Chapter 4
Bastien
Past
Where the hell was she? I scanned the packed gymnasium stands for her pale, mostly hidden face.
“You'd better limber up, Bastien, or the kid from Dorchester is going to crush you.” Coach put a hand on my shoulder. He's right, I was being crazy.
“Who're you looking for?” Lenny looked at me skeptically. He'd already started stretching for his match, which was right after mine. He knew my dad was out in the Middle East, so I wouldn't be looking for him. “All the girls are right up front.”
The monster from Dorchester was on the other side of the gym with his team. He was older and much heavier than I was. I could only guess at the shady bullshit he had to pull to wrestle in a bracket beneath where he should be.
This beast should’ve been in the college circuit.
“Your mom, Lenny. She's gonna treat me to some chocolate pie when I win.” Insults were so commonly thrown back and forth that I barely registered saying it. I only said it to save face; I didn't want him knowing who I was really looking for.
The ref called for me and my opponent to step into the circle painted on the mats. I adjusted my wrestling singlet, the spandex always bunched around my cock, and walked out there.
“Well, it's a good thing you're not gonna win then. Nice knowin' ya, asshole!” Lenny shouted as I entered the mats.
I scanned the crowd one last time before getting into position. I still didn't see her. The bell went off and the rhino I was fighting hooked my leg, flipping me over. I landed on my back hard enough for my vision to blur for a second. Before I even knew what happened, he was on top of me, sliding in for the easy pin.
I was so fucked.
Where are you, Olivia?
Present.
I did a pull up. Olivia was only a few doors down, but that might as well be the surface of the fucking moon for how far we’d drifted from one another over the years.
It took me a few days to bring over all my work out equipment. I did it mostly at night when Olivia went to sleep. I wasn't being covert or anything, she knew that it was happening. I needed my equipment here to vent the built-up frustration at finally having her so physically close and not being able to do anything about it. I was flooded with feelings for her that I thought were long since buried.
The harsh reality of our time apart made me realize just how much she had changed. It was a sharp pain slowly sliding through my ribs. Before I came back, I had all these fantasies of who Olivia was now.
But to be so wrong?
It was a hard pill to swallow.
She had this flashy new lifestyle which was all so trendy and unnecessary, especially because she barely used any of it. The Peruvian coffee table made from volcanic sillar stone, the counter top flown in from Japan, the hand-stitched Italian leather sofa, all of it had the influence of her father, Delvin.
She used to hate the way her father decorated her childhood home, and now it looked like she’d followed suit and made her apartment look just as impersonal.
Even the spare bedroom that I took was overly extravagant. Everything was either cream or light brown colored with intricate gold filament patterns; the bed, the walls, the carpets, fucking everything.
I laughed at the thought, but the most restful sleep I’d gotten in the week I'd been here, was on the floor in the exercise room with Romeo.
I liked simplicity. I had spent so much of my life barely scraping by that when I came into unimaginable wealth, I honestly didn’t know what to do with it. Well there was one thing I had to do.
That one thing was the reason I went from cage fighter with a death wish to secret billionaire.
It still blew my mind when I thought about how it all went down. It was an easy secret to keep, because no one would believe me if I told them. As far as everyone knew, I was just the veteran protection agent for Solace Corporate Group.
And it needed to stay that way.
I did another pull up and tried to clear my head. If nothing else, the view was damn nice. I guess that could be said for every room in this condo, but for some reason I could appreciate it more when I felt the burn in my body from vigorous training.
I kept the lights off; the ambient glow flooding in from the city around us was more than enough for me to see. It was still early, several hours before sunrise. Hell, even Romeo was asleep beside one of the treadmills.
The next time I cleared the bar I could see the multitude of bumpy, uneven white scars along my knuckles. They were little reminders of the countless fights I'd fought over the years. With every impact and new scar that formed, I tried to push Olivia’s name farther and farther from my mind.
“What the fuck are you doing here, really?” I asked myself. With her family being threatened, Olivia needed protection. That was the easy answer; it’s what I had convinced myself of when I walked into the hotel that first time and pinned that reporter to the column. But there was a deeper reason that I was trying not to explore.
I didn’t have to spend millions bribing every protection agency in the country not to take her contract. But how could I not?
No one knew Olivia Ward like I did. No one could keep her safe like I could.
I dropped down from the bar, dried the sweat off my face and neck, then started wailing on the heavy bag. Romeo's ears stirred, but he was used to my grunts and the groans of the bag. He just shifted positions, yawned and went back to sleep.
Fucking Delvin Ward. To say he and I didn’t see eye to eye was like calling the ocean a big lake. I imagined his pompous, selfish face and the punching bag jerked from the impact of my right cross.
After the attack on Delvin Ward, the Solace Corporate Group offered our services and Delvin turned us down. When we asked around we found out that, aside from his personal bodyguard, he wasn’t going to hire any additional security for his family.
My brows furrowed in agitation as I dwelt on how irresponsible that decision was.
