Ruined: Loving An Alpha Male: BWWM Romance (16 page)

However, when Mason threw his punches, Travis practically fell over. I walked toward the side of the ring until I came into Travis and Mason’s line of sight. Travis saw me and smiled. It seemed as if seeing me gave him energy. He charged Mason and did a move, rendering Mason on the mat. Alex was yelling at him and, hell, so was Lou. I knew Travis was the king on the floor. He could put you in a hold so tight you would either find yourself passed out or you would tap out.

This fight was over. I could see it. Travis gripped his hands tight together, and I saw Mason’s face grow red. Shit!

Travis then looked at me and whispered something in Mason’s ear. Mason then looked over at me, and I couldn’t meet his gaze. It hurt too much. I simply stood there and watched as Mason was going lights out.

What I learned that moment was to never underestimate Mason ‘The Reaper’ West. Some way he managed to get out of a superb hold. It surprised everyone in the room, including Travis. Mason smiled at Travis and said something I couldn’t quite catch. Then he waited as Travis charged in anger.

Mason wasted no time. He threw a few punches and directed a series of kicks at Travis’ midsection. I could see it was already red, so I knew he was in enormous pain. Mason didn’t care; he was not about to let up. He was relentless. Just before the round was over, Mason stepped up on the side of the cage for momentum and drove his fist to the side of Travis’ face. The hit was so hard that his head snapped back. I watched in horror and awe as Travis fell back against the cage and then hit the mat face-first.

Mason stepped back and waited as the ref counted. His chest heaved up and down, as the ref got to ten and ended the fight. The crowd went bananas. They chanted Reap’s name loudly, as the referee announced Mason as the winner of the fight. Train and two of Trip’s boys entered the cage, as well as his trainer. They gave him some smelling salts to revive him. Once they did, Travis jumped up and was still ready to fight.

I heard him yelling, “You think this is over motherfucker?”

Train was holding him back, but it looked like he was holding him up instead. Mason didn’t seem to care. He took off his gloves, pushed Train out of the way, and walked right up to Travis’ face.

I got close enough to hear Mason say, “Anytime you want to dance, you just let me know. I’ll be there to beat the fuck out of you again, and there won’t be a cage or a referee to protect you.”

He then got closer to Trip, and I could have sworn I saw Trip back away slightly.

Mace said, “If you ever put your hands on her again, I swear in front of everyone in this fucking room, I will kill you slowly and painfully and then revive you only to do the fucking shit again. I will make you regret fucking living every day of your miserable fucking life. Please, test me.”

My hands went involuntarily to my neck, as Mason backed away from Trip. He never lost eye contact until he got to the side of the cage and sat, so Lou could fix the cut above his eye. I then saw Alex lean into Trip’s group.

“You fucking pussies, watch your backs.”

Trip then looked over at me as he was helped out of the cage with his brother. Mason looked over at me, too. It was at that very moment that I wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around me. I heard someone else calling Mason’s name, talking shit, and I turned to see “The Butcher” approaching. I moved next to Alex as The Butcher headed toward the cage.

“Yeah, you try that shit on me, motherfucker.”

He pointed at Mason. Mason watched as his next opponent approached the cage with the air of annoyance and impatience. He looked over at me, and I really tried to sit down slowly to make sure I didn’t show how much pain I was in. But by the look that crossed Mason’s face, I knew I failed to do that. I wanted to cry; it hurt so much. I felt the tears in my eyes, and I wanted to let them go, but I didn’t. I wanted him to focus on this fight. Then we can have our own fight that I knew was coming.

Mason glanced back at the fighter opposite him with, what it seemed to me, a mild calm.

“Hey, baby girl. Are you okay?”

I turned to see Alex looking at me with a caring expression that, for some odd reason, didn’t match what I saw in his dark brown eyes. I’ve been breathing shallowly this whole time, trying to breathe through the pain of my bruised ribs. I simply nodded and gave him a weak smile.

