Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Xander sets my bag on the desk, and I follow to add my water.
“Oh, I forgot your hoodie,” I say with a frown.
“I told you to keep it.”
“Listen, Xander.” I blow out a breath and cross my arms over my chest. “I’m a woman.”
“Trust me, I’ve noticed, Red.”
My cheeks heat, but I keep going.
“I will never turn down the opportunity to steal a man’s hoodie. It’s in my DNA as a female. But it’s a team sweatshirt, and I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
He grins and leans against the desk, crosses his arms, and I want to lean against him.
I don’t. But I want to.
“Who am I going to get into trouble with, exactly?”
“Whoever the boss is. The one that’s in charge of your clothes.”
He reaches up and brushes the pad of his finger over my cheek, across the bridge of my nose, to the other cheek, and I can’t help but squirm from that simple contact.
“You have the most beautiful freckles I’ve ever seen.”
My brows pull together, and he drops his hand.
Wait. Don’t stop!
“I’m not going to get in trouble with anyone for much of anything, Ivy. I’m the captain of the team, and I get away with a lot. I’m not a rookie. Not to mention, I can do whatever I want with that gear. You keep it.”
“It’s a really nice one,” I reply softly. I can hear Cooper and Britney doing their thing somewhere in the gym. “Thanks. We should get started.”
He nods, and I lead him through to where the jumping boxes are.
“Double leg jumps,” I tell him. “Start with ten.”
“This is not tall enough.”
“It’s plenty tall.”
He shakes his head, and I know he’s frustrated that he’s starting with exercises that seem so easy, but I can’t let him hurt himself.
We work through our normal routine, and after about an hour, Cooper joins us and participates in the same exercises.
“Should you be going this hard?” he asks.
“That’s what she said,” I blurt out, and then I go very still because I’ve never uttered something so unprofessional at work before.
But the guys start to laugh around me, and I can’t help but join them even as my face flames with embarrassment.
“I like you,” Cooper says when he’s caught his breath. “You fit in just fine.”
“What did I miss?” Britney asks as she comes running our way. “There’s laughter. I need to know why.”
“I made a ‘That’s what she said’ joke that was not terribly appropriate.”
“Oh good, those are the best kind,” she replies with a wink.
“Okay, Xander, it’s time for wall sits.”
He’s watching me, a half smile on his face, hands on his hips. Without a word, he walks to the wall and assumes the position, sitting against it as if he’s in a chair.
This exercise sucks.
I hate it.
But Cooper walks over and joins Xander with a smile.
“This’ll make the quads burn,” he says, then catches Britney around the waist and pulls her into his lap. “Hey, sugar.”
She grins and loops her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek.
I gasp when Xander grabs my hand and tugs me into his lap, and I push against his chest.
“No way, I’m too heavy.”
“Psh, as if.”
“I’m serious, Xander, I don’t want to hurt your knee.”
He shifts my butt onto the uninjured side, pulls me close to his pelvis, and buries his face in my neck.
“Stop squirming, wildcat. I finally got my hands on you.”
My heart is hammering. I feel like a hummingbird about to have a freaking heart attack.
Do hummingbirds have heart attacks?
I don’t know, but if they do, this is what it must feel like.
“I can’t have you getting hurt.”
He has the audacity to wink at me, and I swear to God and all the apostles that I feel his cock against my hip.
His very big, very hard cock.
And from the look on his too-handsome face, he knows that I know.
Finally, I call time on the exercise, and we all climb to our feet.
My core pulses, and I’m quite sure my panties are wet, and thank God I wore the scrubs and not leggings today. My nipples are painfully hard, and I have to walk right over to the desk for my water because it’s hot in here.
Is it hot in here?
I don’t think this is Xander simply being flirty or a nice guy anymore.
And I have no idea what to do about it. Or if there’s anything to do. Because maybe I’m totally off base, and then I’ll be humiliated all over again, and just the thought of that gives me hives.
“Ivy, let’s go to that bookstore you were telling me about,” Britney says as she walks toward the door. “You and me. I need some girl time. We can get lunch, too, unless you’re busy, of course.”
I shake my head and pull my computer out of my bag to make notes.