Beyond Control (39 page)

Cruz was dangerous. He was good. He was
pissed
.

But he was holding back. Maybe out of respect for Ace's place in the gang, or maybe because he really did think Dallas would shut him out if he injured their artist's precious hands. Cruz checked his strength more than once, hesitating with a kick, pulling a punch.

And Ace took advantage of it. Mercilessly.

Lex couldn't hear them over the shouts of the crowd, but words were being exchanged. Ace ducked an unsteady punch and came up under Cruz's arm, slamming into him and ramming them both back against the bars. His mouth moved in some incomprehensible taunt, and Cruz roared and flung Ace across the cage, seemingly more enraged by Ace's smug little smile.

They crashed together again, locked face-to-face, arms straining, muscles bulging, teeth bared in matching growls, and Lex wasn't the only one who saw the pressure begin to shift. Nessa reached blindly for a beer and ended up grabbing Noelle's arm instead. "Uh, is it just me, or is it
hot
in here?"

The two men were steaming up the cage, all right, exuding a palpable sexual tension that had people staring as the fight went on. The crowd buzzed, with more than a few curious gazes landing on the couch--on Rachel.

Judging from the flush creeping up her cheeks, she knew exactly what people were saying.

She stood suddenly. "I need to get a few more bottles from the storeroom. I'm just--yeah."

"I'll go with you." Amira climbed to her feet more clumsily, one hand around her pregnant belly.

When they were gone, Noelle scooted into Amira's spot, her gaze never leaving the cage. "I know I'm still pretty new at this, but that looks a little bit like foreplay."

"Yeah. Someone better get them a do-not-disturb sign for the night."

"Someone better get us
all
one," Nessa retorted, flinching as Cruz got his arm around Ace's neck and ended up elbowed in the side for his trouble. "See, Six? This is what makes life worth living. Men who don't know if they wanna fight or fuck, but will climb into a cage to figure it out in front of everyone in the sector."

Six squinted and tilted her head. "Ace fights dirty. No rules, no mercy. And he's got a nice jab."

"A nice
jab
?" Nessa shook her head. "Oh, honey."

Noelle took a sip of her beer to cover her smile and leaned closer to Lex. "I think I see why Bren's fond of her."

Lex's answering smile faded as she caught sight of Trix across the room. The redhead had covered the discoloration with makeup, but there was no mistaking the swelling around her eye. She had one hell of a shiner--and, unlike Cruz and Ace, no reason for it. "What the hell happened to Trix?"

Noelle's brow furrowed. "I don't know. I hadn't seen her all day until just now."

"Jesus
Christ
," Nessa whispered. "Dallas can't have seen that yet, or someone would be dead."

"Someone's about to be. Stay here." Lex elbowed through the crowd.

Trix saw her coming and turned away, angling her face down to cover her cheek, but Lex caught her arm and shook her head. "That's not how it works, honey. Who was it?"

Trix's eyes widened. "Tell Dallas I'm not trying to cause trouble--"

"I need a name." A name Lex could connect with a face, which she could then connect with her boot.

She didn't answer, but her gaze skittered tellingly to the corner, where Dom was holding court with a handful of the punks who came to fight in the cage, hungry for a little of Dallas's attention.

If they thought listening to Dom was the way to get it, they were right...in the very worst way.

He tensed as she approached, but Lex couldn't manage to wipe the anger from her features. "You're in deep shit this time, Dom."

Dom jeered at her, puffing out his chest in a useless attempt to look unconcerned. "Yeah? Says who?"

She slapped the drink out of his hand. "I'm not fucking around. If Dallas doesn't kill you, I'll do it myself."

"You better watch your mouth,
bitch
." He leaned close enough for his breath to wash over her, reeking of tequila. "I hear you're not so high and mighty now. Just another piece of ass who doesn't know when to shut up, strip down, and spread 'em."

Rage swelled, closing off her throat. Not at the personal insult, but at his implication--that women were only good for one thing, and worthless for anything else. Worse than worthless. Subhuman, nothing but disembodied parts waiting for his slavering, short-lived attention.

