Bare-Knuckle Love (biker gay dark erotic romance) (Rabid Mongrels MC Book 1) (11 page)

Chapter 8

The people outside were ready to rip Jason’s heart out and chew through it, at least that was what Spotty told him as they arrived at the venue. It was an old bowling alley this time, with the cage erected in the basement, just like the week before. Titan won his fight and was now happily celebrating with two chicks on his arms and a big black eye peeking out from underneath the bandages.

Jason’s fight was to be the finale of the evening, and with his opponent being the Freak, he was up for a challenge. The guy was famous for not pulling any punches, and according to the legend he surrounded himself with, he’d been born in an institution for the criminally insane and never met the parents who conceived him within the hospital walls. He reportedly lived in the woods somewhere, and instead of drinking what everyone else did, drank chia seeds in water before each sparring match.

Voices roared outside the makeshift locker room, and Jason already knew the match before his own was over. His skin tingled with the excitement he always experienced before a planned fight. His chest was hot, yet his mind was slowing down, prepared for the rapid thinking required in the cage.

Spotty put a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “He might be the Freak, but you’re the Cannibal, right? You just need to stay up there for long enough so that the fight doesn’t look rigged.”

Jason didn’t even know if he was going to go through with it or not. Hyde had been a complete shit since yesterday. Sure, he was still hot as hell, but the way he acted made Jason wonder if he wanted to fuck Hyde anymore. Maybe he’d be better off winning the fight, showing Hyde the finger, and running off?

The door opened, and Hyde marched in, as if called over by an unexplainable power.

“Five minutes,” he said, circling Jason, with his hands down his pockets.

The tension between them was like a living, breathing thing, ready to attack any second.

“I know,” Jason snarled in reply, refusing to look up. He was so done with Hyde. He was so done with
men
.

Hyde nodded at the door. “Spots, go talk to Jack. He wanted something.”

Spotty looked at his watch. “Might as well. Good luck,” he said, with a slap to Jason’s shoulder.

Jason just groaned in reply. The last thing he wanted was to be in the same room with Hyde. He’d opened himself up, went with all the fag stuff despite his fears and better judgment, only to get rejected. As if
he
was the one pushing for sex in the first place.

“Are you ready to get your ass handed to you on a platter?” asked Hyde with a big grin. His fingers sank into the tense flesh of Jason’s shoulders, massaging the muscles.

“Get your fucking hands off.” Jason hated how good Hyde looked with that smile. His long hair was tied into a messy ponytail, the scruff on his face was a few days overdue for shaving, there was a hole in his T-shirt, and he still looked like a million dollars. Jason wanted to win the fight just to wipe that pretty smile off his face.

“You chickening out?” Hyde walked away, but Jason stilled when he felt a tingle of electricity around his neck.

Jason curled his fingers into fists. “This is what you gonna do? Shock me before the fight? Why not go all the way and fucking Taser me, huh? It’s gonna be hard to tap out, though, if I’m not moving.”

Hyde laughed and walked over, pulling out a bundle of keys. He was looking through them one by one, making a show of it, even though they both knew which one would open the padlock on Jason’s neck. “I’m gonna trust you’ve been trained well enough by now.”

“I’m not your dog.” Jason ignored the way Hyde’s fingers tickled his chin.

“You wear my collar and do as I say,” Hyde said casually as he pushed himself between Jason’s knees.

Jason bit his lips, confused by the mix of anger and excitement. “Not gonna be wearing your collar for much longer.”

Hyde kept his gaze, and Jason’s hopes faltered when that pretty mouth twisted into a cold grin. “I just need you to not fuck up the next few minutes. Then, off you can go, to the pound for all I care.” The collar parted on Jason’s neck, and as much as he despised it when he first got it, his neck now felt unpleasantly empty. He didn’t belong to anyone anymore.

“I’m all about your money. Wouldn’t want to end up in your chair again and have to suck your dick,” he hissed in a sad attempt to save face. At least Hyde couldn’t rub the video in his face anymore and remind Jason how much he loved to suck cock.

“The guy you’re fighting is as greedy as you. He’s been running dogfights for the last twenty years or so.”

Jason gritted his teeth. And he was to lose to that guy? “I’m not greedy. You are.” It wasn’t all that true, though. Jason was greedy for anything Hyde could give him. Any scrap of attention. His brother had been right. He was pathetic.

There were three knocks on the door, and Hyde smiled, already walking over. “You’re on. Make Daddy proud.”

Jason gave Hyde’s back a longing look. He’d show the bastard how much he didn’t care for his cock. It wasn’t even about life, death, or money anymore. Father had taught him all about hiding emotion. If he showed Hyde how much he wanted him, lost the fight just to get him interested again, he’d just prove he wasn’t worthy of that attention. That he was desperate for it like a puppy, that he was more interested in Hyde than in anything else. Then, Hyde would use that against him, as people always did when someone showed how they truly felt. He’d laugh at Jason’s pathetic attempts to grasp for any affection he could get. He’d smoke a cigarette, and fuck Jason’s face, if Jason was lucky. Or unlucky for that matter.

If Jason had any pride left in him, he needed to win the fight, and make a show of how much he didn’t care about Hyde’s beautiful hazel eyes or the touch of his strong hands. That was surely what Jason’s father would advise. Of course, apart from beating him into a bloody pulp for being interested in cock in the first place.

He followed Hyde outside, trying not to look up into the countless faces, hardly recognizable in the sharp light coming from above. The noise was so loud, he felt like his eardrums were about to bust, and he smiled, thinking how ridiculously off-balanced that would make him. He’d lose, just like Hyde wanted.

