Evie lay on her stomach with her head facing the window. Early morning light was just beginning to filter into the room through the opening in the curtains. Turning her head on the pillow, she saw the man lying across from her. She watched Hunter as he slept. His chest rose and fell with every breath. His dark blond hair was strewn across the pillow, a few strands falling across his face. One arm was above his head, the other closest to her, lay across his muscled stomach. The thin white sheet had slipped down to his waist, revealing even more of his lightly tanned skin. Her gaze traveled lower and saw his long legs outlined by the covering. She put out her hand and touched his forearm, feeling the warmth and curve of it underneath her fingertips. Gently her fingers traveled up his forearm and over his biceps, lightly tracing the veins underneath his skin. He stirred at the sensation and she drew her hand away.
Instead, she contented her self with simply looking at him. After they had returned to their hotel room, he made good on his promise to give her more than just a kiss. Her pulse quickened as she recalled what he had done to her last night. His animal-like intensity was inexorable. It was almost frightening the way it overwhelmed her, but in the same sense it was exciting. His touch could reduce her to a quivering mass of flesh. The way he kissed her... She sighed as she rolled onto her back. This man had taken hold of her in a way that no other ever had. It scared her.
Evie hadn't been wrong when she told him that she knew he hadn't made any sort of commitment to her beyond the fact that he found her attractive. She didn't expect him to. She had told herself going into this, that there was a strong possibility that things wouldn't work out relationship-wise. But there was always that chance that they would.
Sometimes, the best thing to do is accept things as they are, she thought. Because that might be all you get.
Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, she closed her eyes. She was still tired from everything that had happened last night. Slowly Evie drifted back to sleep.
*************
Hunter rolled over onto his right side and extended an arm to pull Evie closer to him. His hand encountered skin, and he opened his eyes to see that it was on her backside. She had rolled over onto her stomach and the sheet had slid down to reveal her buttocks. Instead of pulling her to him, he ran his hand over the curve of her flesh. His hand continued to caress her and she stirred. He watched her eyes open and focus. She looked confused for a second, but then opened her eyes wider as she realized where she was. He continued to gaze at her.
"What?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.
"Nothing. Can't I look at you?"
Evie didn't respond as she tried to tug the sheet up, but it was impeded by his hand. She pulled harder and then realized it was futile when he pulled it back down.
"Do you mind?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah I do," Hunter responded as he let go of the sheet. Mentally he laughed at her sudden modesty. "All of a sudden you're concerned about covering up in front of me?" He reached out to touch her again.
Evie rolled away from him, taking the sheet with her. "Why would I be concerned?"
"You tell me. You sure weren't concerned about it last night."
She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her. "That was last night Hunter," she said, grinning slyly as her eyes raked over his naked body.
The white sheets set off the golden cast of his skin. Strands of his hair fell over his face in disarray. He reached up to push them back and she watched the movement of the muscles in his arm. Her eyes traveled down over his chest and followed the line from hip to thigh, over his long legs and back up again.
"How can I convince you to take that off?" he asked as he gestured to the sheet that enveloped her body.
Evie simply smiled as she started to slide off the bed. Hunter shook his head and lunged for her. His fingers latched onto the sheet and tried to pull her back onto the bed. Evie laughed and let the sheet unravel as she stood up.
Hunter sucked in a breath at the sight of her nakedness. He felt himself grow excited as she stood there, staring at him with the barest hint of a grin on her lips. "You better get back in this bed," he growled.
"Nope," she said as she stepped away from the sheet that was now pooled at her feet. She headed towards the bathroom.
"Damn you woman! I said get back in this bed!"
The only response he got was the closing of the bathroom door. He lay back on the bed with a groan and a smile. When they had returned to the room last night, he had felt the urgent need to erase the memory of Jericho's hands on her skin. Without so much as a warning, he had stripped her and had her on the bed within minutes. He had started out slowly, teasingly and then at her urging, he intensified his efforts. He made sure she shouted his name more than a few times before he was finished. He found her intoxicating, which made it impossible to resist the temptation of flesh. No matter what kind of mood he was in. He had done anything and everything to rid both of them of the thought of Jericho touching her.
