I come to a screeching halt several feet away from where his massive back stretches against his tank top.
“Pardon me?”
“I just told you I’m not okay, so you ask me out? If I didn’t want so desperately for you to leave me alone, I’d ask what leap of logic brought you to the conclusion that this was the way to go.”
He pushes to stand, ears a little pink, like she embarrassed him. “I . . . I just thought—”
“Hey, pal. We’re closed. Time to head out.” Maybe he deserves a chance to defend himself. Winter can be harsh, but I’m also irrationally happy to watch him fail.
He can’t handle her claws.
Not like I can.
His thick brows pull together over his pronounced forehead. “I think there might be something wrong with her.” He points at Winter, who still hasn’t moved, and to his credit, he looks concerned.
“Yeah.” My lips twitch as I stare past him at Winter, who glares at me for agreeing with him. “I know there is. That’s what I like about her.”
His eyes go wide as understanding blooms on his face. “Sorry, man. See ya tomorrow.”
I give him a nod and prop my hands on my hips, eyes latched onto Winter. She’s intentionally avoiding my gaze now. I can tell by the tense set of her jaw and the vein throbbing in her neck.
When the door slams shut, Winter flinches, and I watch a subtle pink flush dust her high cheekbones.
“Winter. Look at me.”
“No, thank you.” Her jaw pops. So stubborn. Reminds me of getting Vivi to settle down the other night. Must get that from her mom.
“Should I turn the lights off and leave you here?”
“Well, you’ve got the leaving me alone part down pat. Why stop now?”
With only a couple of steps, I’m behind her, crouching at the head of the bench, one hand gently cupping her throat as I stare down at her face. “It’s almost like you’ve forgotten I like when you hiss at me, Winter.”
Her wide blue eyes snap to mine.
“Tell me what you’re doing.”
“Lying here.” She fires the words from between her lips like projectiles.
“Why?” My hand tightens, fingers gripping her chin to tip her head back and have her look at me.
“Gravity.”
“Gravity?”
“Because if I sit up straight, the tears will fall out. And I don’t cry.” I notice it then, the sheen to her eyes, the way they fill as I watch. My chest seizes at the sight. Her face is a window into all her feelings. “I’m not at my best right now, Theo. I’m in a bad mood. I’m angry, and it doesn’t even make sense. You should leave me alone.”
“You know what I think, Winter?” My thumb strokes over her pulse point.
“No, but I bet you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“I think people mistake you being in a bad mood when you’re just overwhelmed. I think you needed to lie here for a few minutes with no one needing you. I think you’re overstimulated and even the best of us require some time to collect ourselves.”
She nods, lips rolling together, and one lone tear slips down her cheek, my thumb brushing it away almost instantly.
“I don’t—”
“I know.” I nod solemnly. “I’m pretty sure it’s a leak in the ceiling.”
She snorts now, head shaking as her hands cover her face. “Why are you so nice to me?”
“We’ve been over this. It’s because I like you.”
“That was a year and a half ago.” Her hands drop to my arm, but not to push me away. They rest there.
“Well, you’re hard to forget. And the thing is, I like you even more now.”
“Is that why you keep putting my clothes back on me?”
I still. “What?”
“The other night you took one look at me and pulled my nightgown back down. Today you covered me up again. It feels like you don’t like what you see.”
With a growl, I push her up to sitting, swing a leg over the bench and straddle the seat behind her. One arm around her ribs tugs her straight back into me and I see her shocked expression in the mirror’s reflection.
“Don’t like what I see?” Her back is pressed up against my chest, pulse vibrating through her body. “Winter, you have no fucking idea what I see. No fucking clue how hard I’m trying not to be another person who needs something from you. I’m prioritizing what life has thrown at us in the past few weeks. I’m trying to give you what you need. But if you think I don’t like what I see, then I’m not the one who needs his head checked.” I swipe her ponytail to the side of her neck and drop a kiss on the top of her slender shoulder. “Because your wellbeing has quickly become my number one priority.”
