It was exhilarating, and it was mine. Faster, I raced to a goal I couldn’t see but felt deep in my bones. There was a better me out there, and if I ran hard enough, I’d eventually find her.
All of my issues peeled away as sweat broke over my skin and my mind cleared. The chorus kicked in, and I was lost, going hard and fast toward everything I wanted and—
My steps faltered as my earbud was yanked out and Florence cut off.
Noah ran at a rapid pace, his head angled in my direction. “Hey.”
I quickly lowered my speed and scowled at him. “Do you mind?”
“No, not at all. What are you listening to?”
He was like a child that needed constant attention. Adorable, but draining. “Music.” I plugged my earbud back in only to have it yanked out again. “Hey!”
“Talk to me.”
It was too early for conversation. “I don’t talk when I workout. I clear my head and listen to music.”
He pursed his lips. A second later, he jumped off his machine and was fiddling with his phone and the sound system by the door. I wasn’t sure if we were allowed to touch that. I always brought my own music.
“I think that belongs to someone.”
“Yeah, me.” He plugged his phone into the AUX outlet. “Now, we can both listen.”
I had a rapid two-second guessing game of what song he might choose. I wasn’t even close.
The quick bass came on, and Robin Thicke’s sexy voice filled the gym, talking about good girls getting nasty and wanting dirty sex with blurred lines. Noah bounced back to his machine, cranked up the pace, and tossed me a defiant smile.
Oh, was this some sort of challenge? Okay. I increased my stride and ran full speed ahead. Impressively, he kept pace. His longer legs meant he wasn’t working as hard, but whatever. I’d outrun him any day.
I was in a full body sweat when Rhianna yelled Na, na, na, na, come on and started singing about whips and chains in S&M. His music wasn’t my type, but I was picking up on a theme in his playlist. When the chorus belted out about the scent of sex in the air, my body started to stir.
At seven miles, my heart was thundering, and my legs were throbbing. The music dropped to a thrumming pulse as Nine Inch Nails’ Closer echoed through the gym, and I laughed. The guy truly had a one-track mind.
I dropped my speed, and he dropped his, but we didn’t talk. We dialed back and glanced at each other every two and a half seconds as we cooled down for the last mile.
But I didn’t feel cool. I felt tight and burning hot and ready to launch myself at him. This was absolutely not how my morning was supposed to go.
I clicked off my machine, more concerned about getting a head start to safety than conquering that last tenth of a mile.
“You quitting?” He punched his speed down to a slow crawl.
“I’m done. See you later.”
He frowned, but I pretended not to notice as I wiped off my machine and made a quick escape.
The elevator was busy during this time of the morning, so I impatiently poked the button like a Morse code, as if that might get it here sooner. My gaze shot to the stairs, and I debated.
A fight or flight sense of urgency buffeted me from all angles, yet I was alone in the hall. I heard the door open behind me just as the elevator arrived.
I stepped in and turned. Noah paused at the door to the gym, breathing heavily, gaze fastened to mine. Sweat marked every muscle under his fitted T, delineating his six-pack and pecs. His arms were swollen, and his fists were clenched.
Close the door… Close!
No matter how much I willed the elevator to shut, time seemed to stand still. The door finally started to move, but Noah crossed the distance in two strides, pivoting and sliding into the elevator at the last second.
I didn’t hit the floor button, and we didn’t move. We stared at each other in the cramped space, smelling like sweat and lust and sucking all the oxygen out of the air as we panted.
The damp hair at the back of my neck prickled. He wasn’t blinking, and he wasn’t giving me much room. I was cornered.
“Noah—”
“Shut up.” He ducked down and caught my bare hips, lifting my back against the wall as he slammed his mouth over mine, his tongue