Read Online Clinch (The Underground Book 2) by Becca Jameson - Free Book Online Page A

chuckled. “It grows on you. Give it time.”
    “I don’t think I’m willing to invest enough time in here to let it get that far.” Katie shuddered.
    Alena giggled. “You will. You’ll see. I love it. I don’t get to come often because these brutes are so damn overprotective,” she elbowed Ivan in the ribs, “but it’s exciting. Especially when you know the fighter personally.”
    Leo glanced down at Alena’s clothes and found that Ivan hadn’t fared much better than Leo. The woman had on jeans at least, but they were painted on, and her heels made her legs far too sexy in the skin-tight denim. Her shirt was hardly better than Katie’s, a maroon blouse that didn’t hide her breasts enough in Leo’s opinion.
    Ivan must have agreed, because he kept angling Alena in a way that kept most people from seeing her chest so blatantly.
    The boom of the announcer drew Leo’s attention to the ring. The four of them stood several yards from the fence. Close enough for the women to see without too much difficulty, but far enough to keep bodily fluids from raining down on them.
    “In the right corner, new to the Chicago area, we have Sly ‘Kingman’ Growder…”
    Katie lifted onto her toes to get a better view.
    Leo set his lips near her ear to speak over the announcer. “I’ll try to give you a play by play, but there aren’t many rules in the underground. They’re lucky today. The ring brought in for the fight at least has a floor that’s padded. Sometimes they fight right on the dirt or uneven stones.”
    She shuddered. “Lord.”
    “…And in the left corner we have Mikhail ‘The Warrior’ Dudko.”
    “So they can do anything they want? Kick anywhere? Hit anywhere?”
    “Basically. A few things are frowned upon, but not strictly adhered to. If a guy wants to live to make it to his car, for example, it would be best not to gouge his opponent’s eyes or squeeze his scrotum. The ref won’t stop the fight over it, but his entourage will raise hell in the parking lot.”
    She nodded.
    It was hard to look away from the soft curls lying over her shoulder to watch the beginning of the match. Leo had to force his gaze from Katie to Mikhail.
    Mikhail hopped on one side of the ring with his fists in front of him. His spiked blond hair stood on end, his ice-blue eyes boring into his opponent.
    The crowd screamed as the fight began and the ref stepped out of the way.
    Sly “Kingman” was indeed new to the circuit. Leo had heard of him, but he’d never seen him in action. The man was built, but not as large as Mikhail. At six five, Mikhail was the tallest fighter Leo knew. Leo himself was damn tall, but Mikhail had him beat by an inch.
    Katie stepped back, plastering herself against Leo, who gripped her tighter around the waist. Her breasts rested on his forearm, distracting him every time she moved.
    She spoke with Alena, who pointed at different things happening in the ring, but it was impossible to hear what the two were saying over the roar of the crowd.
    The betting had stopped. All that was left was the fight to the finish.
    Leo’s heart beat harder at the thrill of the fight. Even when he wasn’t the one in the ring, he experienced some of the same sensations as whichever of his friends was throwing the punches.
    Mikhail spun around to land a high leg kick to the Kingman’s upper thigh, knocking the man back a few feet.
    Kingman recovered quickly, however, and returned with a flurry of right hooks. He might have aimed at Mikhail’s face, but he wasn’t tall enough to do much damage.
    Every few seconds, Katie flinched.
    Ivan nudged Leo subtly with his elbow, making Leo follow his friend’s gaze to the other side of the ring. A man stood stock still across from them. His attention wasn’t on the fight, however. His feet were planted and his arms crossed. And his gaze was on Leo and Ivan.
    “Think he’s one of Yenin’s cronies?”
    “Could be,” Ivan shouted back. “No telling. But I don’t like