Chapter 6-

The next week was filled with nothing but fights, blood, bets and bookies, and pain. I had a new fight every day and once or twice had one fight then went straight to another. I was running on pure adrenaline alone.

I had gotten no sleep what so ever, and my muscles were aching. I had a broken nose, which I had just hastily snapped back together and taped in the car as I made my way to another fight on Tuesday; three broken knuckles thanks to a scary German woman I had almost lost to, and a black eye was beginning to form on the right side of my face.

Dimitri however, was very pleased with me. I had made him a lot of money, and he had apparently met some new business partners at my fights. The only thing he wanted from me was money, and I was fine with that. I wanted nothing from him but a signature on a check.

He was pushing me very hard. I trained for hours once we got back to his house every day, and he had already put me on a strict diet of protein and carbs. He had his chef, Opal, make me mainly chicken or fish for dinner or lunch and lots of pasta for energy and protein.

I was supposed to stay away from sweets, candy, and fatty foods but they were all my weaknesses and Opal; bless her sweet little self, always slipped me a couple donuts at night.

"Okay let's do this." I mumbled as I got out of Dimitri's car and walked into the same building I had fought Tasha in before. I was running a few minutes late thanks to the fight I had just been in, so there were already many people there, all gathered around the ring.

I shoved them out of my way and made it to the center of the red square. I quickly looked around and saw Adrian and Mia up in front but I didn't see Eddie in my corner, like he usually was. He hadn't been at any of my fights and I hadn't seen him at the gym since I told him that I was now working for Dimitri.

When I told him, he didn't say anything to me. Not a word. He simply looked at me, his eyes blank, then grabbed his duffle bag and walked out of the gym.

I didn't have time to dwell on that now though, I was tired, achy, and I just wanted to go home. I made my way to my corner and quickly fixed the already bloody and ripped tape I had wrapped around my hands and waited for Adrian to announce the fight.

The girl I was fighting quickly charged at me; reminding me of some bull in Spain. I could have been a matador and pranced around with my red sheet but instead I was going to get this over with as fast as I could.

I kicked her in the side, making her double over, and then brought up a right hook to her jaw. As if in slow motion, she spun in a 180 then fell to the ground.

The crowd apparently thought she was going to win the fight because as she fell there were groans and swear words screamed out. Without giving her another looked, I walked over to where Adrian was and took the clove cigarette out of his mouth, taking a long drag off of it as I walked back out of the building.

"Damn Turkish, that was impressive." A man's voice, with a thick accent washed over me and I grinned.

There was only one person in the world that called me Turkish thanks to my Turkish heritage on my father's side, and that was Mikhail Tanner. "Well Tanner, impressive is all I am." I turned around to face him.

He was only 22, and very good looking. He had loose curly black hair and dark eyes that were always filled with playful, flirtatious emotions. A crooked smile graced his lips, as he shoved his hands into his dress pants pockets. The jacket to his suit fell open, letting me see his white shirt stretch across his toned chest and stomach.

His deep, throaty laugh filled the cool night air and he leaned against the building's wall as he stared at me. "So you're working for Belikov now huh?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?" He tilted his head to the side as he looked at me. "Did you get a choice in whether or not you worked for him."

I smiled at him. "I like to think I didn't have a choice." Adrian's cigarette was now more than half way burnt so I flicked it onto the ground. "How's the Old Man?"

Mikhail worked for my father Abe Mazur who was an artillery weapon, mob boss of sorts in our home country of Turkey. I had grown up in Ankara, the capitol of Turkey until I was seven, then I moved to New York with my mother while Abe stayed in Turkey to run his business.

I hadn't seen him in a couple years but every year on my birthday he made sure to send me a new gun. This year's had been a Desert Eagle .50. Abe was crazy; very crazy but it was still thoughtful.

Mikhail shrugged, "Fine. Still a crazy mother fucker."

"Does Abe know I'm signed with Dimitri now?"

"Kid, Abe knows everything. He knew before you knew yourself." I rolled my eyes at him and he smirked at me before becoming completely serious. "Does he treat you okay? He doesn't treat you like a fucking animal does he? Like he did?"

