When You're Mine - Layla Hagen Page 0,11

make my panties melt; it came naturally to him.

What had I been thinking, agreeing to train him one-on-one?

What had I been thinking, flirting with him in my messages?

Eh, the last one was easier to explain. I’d had a glass of wine while listening to a steamy audiobook, and one thing led to another.

As to the private session? Apparently I didn’t seem to be able to think straight around him, not when he pinned me with that sinfully hot gaze.

“Well, I’m off. Wish me luck,” I said, quickly going to the ladies’ room before the session started. I inspected my appearance in the mirror. My dark shoulder-length tresses were firmly up in a ponytail, as usual. I typically wore no makeup at the gym. Even in my free time, I usually sported a natural look, only using black eyeliner on special occasions when I wanted to highlight my green eyes.

After rinsing my hands, I noticed a message on my phone. I unlocked the screen and gasped.

Elliot: I need to talk to you.

What the hell?

Mel: Forget it. I don’t want to see you. Ever.

Elliot: You think I do? I just need something.

Mel: FUCK YOU.

I leaned my forehead against the cold tiles, drawing in a few breaths, trying to relax. He needed something. I couldn’t believe the nerve of him. My ex was truly a shitty person. I didn’t want to change my number because it was a hassle. With trembling hands, I deleted the messages and his number.

I stayed in the ladies’ room for a few minutes longer before heading to the weight section. Dylan still had a few minutes on the treadmill, and I snatched the opportunity to drink him in, hoping the view would erase my thoughts of Elliot. Isabelle’s brother was wearing Nike shorts and a sleeveless tank top—those arms, yum. He was definitely all man with a build that rivaled any professional athlete.

When he turned around and locked his gaze with mine, I licked my lower lip. Just like that, all the anger those texts provoked slid to the back of my mind. Drawing in a sharp breath, I smiled widely, hoping he couldn’t tell how much he affected me. I clasped my hands together, standing next to the weight station as he walked toward me, and I was determined to keep my eyes on his face.

Do not look down, Melanie. Don’t be obvious. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to check him out later when he’s not looking.

There was a thin sheen of sweat on those delicious muscles.

“Hi. I see you've already done the warm-up. Are you ready for me?"

"I'm ready, Mel."

Just the sound of my name coming from his mouth was doing things to me. I had goose bumps on my arms. Sweet Lord, I was in trouble if I reacted to him this way already. I hadn't spent even five minutes with him and I was ready for a different kind of workout. Sheesh, I was usually not this responsive to the opposite sex.

Men in T-shirts and shorts surrounded me daily. I didn't even really register them anymore. But I sure as hell memorized every single inch of Dylan. I was blaming it on his gentlemanly actions that first day. He'd gotten under my skin, and now there was no shaking him off.

"So," he said, "should I bring up the audiobooks already?”

I tilted my head, smiling. It would seem I had to sort out this flirty situation before I could do my job.

“You can, but it doesn’t mean I’ll answer your questions.”

“That wasn’t our deal.”

“We had no deal. You said you’d bring them up, and I agreed you would.”

He trapped my gaze with his and didn’t reply, but the sheer intensity in his eyes made me squirm.

Oh dear God, it was too easy to get caught up in his seductive smile. I looked around, searching for a distraction before remembering I had the perfect one.

"Do you have the card with your exercises?"

"Yes."

He handed it to me, and I reviewed everything. It was all pretty standard. I was going to tweak a few things here and there. Everyone’s body was different; even though we liked to talk a lot about body types in fitness, each one responded differently to exercises. You could only be sure they were the right ones by observing your client as they performed them. And I planned to watch Dylan very, very close; I had no problem with that.

"By the way, thank you again for helping me out the other day. Isabelle always