Unraveled (27 page)

Shiori had fisted her hand in Mia’s hair and pushed Mia’s face into the table, chicken-winging
her left arm. “Don’t you fucking touch him again. And get out of here before I break
your fucking arm in such a way your fighting days are over for good. Understand?”

“Your newest cunt girlfriend is messing with the wrong person, Knox. Call her off.”

“Don’t you dare,” Deacon said to Knox. “For once Mia is entertaining me, seeing her
pinned to the table like a bug to a board.”

“Let her go,” Maddox said to Shiori. “We wouldn’t want her to claim she was injured
prior to the fight as an excuse on why she gets her ass handed to her.”

Shiori released her and immediately backed up into defensive position.

Mia rubbed her neck and glared at Shiori. “I don’t know who the hell you think you
are, bitch—”

“I’m Ronin Black’s sister,
bitch
, and I know a little bit about fighting dirty. So watch your back.”

After Mia stormed away, Knox tried to talk to Shiori, but she held up her hands and
said, “Not now,” and walked over to the bar.

“Guess that ends our night out,” Katie said.

Knox put his hand on Katie’s arm and looked at Fee. “Give it about ten minutes before
you leave to make sure she’s gone.”

“Good idea.”

“Fee, do you have any fight tapes from the smokers you’ve done?”

“We have some; Black Arts has some. Why?”

“I want to see how Mia fights. I want you to be prepared for anything. Guaranteed
she’ll be gunning for you now.”

Deacon clapped Knox on the shoulder. “Hope you’ve got a way to deal with Shiori, because
She-Cat has turned into a tiger and she’s out for blood.”

Like I didn’t already know that.

Shiori had her back to the table and was scanning the crowd.

To Maddox, Knox said, “You want me to stick around?”

“No. Go ahead and take off. I’ll make sure Fee and Katie get out of here okay.”

“Thanks, man. See you tomorrow.” When Knox set his hand on Shiori’s shoulder, she
flinched, which pissed him off. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“The fuck if I know, but we’re not staying here.” He moved his hand to the small of
her back and steered her around the side of the booth. He caught the owner’s eye and
indicated they were going out the back door.

Knox took her hand and led her through the kitchen and into the alley. He nodded to
the cooks having a smoke break as he headed toward the lot where he’d parked his truck.

But Shiori was having none of it. As soon as they cleared the alley, she wrenched
her hand free from his and leaned against the side of the building.

“What?”

“I’m just supposed to ignore the fact that you slept with that horrible woman?”

Fuck. “Ancient history.”

“How ancient?”

“Two years ago.”

“Were you in a relationship with her?”

“No. We ended up at the same events. We ended up fucking. That’s it.”

She came chest-to-chest with him. “That’s not it. What kind of events?”

“Fights. She was fighting. I was doing whatever the fuck Ronin wanted me to do. After
a fight, she got horny. I was convenient.”

Shiori shrank back.

“What? You think you’re the only woman who has that primal urge to fuck a man stupid
after you’ve beaten the crap out of someone? Jesus, Shiori, that’s human nature. We’re
all like that.”

“I’m nothing like her.”

“No shit.” He counted to ten. “Can we go now?”

“Fine. Take me home.”

They didn’t talk on the way to her place, but the air in his truck was heavy with
tension.

Neither did Shiori speak in the elevator on the way to her penthouse. But once they
were inside? She unloaded like he’d never seen.

He let her pace and yell in Japanese until he worried she’d have an aneurysm from
the way the vein in her neck visibly throbbed.

“Shiori,” he said sharply. “Calm down. And for fuck’s sake, switch to English so I
know you’re not yelling at me.”

“I’m tired of yelling. I want to track her down and I want to make her fucking cry.”

Knox took the hand she’d balled into a fist. “Why? Because she banged me a couple
of times? Big deal.”

“That’s my question. Did she bang you? Or did you bang her?”

“I don’t fucking remember, okay?” he shouted, and then felt like a total dick. “Look,
I can’t change the past. But you weren’t there, so you don’t get to go attributing
meaning to a meaningless fuck.”

She stared at him, the picture of confusion.

“What?”

“I’ve never felt this angry before. I’ve had moments of jealousy when I saw you flirting
with Katie or any of the other students who drool, giggle, and make lewd gestures
when you walk by. But it was different tonight. I wanted to crush her. Then I wanted
to fuck you in front of her.”

“And at any point during this violent fantasy of yours was I wearing a collar or on
my knees?”

“What? No. Why would you even ask that?”

He crowded her against the wall. “Because that’s who you are. You saw Mia as balls-to-the-wall
Dominant. I had sex with her, which means she probably dominated me. And since you’re
my Mistress, you want to prove to her—and to me—that only
you
dominate me now. No one else.”

