I hear the car pull up in the driveway and my heart starts beating furiously. Darren’s here.
I check my appearance in the oversized mirror in the hallway and feel happy with the person looking back at me. Yes, Fleur Grady is looking good. She’s at her peak and ready to be put through her paces by a man who would make the Devil sell his own soul to him.
My heart thumps as I head towards the front door and I plaster a welcome smile on my face and open it, revealing the super sexy personal trainer waiting on the other side.
“Hey, Fleur, you’re looking good.”
I smile. “Thanks, Darren. I hold you responsible for that.”
He grins cheekily and the nervous flutter inside that merely looking at him brings. He is everything girls dream about and more. Slightly messy hair, sitting on top of a sculptured face, set with twinkling blue eyes. His body is hard and muscle-bound with sexy tattoos decorating arms that make me yearn for them to wrap around me and keep me safe. Darren has a habit of making a woman feel like a goddess because he looks at them as if they are the most desirable woman in the world. It’s a heady combination that could make a woman ditch her principles in a heartbeat if that look was directed at them. The trouble is, that look is always directed at me and I know if I gave him the right amount of encouragement, he would be all over me like a dog in heat.
“Follow me, babe, where do you want me today?”
I giggle as he growls, “Don’t tempt me. You know you’re such a tease.”
I laugh. “Takes one to know one.”
He grins and I laugh softly. Yes, we’re two of a kind, Darren and me. Both of us realise the effect we have on the opposite sex and put us together in a room and the sparks always fly.
We head to the gym that Anton had purpose built in the garden and I watch as Darren deposits his bag on the floor and regards me with a look that could strip paint. “Ok, babe, let’s warm-up.”
I swallow hard as Darren starts putting me through my paces and wonder if I will make it through this hour with my dignity intact. I’m not sure why, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to drive him from my mind because where Anton doesn’t appear to want me, it’s extremely obvious that Darren does and I use that fact to make myself feel better.
One hour later and I’m exhausted and not only from the extreme workout, either. Being so ‘up close and personal’ with Darren is seriously messing with my mind, so it’s with considerable relief that I stretch out and say thankfully, “Here, let me make you a coffee or something as a thank you.”
Darren grins and says suggestively, “I’ll take the something.”
Rolling my eyes, I head toward the house with Darren walking by my side. He looks around him and says with approval, “You have a lovely home, Fleur. I’m not surprised, though; you take care in every aspect of your life and I wouldn’t expect your home to be any different.”
I smile and say lightly, “Where do you live, Darren?”
“Chessington.”
“What, the theme park and zoo?”
He grins. “Some may say I’m an animal but no, near to it, though. Have you ever been?”
I picture the local theme park and say with a grimace, “Not really my thing, babe.”
He laughs. “What is your thing?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, fancy restaurants, parties, shopping…”
Laughing, I turn to look at him. “Ok, I hold my hands up. I’m the shallow one here.”
Darren nods. “You said it. Anyway, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. If you like, I’ll take you to the theme park and show you what you’ve been missing.”
I stare at him in surprise. For all our flirting, he’s never actually extended an invitation to me and I’m a little on edge. He takes my hesitation as an opportunity and places his hand on my arm, sending sharp bolts of longing through my body as I feel his touch. He says gently, “I mean it, Fleur. I would love to spend some more time with you. You intrigue me and I like what I see.”
For once I am lost for words and then, as luck would have it, Anton returns early and I peer up as he heads out of the bifold doors towards us. Darren drops his hand away and looks at him curiously as Anton nods. “Hey, I’m Anton. You must be Fleur’s trainer.”
My breathing intensifies as the two men in my life meeting for the first time and say quickly, “You’re back early, babe. Is everything ok?”
Anton nods. “Yeah, they let us go early for once, so I came home to finish what we started earlier.”
My face flushes as Anton looks at Darren pointedly and Darren coughs nervously. “I’ll leave you to it. Nice to meet you, Anton. I’ll see you on Monday morning, Fleur.”
I catch Anton’s eye and he looks kind of angry, which excites me. Anton’s jealous. It’s obvious. Feeling quite happy about that, I see Darren out and as soon as the door closes, Anton pulls me towards the stairs with an urgency I haven’t seen for some time and growls, “You’re coming with me.”
Struggling to keep up, I say breathlessly, “But I must stink. I haven’t showered.”
Anton says darkly, “I want you just the way you are, the dirtier the better.”
Wow, this is so hot. I’ve never seen Anton like this. It’s as if he’s possessed and I’m not going to lie, I love it.
Anton pounces on me like a wild animal and starts ripping my clothes off in haste as soon as we reach the bedroom. He kisses me hard and fast and, for want of a better word, devours me. He makes love to me like he never has before, rough, hot and dirty, and I absolutely love it. He has a desperation to him that makes my heart sing because I know what this is – he’s jealous. He saw me with another man who obviously wants me and it’s sent him over the edge. Who knew that was all it would take?
As Anton pounds into me, he grips my wrists hard and holds me down. He thrusts inside like a man possessed and snarls, “You’re mine, all mine.”
I gasp, “I’m yours, babe, only yours.”
Something about him is different. Gone is the sweet caring man I love and in his place is a man intent on only one thing, proving himself. There is no care, no love, and no gentle coming together of two people in love. This is brutal, hot and sexy and to be honest, I’m not sure what I think of it.
Anton climaxes with such intensity it leaves my legs shaking and the burn ripping through my entire body and I feel sore, ravaged and strangely used. As he pants beside me, something bothers me. What was that? It was so out of character and I should have loved every minute, but I didn’t. I’m not sure why but it was as if he was using my body to drive some kind of demon out and shaking. I turn my face to the wall and squeeze my eyes tightly shut. The bed dip as he leaves me without our usual cuddle and he says roughly, “I need a shower.”
As I hear the water run, I stare at the ceiling and wonder what the hell just happened.