Chapter 12

12

BECKA LOOKED UP as the door opened and Aaron walked in. He missed a step but recovered almost immediately. “I didn’t realize you’d be home before me today.”

“My last appointment canceled. He’s got food poisoning.” She flipped through the channels for the twelfth time in the last hour. Nothing held her attention, and she’d already circled through the kitchen to stare blankly into the fridge four times before shutting it and returning to the couch. Becka didn’t do well with a lack of activity, and today was no exception. She had energy to burn off and she didn’t know what to do with herself. She sat up and eyed Aaron. “You in a hurry?”

He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it in the closet just inside the door. “I have some work I brought home, but it just needs to be done sometime tonight. Why? You have something in mind?”

“I do.” She bounced off the couch and came around to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Let’s take a spin class.”

Aaron stopped short. “That did not go where I was expecting.”

“You thought I meant sex.” She laughed and started down the hall. “We can bang it out later. Riding your cock is great cardio, but I didn’t have a spin class today and I’m going to drive us both crazy if I don’t do something about it.” She pulled out her phone and paged through the app she had that gave her all the nearby gyms’ schedules. It didn’t take long to find one that would fit the bill.

Becka turned, but Aaron hadn’t moved from his spot by the door. She stopped short and cursed herself for being an idiot. It took effort to keep her shoulders square and the disappointment from her voice. “You don’t have to go, Aaron. It’s okay. I just got excited.”

He gave himself a shake. “No, I want to. You surprised me is all.” He crossed the distance between them in two large steps and kissed her hard enough that her back hit the wall. When he finally raised his head, both their breathing had turned harsh. Aaron smiled. “I’ve been curious about your particular brand of spin since Roman told me about it a while back.” He paused. “I’m happy you’re sharing this with me, minx.”

He made it sound like a much bigger deal than it should be but...

No, that wasn’t fair. It was a big deal. She’d made plans for both of them without stopping to think about it, and she’d been disappointed when she thought he didn’t want to go. Little by little, Aaron had eased into her life until she wanted to share parts of herself with him. Her classes and her personal training were two things important to her that she never shared with the guys she dated. She’d never wanted to share them.

Since she didn’t know what to say to any of it, she gave him a half smile and ducked into her room to change. Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way. The gym was a trendy little boutique workout place that offered a small selection of classes, similar to Transcend, but they were open to both men and women. Becka had never been to this branch before, but she’d attended a few classes at one of the locations closer to her apartment.

After they got checked in and put on their spin shoes, she shot Aaron a look. “Uh... I know you work out, but have you ever taken spin before?” Probably should have asked that before springing this on him.

“Yeah, though not for a while. I prefer lifting weights and the elliptical.”

She made a face before she caught herself. “Just, ah...” She put an extra dose of brightness into her tone. “It’ll be fun!”

“What did you sign me up for?”

Instead of answering, she headed into the room and chose a bike in the middle row, slightly off to the side. Aaron took the one next to her and adjusted his seat without hesitating. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.

As the class started, she lost herself to the bumping beat of the music and the rhythmic pedaling. The instructor didn’t have as many bike pushups in his routine as Becka did, which was just as well, but he had a few fun moves she made a mental note to incorporate at some point in the future.

The hour passed in the blink of an eye, and she belatedly remembered to check on Aaron as the slow song that signaled time to stretch came on. He was just as soaked in sweat as she was, and the look he gave her when she turned to him singed her right down to her core. Becka froze. “Uh, so that was fun.”

“Fun.” He didn’t sound totally out of breath, but he shook his head and unlocked his shoes from his bike. “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”

She burst out laughing, drawing looks from the people around them. Well, at least the class was over. Becka followed him out of the room, her gaze lingering on the way his sweaty shirt clung to this muscled back. She knew working out was an aphrodisiac, of course, but she’d never done it with someone before. Not like this.

Suddenly, all those couples’ workout videos on the internet made sense.

She grabbed Aaron’s arm and towed him around the corner and down the hall, searching the signs on the doors. There were a handful of gender-neutral bathrooms and... There. If this gym was anything like hers, no one actually used the showers. Even if they did, there were two. She shoved Aaron into the room, cast a quick look behind them to make sure no one was paying attention and stepped in and closed the door behind her.

