Page 83 of On the Edge

I squeeze her tightly to me and gently kiss the top of her head, letting my lips linger against her hair. “You know that I never betrayed you, right?”

“I wasn’t making a comparison,” she says, then quiets and takes a deep breath before she continues. “She told me her story as a warning not to go down the same bitter path she did. Will you really come visit her with me?”

“Yeah, of course. She’s important to you.”

“So are you,” Jackson says, sitting up and swinging one leg over my lap so she’s straddling me and we’re face-to-face. I move to kiss her, but she follows with “Which is why we need to get your PT done for the day. Can’t have you broken forever.”

“If being broken means getting to spend all day, every day with you”—I shrug—“I’m okay with this.”

“Not on my watch. My athletes get better, and more quickly than anyone expects them to. They do not stay broken,” she says. I love how determined and passionate she is about her work. She pops off my lap and onto her feet like she’s some sort of ninja, then holds her hand out to me. “Come on, let’s get this over with so we can get naked.”

“No fair mentioning nudity when you expect me to work,” I say as I take her outstretched hand and stand, then strip off the sweatshirt I put on for the video call.

“You worked really hard this morning,” she says, running her hands along my pecs and up across my shoulders. The feel of her skin against mine will never get old. “So how about we make it more fun this afternoon?”

“I like fun.”

“You’ve only got to do three sets of this afternoon’s exercises. How about each time you complete a set perfectly—no shortcuts at all—I’ll remove an item of clothing.”

I take in her leggings and sweatshirt, there’s two items. I try to decipher if she’s wearing a bra, but the sweatshirt is cropped and loose, so I can’t tell. She never goes commando, so if she’s wearing a bra then I don’t think losing three items of clothing will get herquitenaked. I’m already looking forward to removing that last item of clothing myself.

“Deal,” I say and reach out my hand so we can shake on it.

“You’re going to regret this,” she says as we shake.

“I’ve got to do the work, might as well get a reward, no?”

She turns and walks toward the wall of windows that look out at the snowcapped trees on the side of the mountain behind my house. The sun’s close to setting and casting the last rays of golden light on the scene. It’s pure beauty, enhanced by the fact that she’s here with me.

When we first arrived, Jackson pushed the long wooden dining table over against the wall, and set up this space as my workout studio instead. I have a weight room in the basement, but she hasn’t let me move to free weights yet. Instead, she’s made me do a million resistance exercises meant to strengthen my core muscles. Sounds easy, but she manages to come up with new ways to torture me twice a day.

This afternoon, she shows me the sequence of moves I need to complete. A full set is ten reps of five different exercises. By the time I’ve done the first set, rivulets of sweat run down my chest and back.

“You’re already so much stronger than you were a week ago,” she says as she looks down at me. I’m on my knees, where I collapsed after I finished my first set. I can’t take my eyes off her stomach, a strip of which is visible between the waistband of her leggings and her cropped sweatshirt. I hope that shirt is the first piece of clothing to go. As if reading my mind, she asks, “So what should I take off first?”

“Iseverythingan option?”

“Nope, but if you do a really good job with the last set, I’d consider taking my last two items of clothing off for the finale.”

“Ditch the sweatshirt then.” I shrug, trying to act like my entire body isn’t burning up with desire right now. She grabs the hem with both hands, pulling it up and over her arms before dropping it on the ground. “Holy shit,” I hiss, my breath being pushed out of my lungs by the sheer lust that’s consumed me. “What is that bra?”

Jackson glances down at her chest. The burgundy lace and mesh cups plunge deeply and are held together with delicate satin straps so thin I’m not sure how they don’t snap. A lace band runs beneath the cups and around her back.

“Sierra gifted me this set for my birthday. You should see the underwear.” She has the nerve to wink and I reach up quickly to grab her hand, but I miss and practically fall on my face. “But you won’t see them unless you do the next set.” She is clearly trying to torture me, which is fine, because I can give it right back once she’s naked.

“That’s going to be easier said than done.” I glance down at the raging hard-on that’s making itself known through my gym shorts.

“That sounds like ayouproblem.” Her smile is enormous and her eyes are filled with the laughter she’s holding in.

“Oh, you are so dead. Just wait until you want to come. I’ll draw that process out so long you’ll be begging me.”

“Nate, if this first set is any indication, you’ll barely be able to stand at the end of the third set. I’ll take my chances.”

“I love a good challenge,” I growl as I stand up, facing her.

“I know.” A new, smaller smile plays at her lips. She understands me so well. This workout was always going to be a killer, and she wanted to give me an incentive to work through it even when I’d want to quit. In this instance, I’m perfectly fine being as predictable as she expected.

CHAPTER22

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