11. AJ
The smack of punches hitting bags fills the room, only dulled by the music thumping throughout the gym. I have been here most of the day, training this morning and now spending time with the younger kids. They need to know how to take care of themselves and they need an outlet for their rage.
“Hands up, protect your face at all times,” I direct Levi. When he is not skipping school and doing petty crime, he usually has his head stuck in a laptop, gaming, or most likely hacking some business out of money, since his parents are too deadbeat to look after him. Like me, he has had a tough upbringing, but he seems to find solace here at Joe’s Gym. Also like me.
“Is that how you got so pretty, AJ?” he teases. He is a smart kid, with a smart mouth. One that gets him into trouble. I smirk at him as I push the punching bag at him with force when he isn’t paying attention, causing him to topple and fall onto the floor mats.
“If you are going to throw insults, be prepared for the comeback.” Everything around me stops as the gym suddenly goes quiet, and I look up and follow everyone’s gazes to the front door. My heart and breathing both stutter as I watch Valerie Van Cleef walk in the door like she owns the place.
Her confidence is admirable. To enter a crappy gym on the outskirts of town that is full of testosterone and half-naked men takes guts. She looks like a boss, and I swallow as I take her in. Dressed in sky-high heels, tailored black trousers, and a crisp white shirt with the collar high and wide, giving me a great visual of her sun-kissed skin at her chest. As she struts right to me, my eyes settle on her cleavage, where I see golden layers of necklaces that shimmer in the light. As she gets closer, I take in her face, her brunette hair coiling softly around her face, and her blue eyes stare right at me, lips red and pouty and lit up in a smile.
“Fuck, I wouldn’t mind tapping that,” a guy says from behind me, and I growl deep in my chest.
“Hold five, kid,” I tell Levi, who is still on his butt on the floor, his mouth agape, watching as I step away from the bag and walk to her. Presumptuous, maybe, but who the fuck else is she here to see?
Her eyes remain on me as she pays little attention to anyone or anything else, which makes me feel fucking possessive with all eyes clearly on her.
“Get back to work,” I bark out to the gym harshly, and the guys at least now pretend not to watch and start hitting the bags or each other.
“What are you doing here?” I ask her as I cross my arms over my chest and take the tough stance I am familiar with.
“Good afternoon to you too,” she says with a wide smile, looking like I gave her the world.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I tell her, even though I want nothing more than Valerie Van Cleef right here with me.
“Ahhh, those familiar words again. I will let you educate me for a moment. Why not?” My eyes thin as my dick hardens. Is she getting sassy with me?
“This is not a place for a woman like you.”
“Again, with the woman like me?” Oh yeah, she is getting sassy, and my fingers twitch on my biceps, itching to grab her. And I do. I grab on to her upper arm and lead her over to the side of the gym, away from prying eyes and open ears until her back flattens against the wall. I know I am being an asshole, but there are too many men in here looking at her and I need to fucking touch her. Need to show them she is mine.
“Every guy in this fucking place is staring at your ass. Shouldn’t you be at one of your fancy country clubs or something?” She fucking smiles again.
“Are you?”
“Am I what?” I ask, lost in her eyes, her perfect lips, her sexy-as-hell body.
“Staring at my ass?” I can barely contain myself. She is the only person to question me or talk back to me and I fucking love it.
“Oh, sweetheart, I”m staring at all of you.” It’s a warning, my tone deep and low, not leaving any room for confusion. “But that doesn’t mean I like everyone else doing the same thing.” She bites her bottom lip. The move has my body burning. Swallowing, she considers her next words, and I follow the movement with my eyes, looking at her throat, her chest, her cleavage.
“Sweetheart?” She questions the nickname I just dropped, and my tongue burns with regret. I didn’t mean to let it slip again. I called her that in the club the other night, but with the loud music and her friends nearby, I didn’t think she heard it. Right here and now, she most certainly did.
“A sweet thing. I would bet some money that you are always doing the right thing. You know, Little Miss Perfect?” I smirk at her, then I see her eyes cloud over slightly and feel like I said the wrong thing.
“Why are you so dressed up?” I ask her, changing the subject, wondering if this is her everyday attire. It probably is, as she looks like a million bucks.
“I had a work meeting.” My eyebrows rise in surprise. I’ve done a little research on Valerie Van Cleef, and I know she doesn’t need to work. Her family are billionaires. One of the wealthiest in the country.
“How did it go?” I ask her, and her face lights up.
“Hmmm, better than expected, actually.” Her genuine grin is adorable and a weird feeling of pride runs through my chest.
“Well, good for you. Now what are you doing here?” I get back to the situation at hand.
“I came to find you.” I have absentmindedly moved even closer to her, now almost crowding her against the wall, her floral scent again encasing me.
“Who told you I was here?” I ask, her chin now tipped up to look at me.
“Jimmy,” she says with a coy smile. I know why, because Jimmy runs his mouth off, and there is no doubt in my mind she now knows almost everything about me.
“Fucking Jimmy,” I murmur, shaking my head. “Well, what can I do for you?” I don’t know why I am asking. I need to end this conversation and get her out of this fucking gym.