“Yes, goddammit. That’s what I want her to understand.” Her gaze met his in challenge.
“That’s what I want
you
to understand.”

Knox pressed his lips to her forehead. To the corners of her eyes. To her cheeks.
To the curve of her smile. “I do understand, Nushi.”

When Shiori initiated a kiss, any gentleness he’d used to calm her down was gone.
It was replaced with passion, heat, and ownership. “I need to fuck you,” she panted
against his mouth. “But I’m feeling vicious,” she warned. “Think you can take it?”

Knox stepped back and pulled off his shirt. Kicked off his shoes. Shucked his jeans.
Naked, he stood in front of her and taunted her. “You think you can break me? You
think I can’t take what you want to dish out?” He gave her body a slow perusal before
he met her eyes again. “Bring it.” Then he walked away.

She let him get to the bedroom before she took him down with a full frontal sweep.

And she tried her damnedest to break him. They didn’t speak beyond grunts and moans
and the occasional scream. She didn’t need to direct him, because somehow he knew
what she needed.

They fucked on the floor.

They fucked against the wall.

They fucked on the bed. Twice.

They fucked against the windows.

When she came the last time, her body shuddering violently as he plowed into her,
she whispered, “Mine. You are mine. I’m never going to let you go.”

He closed his eyes, his muscles aching, his body absolutely fucking spent. He had
scratches and bite marks and hickeys from his neck to the tops of his feet. He’d never
felt so used. So owned.

And nothing in his life had ever felt so right.

FIGHT
night had finally arrived.

Spirits were high when they set up camp at the event center.

Knox and Blue were handling the promotional duties. The referee was present in the
locker rooms for the weigh-in. Luckily, none of the fights would have to be scrapped.

Maddox remained low-key but involved. Deacon, Ivan, Terrel, and Fee were on the roster,
along with three other fights. He’d drilled his fighters relentlessly. So Knox had
ended up on his ass plenty of times, since he was the only one big enough to go head-to-head
with Ivan. Shiori had been called on to spar with Fee. Blue had partnered with Deacon.
But all the prefight prep did was cement the other problem with their training program—not
enough practice partners.

The promotion side was much more hectic than getting the fighters pumped up in the
locker room. The payouts were nominal for this type of event; the experience for the
fighters was worth way more. But each winner would get a payout, so Knox would have
to stick around and wrap that up afterward. Ticket sales had improved, so maybe they’d
recoup some of the up-front costs.

Two other MMA programs provided fighters besides Steve Atwood. Apparently, as acting
head of Black and Blue Promotions, it
was Knox’s job to make everyone feel welcome and foster camaraderie among Colorado
dojos. Which was fine. He wasn’t bad at glad-handing. But Ronin was. So how had he
made it through these things? Because Amery had been with him?

Was that why Knox wanted Shiori by his side?

She’d stayed in their fighter’s room as support for Fee.

Katie walked by in her ring-girl outfit, and Blue’s eyes about bugged out of his head.

“Man, why do you still go all slack-jawed and stupid when you see her?” Knox suspected
Katie went out of her way to sashay past Blue as many times as possible. Plus, she
stayed in her getup after the event ended while she did final reports and tallied
up payouts.

“Because every fucking time I see her dressed like that, I’m reminded there is a god
and he has a nasty sense of humor to place an apple like her in front of a snake like
me.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” Blue walked away.

“Where are you going?”

“Bathroom to rub one out.”

Like he needed to know that shit.

Knox did the final run-through with the announcer and the sponsors. He made sure the
judges had everything they needed. He even managed to keep a civilized tone with that
smarmy prick Steve Atwood.

Fifteen minutes from fight time, Knox and Blue walked into the fighters’ room and
saw complete chaos.

Fee was lying on a bench. “What the hell happened?” Blue demanded.

Ivan pointed to the portable lockers the event center had brought in. “She went to
put her bag in her locker. The handle stuck, so she pulled on it and the whole thing
came down on top of her.”

Blue murmured to her in Portuguese.

Tears rolled down her face and she shook her head.

He stood and walked over to Knox.

“Is she okay?”

“She’s in no shape to fight now. We can have medical check her out, but she’s confused
and in pain.”

Fuck. “Get her seen. That’s what’s important.”

Blue motioned to Gil, and he crouched down by Fee. Then he returned to Knox’s side.
“What now?”

“We cancel. We’ve had to cancel fights before, so it’s not a big deal.”

“I’ll go tell the announcer and the judges,” Blue said, and turned to walk out.

“Wait!” Shiori shouted.

Everyone looked at her.

