Post by GO FUCK YOURSELF NICK on Aug 9, 2015 10:00:01 GMT -6
OOC: CONTAINS GRAPHIC SEXUAL CONTENT AND VIOLENCE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
In a no-name bar somewhere between Las Vegas and San Diego, Ruby Tyler sat nursing both a cheap beer and her injuries from her latest match. After a week of fan-centric entertainment, it was a relief to be able to fade into the background. Conversations floated around her, mingling with the music from the jukebox. Cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air even though smoking in bars had been banned for years. This far away from civilization, nobody cared. Places like this were the last remnants of the Wild West, safely tucked away on back roads in unincorporated communities that had long ago been bypassed by new highways to more interesting destinations. For Ruby, it was the perfect way to unwind after the brutality of Battle Without Honor or Humanity. She had the night all planned out for herself. Sit and have a couple of beers here, do some research on her laptop, make her way to the motel she’d passed on her way in, catch a couple hours of sleep, and then finish the drive back to San Diego. Others thought she was nuts for choosing to drive rather than fly, but Ruby preferred the freedom and the scenery of the open road.
She couldn’t have made a stop like this in San Diego, that was for sure. Even in the city’s dive bars, she would’ve drawn attention simply by virtue of being female. Out here, few of the bar’s patrons even gave her a second glance. They were more concerned with their own lives than some woman they’d never seen before and would likely never see again. Sipping her beer, Ruby watched a few minutes of the baseball game on the TV above the bar and sighed deeply. This was the closest she’d been to happiness since before her arrival in Las Vegas, and given what she was facing at the next show, probably the closest she was going to get for awhile. The list of people who could be considered “threats to EXODUS” was growing longer by the day. Which, on the one hand, meant her job was fairly secure for awhile. On the other, it was hard to summon that level of burning hatred on a regular basis, and the results were rarely worth the effort.
Better to burn out than fade away, she thought, raising her pint glass and finishing off whatever was left in there. She reached into the pocket of her denim jacket for more cash, pulling out a twenty just as the bartender started coming over toward her with a shot glass in his hand.
“I didn’t order this,” she told him as he set the shot down in front of her. He just shrugged.
“It’s from the guy in the booth over there. You want another beer to go with it?”
“Nah, not right now. Thanks though.”
He nodded and went over to a group a few bar stools down from her while Ruby looked past him to the booth by the emergency exit. He wasn’t looking at her now, but that didn’t matter. She’d know him anywhere. Rolling her eyes, Ruby took the shot - of Patron, it turned out - and got up from her seat, closing her laptop and stuffing it back into her bag before crossing over to the booth and sliding onto the bench across from him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she asked him, arms crossed over her chest as she waited for an answer.
“That’s a little rude, don’t you think?” Kevin Hardaway leaned back, watching her with a smug grin on his face.
“So’s trying to kill me. Shouldn’t surprise you that I’m not inclined to be nice.”
He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. “Relax, sweetheart. No one’s here but you and me.”
“Nope, just you. I’m leaving.”
As quickly as she had sat down, Ruby got up and headed out the front door, walking around to the side of the building so that she could light up a cigarette and settle herself. Even here, away from the ring and all the bullshit that came with it, just the sight of that stupid grin on his face made her want to hit him. Very few people had ever been capable of getting such a response from her and Kevin Hardaway had the unique ability to set her blood boiling just by existing.
The crunch of gravel underfoot made her pause and look up with a groan.
“You don’t walk away from me,” he told her, standing right in front of her.
“Oh yeah? Watch me.”
Suddenly his hands were on either side of the wall next to her head, effectively blocking her exit as he moved in closer. Ruby gritted her teeth in frustration, her hand clenching at her sides.
“Fucking seriously?”
“Come on darlin’, you’re gonna have to try harder than that.”
She glared up at him and took a deep breath, trying to focus on not hitting him. But he was so close and he was still sporting bruises from their match, which just made her want to add to the collection.
Suddenly, she jerked her knee up, but Hardaway caught it between his legs before it could reach the intended target. His smile was predatory as he reached down, running his hand up her thigh. Ruby grabbed him by the wrist, stifling a giggle as he abruptly stopped.
“Is that a knife in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” he asked her. She let go of his wrist and hitched her skirt up, revealing a sheath strapped to her leg.
