Chapter 21 Victor
Victor
A week had gone by since I’d run Jaden down in the woods. And while she tried not to sulk about it, I could still see the lingering aftereffects of her defeat.
As much of a hard-ass as I was on her, I understood her disdain for her regression since the accident. But the chase had been just the motivation she needed to keep working, to push even harder.
And I had to admit I was ready for her to finally get back into fighting shape. I was starting to miss the physical conflict, but it would mean sacrificing my obsessive desire to keep her dependent on me. I couldn’t have both, no matter how much I wanted it.
But it became that much harder when I watched her flick that goddamn spider off her shoulder like it was nothing.
I felt my entire world tilt for a moment, unsure how to react.
Jaden was terrified of spiders, and I had lost count of the number of times I had killed them for her over the years—the only time she ever saw me as her hero.
When did she stop being afraid of them? How the hell did that even happen?
It was just one less thing she needed me for, and it made me fucking snap in half. I ended up prolonging her recovery even more, much to my own detriment, but I couldn’t accept that level of independence. Not yet.
But I needed to face reality. After my meeting with the general, play time was officially over. It was time to get Jaden back on her feet, and she was only too eager to make it happen practically over night.
And thank fuck for that because my urge to fuck her harder, longer—to make her scream was well past its prime, and I was ready for my due.
So when I noticed she had been spending the majority of her time in her gym, I didn’t disturb her.
We were now essentially on the same page as far as her recovery was concerned, and I didn’t want anything to disrupt her progress.
Now that Miguel had finally shown his face, things were heating up again, and I needed a stronger outlet than my fist to fuck my rage into.
The fucker was a mousy little shit, afraid to come out of his hole and handle his business, but I’d find him eventually.
That, or I’d just make him come to me. Doing things on my own turf always had its advantages.
“You seem distracted,” Scott commented as we circled each other in the caged ring.
I cocked a brow, a smirk forming in the corner of my mouth. “Like that’s going to help any of you.”
Scott then struck his fist out, almost colliding with my jaw before I shifted my chin an inch to the right, dodging his blow. All at once, my two other additional opponents, Greg and Andrew, quickly engaged, following Scott’s lead.
Ducking low, I veered out of the way, using my momentum to lift my leg and slam my foot into Greg’s ribs, kicking him straight to the ground. Andrew advanced then, swinging his fist out, but he was a bit slow.
Catching his wrist, I twisted it around, trapping his arm in place to bring his torso down and slamming my knee into his nose twice. The second he went limp, I whipped him around to toss him on top of Greg just as he was starting to rise to his feet.
Scott lunged at me then, knocking me into the barriers of the cage.
His fists struck my side twice, the blows hard enough to make me shift out of the way before he could do more damage.
Twisting my hips, I swung my elbow out, clocking him along his orbital socket, causing his face to jerk to the left.
Just then, Greg was back on his feet, but the second he lifted his arm to strike, I kicked my leg out to catch him square in the gut and then again at the back of his knee, sending him doubling over.
Andrew then lunged at me from the other side, forcing me to maneuver Scott in his direct path so he took Andrew’s kick straight to his back.
I stepped out of the way and let Scott take his fall, kicking Greg in the head again before Andrew began lashing out with a series of punches and kicks that he couldn’t even hope to land.
Snatching his wrist midair again, I turned my body and hauled him forward and over my shoulder, slamming him down onto the ground just as Greg landed a kick at my chest.
“Where are we with finding Kayla?” I asked Scott as Greg slammed his shoulder into my gut and knocked me back into the cage.
Wrapping my arm around his neck, I lifted my leg to slam my knee into his stomach three times and then tossed him away from me while dodging Andrew’s latest attack to my face.
Lifting his leg, he kicked out, making me shift to the right so his foot hit nothing but the cage.
A swift strike to his jaw sent him fumbling to the ground.
“Facial recognition picked her up at the Tucson International Airport two days after she sold the ring,” Scott answered. He then swung his fist out, nearly clipping my nose in the process before I tilted my head to the side. “She boarded a plane to Luxembourg. The path went cold there.”
