Page 24 of The Seven Month Itch
My brow arches. “You remember I do this for a living. There’s no need to let this hour go to waste.”
The trapped look in her gaze tells me her mind is at war. She eyes the exit but turns to me with a smirk. “Yeah, sure. Don’t expect me to pay you.”
I walk closer, until I’m inches from her face, and smile. “You couldn’t afford me, princess.” I would never charge her, but it’s fun to remind her I’m good at what I do. Damn good.
Once I have the equipment set up, I give her the ten-pound resistance band and motion for her to go to her mat. “Let’s start with a warm-up in a high plank position to get ready for push-ups.”
“Push-ups?” She frowns and moves at the pace of a slug.
“Yes, princess, push-ups. I know you can do them. Get on your knees if you want.” I lower myself to the mat and grin. “It wouldn’t be the first time you dropped to them.”
She tries to mask her smile and checks me with her shoulder. “I see you’ve matured.”
After we finish our planks, I place her hands over the resistance band’s handles and put the latex tube on her shoulders for push-ups. To her credit, Justice keeps my pace. I slowed down for her, but it’s still impressive. We crank out fifteen and go into twenty squats, fifteen bent-over rows, twelve shoulder presses, and twenty sit-ups with the bands and minimal rest between the exercises.
“That was good,” Justice says in a pant. Sweat glistens her skin and coils her natural hair. “Welp”—she stands and wipes her brow—“this was fun.”
Her cluelessness is adorable. “Oh, princess, you should know better. That was the first round of our circuit training. We have four more to go.”
Color drains from her face. She puts her hands on her hips and huffs. “Fourmore rounds? You want me dead that bad, Terrence?”
Four rounds were child’s play the way we went at it when we were together. She’d never bat an eye if I wrapped her legs around me for another endurance activity. I push the memories away and chuckle at her melodrama. It’s not like I strapped a weighted backpack to her and told her to run outside in the snow.
“I could add a few sprints if you think I’m not going easy on you. I thought I was fair, but—”
Her eyes widen. “Nope. That won’t be necessary.” She claps her hands together like a contestant ready to take on theAmerican Ninja Warriorcourse. “You’ll do this with me, right?”
I bite back a grin and nod. How can I say no to that face?
We finish forty-five minutes later. I used two extra resistance bands for intensity, which has me shirtless in a pool of sweat. “Ready to cool down?” I grab the two bottles of water I keep in my gym bag and hand her one.
She takes a moment to catch her breath before she takes a long sip. “That would be nice.”
My directions happen without a second thought. I tell Justice to lie on her back, and I take a knee beside her. One hand holds her right ankle, and the other braces her thigh to straighten her leg against my chest. She tenses. “Just breathe. Don’t fight me. I won’t hurt you.”
Her body relaxes on an exhale long enough for me to move her leg. I switch sides after thirty seconds and repeat the same process.
“Your groin is tight. Here, let’s try this.” I put her left leg down and kneel in front of her. “This might look weird, but it will help open you up, okay?”
At her nod, I diamond her legs by placing the soles of her feet together between my knees. Her muscles tense at the pressure I apply to hold the position. Assisted stretches are no big deal to me. I’ve done them thousands of times with clients. But this is intimate.
Focus, T.
Now is not the time to freak her out or cross any lines. “You okay, princess?”
The change in her breathing has my eyes on her face. Her throat muscles stiffen. I question if she’s in pain until I see her nipples pebble against her sports bra. She’s turned on.
“Justice?” My voice comes out hoarse, and our eyes connect. She’s not the only one aroused.
I look down at my hands and realize they’re now on her thighs, rubbing small circles against her leggings. “Shit. I’m sorry, Jay.” I stumble back to give her space and run my hands through my hair. Feeling her up the day after her assault was not on my agenda.
I’m an idiot.
When she raises onto her elbows and pants, my wayward dick rises in full salute. Even with baggy shorts on, I can’t cover the tent between my legs. Her eyes trail down to my erection, and she licks her lips.
Is she—
My lips crash to hers on impulse. Her breath catches at the weight of my body between her legs, and I swallow her moan through my ragged breaths. Her lips part, and our tongues mix with a desire fifteen years in the making and the longing of two people separated for months. I prop myself on my elbows to keep from crushing her and rest her head against my forearm.
