ROMANCE: SPORTS ROMANCE: Bad Boys of Sports: A Complete Collection (Alpha Male, Football, Hockey Secret Baby Romance) (Contemporary Sports Romance) (38 page)

CHAPTER 4

For the next month, Claudia spent her time either training indoors to keep up her athleticism, or she was with Asher, or both. He loved coming to her training sessions and watching her legs and arms move with so much strength and agility. With his layers and wheelchair, he’d sit right by her side as Claudia displayed her full abilities.

    At first, Yosef had been sure that Asher was only days away from death, but ever since Claudia had moved in with him, he had steadily gotten better. He was no longer needing his wheelchair as much, and he could once again go out on his own on small walks to the bodega around the corner or even the coffee shop a block away. Not that Claudia ever let him go alone of course.

    As they were walking to the coffee shop one day, there was a mother with two young children laughing up ahead.  The younger child, a toddler who could barely walk, was copying everything her older brother was doing, making the mother and son laugh.  Asher watched as Claudia giggled along with them, and his eyes twinkled.

    “I understand that you don’t want to have children right now,” he said, “but just so you know, I think you’d be an amazing mother.”

    Claudia caught herself from rolling her eyes.  “Not this again Asher.” 

    “I know you don’t want to hear it.”

    “I’m not the only pro figure skater that puts off parenthood you know.  In fact, it’s pretty industry standard, and it’s a very competitive world.”

    “Yes, I know your career is important to you,” Asher smiled at her.  The look of sadness returned in his eyes, but he continued.  “That’s one of the things I admire most about you, Claudia.  You’re driven, and your body is so beautiful and strong when you fly around on the ice.  It’s incredibly sexy.”  For an instant, their eyes met, and heat rushed through Claudia’s body.

“To be honest,” Asher continued and the moment passed just as quickly as it came, “I’m a little envious of how free you look out there.  I used to be that free once, but I fear it’s something I won’t experience again.”

“You’re every bit as free as you always were, Asher,” Claudia assured him.  “Freedom is just a frame of mind.”

    Even though they had still yet to kiss since their first date, Asher could tell by her gentle nature that she could love a man in every way that a man needed to be loved.  Where Asher was hard, she was soft.  Where he was hot, she was cool, and where he weak, she was strong.  Though they didn’t talk about it, at least not yet, he was sure that he could get her to change her mind about having a family.

    Still, there were quite a few days when Asher’s mood was much darker.  One evening he was exceptionally reticent, and his eyes had taken on a stormy tone.  Claudia attempted, as she always did, to lighten things up by suggesting that they watch a movie.  She flipped through the channels and landed on
The Hobbit
, the scene where Smaug the dragon taunted Bilbo Baggins. 

    “I hate this film,” Asher grumbled moodily.

    “Oh come on, how can you hate it?  It’s so action-packed and exciting.”

    “I can’t stand how they portrayed the dragon, vilifying him.  It’s just so
human
to view a dragon as inherently evil.  If this scene was done from the dragon’s point of view, now that’s something I’d like to see.”

    “Now you’re being silly, or delirious.  Maybe it’s time to call it a night get some rest.”

    “Admit it, you think dragons are evil too, don’t you?  You wouldn’t even know a dragon walking down the street if you saw one because you were expecting a beast instead of someone much more civilized.  Well, I’ll tell you dragons are much more refined and enlightened than any human I know.”

    “You’re definitely delirious, Asher.  Here, let’s get you to bed.”  She stood up to help him.

    “NO,” Asher shouted, and knocked the bowl of popcorn against the wall, creating a shower of popcorn around them.

    Claudia looked at him angrily.  “Look at this mess!”  She bent down to clean it up. 

    “Don’t!” he shouted again.  “It’s not your responsibility to clean up after me.”  He got down on his knees to clean it himself but began a coughing fit.

    “Asher!”  Claudia rushed to him and helped him back to his wheelchair. 

    “Listen to me, Asher,” Claudia told him sternly.  “I know you’re having one of those days, but this just won’t do.  I’m going to call Dr. Yosef–“

    “No, I’m fine.  You’re right; I just need to rest.  Can you please help me to my bedroom?”

    After doing as he asked, Claudia poured herself some wine and sat on the balcony looking out into the city lights.  She hated nights like these, but she understood that Asher had to be going through a lot of inner turmoil. 
He’s dying
, she reminded herself.  She tried her best not to think about it, because when she did, the tears would start rolling down her cheeks, as they did now.  The more she got to know Asher, the harder it became to endure his pain – and hers.  She tried to keep as silent as she could while she wept alone in the cool night’s air.

