With haste, he began pumping and rotating his hips, pushing harder and deeper, fighting to give me what I wanted whilst also searching for his own release. “Liv,” he moaned deeply on a drawn out breath. That sound in itself would have made me climax if I hadn’t just screamed out his name again as a starlit galaxy appeared behind my closed eyelids. Kneeling up abruptly, he cursed and pulled out, holding his cock in his palm as warm liquid spilled out over my stomach. He groaned a deep throaty noise and fell to his side, fighting to catch his breath.
“I can’t believe I was so fucking careless,” he chastised himself.
My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe it either. I’d been so caught up in the pleasure of the moment; a condom hadn’t even entered my mind. “Don’t do it again,” I grumbled and then wanted to slap myself. That statement assumed there would be an again. Even though we’d now had sex three times, there had been no discussions about any expectations—or feelings—beyond those moments of stolen pleasure.
“You’re not mad?” He leaned up to look at me.
“If you tell me you’re riddled in STDs, then I’ll be fucking fuming and looking to cut off your dick in the most painful way possible. But, no, I’m not mad.”
“Way to ruin the moment, Liv.”
I rolled my eyes. “Way to put my life at risk, Nate.”
He shifted so he was lying right beside me, circling his fingers around a nipple. “I would never do anything to put your life at risk. In fact I will go out of my way to protect you.” His eyes, begging for forgiveness, peered up into mine. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m clean, I promise. I got a clean bill of health during my medical before I flew out here.”
“They test you for STDs in a pre-fight medical?” I asked incredulously.
Nate chuckled and reached forward to smooth my hair away from my eyes. “They do a full check-up, looking for possible drug use mainly.” That made sense. His face grew serious. “I really am sorry, though. I should have been more responsible. Do you want me to take you to a doctor, just in case?”
I shook my head. “No, if you’re clean we should be fine. I’m on the pill so we have no worries there. I mean it though, Nate. We can’t forget again.”
He nodded and looked at my belly. “I guess I should clean you up.”
Five minutes later, we were cleaned up and dressed, and Nate was showing me around his gym.
“This place is amazing, Nate. I don’t understand why you’d want to change it.” With the lights on, I looked around the large open space, taking in all the equipment he had and the large cage tucked away in the far corner.
He moved in behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle. “This is adequate for Wes and me, but I want so much more from this whole place. I want a larger gym, accommodation, consulting rooms, dining facilities… I want to turn this place into a safe and inspiring training and rehabilitation facility for young people.”
“Why specifically young people?” I asked.
“I have my reasons,” he replied cryptically. Whatever the reason, I had a feeling it was related to his past, the past he refused to talk about.
“I guess we’d better go back and face the music,” he said with a sigh, leading me back to the barn doors.
~CHAPTER SIXTEEN~
Wesley was pacing the kitchen floor when we re-entered. Mal was nowhere to be found. Cassie peered over from where she was washing dishes, and the new guy, Royce, sat appraising us quietly.
“Where the fuck have you been, Nate?” Wes asked, looking beyond pissed off.
“I needed to cool off.” I left Nate’s side and walked towards the table, noting the hostile energy in the room.
“I need to talk to you… in private,” Wes said, already striding towards the hallway. Nate nodded and followed.
“This is all kinds of weird, huh?” Royce asked as I pulled out a seat at the table. He was older than Nate, maybe in his late-thirties, with short, cropped, dark hair that showed off several scars. From the shape of his obviously previously broken nose, I assumed he had once been a fighter himself. His body appeared to be that of a once committed athlete, still broad but not as muscular and toned as he would have previously been. With deep olive skin, and vivid blue eyes, he could be classed as handsome, in a rugged kind of way. He also carried himself with the same arrogance I’d seen from Nate and Wes.
“Um, yeah. I guess.”
Several minutes passed as we sat in silence. Royce’s eyes were on me the whole time, making me fidget and fiddle with the hem of my top. His assessment made me feel a little uncomfortable.
