“Serves you right.”
She stands and turns her back to me.
Shit.
I push to my feet quickly, my gloved hand slipping around her middle and tugging her back. Jessica sways on her feet, her body crashing against my chest.
“What do you?—”
She tilts her head back. Her honey hair is pulled into a ponytail, wild strands curling around her face. Her cheeks are pink, a few droplets of sweat clinging to her skin. She sucks in a breath as I lift my hand. I sink my teeth into the glove’s ties and tug hard. Jessica’s gaze zeroes in on the movement, her eyes darkening slightly. I slide my palm under one arm, squeezing tightly as I slip my hand out.
Letting go of her, I do the same with the other one, only this time she grabs the glove, holding on to it as I slip my hand out.
“Thanks.” I flex my fingers a few times to relax the muscles.
“Is your hand hurting?”
I lift my arm before she can grab it, and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s cute. You’re already looking like a worried girlfriend.”
Her eyes narrow, lips parting. I can hear the words on the tip of her tongue, but she realizes we’re the center of attention, so she bites them back.
“If you don’t stop it, I’ll show you what an annoyed girlfriend looks like.”
The corner of my mouth tips upward in amusement. “I’d love to see that. If nothing else, it’d give me a reason to get you on your back.”
The color on her face deepens, spreading down her neck and over her cleavage. Cleavage that’s pushed up high in the tiniest fucking sports bra I’ve ever seen. I’m sure every guy in this room has been looking at it since she stepped into the gym. As they did at her ass in those leggings.
Can I blame them? No. She looks hot as fuck. Do I want to smash my fist into their faces so they don’t look? I sure as hell do.
Especially a certain face.
My eyes narrow as I spot none other than Jessica’s ex standing next to the weight bench, but instead of keeping an eye on his friend who’s lifting, his gaze is fixed on us, throwing daggers in our direction. The guy’s clearly pissed.
Did she see him? Is this why she all but ran to me? So she can play our little game and convince him that it’s over between them?
That was the whole fucking point, idiot.
Then why does the idea of it piss me off?
Even from here, I can see Damien’s jaw work as he grinds his teeth. He mutters something, stomping off toward the door.
Good riddance.
I let my hand drop. “Let’s get out of here.”
Slipping in between the ropes, I step on the middle one and push the top one up so she can slide through easily. Jessica comes to me, her face paling slightly.
“I didn’t realize it’s this high.”
“You climbed inside.”
“Well, I was focused on other things!” she protests, and this time I embrace the pain as a smug smile tugs at the corner of my mouth.
Me.
Jessica Richards was focused onme.
Chuckling softly, I brush my lips against the top of her head. “Hold on to the ropes tightly, okay?”
