Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

T wo days later, I still avoid looking at Ezra’s house. I’m so embarrassed that I don’t know what to do with my shame.

I have no idea what has suddenly come over me. I probably wanted to prove to myself that it wasn’t my fault my husband no longer wanted me the way he used to. Thomas has always had a few minor issues with that , and trying for a second time isn’t an option for him. I’ve always tried not to take it personally, but it’s hard not to.

I haven’t spoken to Thomas about the matter either and said nothing about the fact that he fell asleep on the couch downstairs after dinner while I was upstairs. But what could I have said? After all, I was the one who did something reprehensible while my husband ate dinner and waited for me.

I’ll go crazy if I dwell on this any longer, so I grab my cell phone and call Kelly. I need her company today. I need a distraction so I don’t have to think about my marital problems, which seem to be getting worse, or about Ezra and that slip by the window.

“Hey, sweetie. What’s up?” Kelly picks up in her typical good mood, and I hear her nail file working—as I almost always do.

“I need some crazy Kelly distraction,” I sigh and sink onto my creamy white couch.

“How crazy are you thinking?” she asks, and I can just picture Kelly’s eyes lighting up with excitement as she starts dreaming up the wildest plans to drag me into.

“I need a break from my life and don’t want to think about anything,” I explain tiredly, leaning back and putting the back of my hand over my eyes to take a quick breath.

I try to push back the images of the last few days as best I can. It isn’t easy, but it’s becoming increasingly clear how much I need this right now.

“Oh, I’ve got just the thing for you, sweetheart. Just let me do it. I’ll get back to you and kidnap you tonight. You’ll see.” With these cryptic words, Kelly hangs up without me being able to say anything else. Great .

Maybe asking Kelly for a distraction wasn’t such a good idea after all. But now the ball has started rolling, and I know my best friend is unstoppable, so I guess it’s time to let her surprise me and just go with it.

“No way!” I snap at Kelly and cross my arms in front of my chest so as not to hide my displeasure when she stops the car.

Has she completely gone mad? Where did Kelly get the idea to bring me here, of all places?

“Come on, Cora. You wanted to blow off steam, and where better to do that than at a private lesson with a hot and incredibly trained young guy?” Kelly wiggles her eyebrows with a grin, and I could scream.

He’s exactly who I wanted to be distracted from, and here she is, dragging me right to him. This is the bad karma I’ve attracted and conjured up through all my stupid decisions. I’m sure of it.

Nevertheless, I continue to shake my head vehemently. I’m definitely not going to a private lesson with Ezra and Kelly. She’d see right through me, and then I’d have no way to hide from it. But I want to hide and pretend it’s not real. I shouldn’t be dying of heartbreak over someone I barely know.

Ezra and I have never had a meaningful conversation that truly allowed me to get to know him better. So how can I say I miss him and always think about him when he’s not with me? For fuck’s sake!

I’d like to blame it on the sex and say that it clouds my brain and doesn’t let me see and think clearly, but Ezra and I haven’t slept together yet. At least not entirely…

“Cora honey, what’s wrong?” Kelly probes, placing a hand on my shoulder, and I see her give me a worried look out of the corner of my eye. Damn .

I sigh before smiling weakly.

“Nothing. Things aren’t going very well between me and Thomas right now… I wanted to take my mind off things, spend a nice evening with my best friend, and not stare at the abs of a guy who’s far too young for us,” I reply and sink into my seat in frustration.

“Hmm. I’m sorry about that, sweetie. I thought you’d be happy to see him again, and it would take your mind off things and calm you down a bit.”

I look at her, startled, but quickly try to put on a neutral face again.

“What makes you think I’d be happy to see Ezra again? Besides, he’s my neighbor. In theory, I see him every day,” I interject indifferently and shrug my shoulders as I look away from her.

“Yes, but here you would see him without your jealous husband, and you could get back some of your old fire through him… But if you don’t want to, then we can leave. I’m sure he doesn’t mind that he closed his club early for us. He won’t have too much of a loss of earnings because of it,” this wicked witch plays with my conscience.

Because a wave of guilt instantly overcomes me, I feel bad, knowing I can’t take all my problems out on Kelly or Ezra. Although strictly speaking, he’s at the top of my list of issues. Even so, he closed the club early for us, and I can’t leave him hanging like that.

“Fine!” I snort irritably and get out of the car.

I can feel her stupid, superior grin without looking at her, so I grumble angrily.

“I hope you’ve at least brought better clothes for me today. Last time was downright embarrassing.” I continue to tease her because I’m still angry that she brought me here.

But it’s not Kelly’s fault since she knows nothing. Still, I need to be angry with someone and vent my frustration. I can take it out on the other trainer during training because one thing is clear: I’m not going to train with Ezra.

“Oh, and you can have Ezra this time. I’ll take this…”

“Tobi?” Kelly helps me with an amused grin, as his name has slipped my mind.

“That’s right. I saw you eyeing my young neighbor last time, so I’ll gladly let you have him.”

With that, we enter the boxing club, but to our surprise, we only find Ezra here. I give Kelly a bitter look, suspecting again that she’s set this up. But she shrugs her shoulders ignorantly as we walk toward Ezra.

“Hi, you two. Ready to work up a real sweat?” Ezra greets us, looking at me with a mischievous twitch of his mouth at his last remark. Damn you, Ezra King !

“Where’s Tobi?” I answer his question with a counter-question and look around with feigned interest to avoid looking Ezra in the eye.

