Page 57 of Work It Out
Yeah. Had to be those cupcakes.
He didn’t give her long to think about it. Despite his words, he shook out his hands and gripped the bar. His deadlift form was perfect now, which meant she had a spectacular view of his ass as he drew his shoulders back, planted his feet, and stabilized his core. The bar grazed his thighs and chains jingled as he heaved the weight off the floor. She switched to watching him in the mirror as his muscles strained. His jaw hardened and, since he’d taken off his shirt before the previous set, she also had an incredible view of the way sweat glistened off his pecs and abs.
He totally had abs now. A baby two-pack, but abs nonetheless.
The soft clinking of metal against metal almost covered her groan. Jake reached the high point of the motion. The bar rested against rock-hard quads, twenty-pound chains dripping toward the floor on either side. The chains provided a different kind of resistance than plates, challenging the muscles in new ways. The method also had a certain badass factor. Unlike plates, those chains looked as freaking heavy as they were.
And Jake looked hot.
God, he was so freaking hot.
As if he’d known she was watching all along, his silver eyes flashed up to meet hers in the glass. From across the room a tiny, cocky grin curved one side of his mouth. He gave her a slow wink that promised all manner of dirty things she couldn’t let him deliver and eased the bar to the floor with another rattle and athump, which had the added benefit of displaying that fine ass again.
She was in so much trouble.
“Towel?” When she didn’t reply, Samuel felt the need to clarify. “You know, for the drool.”
“I’m watching his form,” she lied. “He tweaked his lower back a few days ago.” Not a lie. Giving him a back rub had nearly killed her.
“That was almost a week ago.” He jerked his chin in Jake’s direction. “He’s doing well, better than I thought he would.”
As mouthwatering as she found him, Jake hadn’t made the kind of progress she’d hoped for, but no one could fault his dedication. He rotated from trainer to trainer, working out two, sometimes three sessions a day, and he whined incessantly when she forced him to rest. Since weight management was at least 80 percent diet, she’d been ruthless in that department. He ate only what she told him to, when she told him to, no matter how much Vicky’s baking tempted him.
“I figured he’d bow out once you took over.”
The sting of Samuel’s comment pulled her mind back to their conversation. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He tried not to laugh, “tried” being the operative word, since he failed miserably. She slugged him on the arm. “Oh, come on. After that first day, we started another pool for how long it would take your style of…guidance—”
She frowned up at him. “You mean bitchiness.”
“But I said guidance. See, I can be taught. We wagered on how long it would take for yourguidanceto send him running back to L.A. with his tail between his legs.” He stared at her shoulder. “We all lost, by the way. Nobody believed he’d make it past the thirty-day mark, even Victoria. Between that and the previous unsettled pool, the fund for the Christmas party has grown substantial.”
She almost wished Jake hadn’t been able to hack her “guidance.” Except that wasn’t true, and not because of the money or the possibility that they might both get everything they wanted. It wasn’t even the eye candy factor. She’d laughed more in the last two months than she had in the last few years combined. He seemed to have made it his mission, especially after Blaine ran away.
He still wasn’t back. She wasn’t sure he would come back.
Samuel shifted from side to side. Rayah checked her watch. Yep, nine fifty-five. The meeting was scheduled to start at ten, and Samuel was a big fan of keeping to a schedule.
“Bring it in, Pierce,” she called out.
Samuel muttered, “Finally,” and returned to the kitchen.
Jake dropped that bar with a symphony of clinks and a triumphant “Haha, sucker!”, then fled for the track to cool down before someone gave him another exercise to do.
“Saved by a girl!” Pierce taunted.
Rayah wasn’t engaging that nonsense, but Jake retorted, “A sexy one, at that.” As his gaze slid over her, she practically felt his big, warm hands on her skin. When his eyes settled on hers, his voice went from hot to incendiary. “She can save me anytime.”
It means nothing, she reminded herself. He was a shameless flirt. Her body still hadn’t received the message, though. Fire flashed through her system. That was all it ever took. One look, one wicked comment, and she was on the surface of the sun and loving every second.
And his time here is half over.More even. She shoved that fact and all the worries about why it depressed her into a mental box markedNo Touchy.
Pierce jogged toward the kitchen, face screwed up like he’d tasted something sour. “Eww, dude. Rayah’s hot and all, but she’s family.” She was still absorbing the multiple layers of shock in that statement when he stopped in front of her and rolled his eyes. “Like I need to picture you carrying his dumb ass off to have your way with him.”
Jake happened to be passing them on the track. He pivoted, walking backward to keep her in site. “Anytime, cupcake. Anytime.”
“Rayah,” Samuel yelled.
