His Off Limits Best Friend - Vivian Wood Page 0,27

head while tactfully changing the subject. However, they both kept mentioning the ex over and over. Why do you care? Be professional, and don’t fall into any of these traps laying around.

“So, what is this, some kind of warehouse party thing where everyone’s high on E?” she shouted to him as he handed her an angry red cocktail.

“In part,” he said.

“What’s the other part?” she yelled at him.

“I’ll show you.” He took her hand, held it tight against his back, and started to lead her away from the massive dance area. In the back, behind steel doors which required yet another flurry of secret codes, there was no music. There was no dancing. There was just a cage topped with razor wire.

“What the hell is this?” she asked, and stopped abruptly. “Connor, if this is some kind of sick dog fighting thing—”

“Dog fighting?” he asked, incredulous. “Don’t be ridiculous. You think I’d be into that?”

“Then what is it?”

“Underground MMA.”

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, but was still on edge. She’d heard about these kinds of things, but didn’t think they really existed. Or that she’d know someone who was into it. “So, are you betting?” she asked.

“Liam!” Connor yelled, and motioned to a short, muscular guy in a worn-out Everlast t-shirt.

Liam grinned when he saw Connor, gave him a nod, and continued to the abandoned DJ booth. “Alright you sick fucks, it’s on in twenty. See Bernard to place your wagers.”

“It’s your new besties,” Connor told her before she could say anything, and nodded to the door. Chase and Jay made their way inside. “Guys, watch out for Sam, alright? And you stick close to them,” he told her.

“What are you—”

But Connor was already gone, disappeared into the darkness. “So, you come here often?” Jay teased her.

“All the time,” she said, distracted. “What’s he doing?”

“He’ll be back in a minute,” Chase said.

“So, is this where you pick up girls?” she asked. Sam tried to make light of the situation, but she was nervous and felt out of place.

“Let’s get a drink,” Jay said, and ushered the three of them to the quiet bar in the back. She looked down at her hand and realized she’d already downed the one Connor had given her.

“I know it seems weird, but a lot of military guys come here to blow off steam,” Chase said. “They dance with some hot girl. They fight. You know.”

She didn’t know, but she also didn’t want to act put off.

“You know the rules of MMA?”

She shook her head, and Chase gave her a quick rundown. “That sounds insane,” she said.

He laughed. “That’s the point.”

“Here we go,” Jay said. She turned, and the ring was lit up with blinding spotlights.

Liam was back in the booth. “Wagers are officially closed. Connor and Zohaib in the cage. Guys, we went over the rules backstage. Let’s keep it clean. Or, hell, you know what I mean.”

Sam’s mouth dropped open. She would have recognized Connor anywhere, but he’d shed his suit in favor of boxing shorts cinched at the waist and nothing but wraps on his hands and feet.

She couldn’t help but drink him all in. The chiseled stomach and pecs, the flawless muscles bunched up his arms and shoulders. That delicious V-shape that flew wildly down his torso. There was something animalistic in all of this that turned her on instantly.

Sam looked at the other guy, who seemed to be well matched in size and muscle to Connor. She worried her bottom lip, unsure of what to think. “Don’t worry,” Jay said into her ear. “Connor will be fine.”

A bell rang from somewhere that seemed far away, and Connor and his opponent were instantly at each other. She put her drink down and covered her eyes when Connor took a hit squarely to the jaw, but quickly peeked between her fingers. Connor had the guy against the cage, which rattled rapidly. Connor punched him viciously in the stomach.

Blood was splattered across both their faces and chests. Connor’s white shorts were flecked in bright red. Relatively, it was fast—ten minutes at most. But it was way too long for Sam.

They were suddenly surrounded by people who pushed and cheered. The entirety of the dance floor must have been crammed into the back room. Every time a blow was landed, especially on Connor, she cringed.

He pinned down his opponent and went at him with unreal swiftness. Finally, the opponent tapped the cage floor. “It’s over,” Chase told her. She let out a long