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Chapter Thirty-One

AURORA

Rise

Episode 579

Phoenix, Arizona

I t’s been a month since I fucked Theo on his birthday. He wants to prove that he’s going to change, and I feel like there’s progress being made, but I haven’t given into him, despite how badly I want to, because I’m still waiting for him to fall back into his usual habits. There have been no reports of Theo hitting the clubs after shows. He hasn’t been seen with any gorgeous women.

It all feels far too good to be true. It feels like at any moment, it’s going to come tumbling down.

His feud with Austin was quickly squashed. The match was pretty damn embarrassing, at least for Austin. Theo wiped the floor with him in record time, and he hasn’t gotten a TV opportunity yet.

I can’t say for sure that it had anything to do with the conversation that Theo had with Nathan after that promo in New Orleans, but my gut tells me it does. It’s not unheard of for guys at the top to get the opportunity to call shots.

I haven’t asked because it feels like one of those things I’m better off not knowing.

Austin has continued to hover around backstage. He’s asking me out for a drink every damn week, and every week I tell him no. I thought Theo was persistent. I’m beginning to wonder if Austin has a humiliation kink.

Professionally, I’m building a feud with Jules for the next pay-per-view. The story writes itself. I’m the best friend that turned on her, betrayed her and her mentor. I have no doubt that she’ll be the one to come out on top in the feud, especially since I don’t have a contract yet.

But a pay-per-view match is huge , especially for a girl like me. It means that Nathan trusts me on a big stage, to have a match against the fastest rising star in the women’s division.

Shayna takes a step back, running her fingers through my hair to make sure the curls look TV ready. I have a pre-tape promo with Theo today. Something that has a little bit more production behind it than going out into the ring and cutting a promo.

Theo’s move on to a feud with Micah Duvall. Micah is someone that the fans are behind. He’s the guy that people want to see as the GRW World Champion and it’s easy to understand why. He can wrestle, he can talk, and the man is gorgeous .

“There, good?” Shayna asks, popping her strongly scented mint gum when she goes back to her table, placing her tools back in order.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I smile. My hair is in these beautiful soft curls. My makeup is perfect because Shayna is a fucking artist. “Amazing. You’re the best.”

I give her a little wave as I stand up, my heels clicking down the peeling linoleum hallway, scanning over the signs posted to the doors to try and find the room we’re doing our pretape in .

Once I find it, I push the door open. The production crew’s inside and so is Theo. I drink him in for a moment. He doesn’t look much different than usual, but he’s still delicious. A crimson-colored button-up, slacks that hug his muscular thighs and nice ass. Hair styled to perfection, those thick brown curls that I just want to run my fingers through again looking messy, but not unkempt.

He is my temptation and every day he makes standing my ground even more difficult.

He doesn’t hide the way his eyes rake over me. “You look like a goddess, as per usual, Roo,” he says.

The dim lighting in the room thankfully hides the heat that creeps into my cheeks. Theo sits in a velvet-backed chair, looking like royalty. The Dark Prince of GRW. The devil that I can’t stop making deals with.

He pats the arm of the chair and as if he has me trained, I walk over and perch myself on the arm, tugging down the bottom of my dress when it creeps too high on my thighs.

With the money I’m making from my GRW deal and the money I’m saving with Theo taking care of Dad’s medical bills at the moment, I was able to buy a dress and not have to borrow one from Jules or scrounge around at the thrift store. It’s a simple red velvet mini dress with thin straps. It hugs onto my body like it was made for me, highlighting my curves. I look good; I know I look good.

When I perch next to him, Theo slips an arm around my hips. His hand comes to stop on my ass and he squeezes it. “This good, baby doll? Feels natural, y’know.”

I don’t snap at him like I would’ve before. It makes sense for him to be handsy with me, considering our on-screen relationship, and it’s a natural place for his hand to rest with the height of the arm of the chair and out positioning.

And I like how it makes me feel. It soothes that part of me that’s desperately craving more of his touch.

He moves his hand only to drape his title over his opposite shoulder, then his hand is back on my ass. Once the producer gives the signal that the cameras are rolling, we melt into our roles.

Which are just becoming an extension of ourselves. Where does our on-screen relationship start and end?

