Alessio stood up from the weight bench in one smooth, controlled motion with his gaze still fixed on Elian.
Then he raised one hand and made a sharp beckoning gesture that screamed;
'Come here. Now.'
Elian's stomach clenched tight and every trace of the smile vanished completely.
He hesitated for just a second, just long enough to be defiant, then walked over.
He stopped a few feet from where Alessio stood. Close enough to have obeyed the summons but far enough to maintain some distance.
Meanwhile, at where he stood, Ronald watched with interest, that easy grin still on his face.
"Massage my shoulders," Alessio said. His voice was calmly controlled but his eyes burned with barely contained fury.
It wasn't a request. It was a display.
A way of showing everyone in that gym especially Ronald, exactly who Elian belonged to. And Alessio was ready to do all it would take to show that.