~

“I just miss feeling needed,” Asher tried to explain the next evening with an apologetic half-smile. It was after dark, and they had decided to eat outside on the patio. Claudia, who couldn’t cook very well, had made them some surprisingly good spaghetti and meatballs.

Claudia said nothing and took a sip of her wine. 

Asher slurped up a sauce-covered noodle as he shook his head.

“I’m very sorry about last night,” he said.  “I should’ve never yelled at you like that.  You… you’re the sweetest, most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and I don’t deserve to have you here.”

“That’s nonsense, Asher.”  Claudia put her hand over his.  “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Asher closed his eyes and swallowed hard.  When he opened them again, they were shiny, and he gazed at her softly. 

Though he only looked to be in his early thirties, in reality, he was almost three hundred years old. When he actually was thirty, he was part of the royal guard, helping specifically to protect the pregnant dragons that would bring them their next generation of shifters. He loved women, respected them. He had never meant to make them feel or think that he wanted them as prisoners.

Suddenly moody again, Asher pushed himself away from the table and walked back into the house.

“Are you all right?” Claudia asked, quickly following him.

Asher nodded his head and waved her away.

“I’m fine,” he assured her. “I was just thinking about the women in my family. How amazing they were. I miss them.”

“Oh! Well, do you want me to call them? I’m sure if they knew you were sick they would come right away to see you!”

He shook his head, and tiredly removed his shirt. He wanted to get into his shower and relax. Turning towards Claudia, he couldn’t help but notice how her eyes were glued to his muscular torso, and he smiled widely as she realized she was being watched. A bright red blush filled her cheeks, and she quickly looked away.

“I mean, if you would just give me their numbers, I could explain everything,” Claudia pushed.

“It’s fine, Claudia. And
I’m
fine. Just a moment of weakness is all. I really don’t want to bother them, so please, it would mean a lot to me for you to respect that.”

Asher leaned heavily against the white marble shower wall. The water pressure was strong and hot. Thanks to Claudia, it also smelled like fresh eucalyptus every time he took a shower because of the leaves she hung on the showerhead.

He wished more than anything that it would be as simple as picking up the phone to call his father, mother, or younger sister. But it just wasn’t possible. After all, phones couldn’t reach the dead.

CHAPTER 5

After Asher had disappeared into the shower, Claudia dumped the dishes into the dishwasher and raced into his bedroom. He kept a ring of keys next to his bedside table, and she needed to figure out which one to use so that she could get into his study. She knew all of his papers and books were in there, and she bet that it was where he kept all of his contact information too. If there were ever a time for her to try and find out more about Asher’s mysterious past, it would be now. After all, who would know Asher better than the people who raised him?

Not sure which key to use, she picked up the entire ring and ran to the study, trying each one until she found the key that fit perfectly. As soon as the door was unlocked, she stuck a piece of tape over the lock and quietly pushed the door closed so that it appeared to be undisturbed. Before Asher was out of the shower, she had the keys back in his bedside table and was again in the kitchen finishing the dishes.

A few minutes later he came back out to the kitchen to say goodnight.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so ungentlemanly lately. It’s just, with all of this about my heart failure, it makes one think of all the things one must leave behind. The fact that I don’t have a family to leave it all to, well, it’s very difficult to swallow.” 

Asher sighed, suddenly looking extremely worn out. He swayed a little where he stood, and it pulled tightly at Claudia’s heartstrings. She wanted to believe he’d been doing so much better lately, but she wasn’t so sure about that tonight. Claudia gave him a soft smile and told him that it was fine. Shuffling over to her, Asher pulled her into his arms for a hug and kissed her forehead.

“I’m going to go to bed,” he told her, breaking away.

“But it’s barely eight o’clock,” she replied, pointing to the clock on the wall. Asher answered with a shrug of his shoulders and began walking back to his bedroom. After he left, Claudia spent the next several moments quietly sitting at the kitchen’s bar and studied her hands.

She loved her career, loved to skate. It was her everything and had been so as far back as she could remember. At the same time, she couldn’t deny that she was falling deeply in love with Asher.  True, he had his dark moments, but who wouldn’t in his condition?  She knew he was a good man; he was extremely solid and helpful. He supported her skating fully, and not once did he ask her to give it up for a baby.

