Reluctant Deception - Cambria Smyth Page 0,21

off the machine, her legs buckled in sheer exhaustion.

Chris caught her as she started to fall, wrapping an arm around her slender waist in support.

"Guess I pushed you too hard," he declared, sounding only somewhat sympathetic. And when Libby looked at him she saw a triumphant smile lighting his face.

"Do you always treat your employees like this?" she replied sternly, deciding he was about to discover the true meaning of the phrase "paybacks are hell.” If only the feel of his arms around her wasn't so divine. When he released her, she almost cried at the loss.

As Chris positioned himself, Libby remembered two other ways the trainer had shown her to use the leg curl machine. In an instant, she knew they would suit her purposes perfectly.

She let him start heavier than usual, as he had done to her. He didn't complain about the additional weight and seemed to complete the repetitions effortlessly. When she cut the weight in half, he eyed her suspiciously.

"Don't get up," she ordered, imitating the authoritative tone of voice he had used on her. "Now I want you to do these one leg at a time," she directed, almost gloating over the look of disbelief he shot her.

Chris didn't protest out loud, but started the exercise. This time, though, he grunted audibly with each contraction. Libby smiled as she remembered how much more difficult it was to do this way. She forced him to do an additional five repetitions before putting the weight back to its heavier setting.

This time he looked at her incredulously. "You sure you want it that heavy?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

"Stay there," Libby said, imitating him again, "and don't question your trainer's decisions." The revenge was sweeter than she anticipated.

"Now, I want you to do these with both legs but do only half the range of motion. Pull the bar back to your butt, but only lower it half the way down."

Done this way, the exercise was a killer, she knew, and she watched him struggle to complete it ten times. He was drenched in sweat now. When she had him do it ten more times, she was certain he would start cursing her. He put up with it, however, and when finished just lay there taking in deep gulps of air.

"I'm almost afraid to get up," Chris finally panted out, looking at Libby with a mixture of annoyance and admiration. "I think you did me in on that one!"

Then he started laughing. The little minx had proven to be a worthy adversary in the weight room. What stamina! And where did she learn those leg curls? Was he ever going to be sore tomorrow! Chris got off the machine unsteadily.

Thoroughly exhausted, hot, and drenched in sweat, too, Libby took a long drink from the bottled water she always brought to the health club. The workout nearly killed her, but she felt oddly invigorated and the look on Chris's face at the end of the last exercise was worth all the pain, stiffness, and soreness she knew she'd feel in the morning. Although she'd managed to keep up with him, it was going to cost her dearly the next day and probably the day after, too.

"That's it for me," Libby declared, putting the cap back on the water. "You can stay until midnight if you want, but I've had it!"

Chris laughed again. "I'm ready to go, too."

He paused, thinking how nice a relaxing soak in a hot tub would feel. Even better would be a massage, slow and gentle, melting the stress and strain away. He’d do the same for Libby. Maybe after they eased away each other's aches and pains, they could...he stopped the thought abruptly.

He'd never expected to see her here, and he surprised himself by asking her to work out with him. The afternoon had sped by in her enjoyable companionship, and he was almost sorry to see their time together coming to an end. He considered suggesting they grab a bite to eat, but immediately ruled against it. What the hell was he thinking? They might have enjoyed a friendly rivalry in the gym, but it had been a true rivalry in Philadelphia. No, he couldn't allow himself to socialize with her, no matter how tempting it was to spend more time with her.

For a moment Libby thought Chris was about to ask her out. Not on a real date or anything, but maybe to get some ice cream or a cold, refreshing drink.