63. Caspian
CASPIAN
R yu ran into me in the kitchen. “Gym. Let’s go.”
I scoffed. “Excuse me?”
He pressed the button on the private elevator. “I said , gym. Let’s go.”
I rolled my eyes. “I heard you, but I’m busy.”
Leona was still sleeping in with Wynn and Ciel, but I was trying to enjoy a quiet morning before hopping on calls to Giulio and Makarov. We had to relay the plans we’d made the night before to infiltrate The Obsidian, but before that, I thought a cup of coffee would be nice.
He stomped over, looked at the newspaper I was reading, and then ripped it to shreds.
“You are a dick.”
“Yeah, you didn’t need to read the newspaper to find that out. Now, come on.”
I pushed off the seat with a massive eye roll and followed him into the private elevator. When it dinged open on the gym’s level, he headed toward the hand wraps so we could spar.
“What’s your issue?”
He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly .
“I’m nervous about her infiltrating that club,” he said while he wrapped some tape around his knuckles. “This plan is dumb, and I hate it.”
I held back my laughter.
“Okay. Well, it’s not dumb, but I understand where you’re coming from.
” He handed me the tape, and I started wrapping my own knuckles.
It was going to be risky, but once she, Wynn, and Ciel had laid out all of their plans, it was our best shot on the timeline we had.
I also didn’t love the idea of her putting herself at risk, but if we could pull it off, we could end it all.
I’d support her one hundred percent. “But this is a good idea, I guess. Work some of your frustration out.”
“Better than locking her in the penthouse,” he said with a smirk.
I chuckled, meeting him on the mat head-on. “I guess, but I think I’d rather see her smack you again. That was hilarious.”
“Fuck you.” He grinned, then lunged at me, and we exchanged a few jabs back and forth. He attacked, I blocked, and we circled around the mat until he got a lucky kick on my feet and swiped them out from under me. My back hit the mat with a groan.
“That was luck,” I grunted. “Don’t get too excited.”
He laughed, extending an arm to help pull me to my feet.
We’d become really solid sparring partners.
His quickness matched my strength. He challenged me to move faster, think smarter, to catch him off guard.
It had taken me a long time to feel like I was back to my old skills before Max had injured me, but now every match with Ryu set my heart racing with excitement.
This was fun .
He knocked me to the mat another time, clearly riled up by this plan with Leona, before I finally got the upper hand on him. I feigned a jab left, then grabbed the back of his neck, knocked him off balance, and flipped him down to the mat. I landed on top of him, pinning him.
“Got you, asshole,” I laughed while he wriggled underneath me. My eyes caught on a droplet of sweat pooling in the divot of his neck. A bolt of heat went through my body.
I sat back, swallowing.
What the fuck was that?
He tilted his head to stare at me with dark eyes. A little lock of his hair had escaped his bun to plaster itself across his sweaty brow. I cleared my throat and stood, this time pulling him to his feet.
“Another round?” I asked, trying to diffuse whatever tension had suddenly settled over the room.
“Sure.”
We faced each other again. I blinked, tracing every one of his movements as he rolled his neck from side to side. My mouth went dry, and I swore to myself that it was because I was thirsty from the exercise, and absolutely not thirsty for any other reason.
What was happening?
He lunged forward, but I was too goddamn distracted to block him in time. He caught a lucky punch to my gut, knocking the wind out of me before I held up a hand to catch my breath. My mind raced while I tried to get my bearings.
He stepped closer, and every one of my senses dialed up to a thousand. His eyes narrowed on my lips. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
“You ever fucked a dude before?”
I choked. “What?”
He looked me up and down. “Simple question.”
“No,” I answered quickly.
“You seem pretty worked up, bodyguard.”
I took a step back, and he pushed forward. “What does that have to do with anything? We were just working out.”
“If you say so.” He wiped his sweat with his shirt, and my eyes locked on the flash of his abs. “Let’s go again.”
Blood rushed below my waistband, and I shook my head, trying and miserably failing to get insane thoughts out of my head.
I raised my hands in front of my face to spar.
I jabbed at him, but he dodged easily and danced around me.
He swept his legs at mine again, trying to knock me off balance, but I hopped over them just in time.
He went on the offensive, catching me off guard with a burst of speed, and I stumbled.
He twisted himself around my back, grabbed my arms, and dropped us both to the ground.
I thrashed in his chokehold, but he had me pinned.
“You feel it, too. I know you do.” His voice was dark in my ear, the same voice he used on Leona.
“Feel what?” I gasped. I struggled to get free, but his forearm pressed hard against my windpipe.
“You know what.”
I tapped his arm, and his hold broke. I sat up quickly, sucking in breaths. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about the electricity crackling between us.”
“We’re friends.”
He nodded. “Sure are. Pretty good ones, too, I think.”
“Yeah. Turns out you’re not so terrible when you’re not being the world’s largest prick.”
“You think I have the world’s largest prick?”
Heat rose to my cheeks. “That’s not what I said.”
“What a compliment! Your prick isn’t half bad.”
“I didn’t?—”
“We could be more than friends. If you want.” His mouth pulled up in a lopsided grin. “Want me to suck your cock?”
“What?” I choked out. My heart felt like it was going to hammer out of my chest.
He smirked. A small piece of hair fell in front of his eyes while he sat back, bracing his hands on the mat. “I’ll suck your cock. I don’t mind.”
“I don’t?—”
“Yes. You do.” His eyes flicked down to my dick, the outline bulging through my gym shorts. My cheeks blazed red. “I’ll get on my knees for you, but when I hold your balls in my hand, you’ll know who’s really in charge here.”
I spluttered, desperately trying to hide the fact that my entire body felt primed by his words. But I wasn’t bi. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I’d just never felt attracted to men before.
He stood and reached down a hand to me. “I won’t tell if you won’t. We’re inevitable, bodyguard.”
“You’re teasing me to get a rise out of me,” I said, clasping his hand. He pulled me to my feet, but he didn’t let go. The touch sent lightning bolts up my arm. “Why do you make everything such a joke?”
“Just because I’m teasing, doesn’t mean I’m not serious.”
“I don’t—” I said as I pulled my hand free and stepped backward. “I’m not—we were just sparring.”
He smirked like he could see right through me, then grabbed his water bottle and sauntered toward the elevator. “If you say so. Thanks for the exercise. Definitely helped me work out what I needed to work out.”
My mouth hung open. “Wait, we’re not done!”
“I think we are. I won.” He glanced over his shoulder at me. “Obviously.”
“You did not!”
“You know where to find me if you want me.” He pressed the elevator button. The doors opened, and he walked inside while he blew me a kiss.
“I don’t want you!” I called after him.
“Okay!”
“I’m serious!”
“Sure thing!”
I grunted. “Don’t get the wrong idea!”
“Wouldn’t dream of it!” He shot back, winking at me just as the elevator doors closed and swallowed any chance I had at a reply.
What the fuck was that?
I’d agreed to be friends with the guy because Leona wanted us to be. It was easier to not be in constant conflict. He wasn’t as much of an asshole as he was before, and it just so happened that we actually got along really well.
But that didn’t mean I wanted to fuck that smirk off his face. Or that I wanted him to suck my cock. Or that I wanted his hands all over my body…
Fuck. Those images needed to get out of my head.
Nope. He’d just gotten in my head, which was the dickwad’s MO. He was playing games to throw me off, so he could win.
He’d pinned me this round, but things were not over.