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Her gaze flicked up and down, dragging along him in a way that made his entire body flush with heat. “It’s kind of hard not to,” she said, her voice low, filled with fire that would definitely burn him.
“What are we doing?”
“You’re flirting with me.”
“I think you’ve got that backwards,” he said, but he didn’t dare move, praying that the frantic beat of his heart didn’t break the spell that had come over them.
To his surprise and relief, Lydia reached out, so slowly it felt like time had stopped as her hand cradled his jaw. “Is this okay?” she asked, inching closer.
Yes!he wanted to shout, even though he knew it was a bad idea. That didn’t stop him from nodding. Lydia closed the distance, pressing her lips to his. The kiss was firm, assured, her tongue darting out to tease his lips. She tasted like the beer they’d been drinking and spice from the nachos.
When she pulled away, the flush in her cheeks had spread down her neck. She blinked slowly, staring at him from beneath her lashes, in a way that said maybe she wanted to kiss him again. “Wasthat okay?”
“I couldn’t quite tell,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I think we should try again.”
Lydia snickered under her breath, shifting so close she was almost in his lap. With both her hands, she pulled him to her, her fingers feathering through the short hairs at the back of his neck. This time, Luke’s shock had worn off enough to make him a more active participant. He brushed his lips against hers, holding her face steady so he could feel every delicate curve of her mouth. Sirens wailed in his head. Lydia was his client. He had to be able to work with her when she showed up at the gym for her next training session—tomorrow! But tomorrow felt worlds away, and when Lydia’s hand drifted from his neck down the front of his chest, he dismissed his worries and poured all his efforts into kissing her senseless.
“You were holding out on me before,” Lydia gasped as they broke apart for air, blinking like it was the first time they’d truly laid eyes on each other.
“Sorry,” he whispered. “I think you sort of stunned me.” Luke could feel the tension between them twisting tighter and tighter. The anticipation that beat beneath his skin was intoxicating and delicious. It felt like every moment they’d spent together had been building to this. The lingering glances. The flirty exchanges. Maybe this was inevitable. He satisfied the concerned part of his brain by telling it that Lydia had kissed him first. She’d made the first move. But what if he was reading too much into this? Maybe a kiss, however sensual it had been, was only a kiss.
As if she’d heard the thoughts in his head, she deliberately put her hand on his thigh and leaned in to peck his lips. His pulse rocketed, his heart pounding against his ribs. “I think you should close our tab now,” she whispered.
“Yep,” Luke agreed, sliding out the other side of the booth so quickly he almost toppled straight through the open window to the street. “I’ll go do that.”
He hurried to the bar, practically throwing his money down as he settled the bill while trying not to let his thoughts drift to anything that resembled a bed. He wanted her. But until she said the words, until they both acknowledged that they wanted this despite it being so,sowrong, he couldn’t let his thoughts linger there. When he turned around, Lydia was gone from the booth. He found her waiting outside, leaning against the building. Her eyes twinkled under the streetlights, her lips curling as she spotted him. She held her arm out and he went to her. But outside, away from the soft amber lights of the pub, hesitation crept in.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” he said as Lydia pressed up on her toes, her lips running over his.
“Why not?” she whispered against his mouth.
“I don’t know... You, me, the gym. It’s probably a bad idea.”
“I thought you weren’t Trainer Luke tonight,” she said.
God, she really was making this difficult. “I did say that.”
“Then there’s no professional boundary at stake.”
“You’re saying it won’t affect the training?”
“I’m saying you should invite me back to your place.”
Her hands were everywhere, his body burning with fiery need wherever she touched him, making it impossible to think of a coherent protest. “Are you sure?”
She threaded her arms around his neck. “Just this one time. Get it out of our systems...”
Once, Luke thought. They could do this once. Clear the distraction. Right? He tipped his head back, pulling his lips just out of reach.
“Remember when you said sometimes we have to do things that are hard,” she teased. “That it can be good for us?”
Luke chuckled, the sound rattling through his chest. “You’re twisting my words. You know this is not what I meant.”
“You should probably be more specific when you’re teaching me something then.”
Well, hell. He looked down at her, felt the weight of her in his arms, and suddenly had no interest in fighting it anymore. She was right. They could get this out of their systems. If they walked away from this now, he’d only ever be able to think about this moment, and it would drive him to distraction over and over again. “One time,” he whispered. “Come home with me?”
Seven
