His Regret by Bella J.

Chapter Twenty-Five

When Hunter sawthat tear slip down her cheek, he knew. He goddamn knew. There were a few seconds when he felt like she was no longer there with him, but somewhere else. Hence the reason his palm hit her thigh that one last time. He had to bring her back to him, to what they were doing. Being the selfish bastard he was, he wanted her all to himself. There was no way he would share her with anyone, even if it was just a memory—or a nightmare.

Her body trembled against him and he spun her around, cupping her cheeks in his hands, forcing her to look up at him.

“I swear on my fucking life that I will never let him hurt you again. I swear it, Scarlet.” The second his words left his mouth, she started to sob. Heartbreaking tears streamed down her face, her entire body shuddering from her pain. There was nothing else he could do but wrap his arms around her and just hold her. Her sobs wracked through her body, and all he could do was stand there and hold her as tight as possible.

When did this happen? When did he become the guy who hugged and comforted women? He didn’t do shit like this. But there he was, in the middle of the bathroom, his pants still around his knees and hugging a woman who was crying her heart out against his shoulder.

Well, fuck.

Even though her crying started to slowly subside, it didn’t seem like he was doing enough. He wanted to go out there and track this son of bitch down, make him pay for what he had done to her. Hunter wanted her to have her revenge, but he wanted to be the one to serve it for her—to give her this motherfucker’s head on a silver platter.

He wrapped his hands over her shoulders and pushed her away just a little. “I will make him pay, Scar. I will make him pay for what he did to you.”

She shook her head, her tears still moving freely down her beautiful face. “No. All I want is for him to leave me alone. I just want my life back, Hunter. That’s all I want.”

“And you will get it back. Even if it’s the last fucking thing I do, I will make sure you get your life back.”

She wiped away the lingering tears on her face. “Why? Why would you want to do that for me?”

“I don’t know. I can’t answer that right now. But all I know is that when that big-ass motherfucker had his hands all over you tonight, I couldn’t take it. I wanted to slit the man’s throat.”

She snorted and tried to look down to the floor, but he tightened his hold on her. “I’m serious, Scar.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

“What about your rules, Ace?”

“What rules?” He smiled.

She cocked a brow. “Seriously?”

“Scarlet Woods, you have managed to get me to break all my rules in a matter of days. Rules that countless others have tried to get me to break, but never could.”

“I thought you said you had one rule?”

For a brief moment he kept her gaze, no longer feeling the hesitation he used to feel whenever he looked into her eyes. It was the weirdest thing.

“Blue eyes,” he whispered.

“What?”

“Blue eyes. That’s my second rule. Never a woman with blue eyes.” He stroked his thumb over her eyebrows, his eyes never leaving hers.

There was no need to say anything else. The look in her eyes told him that she understood. Just like he understood her, she now understood him. Both of them had been hurt in the past. Both had something taken away from them. Yet here they were, two broken people who had somehow managed to break down the walls they had built.

His gaze dropped to her dress, which was still wrapped around her waist, and he reached down, pulling the top over her breasts, letting his fingers softly trace down the perfect, rounded swells.

“I have no idea what you did to me.” He grabbed a towel from the rail and softly rubbed it between her legs, gently cleaning the remnants of his release. After tossing the towel to the floor, he moved his hands to her waist and tugged the skirt of her dress down over her hips. “All I know is that from here on out, you’re mine. And I will tear apart any man who tries to take you from me.”

And that was the goddamn truth. Whether he was capable of ever loving again, he didn’t know. But at that moment, he was closer to loving a woman than he had been in a long, long time. And he’d be damned if he would lose that.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder protectively and led her out of the restroom.

They made their way through the bar, and the guy who had walked in on them getting an eyeful of Hunter buried balls deep inside Scarlet stood by the jukebox. Hunter gave him the one finger salute, smiled smugly, and walked out.

On their way to Adam’s beach house, Hunter tried to make sense of everything he was feeling. Even though it was new, it was also familiar. The way his soul reached out to hers, the way he suddenly had this odd sense of possessiveness over her, and how protective he had been over her—it all pointed to one thing. But he wasn’t ready to go there yet. He wasn’t sure he would ever be ready. Everything had happened so fast, he needed to make sure he could trust whatever the fuck was happening between him and Scarlet. But only time would tell, time he was hoping they had.

