Morning Training

As soon as her alarm went off, Celeste sleepily got up and got changed into simple workout shorts and a top. She sleepily got on the elevator and quickly arrived on the 48th floor.

Ding!

Once the elevator door opened she looked around in surprise. She was in a state-of-the-art gym, fancier than any equinox or sports gym that she had been through. There were rows of top-of-the-line exercise machines from treadmills, to bikes, to ellipticals, to multiple lifting rigs, rowing machines, and more. One side of the room looked to be made for different types of sparring. There was a boxing ring, sandbags, and floor mats as well.

In the center of the room, Richard was standing there along with adjutant Mary Adler and Lieutenant Marshall. they were all in simple black workout clothes, but her eyes kept being drawn to Richard. He wore black athletic pants, a long-sleeved black shirt, and black sneakers. The simple clothing highlighted his figure, showing off his broad shoulders and toned arms.

Seeing them staring at her, Celeste cheerfully waved before yelling out, "Good morning babe!"

"You made it." Richard walked over and Celeste dove into his arms for a hug before pulling back.

"Of course, it's a date." Celeste smiled, "I'm not here to interrupt so I'll let you do your thing while I do mine."

"Okay. Adjutant Adler can show you where everything is." Richard gestured for the adjutant, and she unwillingly walked over.

"Okay!"

Once Richard walked away, Mary Adler turned to look at Celeste with a slightly disgusted look on her face. Celeste was dressed in purple shorts and cropped top set while her long white hair was loosely tied up. Even though it was early, her face looked bright and beautiful as her pink lips curved up into a smile.

Irritated at seeing this woman all over the commander, Mary Adler didn't have a good tone, "What are you doing here? We're here to work out not participate in a fashion show."

"Oh. Thank you for thinking I'm pretty" Celeste blushed, placing her hands on her cheeks.

"That's not what I meant-"

"Okay okay. All jokes aside I know how to use the machines so go work out by yourself. I don't need your help." Celeste interrupted and waved her away.

"Have fun with your yoga." Mary Adler snarkily replied before turning away.

"Oh, I will. I've got to keep limber for when my babe stretches me out later." She joked.

"You-"

Laughing to herself, Celeste simply ignored the woman and began her workout. She thoroughly stretched before running a mile on the treadmill. Once finished, she lifted weights for the next hour lost in her own world. When she finally came to, she realized that Richard and his two adjutants were doing some hand-to-hand sparring. She walked over in time to see Richard toss Lieutenant Marshall to the ground for the win and couldn't help but clap.

"Good job babe." Celeste congratulated him when he walked over while drinking water.

"Finished?"

"Yep. I was wondering if I could spar too?" Seeing that he was considering it, she continued, "It would be good practice and help me protect myself in the long run."

"You can't spar with me. It wouldn't even be a challenge. I doubt if you could even beat adjutant Adler much less me." Richard shook his head before replying. Plus he didn't want to have to hurt her.

Seeing as he disparaged her skill, Celeste felt her fighting spirit rise up. she glared at him in a challenging manner and asked, "If I can beat her would you spar with me?"

"Sure. If you can." Richard replied. He pointedly looked at the sparring mat where adjutant Adler had hooked Lieutenant Miller with her foot and brought him to the ground, pinning him and winning the round.

"Good! Adjutant Adler, may I have the next match?"

Mary Adler glanced at Celeste with her eyebrows raised and said mockingly, "Do you even know how to fight? This isn't a game."

"Who knows?" Celeste murmured before taking off her shoes and socks and stepping onto the mat.

"Rules?" She asked.

"Tap out or clear submission. All hits are good. Don't aim for the face, no head blows, and no elbows." Mary Adler responded as she examined the woman. Although she felt irritated at the challenge, she felt confident that she could beat her. Then she could show the commander that she was superior to this woman.

"Okay. Babe ref the fight please." Celeste commanded Richard before getting into her fighting stance. Her eyes coldly examined Mary Adler, noting that she favored her right side. Although the woman was more muscular than her, she had better reach as she was taller. She lightly circled the woman as she waited for Richard to start the fight.

"Both parties ready?"

"Ready sir!"

"Ready!"

"Begin."

POV Richard Carrington

Richard watched the two women circle each other as they began to spar. Adjutant Adler was fierce and precise as usual, her attacks coming in quickly and accurately. Celeste on the other hand had a lazy grace he hadn't seen since she had beaten those men at the bar. Her eyes focused solely on Adjutant Adler as she nimbly blocked and dodged the flurry of hits racing her way. Whenever there was a gap, she accurately countered with a low kick to her opponent's right leg.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Adjutant Adler's moves increased in speed and sloppiness as her frustration grew yet Celeste stayed calm and focused.

She had been kicking the same spot and soon enough, he saw Adjutant Adler's leg buckle, and Celeste immediately went for the takedown.

He didn't even have to call it as the match was quickly over with Celeste pinning Adjutant Adler for over 10 seconds. When she was done, Celeste bounced over and threw herself at him in happiness. He reluctantly caught her before setting her down at arm's length.

"Did you see? I won!" she crowed happily, holding onto his arms while hopping in place. Seeing her bright expression as if asking for praise, Richard congratulated her.

"Good job."

"Will you spar with me now?"

"No, I demand a rematch! I was going easy on you because you're a civilian!" a voice interrupted.