“He doesn’t need anyone else here,” Cassie blurted out, throwing a dish towel on the counter. I jumped. “Like Nate said, this is bullshit.”
Unfazed by her outburst, Royce leaned back in his chair, cradling the back of his head in his hands.
“It’s always good to freshen things up.” He shrugged.
“Ugh, arrogant as well as ugly.” Cassie picked up a knife from the drainer. “You know,” she said, pointing the knife in his direction, “Nate is very particular about his training. He won’t take kindly to having a stranger join the team, telling him what to do and when to do it. The only person he respects and will listen to is Bernie.”
Royce sighed and closely watched the knife Cassie continued to point towards him. “I’m not here to make things difficult for Nate or for anyone. Far from it. I don’t particularly agree with Mal and his reasons for me being here. But he’s paying me well and a job’s a job.”
“Unbelievable!” Cassie threw the knife in a drawer then walked out, muttering to herself.
“Well, that went well.” Royce exhaled with a drawn out breath and sank lower into his chair.
“Were you expecting a warm welcome?” The tone in my voice was deliberately bitter. If Nate didn’t want the guy there, neither did I.
“I guess not. I wasn’t expecting to land in Antarctica though.”
“Royce—”
“Roy… please, just Roy. I hate the name Royce,” he said, laughing.
I scowled but continued. “Okay, Roy. Tell me why you’re here then. What has Mal told you?”
He looked nervously towards the hallway before continuing in a quiet voice, “He said Nate was unstable, that he was losing his mind and not focusing on his training. He wanted me to come and keep an eye on him, said something about—and I quote, ‘some bitch distracting him.’ I presume he was talking about you?”
My cheeks heated as my eyes widened.
“Look,” he continued, raising his hands up. “I’m not here to cause waves. I just want to do what I can to keep Mal happy and keep him paying me. I won’t cause any problems.”
Shaking my head sadly, I said, “You’re here, that’s already a big problem.”
I continued grilling him for several more minutes, and the longer I talked with Roy, the easier I began to feel about him. Despite Mal’s underhand reasons for him being there, Roy was simply trying to earn some money. I learned he had indeed once been a fighter but had never made it big like Nate had. A back injury in his early twenties meant he’d had to stop fighting. After a year of moping around with no income in his home country of Brazil, he connected with another fighter who was traveling to Europe for a fight. He was offered the chance to join their training camp and jumped at it. Realising he had nothing to return to in Brazil, he’d ended up staying, working from gym to gym finding jobs where he could.
“When Mal offered me this job and told me how much he would pay, I couldn’t turn it down. This money will pay my bills for the next year, Olivia.”
I sat there, staring at him while he talked, my chin resting on my palms. He had the most mesmerising accent. I tried to be faithful to Nate’s feelings about Roy being there, but the longer we chatted, the more I found I liked the guy. He’d been dealt a rough hand and was only doing what he had to in order to survive. I even suspected that Nate could possibly learn something from him.
“Sorry, what was that?” I jerked up,
realising he had been asking me a question.
“I said, how about you? How long have you and Nate been together?”
“Oh,” I fumbled around for something to say. Despite our recent antics in the amazing sex arena, Nate had made it very clear there was never going to be an us.
I laughed it off. “Oh, we’re not together. I’m just here as his architect.”
Fucking lame, Liv.
“Yeah, that’s right. She’s just another employee.” Turning abruptly at the sharp voice, I locked gazes with Nate.
“Nate… I….” He closed his eyes briefly and shook his head, stopping me from continuing. Then he looked at Roy.
“I don’t want you here, Royce. I don’t need you here, but Mal has put you in this position. If you are staying, and I’d prefer it if you didn’t, you’ll be in the small room at the back of the gym, away from the house. Away from us.” He met my gaze then, his eyes burning with a deep rooted anger. The trouble was I wasn’t sure if that anger was directed at Roy or me.