“Chinese ring dagger, if you want to get specific.”
“Do you always walk around with weapons under your dress?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “You never know when you’re gonna have to stab someone. And right now you’re looking like a pretty fine target…”
“Oh sweetheart, you know just how to get me going, don’t you?”
Without missing a beat, Ruby backhanded him across the face and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to her.
“You have no idea.”
Their mouths met in an instant, her biting his lip as they kissed. His fingers dug into her thigh and he shifted to wrap her leg around his waist, shoving her against the wall of the bar. Her hand curled around the back of his neck as he tore his mouth away from hers and sank his teeth in just above her collarbone. She bit back a moan, tilting her head to give him better access. The small part of her brain that was still thinking rationally told her that this was a bad idea, but the rest of her was craving evil with a side of fantastic orgasm.
His hand worked its way up her thigh, past the dagger and into her panties, cupping her and pressing his thumb roughly against her clit. She gasped audibly, her nails digging into the back of his neck as she moved against his fingers. He was practically growling in her ear, his other hand squeezing her breast hard.
She was reaching for his belt buckle when the sound of someone else coming out of the bar made both of them freeze and lock eyes with one another. He moved to shield her from view, even though she was still fully clothed. There was a mark forming on her neck from his attention and her usually pale skin was flushed, but those were the only signs that something was happening between them.
“There’s a motel about a mile and a half down the road,” she told him breathlessly. “I’ll meet you there.”
The two of them separated and went to their respective cars. She got there first and got the room, handing over the cash to a desk clerk who barely even looked up at her. Luckily it was the type of place where all the doors faced the parking lot, allowing her to watch for his arrival. She probably should have just kept on driving toward San Diego, but something had gotten started outside that bar and she needed to finish it. As soon as he saw her, he charged toward the door and pinned her up against it once it was closed, grabbing her dress and tearing it down the front. He got her bra off and tossed it aside, bending to take her nipple in his mouth. His teeth scraped against the sensitive skin, eliciting a sharp gasp from her. She could feel him against her leg, hard and ready, and she reached for him even as he bit down and she screamed in surprise and pain. Ruby pushed him off reflexively, but she didn’t let him get too far. Instead, she yanked his shirt up over his head and ran her hands over his chest, scratching him as he pushed the remains of her dress down over her hips. He was back on her in seconds, grabbing her by the hair and pulling hard to bring her head up for another vicious kiss.
He held on tightly even as he broke the kiss, biting and sucking his way down the other side of her neck. It was going to leave marks, but she was past caring. All she cared about was getting his belt off and when she finally managed to pull it free, she reached for him and wrapped her hand around his length. It was his turn to groan then and when he did, she traced the outline of his lower lip with her thumb as he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her. With barely a pause, he’d freed himself and ripped her panties off, burying himself to the root in a single thrust that made Ruby’s eyes roll back in her head. She wrapped her legs around him and dug her nails into his shoulders, crying out as each deep stroke smacked her against the door. There was no ceremony, no taking it slow. He couldn’t be bothered with things like gentleness or patience or consideration.
He was perfect.
“Yeah that’s it, fucking take it,” he grunted in her ear as her hips came up to meet his, challenging him to go faster and harder. “Gonna fuck you till you can’t walk out of here, you like that?”
He was met with a swift elbow to the head, stunning him long enough for Ruby to untangle herself from him and push him away. Kevin looked at her in confusion, but her answering wink was enough to keep him from questioning her further. Instead, he watched as she held up a finger and went to go retrieve his belt. She snapped it against the floor, then across his chest hard enough to knock the breath out of him for a moment. With a wicked smile, Ruby looped the belt around his neck and propelled him toward the bed, pushing him down onto his back before mounting him in one smooth motion. His hands were on her breasts almost immediately, pinching and rolling her nipples as he drove into her, coaxing them back into a rhythm that utterly captivated them both.
“God, fu-”
She slapped him hard across the face.
“Shut up. Let me make one thing clear: if only one of us is going to walk out of here, it’s going to be me. Understand?”
He nodded and she dug her nails into his chest, her hips wrenching with every rise and fall. She tossed her head back, her mouth open as she moaned. He brought his hand up to brush his fingers over her lips and Ruby grabbed his wrist, turning her head and drawing his thumb into her mouth with a mischievous gleam in her eye. He grabbed her by the hip and let out a deep groan, his head tilting back.