I scowled. “The fuck would she go to Luxembourg for?” I asked as my fist connected with Greg’s chin.
Scott shrugged as he allowed Andrew to surge past him so he could swing an elbow at the side of my head and miss.
“She has no connections there that we’re aware of,” he answered as I trapped Andrew in a headlock and hook-kicked Greg across his face, knocking him out completely.
“Could just be a place she’s passing through, though.
We’ve been reviewing security footage of all the train stations, but facial recognition hasn’t picked her up yet. ”
I clutched Andrew’s neck tightly in my arms, cutting off his air supply while he struggled to break free.
“Put out a missing person’s report throughout Europe.
We might get lucky that way,” I said as I yanked Andrew down to his knees.
When his body finally went limp, I tossed him away, piling him right next to Greg.
“Will do,” Scott said with a nod and then attacked.
He and I exchanged a series of strikes and counterattacks until we were both winded, neither one of us willing to end the fight until the door to my gym loudly slammed shut.
The echoing sound caused Scott to glance over, giving me the opportunity to grab his arm and haul him over my shoulder, slamming him onto the ground with a hard thud.
Turning to the source of the noise, I found Jaden standing in front of the door, her hands on her hips and her eyes staring me down.
Someone has an agenda.
“Need something, sweetheart?” I taunted.
Scowling, she folded her arms across her chest. “Yeah, I want my rematch,” she stated. “Right now.”
My lips curled as pride swelled in my chest. “Are you sure about that?” I asked as I turned and helped Scott up off the floor.
“Oh yeah,” she replied confidently. “I’ve devised a new strategy I’d like to test out.”
“Really?” I asked as I stepped out of the cage, moving toward her. “Now, that’s intriguing.”
“I thought you might think so.”
“And what exactly are you prepared to sacrifice when you find it doesn’t work?”
She shot me an irritated glare, not caring for my teasing dismissal.
“I suppose I could watch Ella a second time,” she offered with a shrug.
I considered it for a moment as I stepped into her space, towering over her small frame and forcing her head to tilt back to meet my heated gaze. The thought of chasing her down and fucking her tight little body into the ground again had my dick pressing painfully into the seam of my sweatpants.
Decided, I shook my head at her offering. “This isn’t double or nothing, little girl. You’re going to have to do better than that to entice me into chasing you through the woods.”
She arched a brow, no doubt her bullshit meter blaring alarm bells in her head. She knew damn well I didn’t need any further enticing besides the opportunity itself to chase her down and fuck her in the dirt like an animal. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make her beg me for it.
“Fine, what else do you want that you couldn’t possibly already wrench from me?” she asked with adorable disdain.
The corners of my lips curled as I slowly dragged the tip of my finger down her temple, reveling in how soft her pale skin was. “I want you…to initiate.”
Her brows knitted together in confusion, her voice carrying an edge of caution. “Initiate what?”
“Sex.”
Jaden’s gaze sharpened as she paused for a moment, her features stoic while she clenched her jaw. Her glossy hazel eyes hunted for the scent of suspicion, staring up at me with obvious skepticism. And then she rolled her eyes.
“And here I thought you were going to request something difficult.”
I grinned at her boldness, loving how dismissive she was while covering up the fact that she was secretly panicking inside. I’d never cared about her initiating before, only because we only ever fucked when I wanted to. But now, I wanted to see what she looked like when she chased her own desire.
“And I want you to do it before the week is over,” I added.
That would only give her four days to find the courage, but I had faith she would find it somewhere.
“But if you fail to meet that deadline, your privilege of ever negotiating with me again will cease to exist.” I wouldn’t tolerate her nerves delaying what I was owed for even one second.
She huffed out a breath, the scowl growing on her face, becoming more adorable by the second. “Fine, but if I win, I want the Ferrari,” she demanded.
I chuckled softly, my chest warming with eager anticipation. “Of course, you do.”
Truthfully, I didn’t give a flying fuck what she wanted or what she was willing to sacrifice.
Jaden was going to lose anyway, but she seemed to think she had some kind of winning chance if she was willing to engage with me again.
She must have had something good up her sleeve.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t enter a losing battle just for shits and giggles.
