“That as far as you can stretch it?” he asked her, noting the strain in her back and knees.
“Yes,” she mumbled from her position, and Carter had to look at her to ascertain what her answer was. He saw her teeth clenched in a slight grimace from the physical exertion, her face framed by her hair. He would have to tell her to get a headband for her hair, or maybe tie it up so it wouldn’t disturb her. The minute the thought crossed his mind, he instantly hated it. He preferred her with her hair down, imagined running his hands through the long subtle blend of golden and honey-colored tresses that fell in a cascade to stop somewhere just north of her perfect…
Okay, that was definitely inappropriate Carter thought, stepping back a bit to collect himself, his hands dropping from her waist. Should have slept a little while longer, because there was no way he was entertaining any erotic thoughts about Maisy. For one, she was a client and he had never ever crossed the line from professional to personal; he sure as hell wasn’t going to start now. Besides, he doubted she would ever be comfortable with his own particular style of sex.
Maisy felt equal parts disappointment and elation when Carter’s hand dropped from her waist. The contact had elicited a visceral response in her that, for the moment, she wasn’t ready to begin to even try to figure out. When she heard him tell her to get on the treadmill, she happily complied. Hopefully the ache would be enough to silence the part of her brain that was hell-bent on imagining his hands around her waist like it had just been, but without the buffer of her clothes this time.
Chapter 8
Maisy heard someone knocking at her door and for a moment she remained where she was, contemplating if she could make the journey to the door and back without falling on her face. She heard the person knock again, this time louder, and she cursed silently as she slowly stood up. Taking short and slow steps, she realized that most of the aches and pains that had wracked her whole body after she finished her first session were already gone, and what was left were echoes of the grueling session she’d had to endure. When she got to the door, she looked through the peep hole and saw Chloe’s retreating form. Quickly opening the door, she called out to her.
“Hey, Chloe!”
“Maisy,” Chloe said as she turned back immediately, her trademark smile planted on her face. “I thought you weren’t at home or maybe you were sleeping; didn’t want to disturb you.”
“No, I was awake. Just had a little difficulty in walking down here,” Maisy said as she opened the door wider and invited her in.
Chloe came in and headed for the living room, clearly showing that this was going to be a somewhat long visit. Maisy glanced at the clock and saw that it was just a few minutes past one and she hoped she’d still have a chance to go and do a little sightseeing today as she had planned to do earlier.
“I saw you leaving the gym this morning,” Chloe said
“Yeah, I decided to go super early in the morning. I’m working one on one with Carter and…”
“With Carter?” Chloe looked giddy and just a little bit mischievous. “Talk about hitting the jackpot. I wouldn’t mind if my personal trainer looked as sinfully sexy as that.”
“Nope, he isn’t sinfully sexy. The guy is a wicked, unfeeling sadist,” Maisy quipped, with a little bit of the leftover anger and frustration from this morning’s workout.
“Feeling the burn, are you?”
“I hurt in places I didn’t even know could feel anything. He made me work on the treadmill for so long that when I came down I could barely feel my legs. Then after the whole session, you want to know what he said to me?” Maisy asked. Chloe was listening with rapt attention and the smile on her face showed how funny she found Maisy’s story.
“He said, ‘Good job, Maisy, but I think we can do better tomorrow.’ Can you believe that?” Maisy looked at Chloe, completely expecting her to understand what she was getting at.
“Well, you’re going back tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but he said I think we can do better tomorrow, as if I didn’t just bend over backwards, giving him my best right there.”
Chloe chuckled, “You weren’t expecting it to be easy, were you?”
“Well, of course not. I was also not expecting to end up in a wheelchair,” Maisy replied dryly.
“Don’t worry, you’ll soon get used to it. It was that way for me, too, when I first started. But now I actually crave that burn. It’s what tells me I’ve had a good workout.”
“Maybe,” Maisy said, still unconvinced anything was going to make her ever enjoy the aches and pains that were now wracking her whole body.
Chloe looked as if she was dressed to go out. “So, what are you up to now?” Maisy asked.
“Just finished my work for the day, so I thought I’d take you on a trip around town. Show you all the cool places, maybe even buy that rug you were talking about.”
Maisy glanced at the clock on the living room wall and then looked back at her friend. “You’ve finished working for the day?” she asked, and Chloe laughed at the slightly curious expression on Maisy’s face.
“I make jewelry for my online store,” she replied to Maisy’s unasked questions, and Maisy took a look at Chloe and saw she wasn’t wearing any.
“I know, I know. I make it but don’t like wearing it. All my friends tell me that, too. So what do you say to us taking a look around town?”
“Sure, just give me a second to change clothes and get my purse.”
*
“Good morning,” Maisy greeter Carter as she stepped into the gym and saw him at the reception desk, taking a look at some files spread out in front of him.
“Morning,” he replied, gathering the files and placing them inside a folder. “Didn’t know you were going to show up so early.”
