Ronin

By KD Jones

Warning: For Mature Adult Audiences. Contains language and actions some may deem offensive. M/F

Haunted by the memory of an incredible night in the arms of an amazing woman, Ronin is frustrated that she now acts like she wants nothing to do with him. He refuses to accept that. Growing up with nothing of his own, he’s fought hard to leave behind a world of mindless fighting and drug abuse. He wants a fresh start, and he’s ready to fight for what he wants most.

Sersan has been lonely her whole life, despite having an overprotective brother and a handful of friends. As a Reptan, half human and half Leptan, she is too different to be easily accepted by either species. She’s always done what was expected of her, but she longs to do something for herself. One moment of weakness brought her a night of passion in the arms of a man she’s always admired, and for the first time she feels desirable and loved. Letting him go is a lot harder than she ever expected, and she realizes her moment of weakness has come with a cost.

With seemingly insurmountable odds against them, these two seem fated to go their separate ways, lonely and broken. Is there any chance they will find that the best things in life are worth fighting for?

• Language: English
• Publisher: KD Jones
• Release date: Oct 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311795328

KD Jones

KD Jones has been a huge fan of both romance novels and science fiction novels since she was 16 years old. Her favorite television shows growing up were Star Trek and Doctor Who. When not writing, she can usually be found curled up on the couch with a good book, working on her hobby of photography, or spending time with her family.

Book preview

RONIN

Galactic Cage Fighter Series Book 9

KD Jones

Copyright 2015 KD Jones

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Blurb

Haunted by the memory of an incredible night in the arms of an amazing woman, Ronin is frustrated that she now acts like she wants nothing to do with him. He refuses to accept that. Growing up with nothing of his own, he’s fought hard to leave behind a world of mindless fighting and drug abuse. He wants a fresh start, and he’s ready to fight for what he wants most.

Sersan has been lonely her whole life, despite having an overprotective brother and a handful of friends. As a Reptan, half human and half Leptan, she is too different to be easily accepted by either species. She’s always done what was expected of her, but she longs to do something for herself. One moment of weakness brought her a night of passion in the arms of a man she’s always admired, and for the first time she feels desirable and loved. Letting him go is a lot harder than she ever expected, and she realizes her moment of weakness has come with a cost.

With seemingly insurmountable odds against them, these two seem fated to go their separate ways, lonely and broken. Is there any chance they will find that the best things in life are worth fighting for?

Chapter 1

Ronin glared at his opponent, a full Voltan, across the cage. He shrugged his shoulders, hearing the usual popping sounds. His joints often went out of place during fights, but he was used to it. It had been like this since he was a youth. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to treat his joints until after the fight.

Ronin, I love you! a female fan in the VIP section yelled out over the general crowd noise.

Ronin did the usual wink at the fan and continued with his fight. He could search the female out later if he wanted to, but he knew he wouldn’t. He hadn’t wanted another female in months. Not since the night he had shared with one particular very sexy female fighter—Sersan.

Just her name had his body reacting with need. This wasn’t the time or the place to be thinking a female and sex. The sex with Sersan had been phenomenal though. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts so that he could he could concentrate on his fight.

Aw . . . little mutt, are you soaking up all the attention? Don’t get used to it. The females are fickle, especially the human ones.

Ronin growled at the other male. Mutt. He hated being called that. His genetics were a mishmash of different species. The three prominent genetics were Sorian, Arian, and human. The human side of him was clearly of Asian descent, as evidenced by his slightly slanted eyes, so dark brown they were almost black. His hair, too, was an intriguing darker brown in the daylight and glossy black at night.

He narrowed his gaze and punched the other male hard, making him step backwards. One thing remained true, he could always take out his frustrations on his opponents in the cage. There was nothing like a good pounding on someone who thought they could belittle him. He glanced around the arena, at crowd cheering him on. This was what he knew how to do. This was his home, the only one he had ever known.

Are you ready, pig?

His opponent spit blood on the ground. For what? The Voltan had steam coming from his ears.

To lose. Ronin didn’t say anything else as he spun into a back kick, sending the other male to the ground. He then made quick work of knocking him out and getting the win. As he left the cage, he grabbed a towel from one of the GCFA employees, and paused to watch the next fighter walk by as she was announced. Sersan.

*****

The first time he saw Sersan, she had shaved off most of her hair to display the beautiful scales on the sides of her head. She rarely smiled, but when she did, her whole face lit up like an angel. Not that her smile was ever for him. She was usually surrounded by her friends or had her older brother hovering around, glaring at any potential suitors.

Ronin wasn’t scared of Sersan’s brother. He knew he could take the Reptan, but that wouldn’t endear him to Sersan. For months, he tried different ways to meet her. Finally, he approached her in the banquet room where the fighters usually had a breakfast buffet. He stood behind her as they were going through the line, trying to come up with a great line. What came out was: Hi.

