4. Taine

‘Fuck, I don't know about this,' Taine grumbled to himself as he paced up and down the small room at Danilo's so-called Academy. ‘But a debt is a debt…'

After Danilo's help in making any legal issues over what happened back at Sandy Cove go away, Taine knew that he owed his long-time friend in a big way. And if that meant offering some close combat training to some new recruits on the Ice Bears roster, then how bad could it actually be?

But Taine wasn't exactly known for facing up to his responsibilities. Taine knew that people saw him as someone who would cut and run when things got tough. It wasn't that Taine wanted to be like that, it had just seemed like the best way to be in the years since his fighting career came to the most abrupt of stops.

‘Wise up. Do the training. No problems. Then bounce,' Taine muttered, walking toward the slightly ajar door and peering out toward Danilo and three others…

Cute. Cute. And… wow.

He looks older. Bigger.

He can't be one of the academy boys. Can he?

As Taine watched Danilo talk, Taine couldn't help but feel totally bowled over by the tall, broad new player. Whether it was the cropped brown hair and high cheekbones or the sheer size of his shoulders, there was something about him that was piquing Taine's interest in a way that was far more intense than even the hottest club boy that Taine had become accustomed to partying with in recent years.

As hot as the stranger was, Taine didn't give him too much thought though. There was no way in Taine's mind that someone that big and burly was ever going to be the kind of boy that would be into the whole Daddy and Little thing.

Taine continued to peer through the crack in the door but steeled himself, ready to make an entrance. But in doing so, he cast his eyes over Donovan once more.

Shame. Real shame.

Whatever. I ain't here for that.

I'm here to pay a debt.

Taine took a step back from the door and waited for Danilo to call him.

Despite a hugely promising run in his fighting career, Taine hadn't managed his money well and when he was banned from the sport, he was left more or less penniless. The fact that Danilo had offered to pay him handsomely for giving the new recruits some one on one combat training was a real bonus.

Taine was growing weary of living from moment to moment. The kind of work that cropped up as he made his way from town to town wasn't exactly the kind of thing that he wanted to be doing – and the threat of arrest or jail was never far away either.

Of course, Taine knew that Danilo was involved in the kind of high stakes crime that came with the territory of being part of the Doni family. But Taine trusted Danilo. Yes, there could be risks involved in working for him, but Danilo was no fool. Taine figured he was far less likely to get busted working for Danilo than he was in doing some off the cuff work for a smalltown gangster or local hoodlum.

As much as Taine enjoyed partying, he knew that he wanted more.

Taine wanted someone to come along on the ride with him.

But to give a special boy the right kind of life, Taine knew that he needed to get himself back on steady ground. And if that meant working for Danilo and staying out of trouble himself, then Taine was coming around to the idea with each passing second.

Taine felt certain that he would never truly get over the pain of his career being taken away from him. But if there was a chance that Danilo's academy could help put him on the right path, then he was determined to take it.

All that was left now was for Taine to meet his very first student…

‘Follow me, kid,' Taine said as he walked with Donovan two steps behind him.

‘Enough of the kid,' Donovan replied, catching up to Taine and walking alongside him as the pair of them walked toward the elevator over on the other side of the lobby. ‘So… what's this all about?'

Taine chuckled and stepped through the open elevator doors. It was clear that Danilo hadn't exactly been forthcoming with details of his academy and what it had been set up to accomplish. And Taine could tell from Donovan's frosty reaction to the situation that this wasn't going to be plain sailing.

‘Okay, for starters,' Taine said, hitting the button to take them down to the training space on the first basement level. ‘What you need to know here is that I'm running this training. I don't know anything about who you are on the ice. I'm not a hockey fan. Sorry if that hurts your ego. I'll be training you how to fight. And in the gym, I'm the master and you're the pupil. Okay?'

Taine could see that Donovan was getting riled up.

This was interesting. Very interesting in fact.

One aspect of learning how to fight was controlling your emotions. A fighter who was too quick to throw a punch was the fighter likely to get caught with a killer counterpunch. And in fighting, timing was everything.

‘You do what I say, when I say it,' Taine continued, keen to see how far he could push his younger pupil. ‘I say jump, you say how high?'

Taine could see Donovan's jaw clenching and unclenching. Clearly, Donovan was not used to being put under this kind of provocation, at least not off the ice. But as the elevator slowly moved down toward the basement, Taine was determined to push even harder for a real response.

‘In the gym, you'll be mine for the duration of our time together,' Taine said, readying himself for a response. ‘You'll be… my boy.'

With that, Donovan turned to face Taine and in a flash of anger attempted to shove Taine against the elevator wall. But Taine was more than ready for Donovan's outburst and swiftly spun him, tucked his arm behind his back, and pressed Donovan face-first against the elevator's sleek metal wall.

‘Fuck, get off me,' Donovan said, fury in his voice as he struggled helplessly against Taine's expert jiujitsu grip.

‘Lesson number one,' Taine said, maintaining a composed but firm hold on Donovan. ‘You lose your cool in a fight, and it's game over.'

Taine took a moment before releasing Donovan.

It was clear from the look of frustration on Donovan's face that he knew he'd walked into the most basic of traps. Taine didn't mind this though as it meant that Donovan did have at least some self-awareness and the capacity to learn.

For a split second though, it was Taine who found himself losing control of his emotions. The feeling of holding Donovan so firmly in place and being in total control of his big, strong body was setting off all kinds of Daddy instincts inside him.

In that moment, Taine's mind was filled with thoughts of ripping off Donovan's fitted white t-shirt and getting to grips with his strong back and bulging arms. And not to mention the not so small factor of Donovan's round, perfectly powerful butt cheeks that were tantalizingly close to Taine's crotch.

Taine let go of Donovan and took a step back.

‘You're strong. You've got the physical attributes,' Taine said. ‘But in my old life I came up against bigger men. Always handled them.'

‘I know,' Donovan replied. ‘I know exactly who you are.'

‘Okay,' Taine replied, unsure whether Donovan was taking a shot at him for the more controversial side of his former career. ‘Well, whatever you think you know, you might want to leave at the door. I might be older now, but I've still forgotten more about fighting than you'll ever know. And I can still throw these fists and feet.'

For a moment, the tension between the two of them seemed like it was going to bubble over again. Neither man wanted to take a backward step. Taine might just have comfortably dominated Donovan, but it was clear that Donovan hadn't been overly scared by what went down.

Then, with perfect timing, the elevator came to a standstill and the doors opened.

‘Come on, it's time to warm up,' Taine said, stepping out into the fighting gym. ‘Danilo's paying me to do a good job, and that's what I intend to do.'

‘Got it,' Donovan replied, evidently not wanting to concede any ground while at the same time acknowledging the fact that he too was effectively being paid by Danilo, albeit through the guise of a hefty contract with the Ice Bears. ‘Let's get to work.'

Taine nodded and directed Donovan over toward the large training mat over on the other side of the gym. Danilo and the Ice Bears had spent a lot of money on making the academy building's fight training facilities up to professional standards. Certainly it was levels above the kind of gym that Taine had come up in as a young fighter back in the day. And this was all without mentioning the various other training rooms and facilities that had been installed in the deceptively cavernous building.

Taine knew that Danilo and the Doni family didn't take any shortcuts when it came to business. And Taine took it upon himself to make sure that they couldn't accuse him of taking shortcuts in his new role either. It might have come about as a result of Danilo doing him a favor, but Taine was determined to make sure that he treated his new assignment every bit as seriously as he took his own training when he was the hot prospect rising through the ranks.

It was time to put Donovan through his paces and see whether he had a true fighter's spirit underneath his impressive body…