?”
They exchanged looks.
“Hard to say. If we do, we know how each of us fight. It would end in a stalemate. We’re not here to win. Just to get some anger out. Rules are first one to their knees loses. No fighting to the death tonight.”
I took a deep breath. It mattered that they would be safe no matter what they wanted to do. All the times before, every gun or knife that might have been an issue, it never really occurred to me they weren’t invincible.
Suddenly I feared losing them, because this, them, they were home.
The worst part of love was realizing I had a lot to lose.
“Margaux, are you worried about us?” Talon said, giving my side a little pinch.
“I… Yeah. Actually I am. Turns out none of you are actually god even if you think you are.”
Jett grabbed me close.
“Aww, are you sure? Pretty sure you’ve called us that at least once in bed.”
I pretended to slap him against his bare chest.
“You know what I mean, Jett. Please just be careful. If any of you get hurt, who is going to go after Carrow?”
The music died and announcements were screamed through a bullhorn in the center of the ring.
All I could tell was it wasn’t any of my boys.
We remained in our small little corner. They had an airhorn and it went off three times before Knox was called to the ring.
It was at that point that Ronan lifted me up and we followed to the ring.
I knew the guys said no one would know them here, but their presence alone made the crowd part.
Knox hopped over the rope, into the square, and Ronan put me down. One of the ring girls walked by with some cardboard that had two numbers on it. The other fighter got into the square, and I almost snorted.
“What do they do, pick the numbers out of a hat?”
Talon ran his index finger down my nose.
“That’s pretty much it. The fight will start in about four minutes. Enough for bets to get placed.”
The music got loud again, and two other girls I couldn’t categorize as dressed got into the ring and started to dance. One of them got closer and closer to Knox. He stepped back and she nearly fell.
Good. Bitch.
She moved to the other fighter for the remainder of the song. The guy with the bullhorn got into the ring and announced the numbers. The airhorn sounded and they were off. The one guy was shirtless as well and in jeans, like this was just as much an afterthought for him as it was for us.
The fight started, and Knox was like a machine. The other guy landed on his knees in less than the count of ten. Knox got out of the ring just as fast and was kissing me. He tugged at my lower lip with his teeth.
“You seemed worried, angel.”
I shook my head.
“Never. Maybe. Probably a little.”
I leaned forward and kissed him again, letting my free hand run down those muscles.
Fucking hell, this was not blowing off steam at all. The idea my uncle had the audacity to try and get me back like he had? The fact he could reach me even without really knowing where I was? I was certain it was a gamble, but it had paid off, and I wasn’t okay.
Jett leaned around Knox.
“I’m next. Kiss me good luck, pretty girl.”
I did, and he stepped over the rope with the goofiest look, like this was a playground rather than a fight. I scowled when the other guy got in.
“He looks bigger than your guy, Knox.”
I wasn’t sure whose hands were on my shoulders or my waist, but whoever was holding my shoulders started to rub them.
“Jett fights dirty. Just wait,” Talon said.
I recognized the scent of Ronan moving closer.
I was held by all of them and I liked it.
I liked it even more when the ring girls did their stupid little show all over again and Jett mirrored Knox’s move.
When the girl tried to get closer to him again, he blew me a kiss and that got me a dirty look.
I gave a little finger wave, making sure she knew I’d already won his heart and his body.
“I can play dirty, bitch,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Little bird, no need to be jealous. There’s literally no one here to tempt us except you,” Ronan pulled me a little closer into him and Talon and Knox just adjusted, following Ronan.
I did what I could to snuggle in closer to the half-naked bodies.
“Right now I think I could think of another way to blow off steam that doesn’t involve nearly naked bimbos.”
I didn’t think I said it loud enough for anyone to hear, but Knox leaned closer, his lips against my ear.
“And what would that be, angel? Are you wanting to try all four of us?”
I pressed my thighs a little tighter together. The soft featherlight touch of his fingers traveled up my thigh and stopped just short of a public scandal.
“It would be natural to want to be closer to the people who I love, wouldn't it?”
None of them spoke, even as the music cut and Jett got into position.
I was going to live in the moment and focus on those that would sacrifice for me.
