Since the day our little guy was born, I have significantly objected to Aria's wishes to go into the ring and do what I've been doing since I was a child. It's not that I don't think she can handle doing what I love; she's my wife—a gorgeous, vivacious woman who I can't entirely agree with her walking around looking like a battered woman—fearing everyone will think I'm the one who did that to her.

However, since she wishes to do this, I'm not stopping her from doing what she'd like to do—feeling Aria will figure it out on her own if she decides being in the ring is not for her.

Aria earned the nickname 'Man Beater' from Neron because she'd bring me into the ring at our home and would show how serious she was about fighting after I'd try talking her out of it.

On the other hand, I like calling her 'Mama Bear.' This is because Aria's got all the instincts of a bear; she watches everything, thanks to me, but mainly because she's very loving, cautious, nurturing, and very protective.

As I stand still, watching and listening to Neron lecture her on the do's and dont's inside the ring brings me back to my first fight and how Neron mentioned the same things. I lost that fight, but losing that match gave me more determination to become the best fighter ever to be known. It also taught me what I'd expect in my next fight and not to give up.

That next match, I won.

I won't lie; I am nervous about how well she'll do tonight. But since she's worked hard to get where she is today, I hope Aria's hard work pays off, winning her first match.

Aria thinks they paired her with the Demon for scare tactics. What Aria doesn't know is that Neron was the one who chose her to fight against The Demon. It's not that he wanted to scare her, to see if this was what she wanted to do, but because Neron feels Aria can beat this woman and win.

As fierce as she is, and with all the training I've taught her since we met, I, along with Neron, firmly believe she'll win this fight. She's become a go-getter and one very determined woman. And that makes me one very proud husband.

"Now, let's get out there and show that bitch who this newcomer is," Neron demanded.

I extended my hands to Aria, helped her stand, then pulled her to me and wished her luck by giving her one hell of a passionate kiss. "You can do this, hun. Good luck," I smiled.

"I know I can," she responded confidently, kissing me harder. Finally, she broke the kiss and smiled. "I love you."

"Let's go," Neron impatiently emphasized. "They're waiting for her."

I wrapped my arm around her waist, and as we headed to where we needed to be, I felt it was my duty to give her another heads up about how this woman fights and what I wanted her to do. "Make sure you start with some feeler jabs, but you need to watch out for her right hand. Her goal is to take you down right away. So please do all you can to block her jabs while watching for her right hook. I also want to see you doing some combos here and there. Just remember to save your energy for the last round. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Also, hold that center ring for as long as you can—circle her, show her dominance and confidence. The most important part of the first round is establishing your reach and boxing ability. Let her know you can and will hurt her. She'll try scaring you, but show her that she's not scaring you. The one thing she doesn't know is that you're a lefty. She'll be looking for a right hook to come at her, and with your left hook, she won't even see it coming."

Neron nudged me as we neared the opening to the arena, scowling, "Are you finished doing my job?"

I looked at Neron and grinned. "I already warned you that I'll give her as many pointers as possible. You should've known I would since she's my wife, and I don't want to see her making a fool of herself in her first fight."

"Let me do my job. Now go to your damn seat. I've got it from here."

I knew the rules, and as much as I wanted to break them, I knew I needed to let them be. So I stopped walking, looked at Aria, fist-bumped her, wished her luck again, and reluctantly headed to my seat. But something tells me I won't be sitting in my chair long, and once the fight starts, I'll end up pissing Neron off when I go over and stand next to him.

My beating heart gained speed just when I got to my seat, and the announcer announced Aria's name.

Calm down, Gunner. You have nothing to worry about since Aria will be showing everyone tonight just how much she's a badass.

I wanted Aria to feel welcomed and feel they were there to cheer her on, even if they weren't. So I turned around and raised my arms up and down, wishing to rile the crowd up for her. And once they saw and realized who I was, wanting them all to cheer on my wife, the crowd reacted by standing, roaring, and chanting her name.

I turned towards the ring, and when I saw her entering the ring, I threw punches in the air and chanted Aria's name.

Damn, my wife looks smoking hot.

I looked at the person standing to my right, pointed to the ring, and grinned widely. "That's my wife. Did you know that?"

