The smoky air of the private club was suddenly pierced by a spotlight that shone on the man as he entered the main floor and made his way to the ring in the center of the room. The ring was surrounded by several hundred chairs, all of them full.

Club Athena catered to wealthy men and women who enjoyed watching all kinds of fighting -- male/male, female/female, female/male. The club had a waiting list of people wanting to become members. Different types of matches were scheduled for different nights -- Tuesdays were exclusively men's boxing, Wednesday's for women wrestling, and so on. This was Friday, the night for mixed fighting, and Jake Michaels was scheduled to meet Shannon McCarthy.

Jake had been a pro wrestler until he got sick of the constant fakery. Athena, the club's owner, saw him fight once and asked him to be one of her regulars, at twice the money he was making. The catch was that the fighting was real.

That isn't to say that Jake had never been hurt in a pro match -- the moves are choreographed, it's true, but when you get slammed to the mat, even if you're ready for it, it still hurts! But in Club Athena's matches you fought to a real winner -- no predetermined results there.

The patrons this night seemed to be somewhat hostile to Jake as he made his way to the ring. Normally, in a mixed match, this is the case -- the man is the bad guy. Maybe it was because three-fourths of the clientele were women. Whatever the reason, boos cascaded down as Jake walked down the aisle.

The ring announcer introduced him as he climbed the stairs into the ring. "Introducing first, in the red corner, at six-feet one inch tall and weighing two hundred and twenty-one pounds, 'Lightning' Jake Michaels!" Jake tossed his robe to an attendant and stretched. He was in good shape -- slabs of hard muscle decorated his arms and legs -- and there were wolf whistles from some of the women spectators. He adjusted his knee pads and waited.

Then the spotlight switched to the opposite entrance and Jake's opponent glided down the aisle. Red hair hung in waves to her broad shoulders. The announcer continued the introductions: "His opponent, in the blue corner, standing five-feet ten inches tall and weighing one hundred and ninety-one pounds, 'Savage' Shannon McCarthy!" The arena erupted in cheering which Shannon acknowledged graciously. She climbed to the apron and slipped between the ropes.

Her body was covered in an indigo silk robe that reached to the floor, which she slowly removed and handed to her "valet", a pretty-boy in a tuxedo jacket and brief Speedos. "Don't drop it!" she warned him, then pulled his face to hers and kissed him. Releasing him, she gave a little shove that nearly sent him into the safety rail and turned to face her opponent. She was wearing a thong-backed dark green Lycra leotard that hugged her body like a second skin. It was cut out to reveal her washboard stomach. Green boots to her knees and white kneepads completed her ring attire.

Jake looked at his opponent for the match. She had the face of an angel atop a hard, sinewy body. He ran his gaze down her, taking in the whole package -- broad shoulders capped with melon-sized deltoids, tapering to a narrow waist decorated with rippling abdominal muscles, then widening out again into her hips and bulging, sinewy thighs and calves. She waved to the crowd, then flexed her biceps so they swelled up to the size and consistency of cannonballs. She turned her back to Jake, showing him the thick muscles of her upper back and glutes as she posed for the onlookers. When she faced him once again, Jake could see her ample breasts sitting high and firm on her large pectoral muscles. Her green eyes seemed to bore into him, her expression saying, "Here I am, boy. Think you can stand up to me?"

Jake had never fought her before, but he'd seen her fight, and he didn't let her angelic face deceive him. Shannon would do anything and everything to win. She was fast, strong, skilled, and vicious, and Jake knew he had his work cut out for him, despite his height and weight advantage.

The ref called them to the center of the ring. Shannon had a faint smile on her face as they were told the rules -- standard wrestling stuff. This would be a one fall match, no punching, no hair pulling, all that stuff. Jake seemed fascinated by the way the sinews in Shannon's forearms danced as she opened and closed her fists. The ref finished his briefing and ordered them to their corners. Jake held out his hand but Shannon just looked at it contemptuously and stalked back to her corner.

The bell rang and they came out to do battle. Shannon stayed fairly low, her knees bent and arms reaching out. Jake grabbed at her wrist but she stayed just out of his grasp. Moving quickly, Jake tried to slip behind her but Shannon was able to keep him in front of her. Her striated pecs rippled, bouncing her firm tits up and down in rhythm. She grabbed at him and they ended up in a collar-and-elbow hold, their bodies straining for an advantage.

They appeared to be fairly even in the strength department as they pushed and pulled at each other. Both grapplers worked hard to gain the upper hand. Jake's legs trembled with effort as Shannon slowly began to force him back, her powerful muscles bulging with the effort. Jake realized that Shannon had the edge in leg power as his back came up against the ropes.