“Jesus, Ru-”
In an instant, her demeanor changed. She glared at him and covered his mouth with her hand, pressing down hard.
“No talking.”
And so that there would be no mistaking her desires this time, Ruby took the belt and used it as a makeshift gag.
“Bitch!” he yelled, his words muffled by the gag.
Änd what are you gonna do about it, huh? Psychotic fucking bastard,” she yelled back at him. Kevin gave her a look and half a second later, he’d rolled himself up onto his knees, cupping and raising her to keep himself inside her even though she was half off the bed. Ruby just held onto the edge, screaming and moaning as the new angle gave him even greater penetration. She could feel every stroke deep in her belly, pushing her past pleasure and pain into pure sensation. Her entire body shook as she came, but he showed no signs of giving her a chance to recover. She tightened her legs around him and used her grip on the edge of the bed to push herself up, grabbing him by the shoulders to keep from falling backward.
He grinned at her and threw her to the side, pulling out and ripping the belt out of his mouth. Ruby hauled herself up onto her hands and knees just as he got into position behind her, the tip of him brushing against her slit. He teased her like that for a few moments, until suddenly the belt came cracking down over the small of her back, the buckle catching her just beneath the ribs.
“Fuck!” she yelled, screaming as he did it over and over and over again, leaving angry red welts in his wake. When he grabbed her by the hip and shoved himself back inside, Ruby gasped.
“Oh Jesus Chr-”
And then the belt was in her mouth, gagging her as he yanked back on it roughly.
“Shut. Your mouth,” he said in her ear, in a growl that had every hair on the back of her neck standing up. A shiver ran up her spine as he tightened his grip on both her hip and the belt, using both to hold her in place as he drilled into her mercilessly. The leather of the belt cut into the corners of her mouth but even still, she was moaning and screaming, which only made him fuck her harder. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to get her to stop or to keep going but she didn’t care.
There was no way in hell she wanted this to stop.
When he let go of the belt and grabbed her by the hair instead, Ruby was so taken aback that she instinctively reared back, trying to smash the back of her head into his nose. She missed because she didn’t have good enough leverage, but it was enough to throw him off balance. Breathing heavily, she took the gag off and turned around, her mouth crashing into his. She bit down on his lip hard, only relenting when she tasted blood. He drew her into his lap and then stood up, holding her in the air for a moment before slamming her into the floor, which was only slightly less forgiving than the wrestling ring. Ruby groaned in pain but it was muffled by him resuming the kiss. He lifted her legs up to his shoulders, but before he could thrust into her, she tightened her legs around his neck and twisted, throwing him onto his side.
As she got to her knees, he tackled her back to the floor. She raked at his eyes, he smacked her in the face, and in an instant the two of them were rolling around, battling for dominance. They kicked and punched, headbutted and clawed and bit, each of them desperate to leave some kind of permanent mark on the other. At one point he had a knee in her chest and as he loomed over her, Ruby took her nails and dragged them down his back, leaving scratches from the nape of his neck to his ass. He screamed and she pushed him off, but he grabbed her by the throat and forced her back down, his fingers squeezing dangerously.
“I could kill you right now,” he told her, tightening his grip to illustrate his point. But Ruby still had her hands free and her boots on, so she reached down and pulled a knife from inside, pressing the point against his back.
“Not if I kill you first.”
“I apply just the right amount of pressure, you’ll never have a chance to use that thing.”
She dug the point in deeper until she broke skin, baring her teeth in a grin. “Sure you want to bet on that?” she asked him, her last two words cut off as he pressed down on her windpipe. She punched him with her other hand, taking the knife away from his back and holding it by her head in a gesture of surrender. He let go of her throat and she coughed, desperate to get enough air back into her lungs.
“You were gonna strangle me!” she accused him, going for another punch, but this time he saw it and grabbed her wrist before she could.
“You were gonna stab me!”
“No I wasn’t! ...Not right now, anyway.”