“But the schedule you gave me said 6 a.m….I think,” Maisy said, trying to remember if she had made a mistake when she was checking the time.
“I know. So, ready for today?” He stood up and led the way to the workout room.
“Of course,” Maisy replied, not sounding convincing at all.
They got to the room and Maisy took off the large sweatshirt she was wearing and turned to face him. “Just thought I’d let you know that most of my body aches like crazy, and I think a bone in my thigh has gotten loose or something.”
“Well, that’s normal for a beginner…”
“So it should stop?” Maisy asked hopefully.
“Yes, to an extent. But mostly, you should just get used to it and hopefully come to like it. That’s actually how you know you just put in a decent workout.”
“Yeah, Chloe said the same thing to me. But I’m finding it hard to believe that people actually look forward to this kind of pain.”
“Well, pain itself is a spectrum and people have different thresholds, or rather people react to the same amount of pain differently. Mostly based on the purpose behind the cause of the pain.” He looked at her to see if she understood what he was saying and she just returned a blank stare. So he tried to explain further. “Take running for example. When you run, it gets to a point that your body releases endorphins, chemicals that make you feel good about running even though it causes part of your body to ache. Just saying that pain is subjective, and there are people who actually enjoy it.”
“Maybe, but I sure as hell am not one of them,” Maisy said, still not getting what he was implying.
“Don’t knock it till you try it. You’d be surprised,” Carter told her, and Maisy glanced at him surprised by his statement. More surprising was the look in his eyes as he stared into hers. It was strange and hypnotic, and Maisy shivered as her mind turned to mush. If he’d grabbed her by her shoulders and kissed her just then, she would have leaned into the kiss without a second thought. Hell, if he had offered to show her how enjoyable pain was, she would submit without worrying as to the strangeness of the request. Dragging her mind back to the present, she looked at him without saying a word, waiting for his next instruct
ion. At the moment she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to say anything that wouldn’t come out in a croak.
“Okay, how about you go through some of the stretches I showed you yesterday,” he said as he stood in front of her, arms folded and watching her. A little bit shy at his direct gaze, Maisy stepped into the middle of the room and started going through the routines they had started with yesterday. Her movements were a little bit slow and more painful today because of the aches in her muscles and stiff joints. But aware that she was being watched, Maisy forced herself to go through them. Carter noticed this and moved closer to her.
“Lie on your back,” he instructed as he came to stand between her legs. Then taking her left foot in his hand, he bent it backwards a little, massaging the joint as he went and easing the pain a little. At first Maisy’s legs stiffened when he tried to help her, then slowly she began to relax as she felt that ache in her ankle recede. After a few minutes, he moved to the other leg, repeating the process, and Maisy nearly wept in relief. Then he spread her legs and stepped in between them. Maisy’s eyes snapping open at the action as she stared at him wondering what he was aiming at. There was no hint of mischief in his expression and even his touch was almost impersonal, purely professional. Yet the minute he placed his hands on her thighs and started kneading, Maisy had to bite back a gasp as she felt her nipples harden instantly.
He kneaded her thighs with quick, mechanical-like motions even, yet to Maisy it was the most sensual touch, and she had to fight to ensure her breathing stayed even and not pant like she wanted to. Then he dropped her leg and she almost screamed her frustration, stopping herself at the last minute. He moved behind her and placed his hands under her shoulders, urging her to sit up. Then he began to knead her shoulders, working out the kinks in them, and this time Maisy couldn’t help herself as her head fell back and she closed her eyes in barely concealed ecstasy. Her back rested on his chest, and even through her clothes she could feel the solid wall of his chest. She leaned as far back as she could, luxuriating in the heat of him as she felt his hand encircle her neck. The touch was slightly improper, yet Maisy didn’t care. It had been a long time since she gave anyone this much control over her, a long time since feelings of this nature had coursed through her whole body, and the first time since she had felt this much. His hands brushed the side of her breast, and the breath left her lungs in a whoosh as she moaned low in her throat. There was no ache in her body now, no pain. In fact, she felt strong, more alive that she had ever felt in her life. She felt…nothing. Blinking, she almost fell on her back as Carter stood up and stepped around her. She slowly got up, not believing how easily she had been aroused by something as simple as a shoulder rub.
“Okay, a couple of more stretches then get on the treadmill,” Carter said to her as he walked toward the office . “Remember, start slowly then gradually increase your pace.”
Chapter 9
Maisy was half glad to see him go, seriously needing to get herself under control. She tried to blame her reaction to Carter on her recent lack of physical intimacy over the few past months, but something told her it was more than that. Starting the treadmill she hopped on and started her workout, focusing on the repeated motion of her run to avoid the questions her mind was asking of her.