Jericho… I owe him a severe beating. Hunter was slightly frustrated at the fact that he was not allowed to interfere in the match between Evie and Jericho. As tough as Evie was, Jericho could be ruthless when he wanted; especially when he wanted something from someone. The trick was to have Evie come out on top without it looking like Hunter had interfered. Rolling over on his stomach, he let out a sigh of irritation. His mind continued to work over the problem during the course of the day.
*********
They had arrived early at the arena to practice a bit before everyone else got there. Evie had changed into a pair of leggings, one of Hunter's signature t-shirts and her running shoes. She knotted the t-shirt so it wouldn't flap around and get caught on anything.
Hunter lifted the rope for her to climb in. He followed after. "There's not a whole lot we can get through today. Best thing is to learn a few moves to counter some of the things that Jericho might do." He grinned. "You ready for this?"
"Not really, but let's go anyway."
Over the course of the next hour or so, Hunter showed her how to fall without hurting herself too much. He also instructed her in a few rudimentary moves. He was surprised at how fast she picked them up. He also had to bite back a laugh when she took her first bump.
Evie lay there, trying not to wince as she breathed. Hunter stood over her. "You okay?"
"That is freakin' hard," she said as she thumped the mat with her fist. "I don't know how you do it night after night."
"I've been doing it for years, so it's second nature. It's gonna hurt for a while til you get used to it."
She laughed weakly. "I don't plan on becoming a wrestler Hunter."
He helped her up and they continued. After another hour, they called it quits. Hunter helped her out of the ring and back behind the curtain. "May as well head back to the hotel," he said. "You can shower and rest up there."
Evie winced as she got into the car. Her entire back ached, along with her arms and neck. Hunter had worked her over good. She closed her eyes as she leaned her head back against the headrest. Hunter got them back to their room. He ran a shower for Evie as she slowly peeled off her clothes. He left her alone while she showered and packed is duffel bag for tonight. He heard the shower shut off and then quiet. After a couple minutes, Evie emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her torso. She was slowly walking towards the bed. Carefully, she sat down on the edge.
"Hunter, it's a damn good thing I like you so much."
He looked at her. "Yeah? Why's that?"
"Because I sure as hell wouldn't be doing this for anyone else," she responded as she scooted back onto the bed and lay on her back.
"You want anything?" he asked.
"Yeah. Some cold water and about 2 bottles of Tylenol," she said as she smiled.
He studied her closely. "Maybe you should stay here tonight instead of going with me."
Evie's eyes lit up. "I have no problem with that. Besides, I would be nowhere near Jericho tonight."
"True. And with the way you feel, that's probably a good thing." He pulled a bottle of Tylenol out of her suitcase and set it on the nightstand. "You want some water?"
She nodded as she opened the bottle and took out two pills. He brought her a bottle of water from the little refrigerator that was in the room.
"Thanks," she said as she clicked the cap off and took a drink to wash down the pills.
"I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't hurt yourself," he teased.
Evie stuck her tongue out at him as he picked up his duffel bag and headed out of the room.
***************
Hunter and The Rock got into a scuffle at the beginning of the show, which culminated in an eight man tag team match with Hunter and the Un-Americans against The Rock, Booker T, the Undertaker and Goldust. Hunter found out that Chris Jericho had a match against Ric Flair that night as well. Jericho was paired up with Big Show , while Flair was paired up with Bubba Ray Dudley. Hunter smiled at the thought of someone beating the crap out of Jericho.
He watched the match on the monitor in his dressing room. Flair and Bubba gave as good as they got, but with Jericho's track record of cheating, Bubba was on the receiving end of a low blow ended up in the Walls of Jericho and Jericho got the win. Flair, mad as hell that he lost, let loose on Jericho after the match. They went at each other for a minute or two, then Flair pulled down Jericho's pants, did a figure four on him and left the ring.
Backstage, Coach got a word with Jericho. Jericho told Coach that next week his band, Fozzy, will be playing on RAW. He went on to berate Flair for a minute or two and finally challenged him for SummerSlam.
Hunter was struck by an idea as he half-listened to Jericho's ranting. Bischoff said that Hunter couldn't interfere in Evie and Jericho's match. He never said anything about anyone else. Hunter smirked as he left his dressing room.
He found Flair in his locker room. "Hey Ric, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Flair looked up. "Sure Hunter. What can I do for you?"
