breaking up is. I meant to tell you, but things have been hectic."
"Jesus." Lex glanced over at Rachel, who was pouring drinks. She didn't look happy, not in the least. Certainly not like she'd been hopping on Ace's dick every night. "So she and Ace...?"
Nessa shook her head. "I don't think so. If he'd finally caught her, we'd all know, because we'd be watching it every time we turned around."
"That's the truth," Amira said.
Which meant something had gone horribly wrong. Lex should have been there, if only for moral support. Instead, she'd been too busy indulging her own pain.
"I should check on her," she said as she started to stand.
"Check on who?" Rachel shoved a mug of beer at Nessa, then drew it back. "You're not going to drink this before you finish painting people's nails, are you?"
But Nessa wasn't looking at Six's nails anymore. Her gaze had strayed to the cage. "Oh boy."
Lex turned to see Ace, barefoot and shirtless, stretching his tattooed arms over his head on one side of the cage as Cruz climbed in the other side.
Rachel dropped to the couch. Noelle rescued the beer, and Lex rubbed the blonde's shoulder as she stared at the two men in the cage. "This is so stupid," she mumbled. "What the hell are they doing?"
"Blowing off manly steam." Nessa finished painting Six's last nail and closed the bottle before patting Rachel's leg. "You can't stop them, so pretend this is some ancient arena and they're... What did they call them? The guys in the metal suits?"
"Knights," Noelle supplied. "But only men think a duel over a woman is actually about the woman."
Lex sighed. No, this was about ego. The bell rang, and the two men circled each other slowly. "Nessa's right, Rach. Let them beat each other stupid like a couple of little boys. No harm, no foul."
"Unless Cruz breaks Ace's fingers," Nessa whispered too softly for Rachel to hear.
From the first jab, it was clear that Ace's fingers were the last thing on his mind. The two men clashed with matching snarls, Cruz's power and speed only partially countered by the fact that Ace fought dirtier than anyone Lex had ever seen.
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."