Chapter 2
Bento
Idodged the right hook Alfonzo sent my way, then quickly jabbed out twice.
He blocked the first hit but left his side open, giving me an opportunity to punch him in the kidneys.
He grinned and danced back from me, licking his tongue along the top row of his teeth.
“Good hit,” he praised. “I swear you get better at this every time we spar.”
I winked at him. “Or you could just be predictable.”
He snorted. “Predictable, my ass.”
The doors to the training center opened, and I glanced over like I always did to see who was entering.
But when I saw it was Niran, immediately, I became distracted.
Wearing black slacks and a pristine, black button-down shirt and shiny Oxfords, he was still the finest man I’d ever laid my eyes on.
Ten years hadn’t worked in diminishing my crush on him.
In fact, I was pretty sure I was in love with him at this point.
In love with a man who would never see me as anything more than his fucking employee. Because there were no rules stating any of us couldn’t date, fuck, or anything of the sort. Rico wasn’t like that. He didn’t care what any of us did together so long as we were still capable of doing our jobs.
Niran just didn’t see me like that, which fucking hurt.
In the midst of my distraction, Alfonzo took his chance.
Pain exploded in my nose and through my eyes.
Blood immediately sprayed from my nostrils, covering my lips and staining my gray shirt.
Growling, I stepped back, reaching up to cover it, wincing as I did so.
Jesus Christ, I was pretty sure he fucking broke it.
“You’re a dick,” I rasped as I made my way to the edge of the ring.
Alfonzo snorted. “Don’t let distractions get you killed,” he warned me. He jerked his chin in the direction of the locker rooms. “Go get cleaned up. We’ll call this a day.”
I nodded and headed down the metal stairs before making my way to the locker rooms. Niran had already disappeared, probably not even caring that I’d no doubt gotten my nose fucking broken.
And it was his fault, really. Who the fuck decided to walk into a training facility looking that fucking good?
That was just asking for someone like me to get injured, dammit.
Groaning, I grabbed a hand towel from the rack near the sinks and soaked it before leaning against the wall.
Tilting my head back, I pressed the towel to my nose, wincing in pain as I did so.
I was going to be sporting two black eyes for days for sure.
Anurak would be worried, and then Rico would be pissed at me for worrying his husband.
He’d probably force Niran to up my training or something as punishment.
I could think of a lot more different ways Niran could punish me though. Spank me. Fuck me raw and hard, making me come so many times I could barely think straight. Hell, I’d even be down for him withholding my orgasm.
“Getting distracted was stupid, Bento,” Niran drawled as he stepped into the changing rooms.
I jerked upright, my surprised gaze swinging to his.
I’d been so lost in my thoughts of all the ways Niran could punish me that I hadn’t even heard him come in.
But then again, Niran moved like a true predator.
No one ever heard him come near until it was too late.
He was a snake—quiet, lethal, and always ready to strike.
Usually, people were warned against snakes.
But this particular one? I wanted to keep him—venomous fangs and all.
“It was an accident,” I muttered.
Niran sighed and came closer. Reaching up, he removed the towel from my face, then pressed his fingers on either side of my nose.
Before I had a chance to ask what he was doing, he quickly snapped my nose back into place.
I cursed, tears burning in my eyes for a moment.
Didn’t matter how many times I got my nose broken, resetting it never hurt any fucking less.
Christ, broken noses were a bitch to deal with.
“Put the towel back to your nose,” Niran ordered.
When I did, he leaned in, pressing a hand to the wall beside my head, pinning me in place with his intense, dark eyes.
His cheekbones were sharp, and his lashes were long, and this close, I could smell the intoxicating scent of his cologne.
Something expensive and woodsy. It made me want to burrow my face in his neck where I knew his scent would be strongest and just breathe him in.
“Be more careful next time,” he warned. “I don’t like seeing you with injuries.”
Then, just like that—as if he hadn’t just flipped my entire goddamn world on its axis—he turned and walked out, the door shutting behind him with a quiet thud.
My cock was hard behind my zipper, and my balls were aching for release.
I barely even registered the throbbing in my face or the blood still dripping from my nose.
“I don’t like seeing you with injuries.”
My head thunked back against the wall, and I groaned long and low.
I’d been fucked six ways to Sunday since the moment I laid eyes on Niran and he made me a fucking sandwich. That man could take one look at me and completely unravel me. But those fucking words?
I was coming unglued.
Fuck.