I stare at the ceiling and sigh. I’m so freaking tired, but I can’t fall asleep. Every time I close my eyes I think about Dalton, and the way I always feel safe when I’m around him. I don’t let a lot of people into my inner circle, but he’s slid right in and fits just fine.
My mind flashes to that day I walked into the locker room and saw him wet from his shower and with only a towel wrapped around his narrow hips. I didn’t miss the unmistakable bulge behind the material.
I can’t remember the last time I felt an attraction to a man. I’ve only been intimate with one guy after…well, after everything happened with my old coach. I sigh. Well, that just killed my libido. I roll over, punching my pillow and cursing his name. I haven’t thought about him in a long time.
Thirty minutes later and I’m still staring at the ceiling. I climb out of bed, and in the medicine cabinet I grab an Ambien and swallow it down. I hate taking them because I swear they make me loopy, but at least I’ll sleep.
I open my eyes and push myself up. The sun shines brightly in my bedroom and I groan as the light blinds me. I climb out of bed and look down at myself. I’m in just my bra and underwear, when I know damn well I was in a tank top and boxer shorts when I went to bed. “Hmmm…very weird,” I whisper to myself as I put my clothes back on.
I step out of my bedroom and across the hall into the bathroom. After peeing I wash my hands, face, and then brush my teeth. My stomach growls, making my decision to eat before a shower my top priority.
I freeze the moment I step into my living room. That’s because Dalton is asleep on my couch. When the hell did he get here? Why is he here?
I’m a little scared to find out that answer so I tiptoe into the kitchen and start a pot of coffee. While that brews I make enough scrambled eggs for two and I’m just finishing them up when Dalton comes into the kitchen, yawning and scratching his stomach. “Good morning,” he says and grabs two mugs for our coffee. “No more Ambien.”
I look up at him, afraid to ask what happened, but I need to know. “What did I do?”
He takes the plate of eggs I offer him and grab my own. We sit at my little kitchen table and I wait for what I’m guessing is going to be an embarrassing story.
“I was home sound asleep and my phone rang. I saw it was one in the morning and that it was you. When I answered you were whispering, and at first I couldn’t make out what you were saying. I told you to speak up and you said you thought someone was in your apartment.” Oh shit. “I told you to get into the closet in your room and try to make yourself as small as possible. I got dressed, grabbed my guns, and raced over here.”
“Again, the security in this place is rubbish. I snuck in through the back and made it up here undetected. Anyway, I picked the lock and got in here and I found you lying on the floor watching Saved by the Bell on Netflix.”
I cover my face with my hands and groan. “Oh God.”
“Should I not tell you that you were in just your bra and underwear? You gave me the whole story why it was always Zack and Kelly that belonged together on the show. Your speech was very passionate. I kept trying to put you to bed, but you’d pop right back up.” He scoops some eggs into his mouth, chews, then swallows. “We did that about five times before I finally gave up. The only way I got you to lie down and relax was lying down with you tucked in front of me, but I swear I didn’t touch you inappropriately, and as soon as you fell asleep, I carried you into your room.”
“I’m sorry, and thank you for coming over, even if I don’t remember calling you. I’m also really sorry if I freaked you out.” He gives me a chin lift and goes back to his food.
After breakfast, Dalton helps me clean up the kitchen and then throws his shoes back on. He pulls out his keys and turns toward me. “What are you doing today?”
“I was going to head down to the fitness room and run on the treadmill.”
“Get dressed. I’ve got a great trail in Willowbrook that even has a little waterfall that we can hit.”
The idea of spending more time with him is very appealing. It makes me nervous that I’m becoming attached to him—that I like spending time with him, even if it involves kicking my ass around the mat.
“Okay.” I won’t even try to hide my enthusiasm as I race down the hall to my bedroom. I take off my boxers and replace them with some red track shorts. I whip off my tank top and bra and grab a black Nike racerback tank top with a built-in bra. After I throw on socks and tennis shoes, I throw my hair up into a ponytail and brush my teeth.
Dalton is typing something on his phone when I come back into the living room. He looks up, and I blush at the way he looks at me before clearing his throat. “We need to stop by my place so I can change,” he says before leading me out.
His apartment isn’t that far from mine. We pull into a spot up the street and climb out. Dalton leads me down the sidewalk toward the front entrance of his building. I can tell right away that the place is swanky. My tennis shoes slap against the marble flooring as we walk toward the elevator.
