As we approached the table I was surprised to see Cindy from uni standing at the table. What was she doing here? It looked like she was talking to Xander?
I stopped just behind and to the side of her, Sophie at my right. She didn’t notice us with all the noise and the crowd. “…are you really in a relationship with Eden Sommers? We are talking braniac Eden with the scars, right? Did your Facebook account get hacked or something? I just saw the pic.” Her voice sounded overly chirpy and she was doing that exaggerated animated thing she always did. Somewhere along the line she must have thought it was cute or something.
The bottom felt like it had fallen out of my stomach and Soph reached a hand across to hold mine, both of us focused on what Xander would say next. I don’t think he’d seen us approach because the crowd was kind of thick. His face looked tight and he had a slight tick at his jaw. I’d only ever seen it once before and that was the night at his place when he kind of lost it.
“No, Cindy. My Facebook account wasn’t hacked and yes I am in a relationship with the beautiful Eden Sommers.” Suddenly my stomach righted itself and I was feeling much more secure. Now I was far more interested to see what she’d say.
“Beautiful—why?...I don’t understand. You have a policy of not dating students, that’s what you told me when I trained with you.” She genuinely seemed confused. Perhaps she was one of the few females that couldn’t do two things at once. It must have really taken some brain power to perfect the hair flick and the pushed out boobs “look at me” kind of gesture while trying to think and talk at the same time.
“That’s correct and my policy hasn’t changed.” His jaw was still clenched tight.
“But you’re training her, I heard!” she said in an exasperated voice “And apparently you’re sleeping with her. Why would you do that? I made it very clear I was happy not to train and she’s well…kind of a freak.” The whole table gasped and sucked in a breath. Cindy didn’t say it but everyone knew what she was getting at.
Then, it all seemed to happen at once. Sophia dropped my hand and made a lunge for Cindy.
“Sophia, stop.” Xander’s voice cut through the chatter in his best Sensei tone. At least fifty people suddenly seemed to be very interested in what was going on at our tables. Sophia went as still as a stature. I could tell she wanted a piece of Cindy but she wouldn’t go against Xander.
Xander stared right at Cindy and his eyes were absolutely black. If I didn’t know him I would have been terrified; the look was so intense. Then he slowly stood, making himself seem even more menacing if that was even possible.
Cindy took a step back as it appeared to dawn on her just how deep a hole she’d dug for herself.
“I’ve got no idea why you’d come over here looking to start something, Cindy. But let me clear it up for you. First off Eden is not my student—she’s my girlfriend. If I choose to teach her or involve her in anything else to do with Onigashima, it’s my business and no one else’s—but rest assured my no dating students policy is still firmly in place. I’ve also told you on more than one occasion that I wasn’t interested in any sort of relationship with you other than as a student. I’m retracting that offer as well. You are not welcome at Onigashima. You’ve made it very clear you have no respect for yourself or anyone else. Finally, I don’t care how attractive you think you are, beauty is much more than what you see on the outside. You might want to think about that.”
She stood there gaping.
Xander moved around the table and came across to me. “It’s time Eden and I headed home.” Cindy spun around and finally realised I’d been standing just off to the side of her the whole time. The look on her face was priceless.
Everyone else at the table rose as well in a show of solidarity.
By this time I was angry. How dare she be such a bitch? I’d never done anything to her, except help. I been nothing but a doormat—she appreciated nothing. Well, that was going to stop tonight as well.
“Don’t bother asking for anymore notes either, Cindy. No way would a ‘friend’ call me a freak.” It was hardly a cutting or defining statement, but it was the best I could do.
Xander put his arm around my waist and left a lingering kiss on my lips. I knew it was all for Cindy’s benefit, but I didn’t care.
We started moving towards the door when he stopped and turned back to her.
“Oh and Cindy, don’t get any stupid ideas of retribution towards Eden. I won’t stand for it and I don’t doubt that she’s more than capable of putting you on your arse right now—but she’s too much of a lady and too polite to do that.” I could feel the fury radiating off him.
We kept moving and headed out to the car park and were quickly joined by the rest of the group.
Xander nodded at the guys and they nodded back silently as they split to go to their own vehicles. It was that unspoken code again. It was a show of support for me as much as Xander and that felt kind of heady. Other than family, no one had ever stood up for me before.
Sophia looked a little sullen off to the side with Rachel, Adelaide and Seth. I knew she wasn’t happy about Xander reining her in. Xander must have figured it out too.
He moved towards Sophia taking me with him.
“Hey Soph. I know you’re not happy with me now and I know you were only defending your sister and yeah, I agree she deserved a good smack in the head. But starting something physical with Cindy wasn’t the way. She’s the type that would have pulled an assault charge on you quicker than blink. If she’d come at you or Eden physically…totally a different story. We don’t start it, but by God we will finish it if it’s brought to us. Eden’s lucky to have a sister like you.” He held out his hand for a fist bump that seemed to be the thing with his students. She bumped him back and smiled a little.
