She turns over on the mat, just sitting and looking at me. “You’re finished?”
I smirk. “With the workout? Yes.”
Her cheeks turn pink.
“Does that embarrass you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Chianna stands and crosses closer to me, grabbing her own water bottle and taking a swig.
“You know, I never realized how empty the gym is at this hour,” I say. “Never thought that this was a place that I could go to for some privacy. Especially away from disapproving eyes.”
Her breath comes faster, chest heaving up and down. “I’ve always liked empty gyms. The earlier the better. But I didn’t know that I would see you here.”
“Is that such a bad thing? To see me?”
Chianna bites her lip and shakes her head. “No.”
She’s near a wall that’s not glass, and from this angle, we’re out of sight of the main gym doors. Taking a step forward, she retreats until her back is against the wall. Placing my hands on either side of her, I lean closer.
“Do you know what I saw yesterday in that supply closet, and again just now when you came into the gym?”
“What?” Her voice is nothing but a breath. Looking down, I can see the swells of her breasts rising and falling with that same breath.
“I saw desire. You want me. You feel this thing between us just like I do.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “No, I don’t.”
“Really?” I lean just a little closer. “I’m not going to run and tell your uncle that you think I’m hot. I’m not going to get you in trouble. But the second I saw you outside my office, there was something there. And I’m not going to lie about the fact that I want you. So you can be honest. Do you want me?”
“I shouldn’t,” she whispers.
“That’s not no.”
“No, it’s not,” she says. Her eyes close and she breathes out one long breath, relaxing.
I make the move, closing the distance between us and brushing my lips across the outside of her ear. I savor the small shudder that sweeps through her body, loving the fuck out of how much I affect her. “I saw you looking, and I don’t mind. Don’t you want to see the rest of my body?”
A small whimper and a moan.
“Let me be clear about something,” I say. “If you say no, then nothing happens. But that’s not what I want. And I don’t think that’s what you want. Remember, there’s no one here. You’re allowed to want things.” I take a beat before I speak. “Tell me I can touch you, Chianna.”
“Yes.”
The answer comes out of her like she was already waiting to say it, and I don’t waste any time. My hands close on her waist, drawing them down so I can feel the silky touch of her skin beneath the camisole. I draw them up and over her arms, cradle the back of her neck and tilt her face to mine.
My lips trace the planes of her face. Across her cheekbones and her nose, down across her jaw and finally to her lips. “Do you like this?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t stop imagining you, Chianna. Every inch of you. I want to see how many shades I can turn your skin pink. I want to spread you out and tease and taste you until you can’t control yourself anymore. And I’ve never met anyone who made me feel this way this fast. I’m like an animal. Only instinct. And that instinct wants to fuck you until you scream.”
She gasps, and I kiss her. I want that breath. Her body arches under mine, desperate, but the kiss feels different than I expected. Hesitant and careful, even though I can sense her dripping with the same lust that I am.
I tilt her face up again and keeping the kiss, tracing my tongue along her until I hear the soft moan. Her voice vibrates under my thumb at her throat. But still, something is missing.
“What is it?” I whisper the words against her lips.
“What do you mean?” Her body presses into mine again, and I can’t breathe without the taste of her mouth. She’s cool and crisp like apples in the fall, and my god, I want everything she has to offer.
Absolutely fucking everything.
But she’s still holding back.
“I mean, I think if I reach down and feel you, you’ll be as turned on as I am. But you’re holding back. Hesitant. Nervous. You don’t have to be scared with me. If it’s your uncle, he doesn’t need to know.”
Suddenly Chianna’s body goes still, and she looks up at me. There’s worry there, and fear too. Not of me, but of what I’ll think. What did I say?
Chianna’s face turns red, and she drops her eyes like she’s ashamed of something.
“I have to tell you something, actually?” she says.