Carter sat behind his desk, wondering what the hell had just happened to him out there. He had begun just wanting to help her ease her joints so they didn’t hurt too much for the day’s workout. It had turned into an almost make-out session. One more minute with her in there and he would have given into the temptation of placing his teeth on the smooth expanse of her neck she had exposed when her hair fell back. This wasn’t the first time he had been attracted to someone he was working with, but it was definitely the first time he had acted so unprofessionally. And while a part of him was ashamed of his actions, as natural as they were, another part, a part that seemed to be having the upper hand, was pushing him to throw caution to the wind. The little horned figure in his ear telling him he deserved a little respite from years of stellar behavior. Besides, it wasn’t like he heard Maisy complaining. He had noticed the way her breath became choppy when his hands circled her neck. The twin peaks of her nipples through the tank top that was spread tightly across ample breasts he wanted to wrap his palms around. He remembered how it had felt to have her thighs under his palm. Just a couple more inches up and he could have felt how…
He blinked hard, jarred from his imagination by the sudden discomfort in his gym shorts, and looked down to see he was sporting a massive erection. Surprised by how much she was affecting him, he decided that enough was enough. He wasn’t a schoolboy to get excited at just anything. She was his client, nothing more, and it was his job to help her lose some weight and that was what he was going to do. After the weight jutting between his legs subsided of course, he told himself.
After a few minutes, he came out of the room and saw Maisy on the treadmill. She had already worked up a sweat. Her breathing was a little labored but her motion was fluid enough that he decided she must have hit her stride.
“Remember, breathe from the mouth not the nose, and try to find your rhythm,” he advised her. “Fifteen more minutes of that and we can move to working on the weights.”
Maisy gaped at him as if he had just grown an extra eye. “Fifteen more minutes?” she shrieked, struggling to keep up with the pace of the machine. “I can’t do fifteen more minutes of this. Hell, I doubt I can do this for three minutes longer. Yesterday I only did twenty and look at how hard that was for me.”
“That was yesterday and this is today; today you’re working on that treadmill for the next fifteen minutes. Now stop whining and concentrate on what you’re doing.”
She opened her mouth to complain again and immediately lost her footing, slipping a little, but righting herself at the last second to continue her run.
“See what I was telling you? I’m already too tired to…”
“Keep quiet and concentrate on your run. I don’t want to hear another peep from you or so help me God,” he said in a voice that was just loud enough for her to hear, but filled with so much authority Maisy’s mouth snapped shut and her eyes returned to her front as she kept on running. After a few minutes, she quipped under her breath, “I can’t believe I thought working with you would be fun. You’re a mean, horrid person,” not expecting him to hear her. So she was surprised when she heard from him loud and clear.
“Yes, I am, and that’s why you pay me. Don’t slouch forward or drag your feet; remember the best way to do it is the right way to do it.” They continued like this, her complaining that her legs were aching, him ordering her to continue and turning a deaf ear to her whining, and then the begging and finally the cursing that came after. When it was nearing the fifteen-minute mark, he told her to start winding down from the run. By the time the clock on the wall showed that her time was up, Maisy didn’t wait for him to tell her to get down from the machine before she switched it off and got down herself.
“Now tell me, you aren’t proud you stuck with it till the end?” he asked, giving her a dazzling smile she couldn’t fully appreciate because of the ache in her knees.
“No, I’m proud I have so much control over my hands that they aren’t wrapped around your neck,” Maisy replied, baring her teeth at him.
“Funny. Now, two more minutes and we’re moving to the weights,” he replied, smiling as he went to bring the weights they would be using. By the time they were done for the day, Maisy was sweating so much her clothes felt like they weighed about a hundred pounds; if she could shoot laser beams from her eyes, Carter would be a pile of smoking ash on the floor. It didn’t help that he had joined her in her workout, using weights that were four times heavier than hers yet handling them with so much ease that only the sweat from his body would have made her know that his weights weren’t made of foam. She couldn’t even begin to count how many times she wanted to kill him when he told her to lift her elbows higher in that calm, co
mmanding tone of his. Thinking of his tone, she couldn’t deny a part of her felt a secret thrill from hearing him tell her what to do. It was a part she was surprised to find she had, and blamed it partly on her sexual attraction to him. But there was just something about hearing him tell her what to do that made her weak in ways she wasn’t even ready to try to figure out. One thing was clear, though; he wasn’t interested in her in any way apart from as her personal trainer, and Maisy was fine with that. At least she thought she was.
Chapter 10
That night before she went to bed, she called Brittany, suddenly missing her friend and feeling quite lonely.
“Hey, you aren’t working?” she asked her friend, surprised that Brittany had picked up on the second ring.
“Nope, I surprisingly find myself free and was just about to call you.”
“Really, that is kinda weird,” Maisy said, knowing that it was rare for Brittany not to bring some of her work home from the office.
“I know, right? But I have this new assistant who is as efficient as a robot and she helped me… Well, not help since it’s actually her job, but I find that the pile of work on my desk has been reduced almost by half since she arrived yesterday.”
Gaining Maisy Page 5