Her Tattooed Savior (New Adult Wrestling Erotic Romance) (4 page)

She wasn’t even sad to be leaving the town she’d grown up in. She felt
bad to be leaving the diner without notice, but she hadn’t spoken to her
parents in two years and Ronnie had cost Mandy her
friends
years ago. She had nothing to lose, but still she was scared. She was scared of
Ronnie hunting her down, she was scared of having no money, but most of all she
was scared of what tomorrow would bring.

The ride wasn’t as exhilarating as it once was, and after Jay had come
to her rescue she thought she’d feel like a princess being saved by a knight on
a noble steed. Instead she felt defeated, shamed, and helpless. All her life
she’d been the victim, and tonight was just another example of that.

“If you want,” Jay said as he pulled up to the hotel he and the rest of
his wrestling company were staying at. “I can get you your own room. I have a
suite though, and I’d feel a lot safer if you spent the night in my room. No
funny business, I can sleep on the couch.”

“Okay,” Mandy nodded, still wearing her helmet. “I don’t think I want
to be alone right now anyway.”

“Can you walk?” Jay asked after he’d parked his bike.

“I think so,” Mandy nodded, but he still offered her his arm and she
used his strength to help her limp into the hotel and on to the elevator.

“Top floor?” she noted when Jay pressed the button.

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “Suites are part of my contract. You sell enough
merch for the company and you can basically get whatever you want.”

He helped her into the room and Mandy let out a gasp. The hotel suite
was bigger than her apartment and much cleaner too. Sure, there were some
clothes laying around and a few pairs of very large shoes, but what made Mandy
blush was the boxers that were thrown on the couch.

“It’s late,” Jay said as he helped her into the bedroom. “Feel free to
use the bed. The couch pulls out and I’ve slept on worse.”

“Okay,” Mandy nodded. Part of her wanted to ask him to get into the bed
with her. Not for sex or anything like that, but she wanted to be held. It had
been the strangest, worst, and somehow best night of her life and all she wanted
was physical comfort, but she got in the bed and watched as Jay turned out the
light and left.

She didn’t know when, or even if she’d fallen asleep at all, but when
she woke she had no clue where she was or how she’d gotten there. It took her a
minute to remember why she was in the hotel bed and why her foot hurt. Even her
head was pounding from where Ronnie had ripped out a chunk of her hair. It all
came rushing back, especially thoughts of Jay.

Mandy forced herself out of bed and hobbled out of the suite’s bedroom.
She expected to see Jay asleep on the couch, but she found herself alone in the
hotel room. She almost panicked that somehow Ronnie had found them and done
something to the man who’d saved her, but she forced herself to calm down and
when she did she saw a scribbled note let on the coffee table.

“Mandy,” his note began. “Down at the gym. Be back by lunch. Call room
service if you’re hungry.”

Hungry was one thing she wasn’t. After everything that had happened,
the last thing Mandy wanted was a meal. Her stomach was still in knots and she
wasn’t sure what to do with herself. It was only eleven and she didn’t know
exactly what time Jay’s note meant by lunch.

She settled on a shower to wash off her smeared makeup and bloody foot.
The hotel’s bathroom was nicer than her own, but the whole place was just that.
Mandy was just going to have a shower, but then she saw the suite’s whirlpool
tub and she couldn’t resist it. She’d been through enough that she felt like
she just might deserve a relaxing soak and she started to fill the tub.

Mandy didn’t even bother to wait until it was full. She stripped off
the clothes she’d slept in and unwound the bloody bandage on her foot before
she stepped into the luxuriously hot water. The water swirled around her aching
muscles, her throbbing head, and her cluttered mind as she let herself relax in
the warm bath. Nothing could trouble her there, nothing could hurt her. She
could just relax and think about nothing at all.

“Mandy?” Jay’s deep voice called as he stepped in the door. “You up?”

“I’m in the tub!” she called back as she dipped herself deeper under
the bubbly water. She was worried she might be overstepping her welcome, but
she heard Jay laugh.

“I’ll wait in the living room,” he told her. “I put your backpack in
the bedroom.”

Mandy forced herself from the tub and grabbed a towel. She knew he
couldn’t see her if she went straight to the bedroom, but she still half ran
and a half hopped as she got back to the room and slammed the door behind
herself. She didn’t return until she was fully dressed in a pair of black
leggings and a pink t-shirt.

