Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Then, just as those feelings would take over, I would sit up in shock at the fact that I wanted him. I wanted Rhodes. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted from him, but I knew it was more than just a training session at the gym five days a week. Mason was still in my head, too — which only complicated things. I was a mess, and without my mom or Willow to talk to, I was sure I’d go mad.
Dressing in one of the new workout outfits Mom and I had purchased, I tried to hold my chin high as I strode into the country club that Thursday.
I saw him before he saw me.
He was lying on a weightlifting bench, his strong legs braced on either side, the muscles of his arms tightening and releasing as he bench pressed more than I weighed. No one was spotting him, but he made it look so effortless — as if he didn’t need help and never would.
I wondered if that were true in many aspects of his life.
After a few more reps, he set the bar back into place and sat up slowly, wiping his brow with the same white towel he always had with him. He tucked it back into the back band of his shorts, and then his emerald eyes were on me.
I couldn’t breathe.
I waited for him to frown, or curse, or roll his eyes or shake his head. I waited for him to order me to a treadmill or ask what the hell I was doing wasting training time just staring at him like an idiot. All of those things I expected.
But Rhodes just smiled.
That smile lifted the pressure from my chest and I inhaled like it was my first breath.
It hadn’t been a dream. It was real. It was all real.
Rhodes’ eyes stayed fixed on mine as he crossed the room to where I was standing. He crossed his arms, legs spread shoulder-wide in a confident stance. “Really?” he asked, shaking his head. His eyes trailed from my own to take in my full appearance. “You choose today to wear shorts for the first time?”
I glanced down at the tighter-than-preferred black shorts my mom had convinced me to buy. My legs were getting toned, and I had to admit — the squats were paying off nicely in the glutes area — but I knew I was far from looking like the other girls at the club. Eying Rhodes through my lashes, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I look stupid, don’t I?”
His smile fell. “Hardly.”
Rhodes looked around the room, as if it weren’t safe for us to speak, then he nodded toward the back office. “Come on, let’s check your numbers.”
I frowned. “But it’s only Thursday.”
He gave me a pointed look that told me not to ask any more questions before leading me back. Once the door was closed behind us, he motioned to the scale and I stepped up. Rhodes sidled up beside me, looking at the numbers on the scale that I refused to acknowledge. I just looked at him, instead.
“Did you forget everything I said to you the other night?”
I laughed, but Rhodes didn’t. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget anything about that night.” I blushed at the admission, but Rhodes just offered a soft smile.
He leaned in closer, but paused, resting his hand on my lower back so lightly I thought I might be imagining it. “You are beautiful, Natalie,” he whispered. A chill sparked where his hand touched my skin and traveled in all directions until it covered my entire body. “I can’t touch you the way I want to while we’re here, the way I did two nights ago, to show you that. So, I need you to just start believing it.”
I nodded, though I was far from believing I was beautiful. Rhodes clearly had on goggles I wasn’t yet accustomed to. Still, hearing his words, I wanted to believe him — I wanted to feel beautiful.
Rhodes cleared his throat and removed his hand quickly. “Good. Come on, we have work to do. Only two more workouts until weigh-in day.”
He didn’t tell me what the numbers were on the scale and I was grateful. The rest of my life was such a mess — I needed something scheduled, something reliable and stable. Weigh-in day was Sunday. I needed that to look forward to and dread all at the same time.
Rhodes worked me just as hard that day as he usually did. It almost felt like normal, except his hands touched me more, his eyes almost never left me, and the energy between us caught fire.
When our session ended and I all but limped to my gym bag, I waited for Rhodes’ next move. I half expected him to dismiss me like usual, but the other half of me was anxiously awaiting something — anything — that meant I wouldn’t have to say goodbye yet.