Preslee stopped near the wooden bench in Windsor Park, wheezing as if she’d just run up ten flights of stairs. Tree branches swayed above her, offering shade, as the mid-morning breeze whipped across her face, cooling her skin. She needed a minute to catch her breath.
Adam must’ve realized that she was no longer jogging beside him because he circled back and sprinted over, coming to a dead stop next to her. A shrill sound pierced the air.
She held her ears and winced. “Damn it, Adam. If you blow that stupid whistle one more time, I’m going to shove it up your—”
“Ah, ah, ah,” he said, shaking his finger. “That’s not a very nice thing to say to your trainer. Just for that, why don’t you give me ten jumping jacks, ten squat jumps, ten burpees, and five push-ups. Now.”
She blinked at him, her breath panting out of her. “You’re a…sadist.”
A grin broke out on his face. “No, I’m not.”
She nodded furiously. “Are too. And probably the love child of Jillian Michaels and the Punisher, although I doubt either of them would claim a jerk like you.”
He chuckled. “Got anything else you want to call me?”
Preslee smirked. “Don’t tempt me.”
“All right, enough chatting. Start moving, or I’ll blow the whistle again.”
Jeez. He was treating her like she was at a military boot camp. She could refuse to cooperate, but the last thing she wanted to hear again was the sound of the little silver torture device hanging around his neck. Her ears couldn’t take much more. Neither could her nerves.
Aggravated, she began jumping up and down while flapping her arms and legs through the air in an uncoordinated rhythm. Sweat slid down her back, adding more moisture to the wet patterns on her gray T-shirt. At least she’d worn a good sports bra. It didn’t wick away boob sweat, but it was doing a great job at keeping her girls nicely in place.
That was something at least.
“Keep going,” Adam said, reaching over his shoulder to his back and yanking his white tank top over his head in that sexy way a man does. Then he wadded it up and tossed it onto the ground before dropping into a push-up with ease.
Holy shit. Preslee scanned his shirtless physique, and her mouth went dry.
She knew the guy was ripped, but she hadn’t seen him without a shirt up until now. The magnificent view was better than she’d imagined and totally worth the wait. He was in peak physical condition, and his body was as hard as reinforced steel. She wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if those chiseled abs set off metal detectors nationwide. From here.
Bulging muscles in his tanned back flexed as he pushed himself up, holding his body in perfect alignment with the ground. Then he slowly lowered himself using strong, tension-filled arms. Watching him work out was quickly becoming her favorite pastime, especially now that he was wearing less clothing. Why hadn’t he taken off his shirt sooner? It would’ve distracted her from being so tired.
All morning long, every time he’d given her exercises to do, he’d also worked out alongside of her. She wasn’t sure if that was meant to motivate her or just provide himself with an additional workout, but it didn’t matter since it accomplished both tasks anyway. Besides, there was an added bonus to him staying busy. If Adam was working out, then he wasn’t blowing that damn whistle.
She grinned about that.
Unfortunately, he noticed. “What’s so funny?”
The smile slid from her mouth as she quickly dropped to the ground to do the push-ups he’d requested. “Nothing,” she said, grumbling under her breath.
His eyebrow rose. “Do I need to give you another set of reps?”
See? Sadist. She shook her head and did another push-up that didn’t look nearly as polished and smooth as his. “No, thanks,” she said sweetly.
His low chuckle wafted to her ears as she pushed up once again. “What? No snappy comebacks?” he asked.
She grunted as she did her last wobbly push-up and then collapsed back to the ground, her arms trembling. “Nope. I guess I’m losing my will to live.” She rolled over onto her back with a groan. “But now us mere mortals need a break.” She hated to wave the white towel of defeat, but she needed to rest before she passed the hell out.
“Do a five-minute cooldown first.”
She waved him off. “That’s okay. I’m good.”
Adam pushed up from the ground, landing on his feet. “No, you should never skip a cooldown. If you stop working out too suddenly after a cardio session, you’ll risk getting light-headed.”
She had news for him. She was already light-headed. “I’m fine, Adam. I just need to lie here for a moment and catch my breath.”
He smirked. “Thought you said yesterday that you wanted to push yourself? What happened to that, huh?”
Her head lolled back onto the ground. “Oh, trust me, I do want to push myself. Right off a damn cliff.”
A warm chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Come on. Get up and do your cooldown.”
“No thanks.”
“Now, Preslee.” His command held bite.
Stupid drill sergeant wannabe. Why wasn’t he off running a boot camp for troubled teens or something? Maybe then he’d leave her alone and let her die in peace.
