AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What are you doing in here?”
I blink, snapping back to my surroundings as the door clicks shut across the room and Cam steps inside, only now realizing the others must have left at some point. The sky is nearly dark through the windows behind him.
Cam frowns, his arms crossed over his chest. “We weren’t scheduled for training today.”
“I know.” I readjust the Velcro on my glove.
“The rest days are important too.”
I shrug, turning to the bag. “We skipped that one workout earlier this week. Figured I’d make up for it.”
He says nothing as the smack of my fists against the bag fills the room again, but then his footsteps grow closer behind me. I don’t turn, focusing on my punches, but then he sighs somewhere near my ear.
“You’re not squaring your hips enough. You’ll never get much power that way.”
I throw another few punches, focusing more on my form. It’s not that I don’t know the proper way to do it—we had similar instructions at the academy—my body istired, and it’s much easier to throw out a lazy rep than engage all of the necessary muscles.
“I know you can do better than that.” His hands land on my hips, forcing me to twist and follow through with each punch.
I drop my fists after a few moments, panting, and it takes Cam a beat too long to release me. It registers then how close he’s standing, how clearly I can make out his earthy scent, the elevated rate of his heart in his chest.
I look at him over my shoulder, and his eyes meet mine, guarded, but there’s another layer beyond that, a fire burning low.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickle, a million memories I don’t want to think about pounding at the walls of my mind, begging to resurface. Glimpses of fingers trailing softly over skin, words murmured low in the dark.
Because if I let myself think about it, if I acknowledge the effect he still has on me, I can’t pretend what happened between us was a moment of weakness, a lapse in judgment. A desperate attempt at distraction in a horrible situation.
But even if I manage to keep my mind clear, my body revels in the heat of him standing so close, the feel of his gaze as it drops from my eyes to my lips.
I can’t even write it off as lust. There’s some of that too, but this overwhelming feeling issafe.A silent understanding,knowing, in the deepest parts of my soul, that for some reason, I can rely on this man. Trust him.
And even though I know I shouldn’t—Ican’t—a part of me still wants to.
The moment is suspended between us, something outside of time and logic. But then he steps away, taking all of the tension with him.
I swallow hard and bend to retrieve my water bottle. “What are you doing here? You hate this place.”
He takes another step back, resting his shoulder against the mirrored wall. “I was walking by. Saw you through the window.”
“And you were so appalled by my form you had to come intervene?” I say flatly.
He smirks. “What are you doing up so early?”
“What areyoudoing up so early?”
“Doesn’t feel early to me,” he says with a one-shouldered shrug. “The sun’s out. Old habits die hard.”
“Early risers, huh?”
I jump as the door clambers shut across the room and Anya steps inside in a matching black workout set and her hair slicked back in a high ponytail. She offers me a smile as she heads toward the weight section, picks up some dumbbells that look like they weigh more than she does, and shuffles toward the benches in front of the mirror.
“Oh, Valerie,” she says. “That vampire I saw you at dinner with, is that your boyfriend?”
For a brief, ridiculous moment, a jolt goes through my system, and I think she’s talking about Reid. But no, of course not. Good to know the charade we’ve been putting on is working. It’s easy to forget the reason Connor’s been tagging along when it just feels like having my old best friend back.
I can feel Cam looking at me, but I refuse to meet his gaze. “Um, yeah. His name is Connor. We’ve known each other forever.”
“Well done. He’scute.” Anya snaps her fingers, then calls, “Attendant?” without looking at us. “A towel, if you could?”