“Good.” With the matter cleared up, he spread her legs wide and plunged back in before lifting them up over his shoulders again. She was probably going to get rug burn, but it was so worth it. He leaned forward, pressing her body back on itself. Her inner muscles tightened around him for a second time, and this time he couldn’t hold himself back. As she climaxed, so did he, letting out an animalistic roar as he emptied himself inside her. For a few minutes the two of them just laid there in exhaustion and shock, until Ruby started pushing him off her.
“Kevin. Get up. You’re gonna dislocate my hip at this rate.” He backed off, giving her a strange look.
She’d never called him by his first name before.
He stretched out on the bed, giving her a chance to stand up and tuck her knife back into her boot. When she glanced back at him, he looked like he wanted to drag her back into the bed with him and for a moment, she was very tempted to join him. Leaving meant having to deal with reality and the knowledge that she’d just had sex with her worst enemy. But if she stayed, then they could just fuck each other into oblivion.
Reality couldn’t be avoided forever, though. Instead of joining him in the bed, Ruby picked up her bra and the remains of her dress, buttoning the jacket over it to keep from giving anyone else a show.
“You’re leaving?”
“Only time I stay the night is when I’m in my own bed,” she told him. But she did go over and sit on the edge of the bed, letting him draw her down for one last kiss. This time, he was the one biting hard enough to draw blood and she very nearly let him start unbuttoning her jacket, but instead she pulled back, letting his teeth scrape against her bloodied lip.
“I have to leave.”
“Call it one for the road then, sweetheart. Something to remember me by.”
Like she was ever going to forget.
She stood up and went to the door, turning to look at him one more time.
“Say a word about this to anyone, and I swear to God I will make that weed whacker scar look like a love bite.”
“Speaking of…”
“Oh, shut it. Fucking asshole.”
“Maybe we’ll save that for next time.”
Her look of indignation and disgust only made him laugh and she wished fervently for something to throw at him.
“You’re disgusting and I hate you.”
“Probably easier to believe when I haven’t just come in-” Rather than listen to him brag, Ruby slammed the door shut and got into her car, revving the engine and pulling out onto the highway before she had a chance to change her mind.
He was right, though.
This wasn’t going to be the last time.
In a no-name bar somewhere between Las Vegas and San Diego, Ruby Tyler sat nursing both a cheap beer and her injuries from her latest match. After a week of fan-centric entertainment, it was a relief to be able to fade into the background. Conversations floated around her, mingling with the music from the jukebox. Cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air even though smoking in bars had been banned for years. This far away from civilization, nobody cared. Places like this were the last remnants of the Wild West, safely tucked away on back roads in unincorporated communities that had long ago been bypassed by new highways to more interesting destinations. For Ruby, it was the perfect way to unwind after the brutality of Battle Without Honor or Humanity. She had the night all planned out for herself. Sit and have a couple of beers here, do some research on her laptop, make her way to the motel she’d passed on her way in, catch a couple hours of sleep, and then finish the drive back to San Diego. Others thought she was nuts for choosing to drive rather than fly, but Ruby preferred the freedom and the scenery of the open road.
She couldn’t have made a stop like this in San Diego, that was for sure. Even in the city’s dive bars, she would’ve drawn attention simply by virtue of being female. Out here, few of the bar’s patrons even gave her a second glance. They were more concerned with their own lives than some woman they’d never seen before and would likely never see again. Sipping her beer, Ruby watched a few minutes of the baseball game on the TV above the bar and sighed deeply. This was the closest she’d been to happiness since before her arrival in Las Vegas, and given what she was facing at the next show, probably the closest she was going to get for awhile. The list of people who could be considered “threats to EXODUS” was growing longer by the day. Which, on the one hand, meant her job was fairly secure for awhile. On the other, it was hard to summon that level of burning hatred on a regular basis, and the results were rarely worth the effort.
Better to burn out than fade away, she thought, raising her pint glass and finishing off whatever was left in there. She reached into the pocket of her denim jacket for more cash, pulling out a twenty just as the bartender started coming over toward her with a shot glass in his hand.
“I didn’t order this,” she told him as he set the shot down in front of her. He just shrugged.
“It’s from the guy in the booth over there. You want another beer to go with it?”
“Nah, not right now. Thanks though.”
