Rage (Galactic Cage Fighters) (6 page)

His beast
had refused to have anything to do with Aubrey and Jessica this evening. He couldn’t understand it; they had always been his favorite bed partners. He enjoyed them both often. But his inner beast kept him from performing. So Rage sat back, allowing the women to pleasure one another while he pretended to watch. He was relieved when they left.

He
then went out into the hallway and waited in the shadows for the human to reappear. He thought Talon would kick her out immediately. To his disappointment, his friend had kept the human in his room for what seemed like forever. He was about to kick down the damn door, but then the human finally made an appearance.

From a distance
, the woman was pretty and sexy. Close up, she was fucking hot. That little halter top was tight across those luscious breasts. His beast craved to lick those warm globes until he made her scream with pleasure. He shook his head, trying to get his beast under control. The fact that the woman blushed like an innocent only fired him up even more. He leaned against the wall beside the elevator doors.

“What were you doing with Talon?”

“It’s none of your business.” She kept her eyes on the elevator doors, willing them to open up. Was he going to tell her to quit again? She didn’t want to talk to him or even look at him. She was afraid that if she looked at him she would start drooling.
Don’t look at his chest, don’t look at his chest!
she thought to herself over and over.

He leaned closer to her, crowding her space and forcing her to look up into his eyes. “Talon is my friend and he has had a rough
time for the past three months. It is my business if another human is trying to jerk him around.”

Rachel glared up
into his dark eyes. “I’m not trying to jerk him around. I like Talon.” She was surprised to find that she really did. Beyond his brooding good looks, the man was funny and kind. She did not get the feeling that he had anything to do with Lindy’s disappearance.

“
Did you like him so much that you let him lick you from head to toe?” Why did he ask that of her?

Rachel immediately pulled her shoulders back. “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you anything about it.”

Rage reached out a finger and ran it lightly up and down Rachel’s bare arm.
Holy shit!
When had her arm become an erogenous zone? At his simple touch she was willing to drop to the floor and spread her legs.
No, no, no! Get control of yourself.

“Talon and I are good friends.
I had offered to share my entertainment for the night with him, which we have done many times in the past. But he turned me down. Then I find him spending time with you. I’m curious. Why don’t you come inside my room and show me what you showed my friend?”
Did he really just say that to her?

“What?” She was breathing hard from being outraged and sadly turned on
by his proposition at the same time. She unleashed some of her anger. “Look, jackass, I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man in the universe!”

Just as Rage was about to make another wisecrack remark, the elevator doors opened.
Zara was standing inside and gave the two of them an inquisitive look. “I was just coming to get you, little human.”

Rachel wasted no time. She
stalked into the elevator and pushed the bottom for the lower level. She glanced up and saw Rage still standing there watching her until the doors shut. She finally let out the breath she had been holding. Any second her heartbeat would slow down.

“I leave you with one male and find you with another. You sure get around
, little human,” Zara commented with a smirk.

“Hey!
I have a name, it’s
RACHEL
. Use it next time.”

“How did things go with Talon?” Zara ignored her outburst.

“I didn’t fuck Talon, which I am sure was your intent, and I most certainly didn’t fuck Rage. Now, get off my back!”

There was an awkward pause. Then Zara laughed. When she was done, she looked down at Rachel. “You have
balls, … Rachel. You are going to need those when you finally get a sanctioned match”

That was all Zara said to her.
No apology or explanation. They went their separate ways when they got off the elevator. Rachel needed a stiff drink badly. She had avoided drinking at the banquet so she could keep alert for the investigation, but she was regretting it now.

Sersan
was already asleep in her bed when she got back to her suite. Rachel did her best to remain quiet as she undressed for bed. She lay down and closed her eyes. Rage’s half-dressed image popped into her mind. He was even sexier up close. She could feel the heat coming off his body. Whatever cologne he was wearing had her panting. Damn him! Rachel tossed and turned, hitting her pillow.

No man had ever made her feel the way he did. She was angry and turned on all at the same time. He had her tied up in knots
, not sure if she wanted to punch him or kiss him. Her subconscious was screaming for her to do the latter.

She needed to stay focused on her investigation. She was grateful to have at least gotten a good start with Talon. The man may not have been involved in
Lindy’s disappearance, but he had important information that could help Rachel uncover the truth.

For that many women to disappear, all having some kind of involvement with
the GCFA, it stood to reason someone connected with the GCFA had a hand in their abductions. She just needed to ease into things. Build trust among the fighters. She frowned, remembering how sad Talon looked. She was determined to find Lindy for him. No, not just Lindy. She needed to find out what happened to all the women.

Chapter 7

“You need to let her go,” Rage said to Zara as they stood side by side watching Rachel and
Sersan fight.

“It’s not up to me anymore. The higher ups are marketing her like crazy.”

“She’s not cut out for this. She’s going to get hurt.”

Zara turned her head to look at Rage. They had both been in the circuit about the same length of time. For a short
while, they had even been lovers. Now they were just good friends. She had never seen Rage take such an interest in a woman before. Especially not a human one.

“Don’t worry, she’ll quit on her own
after her first sanctioned match.”

“If she survives it,” grumbled Rage.