“He canceled at the last minute—something with his girlfriend. I’m sorry, you’ll have to make do with me tonight,” Ezra replies, his tone carrying a hint of mischief.

He probably didn’t even tell Tobi and is happy that he can train alone with us. He thinks he can be close to me. But he hasn’t done the math with Kelly. She won’t let him out of her sight for a second if there’s no one else here to distract her. Well, tough luck…

“Oh. Well, why don’t you two get started? I’ll watch you, and if you still have energy left afterward, you can teach me something,” I reply with a cute smile until I realize what I’ve just said; then it quickly collapses, and I look back and forth between the two of them, who are both staring at me differently. Oh crap!

“So…” Kelly begins, stretching and turning her irritated gaze away from me. “…if that’s the case and my training partner isn’t here, I’ll let Cora go first. After all, I’ve arranged this training session for her so that she can blow off some steam. Maybe you can help her with that, Ezra,” Kelly asks him, batting her eyelashes, ignoring my stoic shake of the head.

The corner of Ezra’s mouth twitches suspiciously again before he nods at her.

“I think I can manage that for Mrs. Shepherd. Take away some of her excess energy,” he replies, and the double entendre would have been obvious to anyone. Stupid ass!

The two of them discuss me as if I’m invisible, and Kelly glances at me after Ezra’s comment, clearly puzzled. Fantastic—now she’ll be even more persistent, bombarding me with relentless teasing and comments about the young, attractive neighbor.

“Have fun,” Kelly whispers to me as she’s about to turn away and leave the club.

“You… can’t just leave now, can you? This was your idea, Kelly,” I snort indignantly and follow her.

I pay no attention to Ezra. I can’t bear to look at his arrogant grin right now. Kelly turns to me at the door, sighing once more.

“What’s your problem, Cora? You’re the most loyal soul I know. So what are you so upset about? He’s delicious to look at. Look at him and pine over him. Let him, as he said, make you sweat, and then go back home to your husband and take it out on him. The end,” she replies with a shrug.

I bite the inside of my cheek at her words to stop myself from screaming. She has no idea what a dangerous and stupid situation she is putting me in. She doesn’t even know what I’m capable of in his presence.

“And how do I get home to my husband? And what do I tell him when it’s not your car but a cab or I don’t know what that takes me home?” I huff, hoping to change her mind.

“How convenient that your current coach is also your neighbor and can give you a ride. Anything else would be strange, wouldn’t it? Why would I drive across town to take you home when you spent the evening with your helpful neighbor?” Kelly winks at me with a grin and hangs her sports bag on my shoulder before kissing my cheek and disappearing.

Sighing, I lean my head back and look up at the high ceiling, thinking feverishly about the best way to get out of this.

“Do you want to work out, or do you want to explain to me first what happened at the window the other day?” his deep yet amused voice sounds close—very close—behind me.

“I don’t even want to be here,” I snap over my shoulder, trying to suppress the shiver that runs through me from his close proximity. I can feel his warm breath on my cheek as he leans in slightly

“Is that so? Then why is your breathing getting heavier, Beauty?” he murmurs in that intense and provocative voice, the sound of which vibrates deep into my core.

I gasp as he brushes my loose curls over my shoulder and gently bites my neck.

“I’ll… I’ll change,” I stammer, marching off without turning around again and hurrying up the stairs.

Leaning my back against the closed changing room door, I try to get my pulse back under control. I can’t do this! I can’t spend the evening with Ezra, whether we train or he continues playing games with me. Either way, I know I’m lost in his presence and about to make an unforgivable mistake if I’m alone with him now. I have to get out of here!

Because I feel like my mouth is drying up and I still need a good battle plan on how to get out of here without sleeping with my neighbor, I set the bag down on a bench and pull out one of the water bottles Kelly packed. That rotten traitor!

After moistening my dry throat, I put the bottle back in the bag and cast a quick glance at today's workout clothes.

“No way!” I exclaim loudly, talking to myself. “She’s out of her mind!” Shaking my head, I continue to vent about my now definitely not-best friend.

Kelly has packed me a pair of black sports shorts that are, quite frankly, more like a belt, and a pink sports bra. Pink !

“You’re dead, Kelly!” I mutter angrily to myself and am about to stuff the clothes back into the sports bag when it’s whisked out of my hands.

My head jerks toward him. Of course, he followed me here and just saw these embarrassing clothes.

“Nice. But I think I like you better naked, Beauty.”

I want to say something in response to his inappropriate comment. I want to make it clear to him he will never see me naked again and that nothing will ever happen between us. My index finger is already raised in warning. But Ezra doesn’t let me protest that far and pulls me to his soft lips without me being able to react.

“Ezra,” I gasp, and I’m not sure if I’m begging him to continue or to stop.

“We’re alone. No one will ask questions when you get home later, and now please shut up, turn your head off and finally allow me to fuck you. I want to hear you moan my name, Beauty, when I’m going to fuck you sore all over my club,” Ezra growls against my lips as his hand grips my chin and he thrusts his tongue possessively into my mouth.

Can I convince myself that I really tried to resist him? Probably not, but fuck it! I can’t take it anymore. His words…he says precisely what I need to hear. He desires me, wants me, and I need to feel that. For years, I’ve yearned to be desired, to be seen. And why should I feel guilty? I have done everything for my family and will continue to do so. But now… this is for me. I want his rough fingers on my body and the way he strokes my skin, setting every cell on fire with just a tiny touch.

I want you, Ezra King. Now!