He'd already shed his shoes in anticipation of a fight in the cage. Lex stomped down on the bridge of his foot, then slammed the heel of her hand up against his nose.

He howled and swung a fist toward her, but it went wide. Not because she'd dodged, but because an iron arm had locked around her waist and hauled her out of the way.

Jas and Bren appeared on either side of Dom, sending his companions scattering. No doubt none of them wanted to be associated with the beatdown to come, especially when Dallas's voice tickled Lex's ear. "Lexie love, were you about to throw an ass-stomping party and not invite me?"

Easy words, lazy, at complete odds with the rigid tension in his body. He was playing his part, king of Sector Four, and she found herself going along with it. "Had to. I would have saved his head for you, though. You'll want it when you see Trix's face."

Dallas lowered her carefully to the floor. "Jas? Make sure Dom doesn't get any ideas about moving."

The crowd had gone silent, and Lex looked up. Her eyes locked with Trix's big blue ones, and she motioned her over. "Come here, honey."

The woman's chest heaved, but she obeyed, crossing the room with her hands clenched at her sides. "I'm sorry, Dallas."

He caught her chin with gentle fingers and tilted her head back, angling her bruised eye toward the light. "Only thing you need to be sorry about is not coming straight to me. You work for us, girl. You're protected."

She bit her lip and nodded.

Dallas released her and turned to Lex. They'd known each other so long it was easy to read the silent plea in his gaze. For this night, for this
moment
, he had to be the king, and he desperately needed her. Not Lex, his lover, or even Alexa.

He needed his queen.

Dallas didn't look away, even when he spoke. "Get in the cage, Dom."

Bren stepped forward, but Lex cut off his protest with an upraised hand. "You heard the man. He's ready to settle this."

Dom bit off a curse. "Fuck that. I won't."

"O'Kane for life," Dallas drawled, the painful edge under the words sharp enough to cut. "You wanted to punch someone, I'll give you someone to punch. If you're one of us, do what you're fucking told and get in that cage. If you're not, I'll let Bren put two bullets in your head right now. Trust me, he wants to, just to spare me the fight."

Jasper nudged him, and Dom stumbled forward. "Have it your way, O'Kane. I'll kick your ass." He stomped toward the cage.

A queen wouldn't let her king go into a fight without her favors. Lex hesitated for a half-second before curving her hand around the back of Dallas's neck and drawing him close for a quick, hard kiss.

His lips moved against hers, but not in a kiss. In a whisper. "Thank you."

Let them all think the rumors were just that. They'd find no weakness here, no dissension. "Go."

He went, stripping off his leather vest as he walked. The harsh warehouse lights allowed for nothing to be hidden. Not the proud swirl of ink dominating one arm and shoulder, not the scars that marked his chest and back.

He was rough, hard and unforgiving. A force of nature.

And, like a storm, he had no mercy.

The cage door had barely shut when he hit Dom for the first time, smashing a fist into the man's unprotected face. He fought back, but he was no match for Dallas's cold fury.

Lex watched, every breath burning in and out of her lungs. The fight could have been over in a few minutes of brutal punches and well-placed kicks, but Dallas was holding back, almost toying with Dom. Going as much for pain as for victory.

He was putting on a show. Sending a message. Every time Dom staggered to his feet only to be knocked back down, Dallas reinforced the line he'd drawn. You didn't hurt Dallas's women. You didn't touch his people. Not the ones wearing ink, not the ones who worked for him. Because if he'd do this to one of his own men, no one else had a hope in hell of survival.

The fight had started with cheers, but as it dragged on, the warehouse grew still around Lex. O'Kanes watched in solemn pride. The rest of Sector Four watched with a mixture of satisfaction and fear.

Dallas carried the weight of everyone's safety on his shoulders, and he won it with violence and blood, taking one last swing to lay a staggering Dom out before flexing his bruised knuckles.

Dom thudded to the concrete, and Dallas lifted his head to meet Lex's gaze. Frustration. Satisfaction. Heat, as his adrenaline pumped and one sort of arousal melted into another.

He was thinking of his fantasy, the one he'd laid out so bluntly in her bathtub. The one where he celebrated his victory inside her, right there in front of everyone.

