“I’ll try to control myself,” I muttered sarcastically. Though in reality, I wasn’t so sure about that.
His gaze swept my frame and he licked his lips. He was deliberately baiting me.
I screwed my face up in a grimace and huffed my frustration.
He threw his head back and laughed, hard. Even though it was at my expense, I still appreciated the sound – so rich and sincere. He laughed with his whole body, his hands clutching at his abs, his muscles flexing with the movement.
“I don’t see what’s so funny,” I mumbled.
“You are!” He grinned, winking. “I swear I’ve laughed more with you than I ever have in my life and you aren’t even tryin’,” he proclaimed, more to himself than to me.
“Glad to be of service,” I grumbled.
Then he was in my space in a way I was unprepared for, his glistening chest inches from my face. His knuckle ducked under my chin, tipping my face up to meet his gorgeous countenance. “Soph,” he started quietly, his tone suddenly far more serious. “As much as I want inside you, I want you to be able to protect yourself more. It’s time to get into it. Are you ready?” he asked quietly, peering into my face in a way that always disarmed me.
I swallowed hard. “Yeah, let’s just do it,” I sighed.
“You sure?” His face betrayed so much concern for me; it nearly broke my heart. With that realization, I needed to do this as much for him as for me. I wanted to make him proud. To show both of us that I could do this.
“Yeah,” I agreed, determined to push past my nerves.
“We’ve walked through this. You know the drill,” he explained. “I’m going to pin you and you’re going to use your knees, fingernails and elbows,” he reminded me of what we’d walked through many times before.
“Yeah.” I nodded as I swallowed hard.
Then he was on me; he didn’t even give me a second. He took me to the ground with brute force so overwhelming I froze up entirely.
“Soph,” his voice rumbled in my ear as he reminded me of where I was and who I was with.
All I could hear was the clanging of my heartbeat. All I could feel was the crushing weight of his body.
He leaned down into me, and with a subtle shift of his body, he changed the tenor of the situation. There was nothing sexual or fearsome in his proximity, only comfort. “You don’t at least try and we’re eating Mariachi’s for dinner,” he threatened.
His teasing tone and mention of my least favorite restaurant in Hawthorne somehow broke through my fear-induced haze.
I managed a look at him, up into his sincere eyes that peered down, so close to mine.
“Not Mariachi’s,” I grimaced, so grateful to him in that moment for making light of the situation rather than delving into it. In so many ways, he understood me better than anyone.
“Then show me what you’re made of,” he challenged, his eyes gleaming with encouragement.
And I did.
I brushed everything aside and I gave him a mock thrust to the groin, shove to the throat and rolled us so I straddled him.
He looked up at me with pride lighting his normally somber face. “Good job, baby,” he grinned.
I sagged into him, not caring we were both covered in sweat. I laid my body down on top of his, my face buried in his neck, breathing in his richly masculine scent. “Thanks,” I murmured.
His arms came up around me, caging me in the most delicious way, rewarding me for challenging myself by offering me what I’d needed all along…comfort in its purest form. Our bodies pressed together like this in any other situation would have set every synapse I had on fire, but hot and sweaty on the gym floor as we were, it just offered calm and safety.
“You did good,” he whispered in my ear.
“Thanks,” I sighed.
We laid there for an indeterminable amount of time against the blue mat in the nearly empty gym, the sound of treadmills droning in the distance the only sound.
“Let’s go get our little man,” he suggested, sitting up with me still plastered to his front. Mad had been with his Auntie Kat for the morning. We had so much help with Maddox; it was amazing.