“Micah,” Theo starts, drawing out the ‘a’ sound. “Hey. What’s up? You want me, right? Not a surprise. A lot of people do. No, no. We’re not going to do that. We’re cutting to the chase. You want what I have.” He nods his chin toward his championship.

“You think you deserve this, yeah? Think because you work really hard and people like you that you should represent this company. That’s not how it works. This isn’t a prize for being a good boy, which between you and me, we both know you’re not. This is for being the best, and frankly, Micah, you’re not up to my speed. This is how things are going to go. At Uprising , you’re going to get your title match. You’re going to lose. You’re going to be sad and whine and complain and probably leave the company like the dirt sheets have said you’re going to do for months now. I’m still going to be the GRW World Champion. I got the gold, I got the girl.” His hand pats my ass, pulling me into him a little bit tighter.

“See ya then, bud.”

“Cut!” The producer calls out and the blinking red light of the camera stops. He looks at Theo with a small nod of his head. “I think we’ve got it. Good job.”

“Great. We’ll head out in just a second.” Theo dismisses the crew, but doesn’t let go of me. His hand tightens on my ass a little bit, fingers pressing into the flesh.

Raising an eyebrow, I look down at him. It would be a damn lie if I said this wasn’t making me feel something. The same things that I’ve been in denial of feeling for Theo for weeks now. The want. The desire. I’m just not ready to break for him yet.

I’m scared. Terrified. I don’t want to put myself out there and get hurt. Especially not when that seems like the most likely outcome .

Clearing my throat, I shift on the arm of the chair. The wood is becoming uncomfortable, digging into my thighs. “You can let go now,” I say, keeping my voice low so the crew that’s still packing up their things won’t overhear.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Theo responds. There’s a hint of frustration in his voice as his hand drags slowly over my skin, always coming back to my ass.

His touch feels good, I can feel his hand pushing up the edge of my dress, calloused fingers dragging over my ass cheek. Swallowing that down, I set my gaze on him, hoping he sees how damn annoyed I am with him. “Wasn’t a request, Theodore,” I hiss, resorting to his full name.

“I didn’t take it as one, Aurora.”

He’s being the real Theo today, which essentially means he’s back to being a world-class asshole. Not that he’s ever really stopped.

He pulls me closer, and I’m not even sure the rest of the room has cleared out yet. He’s the only person I see.

Does he not understand how badly I want to give in to him? He brings his other hand up, running the back of his knuckles along my jaw, our gaze locked.

But I can’t.

He’s going to break me if I let him in, and a part of me wants to be broken by him.

Love is not something that I’ve ever allowed myself to take a chance on. It’s come second to my career—the career that I’m not even sure that I have because this isn’t an official contract. I’m just here until they no longer have a use for me. That use depends on Theo.

I believe in love. I’m not that cynical. I’m not sure if love is a fairytale or a happy-ever-after. My ex was an asshole who didn’t understand how important wrestling was to me. Why I picked doing indie shows in breweries and fairgrounds over date nights with him. I wasn’t the best partner either.

Since I haven’t pushed him away yet, Theo runs his thumb over my bottom lip before gently pushing it inside of my mouth.

For a moment, I let myself melt into the moment. I suck on the tip of his thumb and watch as his eyes get that hazy look to them.

When he pulls his thumb out of my mouth, he brings it to his own mouth and licks the tip, maintaining eye contact.

My core tightens.

Sense comes washing over me again. Stubbornness or resolve, although I’m not sure there’s too much of a difference now.

“Stop,” I hiss, breaking eye contact. The blankness of the tile wall across from me is so much easier to look at than looking into his eyes. “Stop with all of this, Theo.”

His gaze narrows, the formerly dazed look fading away. “Why, Aurora? Because you’re scared? Because now you can’t stop thinking about me and that scares you?”

He brings up the fear again—the fear that I feel deep in the heart of me that is holding me back from everything. The fear is holding me back. It’s not the same nervousness I feel before I leap from the top turnbuckle and pray gravity doesn’t hate me for a few seconds. It’s not the anxiety that hits before I step out in front of a crowd that thinks I’m a backstabbing traitor. It’s not even the same fear that a thunderstorm evokes in me.

