Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance #2)(57)

The roar of the crowd pounded in my ears as I exited the locker room. Holy f*ck, the place was packed to the brim. People standing up in the bleachers, as well as on the floor along the ring boundaries. There were a lot of familiar faces but there were also some that I’ve never seen before.

Trying to block all of them out, I stepped into the ring-like structure. It was nothing but a mat on the floor with people as the boundaries. The crowd parted allowing me to step onto the mat. The man they called the Warrior was on the opposite side of the ring eyeing me up like he could actually f*cking take me. I shook my head; he was about to be knocked into next week.

Warrior had a couple inches on me, but my body was bigger, and I knew I could go longer than he could. I was an endurance fighter, but I also knew to end it when it was time for it to end. I wasn’t about dragging the fight out, just about knocking the f*ckers out.

“Welcome, Ladies and Gents, to the Warehouse fight of the year,” Echo spoke into a microphone, his voice booming out of the speakers.

I stared Warrior down, feeding off the rage that showed in his eyes. The crowd screamed as Echo continued on.

“In the right corner we have the man of darkness, the prince of knockouts, and * pounder of the year, Royal Motherf*ckin’ Black.” The crowd roared to life again, the voices of hundreds of women muttering in my ears. Men wanted to be me at this very moment, and women wanted to be with me.

“In the left corner we have the Warrior, best known for being a warrior on the mat and off the mat. I give you Jackson f*cking Wes the Warrior.” The building seemed to shake with the noise the crowd made. My eyes scanned the crowd for some reason, I didn’t really know why? It wasn’t like Noelle could be here. I made certain she was with Jordan. Still something felt off about the whole night.

“You f*ckers ready to knock each other out?” Echo asked. I nodded my head, forcing my focus on the * in front of me. With both of us nodding in agreement, Echo cued the fight to life. Warrior bounced back and forth, assessing me for some type of weakness. I didn’t have a weakness, at least not on the mat.

“Let’s get this done with, *” I muttered under my breath, stepping into his space. I swung my fist, catching nothing but air. Okay, he could f*cking duck. Cool. He snarled his lip in rage, slamming himself into my chest. I took the moment to slam my knee into his gut, a breath of air leaving his lungs. He hunched over in pain, and I stepped back to land another blow— not noticing the fist that was coming right at my face.

Warrior’s knuckles scraped across my brow, bone hitting bone. Fuck! Pain sliced through my face, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. I have more rage and pain than he has. I have a fire that refused to be extinguished. I was a mess, and I was about to show him just how big of one I was.

My face shot back, and I steadied my feet, raising my fist and hitting him right in the side of the head. For some reason, my eyes caught on something in the crowd. A short girl was pushing herself to the front of the crowd, her hair the color of sunshine and I bet her eyes were hazel.

Oh f*ck no! Rage roared within me, and I took that rage out on Warrior slamming one of my fists into the side of his head. I could see nothing but Noelle as she stared at me in awe as each blow landed with precision against this *’s skull. I wouldn’t stop until blood pooled beneath him. Seeing Noelle here was just what I needed to end this fight quickly. I didn’t have time to make it slow and draw out the pain. I needed to get this over with so I could go and punish Noelle for showing up where she didn’t belong.

His feet gave out and he landed on the mat with a loud thump. I jumped on him, surging forward with my fists. I was a beast, a monster of a man. I had nothing to lose. Warrior’s eyes drifted closed, and blood started to drip from his wounds, bruises forming with each punch. My hands throbbed as I clenched them tighter, blood covering them with a slick coating. I could feel Echo’s hands on me as he pried me off of Warrior’s lifeless body.

“Chill the f*ck out. It’s a fight, you’re not out here to kill him. He’s out, man, you won. It’s over,” Echo whispered in my ear trying to get me to chill the f*ck out. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I refused. The fact that Noelle was here didn’t help matters. She set me off without even knowing it. The warmth of the Warrior’s blood on my hands brought me back to the present. I didn’t give a f*ck if people looked at me like I was a monster. Not when I f*cking was. Their opinion didn’t mean a damn thing to me.

I shrugged off Echo’s hold on my shoulder and walked over to Noelle. The crowd parted for me, and hoots and hollers surrounded me. Hands slapped against my shoulder as a number of people congratulated me.

I shrugged them off, their words, their hands, my mind clinging to one thing, and one thing only. Noelle. I could see two men standing next to her. They were far too close to her, too close to what was mine. Each step I took was deafening, and as soon as I saw the f*cker standing next to her reach out and pull her in for a kiss, I f*cking lost it. Any rational thought or behavior I might have had was gone now. I didn’t know what this piece of shit was thinking, but nobody but me touched Noelle. Nobody but me sure as hell better be put their f*cking lips on her. She was mine. Did I have to spell it out for these f*ckers?

You could say my entire existence was centered on and around Noelle. She brought out the best, the worst, and most protective instincts in me, yet she made me darker and meaner. I was overcome with pure rage; the high from the adrenaline still pounding through my veins. My whole body shook with rage.