Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“Go grab a shower in the room, get dressed, and lie down on the bed,” Marco told Kage. “Conserve your energy. You’re going to need it.”
At Kage’s insistence, he and I took a quick shower together, carefully avoiding looking down. Kage needed to stay focused. We lay beside each other on the hotel bed, unmoving, until finally the call came in.
The weigh-in happened inside a daze for me. I watched Kage muster every bit of energy he could as he took the stage, looking like a hardcore animal to anyone who hadn’t seen him dragging ass out of that sauna, or cuddling quietly with me on the hotel bed.
At one point as he spooned me, breathing slowly against my back, he reached around and took my hand and wound our fingers together. “I’m sorry,” he said. “For some of the shit I’ve done, I’m really sorry.”
I knew it was just the weakness talking. He was delirious with hunger and dehydration, and he couldn’t be held responsible for what he was saying. But it still made me feel good.
When Marco fetched us for the weigh-in, we moved like ghosts to the backstage area and waited for Kage’s turn. When they called his name, he ran up the steps and onto the stage. I followed close behind, and he pulled his t-shirt off and handed it to me. Then he stepped out of his shorts, and I picked them up.
He was wearing a sleek pair of biker shorts with yellow trim. Under the harsh lights, I noticed the all-too-visible curve of his cock against his thigh. I cringed, hoping no one would notice, knowing they couldn’t help but notice.
Fuck. Is this gonna be a viral video moment? Then I thought maybe it should be a viral video moment. I could probably make it happen. I was a publicist, after all. And after two months in Vegas, I’d apparently begun to think like one.
Kage took the scales, looking unbelievably cut. Every ridge and dip, shadow and bulge was visible in high definition. When I was able to peel my eyes away from his body, I noticed it had generated a lot of interest among the spectators. “… this guy’s a fucking beast,” one of the men onstage was saying. I had no idea who anybody was, except of course for the Octagon Girls. Every red-blooded male knew who they were, and they were staring at my fighter just as hard as everyone else was.
The announcer called his weight at 169. He’d made it with a pound to spare and hadn’t even had to strip naked to do it.
He broke into a genuine smile, showing off his dimples, and clasped his hands behind his neck to flex for the audience. Damn, he looked good. As usual, his actions were guileless. He might as well been charming the ladies in a pickup truck at the Dairy Queen on a Friday night. I stood off to the side holding his clothes, trying to decide which one I felt more of— pride or jealousy.
His opponent, Grady Larson, was already waiting at the other side of the stage, having qualified at 170. When they stood toe-to-toe, the hometown hero image Kage had projected from the scales was gone, magically replaced by something else entirely. The Machine was in the house, and he was intimidating as hell. I couldn’t say the same for Larson, whose scowl seemed more forced than natural as he pulled his fists up to the sides of his face and popped an orthodox boxing stance.
Cameras flashed, no doubt getting great shots of the stare down, and I glanced down at my arms, which were full of clothes instead of the camera I should have been holding. That’s when I realized I was trying to wear too damn many hats in Kage’s entourage. Publicist, web manager, photographer, training partner, lackey, and lover— or whore as Kage so loved to call it when he was angry at me.
After the flashes stopped, Kage held his stare just long enough to make me scared for Larson. It wasn’t like the guy was a top fighter in the division. This was an early undercard fight, and even as little as I knew, I was pretty sure Kage didn’t belong in the prelims.
I hoped I wouldn’t be proven wrong.
CHAPTER 11
(KAGE)
It was fight night, my UFC debut, and for the first time I could remember, I was shaking in my boots. I was blown away by the lights and the crowd and the fact that I was really finally there. Security guards flanked me, while Jamie and Marco strutted along behind me in their Kage the Machine t-shirts. As we entered the arena to the sound of the crowd, I remember wondering if they were as blown away as I was, and if they were proud to be part of my entourage. My uncle was there, too, but I didn’t dwell on that.