enough force to make my toes curl. I’d tried to hide how turned on I was, but he knew. The bastard definitely knew.
“FOUR MINUTES,” he yelled.
I inhaled a deep breath and followed suit, reaching for a clean leotard and a matching black top and shorts. I brushed my teeth quickly and threw my hair in a braid.
“So I guess he didn’t appreciate the jokes last night?” Molly asked, coming up to stand beside me so she could reach for her own toothbrush.
I avoided her eyes in the mirror and didn’t offer a reply. The girls had asked me what had happened when I’d returned from Erik’s, but I’d ignored their questions and locked myself away upstairs. I’d tried hard to go to sleep, to forget how hard he’d felt against me, how badly I wanted to taste him, but the harder I fought against the memories of him, the more they corrupted my mind. Residual adrenaline and desire had swirled through me all night, and it wasn’t until 2:00 AM that I was finally able to drift to sleep. Now, glancing down at my phone on the bathroom sink, I realized it was only 4:30 AM. No wonder I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.
Lexi and June were already downstairs when I took the stairs two at a time. Erik was standing in front of them with pots scattered around his feet and when I glanced up to meet his eyes, I nearly melted beneath the heated gaze. I wanted to look away, to cower, but I lingered there, trying to find even a sliver of the emotion I’d seen the night before. He’d wanted me against that door. I’d felt his desire burning between us, but now, in the kitchen, he wasn’t just furious—he was indifferent. His cold eyes swept past me as he shouted up the stairs.
“Molly! Rosie! Hurry up!”
He wore a gray Henley shirt that stretched tight over his broad chest and shoulders. I focused on his arms, on the thick muscles corded beneath his shirt. He was so much bigger than me, tall and broad, and realizing that sent an icy chill running down my spine.
“If Rosie and Molly aren’t down here in the next minute, it’s an extra mile,” he said with a calm, dark tone.
“ROSIE. MOLLY,” Lexi yelled back over her shoulder. “Get down here already!”
“We’re coming!” Rosie called out from the top of the stairs.
They made it downstairs just before the minute was up, and when all five of us stood shoulder to shoulder in the kitchen, he swept his gaze over us, landing on me with a small smile.
“Who knows how far the gym is from here?”
My stomach tightened.
“Five or six miles?” Rosie offered with a fragile tone.
“Eight.” He turned and headed for the door. “Let’s go.”
Our Jeep was sitting out in front of the house, but he passed it and directed us down the dark gravel drive. The moon painted his yard in eerie light and I suddenly wished for the sun, thinking maybe he wouldn’t seem quite so intimidating in the light of day.
“Apparently I haven’t given you all nearly enough work to occupy your time. As of today, that changes.” He turned and pointed down the deserted road. “Run.”
He wanted us to run all the way to the gym? The sun was nowhere near rising; we’d be running in the dark.
“Are you serious?” Lexi asked with a laugh. “I don’t even know how to get there. We’ll get lost in the middle of the woods or something.”
He swept his arm back around and pointed at the road. “Run.”
Fuck him. He wanted to punish us for ruining his booty call the night before? Fine. This wasn’t punishment anyway; this was a morning stroll.
I walked ahead of the group and stopped a few feet in front of him. I could smell his body wash as I stretched out my calves, making a real show of it. “Do we need to get there it in a certain amount of time or—”
His blue eyes pierced mine. “Don’t test me right now.”
I offered a shaky smirk that I hoped looked more confident than it felt.
“Yes, sir. I just want to make sure I run fast enough for you.”
He leaned forward, invading my space. He’d taken the time to shave and I found myself wishing he hadn’t. His jaw was a weakness of mine, so sharp I preferred when it was softened with stubble. Without facial hair, his face was too handsome, too