Not now, after everything that had happened. But turning away wasn't an option for Lex, either. So she stepped forward and held out her hand. Dallas hopped out of the cage and clasped her fingers. Kissed them.

Then he walked away.

As he neared Jas, he jerked a thumb toward Dom's prone figure. "Strip his cuffs," he said, raising his voice so his words carried back to them. "And then dump him with the trash."

Lex winced. As loathsome as Dom was, stripping tattoos was nasty business. The doctor had lasers, but he saved them for people he liked, or when his work had to be neat. Dom would get acid, and then he'd get turned out into the streets.

"I'll call Doc," Jasper said brusquely.

Dallas took one last look back, and Lex froze. A
last
look, that's exactly what it was--him drinking in the sight of her, fixing it in his mind because soon it would be gone.

She would be gone.

He turned and slammed through the back door nearest the garage.

Her mind fluttered, struggling to light on why she felt sick inside. She'd
known
this. The decision had been made. Plans begun. And yet something inside Lex still shrank away from the thought. Her friends, her family--

But that wasn't what twisted a cold knot in her gut. She didn't have to leave Sector Four, or even the O'Kane compound. She could stay right where she was, be as close to any of them as she'd ever been.

But not Dallas.

Her hands began to shake. He'd spent days waiting for her to come around, to tell him it would be all right, but it seemed that now he understood the one thing she needed more than apologies, more than promises.

He was finally letting her go.

The garage was dark, and the slamming of the door echoed behind her. "Dallas?"

A clatter came from the far side, where tools lined a low wooden workbench. Light flared, sudden illumination that offered her the sight of Dallas's back in silhouette. "Go back to the warehouse, Lex." He bit off each word, as if he had to measure them one at a time to keep his control. "I need to cool off."

"I can't." She was drawn to him, always. Unable to walk away. "Are you all right? Your hands?"

His snarl echoed through the darkness. "I'm not fucking around."

"I
can't
," she said again, desperation almost choking her. "I can't leave. No matter what's going on between us, you need me here. I'm not just an O'Kane."

Dallas spun, still mostly backlit. She could barely make out his face, only sharp shadows playing over a fierce expression. "If you touch me, I can't promise I'll let you go again. Not right now."

She couldn't go, but she couldn't stay, either. Couldn't push or retreat. Love him or hate him.

Something had to give.

"All I wanted was you." Her voice broke on the confession. "To be as important to you as you were to me."

Silence. Heartbreaking, humiliating silence, until Dallas shifted his weight. "Would you stab me, Lex?"

An exact echo of his words from their horrible, horrible fight. She shuddered. "Only if you make me."

He was still wearing his boots. He hadn't taken them off before fighting Dom, and now he bent and jerked a knife free from the left one. He flipped it around so he was holding it by the blade and offered it to her.

His way of providing her an escape. If she couldn't walk out the door, she could still stop him.

As soon as she touched the hilt, Dallas was on her.

It was harder and different and
more
than the night she'd stripped off his collar. Rough hands, intense kisses, his mouth slanting over hers as he immobilized her with an unforgiving grip in her hair. But it wasn't angry. It wasn't punishment.

It was hunger, pure and simple. Unchecked, uncontrolled desire, spilling out of him without finesse or thought, drowning her in the truth of how much he wanted her. How much he
needed
her.

This was what she couldn't walk away from, the reason she'd stay, no matter what. Her longing reflected in the trembling clench of his fingers.

Lex let the knife clatter to the table and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Groaning, he slid his hands down to her thighs and hoisted her against him. "I can't do this without you. I can't be Dallas without Lex."

The night had driven that home already. "We can't wind up hating each other, either. The damn sector won't survive it."

"I know. I
know
." One hand caught her hair and dragged her head back again. "If you can't stay and be Lex, I'll be Declan and go. Anywhere you want, anywhere you can be happy. None of this is worth a damn if you're not here."

The world stopped. He couldn't do it, could never give up what he wanted so much and had worked so hard to build--and yet there was no deception on his face, just an earnestness that almost hurt to see.