“We don’t have to cancel the women’s bout. I’ll fight in Fee’s place.”

The fuck that was happening. “I appreciate the offer, but this schedule tonight is
good enough—”

“I want to fight her, Knox.”

“Not an option.”

“Why not?”

He lowered his voice. “Getting in the ring with her will be personal for you, and
that is too goddamn dangerous at any time, say nothing of an hour before a fight.
So the answer is no.”

“If I’d been scheduled to fight and got injured, would you put Fee in, in my place?”

“Yes, but it’s not the same thing.”

“Because we’re involved?”

Knox couldn’t say,
No, because Fee is a more capable fighter than you
, so he tried to be diplomatic. “That has nothing to do with it. You don’t know what
Mia is capable of. There’s no fucking way I’m going to stand by and watch you get
in the ring with her.”

Her eyes went flat and cold, and in that moment she looked just like her brother.
“You don’t think I can win?”

“It’s not about winning. It’s about your safety.”

“The fuck it is, Knox. You’re the one who’s making it personal, not me. And that has
no place in this discussion. We need a qualified fighter. I’m here. So I am fighting.”

“Like hell you are. Don’t forget that I’m Shihan. I said no, and that’s that. Do you
understand?”

Maddox cleared his throat.

At some point they’d both forgotten they were in a roomful of people.

Fucking awesome.

“Actually, Knox, to be fair, that isn’t your decision to make,” Maddox said. “I’m
the trainer. I’ve been working with Fee and Shiori as her fight partner. From what
I can see, there’s no reason that Shiori can’t step in. She’s watched all of Mia’s
fight tapes. There’s nobody better qualified. And Black Arts could use a win.”

“See? The voice of real reason, not personal reasons,” Shiori said. “I’m fighting,
Godan, and that’s that. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

Godan.
Not
Shihan
.

His face burned. She’d openly defied him in front of everyone, calling his leadership
into question.

Shiori had sworn she wouldn’t humiliate him, and she’d done just that with absolute
defiance, daring him with her Domme voice to contradict him.

Knox dropped his gaze to the floor. It took every bit of his resolve to keep his expression
neutral when he looked up. Everyone in the room still stared at him, some with fucking
pity.

“As the fight promoter, it’s within my purview to move the bout to the last fight
of the night, to give the replacement fighter time to prepare.”

Maddox said, “Thanks.”

He didn’t—couldn’t—look at Shiori. “Good luck, everyone. I’ll
be seeing to the front-of-the-house duties tonight, so if you need anything, peg Maddox.”
He turned and left the room.

A familiar hand clapped him on the shoulder after he’d made it halfway down the hall.
“What?”

“You okay?” Deacon asked.

“I’m fine.”

Deacon stepped in front of him. “I suck at this kinda stuff, but I don’t blame you
for sayin’ no and bein’ pissed that Shiori jumped in like that. You and I both know
those fight tapes don’t tell the real story of what Mia is capable of. When she sees
it’s Shiori in the ring . . .”

“Yeah, I fucking know, all right?”

“Do you want me to talk to her?”

“No. What’s done is done.” Knox looked Deacon in the eyes. “I can’t watch.”

“No one expects you to.”

“And by that . . . I mean I can’t be anywhere in here. I’ll take off right after your
fight.”

“Blue will be okay with that?” Deacon asked.

“He’ll have to be. After all this, I’ll need a couple of days to get my head on straight.”

“You deserve the break. And yeah, I figured that this would fuck up things between
you two.”

“Thanks, man. Good luck tonight.”

“Don’t need it when I’ve got these.” Deacon did some shadow-boxing moves as he backed
up down the hallway.

Knox looked at the clock. Two hours. Then he was gone.

*   *   *

KNOX
was pissed off at her.

But she was pissed at him too, so in the long run it probably evened things out.

They’d talk about this later. Yell at each other most likely.
Whatever happened, it had to wait until after the fight. And she couldn’t fucking
wait to get in the ring. Every bit of anger she’d felt that night at the bar with
Mia resurfaced. She’d use that rage as rocket fuel.

She stayed in her corner of the room, away from the lockers. Gil had taken Fee home
after the on-site medical staff had called it a mild concussion.

Maddox was in and out, shifting his duties between being ringside with his fighters
during the match and making sure the upcoming fighters were ready.

Ivan wore headphones and blocked out the world as he got set to fight. Deacon hadn’t
come back after he followed Knox out of the room.

If looks could kill, she would’ve been dead.

She paced in her corner, running through drills in her head. She hadn’t stepped in
the ring in months, since she’d filled in at another smoker and fought Fee. Since
Fee was the lone female fighter at Black Arts, they’d fought another half a dozen
times. After sparring with her, Shiori wasn’t sure she’d win if she was put in the
ring with Fee again for real.