She thought about their first date and how it had lost its steam with all the family talk. It had been such an amazing date before that, and then even after all the awkwardness they still shared a mind-numbing, absolutely perfect, knee-shaking kiss. One that she fantasized about resuming often but wasn’t quite sure how to get there again.

Sparing a glance up the clock again, Claudia gasped when she saw that a full hour had passed since Asher had left for bed. Feeling the urge to check on him, she slid out of her bar stool and tiptoed back to his room. He had left his door open, but just a crack. Softly she opened it a tad further and peaked in. Though his television was on with the sound on low, he appeared to be sound asleep. Seeing as this was probably going to be the best chance she had at finding out more about his family, she quietly shut his door and tiptoed across the hall to his office.

Thanks to the tape that she had used earlier, the office door swung open easily, and she began to look around. At first, she had no idea where to start. The office was nearly as huge as Asher’s master bedroom, in which she could easily fit her entire apartment. The walls were lined with large, intimidating dark cherry bookshelves, and there were at least five filing cabinets that she could count. The desk, an antique monstrosity sat in the middle of the room, with two gorgeous, red and gold Tiffany lamps sitting proudly on its surface.

Deciding to start at the desk, she turned on the lights and began to get to work. To her surprise, all of the drawers were unlocked, and one by one she searched through them, looking for anything she could find on Asher’s family or even his last name. The more she dug, the more she realized that the man she was falling for was shrouded in mystery.

~

Five filing cabinets, four desk drawers, three totes, two hours, and one extremely timeworn book later, Claudia finally found something. The book, barely written in English, was ancient. Despite its apparent age, it was in great shape, thanks to those who took such good care of it. To her surprise, it was handwritten, and held not just words, but intricate drawings of dragons and swords. Curious, she began to read through it.

From what she could gather, the book was a family tree for the prestigious line named
Cindiere
. Remembering some of her French from college, she roughly translated it to the phrase
Fire People
. Consumed with the book, Claudia began to study its contents. It had incredibly detailed accounts of people starting way back in the twelfth century who, according to the book, were not human at all, but actually shape shifters.

Judging by the way that the handwriting changed per generation, she gathered this book was recorded by each new person in the family. Three-quarters through the massive book the pages ran blank, and Claudia decided to flip to the very last page to see who the last person was. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the name
Asherlé
scrawled elegantly at the top of the page with
1732, France
written next to it. Below it was the word
Son
. There were also a few lines about his accomplishments, and then a beautiful drawing of a fierce-looking red dragon, intricately colored with metallic fiber.

Flipping backward a few more pages, she also found a female shifter named Angelique that had been born a few years after Asher with the word
Daughter
scrawled out beneath her name. Unfortunately, her date of birth and her date of death were listed, barely thirty years apart. Her dragon was bright red, just like Asher’s, only smaller and somehow more feminine. Going back one more page, she saw the names
Jeanette
and
Henrique
side by side. Looking at the dates, Claudia predicted that they were Asher’s parents.

Claudia’s mind raced as she read through the book, trying to find proof that there was any remaining family. Unfortunately, every other name listed in the book had both a birth and a death date. Asher was, by all accounts, the last of his line.

“No wonder he wants to have a baby,” she whispered.

“What are you doing?” The sharp, angry sound of Asher’s voice made Claudia jump and gasp. Asher stood in the doorway, his eyes fiery.

“How did you get in here?” He asked. “This room is kept locked at all times.”

“I…I…”

“Are you going through my things?” His voice was quiet and deadly.  Coming closer, Asher spotted his family history sitting wide open on the desk, and white-hot rage-filled hand slammed it shut. He had trusted Claudia, brought her into his home, and she dared betray his trust like this?

“I’m sorry!” Claudia exclaimed, jumping out of the chair. “I just wanted to know more about you! I thought that if I could find your family and bring them to you, it might improve your health a little bit.”

“My family is
dead
.” Asher yelled, grabbing her wrist. He began pulling her out of the office and towards the balcony.

“Asher, please! No!” Claudia shouted as he edged her closer to the balcony’s edge.  She looked down below in terror. “Please don’t do this Asher!”

“You wanted to see who I really am?  Well, this is the real me.”

With surprising strength, Asher picked up Claudia’s body and flung her far over the edge. Claudia screamed as she hurled through the sky, but the hard concrete never came. Instead, a giant red dragon dove off the roof and caught her on its scaly back well before she ever came close to the ground.

Scrambling for a better hold, she wrapped her arms around one of the dragon’s spikes and clung to it for dear life. She had no idea where it was going, but she prayed that she would still be alive by the time they got there.