He nodded and went over to a group a few bar stools down from her while Ruby looked past him to the booth by the emergency exit. He wasn’t looking at her now, but that didn’t matter. She’d know him anywhere. Rolling her eyes, Ruby took the shot - of Patron, it turned out - and got up from her seat, closing her laptop and stuffing it back into her bag before crossing over to the booth and sliding onto the bench across from him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she asked him, arms crossed over her chest as she waited for an answer.
“That’s a little rude, don’t you think?” Kevin Hardaway leaned back, watching her with a smug grin on his face.
“So’s trying to kill me. Shouldn’t surprise you that I’m not inclined to be nice.”
He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. “Relax, sweetheart. No one’s here but you and me.”
“Nope, just you. I’m leaving.”
As quickly as she had sat down, Ruby got up and headed out the front door, walking around to the side of the building so that she could light up a cigarette and settle herself. Even here, away from the ring and all the bullshit that came with it, just the sight of that stupid grin on his face made her want to hit him. Very few people had ever been capable of getting such a response from her and Kevin Hardaway had the unique ability to set her blood boiling just by existing.
The crunch of gravel underfoot made her pause and look up with a groan.
“You don’t walk away from me,” he told her, standing right in front of her.
“Oh yeah? Watch me.”
Suddenly his hands were on either side of the wall next to her head, effectively blocking her exit as he moved in closer. Ruby gritted her teeth in frustration, her hand clenching at her sides.
“Fucking seriously?”
“Come on darlin’, you’re gonna have to try harder than that.”
She glared up at him and took a deep breath, trying to focus on not hitting him. But he was so close and he was still sporting bruises from their match, which just made her want to add to the collection.
Suddenly, she jerked her knee up, but Hardaway caught it between his legs before it could reach the intended target. His smile was predatory as he reached down, running his hand up her thigh. Ruby grabbed him by the wrist, stifling a giggle as he abruptly stopped.
“Is that a knife in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” he asked her. She let go of his wrist and hitched her skirt up, revealing a sheath strapped to her leg.
“Chinese ring dagger, if you want to get specific.”
“Do you always walk around with weapons under your dress?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “You never know when you’re gonna have to stab someone. And right now you’re looking like a pretty fine target…”
“Oh sweetheart, you know just how to get me going, don’t you?”
Without missing a beat, Ruby backhanded him across the face and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to her.
“You have no idea.”
Their mouths met in an instant, her biting his lip as they kissed. His fingers dug into her thigh and he shifted to wrap her leg around his waist, shoving her against the wall of the bar. Her hand curled around the back of his neck as he tore his mouth away from hers and sank his teeth in just above her collarbone. She bit back a moan, tilting her head to give him better access. The small part of her brain that was still thinking rationally told her that this was a bad idea, but the rest of her was craving evil with a side of fantastic orgasm.
His hand worked its way up her thigh, past the dagger and into her panties, cupping her and pressing his thumb roughly against her clit. She gasped audibly, her nails digging into the back of his neck as she moved against his fingers. He was practically growling in her ear, his other hand squeezing her breast hard.
She was reaching for his belt buckle when the sound of someone else coming out of the bar made both of them freeze and lock eyes with one another. He moved to shield her from view, even though she was still fully clothed. There was a mark forming on her neck from his attention and her usually pale skin was flushed, but those were the only signs that something was happening between them.
“There’s a motel about a mile and a half down the road,” she told him breathlessly. “I’ll meet you there.”
The two of them separated and went to their respective cars. She got there first and got the room, handing over the cash to a desk clerk who barely even looked up at her. Luckily it was the type of place where all the doors faced the parking lot, allowing her to watch for his arrival. She probably should have just kept on driving toward San Diego, but something had gotten started outside that bar and she needed to finish it. As soon as he saw her, he charged toward the door and pinned her up against it once it was closed, grabbing her dress and tearing it down the front. He got her bra off and tossed it aside, bending to take her nipple in his mouth. His teeth scraped against the sensitive skin, eliciting a sharp gasp from her. She could feel him against her leg, hard and ready, and she reached for him even as he bit down and she screamed in surprise and pain. Ruby pushed him off reflexively, but she didn’t let him get too far. Instead, she yanked his shirt up over his head and ran her hands over his chest, scratching him as he pushed the remains of her dress down over her hips. He was back on her in seconds, grabbing her by the hair and pulling hard to bring her head up for another vicious kiss.
