Beast: Internet Famous Collection, #3

By Nancy Chastain

Super model fiancée, check.
Internet famous, check.
Bad boy rep, check.
Hate it all... double check.
I have worked toward the Championship since I was ten years old, doing whatever my publicist asked. I party with athletes, rock stars, models, actors, politicians— all the elite. When I walk into a room, people take notice and cheer.
But none of that makes me happy. Fame brought the followers, money, and a chance at a title, but it didn't bring me the one thing I truly wanted. Angel.
So when she walks into my gym, a few weeks before the biggest fight of my life, I see an opportunity to show her the man inside the Beast. Things don't go as expected, though.
To get the girl, I killed a man.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nancy Chastain
• Release date: Jan 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224226061

Book preview

Prologue

Waiting on my opponent to enter the ring, I bounce and punch to keep my muscles limber. This fight is the next step to becoming a champion, years of hard work validated by the big promotors with a win. This will launch my career to another level.

My opponent’s music starts, and I look in the direction where he’s entering the ring. I catch a glimpse of a woman standing with her back to me, her dress sliding up her thigh as she bends to retrieve her bag from the floor, bright red ink peeks from under the hem of her form-fitting, yellow dress as it clings to her seductive curves, teasing me with a flash of what looks like a rose tattoo.

There is something familiar about her. If only she’d turn around so I could see her face. I drag my attention away from the woman to concentrate on the task at hand: winning this fight.

You have three five-minute rounds in this match. Keep it clean. Touch gloves and come out swinging, the referee tells us when he calls us fighters to the center of the ring.

The bell dings, and it’s time to go to work. The first-round ends with me connecting with a right, left, and an uppercut. My opponent falls to the mat, his head bouncing as it hits the floor. The referee begins to count him out. The crowd roars to life as I’m announced the Superlight Weight Champion.

I scan the crowd, trying to catch a look at the redhead in the yellow dress. I push away from the reporters and make my way to the side of the ring. She’s gone; the chair where she had been is empty. I’m scouring the arena to no avail.

She vanished.

Kim Debois, my expensive, pain-in-the-ass publicist, wiggles her finger in the air to get my attention. She’s done wonders for my publicity, but she is a force to be reckoned with. She walks up and shoves my pretend supermodel girlfriend, Amber Davis, into my arms.

Luckily, I see Amber falling in my direction and reach out to catch her in the nick of time. I may not like the girl, but I don’t want her to land flat on her face in front of all these people. I can’t stand the way Amber allows Kim to manipulate her and push her around to do her bidding. As if I could ever be with someone so weak.

The crowd goes wild, thinking we are affectionate with each other.

Kim, knock it off. I snap as I take a step away from the two women.

Kim walks up to me, posing for the cameras. Behave, Anthony. We need the publicity. The more Amber is seen with you, the better it is for your image.

I glance at Amber, who has a pout on her lips and strutting for the limelight. She could care less if I was around. She is all about her career and being on the front page. Amber is a nice enough girl, but she isn’t the one I want.

I catch a hint of red hair as we pose for another photo. Instantly forgetting about Amber and Kim, I walk to the other side of the ring, searching the crowd for the red-haired woman that haunts my dreams, the one that has held my heart since I was ten years old.

I climb out of the ring and amble toward the backroom to cool down after the fight. I have just finished showering and am getting dressed near the locker room bench when Frank walks in. Hey, Frank. Did I see Angel here tonight?

Why in the world would Angel be here?

I shrug at his question, mentally kicking myself for bringing her up. I just wanted to make sure everything was all right.

Frank starts to say something in response, but the door swings open. Kim walks in, eyes glued on me; Amber follows behind her.

Anthony, everyone is headed to the club. You need to get there so we can get some good shots before the paper’s night deadline.

I’m not going out tonight. I pull on my jeans and toss the damp towel on the bench. As I reach for my T-shirt, Amber curls around my side.

Come on, Anthony, please? she whines like a toddler. We’ll have fun. I promise, you’ll be good and relaxed after. She kisses my neck and rubs my cock through my jeans.

Frank has a frown on his face as he drags his hand down his cheek.

You okay, Frank? I ask.

I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. He grabs the duffle bag from the bench and heads to the exit.

Anthony, come on, Amber whines again. This time in a sexier tone.