He looked around at me. “We’re going to head off.” Then he looked back to Sophia, then Seth. “Anyone need a ride?”
“You head home, man. I got this. I just dialled for a cab. I’ll make sure the girls all get home safe.” Xander nodded and there was that unsaid conversation passing back and forth again. “You training in the morning at Onigashima?”
“Yeah, I’ll be in there after ten.”
“I’ll call in,” Seth promised.
“Cool, bring some gear. We’ll rumble.”
“That’s a given.” Seth seemed pleased with the idea.
“Just be like old times.”
Chapter 20
Xander
I woke up just after dawn. I really struggled to sleep past sunrise regardless of how late I went to bed. Last night was no exception, although I did seem to sleep really soundly when I had Eden in my bed.
That mop of golden hair with fiery streaks was all over the pillows and she was sprawled half over me. I couldn’t think of a better way to wake up, but I wasn’t one for lying in bed unless, of course, I had a reason to be there. Today I made a bit of an exception, because Eden seemed so comfortable and I didn’t want to wake her.
I eased my arm over and reached for my phone and started to scroll through checking out what was going on in the world. There were more comments on my personal Facebook page. I liked a few but didn’t post further comments. My relationship with Eden was public, but there was nothing more anyone else needed to know.
I checked my fan page and there was a little more activity over there. I hadn’t really done anything with it in over three years but Reed had told me the promoters were looking to fire things up over the next few weeks. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant but the media circus was always the part I least enjoyed about big fights. There was a media meeting organised next week to lay it all out. Typically the last few weeks were the craziest. It’s all about whipping the fight fans into a frenzy for maximum return over the last four weeks or so.
My job was to remain focused on the fight and not get dragged into the craziness. I knew it would be crazy because that’s how it always went down, plus everyone knew that this would be a grudge match b
etween us.
It was something I needed to talk to Eden about. My life was about to become public property once again; she’d be sucked into that and it scared me almost more than anything else. I didn’t want her hurt.
I thought on it a little more and decided to wait until after I met with the media people before I spoke to her. I wanted to be armed with the facts and the plan first. Then we’d figure out how we would deal with it.
The sun was further up now and the light was coming through the window and hitting the bed. I probably should have blinds or something but I really liked waking up to the sun and it wasn’t as if I needed blinds for privacy. There was no one living close by who could see anything.
Eden started to wriggle against me and I traced my fingers over the burn scar. The skin was rough and bumpy. She’d never told me anything about the fire and I wondered if she ever would. God, I couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must have been.
Her big blue eyes opened and she saw me looking at her and smiled.
“Good morning, gorgeous.” I dropped a light kiss on her forehead. She snuggled into me tighter, kind of like a contented cat.
I kept trailing my fingers over the scars absently.
She seemed to be looking at me as if she was trying to understand why I was doing it.
“Does this bother you?” I asked.
“No. But I don’t understand why you’ve never reacted to them. Not once have you ever shied away from them. That’s so weird, because everyone else has.”
I sighed and wondered if I should tell her. I’d almost come out with it during that first session at Onigashima. If we were going to get through what was to come, we needed some solid foundations. This would be a start. She needed to know the truth.
“You’ll always be beautiful to me Eden,” I said quietly.
“Thank you. But I don’t understand why.”
“I’m going to tell you a little story. I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it but just let me run with it, please.”
She looked at me curiously and tensed a little before relaxing back into my side. “I first noticed how beautiful you are a long time ago, Eden. In fact, it was only a few days after you moved here.”
“What?” There was no mistaking the surprise.
“Yeah. Dane and I were walking to training one day. You and your sisters were in the park down the end of your street. You were sitting on the grass making those little chains from clover flowers. The three of you were laughing and smiling. It sounds really weird I know, but the sun kind of backlit you. Your hair was like a golden halo and for the first time, I knew what beauty looked like.”
She took it all in for a few seconds, playing it around in her mind. “I think I was eleven when we moved here. How old were you… fourteen?”
“Yeah, I was.”
“What do you mean you didn’t know beauty?” I could see her struggling to understand.
“I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. My childhood was a hard one, Eden. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It was just devoid of anything soft, if that makes sense. My mum died when I was a baby. There was no feminine influence in my life. Dad raised me to be a man the only way he knew how. He didn’t beat me and was never awful or cruel or anything like that, but he wasn’t affectionate or soft in any way. He didn’t really show emotions or stuff like that, well, at least, not to me. It’s not his way. That day changed something inside me for the better. Seeing the three of you sitting there kind of peeled back the grey filter I had over my eyes. I saw the beauty in the three of you just having fun, laughing and hanging out. Sure the three of you were pretty enough to paint with all your gorgeous blonde hair and blue eyes but it was more about your happy souls.” I looked down into her eyes. “And now I feel like the biggest dweeb…and they’ll probably be coming to revoke my man card any second.” What was I thinking? I made a show of looking under the cover to see if I still had my balls.
“Still there, but I’m not sure for how long.”
She laughed. “Oh stop it…and for your information I think it’s one of the most romantic and beautiful things I’ve ever heard.”
