Page 41 of His Reward (Omegas After Dark: Omega Auction #2)

Lucien

Sweat itched down my back as I worked my way through the footwork section toward the end of my long program.

I had to nail every single element of my routine perfectly if I wanted to stand a chance of stepping up onto that podium.

I was in fifth place after the short program, which was far beyond anyone’s expectations, but I had to pull out all the stops in the last minute.

I knew full well that I didn’t have the difficulty level that Oliver or Liu Hao had, but I could still win the crowd over with emotion when I skated.

I powered my way through my final triple Lutz, the most difficult jump I could manage these days, landing it solidly.

The crowd cheered as if I’d landed a quad, maybe because they saw the slight grit of pain on my face as my inflexible scar tissue pulled.

Three years after the fire, and my skin was still my biggest challenge.

I’d endured way more therapy, massage, and stretching than normal burn victims ever put themselves through, but it was worth it.

My extension had improved, although it still wasn’t what it used to be, and as I transitioned into the final, slow, heartfelt section of my program, I knew all that hard, painful work had paid off.

Of course, the scar tissue wasn’t the only thing marking my body now.

Under my sparkly costume, I had a fair amount of stretch marks.

I loved those, though, and as I glided through the last of my footwork and into a series of spins, I thought of the magical little girl that had caused those marks…

and the brother or sister she’d be having in about eight months.

I imagined them both with their Daddy, the love of my life and the man who had saved me, my alpha.

Filled with unimaginable love, I stretched my way out of the spin, raising my hands from my heart to the sky as if in a prayer of thanks. The music swirled to its final crescendo, and once it ended, there was a beat or two of silence.

Then the crowd in the stadium exploded into applause.

I burst into a smile, tears of gratitude and love streaming down my face.

This was the moment I’d worked so hard for over the last three years.

Everyone was on their feet as I blew kisses to them and waved.

I somehow just knew the cameras were doing close-ups of me, catching the tears and the scars and the pure joy of having made it so far in such a relatively short period of time.

The Chinese crowds were usually reserved at international competitions, like the Winter Games, but even they rose to their feet and applauded for me.

I couldn’t stay there forever. I bowed one last time, then skated to the edge of the ice, my heart soaring with pride and humility for what I’d accomplished.

“Excellent!” Etienne shouted over the noise as I stepped off the ice and into a quick hug. “You nailed that, absolutely nailed it.”

“It might have been the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” I said, laughing and crying at the same time.

I should have headed straight to the kiss-and-cry area to get my scores, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Boston and Minnie standing right at the edge of the arena’s friends and family seating.

The sight of my gorgeous, strong alpha and beautiful daughter was too much of a lure, and as soon as I put my skate guards on, I clomped my way over to them.

Boston met me with the biggest hug, and Minnie squealed and slipped out of his arms and into mine, with a shrill, “Papa!”

“Good job, baby,” Boston managed to tell me over the roar of the crowd. “I knew you could do it.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said, overly emotional as I hugged our daughter.

“Lucien, we need you in the kiss-and-cry,” one of the handlers whose job it was to keep everyone in line said, gesturing for me to go. I tried to hand Minnie back to Boston, but she wouldn’t go. “You can bring her with you,” the handler said.

Boston took that to mean him, too, which was probably a good idea, if Minnie got restless while we waited for my scores.

Etienne just laughed at the three of us as we all made our way across the crowded, buzzing area just off the rink.

Oliver and Liu Hao still had to skate, and they would definitely be fighting for gold and silver.

Oliver was just about to take the ice, his game face on, when he saw us and laughed.

“Eat ice chips, Sagwa!” I shouted at him as I carried Minnie over to the kiss-and-cry.

Oliver laughed, then stepped onto the ice. Our playful rivalry, which was underpinned by a friendship that had only grown deeper in the last three years, had fueled both of us in training.

“Come on, babe,” Boston laughed, grabbing my hand and leading me the rest of the way to the benches. “That handler looks like he’s going to break out a cattle prod to get you to sit down if you’re not careful.”

I laughed, but Boston was right. We made it to the kiss-and-cry only seconds before my scores were announced.

And what amazing scores they were. I gaped at the monitor in front of me at first, then up at the Jumbotron above the ice, then back at the monitor again. The technical score was way above what I’d thought it would be. And the artistic score was even better.

