Something Fierce: Underground, 1 Read online

  Something Fierce

  Underground, 1

  Jenika Snow

  SOMETHING FIERCE (Underground, 1)

  By Jenika Snow

  www.JenikaSnow.com

  [email protected]

  Copyright © June 2018 by Jenika Snow

  First E-book Publication: March 2013

  Photographer: Wander Aguiar :: Photography

  Cover Model: Jonny James

  Model image provided by: Wander Book Club

  Editor: Lea Ann Schafer

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental. Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  Contents

  Newsletter

  A Real Man Series

  The Underground Series

  Something Fierce

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  The Underground Series

  Newsletter

  Want More?

  Out Now: For The King

  For the King

  Chapter 1

  About the Author

  Newsletter

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  The Underground Series

  Something Fierce

  His Wrath: coming soon

  Deeper: coming soon

  His profession is brutal, savage. Violent.

  And it turns her on.

  When Tristan got a new roommate in the form of a six-foot-three tattooed and pierced beast of a man, she wasn’t prepared for the instant lust that claimed her. She should have made sure this stayed strictly platonic in nature, but it seemed Kash might have other plans in mind.

  The attraction was magnetic and powerful. It was undeniable, no matter how hard they fought it.

  When she stumbled upon an underground cage fight, the last person she expected to see was Kash, bloody and bruised and destroying his opponent. She should have run the other way, but instead she found herself aroused and wanting him even more.

  Kash was a fighter and a damn good one at that. He’s stayed away from relationships and focused on his craft.

  And it’s worked out well for him … until now.

  He didn’t mean to get involved with his new roommate, but the curvy little brunette had every possessive instinct in him rising. From the moment he saw her, he was obsessed.

  But those well-thought-out intentions are a thing of the past.

  Now that he has Tristan, he’s not letting her go.

  Warning: If you’re used to Jenika’s insta-love dirty books, you’re still getting it with this one. It has a HEA and features a totally obsessed hero who only wants one woman. Previously published under the same title, this story has been extensively reworked, new content has been added, and it has been re-edited.

  1

  “What the fuck?” Tristan said, her brows lowering as confusion took root. It was only when she realized what was happening that she tightened her hands on the steering wheel and narrowed her eyes. “You little asshole.”

  The small moving van took up most of the driveway, which forced her to park on the side of the street. Her front door and screen were held open with a box, and it took her a solid minute before she felt she was in control enough to actually get out of her car.

  Zac, her current roommate, came out of the house with a large box in his arms and a shit-eating grin on his face as he spoke to someone Tristan couldn’t see.

  What the fuck?

  Although it was clear he was moving out, the prick was clearly not giving her any notice. And to make matters worse, it looked like he was taking her damn microwave.

  That fucking bastard!

  The little twerp thought he would just skip out on her, leave her high and dry with rent, and not even bother telling her? She’d gotten off work early, so if that hadn’t been the case, she probably would have come home to a semi-empty place and bills piled high.

  Once out of the car she made her way past the moving van, stopping and looking in the back and seeing his bed already taken apart, the mattress propped up on it side. Several boxes were lined up, but she had no doubt more would fill the truck.

  Motherfucker.

  “Hey, baby, make sure to pack up the gray towels in the bathroom. Those are three-hundred-thread-count Egyptian cotton,” Zac called over his shoulder to whoever was in her house.

  When he turned his attention forward and his gaze landed on her, he froze. Tristan could see the color of his face drain slightly before he regained his composure. Anger seethed within her.

  “Hey, Tristan.” She could hear the panic in his voice. “I didn’t think you got off for another few hours.”

  She gritted her teeth as rage consumed her. “That much is clear.” Coming out of her house in nothing more than a pair of daisy dukes and a cropped tank was a girl who didn’t even look like she was of drinking age. When the woman saw Tristan, she stopped, looked at Zac, and then dragged her gaze back to Tristan.

  “Just put that in the truck, Missy,” Zac said, not taking his focus from Tristan.

  “What in the hell is going on?” It was obvious what he was doing, but confusion still swirled within her. “You are skipping out on me? Without so much as a fucking phone call?” She opened and closed her mouth, probably looking like some kind of fish out of water. “You’re just leaving me with all the fucking bills?” What kind of asshole did this to a person?

  Zac heaved a large sigh and then started moving toward the truck again. “Listen, this is why I didn’t want to tell you I was leaving. You get so pissy about shit like this.”