“Get your things and I’ll take you down there.” Nate tore his eyes away from me and strode out of the kitchen door without looking back. Roy grabbed a large bag and quickly followed after him.
“I’ll catch you later, Olivia. It was nice meeting you,” he shouted over his shoulder with a smile.
***
The following week was strained to say the least. Nate resented Roy’s presence on his property with such passion that I wondered on more than one occasion if they would end up in a brawl. He always managed to rein in his anger, either by taking it out on a punch bag or by phoning Mal and letting loose with a string of expletives, reminding him he was capable of doing his own training. Nate did, after all, have Bernie and Wes there to train with and support him. I spent more time with Cassie, helping her around the house while the guys were training. I discovered she was a fantastic cook, utilising the Asian cuisine skills she’d learned growing up and adjusting them to support Nate’s strict dietary requirements.
When Cassie was in the gym with the guys, I would take out my sketch books and wander around looking for ideas and inspiration. I discovered that at the rear of the property, at the end of a track that ran through one of the fields, there was a small river. It wasn’t particularly wide or deep but it did offer the perfect spot to retreat to when I needed a moment of peace to myself. As the days moved on, I needed that space more and more.
Since the night of Roy’s arrival, Nate had been distant with me. He’d kept his promise of showing me around and pointing out his visions for the property and what he wanted me to do for him, we ate meals together and had a couple of short exchanges when I’d needed to find out more about the local area and to discuss the progress of his plans, but other than that, Nate went out of his way to avoid me. I’d challenged him a few times, asking what his problem was and he would simply tell me he was there to prepare for his fight and I was there to design, nothing more, nothing less. Nate the attentive lover had been completely replaced by Nathan, the arrogant fighter.
The only glimmer of light on my otherwise dark horizon was that my relationship with Adam was getting back on track. He phoned me most days, regaling me with stories of the office. It was dull and boring stuff, yet it never failed to brighten my mood. Or maybe it was just hearing my best friend’s voice that did that for me.
“What’s up, Liv? You’re quiet.” Adam asked one bright afternoon. I’d spent the morning in a local town, and when I’d returned, Nate had been standing in the kitchen with Mal, Bernie, Roy and Honey. She had been standing far too close to him for my liking. Nate’s back was to me so he hadn’t seen me when I’d entered through the open kitchen door, but she had. Her bitchy smile grew wider as she murmured something to Nate and stepped in closer, placing her claws on his arm. The more I saw her, the more I suspected there had been, or maybe still was, something going on between them. Nate vehemently denied that was the case, but I wasn’t so sure. Not able to stomach being in a room with both her and Mal, I’d turned on my heels and wandered down to my spot.
I picked up a stone chipping from the rock I was sitting on and threw it into the river, watching as the impact created ripples across the surface. “I don’t know, Ad,” I sighed. “I guess it’s just different out here than I thought it would be.”
“How are the drawings coming along?”
That was probably the only thing going well. With Nate being so withdrawn, I’d spent a lot of time travelling around, photographing and sketching the local architecture. Most days I would busy myself out on the property, doing all the technical stuff I was going to need to design the new facility, or I’d lock myself away with my Mac and add to the drawings that were slowly coming together. I was pleased with how they were looking and felt confident that I’d managed to meet Nate’s brief whilst ensuring everything was in keeping with the area. It had been a tough task. I mean, how many large-scale sports shelters and rehabilitation centres did you find in the middle of the French countryside?
I smiled as I told him about the plans and what I’d learned of the area in the short time I’d been here.
“Is he treating you okay?”
“What? Where did that come from?” I was taken aback by the sudden change in subject.
“I want to know that you’re being looked after okay. You’re all alone over there, and I need to know he’s not taking advantage.”
Nate had taken advantage, and at the time I’d enjoyed it. But that had all changed. “Yes, I’m being looked after okay. No, he’s not taking advantage of me. I hardly ever see him because he’s training all the time.”