“Oh my God, Lucien,” Boston said, looping his arm around me even as Etienne grabbed my other arm. “You did it! Those scores are good enough for bronze!”

The crowd went wild when they realized what we had. Against all odds, after tragedy and trauma, after fighting my way back to the top through injuries and lawsuits my father had filed, and lost, I’d made it back onto the podium at the Winter Games.

I burst into a shout of triumph, and Minnie screamed along with me.

Coverage of the event switched to give Oliver the attention he deserved and Etienne moved back to the boards to do his other big coaching job for the night, but as Boston and I and Minnie left the kiss-and-cry to continue our celebration in the hall just outside the public area of the arena, the press followed us.

“Wow, Lucien Fielding, what a performance and what a score!” Leisel Hart, the woman who had replaced Jennifer Collier after the network had fired her for falsifying interviews said, catching me, Boston, and Minnie in front of the sponsor’s wall.

“You’ve won bronze at least. Is this a triumph or a disappointment after all the golds and silvers three years ago? ”

“Oh, it’s definitely a huge victory,” I said, still breathless and buzzing.

“You’ve worked so hard to overcome what could have been a career-ending injury, and a coaching shake-up,” Leisel went on. “How does someone fight so hard to make a comeback like this?”

“You’re seeing them right here,” I said, beaming at Boston and hugging Minnie tightly as she threw her arms around my neck, almost choking me. “I owe everything to my husband, my daughter, and my mom, who’s out there in the stands somewhere. Hi Mom!” I waved, and Minnie waved with me.

Leisel laughed. “The world has been watching your story closely for the last three years, Lucien. Now that you’ve done what a lot of people thought was impossible, what do you plan to do next? Are you aiming for gold in the Worlds next month?”

I laughed. “No, absolutely not. I think my competitive skating days are finally done. Boston and I would like to throw more energy into the charity we started last year to help burn victims recover and to teach fire safety.”

“That’s the Fire and Ice Foundation, right?” Leisel asked.

“It is,” Boston said. “You can find more information on our website.”

I laughed and elbowed him playfully in the gut. Boston looked indignant for half a second before hugging both me and Minnie from behind.

“We’ve got another project joining us in about eight months, too,” I said, overflowing with warmth and joy. “Minnie is getting a little brother or sister.”

Leisel looked surprised and delighted. “You skated through this entire competition and won bronze while pregnant?”

“You heard it here first,” I confirmed with a broad smile and a nod.

“That’s fantastic! Congratulations to all of you,” Leisel said.

She ended the interview just in time for me to hear another swell of applause from the ice. Oliver had finished his routine, and he’d done an amazing job. His scores had him in first place with only Liu Hao left to skate.

Ten minutes after that, we were all screaming and shouting and jumping up and down as Lui Hao’s scores came in, falling just short of Oliver’s.

“I won!” Oliver exclaimed as we all watched the official results come in on the jumbotron. “I won the gold medal! I have to call Giovanni!”

I laughed and gave my friend a hug. He and Giovanni had been married last year in a gorgeous destination wedding on a Caribbean beach at sunset. That had been an amazing night, but not as amazing as the one we were having now.

There were no words for the pride I felt as I mounted the podium half an hour later.

Some would argue it was just a bronze. My father would probably scoff, but I didn’t care what he thought.

He was there in the arena somewhere with the Bulgarian beta skater he’d begun coaching after Stephen unceremoniously dumped him when he found out how Father had treated me, but he’d wisely kept his distance from me throughout the games so far.

He was a part of my past, and I only wanted to look to the future.

I cried as the bronze medal was put around my neck, then beamed with pride when Oliver got his gold.

We both stood there brimming with emotion as our national anthem played.

Even Liu Hao hugged us with genuine congratulations and smiled with us when the three of us posed for pictures.

I kept Boston, Minnie, and my mom in sight through the whole ceremony and afterwards, and once we were free to go, I ran right into their arms.

“I owe all of you for this victory,” I said as we smushed together in a group hug. “You’re the best.”

“I love you, baby,” Boston said, kissing me soundly. That was the best reward anyone could have given me.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Lucien and Boston’s story! I’ve been a big fan of figure skating since the 1984 Olympics, and it’s about time I wrote a skater character! And it’s always fun to write the super steamy Dark Fantasies Club bits.