Sersan had glanced over at him and raised her eyebrow. She looked surprised to see him there, as if it was the first time she had ever seen him before. Hi. Are you new?

No, I— But his chance to introduce himself properly and explain that he had been with the GCFA as a backup fighter for a while now ended when her brother Esan interrupted by shoving his way between them, ending their conversation. Damn brother nonsense.

*****

Until he met Sersan (or tried to, at least), it had never been important whether people knew who he was. He was happy to fade into the background. Not being in the spotlight allowed him to observe people. Except that, he wanted Sersan to see him, to know him, to know his name. He wanted to hear her say his name while he made love to her sweet body. He replayed this daydream over and over, though he suspected others would find it simple and kind of stupid..

He hadn’t had a name for nearly the first half of his life, growing up as a child slave as he did. He was only ever called mutt, because he was so clearly a mix of species. One day, though, the master didn’t come back to their fighting compound. After two days of seeing no one at all, he stopped feeling relieved and started to grow concerned. He finally broke free of his room and found that everyone was gone.

With no other choice, he left the abandoned compound, scared and confused about the world around him. He was now a teenager, not really a child anymore, but not yet truly an adult. He didn’t fit in anywhere, and he’d never been taught any skills other than ring fighting. He took odd jobs here and there to earn money to pay for a cheap hotel room to live in, but he always had to move on to the next place when the money ran out. He wandered from place to place with no friends or family and no home to go to, not even a name to call his own.

One night he watched an old martial arts movie from Earth. The main character was called a ronin, a lone samurai who became master less when his master was killed by the bad guy. The warrior wandered from place to place without a home, just like him. He felt that the name Ronin fit him perfectly. Having a name of his own choosing made him feel stronger and more in control of his life, a life that he soon led him to work with the Galactic Cage Fighter Association.

*****

He traveled with the GCFA during their circuits and often joined them in their practice fights and training as a backup fighter. He had always stayed in the background and was fine with that. He worked his way up through the ranks and then began to fill in for fighters when they weren’t able to compete in events.

Ronin watched as some of the fighters could easily handle their instant fame they received from the fans. It was a struggle for him to adapt. What fascinated him the most was how everyone within the GCFA organization treated each other with respect and care. They were a family to one another. There were times he found himself envious of their closeness. He never had that with anyone. Before coming to the GCFA he didn’t know he was missing anything, but seeing how others cared for one another and had families with them during circuits, he longed for what everyone else had.

If his loneliness got to him, he would always be able to find a female to spend time with. The female attention was never lacking. The first few circuits he never turned down the offers. After two years of circuits and a parade of females that were just using him so that they could say they did a halfsie, he was sick of it. He had no interest in them but he did develop an interest in a female fighter that was completely out of his league. Sersan, the Reptan halfsie.

*****

Ronin had another opportunity to finally really meet Sersan during a practice when the female fighters and male fighters were partnering up. One of the main fighters was out because of a family issue, so Ronin and a couple of other backup fighters filled in. He watched as Sersan partnered with her brother, as usual. Then Zara told them to switch partners so that everyone could learn how to partner with the new fighters. Esan clearly wasn’t happy about it, but Ronin was elated to find himself partnered with Sersan. Finally, a chance! He firmly told himself to make more of an effort to talk to her rather than diving into fight talk. So he walked up to her and smiled. Hi, I’m Ronin.

Hi Ronin, I’m Sssersssan.

He reached out to shake her hand and never wanted to let her go. Her small hand fit perfectly in his large one. There was something between them, a spark of attraction. He thought he saw recognition in her eyes, too, but it was quickly veiled. She smiled at him and pulled her hand free.

He waited until the trainers were distracted and moved closer to talk to her. I’ve been with the GCFA as a backup for a couple of years.

What? Sersan looked at him in confusion.

You asked me once at breakfast if I was new, but I never got to answer.

Oh, that’sss right. My idiot brother interrupted usss. I apologize on hisss behalf. Sssometimesss I wonder what it would be like to be an only child. She half-laughed.

It’s lonely, he answered without thinking. He quickly looked away, embarrassed to have said something so personal.

She was gracious not to comment on his slip. Well, my brother isss driving me crazy with hisss overprotectivenesss. I can’t even breathe in the direction of a male without him going ballissstic.

It must be nice to have someone that cares so much for you.

She shrugged her shoulders. I guesss ssso. We’re all we’ve ever had. I love him, don’t get me wrong. It’sss jussst that he thinksss that he knowsss what’sss bessst for me.

He wanted to ask her more, but the trainers had them move forward to do a practice match. It was hard for him to stand back and watch her take hit after hit from the redhead Roxy, but he knew Sersan could handle herself. He had watched