Either way, if my hot little wife was up for round two, then who was I to deny myself?
“Alright, hotshot, let’s go,” I said, directing her out of my gym.
A wicked smile spread across her face as we walked through the house and out to the backyard to the tree line. I couldn’t wait to wipe it off her face when her pussy was stuffed full with my cock.
“You’re only getting five minutes this time,” I told her once we stopped at the tree line.
Alarm flashed across her pretty hazel eyes for only a second before she quickly recovered.
“That’s fine,” she said, cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders.
Grinning to myself, I lifted my wrist to start the timer on my watch. “Good luck, little girl,” I taunted before pressing the timer. “Go.”
Jaden took off into the trees, her sprint noticeably faster than a week ago.
I couldn’t deny that she had been working very hard ever since I finally gave her the green light to do whatever she wanted to regain her former glory.
The results were impressive in such a short span of time.
I hoped I wouldn’t derail them when I finally caught her.
Adrenaline began to pump through my veins as the timer counted down the final ten seconds, the thrill of the chase lighting my primal urges on fire. When the alarm finally sounded, I stormed off into the trees, intending to catch Jaden quickly instead of toying with her like I had last time.
It only took me seven minutes before I finally had her in my sights.
She had conveniently requested the rematch right when I had finished training as if she could catch me at a disadvantage.
The idea was cute, but it would never make a bit of a difference.
I could be bedridden with the fucking flu, and I’d still own her ass.
With me closing in on my pretty little target, I noticed Jaden’s speed was actually spanning more ground than she had last time, which was a good sign.
But whatever new “strategy” she had planned was enough to pique my curiosity, my speed slowing down just enough to give her time to put the base point within her sights.
At the sound of my advancement, Jaden kicked up her pace, closing the distance between her and her target. Deciding to end the charade, I pushed just a little harder until she was nearly in my grasp.
The pole was only maybe ten feet in front of her when my arm reached out to swipe at her waist. But just as my fingertips graced her hair, Jaden ducked low and somersaulted hard onto the ground, rolling right out of my reach as I raced past her.
Spinning on my heels, I shot around with just enough time to see her tumble the rest of the way to the pole until she essentially crashed right into it, catching it with her hands and holding tight.
Did Jaden seriously just fucking trip?
Concerned, I came to a full stop, worried that she might have actually hurt herself. But what I saw instead could only be described as the biggest victory smile I’d ever seen plastered all over her beautiful face.
Her chest was heaving up and down, her breath coming in quick pants as she clutched the pole like letting go would disrupt her triumph and turn it all into an illusion. A soft chuckle escaped her lips, a wide-toothed smile reaching her eyes as she finally lifted her gaze to mine.
“Ha!” She laughed, still catching her breath.
I couldn’t help but return her smile, pride flowing through my veins at her little victory.
“Fuck, that really hurt,” she muttered under her breath, rolling her shoulder. I sharpened my gaze as I subtly looked her over for any visible injuries, but the only thing I could see was the blazing ray of triumph bursting in her eyes. And it was just too fucking adorable.
Could I have caught her sooner? Unquestionably, yes.
Was I impressed by her ingenuity and execution? A thousand percent, yes.
Was I still going to fuck her like she’d lost? Absolutely.
With steady strides, I made my way over to her, giving her a slow clap of applause for her successful efforts.
“Very impressive, Jaden,” I praised her, watching the light in her eyes brighten tenfold.
I knew any kind of praise from me was like a drug for her, but this had been well-earned.
“At first, I thought you just conveniently tripped, but you actually made a very calculated and clever maneuver at the perfect timing. Well done.”
On shaky legs, she pulled herself up by the pole and stood tall. “Thank you,” she said proudly, glancing down to brush off the dirt and grass from her clothes. I was half tempted to tell her not to bother since she was about to be covered in it again anyway.
Feeling my presence closing in, she lifted her eyes, her brows rising slightly as she took a cautious step backward.
“To the victor goes the spoils,” she reminded me, her eyes narrowed as she took another step back.
“Yeah,” I concurred, then snatched her by the throat. “You’re still getting fucked, though.”