“Are you?” He smiled. “We should have a race and see.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” He stood.
She blinked. “Right now?”
“Why? Full on pizza?”
“No.” Yes. But the competitor within her wouldn’t back down. “Where are we racing?”
“Let’s go to my gym. It’s got an indoor track on the second floor. Six laps make a mile.”
“You’re on.”
An hour later, they stood on the track, panting, as he congratulated her on her win.
“Thanks. I told you I was…fast.” She narrowed her eyes on him. “You…don’t seem too…out of breath.”
“It was a great race. You were super.” He winked, but she didn’t see humor on his face.
She took a moment until she could breathe normally again. “Oh, wait. Is this where you try to make me think you let me win?” She knew she was super competitive. She made no excuses for it. Cass liked to win. “Try again. I earned that.”
“Did you?” He sneered. “Let’s do another lap. I’ll kick your scrawny ass.”
“Scrawny?”
They lined up, annoying an older man who had to wait to pass the narrow way, and when she said, “Go,” they took off.
Mack smoked her. No way she’d fairly won their previous race.
He stood waiting at the finish, breathing hard. And wow, could hemove.
She had been flying and still came in seconds later.
“See? Doesn’t feel good when you win because someone let you.”
She scowled. “I have to be at…” breathe, breathe, “work in…three hours. I wanted… us to have…a nice day.”
“Then you shouldn’t be lying to me.” He walked with her outside to his car, which they’d taken together. “Cass, I like you for you. I don’t want you toletme do anything. I want to earn my wins and my losses.”
“I… Damn. I’m sorry.” She felt stupidly on the verge of tears but had no intention of showing him. She’d just wanted him to be happy about life and thought if he lost to her they’d have drama. The way she had with Sean after they’d taken those first steps toward a serious relationship.
Drama she’d now created.
“Can you just take me home? I’m tired and sweaty.” She glared at him. “And not in a good way.”
“Your call. I’m still happy to fuck the fight out of you, but then, if it’s a race to the finish, how can I be sure I’ll be the winner?”
“What?” She gasped. “Are you insinuating I fake orgasms?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
She slammed into the car and swore at him, her tears lost to the anger taking over. Mack simply nodded while she told him what she thought of his stupid ideas and bad playing at soccer.
“And you can just fuck off.”
Expecting him to roar back at her, she was taken aback when he smiled and drove them home. “See? That.That’swhat I want. A woman not afraid to tell me to fuck off. That’s what we agreed to.” He left the car to follow her up the walkway to her house. When she would have slammed the door in his face, he pushed through and spun her to receive one angry, hot-as-fuck kiss. “Now, have a safe shift, and we can fight about this when you get done.”