It wasn’t much of a leap to think that whoever had attacked Delvin might be coming for his family too. He was nearly killed and Delvin decided not to hire any private security for Olivia. He did want his only daughter to be protected, right?
That didn’t make any fucking sense to me.
So, I offered to protect Olivia for free. While initially hesitant to the idea, because of our history, he didn’t want the public to find out that he turned down free, reputable protection for his family. He had to say yes or damage that precious image of him being an all around good guy.
I could keep her safe, that’s why it had to be me.
It wasn’t because she was always the last thing I thought of every time I got into the ring while I was fighting. The chain holding the bag up whined under the strain of my barrage, popping back and forth on the hook holding it.
You're lying to yourself, the heavy bag seemed to cry out.
Rivulets of sweat ran down my face and burned my eyes with all the exertion. I didn't mind the sting. Pain was the only real constant in my life; I came to depend on it to keep me sane.
My fists connected faster and harder as I tried to drown out the sound of accusation in the creek and whine of the chain.
You're here for something else, the chain said, mocking me to tell the truth.
My mind and heart traveled back to my eighteenth birthday and the conversation with Delvin in front of my house. I'd gone over it so many times in my head that I could recite what was said word for word. I hated her father, but for once he was right. I had to leave.
“I left because I had to!” I growled the words beneath my breath.
You came back, the chain squeaked as it swung the heavy bag away from me. Because you still love—
I hit the bag so hard that it popped free of the hook holding it and smashed against the ground. The chain fell blessedly silent.
My fists radiated from the strikes. It was the guilt that ate me up inside. I felt stupid and exhausted, both mentally and physically. I just wished things could've been different between me and Olivia.
“That thing owe you money?” Came a groggy voice behind me.
Startled, I whirled around, fists raised and ready. Branching veins ran down my pumped forearms from the exertion. Seeing that it was only Olivia, I lowered them.
She wore a short-sleeved shirt with loose fitting pajama pants and her hair was a fluffy mess. It wasn't the designer sleepwear that you'd imagine superstar Olivia would wear. It looked comfy and worn in, like she had it forever. It looked like something old Olivia would wear.
Maybe the girl I remembered was still in there somewhere.
The light spilling in from the hallway allowed me to look her over fully. Maybe the shirt, I thought. But there's no way she sleeps in those pants. That was just because she had company over. Her nipples poked through the thin cotton shirt and stirred hardness into my cock. I imagined her rolling into bed in just the shirt and a pair of cotton panties.
Then my mind stripped away her shirt too.
Romeo lifted his head and let out one groggy bark. It was more of an annoyed 'Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep' than 'Hey! Intruder,’ but I was happy for it either way. It kept me from visualizing Olivia completely naked, and the giant fucking hard on that came with that image.
“That's some guard dog you got there,” Olivia wiped the sleep from her eyes. Satisfied that Olivia and I got the message, Romeo lowered his head and went back to sleep.
“I gave him the night off,” I wiped the sweat from my eyes and drained half my jug of water. “I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd burn off some energy.”
A man could only jerk off so much. I didn't tell her that it was being so close to her after all these years that made it tough for me to sleep.
“I can see that. I hope that punching bag learned his lesson,” Olivia said, motioning to turn the lights on. I waved her off. It was better we kept it dark.
“He won't be giving you any more trouble.” I stretched and basked in the condo's central air conditioning for a moment before grabbing a towel. The chill felt good against my naked skin. “Did I wake you?”
“Nah,” Olivia yawned. “The earthquake woke me.”
“Earthquake?” I asked, trying to remember if I felt anything. How long had I been training for? Olivia smiled and shook her head. It was then I realized she was joking. There was no earthquake. I smirked, burying my face in a towel. “I'll try to keep it down to a dull roar.”
This was the most we’d spoken to each other since I’d been here. I wondered why the sudden change of heart.
I wiped down my chest and stomach as well. When I looked up, Olivia was gawking at me. She'd finally woken up enough to see that I was half naked and glistening with sweat.
“Do you always train in just your boxers?” Her tone was a mix of disbelief and dangerous curiosity.
“Cuts down on laundry. What’s the dress code in this gym? Is it more...” I asked, slipping my thumbs into the waistband of my underwear. “Or less?”
I was just teasing to return the favor for that earthquake joke. Something about her, even dressed like that, made my cock begin to swell. Olivia had the body of a famous actress, but it was more than that. Maybe it was just in remembering the gorgeous girl I left behind those years ago.
Wearing just underwear like this, there'd be no way for me to hide my growing erection. Hell, at this point it was just a ticking clock before she saw how big my cock actually was. Even in the low light I could see her face light up like a Christmas tree.
“More!” She declared as firmly as she could, before glancing away. She could try to hide it, but I could always spot embarrassment on her. I knew that she liked what she saw. She swallowed and stumbled over the rest of her words, “And, uh, keep it down. It's late. Some of us are trying to sleep.”
“Stay,” I told her, against my better judgment. I couldn't resist. Old habits died hard. Tormenting Olivia was always my favorite past time, it brought a mischievous smile to my lips. “I'll run you through a full body workout.”