But she sure as fuck would win against Mia.

Maddox bounded in and grabbed Ivan. He gave her the thumbs-up and then she was alone.

Clear your mind. Visualize yourself winning. Visualize Mia bleeding as Knox gives
you the victory kiss.

She couldn’t allow her thoughts to keep bouncing back to Knox. She needed to focus.
In times like this the only thing that quieted her mind was recitation. Poems, plays,
prayers, business philosophies, multiplication tables. She turned her mind inward
and time lost any meaning.

The door to the room slammed. Footsteps came closer. A hand pressed into her knee.

Shiori opened her eyes and felt a quick pang of disappointment that Maddox crouched
in front of her, not Knox.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Good. Let’s head out.”

She waited outside the entrance to the arena. She tuned out the music and the crowd,
focusing on her anger. Maddox nudged her and they started the trek to the ring.

Ringside the ref checked her over. Gloves, clothing, mouth guard. Everything was in
place.

Then she climbed up the stairs, bowing before she entered the ring. She bounced on
the balls of her feet as a warm-up and swung her arms, giving Mia her back.

Maddox set up ringside. “All right. You know what to do. Watch her hip throws. She’s
got a vicious uppercut. She’ll switch it up and try to get you to look at how she
shuffles her feet, and then she’ll clock you. Don’t fall for it.”

Shiori nodded.

“All right, ladies and gentlemen, this is the last bout of the evening. In the women’s
featherweight division, in the black corner, is our replacement fighter, with an amateur
record of one win, zero losses, hailing all the way from Tokyo, Japan, weighing in
at one hundred and twenty-two pounds, representing Black Arts dojo, Shiori ‘She-Cat’
Hirano.

“And in the silver corner, with an amateur record of eighteen wins and four losses,
and a professional record of six wins and zero losses, from Denver, Colorado, weighing
in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds, representing Steve Atwood dojo, Mia ‘the
Meat Grinder’ Sedladcheck.”

Wait. What? Mia had a professional record and an amateur record? How was that possible
at a smoker?

“Ladies, here are the rules.”

As the ref read the rules Shiori reconnected with that burning hatred as she looked
at Mia, who seemed a lot bulkier than she remembered.

“Touch gloves.”

Neither did. They returned to their corners.

The bell dinged and it was on.

Mia came at her hard and fast from the start. She did a dive roll that knocked Shiori
off her feet, but Shiori recovered fast and narrowly missed a takedown.

Then Mia started to kick. She’d pull in close and try to land some punches, and when
she backed off, she’d level a slapping front kick to the inside of Shiori’s right
leg. Mia connected with that move six times before Shiori switched her fighting stance.

But as soon as she did that, Mia abandoned the kicks and charged her for a takedown.
She got ahold of Shiori’s waist, performing a judo hip throw that put Shiori on her
side.

Ow. Fuck. At least she hadn’t knocked the wind out of her.

Shiori arched and spun on her back, but that just put Mia in guard position. And Shiori
couldn’t get a reversal when she was busy dodging Mia’s blows. Mia nailed her in the
jaw, and she could taste blood from her lip. She was completely in a defensive position.

The clicker counted down the last ten seconds, but Mia managed to work in another
blow to the head.

Bleeding, breathing hard, she walked back to her corner, and Maddox was right there
with the stool, water, and Vaseline for her cut lip.

“Okay, you’ve got to try to keep her on her feet. I know you’ve been working on Muay
Thai with Deacon, so use some of those drills to knock her off balance. Any spinning
moves you do, do them fast before she grabs any part of you, understand?”

Shiori nodded. Rinsed her mouth and spit into the bucket. “Why does she have a professional
record? Isn’t this amateurs only?”

“In a smoker like this, anything goes. As long as her amateur
record has more fights than her pro record, she can enter these things.”

“She’s not fighting like the tapes.”

Maddox looked into her eyes. “No, she’s not. But you can adapt, Shiori. You have to.
She won that round. Get her this time.”

At the start of the second round, Mia started in again with those snap kicks that
landed on the inside of Shiori’s knee. She blocked a couple, but she hadn’t landed
any kicks because she was too focused on dodging Mia’s kicks.

She tried a spinning back fist, hoping to knock Mia the fuck out with one blow, but
it landed low. The attempt made Mia mad enough that she charged.

Unprepared for that move, Shiori hit the mat on her back. She did land a knee to Mia’s
head before Mia got into guard position again. Then Shiori was getting whaled on.

Things were starting to get a little fuzzy, and she lowered her hands for just a second
and Mia punched her in the eye.