Page 28 of Endurance

But I didn’t believe in insta-love.

The pull I felt had to be imagined. It was the only thing that made sense. What was happening now was unadulterated lust and nothing short of pure insanity. I tried to resist the feelings, but it was like fighting a powerful undertow. The more I fought it, the quicker I’d drown. It was easier to float to wherever the tide took me, hoping that destiny would deliver me to solid ground.

When the song ended and transitioned into another, Sloan wrapped his hand around the base of my neck and tilted my head to look up at him. Emotion squeezed at my heart until I felt it might burst.

“You may be onto something with this whole romance thing. The sunset is so much prettier with you in it. You just might make me a believer,” he murmured. “I’m glad you decided not to marry that guy.”

“Why is that?”

“I might not know a lot about you, but I can easily see you deserve somebody who will love you and leave you wild.”

He leaned in, and I knew the kiss I so desperately wanted to feel again was coming, but his words jolted me back to reality. Untangling myself from his arms, I took two steps back and gazed out at the seemingly endless ocean and the setting sun. The gypsy’s words from so long ago echoed off the crashing waves.

“The man who tastes your lips under a California sunset will be the one to break you.”

I looked back at Sloan. His breathing was uneven, and his piercing blue eyes were dark pools of desire. His hair was slightly mussed by the gentle salt breeze that curled around us, which somehow made all of his rugged sexiness even sexier. My stomach clenched, my breath caught, and my heart seemed to still. God, how I wanted this man, but even though my body physically ached for him, I couldn’t do this with him. Business relationship aside, nothing could happen here. Not in this place—not unless I wanted to risk a broken heart.

“I have to go,” I said abruptly, then turned to walk away. If I hadn’t been afraid of tripping over my own two feet in the soft sand, I would have run.

“Kallie, wait.” He took hold of my arm and forced me to meet his gaze. He looked irritated, yet there was no mistaking the longing in his eyes.

“Sloan, please. Let me go. We can’t.”

“You can fight this all day long, but I say fuck this ‘you’re my client’ bullshit. There’s something unexplainable between us that you know you can’t resist. Mark my words. One day, you’ll be begging for it—begging for us—to happen.”

“Don’t be so arrogant. Believe it or not, my choice to not let this go any further has nothing to do with you.”

“So what does it have to do with then?”

I glanced at the last sliver of the setting sun.

“A warning. You and I—we’ll never work.”

9

Sloan

When I walked onto the track the following day, I was exhausted, which was nothing new, but the reasons behind it were entirely different. Last night, I’d been consumed with images of Kallie.

Every time I tried to close my eyes, all I could see was her gorgeous face, shadowed by the fading rays of sunset behind her on the beach. The majestic picture she’d painted had haunted me all night long. And when I remembered how good she’d felt dancing in my arms, it took every ounce of control I had not to rub one out. She was a spellbinding, gorgeous beauty who made everything around her come to life with her mere presence.

I couldn’t make sense of it, how a girl I hardly knew had gotten so far into my psyche I couldn’t even sleep. At three in the morning, I’d considered getting out of bed and pouring myself a drink but ultimately decided against it because I knew Kallie would disapprove. I didn’t need the alcohol. It was just a bad habit I’d gotten into by telling myself it was the only way to make it through the night. Recognizing how quickly she had influenced my decision-making only served to keep me awake longer. Then there were her words about a warning. She was afraid of something. Of what, I didn’t know, but I’d made a personal vow to find out.

Shaking off the concern that I’d done something to spook her, I shoved a hand through my hair and jogged my way toward the pit lane. A group of people was gathered near an open-wheel car. I spotted Rylee, Colton, and two young boys who I assumed were Eli and Marcus next to a photographer assembling his gear. Milo was also there, off to the side and talking to Beckett, but I didn’t see Kallie anywhere.

Glancing at my watch, I noted that it was fifteen minutes past ten. I was a little late, and I’d expected her to beat me here.

“Sorry I’m late,” I told the group. “Where’s Kallie?”

“Don’t look so worried, man. She’s here,” Colton informed me with a laugh. “She just went inside to wash up. She touched something and got grease all over her hands.”

Masking my relief, I simply nodded. “Gotcha. So, are you going to introduce me to the boys?”

“Sloan, this is Marcus,” Rylee said, patting her hand on the shoulder of a young boy who looked to be no more than ten years old. Then she pointed to the other boy, a sandy-haired kid who was tracing an invisible circle on the ground with his foot. “And this is Eli.”

I noticed she didn’t place her hand on Eli’s shoulder like she did when introducing Marcus. I recalled the conversation at dinner the night before and remembered Eli was the boy who didn’t like to be touched.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I told them.

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