It’s this deep fear that I can’t move past. It freezes me in place. It only washes to the surface when Theo is involved.

I jerk myself from his grip, getting to my feet. He’s right and it’s so goddamn frustrating. He sees through me like glass. That’s exactly how I feel around him—like I’m made of glass. See-through. Breakable. “Because we both know how this ends. I’m not doing that to myself.”

Theo stands too, but he doesn’t approach me. He stays standing in front of the chair, gaze fixed on me. “This song and dance again, Roo? Are you going to enlighten me about how much of a bastard I am? How I’m going to break your little heart and steal the sparkle from your eyes?” His tone is almost mocking, and that sets a white-hot anger in me. “I don’t know what else you expect from me. I’m not going to become some fucking prince charming overnight. That’s not who I am.”

“I don’t…” I don’t even know how to finish that sentence. I don’t know who Theo is. Every time I think I have him figured out, another layer is pulled back or a wall is reconstructed. Is he a monster? Is he some tortured hero who puts up a wall to protect himself?

He points a finger at me. “Don’t. Don’t act like you don’t know who I am, Aurora. I have showed you time and time again.”

“You’ve been acting for the past month!” I finally shout back.

He takes a step toward me, causing me to back up into the wall. My heart hammers in my chest, and it’s not fear that I feel anymore. It’s arousal, memories of the last time Theo had me up against a wall play in repeat in my mind.

“Have I? Right, because I can’t be nice. I’ve only been nice because I want to get in your pants, yeah? I could have been banging other girls every goddamn night. And we’ve already fucked, in case you forgot. If this was just sex for me, I could’ve just moved on. But I can’t.” His hand slams into the wall above my head, making me jump slightly.

I’m enclosed, his body so close to me that I can feel his body heat.

“I can’t get you out of my fucking head. This has never been ‘just sex’ for me, even when I thought it was. I want to take you places. I want to be close to you. I got you a fucking job. I mean, who does that?”

I can’t wrap my mind around anything that Theo just said, because my brain grabs onto one point and holds on to it. “You got me a job?” I whisper the words back to him .

It feels like my entire world is spiraling in that moment. I thought Nathan called me because he thought I was talented. But this makes more sense, doesn’t it? Nathan calling me up after my run-in with Theo wasn’t just fate being weird.

Theo’s hands are all over my life, sculpting it into what he sees fit. Being helpful when I never asked for his help. Twisting the pieces so he can easily slot himself in.

I feel angry and betrayed. And now I’m doubting myself. Do I even deserve to be here? There must be hundreds of girls who are working their asses off for this opportunity and I only have it because of Theo. Not because of all the work I’ve put in over the years or all the sacrifices I’ve made.

He takes a step back, his face softening. “Aurora.”

But there’s nothing I can say to him. I don’t want to fight with him. I don’t want to look at him.

Luck was on my side for once because this stupid pre-tape is the only thing we have to do for Rise tonight. I don’t need to be around him.

I turn and leave the room, leaving Theo to do whatever he does when he’s alone. Stroke his own ego. Scroll through dating apps. Whatever.

I storm toward the locker room, wanting to get out of this stupid dress and into something comfortable. Maybe I’ll be able to dip out early. Maybe Jules won’t be busy and we can hang out.

As I turn the corner, I almost run into Austin’s chest. I stop on a dime, but he reaches out to grab my arm, steadying me when I don’t need steadying.

“Whoa there, Rory. You good?”

“Yeah,” I say, definitely not in the mood for conversation right now.

He doesn’t get the hint. “I know I ask every week, but do you want to grab a drink tonight?” he asks. My usual denial is on the tip of my tongue when he adds, “It’s not just us. Micah’s coming out too. So is Jammy.”

I blink slowly. I know Micah. “Who the fuck is Jammy?”

“Jameson.”

Oh. Micah’s right-hand man. Jammy is such a weird nickname. Another denial is right on the tip of my tongue, but a drink sounds good tonight. With everything that’s swirling around in my head, I like the idea of getting a little trashed and not thinking for a few hours.

Especially not about Theo.

So, I shrug my shoulder and give in. “Yeah, sure. I’m in.”

“Great.” Austin grins back at me.