Free Flow (The Beat and the Pulse #6) by Amity Cross Page A

his face and shoving it into the side of the cage. “No one’s going to separate us. No one’s going to disqualify me. Your ass is mine.”
    “So you are fucking her,” he said, his teeth red with blood. “She was mine first, Goblin. My cock has been in her mouth .”
    I felt my control slipping as anger swelled inside me. I couldn’t let him get to me. I had to win, not just for Lori but to remind Storm to rein in his foul attitude. What I was about to do to him was kind . Ironic considering I was beating the guy up, but this way, he might see some sense and tone his arrogance down before he ended up in the hospital or a ditch someplace.
    Wrapping my arm around his neck, I heaved him away from the edge of the cage and hooked my leg around his. He went down like a sack of potatoes, landing flat on his face.
    “You need some fuckin’ manners,” I said, ramming my knee into his lower back. “You don’t talk about Lori like that, period. You don’t talk about any woman like that, you hear me?”
    “ Fuck you! ” he roared as he bucked against me, but I had him pinned to the ground like the helpless little worm he was.
    Fisting my hand into his hair, I snarled, “Last chance to tap, Storm.”
    He bucked again, which I took to mean he’d rather win or die trying. That was as good as saying no in my book. I could definitely help him with the latter if he was that determined.
    “This is your last warnin’,” I said. “Stay away from her, or I’ll put you down for good.”
    Pulling Storm’s head back, I slammed it into the ground, the shock of the blow vibrating up my arm as his entire body went slack. I held for a second, but he didn’t move. KO’d. Talk about a fucking full stop.
    As I shoved to my feet, the crowd began to cheer and stomp on the bleachers. The referee went to grab my arm and raise it to declare me the winner, but I pushed him away and walked straight out of the cage, blood still dripping from the cut over my eyebrow.
    Maybe it was the buzz from beating Storm’s ass, or maybe it was the testosterone, but I carved a path through The Underground…straight to the bar.

10

Lori
    I couldn’t leave the bar.
    Knowing that Storm and Goblin were currently duking it out in the cage had me wired, and I paced up and down, desperate to see what was going on. I had never been interested in watching the fights, not to the point I wanted a ringside seat, but tonight, I was itching to see who had the upper hand.
    I hoped it was Hamish because Storm had an ass beating coming to him.
    The crowd let out a collective ohhh as someone landed a hit, and I squirmed.
    “What’s up your ass?” Sandra asked. “You’re pacing like a hungry lion.” She gestured to the empty bar, waving her hand like a model gesturing to the grand showcase prize pack on a game show. “We never get lulls. Enjoy the silence, Lori. Enjoy it .”
    The last thing I wanted to do was explain my raised anxiety levels. Then the questions would start, and I didn’t want to be flapping my gums about what happened with Storm. It was humiliating enough, and if it began to spread around The Underground, I may as well just curl up into a ball and cry endless tears of humiliation.
    The fight went on, and I tried to put it out of my mind even when everyone started chanting Goblin at the top of their lungs. Pulling a rack of clean glasses out of the dishwasher, I smiled to myself. I hoped he’d landed one right in Storm’s filthy balls.
    Placing the heavy load of glasses onto the bench, I got a funny feeling I was being watched. My skin began to prickle, and I uncurled my fingers from the rack, wondering if it was a good idea to turn around. Maybe I should arm myself. For a second, I tried to think of a suitable weapon that was within reaching distance until I shrugged off the stupid notion. The only thing there was a stack of pint glasses.
    Glassing a guy at The Underground. That was a surefire way to get booted out onto the street.
    Sighing,