“You sure it doesn’t sound creepy?…I’ve never told anyone else.” I’d wondered that myself so many times, but it just wasn’t the way I saw it.
“Not even Dane?” she asked, surprised.
“Not even Dane, although I think he kind of realised I always had a thing for you.”
Now she just looked downright confused.
“But you never approached me before the café, did you?”
“No, I didn’t. Plus it was never like that. . You were too young and then the fire happened. I think I was overseas at the time. I remember coming home and reading something about it in the papers. I didn’t do anything. It wasn’t as if I knew you. It would have been weird if I just suddenly turned up like a creeper.”
She nodded seeming to understand.
“Then Sophia walked in about two years ago. I have to say it was a shock when I finally put two and two together a few months later. I got to know her, then Tori turned up. I never really thought much about it. I was building Onigashima and kind of in my own head after that fight. That took up a lot of my time and headspace.” I stroked my fingers through her hair. “That afternoon we were in the café, something just made me get up and come over. Have to say I’m really glad I acted on whatever told me to do it. These weeks have been great. I really like what we have here, Eden.”
She snuggled in tight and kissed me just over the heart. “Me too, Xander. Thank you for telling me that. I had wondered. You kind of started to say something that first session at Onigashima. And in case you’re still worried, I don’t think it’s weird. I think it’s sweet and sentimental. It’s also our little secret. I don’t want to share it with anyone. I just hope you don’t feel some misplaced sense of responsibility to be with me or something? I still can’t quite understand why you’d want to be with the girl with all the scars.”
“Honestly, Eden, the scars don’t worry me. They never have because it’s almost as if I could see your spirit right from the start. Your spirit is just as much part of your beauty as your physical appearance.” I trailed my fingertips down the scars on her face, neck and finally on to her side.
“I know these really bother you and what Cindy said last night was hurtful and cruel. The make-up sure helped cover up the ones on your face last night, but have you thought about getting a tattoo to cover these ones?” I ran my hand over the scars from her shoulder to her hip
“No. I didn’t know you could tattoo burn scars.” She looked interested.
“Well I spoke to Jarryd, who’s done most of my work. I think I mentioned he’s a student.” She nodded yes, but she stiffened and I realised she wasn’t happy knowing I’d spoken about her scars to someone else. “I didn’t mean to break a confidence or something like that. I just wanted to know if it was possible before I spoke to you about it. Please don’t be mad at me. He said it can be done and he’s done a few before. If you want, he’s happy to have a chat to you about it.”
She was quiet for a few moments and I hoped I hadn’t overstepped the invisible line she’d drawn in the sand regarding her scars.
Finally she spoke. “I’m okay with it. I know you were only trying to do what you thought was best. But in future, I’d prefer you talk to me about that sort of stuff first. They’re my scars after all.” I wanted to argue that she was my woman and it was my job to make sure she was okay, but I knew I needed to respect her wishes on this. I was probably lucky she was being so good about it now.
“Okay. I can do that. I really only wanted to see if it was possible. I didn’t want you to get your hopes up if it wasn’t possible. I’d trust Jarryd to do a good job. Besides he knows I’d kick his arse if he screws up something on my girl.”
“Oh you’re so scary…if only they all knew you had a soft centre a mile wide.”
She had me figured out already, but strangely, it felt righ
t.
“Can this be another of those little secrets?” I asked hopefully.
“Of course…You don’t think I’m going to let people know and risk having my sisters give you as much grief as they do me? I do have some sense of mercy.” Then she kissed me playfully and wriggled over on top of me.
“Something on your mind, Gem?” My hard cock was already poking at her pussy and I could feel how wet she was already.
“Yep, something on my mind.” She looked at me intently.
“Care to share?” I pushed my hips up a little to make sure she knew exactly what she was doing to me although I don’t think she had much doubt.
She wriggled back rubbing herself all over my very excited cock. I reached up and tweaked her nipples a little for good measure. And as always she moaned low.
“Why does it always feel so good when you do that? I touch my nipples and it doesn’t feel anywhere near as good.” I’m not sure whether she meant to admit that or not but the frankness and innocence of the way she said it, made for one heady mix.
“Show me how you touch your nipples Gem. I want to see.” My voice was low and raspy which was exactly how I felt right now.
Her eyes flew open with a moment of alarm. “Oh no, don’t chicken out. I want to see it. Can’t you tell how hot it’s making me?” I moved my hips up into her again and she whimpered as I rubbed against her clit.
I took her hands and placed them on her breasts. “Show me, baby. Drive me wild.” That was all the encouragement she needed.
She arched her back and thrust her breasts closer to my face and her fingers began to circle and pull at those hard little pebbles. I grabbed hold of her hips and helped her slide along my length. She was so wet. It was crazy torture, especially since I could just slip inside her, straight into heaven, but we both seemed to be intent on driving each other crazy.
Eden threw her head back and I could see the light sheen of sweat start to form on her neck. It was too much to resist. I moved up and licked from her collarbone all the way to her earlobe.
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