  “Excuse me?” she said, feeling her eyes widen in shock. She moved aside as he walked past her and shoved the box in the back of the truck. “Yeah, I think getting pissy that my roommate is leaving without so much as a warning warrants me getting a little upset.” She looked at her house again and watched Missy head back inside. When her focus was back on Zac, she narrowed her eyes as her shock left and pure hatred took its place.

  “I just think it’s time for me to move on.”

  Tristan found herself blinking rapidly as she took in what he’d said. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Zac, I don’t give a shit if you move across the fucking world to move on.” She opened her eyes and stared at him. “But you can’t just up and leave without giving me
any kind of notice. We’re roommates, and half the bills are your responsibility. You didn’t give me any time to find someone to take your place.” She lifted her arms in frustration. “How in the hell am I supposed to find someone with no notice? I can’t pay a house bill, the utilities, and the other handful of fucking bills that go with living in a house this size.”

  The asshole just stared at her instead of answering her questions.

  “Rent is due next week. What the hell am I supposed to do about that?”

  He shrugged as if her panic didn’t even warrant an explanation.

  “That’s not my problem anymore, Tristan.”

  “We have a lease, Zac. You can’t just do this.”

  “No, you have the lease in your name. It’s your issue, not mine.”

  She curled her hands into fists at her sides so tight she couldn’t have been surprised if her nails broke skin.

  Her teeth were sure to break if she clenched them any harder. A year he’d been living with her. They weren’t anything more than roommates, and although he was a pompous asshole, he’d paid his share of the bills on time and left her the hell alone.

  Zac was a self-absorbed prick, and she should have known better than to strike any kind of deal with him. When she saw Missy head back into the house, she marched forward, shoved the girl out of the way, and made her way inside. The sneaky bastard was just going to run out on her knowing she couldn’t afford this place on her own.

  Well fuck him.

  “You,” she said to Missy, pointing her finger at the other woman. “Stay out of my house.”

  Tristan watched Zac grab a few more things before walking by her like she didn’t exist. Her mind had conjured up a shitload of things to say to him, but her mouth wouldn’t form the words. When she heard the back of the truck slam shut, she forced herself to follow him outside.

  “Listen, I really am sorry to leave you in such a jam, but I just can’t stay here anymore.” He stared at her from the driver’s seat, looking less than genuine that he’d just screwed her over. “I’m sure you can find someone to replace my half of the bills.”

  She clenched her jaw.

  Missy slipped in beside him and curled her ridiculously perfect body around his. Zac wrapped his arm around her shoulders and placed a kiss on her puckered lips.

  “You worthless piece of shit.”

  “Listen, babe, I just need my space, okay?”

  Babe? Needed his own space? What the hell did he think they were … a damn couple?

  Tristan didn’t bother saying anything. She turned on her heel and slammed the front door behind her. Silence surrounded her as she leaned against the door and forced herself not to cry. What a horrible fucking day.

  A moment later she heard the sound of the moving truck starting and then pulling away. Tristan looked around. Zac had taken a lot of stuff, and although it was his to begin with, it renewed Tristan’s anger tenfold.

  She had no clue how she was going to afford this place on her own. She supposed a couple shots of whiskey couldn’t hurt in making her feel a little better, at least until tomorrow came and she had a hangover and reality set in again.

  2

  A week later

  “What a damn douchebag move.”

  Tristan grabbed her beer off the worn wooden table and brought it to her lips. She couldn’t help but smile at the irate tone in Kylie’s voice. “Yeah, but in the end it was for the best.” It had taken Tristan a week to finally realize that, and when it hit her, a wave of relief had settled within her.

  Tristan took another long pull from her beer. “Besides, Zac leaving was a long time coming. I see that now.” She should have seen all the signs. His continued absence, his aloofness toward her, the phone calls that he was so secretive about.

  “He’s still an asshole.”

  She chuckled. “Yeah, he is.”

  Kylie huffed and took a sip of her own beer. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the bastard is gone, but damn, Tristan, the way he did it is like a kick to the balls.”

  Tristan choked on her beer. “You don’t have balls, Kylie.”

  Kylie rolled her eyes. “I don’t see how you can stay calm over this.” She held Tristan’s gaze for a suspended moment. “You should have listened to me from the beginning.”