Hunter closed the door behind him. "Well, I need a favor actually."
"Yeah? What kind of favor?"
Hunter smiled. "How would you like to help me out and piss Jericho off at the same time?"
A huge grin spread over Flair's face. "Sure. What did you have in mind?"
**********
Evie was on the floor of Hunter's dressing room. She was warming up before her match with Jericho. Hunter had gotten her in the ring every day they had a show over the past week. He had worn her out with all the stuff he showed her, but she figured that she could handle Jericho. At least she hoped she could. She was a bit miffed that Hunter couldn't help her out with this, but he had told her that he had arranged for a little surprise for Jericho during the match. While she stretched, she watched Hunter on the monitor. He was in the ring with some papers in his hand.
"Nine times out of ten, what goes on in this ring is business. Except this time. At SummerSlam, the Heartbreak Kid versus The Game, it is personal. But as much as I wanna fight Shawn at SummerSlam, if he doesn't take care of business, there won't be a match."
Hunter continued. "I have the contracts that need to be signed by Shawn. It states here that I can't be held responsible when Shawn is crippled. I don't want be sued for what I'm gonna do to HBK."
He walked around the ring a couple times before he spoke again. "Tonight, however, it's going to be The Game against The Rock. The title won't be on the line, but The Rock's ass will. You see, Bischoff made this a no DQ match. I'm going to send a message to Shawn through The Rock. But I will do you a favor Brock Lesnar. I'll be leaving him a little piece of Rocky for you. And when you show up as the WWE champ next week here on RAW, I will be waiting for you."
Chris Jericho's music started up and Jericho came out to the ring. He grabbed a mic. "Oh I'm sorry Triple H. Did I interrupt your little speech?"
Hunter started to remind Jericho of WrestleMania, but Jericho cut him off. "I'm not out here to argue. I came out to agree with you. You and I have a lot in common. We share an intense hatred of each other and at SummerSlam, we are both facing a couple of washed up has-beens." Jericho smirked. "Yeah we have a lot in common except for the fact that I am more talented."
Jericho paced around the ring while he talked. My band Fozzy will perform tonight in front of all these jackasses," he said as he pointed to the crowd. The crowd started chanting that Fozzy sucked. Jericho turned back to Hunter. "Well, maybe we aren't that much alike Triple H. I do have the easier opponent at SummerSlam. As a matter of fact... "
Jericho was cut off when Flair came out of nowhere and nailed Jericho with a garbage can. Flair turned the can upside down and put it over Jericho. Flair went backstage, followed shortly by Hunter.
Terri stopped Flair and interviewed him.
"Terri, let me tell you something. I am totally focused on Jericho! I will face him at SummerSlam and he won't know what the hell hit him!"
Jericho suddenly appeared and attacked Flair with a garbage can and busted his forehead wide open.
***********
Hunter entered his dressing room and noticed Evie on the floor. "You almost ready?" Evie nodded as she stretched her legs again. "Good. Cause you're up soon." He sat down on the sofa and watched her.
She turned so she was facing him. "Did you come up with anything?" She knew he had been working on a way to help her out without any obvious interference on his part.
"Yeah I did. If everything goes the way I planned, you should come out on top," he responded. "No pun intended."
Evie smiled at the remark. "So how are you planning on pulling this off?"
"I don't wanna say too much, but look for Ric to show up 'unexpectedly'.
"Ah," she said as she understood. She stood up as someone knocked on the door. She opened it to find Eric Bischoff on the other side, holding some papers.
"Where's Triple H?" he asked.
Evie held the door open to let him in. Bischoff strode over to Hunter and handed him the papers.
"Shawn faxed these over. They're all signed and everything is set for SummerSlam." Bischoff looked at Hunter. "You know, it's my ass if something happens to Shawn. If we get sued, they won't go after Vince Mc Mahon, they'll go after me."
Hunter eyed him. "That's your problem Bischoff. The only thing I'm concerned about is crippling Shawn at SummerSlam."
Bischoff's eyes slid from Hunter to Evie and back to Hunter. "I think you should be more concerned about your assistant."
Hunter stood up and positioned himself right in front of Bischoff. He stuck his face as close to Bischoff's as possible. "I think you should be concerned about leaving this room in one piece," he growled.