She groaned and shoved to her feet, every cell inside her body screaming at her to ignore him and stay down. But if she did, he’d blow that dumb whistle again. Her poor ears begged for her to follow his instructions. “Fine, I’m up. What do you want me to do?”
His mouth curved. “Lean over the back of the bench and kick your legs out behind you to do leg lifts. It’ll enhance your flexibility and range of motion in your joints while also safely decreasing the intensity of your workout by gradually lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. I don’t want either of them to drop too rapidly or you could faint.”
Huh. Well, if he was that worried about her fainting, then maybe he shouldn’t take off his shirt during their workout. Besides, fainting didn’t sound all that bad. If she passed out, at least she’d be back on the ground again. “How many?”
“Three sets of twelve on each leg. Keep your back straight and your legs fully extended as you lift them behind you. Nice and slow. Don’t bend the knee.”
Preslee took position and began. The faster she got them done, the quicker she could fall back to the ground and resume her slow death.
It was strange though. She’d expected exercising and sweating in front of Adam to be an awkward and unpleasant endeavor. But after he’d stretched with her during warm-up, jogged beside her in the park, did the exercises—or some variation of them—beside her, and then annoyed her with the whistle, she hadn’t thought twice about being embarrassed.
Something about him obviously put her at ease. She dared to say that she was even somewhat comfortable around him. More so than she thought possible. Well, at least until he began removing clothing. But that would’ve thrown any woman off.
Adam maneuvered around to the front of the bench and sat on the edge, facing away from her. Bracing his shirtless body with both hands on the seat, he slid his butt off the edge and let all of his weight reside in the strength of his arms. Then he proceeded to do deep bench dips that would’ve broken both of her arms off had she attempted them.
The guy was seriously strong. Even the tight control he had on his breathing while working out was admirable. Especially since her labored breaths sounded like a dehydrated wildebeest slogging through thick mud.
After only a few leg lifts, her thighs burned and trembled with each motion, and she silently considered pleading for mercy. As if he read her mind, he said, “Keep going.”
She pushed through the burning sensation until the last set was finally complete. “Am I done?” she asked, still breathing heavily, although her heart rate had actually slowed since their jog.
“Yes, you can recover now.”
Oh, thank heavens.
She trudged over to a thick patch of green grass beneath a nearby shade tree and collapsed, rolling once again onto her back. The blue sky peeked through the branches above her as the balmy breeze dried the perspiration dotting her hairline. Moisture clung to her neck. She sucked in a deep breath and then released it slowly as her body relaxed, melting into the soft grass. “I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”
“Yep,” Adam said, joining her on the ground beneath the tree. No sympathy in his voice. Just stating a mere fact. “You’ll feel like quitting too. Don’t. Work through the soreness. This is a process, and fitness doesn’t happen overnight. So show up, keep working, and you’ll see results, I promise.”
She smiled. “Speaking of showing up, why did you ask me to come to the park? I thought you’d want to meet at the gym. Isn’t that normally where you train your clients?”
He lifted one shoulder. “You didn’t feel comfortable there, so I felt like you were ill equipped to handle it on your first day. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
Her stomach fluttered at his sweetness. “Thank you for considering my comfort level. I appreciate that.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said with a sly smile. “We’ll get back into the gym soon enough. I just figured it wouldn’t hurt to give you a day or two to get used to the way I train before I unleash the fires of hell on you.”
“Big of you,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Fires of hell?
What the heck had she gotten herself into?
* * *
Adam had meant to take it easy on Preslee during their first workout, but things hadn’t gone according to plan. Not only because she was much stronger and more capable than he’d thought after witnessing her stair-climbing incident, but because it had been fun as hell annoying her with his whistle.
Besides, he couldn’t make the workout too easy. What kind of trainer would he be if he didn’t push his clients to their limits and show them their true potential? Not a good one, for sure. But he didn’t want to push her too much. Yet.
He hadn’t brought up the viral video again or encouraged her to vlog her first day because he wanted them to get a feel for each other first. She needed to be comfortable with him, and he wanted to see what she could handle. And vlogging would’ve only gotten in the way of that.
It was best to ease Preslee into the workouts—and the vlogging—rather than go for the gold on the first day. Otherwise, she might injure herself, which would be a needless setback. She had motivation at this point, and he wanted to use that to keep the forward momentum. But once he got her into the gym, he was going to have to bring it up and encourage her to make those videos. The gym needed the promotion.
Adam rose to his feet. “You did great today. Ready to hit the showers?”
“Definitely. I can’t wait to get out of these sweaty clothes.”
