Seduced 4

by Jones, P. A.

  Two days ago, I came back to NYC for a match and here I was struggling with my own emotions about Nikki—the emotions I’d buried deep under the ground. The emotions I never thought would come back in my life again. The emotions I thought had died the day I left NYC. Why am I feeling so soft again? Why, Nikki, why? Why do you have to do this to me? I thought I’d left her life for good, but seeing her better than I expected crushed my heart one more time.

  These thoughts, they are killing me. I thought I had no feelings left for her, but then where is this angst coming from? Why am I thinking about her instead of my training and upcoming match. “No, Tristan, no. This can’t be happening. You should think about the tomorrow's match, not about a girl.” I can’t let this happen. I have to focus on the match. I turned my fist to a table and hit it hard. The wooden table broke in two pieces; a waiter came running.

  “Tristan, are you all right?” Trisha came running and pulled my hand to her.

  “Why, what happened?” I opened my eyes. For the first time, I felt pain in my right hand. The glass I was holding before making a fist was crushed in my hand and glass pieces were piercing in my flesh; my hand was dripping blood all over the broken table.

  “What the hell happened here? Why is your hand bleeding? Why did you break this table?” She raised her eyebrows. “My God, what is happening to you?” she squawked, disappointed by me.

  She picked up a first aid kit from somewhere and started pulling out the glass pieces from my hand.

  “Sorry about the carpet. I needed something to hit. I needed my focus back.” I looked at my hand; my eyes settled on the blood still dripping. Pain was there, but in the last six months, I’d learned to mute my pain through rigorous training.

  “You fool, it’s not about the carpet. It’s about the blood.” Her voice cracked, her eyes became watery.

  “It’s nothing, Trisha. You know I’ve suffered far more serious injuries than this.” I couldn’t guess why she was getting so upset about a little wound. She couldn’t understand what I was going through few moments ago. I needed this pain to get over her.

  “It’s not about the injury even. It’s the way you are hurting yourself.” I could see the heat flushing across her cheek. She was getting angry and it wasn’t a good time to be around her. “I’ve been watching you the last six months, Tristan. You are running away from your emotions and in the end, you do something like this.”

  “Are you hungry? Because I’m starving and I want to eat one of those sandwiches you always make for me.” I pleaded with her.

  “Give me ten minutes and I’ll prepare one for you.” She smiled like a child. She cleaned my wound and walked to the kitchen.

  She was a very sweet girl, having lots of feelings for me. But I…Sorry, Trisha. I can’t be the one you are looking for. You deserve better than me. My heart was still flooded with mixed emotions.

  “It’s going great, Tristan.” The words echoed in my mind again.

  ***

  I was standing in front of Jimmy, the state level champion from Chicago. He was famous in Chicago underground leagues, known as the Giant Killer. He had ended careers of many heavy-duty fighters up until now. But you are riding with a dark horse, dude. I’m not losing my career; at least not tonight.

  My brain was waiting for the whistle from the referee, but my mind was still revolving around last evening's events. Gerome met me last night, and Nikki was there, too, but she’d run off. Why did she run off? If she was doing great, then why did she run out from there. I couldn’t think of any reason. But I needed to find out what’s really happening with her business and if Stephen was in real danger here. I couldn’t let anything happen to that cute kid. No, I can’t let anyone harm you, kiddo.

  The referee whistled and the match started.

  Jimmy was six feet five inches, two inches taller than me. I’d gone through his bio and his specialty was air kicks. He could kick a man’s face in less than three seconds and most of his fights lasted only a few minutes. He was a ruthless fighter. A good challenge for me.

  Jimmy charged on me and jumped in the air, bending his knees. I knew what was going to happen; his knees would hit me on my shoulders and his fist on my forehead. A killer KO move, but I couldn’t let that happen. I pushed my legs on the ground and jumped in his direction. His eyes widened for a second; maybe he couldn’t understand what was I doing. The perfect solution could be to get away from him and save myself, but I never liked showing my back to anyone; not in a fight, at least.

