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“Yes,” he says shortly. “I did. I was the best for a long time.”
“Of course you were,” I murmur. His eyes cut to mine, his gaze questioning. “Come on.” I wave my hand in the air. “You have to know that you’re terrifyingly competent.”
His mouth hitches up. “Scared of me, Thompson?” He prowls forward, each muscle graceful and lean.
“Never.” I tip my chin up and put a glove out to stop him. “Don’t distract me. I want you to try it again, okay? For me.”
He pushes my glove aside and gets in my space. He’s a seething god on the outside, and the best man I know on the inside. Where others see anger, I see loyalty. What might be perceived as coldness, I recognize is protectiveness. Of himself, of others.
“For you?” He dips his head so his lips hover over mine. “I’ll think about it, for you.”
I shiver and arch into him at the contact. He’s damp skin, hard muscle, and harsh beauty. I want to bury my face in his neck and breathe him in forever. He presses his lips to mine, and I sigh into his mouth, until I pull my hand back and punch him in the side.
He grunts, and his head jerks back, before he laughs and kisses me again.
“Good one.” He winks. “Come on. Let’s stretch.”
We flop onto the mat and I sigh. “This is the best part.”
He laughs. “The stretching? Yeah?”
“Totally. I feel very relaxed. Must be all the endorphins. I know it’s not all the yelling.”
“Heaven forbid your boss tell you what to do,” he murmurs, but his lips are curled up at the sides. Despite himself, I’m pretty sure Jonah Crown likes hanging out with me.
42
Jonah
Fuck, she’s pretty. All bright smiles and humor, even when she’s pretending to hate sparring with me.
“A secret for a secret,” I say. I want to know more about Callie, even though this wasn’t the deal.
“Secret. Hmm.” She bends over her leg, giving me an eyeful of her round breasts. My skin prickles. I’m getting addicted to her. Last night I wanted to text her again, and barely restrained myself.
“Did you know I was in a music video once?”
My brows go up. “What kind of video?”
“Oh no.” She laughs. “Not like that. Some guy I went to college with recorded an album, and he needed backup singers. It was fun. My fifteen minutes of fame.”
“I would have thought you hated being in front of the camera.”
She startles, her head jerking up to meet my gaze. “Yeah. Now I would. I wasn’t always shy. I guess Eric did that to me.”
Anger heats my insides. She’s only given me crumbs of information about her ex, but it sounds like he did a number on her.
“Was it just that night at the party, or is there more to that story?” I ask the question carefully, even though I want to spring up and find Eric right this second.
Her shoulders sag a little. “It’s pretty obvious, right? He was the worst.”
“It’s a little obvious. If you’re paying attention.”
“You always are. I like that about you.” She gives me a half smile. “He talked down to me a lot. I think he felt inferior, since he didn’t have much direction in life. And it wasn’t reserved for just me. He said mean things about a lot of people. But he never wanted me to steal the spotlight from him, so he used to say I was better behind the camera and not in the spotlight. At a certain point, you start to believe it.” She shrugs, like it doesn’t get to her, but rage fills me to bursting.
My emotions must show on my face, because she says, “What?” Her eyes are wide.
“The offer stands. Say the word and I’ll take him down.” My voice is rough. I’m trying not to scare her.