“Hey,” she greeted him as she came out of the room. Jay looked a little
more like the guy from the wrestling ring when she met him in the living room.
His hair was damp with sweat and he smelled of exercise and exertion as he
stood to greet her.

“How are you feeling?” he asked her, his green eyes looking her over as
he did.

“Better,” she smiled back at him.

“Good,” his deep voice answered. “I’m going to take a shower and then I
have to get back to the stadium to get ready for tonight’s show. I want you to
come with me, if that’s okay.”

“That’s fine,” she nodded. She’d feel a lot safer there than she would
alone in his hotel room. Having one big, muscular wrestler with her was good,
to have a company of them would be better.

The stadium was a buzz of activity when they got there. There were no
ticket holders, there wouldn’t be for a while, but people were running around
and doing check after check as they walked through the hall. She was still
wearing her borrowed shoes and vowed to find the woman who’d lent them to her.
She knew they were ruined, but she could at least thank her and apologize for
wrecking what were probably custom sneakers.

Jay led her to the greenroom and helped her to a plush leather couch.
“From here,” he told her as he pointed at the large window covering the one
side of the room, “you should be able to view the whole show. It’s a lot
crazier than last night’s show. That was just a house show. Tonight we’re live
on TV, which is always pretty cool. The Starlets will probably hangout here, so
you can thank Sapphire for the shoes when she arrives.”

“Cool,” Mandy nodded. “Hey Jay,” she began as he brought over a chair for
her to put her foot up on. “Can I asked you a question?”

“Sure thing, baby girl,” he smiled at her.

“Is Viper really your last name?”

He laughed at that, a big booming laugh that filled the room. “No,” he
said as he laughed. “That would be pretty great. My real name’s Jason Turner,
but I do go by Jay. Only my mom calls me Jason.”

“Cool,” Mandy blushed. “My last name’s Swift, if you’re curious.”

“Okay,” Jay smiled. “Now I have a question for you. What are your plans
now? I don’t want to dump this on you, but after today we’re back on the road.
What are you going to do?”

“Um,” Mandy mumbled as she felt panic rising in her gut. “I have no
clue. I don’t think I can go home. My aunt lives in Mississippi, maybe I could
go there.”

“You could,” Jay shrugged. “But we’re always looking for skilled
workers who are okay with being on the road most of the year. If you’re up for
it, I could see about getting you a job with us. It’s not great money, but your
travel expenses would be paid and you’d get to see the whole country.”

“I guess it would depend on what it is,” Mandy told him. “I’ve only
ever worked as a waitress.”

“I’ll ask around,” Jay told her. “I’ll let you know if there’s anything
and we’ll go from there. I don’t want to pressure you, but I can’t just up and leave
tomorrow without knowing you’re going to be okay.”

“Thanks Jay,” Mandy smiled. “I think I will be.”

Jay left Mandy in the greenroom, but she wasn’t alone for long. A few
of the Starlets came in and joined her before the show began and she finally
got to meet the woman who’d given her the shoes.

“I’m really sorry, Sapphire,” Mandy said to the beautiful raven haired
wrestler from her spot on the couch. “I kind of got blood in them. When I can,
I’ll pay you back I promise.”

“Oh my god, don’t even think about it,” the Starlet told her. “And call
me Sharon, Sapphire’s my ring name.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” a blonde woman with toned arms said. “Jay
told us what happened, we’re happy to help.”

“Oh,” Mandy blushed. She didn’t really like a bunch of people knowing
about her meth addicted boyfriend, or probably ex-boyfriend now, beating her in
the parking lot.

“Honey,” Sharon said as she gave Mandy a hug. “We understand. A few of
us have been there ourselves. We take care of our own here.”

“Definitely,” the blonde said before she introduced herself as
Caroline. “What are you doing after the show? I mean, rumor is you’re coming
with us.”

“I’m not sure,” Mandy shrugged. “Jay mentioned something about me
working for the company somehow.”

“Like as a Starlet?” Caroline wrinkled her slightly crooked nose.

“No,” Mandy laughed. “I don’t think I’m tough enough. Probably like an
assistant or something.”

“Hmm,” Sharon thought about it. “The only person who is actually
looking for an assistant right now is Iva, but you’d need to know how to sew.”