  One second later, his knees were above my head. I grabbed them with my hands and pushed him back. A simple move, but he lost his balance and fell on the ground, hitting his back very hard.

  A roar rose from the crowd; they were calling my name.

  It was my time to kick his ass, now. I jumped on him before he could recover and banged my knee on his chest. It was the same move as him, but I targeted his chest. A cracking sound came from his ribs and a loud scream from his mouth.

  “We are even thinking of another child after Stephen,” Gerome had said.

  My eyes turned red; a rage emerged from the black depths of my mind. I couldn’t take him anymore. “You have to suffer, Gerome,” I screamed. I lifted his head and hit him with my own, again and again, until two men came to stop me.

  They pulled me back to my corner and held me there. I was trying to force them away, but they had a hold around my neck and pushing them away was putting pressure on me. I couldn’t do anything other than sit at my place. I watched the paramedics come and take Jimmy out. His forehead was bleeding while he laid down, unconscious.

  A hand slapped my face again and again. My hands were tied, otherwise I would have cut his hand in half.

  “Who the fuck…” I roared. My eyes were shooting fire at everybody.

  “You fool, you could have killed him.” My coach came in front of me. He was the one who was slapping me.

  “Did you hear what was he saying to me?” I groaned.

  “Why the fuck does it matter to you, anyways? You are a professional fighter. Act like one.” He held my head on either side and looked in my eyes. “Listen, kid, these moments will come when your rage will take you over, but you can’t kill anyone because of this. You have to be careful.”

  The animal in me vanished in a few seconds. I could see, feel what I just did. “I’m sorry, Coach. I lost my cool.”

  “And he lost his four ribs. But that’s fine. It’s a match, after all, but you shouldn’t try to kill him with your head.” He was still holding my head. “Listen, kid, I don’t want this happening again. You need to calm down yourself, or I’m out of your training.”

  I couldn’t let that happen, not when the mistake was mine. “I’m sorry, Coach, I’ll take care of things from next time.”

  ***

  I held a half-empty glass. It was my second glass only, but I was already feeling pretty drunk. My head was drowsy and spinning like a motorcycle wheel.

  “Tristan, what are you doing?” A woman yelled at me from a distance.

  I could guess who she was. “Hey, Trisha. How are you, babe? Come...and have a drink with me.” It was Trisha, my darling, my manager, my friend. I pulled another glass out and filled it for her.

  “How drunk are you, Tristan? You are not supposed to drink. Remember what the doctor said to you?” She snatched the glass out of my hand.

  “But babe, it’s just my second glass….. Do you like whiskey? Where were you tonight? Why….was’….t you at my match.” I could feel my words getting slurred.

  “You know I don’t like seeing you covered in blood.”

  “Bu….t it was Jimmy who was….covered i……n blood today.”

  “I know it, stupid. Coach told me what you did today.” She slid a hand under my armpit and lifted me up. “Now behave like a good kid and let me get you to bed.”

  “Why be…d? I’ve just started.” I tried to pick up the whiskey bottle, but it slipped out of my hand and the sound of the shattering
bottle echoed everywhere. The dark smell of whiskey intrigued me more.

  “Tristan, please. Don’t make a mess,” she yelled at me.

  I let her lift me; I was already in a dream world. Her mouth was so close to me, I could just move my lips an inch further and kiss her lips, sweet little pink lips. I liked those. And I kissed her. I tasted her honey-sweet lips and then I sucked my tongue inside her mouth, trying to drink her all in.

  She dropped her purse on the ground. “Tristan…” She tried to say something, pulling her mouth away from me.

  I pushed my lips on her again and shut her mouth. I didn’t want to hear her, I just wanted to taste her and suck her inside me. I grabbed her ass and pulled her closer to me. Her soft mounds were crushed on my chest; I could feel her rapid heartbeat in that drunken moment as well.

  Her arms slowly moved around my back and settled in my hair. She was enjoying the kiss; she sucked my lips, crushed them under her teeth.