“Why?” Her ragged breathing echoes in the otherwise quiet gym.
“Because I fucking adore you. Haven’t you been paying attention?”
She shivers and I watch the fine hairs at the back of her neck stand on end when I breathe against her skin.
“Why?”
“Why do I fucking adore you?”
“Yeah. And if you say it’s because my body performed miracles growing and birthing a baby or some shit like that, I swear I will get up and walk out of here.”
I grin at the image of us in the mirror, her all fierce and flushed but also relaxing back into me. A small sign of trust from a woman who doesn’t trust easily.
One I won’t squander.
I trail a finger up the side of her slender neck. “This line right here. You carry yourself like royalty. There’s something about this curve, the little hairs.” I pinch the hairs and give them a gentle tug, eliciting a gasp from her. “Sometimes, when it’s sunny in the morning, the light through the front living room window catches all these little flyaways that end up looking like a halo.”
She stares at me in the mirror.
“Can I keep touching you?” I rub my stubble against her shoulder before dotting a kiss on the bump where her collarbone attaches.
She nods while swallowing. Her responding, “Yes,” is a whisper.
“I like your collarbones.” My left hand grips her hip while my right one dips under her arm and over her chest so I can trace the line of bones framing it. “Mine will always look a little crooked now. But if that’s the price I had to pay to get your attention . . . I’d break the other one myself.”
“Weird. But okay.”
My hand shoots up, and I press my pointer finger to her plush mouth while gently cupping her jaw. “I love your lips. This smart fucking mouth. I like the venom it spews. I especially like the way it looked wrapped around my cock.”
She moans.
“You liked that too, didn’t you?” Her body clenches and I squeeze her thigh before trailing the tips of my fingers over the inside seam of her leggings. “I know you did.”
“I—”
I cover her mouth with my free hand. “Don’t bother arguing with me. It makes me hard, and I’m not above flipping you over and fucking you right here and now.” I grind into her lower back, my dick already straining at the front of my shorts.
I watch her eyes change in the mirror. Instead of tears, they fill with heat. Longing.
With one hand still over her mouth, I slide the other under the loose tank top she’s wearing. She makes no effort to escape my hold. Her sports bra is tight, but it doesn’t stop me.
“I love your breasts.” I palm one and then the other before tweaking a nipple. “Your nipples get hard so easily. They’re so sensitive.” I tweak again, and her eyes drift closed. “I know that waste of space you married didn’t know how to make you come. But I do. And I bet I can do it by playing with these alone.”
Her head tips back onto my shoulder, her back arching as she presses her breast into my hand. It’s like I can feel her coming back to life. For me.
I release her nipple and slide my hand down her stomach, into her stretchy pants. I go straight for her core, running my finger through her soaked flesh before shoving it in. She clamps down on my digit and tries to cry out, but the sound is muffled by my palm.
“And this.” I work it in and out of her a couple of times. “You. I love how you look impaled on my cock. Open your eyes. Look in the mirror.”
I add a second finger and plunge into her wet heat, watching her lashes flicker open to meet my gaze. “Look at us. How could I not fucking adore this? I love the face you make when you fall apart for me. Am I still the only man who’s been able to fuck you right, Winter?”
Her head moves in a shallow nodding motion, her legs spreading wider to grant me deeper access.
“I bet I could make you come on my fingers just describing how beautiful you are to me right now. How fucking perfect you are.” I rasp my stubble against the shell of her ear and drop my voice. “But that would be a shame when you have such a pretty pussy for me to eat, don’t you think?”
She pants, her chest heaving and rosy. And just like before, her icy exterior melts away and leaves this woman. This confident, amazing woman, who’s occupied my brain and my body for well over a year now.
I drop my hand from her mouth, and we stare at each other in the mirror for several beats. My eyes are nearly black, while hers appear almost lighter. Brighter. More vibrant.