Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
My research on Marissa wasn’t just for sexual gratification. As I studied her interviews, I learned where and when she trains. That’s why I flew on the redeye. I should have just enough time to pick up my rental car and get to the pool for her five a.m. practice. She said she likes training early so she can be alone.
That’s my chance to speak to her one-on-one before any of the other vultures have landed. By the time they show up for the dinner her parents planned for us, I’ll have shored up my deal with her and they’ll have wasted their time.
After easily picking the lock on the front door, I enter the dimly lit gymnasium and follow the sound of splashing water to the pool. I peer through the window of the large metal door for a moment and watch Marissa climb the ladder to the ten-meter diving board.
I’m mesmerized by the movement of her long legs and the ample cheeks that poke out of the bottom of her swimsuit. The timing is perfect. She’s standing on the board looking like a frightened little rabbit.
A cold draft wafts in as the doors swing open, and she spots me immediately.
“What are you doing here and how did you get in?” she shouts down from her loft above my head.
With the virtual shrine I’ve built of her and the countless hours I’ve spent worshiping her from afar, you’d think that I would be completely prepared for this moment…but I’m not. Seeing her in person sends a burst of electrical impulses coursing through my body. Her pictures don’t do her justice. She’s absolute perfection, and I need to make her mine. No matter what.
2
MARISSA
I’m already shaking as I look down at the pool from this height, but I feel a draft from the door and look out to see a man looking back at me. I know I locked the front door when I came in.
That’s part of the deal I have with the city. If anyone breaks in while I’m here, I lose my privileges. That’s the least of my worries now, though. Now, I’m terrified to come off this board to face the largest man I’ve ever seen looming in the shadows.
“What are you doing here and how did you get in?”
“I picked the lock and I’m here for you, darling.”
“For me? For what? Who are you?” My legs are shaking so much I think I can hear my knees knock together.
“You shouldn’t be concerned about me being here. You should be more concerned if I wasn’t here,” he says and I purse my lips and roll my eyes.
“I asked you who you are.”
“My name is Malcolm Mason, and I’m here to make sure you make it to Paris.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Listen, little girl. There are a lot of agents out there who will make you promises, but I’m giving you my personal guarantee. You will go to the Paris Olympics with me. You’ll have the best trainer and practice in a world-class facility. I’ll have a nutritionist and a masseuse on staff. Your every need will be met. Then, when we’ve won the gold medal, I’ll take you to the next phase of your career. You’ll be the most famous Olympian of all time. How could you even think about turning that down?”
He steps out into the light, and I really see him for the first time. He’s older but built like a bodybuilder. His tattooed arms bulge under the sleeves of his t-shirt and his thick, black hair falls just over his shoulders. He has deep, soulful eyes that tease me to come down and take a closer look. They seem to be telling me that everything he’s saying is true.
Somehow, I believe that.
“What are you doing up there, kid? You trying to take a medal in diving, too?”
“No, I was just… well…I’m afraid of heights.” I shrug.
“So, what? Did you decide to face your fears alone in a dark gymnasium? Why don’t you come on down?”
“Because I’m terrified.”
“Of the height? Do you need me to come there and get you?”
“No, it’s not just the height. It’s also you…a little.”
“Me? Baby girl, there’s no reason to be afraid of me. I’m your future, and I’m gonna make all of your dreams come true. I swear.”
I can feel his eyes on me as I take the long climb back down the ladder. He’s standing right beneath me now, probably getting a full view of my ass. As I reach the bottom, he rests his hands on my waist and leads me onto the concrete. Having my feet on a solid surface again feels wonderful, but goosebumps pepper my skin where he touches me, and something zaps through the air between us.
I spin around and look up at this mountain of a man. He smiles but hesitates to remove his hands from my waist.