“So why do you sound so down then? The Liv I know never lets anything get her down.”
I kicked off my flip flops and dipped my toes in the water. “Adam, I’m fine, honestly. I just feel a little isolated out here…”
My eyes followed the path of a low flying bird and came into direct contact with Nate’s deep grey, brooding stare. He was standing on the opposite bank watching me closely. He must have been out running because he was wearing grey sweatpants rather than the shorts he favoured in the gym. His white, sweat soaked t-shirt clung to every ridge of his fine physique. I immediately brightened at seeing him and smiled warmly. That smile faded when he simply nodded and continued jogging along the riverside path.
“Damn moody bastard,” I muttered.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh God, not you, Ad.” Sometimes I wished there was a brain-to-mouth filter app I could download, because my own inbuilt one didn’t seem to work.
“Listen, I know things were awkward between us for a while, but I want you to know I meant what I said, Liv.”
My head shook. “Ad—”
“No, before you start calling me names…” I relaxed slightly at his playful tone. “I do love you. Maybe it’s just the whole female friend, overprotective, care for you thing, who knows. What I’m trying to say is that I’m here for you… as your best friend. If you need me, I’ll be there.”
“Thanks, Ad,” I replied softly. “That means a lot.” It was such a relief to have my best friend back.
I slowly ambled back to the house, contemplating whether I should see if Nate had returned to the gym. We needed to talk and sort things out because I wasn’t sure how much more I could take of his cold shoulder.
Cassie was coming through the doors when I approached. She spotted me and smiled widely.
“Hey, how has your day been?” she asked, locking the door behind her. There was my answer. Nate obviously wasn’t inside.
“Okay, I guess. Where’s Nate?”
She joined me on the path and we walked together back towards the house. “I’m not sure. He went for a run and I haven’t seen him since. I was supposed to be giving him a massage, but he didn’t show. Royce really put him through his paces this morning.”
“Oh? I take it they are getting along now then?”
Cassie laughed. “Oh my God, you should see them, Liv. It’s like two scho
ol boys trying to outdo each other. They are definitely two hugely competitive male egos. I still don’t like Royce—there is something about him I don’t trust. But, he is getting Nate to train harder, so that can only be a good thing.” Her smile dropped briefly. “I hate that this whole Roy situation is affecting Bernie too. The poor guy feels like he’s been elbowed out the way. He has always been there for Nate, always pushing him and getting the best out of him. Even Bernie can’t get through to him these days. Mal said bringing Roy on board was to help Nate. All it has really done is made him a moody, unapproachable arse.” Her head shook sadly.
When we reached the house, I stopped Cassie from opening the door. “Cass, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Of course you can.”
We moved over and sat at the outdoor dining table, enjoying the last of the late afternoon sun. “What do you think is going on with Nate?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, pulling her sunglasses over her eyes and tilting her face towards the sky.
I needed a female opinion on what was going on, someone who would tell me straight if I was being paranoid, but I wasn’t sure how much she knew about Nate and me. “I have to tell you something and then I need your take on it.”
She lifted her glasses again and gave me her full attention. “Shoot.”
I explained about the few times Nate and I had been together and how he made me feel. I didn’t go into detail but told her how my feelings for him had been growing. “I’m not sure if it’s connected or if it’s just me, but he’s been cold with me since Roy arrived,” I finished.
Cassie leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table. “You love him,” she said with a smirk.
“What? No… No I don’t. How can I love him, I hardly know him?”
“You have feelings for him, though, right?” I nodded. “And if things had continued as they were, those feelings could have grown into love?”
“Maybe,” I muttered.
“Liv, I honestly don’t know what’s going on with him. He hasn’t said anything. He never does. When he has these moods, I mostly just let him get on with it. From what you’ve said, though, I’m pretty positive he has the same feelings for you. He just doesn’t know how to deal with them.” She stood, smiling down at me. “Give him time. When he’s ready, he’ll come back to you.”
Prepared to Fight Page 21