The thrilled expression on his face told me he knew—thrilled to be the lucky one sitting next to me and thrilled to witness Aria's first fight. And what he said next confirmed my suspicions. "I did. You're the main reason I'm here after hearing it was your wife fighting tonight and that it would be the first time for her inside the ring. So I was more than curious to see if she's anything like you. And if she is, I feel she'll do good. Real good."

"Aria's good at everything she does. I know she'll do good. I can feel it," I proudly admitted.

"You better say she'll do good. Or else..."

I snapped my head to the left of me and chuckled. "Or else, what ole man?"

"Or else you'll be seeing my fist," Walter groaned, holding up a fist and shaking it like he was getting ready to kick my ass.

I bellowed a laugh.

Man, I love this guy.

"You wish, ole man. You wish," I chuckled.

A look of seriousness grew on his face, and then he warned, "I wish for many things. And the one thing I wish is that you sit your ass down," he groaned. "You're blocking my view of seeing Aria fight, and I don't want to miss any one of her moves."

"My bad," I teased, chuckling. I'm glad Walter insisted on coming along to watch Aria; I just hope that if something happens that he doesn't like and where it'll upset him, it won't cause his weak heart to have a heart attack—Aria would be devastated.

An intense feeling of energetic excitement and enthusiasm stimulated me—a massive adrenaline rush, pumping me much more when I saw The Demon enter the ring. Aria's opponent was slightly bigger than her and more experienced, but one thing she doesn't know about Aria is that she's like Sonic the Hedgehog and like the wind. She's swift. She can be short-tempered when she wants to be, impatient at times and has become quite the daredevil who has grown to love a good challenge.

Aria may not be thrilled about who she's up against, but I am. And I cannot wait to see the Demon's reaction after she receives Aria's powerful left-handed hook.

I'm sure it'll be fucking epic.

The bell rang, and The Demon instantly started the fight with a right-handed jab to Aria's face. Aria's head flew back, and rage immediately flowed through me like hot lava, and I quickly jumped from my seat, yelling, "You fucking nasty see you next Tuesday, scum of the earth, rotten, ugly, nasty devil, that was an uncalled for potshot!"

It may have upset me to see her do what she did to Aria, and I know it's also something I should have known and expected to happen since I've done this long enough to know how things work, but it still pissed me off she punched my wife.

Aria, however, took it like a trooper, and when more punches and jabs came at her, she bobbed and weaved—doing everything she could to avoid another one of her hits. Aria dodged another right-handed hook, shocking The Demon when Aria returned with a jab, slipped left outside her opponent's right-hand counter, and showed her left-handed hook, hard to the head, knocking her down.

That instantly awoke the crowd. And they returned their excitement by roaring and chanting Aria's name. The crowd immediately got more excited when The Demon stood and fought back; Aria caught her off guard again by doing a one-six-three-two combo—jab-right uppercut-left hook-right hand finish to her head—knocking her to the mat once again.

Finally, the round was up. And I rushed to Aria when she went to the corner of the ring to take a breather and get water. "You're doing good, hun. Keep it up," I smiled, squirting water in her mouth.

"Didn't I instruct you to stay in your seat?" Neron growled. "This is my job. Now get the fuck away from her."

I looked away from Aria and over at Neron, scowling, "Do you think I care what you want me to do?"

"Go fucking sit down and let me say what I need to say to her," Neron demanded, pointing to my seat. "You can talk to her when the fight is over."

My brows drew to one, and before I said something that would upset Neron more, I looked away from him and over to Aria, quickly giving her another suggestion before Neron decked me in front of everyone. "This next round, I want to see you do more. Start by pushing her around and then commit to more aggressive punches. Also, you need to force her to the ropes. She's not good against them. I also want to see you do more combos, and whatever you do, don't step away from her; just keep going until she throws a punch at you. And when she finally does, slip out of it like the gust of wind you are, then follow it with more counters, and don't allow her to breathe. Okay? I know you've got this, hun!"

"Sit the fuck down before my time's up with her!" Neron snapped, angrily pushing me away from Aria and toward my seat, giving me the impression that I'll be seeing stars if I didn't. I've known Neron nearly my entire life, and I've seen him have his fighters' significant others kicked out of arenas before. And if he did that to me, I'd never forgive him. I'd also never forgive myself if I missed the rest of my wife's fight for doing what I know I shouldn't be.