Celeste turned to look at Adjutant Adler who was struggling to get up and stand on one leg, "I'm okay with that but you should probably ice that leg. I tried to weaken my kick, but I think you might have a wicked bruise or two."

"I'm a soldier. You think I haven't had a bruise before?"

"Adjutant Adler. Go ice that leg."

"But commander-"

"It's an order soldier," Richard ordered her coldly.

"…Yes sir" Mary Adler responded unhappily. She shot a glare at Celeste before limping away. When Lieutenant Marshall tried to help her, she smacked his hand away.

Celeste immediately turned towards Richard as she began stretching.

"Same rules as before?" she asked him with a smile.

"For you. I won't strike you and only try to pin you down. If you survive for 3 minutes you win."

"Hmmm, what do I win?"

"Anything you want." Seeing her eyes sparkling as she mischievously smiled at him, he added, "Within reason."

"Deal! Don't regret it later!"

"Lieutenant, start the match please."

"Both parties ready?"

"Yes."

"Ready!"

"Begin."

***

POV Celeste

For the fifth time in less than 20 minutes, Richard pinned her easily to the ground. As she lay there panting on the floor, she couldn't help but glare at the man who was not even out of breath.

Richard looked calm, cool, and collected, and had not even broken a sweat. As he held out his hand to help her stand up, Celeste reluctantly took it while glaring at him.

"You did good. Lasted a good two minutes that round." He praised her sincerely but to her ears, it sounded as if he was mocking her.

"You're not even out of breath and I've been hitting you with everything I've got." She pouted as she thought about how one-sided the fight had been. Regardless of how she punched and kicked him, he had calmly blocked everything and pinned her down. Every time she had tried to throw him, he had skillfully evaded it and outmuscled her.

Even though there was a size difference between the two of them, she shouldn't have been so outclassed. He wasn't even trying to hit her for god's sake! And what made it worse was she could tell how easy he was going on her! Compared to the hits he threw toward Lieutenant Marshall, he was treating her like a fragile piece of glass.

"Naturally. I'm a professional. If you could defeat me, it would mean all my training is useless." Richard indifferently replied.

"You should just give up and stop wasting the commander's time. He's not even getting a proper workout because of you." Adjutant Adler had returned at some point, and taunted Celeste with a smirk on her face. Even though she lost, she was happy to see the commander continue to defeat Celeste. She felt as if she had gained some of her pride back.

Celeste ignored the woman and glanced at Richard before smiling mischievously.

"Okay, one last round then I'll quit."

"As you wish."

"Ready!"

"Begin."

As the round started, Celeste immediately backed away and kept her distance. From the past rounds, she knew that her hits wouldn't do enough damage, and since Richard was faster than her, he would grab her and quickly end the match.

She kept on baiting him while backing away and successfully ran down the clock.

"45 seconds remaining." Lieutenant Marshall announced.

"Planning on running down the clock Celeste? That doesn't seem like you." Richard uncharacteristically taunted her causing Celeste to break out into a smile.

"Anything to get a present from you babe." She replied with a wink laughing as he narrowed his eyes.

Richard then charged at her in an attempt to grab her, but Celeste quickly backed away throwing out a quick kick. Her foot was quickly grabbed and as soon as Richard yanked her towards him, she used the momentum to quickly aim another kick at his head which he easily blocked with one hand. As Richard lifted her, she quickly hooked her foot around him and used it to break his hold on her and quickly placed herself onto his back wrapping both legs around him and placing him in a chokehold with her arms.

It was quickly broken and as he broke her hold and attempted to move her to his front, Celeste used all her energy to sweep his legs from under him. As they both fell, Celeste closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. Instead, she felt herself being held tightly and softly landing on something firm.

Opening her eyes, she looked down and saw that she was seated in a compromising position on top of Richard. Her legs straddled him, and he was gripping her waist.

"Mm being on top like this is not so bad," Celeste murmured to herself.

"What?"

"I said it looks like I won." Celeste corrected herself seeing his black expression. Suddenly in the mood to tease him, she completely lay her body on him, resting all of her weight on his chest.

"Celeste…" Richard said in a warning tone.

"You know I like to be carried. Hold me like this for a couple of seconds I'm tired." Celeste hummed with her eyes closed. She tucked her head completely into his neck and wrapped her arms around him, curious as to what he would do.

"You keep pushing your luck," Richard whispered to the girl who comfortably lay in his arms with absolutely no fear. He sighed before tightening his arms around her while dismissing his two adjutants with his eyes.

"And you keep tolerating me. How will I know when to stop?" Celeste murmured back unconcernedly. She simply adjusted herself to be more comfortable, marveling at the definition she could feel from his chest and the cool air emanating from him. Even though she wore fewer clothes, she felt as if she were overheating from all the activity.

"Celeste…"

"Babe…" she replied in the same unconcerned tone. She had continually pushed the boundaries with this man, and he had done nothing back. As far as she was concerned, he wasn't interested in her and was only entertaining her because of their contract. Since that was the case, shouldn't she tease him as much as she wanted?

"Behave."

"I am behaving. This is me not behaving." She quickly sat up, placing her hands on his chest, and sliding her lower body down until it rested on a certain section of his body. Her hair had somehow come loose, and as she looked at him, it created a white curtain that hid their face. She slowly ground her hips into him and smiled in a wicked manner.

"Should I stop?"