Page 42 of Guilty as Sin

Stretch it.She tried to breathe through it, to let it go, and it barely worked.

Sauna.This time, she used one of the two curtained cubicles designed for the modest, and she remembered to put a towel around her waist, too, after she undressed. Then she stepped inside the cedar-lined room, blessedly empty of anything but steam, sat on the lower shelf because there was no way she was climbing up higher, and rode those waves.

It took a long time. There was nobody in the locker room at all by the time the front-desk minder came in, and Paige was sitting on the wooden bench with her dress on again, massaging her leg.

She’d pulled her skirt down at the sound of the door, but kept working her lower quad and hamstring. “Hi.”

“Uh… hi.” The young woman averted her eyes, even though Paige wasn’t even wearing the holster. “Jace Blackstone is outside. He says if you’re ready, he’s waiting for you.”

“Right.” Paige got to her feet. “Tell him I’ll be right there, will you?”

“We’re about to close, that’s all.” The woman still wasn’t looking at Paige.

“I’ll be right out. Two minutes.”

When she walked out with her tote, which was a whole lot heavier now with the sodden workout clothes in it, Kelli looked around from where she was leaning against the front desk talking to Jace and another man, who was clearly hanging around for more time with the sexy trainer. He smiled at Paige, so Lily probably knew him.

“All right?” Kelli asked.

Paige straightened her carefully-straight back a little more. “Sure. I’m fine.”

Jace came forward fast and took her bag right off her shoulder, looking grim. “Goodnight,” he said to Kelli, then nodded at the others as well.“Thanks.”

“Take care,” Kelli said. “And consider that introductory session,” she told Paige. “You won’t get fit if you injure yourself starting out.” To which Paige did not reply.

She waited until they were in the parking lot, then asked Jace, “Are there woman commandos in the Australian army?”

“No. Door’s open to them, though. That’s since my time.”

“Ah.” She accepted his hand up into the truck and tried not to shiver at the bite of the evening air. When he climbed in and started the engine, she said, “I’m guessing you’re sorry about that.”

“You guess wrong.” He glanced across at her. “Your choice. I can either drop you at your car, or I can take you home and bring you back in the morning. Makes no difference to me. I ordered a couple sandwiches from the Red Rooster. We can go get them on the way, or I can bring them by your place.”

She realized she had her head resting against the window glass.Stop being helpless.She sat up. “My car, please. And you don’t have to bring me a sandwich.”

He said, sounding much too patient, “I know I don’t have to. I was ordering one, so I ordered you one as well. I told you. Your choice.”

“Right. My car.”

He didn’t say anything, just drove the couple blocks, pulled in beyond her, and said, “Right behind you with the sandwich.” And she tried to climb down with grace, and failed.

But at least she’d be in her own car.

Jace watched her pull out of the parking spot and let out his breath.Slow down, mate. You’re over the top here.It wasn’t as if she were asking for his help. Just the opposite. That was what was so bloody aggravating about it.

And still, not half an hour later, after a ten-minute stop for an Army-fast shower, a change of clothes, and a quick feed for Tobias, he was knocking at her door again.

Nothing. The garage attached to the house was closed, as before. Faint light showed behind the drawn curtains, but that light had come on while he’d been taking care of the goats. It was on a timer.

Shit.He knew he shouldn’t have left her alone. He knocked again, and finally, when he was about to head around the back and find another way in, he heard her voice.

“Who is it?”

“Jace.”Take it easy,he told his racing heart.She’s fine.

“What’s your dog’s name?”

“Tobias.”