Chapter 7 Badger
SEVEN
BADGER
Machine charged toward me, all bulging muscles and tattoos. His brown hair was cut into a military hairstyle, and one of his eyebrows was a jagged scar. Dark hazel eyes met mine and his jaw clenched, emphasizing the sharp lines of his face. He looked lethal.
I stopped the fight before climbing out of the ring and throwing my hands up in the air.
“What are you doing here, Hammer?” I hissed. “You’ve been here, like, every day. Don’t you have more important things to be doing?”
Machine smirked. “Oh, keeping tabs on me I see.”
I let out a growl. “I was not keeping ‘tabs’ on you. Just hard to miss a newcomer who doesn’t put the weights back where they belong.”
Machine’s eyebrows pinched together. “That would be Charlie who doesn’t put the weights back. He always uses them after me.” He shrugged. “Kinda a weirdo.”
“You’re one to talk! There are like seven gyms in this area, and you just so happened to join Dominos after you came with Kade?” I don’t know why I cared if this man came here or not, but I knew that his presence made me feel weird in a way I couldn’t describe.
Machine placed his hands on his hips and took a breath. “This is one of the most elite gyms in the area, and you know it. Is this how you treat all your members? Because if you’re the welcoming committee, your boss needs to rethink his strategy.”
I let out a mock laugh. “If you want a welcoming committee, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
Machine rolled his eyes. “Clearly.”
I scoffed and went back into the ring to continue my workout. I tried my hardest not to look in his direction, but I could still feel his gaze on me.
When I was finished kicking Buddha’s and Arrow’s asses, I finally decided it was time to call it quits for the day. I had a self-defense class at the women’s shelter tonight, and I needed to be on my top game.
Able Heart’s “Whisper It” blared through my headphones as I walked into the co-ed locker room, my head bobbing to the music. My body was spent from the workout, and I couldn’t wait to shower, go home, and snuggle on the couch watching The Bachelor.
I opened the locker and grabbed my towel and toiletry bag before walking to my usual shower stall, the second-to-last on the right. I’d used the same stall since I had started working with the team, and most of the gym knew I’d claimed it and just considered it mine.
The song’s chorus continued, the tune making me swing my hips to the beat as I walked.
I arrived at my stall and peeled my clothes from my skin.
The song changed just as I pushed down my damp yoga shorts and thong.
I wiggled my ass to the beat as I pulled the shorts over my feet and dropped them in my pile of clothes.
I put my hand in the stall to turn on the water, continuing to hum to the beat, eyes closed, lost in the music. Instead of the faucet handle, I found my hand wrapped around something else. I jolted my hand away, realizing my mistake.
The curtain swung open and revealed a very naked, very chiseled, and very wet Machine. His furious expression quickly morphed into that of amusement.
I squealed, jumped back, and covered my eyes with my hand. It was too late. A brief glance was still long enough for me to take in the massive appendage between his legs, which sported seven barbells along its shaft.
“Want to join, Bunny? Or are you just going to eye-fuck me some more?” he asked with a smirk.
“Oh my god! Fuck! Sorry!” I yelled, mortified.
I went to grab my towel but slipped on the wet floor and tumbled to the ground, head smacking against the tile. Stars blinded my vision before a sharp agonizing pain ricocheted through my skull. Groaning, I squeezed my eyes shut. Fuck, that hurt.
Machine cursed, the curtain rustling before I felt warm, calloused hands covering mine.
When I opened my eyes, I about passed out at the new view before me.
Thick muscular legs straddled my body, and in between them was the largest cock I had ever seen.
I wasn’t losing my mind; the man really had piercings through the appendage.
Several of them. I blinked, trying to focus on Machine’s voice but finding it hard to concentrate. Where were my headphones?
When I looked up, a steely gaze met mine. Gone was the playful Machine, and in his place was a calculating, concerned man. He moved his hand to the back of my head, making me wince. When he pulled it away, a red substance coated his fingers.
Moving with methodical precision, Machine checked over my body for any more injuries and prodded my neck to see if I had hurt it in the fall.
“Are you okay? Badger, can you hear me?” His voice echoed in the stall and felt like a sledgehammer in my head.
I tried to sit up, but felt like I’d been hit by a freight train. I groaned. At least I think I did. It sounded more like a dying animal crying out.
I heard Machine curse before moving with speed that my eyes couldn’t seem to track. I closed my eyes, nausea rolling through me. When they reopened, I was met with a now towel-covered Machine and a first aid kit. Somehow, I was sitting with my back resting against the cool tiles.
“You’re probably concussed,” Machine said.
“What are you, a doctor or something?” I grumbled as he cleaned the cut on my head.
“Or somethin’,” he mumbled back.
