and ready to salute the morning.
“You really don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” she said, biting on her bare lower lip. Her hair was disheveled, and there was a distinct bite mark on her shoulder. She looked thoroughly ravaged. And conflicted.
I grabbed my pants from the floor and stepped into them.
“I’m staying,” I insisted.
“Fine. Okay. I’ll, uh, meet you…” She waved her hand in the general direction of the gym, still watching me.
I pressed a chaste kiss to the top of her head and headed for my SUV.
Minutes later, dressed in my own gear, I found her in the glassed-in gym. The sky was starting to lighten, and I could make out a pod of dolphins playing—or humping, I wasn’t sure—just offshore.
I opened the door and stepped inside to the thumping beat of a workout playlist. It was a sleek, utilitarian space. The floors were speckled cork and ran under every imaginable piece of fitness equipment. Tucked under a countertop, there was a small glass-doored fridge stocked with water and electrolyte drinks. Towels were neatly rolled and stacked in cubbies. The patio doors opened directly onto the pool area.
Everything was elegantly and efficiently designed. Just like the rest of Emily’s life.
Her long legs under short shorts ate up the belt on one of the treadmills. She was already sweating, her eyes fixed on the water just steps from the windows. I sat on a weight bench and watched her while I laced my shoes.
“That’s not burning any calories, Price,” she called.
“I’m trying to recall if I’ve seen a prettier view first thing in the morning,” I said.
She snorted and shook her head, sending her ponytail swinging.
I chose the rower next to her treadmill and cinched my feet in place.
With a breath, I pushed off and pulled back, feeling the muscles in my back bunch and release with each stroke. We worked in silence, sweating and breathing to the beat of the music. I liked starting my day with a workout. The gym in my condo building was adequate. But it certainly wasn’t as well-equipped as this. There was no panoramic bay view. No Emily.
No—
“Are those dolphins—”
“Humping,” Emily supplied with a grin. “They’re pretty frisky.”
“Lucky mammals.”
Sweat beaded on my skin as I powered through each stroke.
Emily’s step never faltered beside me.
When she finally stepped off the treadmill and moved to the free weights, I helped myself to a water and loaded up a bar.
“Wraps and clips are in there,” she said, nodding toward a set of gray metal lockers along one wall.
I helped myself and worked through a set of clean and jerks, pretending not to notice her gaze glued to my ass in the mirror. She could play it as cool as she wanted, but I knew last night had affected her. Just as it had me.
I stripped off my shirt and tossed it in the direction of the door.
Emily bobbled the hand weight, and it fell, knocking over her water bottle.
When our gazes met in the mirror, I winked, and she rolled her eyes.
“Okay. Fine. I feel awkward. Happy now?” she said, trading the weights for a mat.
I grinned. “Ecstatic.”
“I’m not used to… whatever this is.”
“Intimacy?” I prodded.
“Invasion,” she corrected.
I dropped my bar and laid another mat next to hers. She started a set of crunches. I followed suit.
“You could send me on my way,” I told her, puffing out a breath and I contracted my abs.
“I could,” she agreed, switching to V-ups.
I followed her lead. “But you don’t want to?”
“I’m not clear on what I want,” she corrected.
“Do you want more of last night?” My dick went instantly hard in my shorts, reveling in some of the more vivid details of the night before.
She collapsed back onto the mat. “I don’t know if I can survive more of last night,” she laughed weakly.
“I’m up for trying,” I offered heroically.
She slapped me playfully in the gut, making my cock twitch.
“It was good,” she said.
“Very good,” I agreed, rolling onto my side.
Those blue-gray eyes studied mine seriously. “I want more,” she admitted. “But I can’t tell if it’s a catastrophic idea or just very, very bad.”
“And won’t it be fun finding out?” Testing, I leaned over and brushed my lips against hers. Gentle. Teasing. When I pulled back, she sucked her lower lip into her mouth.
“I don’t have time for fun,” she admitted.
“You forget. I run your calendar. I’m happy to pencil in sex, naps, perhaps some naked happy hours.”
Her smile was slow as she trailed her