He was on her the second she locked the door. Aaron grabbed her hips hard enough that she had to catch herself on the door and shoved her shorts down her legs. Half a second later, his cock was there, filling her in one rough move. Her fingers scrambled over the smooth wood of the door, trying to find purchase. “Oh God.”

“This is what you wanted.” He pulled out for a second, looped an arm around her waist and carried her to the sink. She braced her hands on the porcelain and met his gaze in the mirror. He smoothed a hand up her back. “This is what you wanted,” Aaron repeated. This time it sounded more like a question.

“Yes.” He sank into her again, and she shoved back against him, taking his cock deeper yet. “Hard. Fast. Now.”

He gripped her shoulder with one hand and her hip with the other and drove into her. Hard. Fast. Exactly what she needed. His expression was like a man possessed, just as out of control as Becka felt. It had never been like this, desperation clawing through her to get closer, to have more of him touching more of her. He must have felt it, too, because Aaron withdrew and lifted her onto the sink. He yanked her shorts the rest of the way off and spread her thighs wide. “Hang on to me.”

She was already moving, hooking the back of his neck and dragging him down to claim his mouth as he started fucking her again. The new angle hit that sensitive spot inside her with every stroke, winding her tighter and tighter until she came with a muffled cry. He followed her seconds later, grinding hard into her as he orgasmed.

Aaron laughed softly. “I think I can get onboard with this spin thing.”

“Yeah... Me, too.” She shivered as his cock twitched inside her. “But we can never come back to this gym again—ever.” She wasn’t shy, but they’d just crossed a line, and she wasn’t going to be able to look anyone in the face as they left.

“You hungry?” He pumped slightly, drawing a gasp from her lips.

She blinked. “Is that a euphemism?”

“I know a place that makes some mean peanut butter and jelly wings.” He was still moving inside her, little thrusts that had her body going molten all over again. “We could pick up takeout and go home to enjoy them properly.”

Becka moaned and shoved him away. “Stop that or we’re going to keep fucking in this bathroom until someone comes banging on the door.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad.” His gaze dropped to her pussy. “You’re looking needy, minx. I’ve got just the thing.”

The man went from talking about takeout to looking like he wouldn’t mind giving her enough orgasms to bring down the rage of the entire staff of this gym on them. She hopped off the sink and pulled her shorts back on. “If you wanted to keep playing with me, you shouldn’t have mentioned peanut butter and jelly wings.”

Aaron kissed her and cupped her pussy through the thin fabric of her shorts. He circled her clit with his thumb. “I’m going to take care of you tonight.” He slipped his hand into her shorts and fingered her. “Fuck, Becka, I’d think they pumped something into the air of that room if I didn’t know it was all you. You make me so goddamn crazy for you.” He kissed her again. “Come for me, minx. One more time to tide me over until after dinner.”

Oh God. She spread her legs to give him better access even though she knew they were running out of time before someone came knocking on the door. Maybe it was that lack of time that made this whole thing hotter. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was Aaron’s growl in her ear and his fingers working her pussy. He pushed two fingers into her and went back to circling her clit with his thumb. She was already on a hair trigger from coming earlier, and when he bit her neck lightly, it threw her headlong into another orgasm. He brought her down so sweetly, kissing her as he gentled his touch and finally slipped his hand out of her shorts.

Aaron readjusted her clothing and washed his hands. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Let’s get you those wings.”

“Yeah,” Becka said, more than a little dazed. “Can’t forget about the wings.”

“Come here.” Aaron reached out to pull Becka back beneath the spray of the dual showerheads he had set up in his bathroom. They’d made it back to his penthouse in record time—with a quick stop at the wing place on the way to pick up their food—and he’d dragged her into the shower with him nearly the second they walked through the door.

She smacked his hand and bared her teeth in what was almost a grin. “Food, Livingston. Not only did we do spin class and then walk home, but you blew my mind seven ways to Sunday in the bathroom earlier. I need calories and, before you say anything, not the kind of calories that come from your cock.” She paused in the gap leading out of the walk-in shower and surveyed him. “Though it’s a mighty fine cock and I plan to use and abuse it later.”