The basement was a relatively small room with a high ceiling. Steep bleachers wrapped around all four sides around the cage, and the people gathered made so much noise stomping their feet and yelling that it might as well have been a league fight. Keeping his gaze low, Jason saw Hyde’s sneakers rush over the concrete floor. There was only one way left for Jason. He followed the club patch on the back of Hyde’s cut as he climbed the tiny wooden stairs that led to the cage.

His opponent was already waiting. Taller than Jason, with an ugly scar parting his face in two, Freak took a swig of water and put in his mouthguard. It had sharp teeth drawn on the outside. Jason wanted to smash the motherfucker’s teeth in when he thought about all the dogs the bastard hurt throughout the years. He knew firsthand what those poor animals had to go through. Even the ones that won didn’t live good lives.

Freak looked at Jason and grinned behind the mouthguard, before spitting on the mat. With the lights so bright over the cage, the silhouettes around it drowned in shadow, merging into one bulging, roaring mass, but Jason’s eyes were on something else altogether.

Hyde walked around the ring with a cordless microphone in hand. He was looking around, not speaking yet, and the longer it lasted, the more the tension rose. All eyes were on him, and Jason’s drifted to the wet dream of a man as well. Maybe if Jason wasn’t such a loser, he’d have been able to keep Hyde’s attention for longer, but there was no way to hide what he was. A piece of shit from nowhere, with no money, no home, and dirty needs. No wonder Hyde lost interest after a few fucks.

“We’re almost done here,” said Hyde eventually, his masculine voice cutting through the noise as he walked around the cage with a wild smile. “I’ll be short and sweet. You all know Freak. He’s won eight out of his last ten fights, so you can see that he might be the older one here, but his experience pays off.”

Hyde looked at Jason, and when their eyes met, it was as if a beacon of warm light fell on Jason. “His opponent for the night is Pitbull. A local guy, back after several years of fighting God-knows-where. And while he is new to the local scene, many of you probably know him from last week’s stunt. Hope Freak keeps his ears away from those firm jaws.”

Jason frowned and bared his teeth at Hyde. What the fuck?
Pitbull
? Motherfucker had no right to name him! For a moment, he wanted to grab the mic himself and tell everyone he was no pit bull, but he’d just make a fool out of himself. The screaming got too loud anyway when Hyde mentioned the biting.

Excitement, anger, resentment, all mixed in Jason, making a nauseating cocktail.

Hyde laughed. “So, ladies and gentlemen, you can still place your bets during the first round. Who will win tonight? The dog or the master?” He switched off the mic, letting the crowds drown the venue with their loud voices, but Jason couldn’t miss the smirk coloring Hyde’s mouth as he skirted past him. So sure of himself, his strengths, his sexuality, his attractiveness. Nothing seemed to be out of place in Hyde’s world.

Jason wanted to be him, to fuck him, to mean something in Hyde’s life, or at least make a ripple on that perfection. Even if he’d stain it with his grubby hands, he wanted to be a part of it so bad it hurt.

The judge was there, same one as last time, and he gave Jason a sideways glance, before gesturing for both opponents to come over. He stepped back, leaving them space to shake hands, but Jason already knew Freak wouldn’t be one to try and honor the man he was about to fight. The man-mountain folded his arms on his chest and stared Jason down with a mocking smile.

“I’m gonna fuck your ass for everyone’s enjoyment,” he said over the noise, just for Jason’s ears.

For a split second, Jason was too stunned for words. “Oh yeah, fag? That’s what you like?” he mumbled through his mouthguard, stepping closer.

Freak gave him an unpleasant grin. “Good luck,” he mumbled, pulling back, much to the audience’s enjoyment. Freak was a bad guy, and everyone loved him for it. All Jason could do in this situation was to be equally rude or just ignore the bastard. He’d show Hyde what he thought of him.

The fight got off to a rocky start for Jason. In an official MMA fight, he’d never be paired off with a guy as big as Freak, but here, none of that counted. If a guy dared take out his mouthguard, he was even allowed to bite. Well, maybe not rip a piece of another guy’s body, but still. A fight was always a roller coaster, getting thrown around, dodging punches, but this one was about so much more than just physical contact. Hyde’s actions and words messed with Jason’s mind so bad he didn’t know anymore if he was fighting to win or to lose.

Exhausted after several painful rounds, he managed to break even before the big finale. The stakes were high for everyone, and it could be heard in the desperate and angry cries around the cage. Jason had blood from a cut above his brow line clouding his vision, and the ringing in his ears that started with Freak’s last punch was still there, but Jason was proud to see his opponent was tired as well. His powerful, naked chest glistened with sweat, but he was also soft in the knees. Jason could do this. He
could
win.

He stood there, taking deep breaths. Maybe he could use a move his father taught him? Jason hated the bastard with all his heart, but there was no denying that the fucker had been right about so many things. If you weren’t tough, life would chew you up and spit you out. Just like Hyde did. Had his fun and messed Jason up worse than he was before. Thinking of Hyde made Jason scan the crowds for the familiar face.

He was right by the cage, in the narrow circle of glow that made his bright eyes shine. His mouth was halfway open, face flushed with the excitement of the moment. He must have sensed Jason’s eyes on him, as he looked back, without the silly smile this time.

There was no time to look any longer when the mountain of muscle descended upon Jason with all his force. Yet as Jason delivered punches, dodged slaps and kicks, all he had in his mind were those eyes on him. Intense and dark with lust, watching him from above as he sucked Hyde to feed that insatiable need inside. Throat open for brutal thrusts and ready to take all of Hyde’s cum.

Fight or die
, Jason’s father taught him, but Jason had already given up the fight when Hyde truly noticed him for the first time. Why would he listen to the advice of a dead man anyway? What kind of pride was he fighting for, if that same dead man had beaten any dignity out of him years ago? What did he actually have left to lose?