He held on tightly even as he broke the kiss, biting and sucking his way down the other side of her neck. It was going to leave marks, but she was past caring. All she cared about was getting his belt off and when she finally managed to pull it free, she reached for him and wrapped her hand around his length. It was his turn to groan then and when he did, she traced the outline of his lower lip with her thumb as he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her. With barely a pause, he’d freed himself and ripped her panties off, burying himself to the root in a single thrust that made Ruby’s eyes roll back in her head. She wrapped her legs around him and dug her nails into his shoulders, crying out as each deep stroke smacked her against the door. There was no ceremony, no taking it slow. He couldn’t be bothered with things like gentleness or patience or consideration.
He was perfect.
“Yeah that’s it, fucking take it,” he grunted in her ear as her hips came up to meet his, challenging him to go faster and harder. “Gonna fuck you till you can’t walk out of here, you like that?”
He was met with a swift elbow to the head, stunning him long enough for Ruby to untangle herself from him and push him away. Kevin looked at her in confusion, but her answering wink was enough to keep him from questioning her further. Instead, he watched as she held up a finger and went to go retrieve his belt. She snapped it against the floor, then across his chest hard enough to knock the breath out of him for a moment. With a wicked smile, Ruby looped the belt around his neck and propelled him toward the bed, pushing him down onto his back before mounting him in one smooth motion. His hands were on her breasts almost immediately, pinching and rolling her nipples as he drove into her, coaxing them back into a rhythm that utterly captivated them both.
“God, fu-”
She slapped him hard across the face.
“Shut up. Let me make one thing clear: if only one of us is going to walk out of here, it’s going to be me. Understand?”
He nodded and she dug her nails into his chest, her hips wrenching with every rise and fall. She tossed her head back, her mouth open as she moaned. He brought his hand up to brush his fingers over her lips and Ruby grabbed his wrist, turning her head and drawing his thumb into her mouth with a mischievous gleam in her eye. He grabbed her by the hip and let out a deep groan, his head tilting back.
“Jesus, Ru-”
In an instant, her demeanor changed. She glared at him and covered his mouth with her hand, pressing down hard.
“No talking.”
And so that there would be no mistaking her desires this time, Ruby took the belt and used it as a makeshift gag.
“Bitch!” he yelled, his words muffled by the gag.
Änd what are you gonna do about it, huh? Psychotic fucking bastard,” she yelled back at him. Kevin gave her a look and half a second later, he’d rolled himself up onto his knees, cupping and raising her to keep himself inside her even though she was half off the bed. Ruby just held onto the edge, screaming and moaning as the new angle gave him even greater penetration. She could feel every stroke deep in her belly, pushing her past pleasure and pain into pure sensation. Her entire body shook as she came, but he showed no signs of giving her a chance to recover. She tightened her legs around him and used her grip on the edge of the bed to push herself up, grabbing him by the shoulders to keep from falling backward.
He grinned at her and threw her to the side, pulling out and ripping the belt out of his mouth. Ruby hauled herself up onto her hands and knees just as he got into position behind her, the tip of him brushing against her slit. He teased her like that for a few moments, until suddenly the belt came cracking down over the small of her back, the buckle catching her just beneath the ribs.
“Fuck!” she yelled, screaming as he did it over and over and over again, leaving angry red welts in his wake. When he grabbed her by the hip and shoved himself back inside, Ruby gasped.
“Oh Jesus Chr-”
And then the belt was in her mouth, gagging her as he yanked back on it roughly.
“Shut. Your mouth,” he said in her ear, in a growl that had every hair on the back of her neck standing up. A shiver ran up her spine as he tightened his grip on both her hip and the belt, using both to hold her in place as he drilled into her mercilessly. The leather of the belt cut into the corners of her mouth but even still, she was moaning and screaming, which only made him fuck her harder. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to get her to stop or to keep going but she didn’t care.
There was no way in hell she wanted this to stop.
When he let go of the belt and grabbed her by the hair instead, Ruby was so taken aback that she instinctively reared back, trying to smash the back of her head into his nose. She missed because she didn’t have good enough leverage, but it was enough to throw him off balance. Breathing heavily, she took the gag off and turned around, her mouth crashing into his. She bit down on his lip hard, only relenting when she tasted blood. He drew her into his lap and then stood up, holding her in the air for a moment before slamming her into the floor, which was only slightly less forgiving than the wrestling ring. Ruby groaned in pain but it was muffled by him resuming the kiss. He lifted her legs up to his shoulders, but before he could thrust into her, she tightened her legs around his neck and twisted, throwing him onto his side.
