I blink. Because… what? That might be the strangest thing anyone has ever said to me. I lower my chin and study her properly this time. And all at once, something in my chest snags. There’s something familiar about her. Not obvious enough to place, not strong enough to make sense, but enough to make me pause. Like I’ve seen her before. Like maybe I’ve known her before. I tilt my head, searching her face for the answer. The curve of her mouth. The shade of her green eyes. The way she’s looking at me like she already knows something I don’t.
But no matter how hard I try to piece it together, I come up empty.
How do I know her?
We’ve met before.
She squirms under my gaze, her carefree expression slipping as if she doesn’t like me studying her too closely.
“Hey, have we—?”
And then, abruptly she blurts out, “I should go” and stands.
“What?” Something was happening between us, I think. Something more than casual banter, flirting and ridiculous weightlifting experiments. Something like what she was alluding to. Those romantic moments of spontaneity or whatever the fuck she said.
Dammit. Am I interested in this woman?
Before I can fully process what I’m doing, I’m standing too. Blocking her exit path to the gym door. I stare down into her eyes, a thousand conflicting thoughts battling for priority in my head. I shouldn’t be doing this. I don’t even know her, and beyond that, I have a new career I need to establish with theMayhemand a daughter who needs me to be thinking much more clearly than I have been.
I fuck up relationships. It’s just a fact. I drive women away. I’m complicated, moody, and fatally flawed to the point where I’m not sure I’ll ever be successful at getting someone to stay. But that doesn’t stop my gaze from dropping to Bri’s lips. They’re so soft. Pink. Perfectly shaped, with that little bow in the middle.
Somehow, I already know how they’ll feel. How they’ll taste.
My hands find her arms, and she shivers beneath my touch as my fingers trail upward, grazing over her skin until they settleon the delicate curve of her neck. I draw her closer slowly, giving her time to pull away.
She doesn’t.
Her green eyes widen, her breath hitches. And when she nods a little, that’s all the permission I need.
I dip my head, my lips brushing against hers. Sparks ignite, heat rolling through me like a tidal wave, and then the moment my lips touch hers, she gasps—a soft, breathy sound that shoots straight through my bloodstream like a drug. She doesn’t pull away like I thought she might. No, she parts her mouthfor me instantly, welcoming my tongue like she’s been waiting for this, like she wantsthis just as badly as I do.
I sweep my tongue along her bottom lip, tasting her, teasing her, and when I pull back just slightly, just enough to search her gaze and make sure I haven’t gone too far, her hands wrap around my neck. She’s not pushing me away. She’s pulling me closer. Dragging me into her like she needs me pressed against her every bit as much as I need her touching me.
Her soft front molds against my hard one, and something inside me snaps. Call it the fact that humans were made to be touched and I’m about as touch deprived as a man can get or call it real chemistry. My hands sink into her hair, fingers twisting, tugging—deepening the kiss, controlling it, owning it as our tongues tangle in a way that’s not even remotely tentative for two perfect strangers.
This isn’t cautious. It’s not testing the waters or feeling things out. This is afull-on fucking make out, raw and desperate and completely uninhibited.
I grip her waist, sliding my hands around her back, pulling her in, pinning her to me like she might disappear if I let go. She meets me with the same urgency, kissing me like I’m air, likeshe’s been starving for this. And for the first time in a while, my brain just—stops. There are no intrusive thoughts. No worries about the future or the present. Just her. Justthis.
Her hands lower, trailing fingers down my chest and cupping the front of my pants to palm my cock. My whole-body lights up with the unexpected touch. And that’s exactly when the door to the gym swings open and a throat clears, deep and unmistakably male.
Bri drops me like I’m on fire, pushing back with two palms firmly braced against my chest.
“Uh, hey Seth. Hey Brianna.”
Brianna?
I blink, still dazed as I turn to find the source of the voice—Lochlan. He’s standing in the doorway, arms crossed, taking in the very obvious scene in front of him with an expression I can’t quite place.
Brianna flicks her gaze between us, her face going a little pale. She forces a casual wave like we weren’t just two seconds away from fucking against a gym bench. Maybe she wasn’t but I was.
Lochlan’s eyes shift to her. “Uh, I think your dad’s looking for you, Bri.”
Brianna freezes. Her brows pinch, a flicker of something tense and unreadable crosses her face. She snatches her purse off the floor, suddenly avoiding my gaze like I’ve just become something she can’t even look at.
“No idea why he’d be looking for me right now,” she mumbles, more to herself than anyone else. But I hear it—the quiet bite in her voice. Whoever her dad is, she isn’t a fan.
“Hey.” My voice comes out rough as I step toward her. “Are you good?”
