When I reached the gym, I was pleased to see it was stocked with water bottles, towels, and all the latest equipment a person could need to keep in shape. Slipping in my earbuds, I scrolled through my workout playlist before I landed on “Bad Girls” by M.I.A. and started my warmup on the treadmill. I let my mind zone out just listening to the music and the feel of my feet as I jogged at a quick pace, feeling the tension lessening in my body. I used to hate the workouts I was put through all the time. Now I don’t know how to function without at least one workout a day.
Once I was done on the treadmill, I headed over to the pull-up bar and started to do my routine for my upper body. Women naturally are stronger in the lower body and need to work harder to beef up their upper body. Just like men should never skip leg day unless they want a bulky-ass top half and chicken legs to hold them up. When I’d gotten my reps in, I swung so I was hanging by my legs and started my crunches. The rhythm of breathing in on the way down and letting it out on the push upward was as cathartic as yoga to me.
Then my music stopped. Opening my eyes, I realized I wasn’t the only one in the room anymore. Jace and Luca were standing there with expressions I couldn’t quite read. “Can I help you?” I asked from where I was still hanging.
“Ah…” Jace started but paused like he wanted to ask a question but wasn’t sure he should.
Groaning, I dismounted off the pull-up bar with a simple flip, landing on my feet. Jace still seemed to be nervous about what happened last night and didn’t want to piss me off further. Luca, on the other hand, offered me a towel which I was grateful for and cleaned off my face. “What? Spit it out already.”
When he didn’t answer right away, I walked over to the glass-doored refrigerator and grabbed a water, draining half the bottle in one go.
“He wants to know if you can teach him how to do those moves,” Luca answered for Jace. “We walked in here twenty minutes ago when you were still doing pull-ups. I think all the blood rushed from his head to his dick so words are difficult at the moment.”
Jace rounded on the guy, grabbing him by the shirt. “What the fuck, man? How can you say shit like that when you’re just as turned on as I am? Asshole, making me sound like I’m the perv.”
“Did I say I wasn’t hard as a fucking rock?” Luca asked with raised brows. Jace just growled and shoved him back in frustration.
Clearing my throat to gain their attention, I tossed the towel over my shoulder. “Well, now that we’ve covered the status of your dicks, was there something else you needed?”
“Boss wanted us to give you a heads up your first meeting is in thirty minutes,” Jace informed me. “Said something about you losing track of time when you work out.”
So that kind of information did get into his reports. How nice.
Glancing down at my watch, I realized I’d been up here for an hour and a half. My run must have been longer than I thought if I only made it this far into my routine. “Seems we all need to take a cold shower before we continue on our day, doesn’t it? I’d invite you to join me, but since I only have half an hour, I need to be quick. Really, it’s a blessing for you two because if I found out either of you could be that quick, I’m not sure I could look at you the same,” I explained, giving their bodies a languid look. “That would be such a tragedy for me. Best we all shower separately, don’t you think?” I asked, cocking my head.
The heat in Jace’s gaze had me wanting to rub my legs together, but it was Luca who stole the moment. Stepping forward, he grabbed my hand and placed my phone in it, letting his fingers glide over my pulse as he pulled his hand back. “You’re right, thirty minutes wouldn’t be nearly enough time for what I’d do to that body of yours. Plus, if you can walk let alone attend meetings after I’m finished with you, then I didn’t do my job right.”
Good God, does that man know how to make a woman’s pussy sit up and take notice?
“Duly noted,” I murmured, holding his gaze as the tension between us started to crackle.
“Hey, Tin-Tin, did you get that tablet open?” Ryker’s voice cut in, shattering the moment between Luca and me.
I growled in frustration, squeezing my phone so hard I worried it might crack. Yanking the towel off my shoulder, I marched out of the gym, slapping Ryker in the face with said towel as I left. “Asshole,” I snapped.
“What the fuck was that for?” Ryker asked.
Stopping on the stairs, I twisted to look back at him, noticing Jace and Luca were watching the whole interaction.Fine, he wants to play this game, then I’ll play just as dirty.
“Let’s just clear this up right now since you seem to feel the need to mark your nonexistent territory,” I snapped, walking back to get right up in his face. “We were teenagers, high on weed, bored and horny with nothing better to do with our time. Yeah, you were the first guy to fuck me but certainly not the last, which I’m sure you’re fully aware of. Why would I ever wait or hold on to a dream of a man who left me and lied to my face? For what, becoming my father’s pet? That worked out well, didn’t it? Now he’s cast you off and stuck you with me because we have history, right? Well, doesn’t that fucking suck for you? I’m really gonna need you to fix your shit and get over it real quick because I’m not going anywhere,” I seethed. All the anger and hurt over that time of my life bubbled up within me.
“Ast—”
I raised a hand, cutting off whatever he was about to say. “You may call me Mistress or Lady Astin unless I permit you otherwise. Test me on this, and I’ll stab or shoot you depending on my mood.Comprende?”
Pain and betrayal flickered in his eyes. “Yes, Lady Astin,” Ryker answered.
“Don’t you dare look so betrayed, Ryker. In this world, people are going to turn their back on you to do what’s best for them. So get used to it,” I ordered, then shrugged carelessly. “I did.”
Having nothing else to say, I jogged up the stairs to my room and got ready for my afternoon. All the emotions I’d just burned off in my workout were back tenfold. This could be good or bad, depending on who you were and if you managed to piss me off. Something told me that the chances of someone getting stabbed today were rather high as I strapped on my thigh sheath. This was a custom piece I had made. It had the blade’s handle pointing down since it was meant to be used when I wore a skirt. I also decided to add my gun since I’d be wearing a blazer, keeping it concealed.
The black pencil skirt I wore had a slit up the front instead of the back that went to mid-thigh, leaving me with easy access to the knife. I paired it with a white silk tank and a blood-red blazer that set off the contrast of my fair skin and dark chestnut hair. While in these meetings, I wanted there to be no doubt in their minds that I was indeed a woman. This bitch wasn’t playing pretend, trying to be the son Daddy never got. No, I was proud to be all woman all the time. Finishing the outfit off with my black-studded Louboutin red-bottom shoes, I was unstoppable. Men have armor, women have fashion and makeup. We put on our warpaint and uniform, proud to fight for our place in the world. A fight the mafia never saw coming in the form of little old me.
As I made my way down to the first floor, Braxton was coming up reading something on his phone. He spotted me at the last second and stopped, eyes wandering over my body with appreciation. “Damn, what I wouldn’t give to be a fly in that office for these meetings. They’re never gonna know what hit them.”
Grinning, I gave him a wink. “Why thank you, Braxton. I think this is gonna be fun too. All this time and effort learning everything and never having a chance to apply it. I feel like a kid in a candy store waiting for the first man to step on my carefully placed land mine.”
“If you’re interested, there’s a new club we’re opening tonight. Care to join me, blow off some steam, and see the newest investment of the Caprioni Empire?” Braxton asked. “You never know what kind of fun you could find yourself having.”