Aria also would most likely never forgive me, either. And I'm sure she'd show how upset she was by killing me the instant we got home.

I frustratedly sat in my chair, then looked at Walter after I heard him hysterically laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You. You're what's funny. Not only does Aria have you by the love peaches, but Neron does also," he laughed. "Might I suggest some words of wisdom to you?"

"Depends," I groaned, having somewhat of an idea about what he planned on saying.

He chuckled, then joked like the funny guy he is, "My depends are dry, and even if they did need changing, there's no way I'd have you bring me into the men's room to change me," he quipped, mischievously grinning.

As if I'd do that, anyway.

I mimicked his grin and then teased, "That's fine by me because if you insisted on my changing them, it would upset Aria, making her jealous."

Maybe that's something I shouldn't have said. Walter instantly smiled, and as big as it formed, it lit up the arena more than it was. "Wow, Gunner. You finally got the memo." He held his hand to his ear, cupping it and asking, "Could you repeat that? I'd like to hear you say that again."

I lowered my head, shaking it. "Just forget I even said what I did. It wasn't what I meant to say."

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure," he teased, knowing the more he teased me, the more I'd turn red in the face. "Anyway. I see the embarrassed look on your face, so I'll drop it. This time... but as I was about to say before you had me going, let Neron do his job. He's her coach, just like he is to you. I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing and what he wants to see her doing. So he'll encourage her to do what he knows would be the wisest thing to do."

Justin leaned over Walter and smiled while shoving me. "Listen to the ole man. Aria is doing much better than I thought she would! I was so damn sure she'd tap out right after that first jab to the face."

Why would he say anything like that? Justin should know his sister by now and know what kind of woman she's become. I furrowed my brows, groaning. "Aria would never tap out." The bell finally rang, and I immediately snapped my head back to the ring.

Aria started just as I asked that she do—pushed her around while throwing more aggressive punches, getting her to go against the ropes. I know it's not something I should have told her to do since Aria's an amateur, but it's something I taught Aria how to do without Neron knowing. And if Aria works The Demon against something she hasn't figured out how to run away from, she'll lose more of her energy, scoring more points for Aria.

The Demon was losing all of her energy, and she looked like she was on the verge of giving up. I stood, punching my fist in the air and yelling, "Yes! You've got her, Aria! Keep on doing what you're doing!"

Take that, Neron...

The bell rang, letting us know the three minutes were up. And I was biting my tongue and holding the seat—doing all I could to keep me remained where I was. I studied Aria's face as Neron talked to her; the way she kept nodding, I hoped it was because he was telling her to go into brawl mode. Knowing Neron, I'm sure that's exactly what he's telling her to do.

Aria should know the drill by now; she's been to enough of my fights. But this isn't my game; it is hers. Hopefully, she doesn't underestimate The Demon and gets blinded by her famous sucker punch that would knock her out.

The last round finally started, and as I sat at the edge of my seat, watching the two dance around, Aria shocked me and the spectators with what she did next. Her stance showed she was about to do a hook shot; instead, she threw a full-force punch to the jaw—a powerful knockout blow called the haymaker, knocking the bitch out cold.

Walter excitedly clapped and yelled, "Take that, you demon bitch!" he looked at me, smiling proudly, "She didn't even see that coming!

"No, she didn't ole man. No, she didn't..." I happily agreed.

I immediately jumped from my seat and yelled excitedly the second the announcer announced Aria as the winner, then hurried to the ring, climbed in, and ran to Aria, picking her up and happily kissing her while saying, "You fucking did it, Aria! You fucking did it!"

I looked down at the one everyone put their money on and laughed at seeing she was still out cold. "You didn't think I could do it. Did you?" Aria said as I stared at The Demon.

I looked at Aria and grinned. "I knew you could. But I never expected you to end the last round within two seconds," I gushed, pressing my lips to hers. "You made me so fucking proud tonight."

I wanted nothing more than for everyone to leave the arena so that I could make love to my wife. Right now, inside the ring, but knowing that'll never happen, I lowered her to the ground and proudly walked her over to Neron.

