AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hands touch my shoulders. I almost jump a foot.
“Inspiration strike you?” Joel asks, kissing my neck.
I tip my head to the side and close my eyes. “Something like that.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” His lips linger. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I turn and grab the front of his shirt before he can pull away. Our lips meet, and his hand cups my cheek. The kiss deepens, his tongue tasting my mouth, until we’re both breathless. He presses one last, much more chaste kiss, to the corner of my lips and withdraws.
He lets himself out, and I linger in my chair.
But only for a moment.
I get up and change, tugging on shorts and a snug sports bra, my running shoes, and the key fob that’ll let me into the gym. Because I’m overwhelmingly restless, and no amount of sitting still or creative output is going to fix it.
Except when I get down there, I find a Titan.
Not Knox, thankfully.
Jacob Rhodes.
He glances at me, then does a double take. He’s Knox’s best friend. I have a zero percent chance of him not saying something to me. But he actually stays silent as I move to another treadmill and step on, powering it up to a quick walk at a decent incline.
Every so often, his gaze bores into the side of my face.
I forgot my headphones, of course. I’ve got nothing to tune out the dull sounds of his feet slapping the tread and mine at a more crawling pace.
What feels like eons later, he slows to a walk.
“Aurora?”
I frown, but I don’t otherwise acknowledge him.
“You’re messing with him,” he says. “Being here. Living here.”
“Oh, come on.” I scoff, putting my feet on the sides and facing Knox’s teammate. “I didn’t know he was going to be traded. I certainly had no plans of living in the same building as him. Or you, for that matter. Trust me, I would’ve picked anywhere else.”
He shakes his head.
“If you wantmeto stop messing withhim, tell him to sign the freaking divorce papers.” I hit theendbutton, my mood officially ruined.
I’ll go run outside. It’s raining and cold, but the foul weather will serve me good. It matches my mood.
He doesn’t follow me out, thank goodness.
But Knox is waiting for me.
I automatically scowl but otherwise ignore him. It doesn’t help that I catch his smile out of the corner of my eye.
“I saw Joel leaving,” he comments, following me down the hall. “Why don’t you live with him?”
“Because I want some independence.” I shoot him a pointed look. “What are you doing? Stalking me?”
“Right time, right place.”
God.
I hit the button for the elevator and face him, planting my hands on my hips. He’s dressed to exercise, too. Shorts and a t-shirt, a black ball cap hiding his dark-blond hair. He leans against the wall beside the elevator button and crosses his arms.
