Out of Bounds (The Summer Games #2)(55)

“Seems like you and Erik have worked out your differences,” Molly said, kicking her feet up on the coffee table beside me. “Just in time, too, considering we leave for Rio in two days.”

I shrugged.

“I mean, he’s been acting normal in the gym,” she continued. “No fire and brimstone.”

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the top of the couch. Was it so wrong that I craved his cruelty? His tongue lashed like a whip when he was angry and yelling, but I’d grown to like the pain, if only to serve as proof that I stood apart in some way to him.

“Where are the other girls?” I asked, aware of how quiet it was in the house.

“Rosie is on the phone with her parents and Lexi is out taking her ballet class.”

I nodded. “Where’s June?”

“Up in her room, I think.”

A knock sounded on the front door.

“Not it!” I exclaimed.

Molly groaned and tossed her ice pack onto the coffee table before standing to answer the door. I figured it was Lexi, home from ballet, but then I heard Erik’s deep voice on the other side of the threshold.

“Tell Brie to dress for yoga and meet me out front in five minutes.”

She turned to glance at me over her shoulder. “Uh, Brie…”

“I heard him.”

I was conflicted. I’d just finished dinner and had been working up the energy to head up, shower, and slip into my pajamas. I was exhausted from practice and the last thing I wanted to do was take a stupid yoga class, but I’d spent the last hour whining to myself about getting individual attention and now it was staring me in the face.

I pushed off the couch, ignored my aching muscles, and took the stairs two at a time. Most of my clothes were already packed for Rio, but I pulled out a black sports bra that matched my favorite pair of yoga pants. The straps were thin and crisscrossed over my shoulder blades, offering just enough support that I didn’t need to pair it with a tank top. I tossed my wild hair into a braid and didn’t even bother glancing in the mirror. I wasn’t trying to win any pageants.

I tossed a t-shirt on for the ride over and then trotted back down the stairs. Molly was sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone.

“Good luck,” she called as I pulled the door open.

“If I’m not back in an hour, call the cops.”

She laughed as I stepped out onto the porch. Erik was sitting in the driver’s seat of his truck, waiting for me with his gaze focused out through the windshield. I took in his profile, inhaling the smooth skin across his hard jaw. There’d been stubble there in the gym earlier, and for some reason the fact that he’d shaved since then sent a shiver down my spine.

He didn’t offer any greeting when I slid into the passenger side; he just shifted into drive and pulled away from the guesthouse.

“I could have called for a ride,” I said, chancing a glance in his direction.

His brows were tugged together in thought, but he didn’t offer any response.

“…or I could have waited for Lexi to get back with the Jeep,” I continued.

Silence filled the cab of the truck. Clearly, he didn’t feel like talking.

“What a pleasant chauffeur I have today.”

I crossed my arms and stared out the passenger side window. Erik, meanwhile, sat like a brooding statue. I’d straddled him right where he sat, on that seat. I’d felt how hard he was. How can so much have changed since then?

The yoga studio he picked for me was down the street from Seattle Flyers and when we pulled in, Erik parked beside the only other car left in the lot. I wanted to ask where the other people for the class were, but he wouldn’t have answered me anyway. I followed him into the small building, immediately hit with the smell of lavender coming from the diffuser on the check-in desk.

Behind the counter, a brunette sat working on her laptop. When she noticed us walk in, a wide smile spread across her full lips.

“Erik!”

Oh boy, she was really glad to see Erik—so glad, in fact, she pushed off her stool and rounded the counter to wrap him in a tight hug. Surprisingly, he didn’t pull away. He’d hug her, but he couldn’t even talk to me. Very mature. When she pulled away, she kept her hand on his arm as she turned her gaze to me. Her beauty punched me in the gut.

“You must be Brie! I’m so honored to meet you. I’m Kira.”

There was no sense of annoyance as she reached out to hug me as well. She obviously wasn’t threatened by my presence as much as I was by hers. She oozed sensuality. Though she was tall and toned, there were still curves to her—and I mean curves. Her black tank top was tight, doing a wonderful job of enhancing her already killer body, and her legs went on for days. Her long brown hair hung over one shoulder, but as she directed us to the cubbies beside the studio room where we could stash our shoes, she swung it into a loose bun on the top of her head. A small tattoo came into view on the back of her neck. The thin calligraphy ran down her spine, disappearing beneath her tank top, and I had the sudden urge to pull her top down to see where it led. Jesus. If Erik wasn’t planning on going home with her, I was.

“Just slip your shoes off and then head into the studio,” she said with a smile. “I’ll bring in your mats.”

I furrowed my brows. “Mats? As in two?”