I hear them before I see them, and put on a burst of speed, running towards them. What a sight it is. They’re all good-looking men. And they keep in shape, but I have eyes for only one man—the man at the centre of the pack.
I home in on him. Waving at Cross, who’s in the lead, I speed up, then slip between the men’s sweaty bodies until I’m next to the one who’s mine.
Nickel turns his head and smiles down at me. “Morning, darlin’.”
Familiar flutters of need float through me, mixed with happiness and, dare I say it, the first sparks of something more. I’m not ready to admit what they are. Not yet, but soon.
“Morning, handsome. Thanks for the coffee. Could’ve done with more orgasms instead of waking to an empty bed, though.”
“Fuck,” Bolt mutters and stumbles.
Coal and Copper groan in disgust, but the rest of the men are laughing.
I smirk at their discomfort, and Nickel grins at me.
“Too much information.” Bolt glares at me. “I don’t need you and Nickel in my head this early, not with the way it’s banging. At least now I know why the fucker’s so cheery this morning.”
I forgot the men tied one on last night because Nickel was sober, but looking around, I see that some of them look a little green. The only ones who don’t are Blue, Cross, and Nickel.
I smirk. “A little hungover? That will teach you to drink on a school night. You need to drink some water.”
“There’s water waiting for them at the obstacle course,” Cross calls out. “Come on, people. Step it up. Nearly there.”
Something about running in a pack calls to the feral part of me. I fucking love it. We pass Bee, who waves and gives us a thumbs-up. Cross veers off and takes us over some rough terrain. Then we’re running past Coal’s house, where Thea and Jeanie are sitting on the veranda drinking coffee.
I wave, and they smile, returning my wave.
“Yes!” I shout when I see the obstacle course.
Breaking from the ranks, I sprint ahead so I can get a proper look.
“This is amazing,” I call as I slow to a jog, then to a walk to cool down—not that I’ve run far, but I know better than to let my muscles get cold.
They have a full-on assault course that includes climbing walls, rope swings, water jumps, crawling tunnels, balance beams, and monkey bars, plus more. But I’ve seen enough.
Turning, I jog back to where the men are sipping their water.
“Love the course,” I say, coming to a stop next to Nickel and leaning against him. “Do you go one at a time or as teams?”
“Usually, I have them run drills one at a time,” Cross replies. “But as they’re feeling worse for wear this morning, we’ll do teams.”
I look at Nickel. “Want to be my buddy?”
“Any time.” He grins, then leans down to whisper in my ear, “Any place. Just say when.”
I shiver and press closer. Turning my head, I nip his earlobe. “Thirty minutes, in the shower, after we’ve beaten their arses.”
A growl rumbles through Nickel. I sometimes wonder if he’s more beast than man.
“Nora and I are ready, Cross,” he says. “Who are we up against?”
That’s my man. A shiver of arousal streaks through me, but I bank it because I’m nothing if not competitive.
Cross eyes us and shakes his head before he assesses the men gathered around. “Blue and Iron, you’re up first against Nora and Nickel. The team with the best time is the winner. Blue and Iron, you start. Nora, you don’t know the course, so watch. I don’t want any training accidents.”
“No worries,” I agree, turning to watch as Blue and Iron take off for the first of the course.
The obstacles start easy with tyre runs, followed by the monkey bars, before it gets progressively harder the further into the course you get. I note straightaway that the two of them know what they’re doing. They’re used to working as a team, reading each other, and helping when needed.