"Who's idea was that? Yours or hers?" I curiously asked, still surprised by Aria's haymaker, a move that could have cost her the win had she missed the target.

Neron grinned. "Are you talking about that haymaker?"

"Yeah. That."

Neron pointed at Aria. "I told her not to think so hard on the last round and insisted she go into brawling mode. Apparently, Aria had her own idea in mind. So that was all her—something she'll need to remember will not work every time. But at least she showed the bitch. Never mess with a newcomer. Especially Aria."

Aria laughed like it was no big deal what she'd done. "I wanted her to go down. I was getting bored with her."

My eyes widened. "And this is coming from the one who kept me awake all night, tossing and turning, because she was worried about fighting her."

She calmly shrugged a shoulder and smiled. "That first jab to my face is what did it for me—I knew right then she was nothing. It didn't even hurt," she giggled. "All it did was piss me off that she got the first punch."

I created one hell of a badass monster.

Justin walked Walter over to the ring, and as we got out and down to the floor, Justin high-fived her. "Damn, Aria. I wish Nikki were here to see this! She missed one hell of a fight!"

Aria waved her hand across her face. "She missed nothing," she joked. "But I'll tell you right now that she's not missing my next win. So that means she better come to my next fight."

"Woah. Woah. Woah. Don't get ahead of yourself, beautiful," I interrupted. Then, seeing the look in Aria's eye, I raised my hands with my palms facing her. "I'm only saying. As much as I hate to say this, but you can't win them all."

"Sure I can," she frowned. "I'll make damn sure of it."

"Don't argue with a woman. You'll never win," Walter snickered. "Trust me, I know."

He looked at Aria and reached his arms up, looking for a hug. "You did good, kid. I'm proud of you," he boasted while hugging her.

"I'm glad I didn't let you down," she smiled.

"Never would you ever let me down. Now, let's get out of here and celebrate."

***

I checked on Wyatt while Aria celebrated her win with Justin, Nikki, and Walter. And as I stood at Wyatt's crib, looking at him, I smiled while shaking my head. I couldn't stop thinking about how Aria won her first fight and how she earned it. I'll admit, I wanted to see how well she would have brawled against The Demon to show everyone how quick she was, but I guess that'll have to wait until her next fight.

As I looked at Wyatt, I began envisioning his future. If he takes up fighting like his mother and me, I see it now—he'll be the most feared fighter, and it somewhat has me feeling sorry for whoever his challengers will be.

Well, not really.

I lowered my head into the crib, kissed Wyatt's cheek, and whispered, "You missed a good fight, kiddo. Your mama did well tonight, and I'm honest when I say this, but she did much better than my first fight."

The room suddenly got brighter, so I turned my head to the side, facing the door, and when I saw it was Aria and that she was walking towards me, I smiled, then looked back at Wyatt. "I better let you sleep before your mom drags me out of here and kicks my ass for waking you," I whispered.

"Don't you dare wake him," she whispered loudly.

"I'm not," I insisted, grinning. Aria's hands flew to her hips. I knew what that meant—I was in trouble.

So, before we woke Wyatt, I entwined my arm around hers and guided her out of the room. But just as we got into the hallway, she swung me around and pinned me to the wall, then climbed on me like a wildcat.

"Shouldn't you wait until everyone is asleep?" I asked when her mouth covered mine.

"Fuck 'em. I want something else," Aria moaned into my mouth.

My dick instantly started twitching. And when I thought about taking Aria up on her offer, the bald-headed mouse decided he wanted to play with the wildcat and grew stiff and tall. But since our guests were still here and a wide-awake Walter, I didn't want to leave them hanging, so I lowered her to the ground.

"We have guests down there waiting for us. I can't let them sit there wondering what we're up to."

"Fine," she hissed, shoving me.

Now she did it.

Aria should know not to get pissy with me by now and should know what happens when she does.

Then again... that could be what she's looking for, too.

Damn, what a sneaky little seductive minx.

I rushed over to her as she stormed down the stairs, lifting her into my arms and groaning, "After everyone leaves, you're in trouble. Big. Big. Trouble..."

"Prove it," she taunted.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!🤞🤞