Fight For You by Kayla Bain-Vrba Read Free Book Online Page B

swallowed, hard. Whereas most fighters were built with pure sex appeal, Bela the Bull was built to conquer. Hers was the rare sexual fantasy, but she was popular nonetheless.
    Cherry's last thought before the fight started was that she should have kissed Berlin goodbye.
    The fight was over in a matter of minutes but not fast enough for Cherry. Bela pounded on her, beating her down again and again with a ferocity that even a fully rested Cherry would have had trouble competing with. As it was, Cherry was not one to give up and kept coming back for more, even when her body screamed at her to stay down.
    When it was over, she barely managed the dozen foot drag before collapsing into Berlin's arms.
    "Never again," she croaked out, shaking her head as Berlin poured water over her, waiting for her throat to be fully functional again. "No more."
    She choked on the water but forced it down anyway, gasping and sputtering, before setting off stiffly.
    "Where are you going?"
    "To find Neel," Cherry answered. "I have to catch him before he leaves, or these double fights will be the death of me."
    *~*~*
    Cherry was pacing back and forth in the arena tunnel, but Berlin was completely at ease, even as Cherry rambled about fight options for the pair of them.
    "Did you know about this?" Cherry demanded, turning on Berlin, hands on her hips.
    Berlin couldn't help the grin that broke across her face. "Yes."
    "I knew it! I knew something was going on. You've been acting funny for days, and I told you I was on to you. Why didn't you tell me?"
    "You didn't need to know." Berlin's shrug and voice were too casual.
    Cherry narrowed her eyes. "Berlin."
    Berlin couldn't keep up the façade and laughed. "You're funny when you get worked up like this."
    With an indignant shriek, Cherry launched herself at Berlin, knocking her from her seated position to one sprawled across the dirt.
    "Hey! Hey! Save it for the match!"
    With one last jab to Berlin's ribs, Cherry got to her feet and strutted onto the arena floor.
    The crowd went wild when Berlin followed; somewhere among them, two sponsors were preparing for big winnings.
    As they circled, Cherry informed her, "I'm not going to go easy on you."
    Berlin grinned. "I might have to, to make it seem like a fair fight."
    With a cry, Cherry threw herself at Berlin's legs. Their fight had begun.
    It was long and exciting, and the audience was certainly getting their money's worth. Berlin and Cherry were evenly matched, Berlin's forethought and strength against Cherry's reactionary contortion. They knew each other's moves and thought processes intimately; there were possibly no better-paired fighters in The Zone.
    That was what the advertisements had said, and it was proving to be true.
    Each time it seemed a breath away from ending, the fight would change. Berlin had Cherry in a chokehold so Cherry flipped up and over Berlin's head, breaking free. Cherry tangled around Berlin, pinning her, but Berlin flexed and kicked her way through Cherry's weak spot.
    Just when Cherry thought the fight would only end when both of them passed out from exhaustion, Berlin stumbled, opening herself up wide for attack. Cherry pounced and a flurry of kicks and punches later Berlin lay pinned beneath her.
    Cherry's cut of the prize money was quite impressive—even after her sponsor took an additional share for no reason—and she babbled about the fight ceaselessly as she and Berlin stripped out of their armor and cleaned up. Cherry trailed off when she saw Berlin smiling to herself and demanded, "What?"
    "Nothing. I haven't heard you like this since we first met."
    Cherry's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're changing the subject. There's something else."
    Berlin turned away, the half-smile still on her face.
    "Did—Did you let me win?"
    Berlin just grinned in response, and Cherry tackled her without thought or warning, knocking the air out of her when they crashed to the floor. She hadn't fully registered the fact that they were