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“Ten times?” Bridger asked Graham over the link.
“Are you talking today?” Gunny responded. “Cause if we’re talking since morning, I’m thinking he’s moaned thirty or forty times.”
A disparaging grunt slipped through Tai’s lips. The sharp sound drew a raised eyebrow from Elliptical Woman. He set down the hundred-pound weight he’d been single-arming and grinned sheepishly in her direction.
All this waiting around chatting up strangers and playing the besotted groom was fraying what little patience he possessed.
Not that Tenaya seemed any more comfortable with the act than he was, despite her graciousness. The woman remained a mystery in many ways. Her dedication to her career impressed him, as did her subtle wit and intelligence. But her continual rejection of Graham’s cautious attempts to connect confused Tai.
Whatever ugly history lay between them, Tenaya owed the man some small effort. Just as Tai owed Graham far more than he could ever repay.
With an irritated motion, he racked the dumbbell. Across the gym, Tenaya stepped down from the treadmill. Finally. They could get out of this fake sweat box. He leapt off the weight bench and swiped it with his towel. As she grabbed her gym bag, he crossed to intercept her on the way to the locker room. She hated the PDAs, but keeping up appearances was critical.
Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her slim curves against his chest for a quick hard hug. She stiffened in surprise before relaxing into him with a soft hum of contentment that did strange things to his equilibrium.
Get it together, Kaholo. This is the job.
He eased away, tipping her chin up. “I’ll grab us a table upstairs while you shower?”
She smiled, the hint of shyness in her big dark eyes unfamiliar on her usually confident face. “Perfect. I’m craving one of those fruit smoothies.”
He watched her walk away, ponytail swaying. Tenaya Washington remained an enigma in many ways. But one thing was clear—his body’s visceral response to touching her soft skin made maintaining professional distance a challenge.
Turning abruptly, he headed for the locker room. A bracing shower was what he needed to shock his system back into line.
Fifteen minutes later, showered and changed, he climbed the open stairs to the small juice bar on the gym’s second level. Grabbing a tiny table by the railing overlooking the lobby below, he tried not to resent the other happy shiny people chatting and sipping neon-colored concoctions.
At least from this vantage point, he could keep eyes on the front entrance. Not to mention Tenaya when she emerged from the locker room. Bridger and Graham had both ends of the street under observation, while Paige monitored his fleet of tiny surveillance drones hovering invisibly above the entire block.
Speak of the devil. There she was, damp hair hanging to her shoulders as she climbed the stairs and scanned the area.
When her gaze landed on him, a smile broke over her face. The brilliance of it hit him square in the chest for a strange moment before she hurried over.
“Thanks for grabbing us a table.” She slipped gracefully into the tiny chair across from him, brushing her knee casually against his.
The contact shot sparks up his leg. Tai clenched his jaw, cursing his traitorous body.
“Of course.” He infused his tone with casual intimacy. “How was your workout?”
“Good.” She lifted the glossy menu, glancing anywhere but directly at him. “My legs will be jelly tomorrow. I pushed it too hard.”
“I noticed.”
Tai wanted to kick himself the instant the words left his mouth. Noticing her toned legs during her workout was the last thing he should mention.
This forced intimacy without true connection was draining his spirit. But for Tenaya’s safety, the pretense was essential. She had to appear irresistibly in love or Zhezhnov would sense the trap.
So Tai pasted on the charming, besotted groom persona and leaned closer. “You look amazing.”
The compliment emerged roughly around the sudden tightness in his throat. Being so close to Tenaya, her spicy floral scent wreathing him, working its own exquisite kind of torture.
A gym employee in tight spandex appeared to take their orders. Tai requested a green protein shake, needing the fortification for the conversation ahead. When the waitress vanished, Tenaya leaned forward, clasping both his hands tightly in hers.
“So about tomorrow morning. Something’s come up.” She bit her lip. “I have a court hearing first thing. I tried to get out of it, but opposing counsel objected to pushing it farther out on the judge’s calendar.”
Tai frowned, pulse accelerating with alarm. Court meant crowds, security checks, random chance. A dozen ways Victor could get to her despite the team’s vigilance.
Muscles bunching in his jaw, he weighed the risks. He understood the logic, however much it grated. “I don’t like you being that exposed.”
