Page 126 of Cruel Legacy

I chuckle, because push-ups are her favorite exercise.Not.“If you miss a punch, or swing too wide, you’ll start again.”

She growls, but has enough sense to say whatever she’s thinking under her breath. She finishes her 100 adequate jabs, then drops to the floor.

I sit down in front of her, with my legs crossed, and lean my elbows on my knees. “Sing to me, LaReaux.”

She lowers her body and pushes up. We’ve done these enough time as punishment in class that she already knows what I want. Her sounding off, calling mesir- is one of my favorite things to hear. She infuses every bit of anger she feels toward me into that one word.

I’m an equal opportunity asshole, but I give Thea more shit than I do any of the other girls in class, because when she hits the point where others would have given up, she grits her teeth and tells me to fuck off.

It’s inappropriate, but that shit gets me hard. Maybe our initial meeting has something to do with it. Maybe a part of my punishing her is to punish myself, because I want her and can’t have her. It’s why I refused to train her.

But now, here we are. I asked Syl about her and she told me Thea’s win over Big Jim wasn’t a fluke, and showed me her fighting stats for her other matches. So when I walked up on her about to go full on UFC on Eloise, I jumped in.

I was trying to diffuse the situation, but I knew the minute she had a chance she’d go after her again.

Fights between students don’t mean shit to me, but Thea’s skills would draw attention. The kind of attention she doesn’t need.

With her being a new student, no ties to the legacy side of The League, she’d be a perfect recruit for MISTIC and the guardian program.

I watch Thea on campus. I’ve heard her talking in the halls with her friend and Austin Kincaid.

She wants to be an archaeologist. Travel the world and study lost civilizations. If she gets on The League’s radar, her dreams will be over. They have ways of making you bow to their demands.

So I’ll train her, and the rules are clear. No fighting outside of this gym. I promised to set her up with a fight, but that’ll be a long time coming and it won’t be one that gets a lot of media coverage.

I flick my gaze around the rest of the gym. I’ve got a great group of people, all training to be the best on the court, on the field, in the ring, on the track, or in the dojo. I’m proud of the training program I’ve built here.

“Forty-five, sir.”

I drop my attention back to the woman in front of me. Perfectly straight back. Ass muscles clenched. I wonder if she’d clench around my cock, if it were buried between those sweet cheeks.

It’s the last thing I need to be thinking about, but now that I am, I can’t seem to switch the imagery off. Count this as reason number two, why training Thea is a horrible idea. I want this girl when I know I shouldn’t. I’m disciplined, but I’m a man and knowing what she tastes like… this is gonna be torture.

I climb to my feet before the last number falls from her lips. “Decent effort. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I stalk off towards the ring without looking back at her. No more delays, no more excuses. I need to find someone to hook up with, before I do something stupid, like breaking mine and the school’s rules by fucking Thea over the desk in one of my offices.

Chapter55

Thea

Deacon Wolfe, the teacher, and Deacon Wolfe, the trainer, are not the same. I didn’t know what I was asking for when I told him to go as hard on me as he does with everyone else.

I’m sore and exhausted, and happy. My mind has been clearer than it’s been in weeks, and I have a way forward with the Eloise situation.

There’s no way I can let what she did to my picture slide. The bitch didn’t even have the decency to drop the photo so I could tape it back together. She took it with her like some sort of souvenir.

In the two weeks since our encounter, I’ve noticed some things. I don’t even know how I missed it before. I guess because I was trying to keep my head down. But now it’s up and I know the one prize she wants more than anything. A prize I’m about to snatch right out from under her.

I drop into the seat next to Finn, placing my new laptop on the desk. It’s the same model as the one Uncle Scott got me and is the biggest purchase I’ve made with my winnings.

\Replacing my wardrobe is gonna take a while. I’ll get a few things Aunt Moira brought, but other than the underwear, everything else will be department store or thrift store finds.

Turns out I like lacy bras and panties, and don’t hate that sometimes they come from expensive stores.

I still haven’t gone through the stuff from the storage unit yet. School, working at the hotel, and training with Deacon haven’t left me much free time.

Finn glances over at me. He’s sporting a different beanie today than the one I tainted. “Pet?” His greeting comes out as a question.