Bischoff backed up and left without saying another word. Hunter watched him leave and then turned his attention to getting ready for his match with The Rock.
As he changed, Evie watched the monitor with trepidation. She was a bit nervous about the whole match. She had been in tight spots before and had managed fine, but this was in front of a live audience. She closed her eyes to calm the butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach. She heard Hunter come back in from the bathroom.
"How much longer?" she asked.
Hunter gestured towards the monitor. On screen was Jericho's band Fozzy. "After this crap Jericho calls music."
Evie opened her eyes and saw Jericho finishing up a song. The fans booed them as loudly as possible. Jericho spoke up.
"Yeah? Well you all SUCK and just for that, we're gonna play another song!"
Flair came running out from backstage and proceeded to dismantle the set, throwing around whatever he could lay his hands on. The rest of the band disappeared as Flair chased Jericho to the ring.
"Let's go," Hunter said quietly.
Evie stood up and followed him out to the curtain. As soon as Hunter's music hit, they walked out and down the ramp. As they made their way to the ring, J.R. and Jerry Lawler piped up from the announce table.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the outcome of this match will determine the fate of Triple H's assistant Evie. Chris Jericho has harassed this woman since he aligned himself with Stephanie McMahon back in February of this year." J.R. turned to his announce partner. "Well King, it looks like Bischoff has sunk to a new low."
Jerry Lawler looked at J.R. in astonishment. "How can you talk about the general manager that way J.R.? He's a genius."
"Genius my foot. That man has put Triple H's assistant in a match with Chris Jericho. That woman has no wrestling training whatsoever. It's sick. Bischoff and Jericho are sick men."
"It's her fault J.R. She attacked Jericho a couple of weeks ago. Did you see what she did to him? His nose was dripping blood everywhere. And that bite mark on his arm? Not to mention that she kicked him in the family jewels…"
J.R. cut Lawler off. "I talked to the young lady and from what she told me, Jericho had attacked her first. Knowing Jericho, I'm inclined to believe her more than him."
"Well you can't tell me she doesn't know how to defend herself," responded Lawler.
They turned their attention to the ring as Evie and Hunter hopped up on the apron. Jericho was lurking on the outside of the ring. When he caught Evie's eye, he grinned maliciously.
Hunter pulled her close to him. "Remember, watch for Flair, but don't let it distract you from that jerk off."
She nodded as he rolled out of the ring and went over to the announce table.
Jericho climbed back in as the music faded out and the ref told him he wanted a clean match. Jericho snorted as he circled Evie. When he finally lunged for her, she grabbed his right arm as he reached for her and twisted it counterclockwise and down. As he yelped, he somehow turned in to her, his left arm swung up and caught her in a headlock. Evie grabbed his hair at his forehead and yanked it back and down. Her leg came up as she pulled his head back and caught him off balance. He fell to the mat on his back. Quickly, Evie stomped on his left knee. While he rolled to that side to clutch it, she came around and delivered a kick to his lower back.
When she moved in for another kick, Jericho's right arm shot out and he grabbed her around the ankle and pulled hard. She fell across him and he rolled so that he was on top of her to pin her. The ref started the three count, but Jericho let her go and stood up. Evie got to her feet and they circled each other again.
"What's the matter Red? Afraid of me?"
Evie smirked. "I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be. When I get done with you, you'll be mine."
Evie said nothing in response as he rushed towards her. She ducked and turned as he bounced off the ropes and came back towards her. She delivered a clothesline to him, but he got right back up and went for her again. Another clothesline and he was up and at her again. This time he tackled her midsection and knocked both of them to the mat. He sat on her and slapped her across the face twice, drawing blood from a corner of her mouth. Evie twisted her hips, heaved her legs up and managed to throw him off. As he rolled she delivered a chop to his chest.
Both of them were on their feet and at each other again. He whipped her into the ring post and proceeded to press her back against it while he talked trash. She punched him in the stomach and when he bent over in reaction, she brought her knee up and smashed it into his face. He grabbed his face in pain and backed up a bit. Evie leaned back on the ropes for support and shoved Jericho down with her foot. She dropped with him to the mat and rolled him up in a school boy pin, but Jericho managed to kick out by two.