I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly before I answered him. "No. No one's as inhumane as he is." I heard my voice crack and suppressed a shiver from going down my spine. I was thankful Mikhail didn't say his name, I didn't want to hear it ever again. "But, uh, I have to get going. I'm going to head over to Jake's for a couple drinks. If you see Dimitri, tell him I will be out late."

He nodded, "See you later Turkish." I smiled at him and began walking down the street to Jake's Bar.

Jake's was like a second home to me; a second home filled with alcoholics and drug addicts. I had been going there since I was about 15 and had grown close to the owner, Jake. He was a funny, fat, old man, who reminded me of Santa. He had let me stay in the apartment that was above the bar for a couple months once when I had ran away from home.

I pushed open the heavily stickered door and walked into the dimly lit bar. All of the talking paused for a second and everyone looked up at me before a happy chorus of "Hey Rose" went around. I laughed and smiled at everyone before walking up to the bar.

Jake was standing there talking to some kid with straight black hair and skinny jeans with a suit vest on. From what I could see he was nursing a glass of scotch. I leaned over the counter and grinned at the bartender. "Mase."

Mason Ashford was one of my best guy friends besides Eddie and Adrian. We had met in 2nd grade when I had moved here from Turkey and had been best friends ever since. Mase never tried to sleep with me, and he never flirted with me. Of course, this could have been due to the face that he was gay.

He was very tall, with a deep sexy voice and had a lot of muscle to him; plus he worked in a sleazy bar. Not the first place you usually find a gay man.

He looked up at me, his curly red hair swished over to the side and gave me a cheeky grin. "Rosie. What the hell happened to your face?" He chuckled and reached under the counter top and grabbed a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. He set them down and poured some vodka into each glass before pushing one towards me.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Fucking Belikov's got me in a shit load of fights this week." I lifted the glass up to my lips and tilted my head back as I downed the shot and motioned for him to fill it up again.

His eyes wandered over the top half of my body and a very displeased look came over his face. He held up a hand, motioning for me to wait a second then disappeared into the back room. I sighed and grabbed the bottle of vodka and filled up my glass as I waited for him to get back. I glanced over at Jake and the man he was still talking to. The man seemed very familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out why.

Mase appeared again with a white shirt in his hand. He threw it at me and smirked, "This isn't a strip club, cover up your tits." His words held a teasing tone and I rolled my eyes at him as I pulled the shirt on over my sports bra. It must have been his, because it was huge on me, it fell to the middle of my tan thighs and also covered up my black shorts.

"You're something else Mase. You really are."

He poured us both another shot, "So tell me what's up with Belikov. What the hell is his problem?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man Jake was talking, shift in his stool so he was leaning more towards me as he finished his drink.

I looked down at my glass and swirled the liquid around before downing it once again. "I don't fucking know. He has a damn stick the size of my leg, stuck up his ass. I swear he is fucking clinically bipolar or something! Like the other day, we were all sitting in the kitchen bullshitting with Opal, as we waited for dinner to be done, and he was having a couple drinks with me, then he just all of a sudden got pissed off and leaves the room."

I slammed my empty glass on the counter. "Then when I broke my nose the other day during a fight, when we got home, he was all gentle with me and was checking to make sure that I was okay and shit. I mean, I get that he wants to make sure I'm okay so I can fucking win him all this money and whatnot but it's just so..."

"Infuriating?"

"Yes! I can't stand it anymore!"

Mason looked up at me, his eyes filled with sympathy. "What about everyone else in the house?"

"I get along with the guards just fine! They're so cool and funny, I've learned some new moves thanks to them. I haven't even met his business partner. I mean, I've seen him quickly when he comes to talk to Dimitri, but he leaves just as fast. His fiance is a fucking sweetheart, but I hate his sister. You know, the one I fought a while ago. You were there." He nodded and I reached forward and grabbed the bottle again, taking a long swig of it. "She pisses me off. She's always flirting with him, and basically fucking him with her eyes anytime they're in the same room together. Desperate much?"

I groaned and took another long drink, enjoying the burn of the alcohol as it washed down my throat. "You're attracted to him." Mason dead panned and I looked up at him over the rim of my bottle.

