A Fighter's Choice (4 page)

Amber knocked three times for the other woman to know
it was her. Opening the door, she found Brooke smoking a cigarette.

“Come in, honey.” She waved the smoke out of the way.
Glancing up at the fire alarm in Brooke’s room, she saw it was disconnected.

“Harold will be pissed,” Amber said, closing the door.

“Nah, he’s the
one who disconnected it for me.”

“Is that your last set for the night?” Amber went into
the small bathroom and started fixing up the wash basin.

“Yeah, I’m not in the mood to see men salivating after
me who are not my husband.” Brooke pulled a robe on, taking a seat in the
chair.

“I don’t know how you two do it. I always expected for
men to be a little more possessive of their women. Harold is certainly
different.”

She entered the room again, to see Brooke removing the
red wig she always wore. The other woman had beautiful blonde hair, but she
always covered it up with a wig or some crap to hide her natural color.

“Harold’s always been a little different, honey. He
gets off on seeing men looking at what’s his.” Brooke finished the cigarette
and grabbed a bottle of water. “The other girls, they offer something else in
those rooms in the back. You know it, I know it, and so does Harold. He makes
them pay him a percentage in order to keep them safe. I’d never be in those
rooms, and he knows it. He likes men to look but not touch. I like driving him
crazy.”

Amber shook her head. “It still seems a little extreme
for me.”

“You’ve just not met a man you’re willing to do
whatever needs to be done to keep him.” Brooke placed a hand on her arm,
tapping her. “Don’t worry, you’ll find out when you meet someone.”

Jasper came to mind, but she pushed him out.

“Oh, I know that look. You’ve found someone, haven’t
you, honey?”

Amber shrugged. “I don’t know if I’ve found someone or
if it’s just, I don’t know. It’s complicated.”

“Do tell. If Harold’s sent you back here, he’s got
everything covered until he
comes
calling for you.
Spill the beans. I want to know.”

Rinsing out the cloth, Amber started to remove
Brooke’s makeup to reveal the beautiful woman underneath.

“He’s my neighbor. I’ve seen him a lot over the last year,
and by seeing him, I mean passing him. Last weekend and tonight, we talked.” If
you could call what they discussed talking. She tucked some hair behind her
ear, rinsing out the cloth again. The foundation turned the water in the basin
brown. Brooke always used too much makeup.

“So, what gives?”

“Nothing gives. I don’t know. He’s weird. I mean, he’s
a fighter.” She glanced behind her back, making sure no one could see them.
“You know, one of those illegal fights we’ve heard the girls talking about.”

“Don’t worry, Amber. I won’t tell. People know when to
talk and when not to talk. I can keep my mouth shut.”

“He’s always covered in bruises.” Amber shook her
head, going back to cleaning Brooke’s face. “I don’t know. We’ve talked more in
the last couple of days than in the whole year of living across from each
other.”

“Sometimes it takes others to get a bit more
comfortable with others before they can talk.”

“I don’t know. I doubt anything’s going to happen.
Jasper’s hot. I mean, hot with a capital H.”

Brooke chuckled. “You don’t think you’re hot?”

“I’m not in the league with Jasper and other women.”

“You sell yourself too short.” Brooke took the cloth
from her hands. “You’re a beautiful, sexy woman. If you were more comfortable
Harold would have you up on the stage, and you’d earn your keep easily.”

Amber stayed quiet. There was no chance she’d get on
the stage to dance. It would be too humiliating.

A knock on the door sounded. “Amber, we need you out
here, now.”

Rolling her eyes, she smiled down at Brooke. “I better
go.”

“Think about what I said. You’re not ugly, Amber. You
should see your value.”

Closing the door, she got stuck back into work. It
looked like a bachelor party had just entered waving the cash. It was going to
be a long night.

Chapter Four

Jasper waited outside of his apartment building for
Amber’s car to appear. His lip was split. The kid who’d been his opponent today
knew how to use everything to his advantage. After the fight, Steve kept trying
to get him to be part of the big league fights. Jasper wasn’t interested. His
body was hurting and not in a good way. There was no way he would compete in
fights to the death. He kept the hood of his jacket up so no one would
recognize him. The cops had turned up unexpectedly, and instead of cleaning up
his face, he’d grabbed his kit and was out of there before anyone stopped him.
Being locked in a cell for a night was not something he ever looked forward to.

He wanted to make sure Amber got home safely. The need
to see her was also driving him crazy. They’d been neighbors for a year, yet it
was only now that he cared as to what happened to her. None of it made any
sense to him.

The heat of the night was making him sweat, and he
tugged the hood down, happy no cops had followed him home.

Seconds later, headlights appeared in the parking lot.
He watched the lights turn off, the door open, and Amber appear. She wore a
tight red shirt that revealed her stomach. Her body was curvier than a lot of
women liked, but Amber got away with showing a lot of flesh.
 
When they’d been doing their washing
together, he saw she was a size sixteen to eighteen. There was something about
her that called to him. Her legs were on show in the small shorts but not
overly so. Again, she wasn’t too slender, and her legs didn’t show any apparent
gap between as she walked. A lot of men would probably consider her too fat. To
him, Amber worked with what she got. She looked damn sexy.

She looked tired, clicking the lock on her car,
throwing her bag over her shoulder. Her brown hair was loose as it hung around
her. The length fell a little limply from the night’s work. She looked toward
him as she made her way to the entrance of the building. Amber paused, staring
at him.

“You’re just going to spend the night sitting there?”
she asked, folding her arms.

His gaze went to her impressive cleavage staring back
at him. She really was a beauty with a nice set of tits.