“Where do you go?” Scarlet’s voice jerked him back to reality, and he glanced her way.

“What do you mean?”

“Last night was the second time you left in the middle of the night.” She looked at him. “And both times you came back battered and bruised. Where do you go?”

Taken aback by her question, Hunter turned his focus back to the road ahead. That was a part of his life he kept hidden from everyone, not wanting to share how deep his scars went. But now, with her, he wanted to open up. He wanted to tell her. The problem was, how did he answer that question without sounding like a complete psycho?

There was only one way he could. “I’ll show you.”

Twenty minutes later, Hunter stopped in front of a house twice the size of Adam’s beach house. The parking area was filled with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Hummers, every expensive car imaginable.

“You came to a party?” Scarlet asked, confused, while staring at the crowd of girls standing outside in their miniskirts, holding their glasses of champagne.

“I guess you can call it that. But it’s not your normal kind of party. Come on.” He got out of the car and walked around to her side. On their way up the stairs, he took her hand. “You need to stay with me the entire time we’re here, okay?”

“Why? What kind of party is this?”

They stopped at the top of the stairs and he stared at her. “It’s the kind of party where money talks, and assholes walk. Inside that house,” he pointed toward the door, “there is no such thing as rules. So you stay at my side and you act like you belong to me.”

“Surely you know by now that I belong to no one, Ace.” She shot him a cocky grin.

He stepped right up to her, glancing down. “You and I both know that is no longer the truth.”

Her tongue flicked out, licking her lips. “And why not?”

He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, tasting the subtle sweetness of cherry. He didn’t kiss her. He didn’t glide his tongue in her mouth. He just touched her lips with his, and he heard her inhale sharply.

“Because you’re mine now. Whether you like it or not.” He placed his fingers against her inner thigh, leisurely stroking his knuckles over her skin. She closed her eyes as he touched her. “And the way your body is responding to me right now proves it.”

The expression on her face was one of pure desire, and he loved it. Just the thought that she was turned on from a simple touch of his hand made him feel like the most powerful man in the world.

She opened her eyes. “Wipe that smug smile off your face. It’s really unbecoming.”

“Oh, you’ll be coming again very, very soon, kitten.”

“Shut up.”

He laughed and took her hand again, leading her into the house.

While they walked through the foyer, he watched her take in her surroundings. If she thought Adam’s house was amazing, her mind was probably about to explode. Everything was gold, marble, and platinum. All sorts of expensive paintings, artwork, and knickknacks were displayed throughout the house. The SOB who owned this house sure had real expensive yet specific taste.

They stopped in front of a guy standing guard by a door leading down to the cellar. As soon as he recognized Hunter, he stood aside and allowed them through.

The lower they went down the spiral steps, the stuffier it felt around them. It was something Hunter knew well. The humid air and the stench of chaos. He had grown addicted to it over the last few years. It was his drug.

“I hope you’re not planning on taking me to some chamber where we’re supposed to participate in some sick orgy.”

“You wish, kitten. The only person getting close to that body of yours is me.”

A few more steps and Hunter paused, turning to face her. “So…I’m not just a private investigator.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Okay?”

“I’m also a cage fighter.”

“Professional?”

He shrugged. “Yes. But mostly no.”

“Well, that answer isn’t confusing at all.”

“Come on.”

The second he led her into the cellar, he felt her hesitate as she stared at what was taking place right in front of her. Chaos.

There was a big iron cage right in the middle of a screaming crowd of men and women shouting at the two men currently kicking and punching the shit out of each other.

“An underground fight club?” The look on her face wasn’t giving him anything. Nothing at all. Was she mad? Was she freaked out? Was she scared?

“Yeah.”

He wanted to say something more, but then he heard someone scream his name over the roar of the crowd.

“Hunter!”

He turned around and saw ninety percent of the crowd turn to look at him.

“Hunter is in the house, everyone!”

A big cheer and applause broke out, and Hunter grabbed Scarlet’s hand, gripping it tight.

