Exposed by Fate (Serve #2)(15)

Oh. Mama. She made a sound of agreement then hung up before she humiliated herself by begging to meet him on their lunch break instead of after work. With a shrug, she leaned down and took a hands-free bite out of the cookie. Apparently she’d be working it off later.





Chapter Seven


Oliver had gotten to the gym early to work off some steam. His phone call this morning with Eliza had been eye opening and had resulted in a distinctly uncomfortable work day. Under most circumstances, working with family wasn’t easy. Having your sister breeze into your office after her best friend just gave you a hard on and it graduated to impossible.

He’d been losing her attention. Even over the phone, he could feel her slipping away, more surely than when she’d slammed his apartment door last night. He wasn’t used to a girl giving him the cold shoulder nor did he like it. So he’d taken a risk. On one hand, he was f*cking grateful it had paid off. He needed to shake this rapidly increasing need for Eliza, and he couldn’t do that if she refused to forgive him. Only based on the way she’d reacted to the steel in his voice, he was pretty sure what Eliza needed. One command from him and she’d practically been panting through the phone. This mission she was on didn’t stem from mild curiosity. No, she was drawn to it for a good reason. He intended to show her how amazing it could be. How amazing she could be.

From now on, he would keep his head around her. These lessons were going to kill two birds with one stone. He would lower his attraction to Eliza from a ten-alarm fire to glowing embers. She would go into her next relationship with confidence and knowledge. Do not analyze why the image of her with another man makes you want to shatter the mirror on the gym wall with a dumbbell.

Even worse, churning around inside of him was the dark need to ruin Eliza for anyone else. The exact opposite of their agreement. He didn’t know where the compulsion came from or what it meant. He only knew it was there and it was powerful. It also made him a special brand of bastard.

He dropped the heavy dumbbell onto the mat between his feet and looked at himself in the mirror. Eliza didn’t like him…because she knew him. She wasn’t a girl at a party who he could buy a drink, say three words to, and take home the same night. They’d spent time together, she’d seen him with bad haircuts, heard him tell lame jokes. She called him playboy because that’s exactly what he’d proven himself to be. As a result, she wanted his expertise, but she didn’t want him.

In the mirror, he saw Eliza walk into the massive workout room. His heart started knocking so loudly against his ribs, he could hear the boom boom boom in his ears. Did she have to look so good? In black yoga pants and a hot pink sports bra, she turned every head in the room. He’d told her not to wear panties, but apparently she’d decided a shirt wouldn’t be necessary either. They would be having a discussion about that. Yes, they would. As she smoothed her hair back into a pony tail, her gaze trailed over the busy room, before landing on him. It felt unnatural not to send her his customary wink, but he gave no sign of recognition. She followed suit, heading toward the cardio area and climbing aboard one of the treadmills.

Oliver had already run his three miles for the day, but he definitely hadn’t worked off enough steam for this. Not enough to sit there and watch her breasts bounce with every footfall. To watch her thighs flex, her ass give that maddening little jiggle. Within seconds, he was restraining himself from dragging her off the machine and slapping that perfectly rounded ass until she screamed. She would deserve it too, because she knew what she was doing. He could tell by the sly smile playing around her lips. This was his scene, and she was trying to run it. Not going to happen.

Thanks to the urgency of his workout, he’d soaked his T-shirt with sweat. Keeping his gaze locked on Eliza, he drew it over his head and let it drop to the floor, laughing when her steps faltered on the treadmill. Good. She might want another man, but she couldn’t completely hide her attraction to him. If that’s all he had going for him, he would damn well use it.

Slowly and purposefully, he wove his way through the various machines and people exercising until he reached Eliza’s treadmill. She kept her eyes resolutely forward, but he knew she sensed him getting closer. He propped an elbow on the machine and waited for her to look at him.

“You should really stretch before you run.”

“Oh?” She looked down at him. “Are you a personal trainer here?”

Any other time, he would have made a joke. But right now, he wasn’t Oliver. She needed to be reminded. “I’m your personal trainer.” Knowing people were within earshot and not wanting to embarrass her, he lowered his voice but kept it firm. “Get off and let me stretch you. Now.”

He groaned under his breath when her nipples turned to hard points at the front of her sports bra. Such a swift reaction to his order. Anticipation gripped him at the thought of how quickly she’d respond to everything else he intended to do. She seemed to notice her visibly aroused state too, because she hit STOP on the treadmill and climbed off gracefully, crossing her arms over her chest.

Oliver laid a possessive hand on the small of her back and led her toward the back of the gym, feeling a surge of satisfaction when the men who’d checked her out on the way in averted their eyes now. That’s right. Mine.

When they reached the designated stretching area, he was glad to find it empty as usual. At this time of day, patrons consisted mostly of corporate guys who worked in the surrounding buildings, trading stocks. They stretched on the fly and got their workout completed fast, same way they did everything else. Today that worked to his advantage.