  I lifted her without withdrawing my lips out from hers. I walked her to the bed and put her on it.

  “Trisha…” I withdrew my lips from her and looked in her eyes.

  A shade of blue sparkled in her eyes, like Nikki. Damn, Nikki Jordan—not now. I couldn’t move forward. Trisha was pulling my face into her, but I couldn’t do that with her. I still loved Nikki and that moment made it clear. My manhood lost its erection.

  “Sorry, Trisha, I can’t do it.”

  “You still love her, don’t you?” she asked with wounded eyes.

  “I think so, yes.” I collapsed near her, but I wasn’t myself. I was feeling a new realization. A complete new realization of love.

  ***

  “Good morning.” Trisha tried to cheer me up with the smell of coffee she’d made for me. The last six months, she taken care of everything for me. I’d never seen such dedication from anyone.

  I felt guilty; last night, I almost took advantage of her and then rejected her, and still she was there standing with a coffee and a sweet smile on her face.

  “Trisha…” I didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry for…”

  She came closer, the sweet aroma of coffee enlightening the surroundings. “Don’t be. It happened. At least I got to know that you are not a jerk.” A faint smile appeared on her face. She sat near my head. She smelled like morning dew.

  “I thought you would have gone somewhere by now.” I grasped her hand in my palms and held it near my heart.

  “Could you run away from your true love?” she asked with hurt eyes.

  “Apparently, I couldn’t. It came back, haunting me. I thought I’d buried her memory with my training.” My shallowness spoke the truth for the first time in the last six months. “But nothing can overshadow it.”

  “Then how could I?” She kissed my cheeks. “It’s hard to run away from your own feelings, Tristan. Not when the person needs you the most.”

  “But it hurts you.” I could sense her sadness, but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t hurt her more with showing false emotions.

  “That’s why it is called love.” A tear dropped in my coffee.

  “I’m sorry, Trisha, but I’m not the right person for you.” I kissed her hand. I couldn’t do anything more. “And I’m okay if you want to move away from me.” I couldn’t tell her to stop and bleed every day.

  “Not until you get your love back. Or you are ready to move on.” She wiped her face and gave the coffee to me. “Sorry, it may be a bit salty.”

  “It’s okay. I know it’s the world’s best coffee made today.” I smiled at her. I raised myself up, sat near her and squeezed her in a light wrap.

  “I hired an agency today to find out what’s going on in Nikki’s company. I thought that’s what you would like to know,” she said.

  “That’s great. I was thinking something similar.” I actually didn’t think anything about Nikki after last night, nor had I thought about hiring an agency. After it was clear that I still loved Nikki, I had no idea what I was going to do. One thing I knew—I wouldn’t break her heart or destroy her life in any way.

  “We will lose one million if we choose to go with her company. It’s in the current contract.”

  “Call Mr. Peterson. He should have some way out of this. He is a smart guy.”

  “I bet he is.” She smiled. “I need to go now. Call me if you need anything.”

  “Sure.” I took my first sip of the coffee. Indeed, it was the best coffee I’d ever had in my life, because it had the love of Trisha in it.

  Chapter 3

  Nikki

  I was wiping sweat off of my forehead. It was too close. Tristan was there and I wasn’t prepared to meet him. Heck six months had gone by after seeing him the last time, and now he turned up as the last hope for my company? What’s really going on?

  Seeing him after six months was a big deal. I didn’t know how I ran out of there and caught a cab for way back.

  My heart stopped beating when I saw him. He had changed a lot. He was leaner, stronger and muscular, but he was still with Trisha. He had cut his hair short, but long enough for a woman to hide her fingers in them. I was panicked when I saw him at first, but now, away from him in the cab, I could remember him clearly. He had another cut near his chin, but it only added to his masculinity. What is happening with me? I should be hating him, but instead I was thinking about his face, his body.