We reach his floor and his door is right across from the elevator. He lets us in and I take it all in. It’s all very white and very clean. A picture on the far wall has me walking further into the room. It’s a little girl with dark hair and she’s smiling widely at the camera. It must be his niece that he told me about.
“That’s my niece, Joanna. She’s my sister’s little one.”
I smile and look back at him. “She’s beautiful. Did you talk to Jack about getting them here?”
“Yes, and yes, they live in London, and I’m working at getting them moved here. Jack and Delilah have interviewed Millie a couple of times about a job at Rogue. She’s hesitant to take it, out of the fear of not doing a good job.”
“What about your parents?” I don’t like the look on his face.
“Uh…they both passed away.” That’s all he says.
I place my hands on his chest. “I’m so sorry.”
He shakes his head. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Mom died from cancer when I was twenty, and then dad died from what some would call a broken heart a year later.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my cheek again his chest. His heart beats wildly against my ear. Letting go of him, I step back, clearing my throat. My face burns from mortification. “Y-You should go get changed.”
I chance a glance at Dalton, and he’s staring at me in a way that makes my belly dip. His hazel eyes look a bright mossy green right now and his pupils are dilated. He blinks and then steps back. “I’ll be right back.”
While Dalton changes, I walk over to the window and take in the beautiful view of Lake Michigan. I look up and the sky is a bright blue without a cloud in the sky. It’s the perfect day to be outside. I turn when he steps back into the room. “This view is amazing.”
“Yeah, that’s what sold me on this place. Once my sister and niece come I’ll need a bigger place, but I’m not sure how long that’ll take to happen.” He disappears into his kitchen and returns a minute later with two bottles of water. He hands me one and then leads me toward the door.
It takes us forty-five minutes to get to the trail Dalton was telling me about. He flies down the road with our windows down, my ponytail flapping against my neck. Metallica blares through the speakers and for the first time in a long time, I feel content.
At the trail, he pulls into the gravel parking lot. We get out of the car and we both start stretching in the grass. I feel his eyes on me as I bend over, stretching my hamstrings. I ignore it, even though I like it.
We start with a slow jog. I honestly hate running, but I get antsy if I’m not moving—that’s what I do on my off days. His long legs make it hard for me to keep up with him. I stick my earbuds in my ears and crank up my music. When we hit the turnaround I start picking up my speed.
I pass Dalton and give him wave. Next thing I know he’s flying by me. Instead of waving he turns around, running backward. I can’t hear him, but I read his lips. “Come on.” He turns and starts running at full speed.
I won’t lie—I look directly at his ass, which looks really, really fine. He turns and catches me staring, dammit. Dalton starts laughing and I flip him off before taking off, flying past him.
I feel him coming up next to me and I pump my legs faster and harder. I don’t stand a chance against his long ass legs. When we finally make it back to his car, him first, I collapse in the grass—my legs feel like jelly.
Dalton appears above me and begins stretching my legs. I moan as he grabs my foot and pushes my leg in close to my body and then he does the other. He manipulates my lower half until I’ve been stretched so much that I feel completely loose and freaking horny.
I can’t ignore the aching throb I have between my legs. I swear while he was stretching me he was rubbing his cock against me or it’s just that his dick is so big it just hit me by accident.
Dalton’s eyes are darkening as he stares down at me. Does he know what’s going through my mind? All too quickly it disappears and he stands rapidly.
He holds his hand out to me and helps me up off of the ground. Dalton grabs the bottles of water and hands me one. I crack it open and guzzle it down, not even caring that I’m getting it all over my tank top.
“You don’t like getting beat, do you?” Dalton looks at me with a smirk gracing his lips.
“Well, I don’t love it, but look at you. Your legs are so fucking long you were going to beat me no matter what. It felt good to run outside. The treadmill really gets monotonous.”
Dalton smiles. “It’s good to switch things up. It keeps them fun…ish. Your fight is coming up soon. Do you get pre-fight jitters?”
I shrug. “Not really. I’m usually running on pure adrenaline the days before a fight and I kind of bounce off the walls, but this is my first big televised fight, so I don’t really know.”
We get back to my apartment and we go through the same song and dance—I wait while he does the sweep of my apartment and then lets me come inside. “If you need anything, call me. Remember, no Ambien.”
I place my hand on his arm. His skin is warm and I want to see where else he’s warm. “Thank you for being so cool about the late night call and showing me that trail.” He bops me on the nose and then leaves.