“I need security,” she says simply, and I straighten.
“Are you in trouble?” My senses are now on high alert.
“Oh, no, no, nothing like that.” She chuckles as I relax and I feel off-kilter for a moment. “My friend Chloe, she has her own jewelry brand. She has a showing next Thursday for her new collection and her security company that she normally uses has just left her in the lurch. She needs a few guys to watch the shop while the event is going on.”
“How many guys?” I ask, very interested in this opportunity. Anything that can bring in more money to ease our financial pressure is needed.
“She usually has two at the front door, two inside, and then two at the back. The event starts at seven and will finish up at nine. There will be media, celebrities, buyers, and about ten million in gold and diamonds on display.” I grit my teeth. The million-dollar statement left her lips as easy as if she was saying it was mere cents.
“I can help you out.” I nod to her while I run through the logistics in my mind. “Give me your number.” I push my cell toward her. This is dangerous territory I am heading into, and I know I should walk away, but I am too far gone, her pearly whites, her button nose, her fucking smile every time she looks at me. It is like I hung the moon for her and all I have done is accept a job Fortress desperately needs. At least Brady will be happy, since this is the type of premium job he was referring to the other week. Looks like I may have just scored our first opportunity.
I watch her type in her details, and I grab the phone from her and send her a quick text so she has my number too.
“Text me the details, and I will put a quote together tonight and send it back,” I explain and she nods, clearly happy with the formality.
“Anything else I can help you with?” I ask her as she remains where she is, me not letting her go yet either.
“I also wanted to say thank you. For saving me from that guy at the club.” A light blush colors her cheeks.
“Just doing my job,” I tell her, which is true in theory, but there was no way I was letting anyone touch her. All week, I have been murderous about the guy attempting to.
“I know, but you could have easily ignored it. Many security teams often do.” That has my hackles rising.
“I don’t ignore things. I am very attentive,” I tell her, and I notice her chest rise and fall under the white shirt she has on. The movement has my skin prickling, giving me the urge to open a few buttons, just to see what”s underneath. She breaks my gaze and looks around.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, and I step back and look at the gym. The guys in here are all still watching, although they’re doing a bad job of pretending they aren’t.
“Training.”
“Training?” she asks, seemingly interested.
“Teaching.”
“Teaching?” She’s inquisitive. I usually remain tight-lipped about my life, but for some reason, I want to indulge her a little.
“I teach kids how to box. Self-defense, help them take care of themselves. It”s important.” I shrug, not expecting someone like her to understand.
“It is.” Her eyes come back to look at mine. “It”s very admirable.” I huff out a breath at the awe on her face and shake my head in denial. “So, you box?” She continues her interrogation, and my body relaxes even more. It’s a new feeling for me, especially when talking about myself. Her presence calms me as much as it lights me up. Like it did at the club the other night. It is weird because calm is not a word that I would use to describe me.
“A bit.” I nod.
“Jimmy tells me you have a fight coming up?” she asks. Fucking Jimmy, I’m going to kill him.
“That’s certainly not something you need to know about.” My fights are mostly off the radar. I box sometimes fairly and other times not. There are also gallons of testosterone at fight nights, and I don’t want her anywhere near that.
“Why not?” My eyes thin at the challenge in her tone.
“It’s not a—” I start, but she cuts me off.
“A place for a woman like me?” she quips, and my lips thin as I nod. Fuck, this woman drives me crazy.
“You’re too perfect for my world, sweetheart,” I tell her, trying to be sincere but giving her a warning. No good can come of us. This is fire we are playing with.
“You won”t break me, AJ. I”m tougher than I look.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I would ruin you.” I watch her intently, waiting for her to step back and start retreating. But instead, she steps closer, pushing her chest against mine. We are a hair’s breadth apart. Her lips are so fucking close, all I need to do is lower my mouth an inch and I could taste her.
“You don’t scare me,” she whispers, her breath coating my lips. I am officially getting hard in my gym shorts.
“You don’t know what I am capable of,” I tease her, fisting my hands, even though I am itching to grab her waist.
“I know you wouldn’t hurt me.” She is giving me everything back, and I am impressed. I thought for sure she would have run home to her father already. I don’t have a comeback for that, because she is right, I wouldn’t hurt her. I would kill any other man who tried.
“You two finished eye fucking each other or what?” Levi calls out. I had forgotten all about him as he sits waiting for me, and my jaw pops as the gym comes back into focus. Valerie steps back a little and clears her throat.
“See you around, AJ.” My name falls from her lips again, and I stifle a moan, really fucking wanting to hear her scream it.
I nod to her, crossing my arms over my chest again, and watch her turn and walk away, my eyes on her perfect ass the entire time until she is out the door and across the street. Then the entire gym erupts into whistles, hollering, and crude remarks, all echoing around the testosterone-fueled space as I walk back to Levi.
“Seems like she likes your pretty face too, AJ,” he quips, and I push the bag into him again, watching him topple for a second time.
“As I said, if you are going to throw the remark, be ready,” I growl at him as he hops to his feet and we get back to work, my mind now only half on the job, the other half on Valerie fucking Van Cleef.