We both turned our attention to the fight in front of us. The Butcher came out with fists flying, and Mason just protected himself.

Alex started yelling, “Don’t play with this clown. Your girl needs you Reap. Put this fucker to sleep, so you can take her home.”

I stared at him with my mouth agape. I couldn’t believe Alex just called me “his girl.” What was even crazier is that Mason listened. I watched Mason dip to the left and come up with an uppercut to his opponent’s jaw. The man back-peddled slightly, and that’s when Mason went to work. He came with a barrage of punches to the face and the abdomen. Then he did a one-eighty turn in the air and kicked the man square in the jaw. The Butcher flew in the cage. Then, as the man righted himself against the cage, Mason met him with a knee to the face. The Butcher went down with a thud, and the crowd erupted.

Mason stood back as the ref counted. As the ref got to ten, he raised Mason’s arm. That ignited the crowd again. Out of the years I’ve been a part of this sport, I’ve never seen a fighter like Mason. And I’ve never felt the way I feel right now for any man
ever
.

I stood slowly as Mason pulled off his gloves, exited the cage, and came toward me. He wrapped my hand around his and walked slowly with me, as he headed to the locker room. When we got to the room, he guided me to a chair. He watched as I sat down, trying not to wince.

I watched as he let Lou cut his tape off and tell him how well he did. Lou told him how proud he was of him, and Mason nodded his thanks. Lou told him to hit the showers.

Then he looked over at me and said simply, “I’ll be five minutes. Then we can go.”

He didn’t wait for me to respond. He just walked in the showers. I saw Train walk into the room, and I tensed up. Train looked over at me and looked like he wanted to say something to me, but Alex and Lou were there.

“You best keep walking,” Alex told him.

“Look, I just want to say to her…,” Train began, but Alex held his hand up to stop him.

“Man, I don’t know the full story about what happened. But it’s clear your fucking brother put his hands on her. Now to be honest, you’re lucky Reap isn’t in here, or you’d be breathing out of a tube right now. There’s nothing you need to say to her that matters.”

Train looked at me, and I shook my head and turned from him. I didn’t see him, but I heard him leave. Mason came out right after with just a towel. He pulled out his sweat pants and sweatshirt, and packed the rest of his stuff in his bag.

He looked over at Lou and said, as he quickly got dressed, “I need a few days.”

“Take what you need,” Lou told him.

Then Lou kissed my cheek and walked out.

“You ready?” Alex asked Mason.

Mason nodded and reached for my hand. I gave it to him, and he pulled me to my feet slowly. I couldn’t look him in his eyes for fear that I would come undone. The walk to his car was uneventful. He got congratulations from anyone that was still around the gym. He nodded his thanks and fist-pumped a few, but he never said any words.

He didn’t say much in the car either as he drove us to his place. He helped me out, since it was painful as hell to bend to get in the car to begin with. I guess pure adrenaline numbed me when I was dropped off. He watched me intently, and I still couldn’t hold his gaze. When we finally got in his apartment, he guided me to his room.

“Let me draw you a bath so you can relax, okay?” he said simply and went in the bathroom.

I heard the bath water running, and he came back out.

“I need to decompress a little, okay? I’ll be downstairs if you need me. Do you need help getting undressed or into the tub?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m okay.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No.”

He sighed and just stared at me for a moment. “Well, I’ll just be downstairs. Call me if you need me.”

He turned and left the room. I wanted to stop him and just ask him to hold me. I wanted him to take away all the fear and hurt I was feeling. But I couldn’t ask him that. I wanted to explain to him why I didn’t call him in the first place, but I knew he wouldn’t understand. I felt like I betrayed him a little, which is why I let him walk out of the room.

I slowly removed my clothes and lowered myself in the hot water. I soaked for a while, trying to figure out what to do about Mason and me. I knew without a doubt I was in love with him. But I also knew he didn’t live in Philly. I knew he wasn’t ready for a relationship and may never be. And I knew he was going to break my heart. But I didn’t care about any of those things. All I wanted to do was to be with him. I would take whatever I could get from him. I just hoped he still wanted me.