As she got to her knees, he tackled her back to the floor. She raked at his eyes, he smacked her in the face, and in an instant the two of them were rolling around, battling for dominance. They kicked and punched, headbutted and clawed and bit, each of them desperate to leave some kind of permanent mark on the other. At one point he had a knee in her chest and as he loomed over her, Ruby took her nails and dragged them down his back, leaving scratches from the nape of his neck to his ass. He screamed and she pushed him off, but he grabbed her by the throat and forced her back down, his fingers squeezing dangerously.
“I could kill you right now,” he told her, tightening his grip to illustrate his point. But Ruby still had her hands free and her boots on, so she reached down and pulled a knife from inside, pressing the point against his back.
“Not if I kill you first.”
“I apply just the right amount of pressure, you’ll never have a chance to use that thing.”
She dug the point in deeper until she broke skin, baring her teeth in a grin. “Sure you want to bet on that?” she asked him, her last two words cut off as he pressed down on her windpipe. She punched him with her other hand, taking the knife away from his back and holding it by her head in a gesture of surrender. He let go of her throat and she coughed, desperate to get enough air back into her lungs.
“You were gonna strangle me!” she accused him, going for another punch, but this time he saw it and grabbed her wrist before she could.
“You were gonna stab me!”
“No I wasn’t! ...Not right now, anyway.”
“Good.” With the matter cleared up, he spread her legs wide and plunged back in before lifting them up over his shoulders again. She was probably going to get rug burn, but it was so worth it. He leaned forward, pressing her body back on itself. Her inner muscles tightened around him for a second time, and this time he couldn’t hold himself back. As she climaxed, so did he, letting out an animalistic roar as he emptied himself inside her. For a few minutes the two of them just laid there in exhaustion and shock, until Ruby started pushing him off her.
“Kevin. Get up. You’re gonna dislocate my hip at this rate.” He backed off, giving her a strange look.
She’d never called him by his first name before.
He stretched out on the bed, giving her a chance to stand up and tuck her knife back into her boot. When she glanced back at him, he looked like he wanted to drag her back into the bed with him and for a moment, she was very tempted to join him. Leaving meant having to deal with reality and the knowledge that she’d just had sex with her worst enemy. But if she stayed, then they could just fuck each other into oblivion.
Reality couldn’t be avoided forever, though. Instead of joining him in the bed, Ruby picked up her bra and the remains of her dress, buttoning the jacket over it to keep from giving anyone else a show.
“You’re leaving?”
“Only time I stay the night is when I’m in my own bed,” she told him. But she did go over and sit on the edge of the bed, letting him draw her down for one last kiss. This time, he was the one biting hard enough to draw blood and she very nearly let him start unbuttoning her jacket, but instead she pulled back, letting his teeth scrape against her bloodied lip.
“I have to leave.”
“Call it one for the road then, sweetheart. Something to remember me by.”
Like she was ever going to forget.
She stood up and went to the door, turning to look at him one more time.
“Say a word about this to anyone, and I swear to God I will make that weed whacker scar look like a love bite.”
“Speaking of…”
“Oh, shut it. Fucking asshole.”
“Maybe we’ll save that for next time.”
Her look of indignation and disgust only made him laugh and she wished fervently for something to throw at him.
“You’re disgusting and I hate you.”
“Probably easier to believe when I haven’t just come in-” Rather than listen to him brag, Ruby slammed the door shut and got into her car, revving the engine and pulling out onto the highway before she had a chance to change her mind.
He was right, though.
This wasn’t going to be the last time.
I want to take a moment to talk about my match against Kevin Hardaway.
At Battle Without Honor or Humanity, you guys witnessed a side of me that I don’t like. That kind of anger is destructive, and I spent a long time learning how to keep it under control. But if I hadn’t gone to those lengths, then I wouldn’t be standing here right now as your San Diego Bay Champion. It’d be Kevin Hardaway in this match, leaving you all to pick who you dislike the least out of the three.
I don’t want you guys to have to make a choice like that.
