Page 12 of Body Heat

“I use the treadmill when I’m at the stadium, but I prefer to head outside for my run when I’m home. But if someone needs to check my route first, I can hit my workout room instead,” he offered.

I shook my head. “No, that's fine. Just give me five or ten minutes to get ready, and I'll go with you.”

He flashed me an apologetic grin. “As much as I'd like to have you with me, I'm not sure you'll be happy with how far I plan to go. It’s not by accident that I’m one of the top five rushing QBs in the league.”

Running wasn't my favorite thing to do, but I’d survived a hell of a lot of it when I was enlisted. “How many miles?”

“You good for five?” he asked.

I heaved a sigh of relief because I thought he was going to say at least ten miles. “Yeah, I can do five.”

“All right.” He grinned at me, rubbing his hands together. “Let's do this.”

I hadn't thought it was possible for a guy to be sexy and adorable at the same time, but Rowan’s boyish excitement over running with me didn’t detract from his hotness level at all. If anything, it added to it. Hopefully, getting hot and sweaty in an unenjoyable way would put a damper on my libido.

Half an hour later, we were ready to head outside after getting changed, gulping down a couple of those god-awful smoothies Rowan swore by, and stretching. Less than a minute into our run, I realized my hope was in vain—he could run me until my muscles cried out, and it still wouldn’t stop me from wanting him. I was starting to think nothing would, but definitely not running because he looked so damn good doing it.

Rowan moved unlike anyone I'd ever seen before. His stride was even, his muscles bunching with each shift of his body. He was basically a running machine, and it didn't take long for me to seriously doubt my ability to keep up. About two miles in, my heart was already racing in my chest. Between the pace he set and the view I had from running behind him, my breathing was doomed.

I’d never been much of an ass woman, but Rowan’s behind was a masterpiece. Rock hard and rounded, his runs did a lot for his glutes. I would be more than happy to stare at it all day, even if it meant more than a five-mile run.

A little less than thirty minutes after we started out, we were nearing Rowan’s house again. As we ran by the place he bought his mom, I asked, “Why didn't you just move Rachel in with you?”

Although I was out of breath and had to pant out my question, you would never have guessed Rowan had just run five miles when he answered, “Because she refused to move in with me. When I suggested it, she said her health wasn't anywhere near bad enough to live with her son because it would cramp her style. Hers, mind you. She wasn’t worried about mine.”

“Your mom cracks me up.” We reached Rowan’s driveway and started to do a few stretches as a cooldown. “She has a key to your house and knows the security code so she can come and go as she pleases—which is often—but she won't move in with you.”

“I learned a long time ago that my mom’s mind works in mysterious ways.” He lifted the bottom of his shirt up to wipe the sweat from his face, giving me a nice, long look at his six-pack abs. “I’m better off letting her do her own thing than trying to talk her around to my way of thinking.”

“That's a good plan when it comes to any woman.” I dragged my gaze away from his stomach as he dropped his shirt back into place. “Including me.”

“I think you mean something more along the lines ofespeciallyyou,” he corrected with a sexy grin aimed my way as I followed him into the house. “My mom likes to joke about how she brought me into the world so she can take me out of it. It’s funny as hell since she doesn’t even like to kill spiders on her own, but you’re a whole other story. But we both know you could actually do it if you had to. Maybe I’m crazy, but I find your dangerous edge sexy as fuck.”

Rowan’s confidence was a major turn-on. He seemed comfortable with what I did for a living, which was unusual for most men. Even some guys who worked in the same field as I did had a hard time dealing with a woman like me.

Not Rowan.

He wasn’t deterred by my past in the military or what I did for a living. The incredible man standing in front of me was a famous athlete. He could have basically any woman in the world, but I had no doubts about the strength of his desire. Rowan wanted me.

The only thing standing in the way of Rowan and me acting on our chemistry was the fact that I was here to protect him, not sleep with him. Or at least that was what I kept telling myself. But maybe I’d been wrong to keep denying us both what we wanted. It wasn’t like I would be the first person from Kane Security who had crossed the line from professional to personal with a client. Brecken had met Hadley when we’d gone into the jungle to rescue her from a kidnapping, after all. If the boss could find love on the job, why couldn’t I?

Chapter 10

Rowan

Disheveled and flushed after our run, Sera was sexier than usual. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the other ways besides running that I could make her look the same. We’d have a fuck of a lot more fun with any of the ideas that popped into my mind. Images of us together—each one filthier than the last—played like a movie in my head.

My dick was as hard as a steel pipe, tenting the front of my shorts and making it impossible to hide from Sera. She eyed my hard-on, and her green eyes filled with heat. Her lips parted on a sigh, before curving up in a small smile of feminine satisfaction.

“What’s that look for, angel?” Please let it mean good things for me. Hot, sweaty, naked things.

“I was just thinking about how badly I need a shower after our run.”

Fuck.I would give my left nut to see the water beating down against her bare skin and trace the path of the droplets with my tongue. I was so busy fantasizing about showering with her that it took longer than it should’ve for me to register that she’d stripped her shirt off. Then she pulled her sports bra over her head and tossed both items at me before racing toward the stairs.

The scraps of material acted as a red flag did to a bull and had me charging after Sera. All I’d needed was a sign from her that she was ready to explore the explosive chemistry between us, and she’d just given it to me. I caught up to her midway and swept her off her feet, tossing her over my shoulder.

“Took you long enough,” she laughed, taking advantage of her position to lightly swat my ass.

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