“I can sew!” Mandy jumped on that. “I mean, I don’t have a machine
anymore, but I know how to sew. I even made my own prom dress in high school.”

“Okay,” Caroline laughed. “I’ll tell Iva. She can never keep an
assistant long. Mostly because of the traveling, but the woman has high
standards too.”

Before she knew what was happening, Mandy was meeting with the
company’s seamstress. She was an older Russian woman with stern eyes and thin
lips, but she was at least willing to talk to Mandy and see if the young woman
was up to working with her.

“Yes,” Iva said in a thick accent. “You have good fingers. I give you a
chance. You start tomorrow, there will be many ripped pants,
I
am sure. If you are no good, I fire you. Yes?”

“Sure,” Mandy nodded. At least she was getting a chance.

“Hey,” Jay walked in on the four women talking. He had changed into
wrestling trunks with high boots, but he was wearing a black t-shirt with a
viper on it to cover his chest. His long hair was tied back, but somehow he
still looked so sexy. “Colin, he’s our lighting guy, thinks he might have
something for you. No guarantees, but at least it’s a maybe.”

“No,” Iva snapped at Jay. She was a tiny woman, but even a big guy like
Jay took a step back from her. “She is my new assistant. For now at least. If
she is rubbish, then Colin can have her.”

“All right,” Jay laughed. “I’ve got to go do a meet and greet before
the show. You still okay up here?”

“Yeah,” Mandy nodded. “I am a little hungry though,” she said. She
hated to intrude, but she hadn’t eaten since the day before and she finally had
an appetite.

“We have to do the meet and greet thing to,” Sharon told her. “But I’ll
get a P.A. to bring you some snacks and keep you company until the show starts.
Cool?”

“Sure,” Mandy nodded. She’d never been doted before on and she could
sense their pity, but she wanted nothing less than to be left alone.

True to their word, a production assistant showed up with a sandwich in
a
styrofoam
container. It wasn’t the tastiest thing
she’d ever eaten, but Mandy happily munched on it while the assistant, a man
about her age, sat with her on the couch. He didn’t say much, but she was happy
to have the company while she sat in the greenroom.

Sharon and Caroline returned to the greenroom just as people were
starting to come in to the stadium seats. The production assistant left almost
as soon as the women entered the room, and before long other Starlets and
managers were filling the space to watch the show.

“Jay’s the opening match tonight,” Sharon informed her as Mandy hobbled
over to the window. “He’s up against Dave again. Should be pretty fun to
watch.”

“Dave?” Mandy asked.

“Red Stark,” Caroline laughed. “They’ve had a rivalry the last few
weeks. As far as I know they have a couple more matches after tonight, but
being the opener is a pretty big deal.”

“Cool,” Mandy said as she leaned on the windowsill.  She watched
as Jay stormed out of the back and the crowd roared for him as he pulled off
his shirt and threw it into the audience.

“So smart of him to turn face,” Sharon nodded as she watched Jay’s
entrance. “I don’t think he can ever go back to heel again, but stranger things
have happened.”

“Everyone keeps saying things like ‘heel’ and ‘face’, but I don’t get
it,” Mandy had to ask. “I don’t understand.”

“A heel is a bad guy,” Caroline explained. “And a face is a good guy.
Long time wrestling slang. You’ll get used to it.”

Mandy returned her focus to the ring. They were pretty far away, but
she still go an excellent view of the two wrestlers as they began their match.
She watched Jay throw his opponent, and she gasped when it looked like the
other man broke Jay’s back over his knee.

“He’s fine,” Caroline assured her. “It looks worse than it is. Still
hurts though.”

“Looks like,” Mandy nodded as she watched from between the two
Starlets. The crowd roared below them and she leaned as close to the glass as
she could to see Jay climb to the top of the ropes and then throw himself into
the air, slamming his body on to Red Stark’s while the crowd went wild.

“Here comes his finisher,” Caroline told her. “He calls it the Snake
Bite. It’s a pretty lame name for an awesome move if you ask me, but it’s got
to make sense with the persona, ya know?”

“Sure,” Mandy nodded like she understood. She was more worried about
Jay getting hurt than what the moves were called. How he was able to flip the
other man over while holding him in a headlock seemed insane, but he made it
look effortless as both their feet left the mat and then they landed with a sickening
snap.