Savannah Taylor is arguably the most successful San Diego Bay Champion in the history of this company. She left me a tough legacy to live up to and surpass. She has the most title defenses of any champion on the roster, current or former. But we’ve seen her true colors time and time again. She’s selfish and hungry for power. As long as she gets what she thinks is hers, nothing else matters. I admire that kind of tenacity, even though it makes me wonder just why she feels like she has to constantly chase gold. Maybe it’s to prove that she doesn’t need Christum Furor’s backing to hold onto a championship? Or is it to show that she can step up to another level, instead of settling for beating people like Samantha Raine and Tiffany Stearns?
Yeah, I may be new here, but I did my homework. Knowledge is power, after all.
So far as San Diego Bay champion, I’ve only had one defense, but I don’t think Savannah Taylor can say that she’s ever gone to the lengths I did to protect anything, whether it’s the belt or anything else in her life. But I mean, I’m sure you’ll do okay with the International Championship, Savannah. Even if it does mean us having to listen to you bitch that the Collins family will never want to see you get past this level and give you a shot at the World Title.
You do realize that Zack Lifer’s held titles, right? Christum Furor’s been World Champ before, too. Johnny Cannon, Aries Reed, Kevin Hardaway, hell, even SHOZO’s got gold now. And I’ll come back to him in a minute.
Point is, you’re not as big or as bad as you think you are. When it comes to threats to EXODUS, you’re way down at the bottom of the list. You’re still gonna give me a hell of a fight, and you’ve given me a lot to live up to as San Diego Bay champ, don’t get me wrong.
I’m just saying, I’ve got bigger fish to fry. So thanks in advance for the fight, but after what I’ve already had to deal with? This is a breath of fresh air. This is going to feel like a vacation, you and me.
But then of course, there is SHOZO, everyone’s favorite leader of a pointless revolution. We may know now why you did what you did, but it doesn’t make it any more meaningful. Nothing’s changed, other than a few people landing in the hospital and nearly getting killed. Sure, it’s done a great job of punishing your father for what happened to your brother, but other than that? I think you missed your own point.
Madmen have their own logic, though. I’m sure in your mind, this is changing everything. Destroying the old guard, literally if necessary, is giving you and your group the room to take over. And with the way things are right now? It looks like most people are inclined to let you, because either they’re scared or they don’t care what happens.
I’m not one of those people, SHOZO.
You want to try and kill me for getting in your way? Go ahead. Kevin Hardaway tried that several times, and look what I did to him.
I understand the desire for revenge on your father. What happened to your brother was absolutely tragic, and I’m sorry for your loss, I really am. I know what it is to lose someone you love. I know that agony, that burning hole in your chest, that feeling that something in you is dead forever along with the person you lost.
But it’s no excuse. Punishing your father and Shinji for Ryusei’s death this way… it’s what you feel like you have to do, I get that, but all it’s doing is destroying people your brother cared for. Is this the legacy you want to leave him, killing and maiming in his name until someone finally takes you down? They say you die two deaths - the first when you pass away, and the last when no one speaks your name anymore. Do you want this to be the reason people remember Ryusei? Not for the man he was, the brother and son and lover, but for the reign of terror you’ve instituted to avenge his death?
I’m sorry things turned out like this, but at the end of the day, if there’s a rabid dog on the loose, there’s only one choice. You gotta shoot the thing before it infects anything else. Unfortunately, you’ve already spread your disease, your hatred, to the rest of your comrades. But if you knock over one domino… pretty soon the rest of them fall down too. All it takes is one little push.
I am that push. I was brought here to help protect this company and that’s what I’m going to continue to do, even as everyone else around me falls victim to their own egos and sense of right and wrong. I’m going to take you down. I will stand against you with every fiber of my being until you and everyone else who poses a threat to this company and those who love it is eliminated.
Because even with everything that’s happened, I still have hope that things can be better. I stand for a better tomorrow, and I will do everything that I can to bring that better tomorrow to EXODUS, for the fans and for us.
I can’t let us be consumed by darkness and hatred.
I won’t.
Savannah Taylor and SHOZO, I have you both in my sights for Monday night.
And come Monday night, you’ll see what happens when you go up against someone with not only hunger and determination, but the one thing you’re both severely lacking in:
Hope.