He efficiently packed up the first-aid kit and pulled off his latex gloves. For some reason, I was mesmerized by the movements. I imagined the second-in-command of the Mafia would be a brute who only brought chaos, but in this moment he seemed to be proving me wrong.
“I think you’ll be okay, but you should probably go to the emergency room.”
The mention of the emergency room was enough to snap me out of my stupor. I attempted to shake my head, which was the worst thing I could have done. I groaned.
“N-no, I am fine.”
Machine let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, you are doing a bang-up job proving that, Bunny.”
I glared up at him.
“Oh, there she is, maybe you are fine,” he teased. “Okay, well, I’ll bring you home. I can’t in good conscience leave without making sure you get home safe.” When I didn’t respond, he continued. “We just need to pick up my girl, and then I’ll drop you off.”
Oh, great, it was bad enough that he was bringing me home because of a concussion. Now I had to sit in a car with what had to be a Victoria's Secret model named Moon or Diamond or something equally glamorous and ridiculous.
“I just need to let my boss know what happened so I can file out an incident report,” I said.
Oh god, that was going to be so embarrassing. Noticing my pink cheeks, Machine gave me a devilish smirk, no doubt imagining what I’d have to say to my boss.
“I can lend a hand with that,” he responded while attempting to hide his smile.
I let out a growl before trying to get up. When that didn’t work out, I let Machine help me.
I went through the motions of getting dressed, the last of my dignity going out the window when Machine helped me step into my leggings.
We walked to the back office, where I hastily filled out the incident report for our higher-ups and refused to look at Chief, before making our way to Machine’s blacked-out Dodge Durango.
While Machine navigated the New York City traffic, I imagined what I’d say to the future Mrs. Machine.
“Oh jeez Badger, how did you get a concussion?”
“Oh, you know I actually walked in on your boyfriend taking a shower and almost got shish-kabobbed on his monstrous cock!”
Then I would proceed to question the woman’s well-being and if her organs were okay, given that she must be getting stabbed with that thing regularly.
Machine pulled up to a doggy daycare and went inside. Great, so she was a saint who made a living helping animals. Kill me now. A few moments later, Machine opened the passenger back door and a large dark mass jumped into the vehicle.
Before I could comprehend what was happening, I came face to face with the largest Rottweiler I had ever seen.
Its nose pressed up against my shoulder and slowly made its way up to my face before giving me a sloppy kiss.
The dog’s front paws dug into the leather center console as it licked and whined at me.
“Luc, enough, Badger doesn’t need a make-out session,” Machine said before climbing into the SUV and pushing her into the back.
I wiped my face off, spitting fur out of my mouth. The dog whined before huffing and plopping down over the back seats. Her body took over the entire row.
I looked over at Machine, who was trying his hardest not to laugh at my shocked face. “Sorry about that. Lucy tends to go overboard when she meets people. I try to tell her that not everyone wants to be attacked with love, but, well, as you can see, she has impeccable listening skills.”
I blinked rapidly as the reality of the situation caught up with me and I realized just how wrong I’d been.
His girl—the one I’d been building up in my headed and getting all worked up over thinking it was a woman…
was actually a dog. I had just gotten worked up over a dog.
An adorable one. I must have hit my head harder than I thought.
I gave Machine my address and remained quiet as he drove. I didn’t miss his look of confusion when we pulled up to the women’s shelter. But instead of saying anything, he kept to himself.
My head throbbed as I sent a text to Nellie, asking her to come out. Within a minute, she was out front with confusion and concern etched on her face. I knew I would get a million questions. Not only was I with a strange man she had never seen before, I was injured.
Machine went to open his door before I stopped him. “I’m good, my roommate is right there to help me.”
Machine looked at me as if he were fighting his instincts. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. You’ve seen enough today, don’t you think?”
A smirk spread on his face as he slowly looked me up and down. “I think I could see more.”
I scoffed before opening the door and slamming it shut. This man was a pain in my ass! I heard the car door open and then close, and before I knew it, Machine was at my side.
“I really don’t want you walking by yourself,” he said.
“My roommate is right there,” I protested before letting out a sigh. “Thank you for driving me home, Machine.”
He squinted at me, perplexed. “How hard did you hit your head?” He started to inspect my hair, and I swatted him away. “Not Tool or Hammer? Easy there, or I may just fall in love with you.”
I gave him an eye roll and then a wince, the motion hurting my head.
“Take it easy, Badger.” He gave me a brief nod and went back to his car.
I held my head and made eye contact with Nellie, who looked like she was about to murder him.
“He didn’t do anything,” I said before she had a chance to do anything.
“What the hell happened to you?” Nellie asked, cupping my cheeks.
“Girl, I just want to forget everything that happened today.”
But I knew I would not be able to get Machine’s monster cock out of my head, no matter how hard I tried.