"You're fucking insane. He's infuriating, frustrating, cocky-"

"Everything that you are. That turns you on."

"No it doesn't." I said quickly and he gave me sly grin.

"I mean honestly Rose, if I wasn't gay I would fuck you right now. You're damn sexy when you're pissed off, and I bet Dimitri thinks so too. I know for a fact that when someone is frustrating like that, it turns you on. You want him." I pursed my lips and set the bottle down as I glared at my best friend. "You're too much alike. You're both attracted to the other, so you cop an attitude. You really shouldn't do that." He tsked at me, "You're just creating more sexual tension."

"Again, you're fucking insane. I am not attracted to Belikov. He can go fucking die." I growled and leaned back in my seat, as I ran my tongue over my teeth. Was Mase right? I couldn't be attracted him...could I? No. I hated him, with a passion.

"Think about it Rose. Why do you hate him? Because he has power over you? No, you signed up for that. It's because he hasn't once showed interest in you; sexually of course. It's driving you nuts. Usually you're the one that has a guy down on their knees, now it's the other way around."

"That's not true. I hate him because..." I tried to think of any logical explanation for my hatred towards him but I couldn't. "Fuck you Mason."

A few minutes passed by as Mason and I just stared at each other. He had a winning smirk on his lips and I was grinding my teeth together. There was a scrape of a stool as it slid across the hardwood floors and Mason looked away, at someone else. "This," a man said, "is for any other drink Rose would like." My head snapped up and I saw the man with the black hair standing next to us.

He turned and looked at me as my eyes widened. "Just remember Rose, that attraction…could be fatal." Christian give me a wink as he placed a few hundreds down on the counter then walked out of the bar.

I sighed heavily and dropped my head on to the counter top as I saw Mason pull out a couple more bottles of Vodka. "Jesus Christ."

It was around three in the morning when I finally wandered up the driveway to Dimitri's house. I slide my finger under the doorknob, and waited for the fingerprint scan to turn green so the door would unlock. Once it did, I quietly opened the door and just as quietly shut it behind me.

I made my way towards the left wing of the house. There was nothing in that wing but Dimitri's office. The whole thing was just two rooms. Lissa's waiting room, and office, then a hallway led to Dimitri's overly large office. I tried to be quiet as I walked there, making sure I didn't wake anyone. Lissa wasn't at her desk anymore, but I could see the light on in his office under the crevice in the door.

I slammed open the door to see Dimitri sitting at his desk. His shirt was unbuttoned some and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "Say it."

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Say what?" his eyes roamed over my body and down my legs as his accent became more pronounced.

"Say it. Say you want me."

A looked of complete hunger washed over his face and a low growl erupted from his chest. "I want you." Without saying anything else I strode over to his desk and crawled over it until I was sitting in his lap. He aggressively grabbed my hips and pulled me to him. His fingers biting into my skin as his lips claimed mine.

I tangled my hands into his hair and pressed my body closer to his as I kissed him harder. He dragged his tongue across my bottom lip, then stood up and sat me on his desk as he stood between my legs. I could feel his excitement against my inner thigh and I moaned into the kiss.

His touch became rough and his hands moved from my hips to the waistband of my shorts, quickly pulling them down as I worked on his zipper. He stopped kissing me and began to work on my neck mumbling, "Rose...Rose...Rose..." I moaned softly and rocked my hips against his and he groaned out my name. "Rose...Fuck! Get your drunk ass up!"

I looked around surprised at hearing Mase's voice. Why the hell was he here? I heard him yell again and the feeling of Dimitri pressed against me began to fade. "You stupid fucker." I mumbled and sat up, rubbing my eyes. A dream. It had all been a fucking dream. "What the hell do you want?"

I yawned and looked up at him. "I have to go to work, breakfast is in the microwave. Lock the door when you leave." I nodded and laid my head back down on the pillow. Looking around I realized that I was in Mason's apartment. I figured he must have brought me here last night. "By the way Rose," I looked up at him, as he paused in the door. "I don't want you." My cheeks flushed with heat and he grinned as he closed the door.

"Fuck you Mason." I mumbled once again. "Fuck you."