She held him there, a smile again dancing across her face as the ref ordered a break. She released him at the count of three and lightly slapped him on the cheek, trying to humiliate and anger him. "Knock it off," Jake growled.

"Why? Whatcha gonna do, huh?" she taunted as she stepped back. Jake went after her quickly and they locked up again. Once again Shannon forced Jake back and the ref called for her to break, and again she gave him a slap. "Howdya like that, huh?" she teased.

They came together a third time, but this time Shannon slipped out of the collar and elbow lock up and wrapped a very muscular arm around Jake's head. Yanking down, she pulled him into a side headlock. Her bicep and forearm felt like granite against Jake's trapped skull, and his head was being crushed against her. He tried to slip free, but Shannon twined her fingers in his hair and held him captive. The ref ordered her to break and she did so at the count of three. "Watch the hair," the ref told her.

Shannon just laughed and said, "Yeah, right, Zebra." She went right back to the headlock. Jake's face went numb where her steely muscles squashed his skull. She flipped Jake over her hip, landing on top of him with his head still trapped. He felt more than heard the ref slap the mat and rolled a shoulder up. Reaching up with one hand Jake pressed Shannon's chin backwards, trying to cause her enough discomfort that she'd have to break the hold. A sudden thrust and he was able to catch her in a headscissors. Before he could apply any pressure Shannon flipped free and they both rolled to our feet.

Shannon grinned and made a "come on" motion with her hands. Jake moved in, reaching for a collar-and-elbow again, but Shannon picked up his leg and dumped him to his back. Leaping on him like a tigress, Shannon grabbed the headlock again. Her breast ground into Jake's cheek, and he could feel the steely muscle under the softness as she worked her chest muscles to add pressure to his aching head. "Aww, does it hurt?" she teased as Jake moaned in pain. He tried to force her chin back again, but she slammed the heel of her hand into his forehead, momentarily stunning him. It was as effective as a punch, and had the advantage of being legal. "No you don't," she told him, "you're staying right there!"

Jake got his knees under him and slowly began to stand up. The crushing pressure on his skull abated a bit as Jake got to his feet, since Shannon lost some of her leverage due to his height. Jake got a shoulder under her and shoved her back into a corner, forcing her to break the hold.

She did so slowly, and both combatants were wary as Jake stepped away from her, shaking his head. She came out of the corner and went for his head again. Jake was ready for her and ducked, picking up one of her tree-trunk legs and dumping her on her back. Jake stepped over her leg and twisted, trying to force her knee and ankle to bend in the wrong direction. Shannon gasped in pain as Jake put pressure on her leg. "Aww, does it hurt?" he taunted her, throwing her own words back at her.

"Fuck you," growled Shannon. She brought her other foot up and smashed the sole of her boot into Jake's shoulder, driving him back and breaking the hold. She got to her feet quickly and tested the leg, wincing a bit. Confidently Jake moved in and grabbed for it again.

And a building fell on him. Well, that's what it felt like, even though it was just Shannon smashing him in the back with a double axe-handle, crashing her forearms down and driving him to the mat. "Sucker," she said as she dropped down to kneel astride his back, locking his chin in her big hands and yanking back. Jake slapped the mat in frustration and pain as Shannon worked the chinlock, jerking his head as if she wanted to rip it off.

Fortunately for the man they were near the ropes and he grabbed the lowest one, forcing the referee to order Shannon to break the hold. She did so reluctantly and stood up, waiting while Jake pulled myself up. He rolled his head around, trying to unkink his neck muscles. Shannon crooked a finger at him and said, "C'mon Jake. Let's party."

He moved slowly to meet her. Shannon circled to her right, looking for an opening, and Jake matched her movements. He grabbed at her arm but came up empty as she spun away. He went after Shannon again, but she agilely slipped aside and shoved Jake into a corner.

He was able to slow down so his chest just tapped the turnbuckle. Shannon drove a kick into the back of his knee, collapsing the leg. Grabbing him by the arm, Shannon spun Jake around and drove a knee up into his belly. Jake tensed his muscles as well as he could but Shannon's massive quadriceps drove her knee up hard and drove much of the air from his lungs. Stepping back momentarily, Shannon sent a vicious backhand chop into Jake's chest.

The CRACK! of flesh on flesh echoed through the arena above the crowd's low hum. She chopped him again, and it felt like his sternum was being driven into his spine. The crowd noise increased as Shannon battered Jake's chest a third time before she obeyed the referee's order and stepped back. The man slumped against the corner. The ropes were all that kept him from slumping to the canvas.

Shannon stepped back in, ignoring the ref's instructions, and drove a rock-hard shoulder into Jake's gut. Her hands gripping the ropes on either side of him, she used her husky arms to assist her as she hit Jake with two more shoulder blocks. Finally obeying the referee, she stepped back. Jake's legs splayed out and he sat down hard on the mat.