At the mention of her taking off her clothes, a mental image flashed through his mind of her in the shower with soapy hands trailing all over her voluptuous body. Only it wasn’t her hands roaming over that shapely figure. They were his. His eyes closed to preserve the erotic vision flashing so vividly in his mind, and he nearly groaned out loud.
Wait. What the…?
Adam’s eyes flew open, and his gaze landed on a fully clothed Preslee lifting herself from the ground. Why did this keep happening to him? It was as if his subconscious wanted her naked…and apparently soaking wet.
His dick twitched at the thought, and he glanced down with a frown. Nope. Not happening, buddy. She’s a client, and you know we never…Oh dear God. Now he was trying to reason with his penis. Had he lost his mind?
She was his client, damn it. That meant hands off. Period. He wasn’t allowed to make flirty passes or ask her out, no matter how pretty and funny and likable she was. And she was all of those things. But maybe his attraction to her was just a side effect of not having been laid in a while. It’d been too long, and any guy would be attracted to a desirable woman like Preslee.
“I didn’t see a vehicle in the parking lot when I pulled up earlier,” she told him. “How did you get here?”
He picked up his shirt from the ground. “I was at the gym early this morning so I jogged over.”
Her eyes widened. “B-but the gym’s two miles away.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“My apartment is closer, and I didn’t even consider doing anything other than driving. Guess that shows the difference in our mentalities when it comes to exercise. You seek it out, whereas I avoid it at all costs.”
He pulled his shirt over his head and shoved his arms through. “Not true. You just spent your Saturday morning working out with a trainer. You’re no longer in that category of people who avoid exercise.” He waggled his eyebrows playfully. “You’re in my world now, baby.”
She laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far after only one day. Maybe give me a few weeks to see if I stick to it first.”
Adam’s insides twisted. He didn’t like that she thought she didn’t belong in his world. Nor did he like the idea of any of his clients quitting on him. But for some reason, it bothered him more to picture her doing so. Why? He wasn’t sure. Maybe it was because of the bet he had with Kurt. After all, Adam hated to lose. But he wasn’t about to let her quit. He’d just have to keep her motivated and working toward her goal.
He glanced at his watch and cringed. “I didn’t mean to be here this long. I’m going to have to run, literally, or I’m going to be late. I have to meet another client in fifteen minutes.”
“Want a ride? I’m heading into town. I’m going to the post office to check the store’s mailbox.”
“That’d be great.”
“I’m parked over there,” she said, gesturing across the open field to the green Honda Accord in the parking lot.
Adam nodded. “All right. Wanna race?”
Preslee didn’t hesitate. Hell, she didn’t even wait around long enough to answer him. She just lit out for her car. The unexpected move caught him by surprise, and he stood there blinking at her backside for several seconds before a smile cracked his face in two and laughter rumbled from his chest. He’d only said it in a joking manner. He hadn’t expected her to take him up on it.
But since she did…
Adam gave chase by launching into a full-tilt run. He had to. He’d accidentally given her one hell of a head start, and it was the only way he was going to catch up, much less beat her. For someone who claimed not to be in good shape, Preslee was much quicker on her feet than she gave herself credit for. He was in great physical condition, and it still took him a good distance to catch up and pass her. Even then, he only made it to the car a few seconds before she did.
“You won,” she said, panting heavily as she headed for the driver’s-side door.
He scowled at her over the hood, breathing only a little harder than normal. “And you cheated.”
She laughed as she opened the door. “No, I didn’t. You didn’t say when to go.”
“Exactly. You’re supposed to wait for that part.”
One shoulder raised nonchalantly. “Well, you should’ve been clear about the rules.” She blew out another hard breath as she slid behind the wheel. “When you ask someone to race, you should be ready. It isn’t my fault you weren’t prepared.”
Adam slid into the passenger seat and grinned. The woman was so full of it. “Just to be clear, I’m never playing poker with you. You’d probably have aces up both sleeves.”
She started the car as she turned to face him, blinking in mock surprise. She placed a hand to her chest and batted her lashes. “I can’t believe you’d accuse me of that.”
His eyes narrowed playfully. “Yeah, right. You probably don’t play fair on board games either. You can’t be trusted. In fact, I was going to ask you how you’ve done on your new diet, but you probably cheated on that too.”
She laughed as she pulled out of the parking lot. “Actually, I didn’t. I considered it though. Multiple times. My healthy dinner had the texture of wicker furniture and the taste of cardboard. I now know why people lose weight by eating ‘healthy’ food. It’s not because it’s better for you. It’s because they starve to death.”
Adam chuckled. “It’s about finding the right foods that work for you. Anytime you make a big change to your diet, it’s going to take some getting used to.”
