Breaking Beast (Pounding Hearts 4)

“Yeah,” he confirms. “Now you’ll only have to fight one fight.”

“What about the purse?” Alex asks.

“It’s the same.”

Alex shoots me a look, obviously pleased, but it feels too easy.

“What’s the bad news?” I ask.

“The bad news is you’ll be fighting Brianna Fark.”

“Who?” I blink at him and Chase laughs. Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, he scrolls through his screen before shoving the phone in my face.

“Her,” he says, showing me a picture of a brunette making an ugly face at the camera while holding her taped fists up.

I still have no freakin’ clue who she is so I just nod my head slowly. “Okay…”

Yanking his phone back, Chase explains, “She’s an up-and-comer just like you, except she’s already had a couple of exhibition bouts.”

Great, so she already has a couple of fights under her belt where I have none.

Chase scrolls through his phone some more. “She’s already made quite a name for herself among the amateurs. Two fights, both knockouts within the first minute of the fight.”

“What the fuck? Why is she in this tournament if she’s already making a name?” I ask, getting a little angry.

I entered this competition thinking I’d be going up against other newbies just like me.

Chase shrugs his shoulders, glancing up from his phone. “I’m thinking this is how her and her team are trying to build up hype. Make her a big name before she even steps into a professional fight.”

“Fuck,” I mutter and shoot a look towards Alex.

He’s frowning with his brows pulled down and his arms crossed over his chest. I guess he’s just as unhappy as I am by this news.

“So fucking what?” Dale asks from behind me. “This doesn’t change shit.”

“He’s right,” Alex agrees and looks pointedly at me. “This changes nothing.”

I bite my tongue, not in the mood to argue with them. It may change nothing to them but it changes everything for me. There’s no way I can do this now…

Chase smirks and holds up his phone for us to see. On the screen, Brianna Fark is looking smug as she talks with a reporter.

“So, Brianna, what’s next for you? When can we expect to see you on Night of Fights?” the reporter asks with a smile curving along his lips.

“Well, Todd,” she says, “I have one more exhibition match coming up before—“

Todd cuts her off. “The match against Christy Heiland?”

Brianna nods and her smug smile sharpens. “Yes.”

“Rumor is that she’s dating the current middleweight champion, Alexander ‘the Beast’ Marsh, and he’s helping with her training. Are you worried that—

Brianna cuts off the reporter and says firmly, “I’m not worried. I saw her at boyfriend’s fight last month and let’s just say I’m not impressed.”

“No?” The reporter asks, and it’s obvious that he’s purposely goading her into talking shit. “They also say that she’s training with former heavyweight champion, Chase Winters, and—“

Brianna starts laughing now. “I don’t care who she’s training with. That blonde little Barbie doll is going to regret stepping in the cage with me. She’ll be lucky if she lasts more than ten seconds.”

“Barbie doll?” Dale chuckles behind me. “That’s a good one.”

Brianna keeps talking to the reporter but I don’t hear much else over the blood rushing through my ears. Barbie doll? Barbie doll?! And lucky that I’ll last more than ten seconds? Oh, fuck that.

“Christy. Christy!” Chase snaps his fingers in front of my face, and I realize he’s been trying to get my attention.

“What?” I ask angrily.

“Do you want to send a response?”

I narrow my eyes and flex my hands. “Depends? Can I send her my fist?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Alex

It’s mornings like this that make me feel thankful. I have my health, my wealth and I got the girl.

I’m in the prime of my life. I don’t have to worry about whether or not my next check will cover the rent. And pulling my personal, sexy Valkyrie to me only proves that I’m living the good life.

Her ass molds so well to the front of my body. Her cheeks rubbing up against my cock. Fuck, there isn’t a thing she does that isn’t sexy as hell.

Glancing towards the nightstand, I frown as the numbers on the clock flip over to six-thirty. My phone alarm blares out the loud Klaxon horn.

Fuck, I hate alarm clocks. That’s why I use my phone to get up in the morning and not an actual alarm clock. Clocks can be replaced easily and tend to smash into little pieces when you toss them at your walls.

Christy groans into the arm I have wrapped around her. “Make that bad man stop, Beast.”

Burying my nose into her hair, I say, “Can’t do that, Legs. I’ve got a day full of contract negotiations.”

“I’ll let you touch my breasts,” she says as she pulls my hand down to her bare breast.