I slowly made my way from the bathtub to the bed. I rewrapped my ribs and pulled a t-shirt from his drawer and put it on. I wanted to go downstairs and talk to him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It seemed he needed some time to himself, and I needed to give it to him. I’ve never seen the look he had in his eyes before in my life. He didn’t scare me, but it unnerved me. I knew he was in a dark place, and I needed to let him come out of it before I approached him.

So instead
,
I lay in the bed, hoping he would join me soon. I stared out into the night, wondering what my future would hold. Would he love me the way I loved him?

“Probably not.”

I jumped up at the voice and was instantly thrown against the wall. A tight grip was around my neck so I couldn’t breathe. I fought and clawed at the hand that was pulling life from me, but I couldn’t move it. I felt hot breath that smelled of death on my neck. He was kissing me now.

God, my chest hurt. My lungs; I can’t get air.

“You think I would want you? Your father didn’t even want you. Your grandfather deserted you. It’s your fault I’m here. It’s for the best though; you dying like this. Saves everyone the grief. But first, I’m going to take what’s mine.”

The man licked my face. Then he took his other hand and gripped my sex. “Someone please help me!” I was starting to see spots. The darkness was getting closer.

“No! Please?!” I tried to fight, but the fight was out of me. I took one last breath and screamed as loud as I could. My voice was hoarse, but I screamed anyway. I felt someone grab me and call my name. I started to fight. I felt my strength coming back.

Just keep screaming.

“Pleaseeeee!!” I heard myself, and my eyes shot open.

Not remembering where I was, I scrambled up from the covers trying to get away from a dark figure in front of me. I couldn’t remember where I was, and it scared the shit out of me. The pain hit me from my ribs as I grabbed my shirt and felt it and my hair clinging to me.

“Baby, wake up. I’m here. It’s okay, angel. I got you.”

The sound of the voice in front of me was lifting the haze. My eyes started to focus, and the figure holding me was familiar. Mason was here. I gripped his arms as I tried to catch my breath. My throat hurt so badly, and I instantly reached for my neck. I couldn’t catch my breath. Hell, my chest and ribs were on fire.

“Calm down, baby. Look in my eyes. Come on, baby. Listen to me.” He touched my sweat-drenched face and caressed my hair back from my face. “Please, baby. Look at me.”

Finally, I did, and I saw the blue eyes I fell in love with.

“That’s it, baby. Keep your eyes on me.”

He moved closer to me, still holding my face gently but firmly, so I wouldn’t look anywhere else but at him. I saw him take deep breaths.

“Come on, Allura. Take a deep breath with me. Come on, I know you can do it.”

I couldn’t. It hurt too much. Instead, I just broke down and cried. I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. I felt him pull me into his lap. He held me the way I’ve wanted for days to be held.

“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. It’s okay. Now, you’re safe. I promise he won’t touch you again.”

It seemed I couldn’t get closer to him, so I gripped him as tight as I could.

“I got you, baby.”

I felt him move me slightly, making me straddle him. He pulled me back and caressed my face, taking special care with the bruise that I knew was visible.

“I’ve been an idiot, baby. I shouldn’t have let you leave my car that day. I’ve missed you so much.”

I was stunned. He wiped my tears softly and kissed my tear-stained cheeks.

He said to me, “I know I’m not perfect, and I don’t try to be. But I’m willing to be whatever you need for me to be. Just tell me you still want me.”

I started to get my breath. But the air was so heavy, and I squirmed in his lap. He watched me wide-eyed, as I shook my head. He sat up straighter.

“I want to try, baby. Please, just don’t push me away.”

He tightened his grip on my hips. I looked in his eyes and saw nothing about sincerity in them. I swallowed deeply and then found my voice.

I asked, “Are you sure?”