The Bad Boy (Black Mountain)

He wanted a sparring partner.

Vince’s lip and eyebrow ring glinted under the fluorescent lights as he stopped in front of Alex. “You gonna pussy-out on me or you ready to get your ass handed to you in the ring?” He wagged his brows, his grin still in place.

Alex was warmed up, but Vince was a beast, and he knew a hell of a lot more moves than Alex did. Vince was semi-pro as it was. So it wasn’t about being a pussy, but that Alex wasn’t keen on having said ass handed to him.

The last time they fought Alex sported a nasty fucking black-eye and limped for a week.

Vince held up his hands and gave a wink. “I swear, no kidney shots this time, and I’ll stay away from that pretty face of yours. I wouldn’t want you trying to hook up with some chick looking like the shit got beat out of you.”

Alex had enough adrenaline pumping through his veins that he felt the power flowing through him as he returned the same anticipated smile to Vince. Another fighter came up to them and started taping Alex’s hands.

“Thatta boy,” Vince said with excitement in his voice. He turned and headed toward the ring before swinging inside and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Once Alex was ready to go, he faced off with Vince.

“This time you’re the one that’s gonna have the black fucking eye,” Alex said, and Vince threw his head back and started laughing, one hand on his hard, muscle-packed belly, his amusement filling the gym and drawing attention.

Vince sobered after a few seconds, his expression turning serious. He held his arms out, palms upward. “Well, bring it on, pretty boy.”

Alex didn’t wait, just moved closer, his fists raised and in position, his sole focus on Vince. They rounded on each other, and in a quick move Vince had him on the ground and the two were grappling for supremacy.

Vince tried to use a Kneebar to get Alex in a submission hold, but Alex flipped around quickly and had Vince on his belly and in an Armbar.

“You fucker,” Vince said through a chuckle.

Alex could have broken his arm, or at the very least dislocated it, but that wasn’t what this was about. Vince twisted and moved out from under Alex, and then he found the two of them in a Clinch, a move that had both of them face-to-face, their arms interlocked together, and their rapid breathing identical.

Alex started throwing close shots to Vince’s ribs and the other fighter grunted in pain. Aggressive satisfaction filled Alex at that sound.

“Damn, Alex, you been training, pretty boy.” Vince grunted again, and in a seasoned move he was now behind Alex with his thick forearm around his neck.

It didn’t matter how good Alex was at bare knuckle fighting, Vince knew his moves, and was an expert at Sambo, a Russian martial art.

Vince slammed his free fist into Alex’s side and he grunted. “I saw you at Rocko’s.” Vince tightened his hold on Alex’s throat, cutting off more air. “Was gonna hit you up to hang out, but then I saw this smokin’ hot brunette with killer legs at the table with you.”

Alex felt his anger rise at the way Vince spoke about Mary.

“You bangin’ that shit, dude? Cause if you’re not, I’ll be all over that…”

Alex saw red and was shocked by the force of which his possessive, jealous rage grew. He was friends with Vince, but something inside of him snapped when the other fighter talked like that about Mary.

Tensing, he used all of his strength to maneuver himself out of Vince’s hold, spun around, and clocked him right in the fucking jaw. Vince stumbled back, a look of surprise covering the fighter’s face right before his own anger contorted his features.

“You little shit,” Vince said, and turned his head to spit out a mouthful of blood to the ring mat. “I know what buttons to push.” Vince rolled his head around on his shoulders and glowered at Alex. “I guess talking about that pussy is a no go, yeah?”

The asshole was baiting him, wanting an all-out brawl, and Alex was falling right for it. He couldn’t help his reaction, though, not where Mary was concerned. He couldn’t help the way his motherfucking blood boiled at the thought of Vince getting anywhere near Mary. In fact, it pissed him the fuck off to think of any asshole getting their hands on her.

His emotions reared up like a fire-filled monster, ones he’d never felt before, ones that should have scared the hell out of him. But they felt… right. Alex wanted to take down anything and everything that came between him and her. Mary might never be his, not in any sense of the word, but he grew violent at the thought of Vince or any asshole trying to get to her regardless if he had a claim on her.