Decision making
Lucien
He was getting into the mood for the fight. It had always excited him, this rush of adrenalin before a fight. He had given some of his best years to it. He knew he was growing old and was not as agile as he had used to be. Schwartz had glumly pointed it out many times over the past week. But he had wanted to inaugurate the Fight Club at his own Club, his home turf.
He also wanted to send a message to Dmitri: Do your worst. I am not afraid of you. And I have YOUR old wh*re here, as my Card girl!
He scowled as he thought of Dana/Catalina. The woman had been in his bedroom adjoining his office when he had arrived. He had had to use tact and firmness to throw her out, She had been reeking of sex, and he had only felt a wave of revulsion. An image of Proserpina, sweet and fresh-smelling, had come to him. Her soft, willing body, the shy smile, the way she blushed… He wished she was here beside him. But he knew she loathed such events. He smiled to himself.
Tonight, after he had defeated Denizen the Destroyer, he would take his Woman. Just the thought of spilling his seed over her full breasts made his member harden. He turned to his desk and tried to think of other things.
***
Schwartz
Schwartz was in the basement. He had come to talk to the manager, Joe Radisson and the referee for the fight, Blues Lawson who was also an experienced coach. Lucien had known Blues Lawson for years; he was younger than Lucien and was in awe of the older man. When Lucien was climbing up in his life, taking on challenges, killing and removing people out of his path ruthlessly, Blues had been a youth. He still looked slightly flustered when he saw Lucien and the penetrating grey eyes of the silver-haired man built like a tank seemed to find his adulation amusing.
Schwartz had come along with Radisson who had to check that the mandatory sixteen-inch gloves, the mouth guards and the aid man would be on hand.
He sighed and looked around. Schwartz was not a fighter. he was a trained sniper and the hours he practised shooting were times no one but Lucien knew about. He was very circumspect about his personal life.
Watching Catalina who had insisted on turning up in nothing but her costume for the Fight, he wondered how Proserpina had taken the news of Catalina’s appearance. Knowing her, he knew that she would not have taken it lying down. Schwartz would never forget the time when she had stormed into Lucien’s study one evening, piqued over some matter. That had been when she was pregnant with Claude and had not told Lucien about it.
She had proceeded to systematically break Lucien’s expensive whiskey bottles which had lined a wall of his study in those days when Lucien had been drinking excessively.
Grinning to himself, Schwartz knew he would never forget the scene. Proserpina had stood there that day, small and fierce, declaring that she would do so till he listened to her. To say that she had taken Lucien by surprise would have been an understatement. No one had had the guts to challenge him ever and here was this tiny woman, her great brown eyes flashing, doing just that.
The Mafia Don had leapt up, roaring in rage but the sexual chemistry between them had been off the charts and Schwartz had all but dragged Shark away.
Schwartz had been in awe of her ever since-a tiny figure, with a slightly rounded stomach, barefoot and furious. And he had loved her, even more, for having the courage to stand up to Lucien Delano whom everyone ran away from in fear!
***
Shoving his hands into his blazer pocket, he thought viciously, Delano had unleashed a demon when he had brought in the creature who was prowling around on the stage, clad in a transparent bikini, that was like a small strip barely holding in her massive breasts and overflowing buttocks. He had a feeling. that when Proserpina found out about Catalina, there would be hell to pay.
Sighing, he looked around. The gym mats were in the ring, the cage was firm and solid.
The seats for the spectators were ready. Danielle had been in for a quick look. She had seemed stressed and annoyed.
She had come up to him, her eyes shooting daggers at the sight of the half-naked Catalina who was trying to drape herself over Delano.
“We need to talk, buddy.; she announced in a low voice and the concern in her tone made his gaze sharpen.
“What’s up, mate?’ he asked, unthinkingly.
She grunted, her hands on her his, glaring at Catalina who had lowered herself to the ground and was now asking a savage-looking Delano if she could move around the ring on her hands and feet.
Lucien Delano’s clipped reply belied his irritation,
“Not unless you want me to toss you out of the ring.’ he said, pushing her away unceremoniously and she screamed in delight,
” I LOVE CAVEMEN!!!”.
Catalina laughed, a jarring sound that made him want to slap her but Danielle was staring at her with an unreadable expression.
He sighed.
Life was complicated alright.
***
Sophie
Sophie scrambled into her uniform, pulling the skimpy garment over her head, swearing as it clung to her chest. It had to be tugged down with a lot of difficulty, and she was panting, her hair was all mussed by the time she had finally succeeded in getting it into place.
“I look like a fuc*ing trollop, as my aunt Nina would say,’ she mumbled, disgruntled.
Kate Harrison, the other girl with her, turned to look at her, startled.
But Sophie grinned at her, wolfishly.
“Don’t mind me,’ she said her green eyes glinting. Kate went back to applying lipstick, glancing at Sophie uncertainly as she did the same.
Sophie stared at her reflection when she was done.
Ok, she told herself, so I look good. The warm red colour of her outfit went well with her copper hair which was fastened in a bun. While the other girls wore their hair, falling around their shoulders, Sophie had chosen to wind hers into a chignon. The green pompoms attached to her skirt and the white fake fur lining the plunging neck to the outfit promised more than it revealed.
Very Christmasy, thought Sophie, as she pinned the small Santa hat to her hair. Bunch of over-sexed Santa gnomes. she thought reflectively, looking around the dressing room. All the girls who were working today in the Fight Room had been fitted out in the same way.
Turning to the mirror, she pouted and applied a coat of lipstick.
Her green eyes were highlighted with eye shadow and she knew she looked older and more entrancing. Picking up the footwear, a pair of black boots, which went with the outfit, she moved to a chair and pulled them on, thinking again of Worthington and his lover. Who had the woman been?
***
ProserpinaCopyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Lucien’s shirt was on the wall, the one he had worn the night before. As the maid picked it up to haul it off to the wash, the unfamiliar fragrance hit me again. Strong, overpowering.
I stopped short.
Perfume.
Another woman’s perfume.
My senses were now on high alert.
Something was happening, and I was not definitely going to get to the bottom of it. Lucien had been scowling at his phone ever so often this morning, and I had heard the pinging of the texts during the night as well, had heard him swear as he deleted the texts.
Earlier, Danielle had been trying to tell me something,
***
I made up my mind.
I was going to attend the Fight.