She was thinking she wanted to kiss him.
“That you are brilliant. I love that you don’t take Blaine’s bunk and I fancy watching you brawl.” She fanciedhim, but she didn’t know how he’d react to her telling him that.
“I didn’t figure you for a brawler.”
“I’m not.” She stepped closer. “But watching you easily best that cocky bloke was lovely.”
“Thank you.” His eyebrows arched and he looked a little less confident as she eased in until barely an inch separated them.
Did she dare try to kiss him? He seemed to get uneasy when she got close. Was it the touch thing again? He’d said she didn’t repel him, but she could swear he liked her being close and he had willingly and beautifully cupped her face last night. Could she be special to an elite warrior who appeared untouchable?
She took a deep inhale and admitted, “You smell … scrummy.”
“Scrummy?” He laughed, but it was shaky.
“Delicious. Lovely.” She bit at her lip, and he let out a soft groan. She smiled. She liked throwing this confident man off his game, but she was more than ready for him to take command of her lips. Would he do it like the kick-butt military machine he was, all tough, fierce, and hard, or would he be soft and slow like he’d been last night as he’d cupped her jaw, traced her bottom lip with his thumb, and slowly leaned in? She’d happily experience either, both, or a completely different kiss. Whatever he had in mind was cheers with her.
“You smell like lemon candy,” he said huskily.
She was getting to him. She knew she was.
“Do I now?” She favored a lemon candy body splash from Dr. Sweet Tooth.
He nodded. She waited for him to lift a hand, touch her, bend down and smell her neck, something, anything. She begged him with her gaze to make a move. She’d never ached for a man to touch her like this. Was it that Zeke was a challenge, or was it simply that he was Zeke? Her Rambo.
“Do you like it?” she prompted.
He closed his eyes and took in a deep inhale. Opening them, he met her gaze. His eyes were usually a smoky grayish-blue, but right now they were as clear as the blue sky on a rare summer day without fog at home.
“I love it,” he admitted in a gravelly voice.
Heat filled her. He loved the smell of her? Did that mean he wanted to hold her close, smell her, kiss her, spend the day in each other’s arms? Who cared about missing work, missing Christmas, or a barmy stalker if she was in Zeke’s fit arms?
He gave her a tight smile and then eased around her, somehow accomplishing that barmy move without even brushing against her, and headed for the cable machine.
Disappointment stung at her chest, worse than a dozen bee stings. What had just happened? That had been an ideal moment for romance. Zeke had either failed or chosen to fail. Crikey! How was she ever going to crack his shell?
He adjusted the machine and got to work with upper back exercises. She should’ve moved to her own workout, but she just stared at him with a slightly open mouth. She’d been in a lot of gyms, lifted around a lot of men, many of whom were trying to impress her. She didn’t know if Zeke was even trying to impress her, but he certainly was accomplishing it. The muscles in his back and shoulders rippled through his shirt as he did an upright row. Her mouth went dry and she felt slightly faint. Scrummy.
He paused and looked at her over his shoulder. “Are you going to work out?”
“No.” She smirked at him. “I’m going to stare at you. Does that bother you, mate?”
She hoped he’d rise to her flirting challenge. He only smiled and focused forward. “Knock yourself out,” he grunted before starting into another set.
Darn him.
Mia watched him a little longer, but she really did want to exercise. She hadn’t worked out yesterday with all the craziness over the barmy stalker. Had it really only been the night before last that she’d found that note? So much had changed in less than two days. Most importantly, Zeke had strutted into her life. She fancied his strut.
Zeke carried on with his workout and basically ignored her. Did he fancy her? How could she break through the titanium walls guarding his heart?
Mia walked to the free weights and picked up a pair of twenty-pound dumbbells, starting an upper body routine. They worked out in silence for a long time. She would usually turn on music, but she wanted him to get uncomfortable and possibly break the silence. Was it her imagination, or was he sneaking glances at her just as she was at him? There was a tension in the air that boded well for her hopes of busting past his barriers.
She was nearing the end of her workout, sweaty, tired, and long since giving up hope that Zeke would break the silence or make a move in the exercise room. She had no clue how much longer he would exercise. She finished and performed a thorough stretching routine, then went to the mini-fridge and opened it. There were water bottles and a variety of bottled protein shakes inside. Nice. She could imagine Holly stocking this fridge and the fridge upstairs for them. She was such a thoughtful angel.
“Do you want one?” she asked, turning to Zeke.
“I’ll come get some in a few minutes. Almost done.”