“Why are you just standing there?” he asked. “You were brought here to fuck me, so let’s get to it.”
“Wh… what?” I stumbled over the single word, my heart ramming against my rib cage so hard that there was no way he couldn’t hear it.
His large fingers curled around the silver clasp of my black belt, pulling me toward him as he unhooked the buckle. When I finally snapped back to reality, I slammed my hands onto his chest and pushed him back, but it was like trying to move a boulder.
“Are you playing hard to get?” His eyes narrowed as his tongue peeked out to wet his lips. “Because I don’t have any patience for that right now.”
When he grabbed the sides of my pants and yanked them downward, I snatched the material with my left hand to keep them from falling while my right palm connected with his cheek.
Rather than composing himself, he pressed me against the wall, gripping my upper arms. He didn’t hurt me, per se, but the action frightened me.
“You’ve been brought here for one purpose. I’m not into games or whatever it is you think you’re doing. Strip now or get the fuck out.”
I was so shocked over what was happening, I couldn’t string a full sentence together, but luckily Lance appeared, rushing over and inserting himself between us.
“What are you doing?” Lance shouted. His panicked voice didn’t ease my horror, but instead made me feel even more unsettled. He shoved Jackson three times before the fighter took a step back. “She’s not here for that, Jax. She’s the new sports trainer.” Now wasn’t the time to correct him about the title.
When Jackson finally backed up, his gaze traveled over me from head to toe as if he was seeing me for the first time. Lance stepped in front of me to shield me from him, but his protective gesture didn’t make me feel any safer. I still felt trapped and unable to flee.
“I’m so sorry about this, Sophie. I should’ve never let you come back here without me. He’s not dangerous. Not to you at least.”
“He almost raped me.” My voice rose with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
“He wouldn’t have done that. This is all just a big misunderstanding. He thought you were someone else.”
“Someone else?”
“Yeah.” Lance raised his hand to touch my arm, but I flinched. “Again, I’m really sorry about this. It won’t happen again. You have my word.”
I wanted to curse at Jackson for his treatment of me. At the very least, I should’ve yelled at Lance for allowing this to happen in the first place. And while I debated both of those scenarios, the one I decided on in the end was both honest and somewhat humbling, speaking volumes for my circumstances.
“I really need this job.” I peered around Lance as Jackson slipped on his shorts. “If you tell me I’m safe with him, I’ll trust you.”
“You are. I promise.” His assurance fell flat, but I didn’t have another choice but to believe him.
My desperation for a job outweighed any red flags I’d experienced. I needed this step forward to extract myself from the rut I’d been in since I left my husband. My independence used to mean everything to me, and I wanted it back.
As he walked me out of the room, a blonde woman entered the gym wearing nothing more than a red scrap of material she considered a dress.
“Elton,” Lance shouted toward one of the men by the ring, pointing at the blonde. “Take her back to Jackson.”
“Is she a prostitute?” I blurted, unable to keep the question to myself.
“A fan.”
“And she’s here to have sex with him?”
Lance contemplated my question before answering. “Yes.”
“That’s who he thought I was?” I glanced down at the outfit I’d chosen, one I thought made me look professional. I didn’t mean to be judgmental, since she’d come here of her own volition, but nothing about me or the way I dressed screamed I’d be bending over for Jackson. My shocked expression morphed into a grimace, which prompted Lance to start explaining.
“The gist of it is that Jackson has too much energy. He can only punish his body for so long, so to alleviate the rest of what’s pent up, he needs to work it out in other ways. Sex is the optimal choice.”
“I think that’s a cop-out for a guy who just wants to have sex with random women.”My brain-to-mouth filter is really on the fritz today.
“There’s more to it than that, but I’m not going to get into it now. If you stick around, which I hope you do, you’ll learn more about him.”
“Fun times,” I replied sarcastically.
