Flawed Heart: House Of Obsidian - Bella Jewel Page 0,38
play. I thought you were better than that.”
He stalks towards me, getting in my face. “You wouldn’t know me, Anabelle, because you haven’t been in my life for five years. Now get out of here, or I’ll have you thrown out.”
“No,” I say, crossing my arms. “Not until you listen to me.”
“If that’s the way you want it.”
He reaches into his pants to pull out his phone. I take a step towards him in protest, but the door swings open and I’m stopped in my tracks. My eyes flick towards the gorgeous, busty blonde that comes in. She doesn’t seem at all fazed that I’m standing in front of Max. No, she just sidles right over and cries out, “There you are, baby. I’ve been calling you.”
I flinch.
That burns.
God, it hurts more than I could have ever imagined.
“I’m busy,” he spits at her, his eyes still holding mine.
I turn away. I can’t stand in here and listen to this woman treat Max as if he’s part of her life. I can’t because I don’t want to even think about the fact that she’s been in his bed. Pain grips my chest as I rush towards the door, and the worst thing about it, the thing that hurts the most . . .
Max doesn’t stop me.
~*~*~*~
I find myself leaning against the wall, staring at the fighting ring. I want to go, I want to just turn around and leave, but I can’t move my eyes from the ring where they’ve just called Max’s name. He’s going to fight. I don’t want to see that, but I can’t make myself look away. My eyes are glued to the space where he’s going to be fighting in a matter of minutes.
The crowd starts getting wilder as the door opens and Max comes out. He’s wearing only a pair of light exercise shorts and nothing else. His fists are bound and he looks like a wild animal, baring his teeth, panting with rage. It’s as if he wound himself up before he came in here. Maybe I wound him up before he came in here, and right now he’s acting out of pure rage.
I clasp my hands together and lean forward as the opponent is called to the stage. It’s a man named Raide. I watch in horror and fascination as he walks out. Holy shit. He’s bigger than Max, and that’s saying something, because Max is a big man. This man, he’s like a real life Hercules. He’s tall, muscled as all hell, and has a similar shade of dark hair that goes down and curls up just near his neck.
Fear bubbles in my chest as the two of them circle each other, both looking deadly and terrifying. When the whistle blows, both men continue circling each other—neither one of them diving for the other. They’re both cunning, and smart, and waiting for the precise moment to launch at the other person.
It’s Max that takes the first swing, effectively hitting Raide right between the eyes. It takes Raide a moment to gather himself, and he looks dazed for a split second. That’s all Max needs; he drives a fist into Raide’s stomach, sending him stumbling backwards. The crowd goes wild, roaring and stomping their feet. I shift farther to the left, where a little hall is positioned and is filled with women watching the fight. I find a spot and keep my eye on Max, grateful for a little more quiet.
I made the assumption that Raide wasn’t an exceptional fighter, because he seemed to be taking quite the beating from Max, but I would be wrong. Raide manages to gather himself and drives a fist up into Max’s ribs as he straightens from his doubled over position. Max takes a wobbly step backwards but manages to stop himself from going over. Raide takes the chance and slams his elbow into Max’s nose. A horrifying split echoes through the room and blood pours from the open wound.
My stomach turns.
Tears burn under my eyelids, and I want to vomit.
It doesn’t stop Max. He continues throwing punches and hitting Raide with a force that’s so full of rage it’s hard to turn your eyes away. The problem is Raide gives it back, equally as hard and deadly. The two are a never-ending pit, both as strong and determined as the other. I look down at my shaking hands and try to control my breathing, but it’s ragged.
“How hot is Max?” the girl beside me says to