She lowers her phone again, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. I’m trying not to let my mind wander too far into dangerous territory when my gaze catches on her plump bottom lip. I want to bite it, too.
I tear my eyes away from Lila, my focus landing on one of the practice dummies that someone must have forgotten to stow away after a training session.
“I have an idea.” I nod my chin toward the dummy. “I can demonstrate a fireman’s carry. It might be a useful skill for some people to try learning.”
Lila tuts her tongue. “You just want a chance to show off.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
She has no rebuttal, simply raising her phone again and waiting for me to continue. I waltz over to the dummy, which is child-sized and less than a hundred pounds, and haul it over my shoulder the way I would an unconscious or otherwise incapacitated person.
“See?” I turn to the camera with the dummy over my shoulder and grin. “Easy-peasy.”
“Yeah, but the dummy doesn’t squirm,” she counters.
“Are you volunteering yourself as a more accurate test dummy?”
Her eyes widen, but there’s a spark of playfulness. “Don’t you dare, Noah Trent.”
I set the dummy back down carefully like it’s a real person and take a mischievous step in her direction.
“What are you afraid of, Lila? I’m a professional.”
“I’m wearing a skirt!”
“Oh, sure, and nobody here has ever seen a woman’s upper thigh before. Like I said, we’reprofessionals.”
Lila backs away from me slowly, but that light in her eyes is sparking with a dare. Even when I take another step toward her, a giggle slips out alongside her gasp.
So, unable to stop myself from letting off just a little bit of steam after we’ve been so hard at work for the entire past hour, I lunge for her.
I’m fast and her reflexes are admittedly pathetic, so it takes no effort at all to gently pry her filming setup from her hand, carefully place it on a mat, and haul her up onto my shoulders in one quick motion.
“Noah!” she cries out. “Put me down!”
There are hoots and hollers from the half dozen or so people in the gym, and I’m careful to angle Lila’s backside away from them so they can’t catch a glimpse up her skirt. I’m a professional, yes, but I’m also a gentleman.
“Noah! Stop it!”
“That’s not very convincing,” I tell her.
She laughs, halfheartedly pounding her fists against me. It’s like being struck with marshmallows.
“I could do this all day!” I announce.
“You’re ridiculous,” she giggles.
Then, without warning, she smacks her hand against my ass. I let out a yelp, and our witnesses erupt in laughter.
“Put me down, or I’ll do it again,” she warns me, but she’s talking through breathless laughter.
“That’s not a very compelling threat, Blondie.”
She snickers.
But then I notice that the gym has suddenly fallen eerily silent. I glance over the shoulder that doesn’t currently have Lila draped over it and halt in my tracks.
We have a visitor.