They went back and forth for a couple more minutes exchanging blows and taunts. Evie was surprised she had managed to last this long with him. Jericho locked up with her again and as the ref pried them apart, Jericho knocked the ref to the ground, stunning him. He looked down at the ref and then at Evie. A depraved smile appeared on his face. As he moved towards her, a cheer erupted from the crowd. Flair was running down the ramp to the ring to distract Jericho. He got up on the apron as Jericho headed for him. Flair grabbed Jericho's head and bounced it off the ropes as he dropped to the floor. The force of the blow made Jericho stumble back. Evie wasted no time in rolling him up in another school boy. Flair quickly revived the ref who noticed that Jericho was pinned and delivered a three count. As soon as the bell had rung, Evie let go of Jericho and slid out of the ring.
Hunter came up alongside her and helped her up the ramp and through the curtain. Once they had made it to his dressing room, Evie collapsed on the sofa.
"Remind me not to ever do anything like that again," she said breathlessly.
Hunter smiled as he left the room and came back in a few minutes with a medic. He waited while Evie's bleeding mouth was cleaned up and the rest of her was checked over. She only had a few bumps and bruises. Nothing serious. The medic left as son as he was finished.
Evie stood up, wincing slightly as she did. "Too bad we can't leave."
"Yeah, my match is up next. I'm gone get a couple of security guards to hang out while I'm gone."
Evie nodded as she headed into the bathroom. Hunter opened the door to leave when Ric showed up.
"How is she?" Ric asked.
"She's fine Ric. Nothing broken."
Ric grinned. "Man you should have seen Jericho after you guys left the ring. He was furious, so of course he went after me. He should know better than to try and take out the dirtiest player in the game!"
Hunter chuckled. "Thanks for your help Ric. We both appreciate it."
"Hell Hunter, I don't think she needed much help. You weren't kidding when you said she could handle herself."
"Yeah she can be a firecracker. Can you do me a favor and stay here til I get a couple security guards to keep an eye on her?"
Ric nodded. "Sure thing. And good luck!"
Hunter left and Ric made himself comfortable on the sofa while he waited for the security guards to show up. He looked up when he heard a gasp. Evie was standing in the doorway to the bathroom.
"You startled me Ric."
"Sorry about that. Hunter asked me to stick around until his security guards got here." He looked her over. "You okay?"
Evie smiled wearily. "Yeah, just a little sore is all."
"I'm surprised you lasted that long in the ring. I mean, you don't have any formal wrestling training do you?"
Evie shook her head. "Hunter helped me out a bit but there's not a whole hell of a lot you can learn in such a short time."
Ric opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the two security guards, letting Evie know they were there. Ric promptly left after saying goodbye to her and she settled down on the sofa to watch Hunter's match. Before she could get comfortable, there was another knock at the door. She yelled for them to come in.
Shawn came through the door and closed it behind him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked incredulously.
Shawn smiled. "Thought I'd pay you a visit and see how you were doing." He took in her fatigued appearance. "Looks like you could use a long nap."
Evie laughed. "Yeah I could." She shifted on the sofa. "Jericho is responsible for this latest escapade."
"I know. I saw the match. Jericho is one twisted man." Shawn shifted from foot to foot.
She leaned her head back against the cushion. "So why are you really here Shawn?"
"Ah see. I knew I couldn't hide anything from you." He grinned. "I'm here to give Hunter a little payback for the other week."
"Good for you," Evie replied earnestly. "He deserves it after what he did to you."
Shawn looked surprised at her comment. "Not sticking up for him are you?"
"Hell no. What he did was wrong. That and the fact that he lied to me about not knowing who it was. Pissed me off."
"Nice to know someone cares. And its good to know you're not fooled by him." He came closer, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the support," he said as he drew back.
Evie blushed slightly as she waved his words away. "Don't worry about it. Just go out there and give him what for."
"Oh I will doll. I will." Shawn winked at her as he left.
A/N: Welcome back Disco Inferno! Glad to see you made it home safely!
Thanks to all for the reviews! Just a quick note. My work schedule has changed so I will no longer be posting on Fridays after this week. I haven't determined what day I will be posting on yet, so keep a look out for new chapters!