He barked out a laugh. “Noted. Go get started on your calories. I’m right behind you.”

“Better enjoy the view then.” She gave a little shake of her ass and hell if he didn’t enjoy the view before she wrapped a towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom.

He wasted no time finishing scrubbing down and followed suit. He found her in the living room, setting up the wings on the coffee table. Aaron ducked into the kitchen to grab them glasses of water and an extra glass of cranberry juice for her, and then he joined her on the couch.

It was only then that he noticed what she was wearing.

Becka sat cross-legged, her petite body swallowed up by one of his college T-shirts. The thing was so old, it was one of the softest he owned, and the image on the front had faded away to almost nothing. Rationally, he understood why she gravitated to the shirt, but his gut said it marked her as his . That she was settling in for the long haul and this was a fucking relationship, not two people who happened to live together and would have a baby together in the relatively near future.

Whether her choice in clothing said that to her was another story.

She tasted the jalape?o jelly dip and made a little moaning sound. “Oh, damn. This was such a good call.”

“Glad it’s hitting the spot.” To keep himself from staring at her as she ate, he grabbed the remote and flicked through the channels until he landed on something that halfway caught his interest. It was an old movie, and he instantly recognized the blonde waltzing her way across the screen.

Becka obviously did, too, because she nodded. “ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Good choice.”

Even if he hadn’t planned on keeping it there, he would have set the remote down at her interest. “I take it you like it?”

“What’s not to like? Lady friendships, a smoking-hot private investigator and some killer songs thrown in for spice.” She cut one of the peanut butter wings in two and dipped it into the jelly. “It’s a classic, and I used to say I was Dorothy to Allie’s Lorelei.” She made a face. “Minus all the gold-digging stuff. That sort of thing leads to nothing but trouble.”

Aaron draped his arm over the back of the couch. “You like old movies, play D&D and are a jock in your own right.” He grinned. “You like to keep people guessing.”

“Maybe people.” She sipped her drink. “Maybe just you. Most people try to slap a label on me the second they meet me, but they never bother to dig deeper. Their loss, I guess. My people get me, and they don’t expect me to change so they can shove me into a neat little box.” She shrugged.

He should keep his damn mouth shut, but Aaron was sick of fucking around. He wanted Becka—in his bed and in his life permanently. Even if he slow-played this thing into the ground, he couldn’t sit on his hands indefinitely. It wasn’t fair to either of them. “I could be one of your people if you’ll let me get close enough, minx.”

“I know.” She sighed. “Look, this is weird for me, too. I like you. It freaks me out, which is normally the part where I ghost whatever dude I’m seeing, but that’s obviously not an option in our case, because where the hell am I going to run when I have to come track you down in about six months?”

“You want this to stop because it’s not doing it for you, that’s one thing.” He watched her closely, took in the tension in her shoulders and the way she stared pointedly at her food. Too damn bad, Becka. This is going to get said. “But to try to run from me because you care too much? Fuck that.”

“Try?”

“You heard me. I care about your contrary ass, and you care about me right back. I’m not pushing you right now, but if you bolt, I’m going to track your ass down and have a conversation like adults.”

She finally twisted to face him, blue eyes flashing. “You call this not pushing?”

“That’s exactly what I call this.” He clenched his jaw and worked to modulate his tone. “We have time. You need more, then you have it. But I’m not going anywhere. I’m not your commitment-phobic dad and you’re sure as fuck not your flighty-ass mom. Stop using them as an excuse to keep me from getting close to you.”

“You were pretty damn close to me an hour ago.”

His body flashed hot at the memory, but he wasn’t about to let her distract him with sex right now. “Admit that you care about me.”

She threw up her hands. “Fine, asshole. I admit it. I care about you, and that scares the shit out of me in a way I’m not prepared to deal with.”

“Was that so hard?”

“Yes!” She turned back to face the TV and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It spooks me, too, minx.” He pressed a soft kiss to her temple. “You’re not alone. Remember that when the panic gets too bad.”

“I’m trying,” she whispered.