“I wanted to make sure you got home safely.”

“Why?”

Jasper climbed off the bench and walked toward her.
“How old are you?” he asked.

“Twenty-four,
why?”
She frowned as she looked at him. “Did you lose
today?”

“No.”

“It looks like it.” She held her hand in front of her
face and did a circle. “You look a mess.”

Jasper chuckled. “You’re the first woman tonight to
tell me I look a mess rather than hot.”

“Again, it’s all weird.” She yawned, tucking some hair
behind her ear. “As much as I’d love to talk with you, I’m beat.” She rattled
her keys and turned her back on him.

Following her inside to their apartment building,
Jasper wanted to say something to prolong their meeting.

“All those women, the fighting groupies, why don’t you
have one with you?” she asked, turning back toward him.

“I’m not in the mood for them.” He wasn’t a saint by
any means. Jasper had fucked his way through a fair share of groupies. When he
saw the women would literally fuck any fighter, he’d decided to stop fucking
around with any woman. He got tested as he wasn’t always careful with a condom.
Since he got the all clear, he never went anywhere unless he had rubbers on
him. No other woman was getting his naked cock inside them.

“Wow, a guy not in the mood for sex. How old are you
anyway?” she asked.

“I’m twenty-four.” He’d been shocked by the fact they
were the same age. She raised a brow.

“Wow, really. You’re not that old then.” She gave a
little chuckle. He stared at her back as she grabbed her mail from the boxes.
For some reason the mail for their apartment building always arrived late. He
rarely got early mail.

“How was work?” he asked.

“Busy. There was a bachelor party, and it took some
time to get them moving along. Don’t
worry,
my boss
took care of it.” She looked through the envelopes and blew a raspberry. “Junk
again. Anyway, have a nice night, Jasper.”

She started her walk upstairs.

“Why don’t you ever take the elevator?” he asked. Why
did she intrigue him? Yes, she was a beautiful, sexy woman, but there was nothing
else to pull him in. He didn’t understand this need within him.

“Have you ever watched a crime movie? Seriously, it’s
sick. Elevators are a death trap. You’ve got no chance of me ever getting on an
elevator.”

He quickly grabbed his mail and followed up behind
her.

“You’re starting to make me think stalker now,
Jasper.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Great, I’m sure that’s what every stalker says before
they attack.” She kept walking up to their floor. The lemony scent mixed with
cigarette smoke and alcohol clung to her. He was sure he smelled sex as well,
but he didn’t say anything. She wasn’t the kind of woman to insult, and he
doubted she gave men at the strip club extra.

“Stalkers attack, Amber. I’m not a stalker.”

“You’re a fighter.”

They got to their floor. She rested her back against
her door, staring at him. A small light hung above their doors. Amber looked at
him and winced. “Ouch, how do you do it? It looks damn painful.” She took a
step closer, grabbing his chin and turning his head this way and that. “How are
you going to take care of your wounds?”

The disapproval on her face was clear to see.

“Wipe up and wait for them to heal.”

“You’re a nightmare.” She grabbed his arm. “Come on,
I’ll tend to your wounds like the caring person I am.”

He took his key out and opened his door. Flicking the
light switch on, he watched as she walked in placing her bag on the table
within his kitchen.

“Where’s your first aid kit?”

Jasper kept staring at her, waiting for something
more.

“Please tell me you keep a first aid kit?” She placed
her hands on her hips. “You’re a fighter by profession. You need to have a
first aid kit. There’s no way I’ll believe you’re that stupid.”

“I’m not stupid. The kit’s in my bathroom.”

“Okay, do you want to get it or shall I?” she asked.
She reached in her jeans pocket to grab something. He watched it fall to the
floor. “Shoot.”

His mouth went dry as she bent over, grabbing the band
that had fallen to the floor. There went any control over his cock. He
thickened instantly seeing how tight those shorts were. Her tits were
practically begging to come out of the shirt.

She lifted her arms above her head pulling on the
length of her hair.

“Seriously,
Jasper,
put your
tongue back into your head and get the first aid kit.”

He’d been caught staring. “You go and get it.” He
pulled out a chair and took a seat. His body was hurting but nothing compared
to his cock.

Amber released a little growl and spun on her heel.
She wore a pair of sneakers. There was nothing sexy about them, yet she didn’t
need anything else to show how sexy she actually was. His cock pressed toward
his zipper making it unbearable.

Gripping his cock, he moved the length trying to make
it easier for him.

“You’re quite clean for a single guy,” she said,
appearing, her tits doing that little bounce with every step she took. What
would she look like without a stitch of clothing on? More importantly, why did
he care? She wasn’t his woman. The thought of another man
laying
claim to her filled him with jealousy, though. No other man had the right to
touch her.

She placed the kit on the table and opened it up.

“Have I got your permission to go and get what I need
from the kitchen?” she asked, resting a hand on her hip once again.

“You’ve already taken some sugar,” he said.

Amber rolled her eyes. “No, I asked to borrow some
sugar, and my coffee was much better for it. Now, can I go and grab stuff to
mend your face?”

“Sure.”

****

Leaving Jasper sat at the table, Amber went hunting in
his kitchen, looking for everything she needed. She filled a bowl with warm
water like she had earlier for Brooke. She found several clean cloths and made
her way back to the table.

In the time she’d been gone he’d removed his hoodie and
shirt. The expanse of his chest and abdomen were revealed. Wow, her panties
were soaking wet from looking at him. There was no way this man could be this
hot and get away with it.

She placed the bowl on the table, thankful her hands
were not shaking at the sight of him.