The ref admonished Shannon for her attack, but she told him, "Just do your job, Shrimp, and let me do mine!" She grabbed Jake by the hair and hauled him up, then slammed him back into the corner. Grabbing his arm, Shannon whipped Jake across the ring into the opposite corner. He couldn't slow down, and slammed back-first into the turnbuckles, then fell forward to the mat.

The onlookers were cheering wildly as Shannon stalked purposefully across the ring. She yanked Jake up by the hair again. The cruel look on her face told everyone that she had more torture in mind for Jake. Shannon snap-mared him into the center of the ring, then drove a knee into his back. Once again her powerful hands locked under Jake's chin and she pulled back hard. Sweat poured down both their bodies as Shannon tried to separate Jake's head from his shoulders. The sinews of her forearms danced under her skin, the perspiration making them glisten under the lights. "Give it up, boy," Shannon told Jake as she stretched his neck painfully.

The ref asked if he wanted to submit, but Jake grunted, "No!" He grabbed Shannon's wrists, his fingers digging into the twisted steel of her forearms as he tried to loosen her grip.

"Stubborn, eh?" Shannon said. She shifted her grip and now her thick forearms were clamped on either side of Jake's jaw, threatening to crush it. "Give or you'll be sucking your meals through a straw for a month," the vicious redhead snarled. Jake reached back blindly and grabbed a handful of her copper hued mane. Yanking savagely, he pulled her to the side and broke the grip. Shannon got to her feet and glared at Jake.

"You're dead meat, motherfucker!" she roared. He tried to scramble upright but Shannon was on top of him before he got to his knees. Her fingers twisted in Jake's hair again. "Wanna pull hair, huh?" she growled as she smashed a knee into his chin. Jake punched her in the belly, trying to get away, but his fist just bounced ineffectually off her chiseled abdomen. "My grandmother hits harder than you," Shannon taunted as she pulled Jake fully upright. She doubled up her big fist and held it under his nose so he got a good look. "I'll show ya how to throw a belly punch," she said, and drove a piston like punch into Jake's gut. Her fist, propelled by her massive musculature, drove deep into his belly. Jake fell to the canvas again, doubled over against the agony in his stomach.

"Get outta my way, pencil-neck," Shannon told the ref as he tried to scold her. She yanked Jake up by his black hair and shoved him into a corner. Maintaining the hair pull, Shannon smashed Jake's head brutally into the turnbuckle padding, then did it again before she stepped back. Fireworks went off behind Jake's eyes as a result of Shannon's intense attack. Shannon moved back in and wrapped her sinewy arms around Jake's waist. With a convulsive heave the powerful redhead suplexed him onto his head.

Jake lay on the mat, powerless to stop Shannon's merciless attack. She vaulted to the top rope and stood there, balancing easily and showing her magnificent body to the crowd. Her mighty legs propelled her high into the air, and her entire hundred ninety-one pound frame came crashing down to smash violently into Jake's supine body, taking all the fight and most of the consciousness out of him.

"I'm not through with him yet," she snarled at the referee as he prepared to count the pin. Picking up Jake's powerless body, Shannon body-slammed him to the mat. Jake writhed in agony as Shannon picked him up again, this time taking three running steps and landing atop him in a power-slam. "Pull MY hair, willya?" she yelled as she hauled him up again. Tucking his head between her muscular thighs, Shannon jumped up slightly and smashed Jake's head into the mat with a piledriver. Jake was completely out.

Finally tiring of her effort, Shannon rolled Jake to his back and placed a foot on his chest, telling the ref to "count, shorty". Three seconds later she was proclaimed the winner and given her winnings. Jake was carried off and revived, then given the loser's share in the dressing room.

Jake took his time getting a rubdown and showering, then came out to find Shannon waiting for him. She was dressed in a black leather mini-skirt, sleeveless red silk blouse and red shoes with four inch heels. "What do you want," he asked, apprehension in his voice.

"I hope I didn't hurt you too bad," the redhead said in a husky voice, looking him in the eyes. "Sometimes I get carried away. I've got this Irish temper."

"I'll survive," Jake replied grumpily.

Shannon laughed. "Can I buy you a drink? You look like you need one."

"What's going on?" Jake demanded. "You feeling sorry for me?"

"Nope," she said, "just turned on. For me, the fighting's like foreplay. Do you want this body?," she asked, rubbing her hip against him.

Jake swallowed hard and said, "Is this a trick question?" Shannon laughed and wrapped her muscular arm around him, giving him a squeeze. "Your place or mine?" Jake asked.

"Whichever's closer," she replied, pulling him close to her and kissing him hard.

Jake felt something stir and said, "Yeah, the closer the better."