Page 45 of Wounded Hearts

The door opened again, and Drew poked his head in. “Now a good time?”

Mara grinned as she crossed the room to him. “Always a good time for you.”

Drew pulled her into his body and buried his head in her neck as she wound her arms around him. “I like that,” he responded as he looked up then dropped a hard kiss on her lips.

Instantly her body warmed, wanting to feel him in other places too. They had been inseparable the last three days since the fright with Lucy. She’d wanted him close and wanted his touch, and after her chat with Roz, she was feeling brave enough to let it happen organically. Neither stopping it nor pushing it, just letting it grow at its own pace. That pace, as she was finding out, was warp speed.

But it felt right with Drew. As if he was the other half of her soul, like she’d known him her entire life. An ease of mind and body surrounded her when she was with him. No angst or worry, just pleasure and contentment.

“I wondered if you fancied working out with me?” he asked with a raise of his eyebrow. “No pressure either way, but I’m heading out and I remembered you liked to use the spin bikes and free weights in the past, so thought I’d ask.”

Mara pulled back giving it thought. She hadn’t worked out in so long she doubted her muscles could handle a full-on spin session or anywhere like the free weights she used to lift.

Drew must have taken her pause as negative. “As I said, no pressure. I personally love you exactly how you are, no matter what that is.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to. I just doubt my stamina is what it was. But I’d like to try it and see where I’m at. Then if you wouldn’t mind, could you help me put a programme together to get back to what I was?”

Drew’s eyes lit and gave her butt a squeeze with his big hands and she sucked in a breath. “I’d love to do that. Watching you get all sweaty sounds like the second-best way to spend an afternoon.”

“Oh yeah, what’s the first?” she teased knowing exactly what he’d say. Her look was flirtatious as she waited for him to answer.

“Peppa Pig obviously,” he said with a serious expression and grinned when she started to laugh.

“Oh, be still my beating heart, a man who likes kids TV.”

“Hey, can’t knock CBeebies.”

“I would never,” she said with a contrite expression, fighting the smile that was bursting to come through. She’d spent over a year not having a reason to smile and now she had so many she felt like a grinning fool.

“Do you have workout clothes, or do you want to borrow something from Lucy?”

“I have some, Lizzie picked me a few things up from town.”

“You and Lizzie seem tight.”

Mara nodded, not able to explain her bond with the woman she’d only just met. “She’s great and I have so much admiration for her.”

“Yeah, Lizzie is amazing. I just wish Smithy wouldn’t blame himself for what happened.”

Mara saw the concern cross Drew’s face and vowed to help his friend and the man who’d silently saved her as much as she could.

* * *

“Arggh,”Mara grunted as the sweat dripped down her neck, between her boobs, and off her face.

“Come on, Mara. Two more minutes. You can do this, let’s go.”

Drew was watching her with his arms crossed over his beautifully sculpted chest, and all she wanted to do was throw something at him for looking so perfect when she knew she looked like a drowned rat. As speech was an impossible task right then, she glared instead, watching the grin play on his lips as he winked at her.

“Five, four, three, two and one. And relax.”

Mara stopped peddling and sank against the handlebars, her breath coming fast. “I take it all back, you’re not my knight in shining armour, you’re a demon.”

“I don’t remember you calling me that,” Drew said as he handed her a towel and a bottle of water which she gratefully accepted. The cool water hitting her parched throat was like nectar.

“Thanks.”

“You did great. I’m impressed. Want to try some weights?”