She leaned closer into him. “Are you fighting tonight?” she whispered.

“Apparently, I am now.”

A crowd of suits came storming toward them, holding up vast amounts of cash in their hands. The fight that was currently happening in the cage was no longer of any importance. Everyone seemed like they were only interested in him and his fighting skills. Apparently, he’d made quite an impression the night before, and now everyone wanted more of him.

Fuck.There was no way he’d be walking out of this damn house without fighting. He looked down at Scarlet tightly squeezed against his side. “Stay by the corner of the ring.” He took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, wanting to cover her up more. Now he regretted bringing her here. These were all money hungry, arrogant bastards who got off seeing men beat the shit out of each other.

Of all the stupid ideas he’d ever had, this one was by far the motherfucker of stupid ideas.

Hunter pulled up a chair and made her sit. The crowd was cheering him on as the fight in the cage seemingly came to an abrupt end since one opponent was lying facedown on the floor with a pool of blood around his head.

Shit. He needed to remind himself to kick his own ass later.

Crouching down in front of Scarlet, he held a finger in front of her face. “Stay. Here.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“Stay.” He walked backward while keeping his gaze on hers, silently conveying the message that she should not even try to fucking move. “Stay.”

After pulling his shirt over his head, he walked into the cage and heard the click of the lock behind him. His opponent was already jumping up and down, psyching himself up for the fight. Normally, Hunter would do the same by cracking his neck and knuckles, stretching his arms and legs. But tonight he didn’t want to waste time. He wanted to get this fucking over with so he could get Scarlet the hell out of there. Well, that, and to go home so he could lose himself between her legs, make sure she couldn’t walk for days.

The second he heard the bell, he gave one last glance at Scarlet. Her eyes were pinned on him and she was clutching his jacket tight in front of her chest.

And then stars just exploded across his vision, his skull literally on fucking fire as his opponent caught him completely off guard.

“Hunter!” Scarlet jumped up and ran to the side of the cage. He wanted to yell at her to go sit the fuck down, but then he felt a hard kick in the side of his ribs.

“Fuck!” He cringed while clutching his gut.

“Hunter Keaton. You get out of there right now!” she ordered, slamming her fists against the bars of the cage.

Dammit.Hunter’s MO whenever he was in the cage was to take as much of a beating as he could before fighting back. To him, it wasn’t about winning. It wasn’t about dishing out a good ass kicking. It was about the pain, pushing his body and mind to the extreme. Maybe it was a kind of punishment. A way to feel like he was paying for all his mistakes. He needed it. Especially when his mind was running in overdrive, when all his regret would suddenly possess him full force. Getting his face punched in and his ribs cracked was the only way to silence the voices.

He was a masochist. A masochist who would always end up winning the battle anyway because the pain would end up making him stronger, wilder.

Yet this time, there was no place for his masochistic tendencies. He had her to worry about, and oddly enough, there were no voices he needed to silence.

Hunter shot up and slammed his elbow right in the guy’s face, blood spilling everywhere. Two more punches to the face and a high back kick later, the guy was on his back, knocked the fuck out.

The crowd burst out into a deafening cheer and the next thing he knew, Scarlet’s body slammed into his, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You scared the shit out of me, you fucking asshole.”

“I’m sorry. This is not how I wanted this night to play out.”

She pulled back and cocked a brow, her lips curling into a mischievous grin that instantly made his cock twitch. “Is it wrong of me to be turned on right now?”

Well, fuck me sideways. Wrong of her to be turned on? Hell, he was turned on. There he was worried she might think he was a masochistic psycho, in the meantime it only turned her on.

“You really are a wild thing, aren’t you, kitten?” He smiled.

“Would you prefer me any other way, Ace?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his hands around the curves of her ass, and lifted her up, purposefully pushing her harder against his dick. “That would be a definitive no.”

“Awesome. Just don’t ever sneak out to one of these fights without me.”

Hunter leaned forward and took her bottom lip between his teeth, nipping down hard. The moan that came from between her lips sent shivers all the way down his spine, and up his cock.

Oh man, he had to get this woman back home pronto.