Give me a fucking minute. I turn and jog after Frank. Hey, what’s wrong?

I’m fine, he snaps back at me.

Whoa! Frank, what’s going on?

He spins around to face me. Not even an hour ago, you were asking me about Angel. Then you melt when some leech rubs against you. He turns to walk away and stops. This is exactly why I always told Angel you were off-limits, and she was not to date a fighter. She’s too good for you.

Frank, wait! I call after him as he walks away.

What the hell is that all about? Since when has Frank shown an opinion about Amber? I thought he understood this was just for publicity. I’ve got to talk to him. I can’t have him thinking this is the way I treat women. He’s shown me how to be a better man than that.

I hurry out the back door, but Frank is already inside the car and driving away. I feel sick thinking I’ve caused him to lose faith in me.

As we are in the town car, headed to the club, Amber rubs my thigh and slowly slides her hand closer to my cock. Kim is on the phone, as usual, arranging for a photographer to meet us at the club.

I can’t help thinking about what Frank said about Angel. As I stare out the window, I remember the night Angel and I kissed for the first time. We were seniors in high school; Angel was my best friend. I had scored the winning touchdown at the last football game of our senior year.

Angel came running across the field and into my arms. I’m not sure if it was the excitement of the moment, or if I had finally gathered the courage, but I grabbed her and kissed her. There, on the football field, in front of everyone.

I poured my feelings for her into our first kiss. The sounds of everyone around us faded away. It was just Angel and me underneath the field lights.

Angel’s friend Summer broke up the kiss, pulling Angel out of my embrace to warn us Frank was headed our way. I took a step toward Angel, quickly asking her to come to the party that night. She didn’t have a chance to respond before her father interrupted.

Summer ran interference and was able to get Angel to attend the party with me. We only stayed a few minutes, then went to the lake and parked. The air was cool, so I gave her my jersey to wear. We sat out there until the sun began to rise. I took her a couple of blocks from the gym and dropped her off so she could be home before her dad woke up.

A smile crosses my lips as I remember the thrill of holding her in my arms all night.

What are you smiling about? Amber asks, dragging me back to the present. Are you thinking about later when we’re alone?

I don’t bother to answer. I look at her. Her hands are the wrong hands. Her voice is the wrong fit, and her face doesn’t belong to an angel. She’s a means to an end. That’s it. Maybe, I am the man Frank thinks I am.

I swivel my head around to face my rep and remind her who pays the bills. I’m not staying long, Kim. Get the pictures and them I’m gone.

Kim flits her long lashes up at me, holding my gaze. For a minute, she dedicates all her attention to me. You will stay as long as I need you to, she orders, turning her attention back to the phone.

Chapter 1

Anthony

The building resembles an old warehouse. Above the door hangs a sign that reads ‘Frank’s Boxing, Where We Turn Women into Beauties & Men into Beasts’. After parking my bike around the corner, I sneak inside. Energy fills the air: determination mixed with desperation to succeed. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Women are working out on the cardio machines or hitting bags alongside the men. At this hour, the number of men far outweigh the women. Being raised by a single mom without a male role model in my life, I can’t help but feel intimated by the presence of so many males in one space.

I hesitantly inch my way further into the building and walk up to the ring. The men deliver blow after blow to each other’s body. Their muscles constrict as each powerful punch connects. I cringe at the sound of impact. As much as I love being in the ring, I hate watching other people take the hits from the sidelines.

That’s my issue, though. That fear drives me while I’m in the ring,  I overheard Mom talking to one of her friends about my father. I never expected to hear her describe the beatings my father had given her when he found out she was pregnant. He had wanted to kill us both.

Maybe that’s why my mom barely comes around here—this place triggers an ache that never goes away. Not in me though. It pushes me every day.

The first time I came to the gym, I was ten and following a cute redhead with the biggest dimples I had ever seen. She wanted nothing to do with me, but that didn’t stop me. I watched as she ran up to her dad and told him I was following her. With her hand on her hip and her little nose scrunched up, she complained about me to the giant of a man.

Frank strolled up to me, the biggest man I had ever seen. He wasn’t smiling as he towered over me, arms crossed over his massive chest.

What are you doing here? he asked in a deep, menacing voice.

After swallowing, I told him the truth. Angel is pretty. She won’t talk to me at school, so I thought I would see if she would talk to me here. I