She nodded. “I know. I’m giving it time. I’m not planning on cheating on my diet any time soon.”
He glanced down and caught sight of something nestled between two receipts in the center console. His brow rose. “You sure about that?”
“Yep.”
He cocked his head toward her. “Really?”
She nodded solemnly. “Of course.”
He gave her a yeah, right look. “You’re sure?”
Her brows drew together. “Yes. Why do you keep asking that?”
He reached for the golden snack cake and held it up. “Because of this.”
She smiled meekly. “Oh. Um, I can explain.”
He grinned and shook his head. “It’s okay. No need.”
“I bought that the other day before I joined the gym. I’d tossed it into my console, and I forgot it was there.”
He held up a hand. “Preslee, you don’t have to explain. I was kidding.”
“I know, but you probably think I planned to eat it. I wasn’t going to, I swear.”
He tore open the clear plastic wrapper. “Too bad. I was going to share. Guess I’ll have to eat it myself.”
Her head jerked toward him with disbelieving eyes. “You’re eating my Twinkie?” A quick but heated look exchanged between them before she blushed beet red and turned her gaze back to the road. “My snack cake, I mean.”
He shrugged. “Why not? You said you didn’t want it.” He broke off a piece of the sponge cake with some of the cream filling and popped it into his mouth, humming in appreciation.
She blinked in shock, as if he’d eaten a dog turd. “But…you…y-you can’t eat that.”
Adam swallowed and tossed another piece of the soft golden cake into his mouth, mumbling around it, “Why? Because it’s yours?”
“No, because you’re a trainer,” she stated, completely dumbfounded. “You’re supposed to be all about fitness and health food. You can’t just eat…snack cakes.”
“Really? Hmm. Guess I missed that memo,” he said, licking vanilla cream filling from his lips. “You should try it. It’s really good.” He held a piece up to her lips.
“No, I—”
When she opened her mouth to protest, Adam tucked the small piece of sponge cake between her parted lips. For a moment, she seemed to panic. Her eyes bulged, and her mouth opened wider. As if she didn’t know what to do with the bite of cake and considered spitting it out. But the sugary filling must’ve melted on her tongue because she finally closed her lips around it, and her eyes drifted shut on a small, satisfying moan. One that sent electricity shooting straight down his spine and directly into his groin.
But he didn’t have time to contemplate his visceral reaction to her because there was a more pressing issue. “Preslee, open your eyes before you drive us into the ditch.”
Her eyes shot open, and her hands tightened on the wheel, keeping the car in its lane. “Oh. Sorry.”
Well, he wasn’t. He liked watching her lose herself completely when it came to something pleasurable. The thought alone had him shifting in his seat, wondering when his shorts had become so tight. He subtly reached down and adjusted himself, hoping she wouldn’t notice.
Preslee glared him. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Uh-oh, had she caught him rearranging his—
No, wait. She was referring to the cake. “Why? What’s wrong?”
That only seemed to make her madder. “I’m on a diet, Adam. Or did you forget that?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Of course it does. How am I going to lose weight if you’re feeding me cake? God. You’re the worst personal trainer I’ve ever had.”
He chuckled. “I’m the only trainer you’ve ever had, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but don’t let that comfort you,” she said, pulling into the gym’s parking lot. “I have zero experience whatsoever with other trainers, and I still think you’re the worst. That should tell you something.” She parked the car and turned to him. “If I were paying you, I’d ask for a refund.”
He grinned. “Good thing you aren’t paying me then.”
She squinted at him. “And why is that again? I still can’t figure out why you would offer your services to me for free.”
“I told you. I want to help.”
She snorted. “Oh, right. By feeding me cream-filled cake. Trust me, I don’t need you for that.”
He sighed. “Look, you seem hung up on that so let me explain. When it comes to your diet, you don’t want to deprive yourself. It’s okay to splurge occasionally as long as you do so in moderation. You can have anything you want, healthy or not, as long as you do it the smart way. Allow yourself to have a little and don’t overindulge. That’s the key.”
“So you aren’t going to be upset with me if I veer off my diet a little from time to time?”
“No. You’re an adult, Preslee. I’m not going to tell you that you can’t have something you want. Everyone gets cravings. Even if it’s for chocolate, then eat it. I would probably just advise you to go for dark chocolate for the added benefits of the antioxidants. But even if you ignored my suggestion, it’s not like I’m going to bend you over my knee and spank you.”
A mental image of her bending over that bench earlier materialized out of nowhere like a submarine surfacing in the middle of a lake. His palm itched relentlessly as he thought of how he’d like to smack it lightly across her bare butt.
Preslee. Nudity. And water.
Damn it. Not again.