Page 194 of Caught in the Crossfire

“Got you, asshole,” I laughed while he wriggled underneathme. My eyes caught on a droplet of sweat pooling in the divot of his neck. A bolt of heat went through my body.

I sat back, swallowing.

What the fuck was that?

He tilted his head to stare at me with dark eyes. A little lock of his hair had escaped his bun to plaster itself across his sweaty brow. I cleared my throat and stood, this time pulling him to his feet.

“Another round?” I asked, trying to diffuse whatever tension had suddenly settled over the room.

“Sure.”

We faced each other again. I blinked, tracing every one of his movements as he rolled his neck from side to side. My mouth went dry, and I swore to myself that it was because I was thirsty from the exercise, and absolutelynotthirsty for any other reason.

What was happening?

He lunged forward, but I was too goddamn distracted to block him in time. He caught a lucky punch to my gut, knocking the wind out of me before I held up a hand to catch my breath. My mind raced while I tried to get my bearings.

He stepped closer, and every one of my senses dialed up to a thousand. His eyes narrowed on my lips. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

“You ever fucked a dude before?”

I choked. “What?”

He looked me up and down. “Simple question.”

“No,” I answered quickly.

“You seem pretty worked up, bodyguard.”

I took a step back, and he pushed forward. “What does that have to do with anything? We were just working out.”

“If you say so.” He wiped his sweat with his shirt, and my eyes locked on the flash of his abs. “Let’s go again.”

Blood rushed below my waistband, and I shook my head,trying and miserably failing to get insane thoughts out of my head.

I raised my hands in front of my face to spar. I jabbed at him, but he dodged easily and danced around me. He swept his legs at mine again, trying to knock me off balance, but I hopped over them just in time. He went on the offensive, catching me off guard with a burst of speed, and I stumbled. He twisted himself around my back, grabbed my arms, and dropped us both to the ground. I thrashed in his chokehold, but he had me pinned.

“You feel it, too. I know you do.” His voice was dark in my ear, the same voice he used on Leona.

“Feel what?” I gasped. I struggled to get free, but his forearm pressed hard against my windpipe.

“You know what.”

I tapped his arm, and his hold broke. I sat up quickly, sucking in breaths. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the electricity crackling between us.”

“We’re friends.”

He nodded. “Sure are. Pretty good ones, too, I think.”

“Yeah. Turns out you’re not so terrible when you’re not being the world’s largest prick.”

“You think I have the world’s largest prick?”

Heat rose to my cheeks. “That’s not what I said.”

“What a compliment! Your prick isn’t half bad.”