Knockout by Sarah T. Ashley Read Free Book Online Page B

does ‘roids,” she said.
                “You think I do steroids? Sweetheart, if you saw me fight just one time, you’d know that this is all me,” I said as I stepped back so she could get a good look at me. Despite the fact that she rolled her eyes, she let her gaze drift up and down my body. The heat from her look made me shift as a shot of lust went straight to my cock at lightning speed.
                “So, let’s say that I do agree to take you on, what can you really bring to this gym?” she asked.
                “Well, myself,” I said, puffing up my chest. I wondered what she was missing about this equation. Her gym was basically falling apart. The training ring that dominated the space was sagging, and all of her equipment looked outdated. If I hadn’t been desperate, given my former gym’s reputation, I didn’t know whether or not I would have even considered this place.
                I watched as Emily’s face clouded with something that seemed close to rage. I might have been mistaken, it could have been passion. Smirking at the thought, I noticed that Emily’s frown had tightened.
                “I’m not an idiot,” she said. “I know that this place is kind of shabby, but if we’re going to sponsor someone I need it to at least vet the person. I’ve never seen you fight. How do I know that you’re anything that you claim to be?”
                “Well, come to my next fight. Then you’ll be able to see that I’m the best of the best.” I actually felt a glimmer of doubt as I waited for her to answer. She wasn’t like most of the women I met, who were instantly ready to jump me. And the fact that she seemed put off by me made me want to pursue her even more.
                “I don’t know,” she said, but I could tell she was thinking about it. She was chewing on her lower lip in a way that turned me on. I tried to shake the image of her naked, writhing in pleasure beneath me, from my mind. “Okay. I’ll come.”
                “No doubt about that,” I said under my breath.
                “What was that?” she asked with a sharpness in her voice that made me smile. I knew she’d heard me.
                “Nothing. I just knew you wouldn’t be able to resist seeing me in action,” I said.
                She narrowed her eyes at me, and moved so that the desk was between us. As she rummaged around in a drawer, she said, “Give me the address and time of the fight. I’ll come check it out. If I like what I see, then we can talk about sponsorship.”
                I took the paper and pen that she offered me, and leaned over the desk to write. The move brought us closer. I said, “You’ll like what you see. I guarantee it.”

Chapter 3
    Emily
                I looked at the address in my hand again, and stared suspiciously at my GPS. The first time it told me to take a turn into the seedy part of town, I complied because I knew that sometimes fights took place in the older warehouses down by the docks. Some of the fancier gyms had rehabbed those buildings with the intent of turning them into first class arenas.
                The second turn took me into a yet to be gentrified area, and I just knew at that moment that Kirk wasn’t the kind of prize fighter I was looking for. He’d invited me to an illegal, bare knuckle fight. I should have just turned around and gone home. And yet…part of me wanted to see him in action. He was so feral, like a wild animal. He exuded tension. It had been all I could do when he was in the gym to keep my eyes off his throbbing muscles. He seemed coiled like a snake ready to strike. In a fighter that could be a potent characteristic. If only he was legit, then he would have been right and all of the gym’s problems would be solved.
                When I finally found the building that the