Page 84 of The Originals

I can do anything for you.Her cheeks immediately heated. At least she hadn’t said it out loud. She nodded, not trusting her voice. Jack let go of her hand and sipped his drink while eyeing the ring. Colleen lifted her chin for a better view. When Dunn came into sight, she clenched her teeth. She was still harboring resentment from how he was handling her in the hallway. He had no issue with roughing her up.

It wasn’t always like that. In fact, aside from verbal berating, Dunn had never lifted a hand to her. Until last year. They’d gotten into an argument, and he’d slapped her across the face. She had been in so much shock, she couldn’t even respond. No man had ever hit her. Not even her for father, who by all accounts was the biggest asshole she’d ever known. Dunn apologized profusely and blamed the heavy drinking. She’d forgiven him. And then it happened again. And again.

She carried a lot of shame with that. Deep inside she knew she wasn’t at fault. But leaving him proved to be harder than she’d imagined. In a sense, she was kind of stuck in her life with limited options. Even in her own mind, it sounded like an excuse. But it was her reality.

Colleen focused on Dunn bouncing on his feet from side to side and punching the air. She secretly hoped his opponent was bigger, stronger, and kicked his ass. It was always rewarding to bear witness to karma in real time. She fought back a smile.

Dunn circled his arms in a windmill motion and started toward her side of the ring. He didn’t even look at her. He was too focused on the man standing next to her.

“Ready for me, Prez?”

Colleen flinched, jerking her head and looking up at Jack, who was staring up at Dunn with a smile.What?Dunn and Jack were going in the ring? She widened her eyes, and her mouth fell open. In all her time with the club, she’d only seen Jack in the ring once or twice. He’d won both times, but that had been years ago. It seemed he’d left the ring to the newer members, which made sense. Colleen thought of the whole sport as immature. Gratification from punching each other?No, thank you.

Jack lifted his glass, finishing off his drink, and then turned to Colleen and handed her the empty glass. She stepped closer, reaching for it, but Jack grabbed her hand, his thumb caressing over her pulse.

“Don’t move. You stay right here.” He placed the glass in her hand, and she slowly nodded, watching him jump up on the platform.

The fight started off slow with a few jabs, almost seemingly playful. The crowd of bikers was loving it, and she could barely hear a thing over the shouting. It was mostly in favor of Jack. Dunn showboated quite a bit and took a shot at Jack. From her standpoint, he could have easily avoided it, but Jack took the punch to the stomach and didn’t even waver. Dunn gained more confidence by the second punch landing on Jack’s jaw. Dunn spun around with his arms in the air, giving a triumphant chant.

Colleen darted her gaze between the men and noticed Jack smirk. A second later, Dunn turned, and Jack punched him so hard in the face, Dunn stumbled back, almost losing his footing and falling to the ground. He caught himself at the last second and shook his head. Dunn had lost a bit of confidence, and his nostrils flared.I know that look.He was angry. He chargedtoward Jack and swung with so much force that, when he missed, he spun around. Jack took the opportunity to punch him in the stomach, and when Dunn bent over, Jack punched him in the face. This time Dunn fell to the floor of the platform. It took him a minute to slowly get up while Jack circled around him like prey.

Without realizing it, Colleen moved closer to the ring. It wasn’t out of concern for Dunn. She just wanted a better view of Jack. Sweat dripped down his chest, but he showed no signs of injury. The opposite of Dunn who was bleeding from his nose and mouth. When he finally got to a standing position, he stumbled to the side, clearly dazed from the beating.

Grain, who was at the edge of the platform, slammed his hands on the platform twice and laughed. “Looks like we got a clear fucking winner.”

The crowd roared, and even Colleen found herself clapping with a few other women and a smile on her face. When Jack turned, he seemed to be walking to the edge of the platform. He glanced up, looking directly at her. She offered a small shaky smile. It wasn’t returned. In fact, his features tightened, and his jaw squared. Jack turned back around and lunged toward Dunn, giving him a final punch to the face. Dunn dropped back to the platform.

Colleen gasped and covered her mouth. She wasn’t the only one who seemed shocked by the last shot. Mack jumped up on the platform, heading straight to Dunn and held up his hand.

“He’s fucking out, Jack.” It sounded like a reprimand, which was ironic since Mack was one of the most violent members in the club.

Jack turned and looked over at Colleen. The intensity in his stare was impossible to turn away from. It was as if he was sending her a silent message.That’s for you, darlin’.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jack was at the bar surrounded by brothers and a few women. Maureen was seated next him with Tully on the other side. Most of the chatter had been about the fight. Jack was receiving accolades and praise from everyone. He felt a light tap on his thigh, and he looked over at Tully’s woman. She’d been with Tully for a long time. Kind and sweet usually didn’t have a place in the club life, but Maureen was one of the exceptions.

She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Are you okay?”

Jack smiled, glancing up at Tully. The man had a good woman. Jack rested his hand on her back. Jack always had a soft spot for the women. But Maureen had always been one of his favorites.

“I’m fine, darlin’.”

Maureen smiled with a nod.

Jack grabbed his drink and subtly searched the room for Colleen. He hadn’t seen her since he’d ended the fight. By the time he’d gotten off the platform and through the crowd, she was gone. He’d made a point of not asking. The last thing she needed was to draw any attention to her.

“Why the fuck is my glass empty?” Grain snapped.

Mick laughed, shaking his head. “Fuck, you’re an asshole.”

Jack chuckled, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the familiar brunette rush behind the bar and straight to Grain.

“Sorry, Grain.” Colleen grabbed his glass and circled around the prospect, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and pouring the refill.

Jack watched her move, forcing himself not to focus too long on her body. It was a feat. Aside from beautiful, flawless skin, a dark set of brown eyes, and long silky hair, Colleen’s figure was what most men dreamed of in the perfect woman. Jack looked down at her ass, snugly cupped into her short shorts, showing off a sliver of cheek. He ground his teeth and shifted his gaze across the bar. He caught Mick’s stare. His brother smirked and raised his brows.

Jack fisted his glass, taking another sip. The irony wasn’t lost on him. He could have any woman in the club with the exception of the old ladies. Any one of the club whores would jump at the chance to spend a night with him. It wasn’t arrogance speaking. It was the truth. Whether it be for the status or fucking, all he’d have to do was snap his fingers, and they’d be naked in his bed in ten seconds flat. But he didn’t want just any girl.