Axel:A Bad Boy Romance(18)

He had never touched her like Axel had. He had never prioritized her  pleasure over his. He had never slipped his fingers inside of her. Sex  with Austin had always just been uncomfortable. She thought it was just  something she had to endure. She knew sex could be different. She had  heard her friends rave about their encounters, but she never expected  she would experience it. Now she had and she could admit she wanted  more.         

     



 



She wanted a real relationship with a man who would respect her and  treat her well. She didn't just want to have casual sex, but a real  connection with someone and she wasn't going to compromise. She knew she  could have good sex and a good relationship; she just needed to find  the right guy.



She hefted her box full of treasures and hauled them to the first floor  and into the office. She drank a glass of water and glanced out the  window. There was a hooded man standing under a tree outside. He was  staring up at the mansion. She moved to try and see his face, but he  must have spotted her, immediately moving away and walking down the  street. She followed him with her eyes. Who was he? A curious passerby  or someone else?



Had Austin sent someone to find her? Would she be easy to track? The  only thing in her name was her car insurance and she knew it would be  tricky for him to access that information. Her phone was a burner; she  didn't have a bank account. America is a big country, she reminded  herself. As long as she kept her profile low, she might be able to hide  forever.



Marie stretched out her arms. The soreness from her workouts was  becoming a familiar feeling and she wondered if she would ever get  strong enough to not hurt the next day. She had a training with Axel  tomorrow morning and she was ready for it. She wasn't going to ask for a  new trainer; she was ready to face him. She wasn't sad anymore, she  wasn't embarrassed, she could handle him.



Marie walked back through the empty mansion. A tour had just let out and  now the place was silent and still. She liked it best like this, when  it felt like hers. She strolled into the dining room and walked along  the long table and the many high-backed chairs. It was such an elegant  home. She couldn't get enough of the art and the styling. Everything was  beautiful with intricate details. It made the 1700s seem like a finer  time and better than the one she was in now.



On a display on the sideboard was Edith Hawks' engagement ring. It was a  simple gold band with a small emerald set in the center. Marie looked  down at her own bare left hand. Austin had never married her and she was  glad of it now, but she had been resentful for a long time. She thought  he would propose when she became pregnant with Cate, but he never did.  He wasn't ready to be married yet. What's the rush, we already have a  kid? He had a litany of excuses for his non-proposal.



She used to cry about it. Every time someone she knew got engaged and  the announcement appeared on Facebook she would struggle to hold back  tears. She had been stuck in a sort of purgatory. Austin wasn't willing  to let her go, but he wouldn't marry her either. Now he was like a  specter hanging over her. She had left him, but she still wasn't free.  He was in her head and now she was worried he was in the street.



She looked at Edith's serious face in profile. That was a woman who had  never cried over a man. She had never let herself be abused. Marie  lifted the frame to get a better look at Edith's face. It was  heart-shaped and thin with a little button nose. What would Edith do?  that was Marie's new question whenever she had a problem. Edith Hawks  had been a badass back in her day and now she could be Marie's spirit  animal, someone to remind Marie she was stronger than whatever problem  she was facing.



The only thing left for Marie to do was to go back to the gym and learn  how to fight. She had made great strides at the gym. She had learned to  stand up for herself and she had her first casual hook-up ever. She was  growing and changing and she wasn't willing to stop. She was going back  to Axel, but now it was only to work, nothing else. She was going to  learn how to defend herself. She had a job and was paying the bills; she  had a place to stay, now she needed to focus on learning how to kick  ass. She wanted to be ready for Austin if he ever showed up here. She  wasn't the same little girl he was used to and if he ever found her, she  was going to be ready.





Chapter Eighteen



Axel completed fifty pushups and stood up. The night's sleep had done  him some good; he felt a little better. He wasn't as tired, but his  heart still wasn't in it. He was able to function, at least, but the  hair on the back of his neck was standing up. Marie would be soon. Very  soon, she might already be in the building.



He had given Marie to another trainer, Lori. Hayden still didn't know  Austin had been training her and he hoped the other man never found out.  Axel sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. Hayden was standing over  him, his hands on his hips.



"You're a little better today," Hayden said. "You get a good night sleep?"



"Yeah," Axel said with a nod. Where were they? He wanted her to come  down those stairs, but at the same time he prayed she wouldn't. Maybe  she wouldn't come. Maybe she would be too uncomfortable.         

     



 



"You waiting for someone?" Hayden asked.



"No," Axel said shaking his head. Just then the door opened. Lori came  down first and behind her was Marie. She looked gorgeous in a pair of  tight exercise pants and a white shirt. She was talking with Lori and  then two women were laughing about something. Marie looked relaxed and  casual, perfectly at ease even with Axel in the room.



"Her?" Hayden hissed in a quiet voice. "That girl over there? Who is she? Where did you even meet her?"



"It's not a problem," Axel said as he got up off the bench and walked to  the pull up bar. He didn't look towards Marie, but he couldn't help but  see her reflection everywhere. Her ass was reflected back at him. Her  shining hair appeared on every wall. He reached for the pull-up bar and  with a hand on either side he began to lift himself up and lower himself  down.



Hayden's angry face appeared in the mirror. His arms were crossed as he  stared at Axel. Doing his best to ignore him, Axel glanced at Marie to  see if she was looking at him, but she was sparring with Lori. Not that  he cared. He continued to do pull-ups, but his arms were starting to  burn; he would have to come down eventually.



He dropped to the springy mat and rolled his eyes at Hayden. "What?" he demanded.



"Office," Hayden said through clenched teeth. He slammed the door once  they were inside and Axel sat down on the couch with Haden behind the  desk. "So why don't you tell me what happened?"



"She came into the gym. She was hot, she had spirit, she signed up for  the MMA training program and I trained her a couple times and then we  hooked up.



"I was only gone for five days." Hayden yelled. "In five days you  managed to do all of that. Do you need a babysitter or something?" Axel  rolled his eyes, but said nothing. "Why were you training her?"



Axel shrugged and searched for and answer before finally shrugging and admitting, "She was hot."



"Come on, man! This is a big deal. This is the biggest fight of your  career coming up and you're messing up over a girl? Did you see yourself  yesterday? You were a damn mess. You looked like a weak fool, not a  champion."



"I know, but it's fine and it's in the past. I'm good now."



"Your body's here, but your head and your heart are somewhere else. It's  not just about the body. It's not just lifting weights. This isn't a  bodybuilding competition we're prepping for. This is a fight. A knock  down, drag-out fight and you're thinking about something else?"



"Look it's fine. It was just a fling and it's over. It's not a  relationship and she doesn't think it is either. She's over there not  worried about me. So I'm not worried about her."



Hayden cursed and hit the wall with his open palm. "It's not just you,  you know? I'm in this with you, Axel. I gave up everything to come and  coach you and run this gym. You owe me the courtesy of giving it your  all. I give it my all!"



"I know, but like I said: I'm good now."



"We should kick her out of the gym. We can give her a full refund for the program and send her on her way."



"No!" Axel said loudly; he recovered and lowered her voice. "She needs  this program and she's good at it. Don't kick her out of here because of  me." Marie was a girl on the run. Axel couldn't kick her out of the  program. What if the thing she was running from caught up with her and  she wasn't prepared? The thought made him sick to his stomach.



"It's your gym and your career on the line. Hard choices need to happen," Hayden said.