“She has healing implants to keep her alive till the end of the match. Don’t forget that she is allowed to withdraw any time. Why are you so worried about this?” She frowned at him as she studied his reactions.

He shifted but wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “You know how I feel about humans. I just don’t want one hanging around, getting in the way.”

“Are you sure you aren’t bothered more about how much time she’s been spending with Talon?” It was true, ever since the night of the opening banquet, Talon had been receptive to the little human. Even now, he was standing by the side of the mat giving her encouragement.

Rage growled and crossed his arms across his chest. “I don’t want to see Talon get played by another human. That’s all.”

“Right, you keep telling yourself that.” She patted his shoulder.

H
e shrugged it off, annoyed. “Don’t you have a practice match to get to?”

“Yes I do. I get to beat up on your little human. Want to watch?”
She didn’t wait for his answer. She rolled her shoulders and headed for the mat that Talon and Rachel were using. Some of the other men were there watching or giving their advice. Zen was being Zen by flirting and making sexual innuendos.

“Hey
, Starr baby. Why don’t you come to my room later and I can help you with a few
special
moves.”

Rachel rolled her eyes and laughed. “
Does your
special
moves have anything to do with removing my clothes?”

“Ah
, my lovely Starr, you hurt my feelings by believing the worst in me.” Zen teased her, pretending to stick a fake knife in his chest.

Everyone laughed
, including Rachel. Rage looked pissed as he approached. What was happening? Everyone seemed to be adjusting to having a pure human amongst their ranks. This would not do. The woman needed to go, and he did not like Zen flirting with her. He was a well-known horn dog among the fighters.

He looked around
for the trainers, but none of them had arrived yet. He would have to take charge of the situation. “Stop flirting and get back to practice,” Rage ordered.

“Wow, is he always in this much of a good mood?” Rachel asked Talon
, who burst into laughter.

“Rage
the Animal didn’t get his name by being a pussy cat.” Zen explained with a smirk. Everyone else laughed their agreement.

“Enough. Let’s get this beating out of the way. My favorite show is coming on
,” Zara stated loudly enough to shut everyone up.

Rachel tried not to look at Rage. She really did. But she could feel his eyes on her. Watching every step she took, every move she made
, judging her. She wished she was strong enough not to look. But she couldn’t resist.

She glanced over into his sinfully dark brown eyes and shivered. He let off heat like no one else she had ever met. She wanted to rub herself against his skin, soak up his heat.
Where the hell did that thought come from?

Rachel told herself to focus on her match. She was practicing with Zara the Amazon. The woman
had nearly killed her last time. Talon walked close to her and whispered in her ear.

“Watch her
eyes, she squints before she makes a move.”

Rachel nodded. That’s what she remembered from tryouts. Her opponent was fast. She hit hard and she squint
ed right before she pounced. Rachel was determined to make it at least three rounds this time.

“Ready
,
pure
human, for another beating?” Zara taunted her.

“Bring it
, halfsie.”

Zara growled and squinted before she launched herself across the five feet separating them. But Rachel had seen the squint and moved out of the way just in time
, causing Zara to land on her stomach. She quickly jumped back up to her feet.

Rachel had caught her off guard with that move. She wouldn’t get the chance the next time. Zara was more experienced, but she was now pissed off and that
could work to Rachel’s advantage.

They circled each other
, each taking turns punching and kicking. Rachel tried her best to avoid getting hit, especially since Zara had the strength of a Bestial. Rachel returned as many hits as she could. Zara refused to block Rachel’s hits, taking them square on.

Rachel tried an
overhook move. She wrapped her arms around the top of Zara’s arms to hold her in place. It didn’t help that the other woman was much taller. Zara was able to drop down and break out of the hold.

Rachel wasn’t sure of the time.
She was breathing heaving and her body was completely sweat-soaked. She was pleased when Rage called the start of round three. Each of them had landed some pretty tough hits and moves. She wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to hold out though. The good news was that her stamina was increasing and she had learned many new moves, thanks to Sersan and Talon. The bad news was that her time was up.

One minute Rachel was limping a
round the mat, trying to keep her distance from Zara. The next thing she knew, the other woman had reached out, pulled Rachel up, and tossed her over her hip. Rachel landed hard on the mat and Zara had her in a submission hold.

“Match over!” Rage called out.

Zara released her and stood up. She looked down briefly. “Better, human.”

“It’s Ra
… chel,” she croaked out as Zara turned and walked away.

Their trainer came over to look down at her. When had he arrived?
“You need practice getting out of submission holds.”

“
I figured that. Thanks for the input.” She pulled herself up to a sitting position.

“I’m surprised you made it three rounds with Zara. She must have taken it easy on you.” The trainer
turned his back on her as he went to watch another match going on between Taurus and Hammer.

Rage squatted down next to her.
Rachel looked at him curiously. What did he want? Did she look okay? Damn it! It didn’t matter what he thought of her.

“I’ll help you with your submission holds,” he offered.

“What?”

“Your first sanctioned fight is tomorrow night. I’ll work with you today and tomorr
ow after breakfast to help with the submission holds. Don’t want you making the rest of us look bad.”

“Is that the real reason?”

“I just don’t want to see a beautiful woman disfigured. I’ll meet you inside the cage in ten minutes.” He stood and walked away. He smiled, knowing that she was eyeing his backside.