Page 50 of Fighting the Darkness

I scoff but know she’s right. He’s stopped treating her like the enemy and more like a fellow fighter. I’m okay with that, but the way he’s ribbing Wilder when the other man looks like he could explode at any second isn’t okay. They might not like one another and technically be rivals, but if they’re going to train in my gym, they both need to learn how to at least be civil with one another. If they can’t, then I’m going to have to pull one of them off of training Freya and I don’t want to do that. She’ll benefit from working with both of them.

Leaving Freya in Wilder’s care, I head for my office.

Pushing open the door to my office, I find Soren sitting on the edge of it, a smile on his face and his dick in his hand.

“What are you doing, Soren?” I sigh as I walk around to sit behind my desk, though I do make sure the door is locked behind us.

“Didn’t you call me in here so we could fuck?”

I scoff. “I don’t know what gave you that impression, but no. I brought you in here to talk about your attitude toward Wilder and Freya.”

“Boo,” he pouts, but at least he puts his dick away. Not that I really want him to. No, I’d much rather put it to good use, but we obviously need to have this conversation.

Leaning back in my chair, I watch Soren as he sits across the desk from me. “This thing with you and Wilder is getting out of control. For so long, you just ignored him, but lately? It’s like you’re trying to set him off. What’s going on with you? You’re a grown-ass man acting like a teenager, and it needs to stop.”

As expected, Soren is not a fan of my words. Too damn bad. I’ve let this go on for too long. When he’s training here, he’s representing No Holds Barred, and just because I’m sleeping with him, it doesn’t mean that he gets to treat people like shit. Even if we were together, I wouldn’t let that shit happen.

“I should’ve talked to you about this,” I say, my voice softer. “But I didn’t want to touch this thing with you and Wilder, but it’s getting out of hand.

“You act as if I’m the reason it all started.” Soren climbs to his feet, thinking he can intimidate me by towering over me.

I shake my head. “I know you didn’t start it, but for years, you just let it go. Why did it change? Why now? What has you picking at Wilder like you want him to explode?”

Soren scoffs. “I’m doing no such thing.”

I chuckle, rising to my feet and moving around the desk. “Bullshit. Don’t lie to me, Soren.”

“I’m not lying—“ He cuts off when my hand wraps around his throat. I don’t squeeze or do anything but hold him in place. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him—unless he asked for it, then I’d at least consider it.

“You want to try that again, Sor?” I ask with a smile on my face.

“Damn it, Griff!” Soren struggles against me, trying to get away, but it’s no use. “Fine! You really want to know?”

I laugh. “Would I have asked if I didn’t?”

“It’s because I want them, Griffin—Wilder and Freya both. It’s why I’ve been treating them like shit. I thought if I was enough of an asshole, then I could push them away so I wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.”

It’s not like I didn’t know he wanted them, but it’s nice to hear him admit it. I keep waiting for jealousy to rush over me as it usually does when Soren is with someone else. Surprisingly, it doesn’t come. That’s... interesting.

It’s because you want them too,something inside of me screams and I still.

That can’t be true, can it? Yes, I’ve thought about how attractive Freya is, but who wouldn’t? But Wilder? Like his name suggests, he’s a wild card. I don’t think I’ve ever thought of him that way before.

But even as the thought crosses my mind, I recognize it for the lie it is.

Well, shit. This is... an unfortunate discovery to make. And something for me to worry about another time.

I lean in, brushing a kiss against his lips. “Now, was that so hard?”

I release my hold on his throat, nodding to the desk. “Pants down.”

“What? I...” Soren’s confusion is clear, not just in his words but the expression on his face. “Griff, I just told you I was into two other people, and you want to bend me over the desk and fuck me? I don’t understand.”

“Does it really matter why?”

He shrugs. “Yeah. Kind of.”

I pull my wallet out, grabbing a condom and a packet of lube, tossing them onto the desk. “I asked you to tell me why you’ve been acting the way you have, so now I’m going to reward you. Or punish you if you don’t get your damn pants pulled down and lean over the fucking desk like I told you to.”

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