Ava

"Where are we going?" 

"You'll see." Elias chuckled, pulling me with him. We passed by the treadmills, out of the room. I scrunched my eyebrows when we left the gym. I'd thought he wanted to work out. My frown turned up when he pulled me into another room.

"Been a while, yeah?" He said. He seemed well accustomed with the ways as he opened a wardrobe at the corner, picking up two pairs of gloves and hand wraps. He walked to me as I held my hands out, smiling. Wrapping the tape around my fingers, he pushed the gloves onto my hands. I walked into the ring, looking around myself in awe as he followed, his fists secured by the glove as well. 

We stood in front of each other when he grinned. "Punch me, amor."

So I did. Hard enough to knock his teeth down hadn't he moved away. Elias was known for his agility. He'd won matches against people thrice his size only because he knew how to use the ring to his advantage. When I striked the second time, he swung it away and hit me across the shoulder. I winced. It wasn't soft. We didn't go soft on each other. Not while boxing.

I didn't strike again. Defence before offence. I rounded him as he did the same. He was still grinning, and I was losing my calm. And that was not a very good sign. Patience was important in boxing. The moment you lost your patience, you lose the match. When he didn't strike for another two minutes, I did. I swung my fist down his stomach, making him shift to the side, but I changed the course of my fist at the last moment and struck his face. 

"Ouch, that hurt, Ava." He murmured, while I grinned proudly. When he saw me grinning, his own returned. That made mine disappear. His smile was wicked. 

Then everything happened too fast for me to comprehend. He moved towards me and I stepped back, putting my hands in front of my face to shield it. He punched them hard enough to knock them out of the way, gripping the base of my neck and pushing me against the ropes of the ring, his fist right in front of my face. His grin widened, "I'm the teacher, amor. Give me a little credit."

"I hit your face." I pointed out when he stepped back. He taught me how to box, I wasn't upset about losing to him.

"Hard, might I add. You did good, Ava. Though you can do much better than that."

"Daily lessons?" I raised an eyebrow.

"By me? Sure. I need payments though. I charge high." He murmured. 

"I'm sure I can cope up. What do you want?"

"Half an hour of your time everyday. Spend it with me."

I smiled, "I'll spend more than half an hour with you without labelling it as a payment. Payment's an obligation, a liability. Me spending time with you is an asset for me. Precious and valuable."

"Joder, Ava. I love it when you talk business with me." He shifted closer to me. His body was warm and his tee was plastered to his chest. His muscles bulged when he held the ropes behind me, caging me to him.

"Mhm? We gonna negotiate?" I tilted my chin up to look at him. His eyes were sultry and dark, and I knew mine were the same. 

"What is it that you can give me in return for lessons?" He asked, bending down so that he was eye level with me.

"Anything you want." I murmured back.

His eyes darkened more if that was possible. The brown in them seemed almost black. He let go of the ropes and turned around, surprising me. I hadn't expected him to let go. I'd expected him to grab my jaw and teach me manners. That's what he'd done the last time I'd said that word to him. My body was aching for his touch and I didn't want to play with my fingers tonight. I wanted his.

"Backing out?" I called out when he walked out of the ring. I followed, grasping his arm to stop him, turning him around. Seduction was deeper and more fun with eye contact.

"I'm not playing this with you, Ava. Not today."

"No?"

"If you want me to fuck you again, ask me to. We're not doing games."

All the control I'd thought I'd had vanished away. Using his body against his mind? Yeah, fuck that. His body and mind were in agreement with each other. I was not in a position to pit them against each other. Elias craved control like normal people did chocolate. He was always in charge. Even in those rare moments when he gave up his control to me, he was demanding, still dominating.

"No?" He repeated back to me. 

"You don't want to fuck me? I thought you'd become a sex fiend after the first time. You don't seem so enthusiastic about doing this-"

"I've waited for us to try since a year, Ava. And you know that. Never say that to me again."

"Why aren't you being like before? I know you're not giving me everything. You said you weren't patient and you couldn't go slow with me but you are. Why?"

He inhaled harshly and looked away. "I'm trying to take things slow."

"After we fucked? Impressive. Why?"

"Because I don't want you running away when things get serious again."

"I told you-"

"You told me the previous time as well, Ava. And the time before that. You promised me. You've broken three promises now. I'm sorry if I don't trust them anymore." He said forcefully. "You're beautiful and I want to fuck you, god knows how much I want to after last time, but this ain't just fucking. We're trying real time. The real thing. Not a relationship if you don't want it, but real. Serious. I'm not fucking you again just for the hell of it."

I swallowed, looking down. "What should I do? What should I do to convince you I'm not running away?"

"Prove to me this isn't just casual. That you'll still be here without physical intimacy."

Out of everything in this entire world, that was the last thing I'd expected him to say. Elias had a huge sexual appetite. He liked physical, he loved it with me. It was surprising and awing at the same time. "Won't that hurt you too?"

"It'll be worth it." He said. "One week."

I closed my eyes, then opened them again. He was looking at me with an expression of plead. I'd crushed his hopes many times, I wouldn't do it again. "Deal."

"Kissing is allowed." He added. "Kissing is needed. I won't last a day otherwise."

I bit back a smile. "Perfect."

It was a bit hurting to know he didn't even trust me that much. But I was paying for my own deeds. I'd made him doubt my intentions with my cautiousness. He was looking out for himself and I understood that better than anyone else. I'd looked out for myself my whole life. I'd ruined things with him because of that. But he needed proof and I'll give it to him. 

It would be difficult, especially since I'd already gotten a taste of him after so long, but things turned serious between us a long time ago. It stopped being casual fucking a long time ago. I liked Elias without us having sex. I hadn't accepted it, but deep down I'd always known I liked him. Maybe the wait would be good for us. It'll make us stronger.

"Good." He nodded.

I chuckled and cupped his face, bringing his face closer to mine. "Say something in Spanish."

"Desde que te vi, te he dado mi corazón." He breathed out, resting his forehead against mine and closing his eyes. "Es tuyo para siempre. No lo quiero de vuelta."

Ten years since I'd known him, I'd picked up some words. Isabella and Elias both tended to ramble in their mother tongue when they were extremely happy, or extremely mad. Elias said Spanish to me because he knew I liked hearing it from him, even though I didn't understand much. Him and I, we didn't need words. We read each other like books we'd read a million times.

"Don't ask me the meaning."

I couldn't help the chuckle that burst out of my mouth. "Of course. That's the rule."

He wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me up and burying his face in my neck. I tightened my grip around his neck, hugging him tight. We stayed like that for a long while, not saying anything, just absorbing each other. If that was how the next week was going to go, I loved it already. 

"Stay, okay? Don't go." He whispered in my neck. "Please."

Elias rarely said please. Like every demanding person he was used to getting what he wanted with a snap of his fingers. People bowed to him. He was capable of a lot of things, and getting all his demands fulfilled was one of them. He didn't need to say please. He got everything without saying it.

 I felt my heart clench at how vulnerable he sounded. He'd stripped off all his walls and he was being open, like he always did. And I always crushed him, always hurt him. I wouldn't do that anymore. He didn't trust me, yet he let his guard down. I didn't think I'd ever admired him more than I did at that moment.

"Elias," I brought his face up and pressed one of the lightest kiss to his lips. "We're real. We're beautiful. I know that now. I'm not giving up without a fight, without a try."

"You'll manage a week?" He asked, a little bit of tease in his tone.

"No sex, but I'll still have you. That's all I need."

-⍣-

This was probably one of the very few books where I heard the guy say no to physical relationship lmao. But hey it's me, I always deliver the unexpected. It's my speciality.

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