  Yeah, Tristan should have. She had told Tristan what an arrogant prick Zac was, how he ran their house like it was his, how he was going to screw her over in the end. Tristan hadn’t thought about more than getting half the bills paid. But she was screwed now.

  “What did you see in him anyway?” Kylie picked up a stale pretzel from the bowl in the center of the table and popped it in her mouth.

  “He was good at paying half the bills on time.” She left out the part that she had enjoyed the company of another human being, even if said human being was a total fucking prick. She didn’t need to look that pathetic.

  Kylie screwed up her nose. “You’re a liar.”

  Tristan smiled. “You’re right.” They both laughed out loud. “Seriously though, I need to find a new roommate like yesterday or I’ll be homeless and living in my car.”

  “It’ll be okay.” Kylie patted her hand in the same way Tristan’s mother used to when she was trying to make her feel better. It didn’t work. “You know I’d move in if I hadn’t already signed a new lease with Jayson.”

  “I know. I just can’t afford the house on my own, and it’s a pain in the ass trying to find a new place in this town on such a short notice. Hell, it was a pain in the ass to even find this place.” Tristan set the empty bottle on the table.

  “Everything will be okay,” Kylie said. Tristan hoped that was the case.

  * * *

  Tristan sat at her kitchen table and picked at the corner of the newspaper in front of her. It had been three weeks since Zac left, and she still wasn’t any closer to finding a new roommate. The classified ad in the paper had certainly produced some prospects, but no one that she was comfortable enough with.

  And were you that comfortable with Zac? Look how that turned out.

  She knew she needed to push her reservations to the back of her mind if she was ever going to find someone. Not everyone would turn out like Zac, she knew that, but she was reserved because of how all this had gone down. Rent was due in two weeks, and she sure as hell didn’t have enough money to cover it all.

  Maybe she could be late a month, maybe her landlord would cut her some slack, but what happened after that? She’d even started looking at places in town she could move into if the house situation didn’t pan out. But of course nothing was available in town, and driving an hour out just for a place, then having to commute to work didn’t sound like the best idea.

  “Fuck you, Zac.”

  Her cell ringing on the table drew her out of her dark thoughts. The small electronic device bounced and vibrated across the table, and she picked it up, seeing Kylie’s smiling face on the screen.

  “Hey, girl,” Tristan said after she answered. She leaned back in the chair and blew out a breath.

  “Find a roommate yet?” Kylie sounded overexcited, and Tristan wondered what was up.

  “No, and my time is running out. I just can’t pick anyone. Hell, look at how that worked out for me last time.”

  “Well, I have some news that might make you feel better.”

  Tristan’s interest was instantly piqued. “Oh yeah?”

  “Jayson’s old buddy is moving to town, relocating from New York. Originally he was going to crash at our place until he found something, but then I had the brilliant idea to have him move in with you.”

  She bit her lip, not sure if that was really the best idea. “I don’t know, Kylie.” Tristan was, hesitant to take Kylie up on her offer She had already screwed up once and made a bad decision that cost her a lot of grief, but this was Jayson’s friend. That had to be worth something, right?

  “I know what you’re thinking, but it won’t be weird. I actually think this will be perfect. Yo
u can trust Kash. I met him a few times, and he seems like a decent guy, very responsible. He works nights, so it isn’t like you’ll see him all that much.”

  “His name is Kash?”

  Kylie laughed. Tristan knew she couldn’t be picky. “It’s fate, Tristan. His name is Kash, and that is just what you need.”

  Tristan laughed. “Well, I’d like to meet him first, go over everything, and then if he’s still interested, we can go from there.”

  “Great, he’s driving in tonight. Are you free tomorrow?”

  They planned a time, and once the line was disconnected, Tristan set down the phone. She should have been happy. Even though Kash hadn’t agreed to move in with her yet, she felt a twinge of hope that everything would work out.

  3

  Tristan gripped the glass she held so tightly she was afraid it would shatter. Kash, the man sitting right in front of her, had every head in the café turned toward him. Kash brought his beer to his mouth, and Tristan couldn’t help but watch his throat work as the liquid went down.

  The man in front of her was quite possibly the scariest—most attractive—man she had ever seen. With hair so black it looked like coal and eyes so green they looked unreal, Kash Alexander was menacing as he sat before her. His body, tall and packed with muscle, barely fit in the seat. The shirt he wore was stretched taut over his powerful frame, each muscle contracting and flexing with the smallest movements he made.