  Still, Trisha was there and somehow I didn’t like it. Why did that bitch have to be there? I could have said hello if Trisha hadn’t been there. And then she came out of her bedroom. Oh, God, what is happening with me?

  I was lost in thoughts of him again, Tristan was invading my world. “Why is he really here?” I muttered.

  “Did you say something?” the cab driver asked.

  “Nothing. Please ignore.”

  Cab driver dropped me in front of Carrie’s house. I didn’t even look at what amount I gave him; nothing mattered at that time.

  “Lady, your money...” he shouted back at me. I didn’t care.

  “Crazy lady,” he shouted again. The cab drove off fast while I was about to call the elevator.

  Thoughts of Tristan thoughts wrapped around my mind. Why had he come back after six months? And why MMA? What had happened to his injury?

  His appearance there as Maxim took me by surprise. The most odd thing was to know him as Maxim. How could he be Maxim? I remembered he could barely lift his finger after a training session, and then in six months—fourteen fights, all knock outs in a row? What really happened with him?

  “Why are you standing outside? Come in.” Carrie’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I was standing outside of her door; I don’t know how long I’d been standing there.

  “Sorry, I was thinking about Tristan.”

  “Tristan? I thought you’d moved on.” She grabbed my hand and pushed me to the couch. “Why in God’s name you are thinking about him?”

  “I saw him today. You know Maxim?” My heartbeat was still loud; I thought even Carrie could hear it.

  “The one you were going to meet today. Yes…shouldn’t be you with him right now?”

  “He is Tristan, with shorter hair and another cut on his chin…” I bit my lip. I shouldn’t have been talking about him. He was no more than a business perspective for me. “Where is Stephen? Did you……”

  She cut me off. "He is sleeping. Don’t worry about him. Tell me about Tristan. Okay, one second. Let me digest this thing first.” She gasped. “So you mean that Maxim guy is none other than your ex-boyfriend, Tristan?”

  “I don’t know, Carrie. I saw him with Trisha. He was the one.”

  “How did you know he was the Maxim. Maxim could be anyone else, and Tristan might be there for some work.”

  “No, my gut feeling says he is Maxim, and there is a cut on his chin. It should be him.”

  “He might be, or not be. Did you talk with him, Nikki?” She held and shook my shoulders.

  “No, I ran away when I saw him. I couldn’t talk wi
th him, Carrie. He is, he is…”

  “Don’t act like a fool, Nikki. He is dead to you. And remember he cheated on you. And you have a husband back in town. Just let his thoughts fly away from your stupid head.” She knocked on my head like it was something made of tin.

  I darted my eyes to her. “I don’t know…I don’t know.” I stood and walked away from her. I couldn’t answer any more questions. I needed time to clear my head. I had to talk with Gerome about him.

  ***

  The whiskey rattled out of the glass when I stopped suddenly.

  “Forty.” I counted to myself. It was the fortieth round I’d just walked inside my main hall. It was rare when I drank whiskey instead of wine, but the time called for it. I was waiting eagerly for Gerome. I wanted to know what had happened after I’d left from the hotel Atlantis.

  “Come for me, babe.” His words echoed in my mind. His strong scent, his masculinity intrigued me to the core. It wasn’t only the sex that fascinated me about him, it was his emotions, the aroma surrounding him made me hunger for him. Even the thought of him brought a wind of comfort inside my mind. That had never happened to me before. For the past six months, I’d avoided the touch of any man. I thought I would save myself for the day when I could move on and live my life with Gerome, but it was a lie. I was lying to myself. I wasn’t done with Tristan yet. When I saw him today, the blood in my veins chorused his name all over again. My body became desperate for the touch of his hands, a wetness filled me inside. I remembered every moment I’d spent with him, in his bed and out of his bed. I held his markings all over my body. This had never happened to me, not even when Gerome was gone. I’d never felt such strong emotions in my whole life. Why did you do this to me Tristan? Why did you betray me in the first place?

  But whenever my mind remembered Trisha with him, it came back to me with a shock, to remind me that he’d really moved on and I should do the same.