Grabbing onto the hands I could, I held tight and then held my breath when the airhorn sounded and the guy threw his first punch.
This guy had what I would think were gym muscles.
He wasn’t very limber, not like the way Jett was light on his feet.
It was hard to track Jett, and before the guy knew it, he was behind the other fighter, his arm wrapped around the guy's neck. The guy’s lips tinted an unnatural shade of purple.
The fighter stumbled and his knee hit the ground, getting Jett a win.
“That’s it?”
Jett bounced over, grabbing me into his arms and kissing me. “That’s not my whole prize, right?”
I shook my head as more numbers were called, and I caught Ronan moving over the rope.
“This goes on all night?” I asked, looking at the shirtless guys dotted throughout the crowd.
“Yeah. Usually. It goes until the top four win. The top ten get payouts, which is what brings in the fighters of any kind,” Jett explained.
I kissed him again and then wiggled to get free at the sight of Ronan moving out to the floor.
“Put me down so I can watch Ronan.”
“You can watch him from my arms, pretty girl,” Jett said.
I tried to take a calming breath because good lord they were killing me.
This was going to take a while, and the more I watched them get in and out of the ring, I was starting to think this was torture or the worst kind of foreplay.
I wasn’t sure how many rounds we’d been through, but it sounded like we were in the top ten when they announced the last five rounds and four of those rounds were my guys.
I was also getting a little tipsy at this point and a lot more irritated with the ring girls.
There were more than just the initial three, and one of them was pissing me off with the way she eye fucked all my men, but specifically Ronan.
“She isn’t reading your tattoos,” I said through clenched teeth.
Ronan went to get into the ring, and I grabbed his arm, pulling him back and kissing him like my damn life depended on it. The crowd erupted into whistles and hollers. A few of the guys had kissed the ring girls and groped them, but not mine, and that made me want them even more.
“Finish these rounds quickly, boys.”
I said the words loud enough I was pretty sure they heard me. And if not? The way I was rubbing against them, hanging on each of them?
“Angel, if you lick me like that, I won’t be finishing this last round at all,” Knox said. I took another drink of my beer, liking the confidence I felt to be even more free than I had before.
“I can’t help it. You guys are lickable.” And I wasn’t lying. Their bodies begged to be touched.
The music turned up, and I knew the girls would be parading their little asses all over the roped-off area, but when I glanced into the ring I saw red and hopped my happy ass over that pathetic little rope.
The girl had her hand on Ronan’s abs.
Self-defense classes be damned, I brought my arm back like I’d watched my guys do all night, and the second I pushed her shoulder with my free hand making her face me, I punched her straight in the nose. The amount of blood running down her fake as shit boobs felt very satisfying.
“Do.” And I punched her again, not entirely sure where I was aiming, but when she grabbed her tit, I knew what I’d done and was happy to do it again.
“Not.”
And another boob punch.
“Touch.”
Another boob punch, but I didn’t get any more punches in because Ronan stepped in between the two of us and a pair of strong arms wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me back even as I kicked and punched like I was getting out of this.
“Princess, I had no idea you could fight.”
I glared at Ronan, and the way he crossed his arms over his chest and stood there watching me? I dropped the punches and gave him a little wave.
“Not sorry, babe.”
He ran his hand down his face, and I could tell how he tried to hide just how angry he wasn’t.
There was a guy out there helping the girl up and holding a rag under her nose.
“Alright, I guess we have a late entry. Who saw that one coming, am I right? Maybe we invite her back? What do you think?” The announcer fed the crowd, my little intermission having killed the time needed for bets.
Ronan was let loose on the guy who had gotten this far. I nibbled my lip because at this point the other guys were landing punches.
Round after round my guys all won, but still, they needed the top three and this was suddenly my new favorite event.
Knox and Ronan were paired first, and the way they looked half naked, pants dirty and torn, hair sweaty and tousled?
“Close your mouth, Margaux. Save those thoughts for the bedroom,” Talon boxed me in his arms, moving me closer to Jett.
I closed my mouth and held on to the two men next to me while I watched two predators trying to get the upper hand. The thing was, they knew exactly what the other could do. Me? I just wanted to know what it would be like to the meat in their little man sandwich.