Her heart stuttered, stopped, and then raced on. She ignored the little drop in her tummy and glared at him.
“Raven, this is Dalton.”
“We’ve met.” She practically snarled the words, her fingers curling into claws.
Dalton looked delighted at her response. “Raven, what a surprise! I’d heard you worked out here but didn’t realize it was with Xavier. Thanks for allowing me into your session.”
“Yeah, this is such a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“It certainly is. Almost fated to be, right?”
“Yeah, like one of those epic disasters that destroys the planet.”
“Or one of those chick movies like Serendipity.”
She glared. He grinned wider.
Xavier glanced back and forth between them, his brow slightly raised. The tension cranked a notch tighter.
“Huh. Okay, enough chitchat. Let’s head to the obstacle course and warm up.”
Raven took up the rear, which afforded her an unobstructed view of Dalton’s perfect ass, framed in tight gray shorts. She imagined gripping that ass while he pumped in and out of her, like he had so many times in her dreams.
She guzzled more water.
The course had been personally constructed by Xavier for the ultimate in cross-training, which combined strength training, flexibility, cardio, and endurance. Each stop had a specific exercise with a timer, and if she failed one, Xavier forced her to repeat it. She usually got through it by imagining her trainer experiencing a torturous death.
“Okay, children. Let’s warm up.” They completed a series of stretches, some tai chi, and a closed-eye meditation.
“This is not a competition; go at your own speed.” A nasty grin curled Xavier’s lips. “But bragging rights are afforded to the person still standing at the end.” Raven glanced at Dalton, who seemed relaxed and at ease. Oh, yeah, she planned to demolish him. “Begin.”
Raven didn’t really remember at what point her limbs began to shake, or her heart to gallop so fast she could’ve won the Kentucky Derby. She realized faintly that she’d become a dripping river of sweat and every muscle begged for surrender, but then she caught Dalton’s figure in her peripheral vision and pressed harder.
Xavier’s voice was a whiplash of command, not allowing them to rest in between intervals, yet also the driving force behind her need to continue. She scaled the dreaded wall and the rope of doom, pushed and rolled weights, climbed on her hands and knees over and under a long obstacle course, and jumped on and off chairs that she wanted to rip apart with her bare hands.
The intensity was sparked deeper by Dalton’s presence. With grunts and growls, he kept pace. They were evenly matched going into the final round, a timed sprint that tested endurance and the mental will needed to not only survive but flourish.
Her body felt like an overcooked noodle, but her mind refused to buckle, especially next to the man who was causing havoc in her life. Reaching deep, she shot forward through the laps, her heels pounding and echoing in perfect rhythm with Dalton’s, until the sound of the bell rang in the air and they both collapsed on the floor in a heap of victory.
Somehow, some way, their legs tangled together. She pressed her cheek to the floor and closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to rise. His ragged breaths were close to her left ear, and she listened as they began to even out. She matched her breathing to his, her body slowly calming, and opened her eyes.
His face lay next to hers. His gaze drilled deep, demanding his own answers, and she didn’t have the will to fight him in that instant. Lips trembling, she stared right back and let him see her. Naked. Open. Vulnerable.
“You’re magnificent,” he whispered.
His words might be pretty, and his lines well rehearsed, but the truth shimmered in all its glory. He was just as helpless to fight as her, and his smile came slow, and full, and so bright it dazzled.
Raven smiled back.
“I’m impressed, children, quite impressed. Not only did you both keep pace with each other, but, Raven, you broke your own personal record. Congratulations.”
She didn’t even bother to try to crawl off the floor yet. Xavier’s workouts were legendary. “I’d feel better if I didn’t want to kill you right now.”
“Just part of the job I love,” he said cheerfully. “You can hit the showers.”
“Can you just take my hands and drag me there?” she asked.
Dalton gave a groan, tried to roll up, then stayed put. “You’re a real asshole, Xavier,” he threw out. “You couldn’t pay me a million dollars to have another appointment with you.”
“Now you’re just flattering me. Say hi to Brady for me. If you want another round, you can join Raven and me if she agrees. You seem to inspire her.”
Her arm trembled, but she managed to lift it and give him the finger.
“Oh, and for God’s sake, do everyone a favor, will you? Just sleep together and get it over with. It’s like watching a fucking TV series with sexual tension that never ends.”
The sound of his retreating steps echoed in the air.
They didn’t respond for a while. Finally Dalton spoke.
“Can I buy you a juice at the health bar?”
She couldn’t help it.
She laughed.
“How the hell did you find out my schedule?”
She fiddled with the straw in her organic blueberry smoothie, but her voice didn’t hold its usual sting. Probably the workout. Other than a heady buzzing feeling from the exercise high, Dalton felt clearheaded and light. Hard to hold on to anything worrisome or bad after wringing out the body like a sopping washcloth. His mind felt bone dry and beautifully quiet.
“Al told me you train with Xavier. My architect, Brady, is a good friend of his.”
“Smart move. Figured you had enough of me at the bar.”
“You don’t talk to me at the bar.” He sipped at his chocolate peanut butter protein shake. “You haven’t talked to me since the kiss. And you sicced Al on me.”
She winced. He studied the high arch of her brow and the stray tendrils of hair that escaped her clip. She had the type of face a man would never get tired of looking at because her expressions were so bold. “I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression. I figured I’d back off.”
“I get it.” She tilted her head as if trying to believe him. “No, I do. I’m not the type of man you want to get involved with. The problem is, I enjoy your company. I wondered if we could manage a compromise?”
“What type of compromise?”
“I’d like to try being friends.” She tilted her head back and laughed, long and true and hard. He grinned. “It’s not that funny, is it?”
“Have you ever been friends with a girl?”
“Sure, plenty of times.”
“Before or after you slept with them?”
He scratched his head. “Mostly after.”
“Exactly. Dalton, look, I actually like you. I don’t know why or how, but you managed to charm me like you do every other woman. But I’m not getting involved with you.”
“I know. I may not like it, but I accept it.” He took a deep breath and struggled to tell her the truth. It would be easy to keep manipulating circumstances to gain her company, but it wasn’t the way he wanted things between them. “I’d like to hang out. Talk. Try to be friends—not the phony type all those stupid movies are made of, but the real stuff.”
“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” she muttered, sucking on her straw.
Dalton made sure not to watch her lips purse in case he had very nonfriendly thoughts.
“I can’t promise I won’t want to kiss you or want more, Raven. There’s this thing between us I can’t seem to understand. But I want to get to know you better. If the only way to be around you is by friendship, then I can do that.”
Her features softened. Wariness blazed in those inky eyes, but Dalton suspected it was more than fear of him breaking his word not to come on to her. No, there was another worry he hadn’t figured out yet. He needed more time with her. Maybe he could turn this intense attraction into a solid friendship. After all, he’d slept with many women in his past and been able to become friends with them. It was possible.