Imperfect Penelope (Wild Crush)

by Sami Lee

  “It’s not.”

  “Okay. I’ll meet you at the southern end of Shelley Beach at six.”

  “I’ll see you then.”

  Greg nodded once and was gone without so much as a goodbye, leaving Penny to regret offering him help. He was probably going to suck the enjoyment right out of her morning yoga session with his impatience and inexplicable cool attitude towards her.

  Nothing to do about it now. Besides, thanks to Greg’s brother, she was in dire need of a fast seven hundred bucks.

  Chapter Two

  When Greg alighted from his Alfa Romeo at Shelley Beach the next morning, the horizon was tinged pink and the sky streaked with lines of gray cirrus clouds. The ocean rolled gently towards the shore, too flat to attract more than a few determined surfers. He liked the beach at this time of day, enjoyed the solitude it provided.

  He usually rose early to complete his morning run and had again today, thinking he would fit it in before yoga with Penny Irving. The reminder he would soon see that woman soured his mood. He’d thought of canceling countless times since yesterday afternoon, but in the end he knew he had to go through with it. He had to be able to tell his doctor he’d at least tried the methods she’d suggested to lower his blood pressure, and knowing Leyton’s Headland, she’d find out about it if he didn’t.

  Greg was stretching in preparation for his run when a noise behind him made him turn. It was Penny, also arriving early. On a rusted pink pushbike no less.

  “You’re early,” he said by way of greeting.

  She was wearing tight black yoga pants and a white hoodie, clothes that showcased more of her body than her loose work uniform. The pants fit her like a second skin and even the hoodie stuck to her slender frame. Greg catalogued what he saw and quickly returned his gaze to her face, not appreciating the heat that swirled in his abdomen at the sight of her long legs.

  “So are you,” she retorted as she removed her helmet and shook out her shoulder-length blonde hair.

  She usually wore her hair in a stumpy ponytail. Seeing it free arrested Greg’s attention. It looked like she was growing out a bad haircut. The pale strands fell an inch past her chin in the kind of haphazard disarray that women paid stylists to reproduce. The messy, just-gotten-out-of-bed look. He forced his mind to veer away from the thought of Penny in bed. “I thought I’d run first. I usually do at this time of day.”

  “I figured.” She tilted her head and regarded him with an assessing look. “Do you have trouble sleeping by any chance?”

  He hesitated, not liking the personal question or how intuitive it was. “Why do you say that?”

  She shrugged. “Lack of sleep can contribute to overall body stress. I just wondered.”

  “I don’t have trouble sleeping.” At least not as much as he used to. “But I only need about five hours a night.”

  “Oh, sure you do.”

  The dubious thread in her words made Greg’s hackles rise. “It’s true.”

  She swung her leg off her bike and rested it against the railing that bordered the car park, not bothering with a bike lock. “So you run at dawn, work a busy day—fueled I’m guessing by regular jolts of caffeine. You grab food whenever you’re hungry without thinking about what it is. You work again at night, yes? You don’t seem the type to spend your evenings watching reality TV.”

  “I am partial to Game of Thrones.”

  “A show about greed and ambition.” She left her bicycle where it was and walked back towards him, arms folded over her chest. “Relaxing stuff.”

  “I find it so.” Surely she didn’t have anything against Game of Thrones. Could they have anything less in common? “What’s your point, Penelope?”

  “Everyone calls me Penny,” she huffed a little at his use of her full name, as he’d known she would. “And my point is that if I lived your life, I’d have high blood pressure too.”

  “I’m building up a brand-new law practice.” Greg hated that he felt the need to defend himself. “That takes work.”

  “Obviously. But to place more importance on your career than your health is not a very smart move for such a smart guy.”

  Greg clenched his jaw so hard he felt a muscle tic in his face. “The law can be very demanding. It’s not like…”

  Her expression turned stony. “What I do? If you’re going to start by disrespecting the ancient practice of natural medicine, I don’t think this is going to work, Gregory.”

  Greg ran a hand through his hair, struggling to hold on to his temper. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “You’re here to jog because you don’t think yoga is going to be enough of a workout for you. But yes, you’re here. Are you going to commit to this process or not?”

  Jesus. What an onerous, self-righteous woman. He didn’t understand how someone of Bryan’s laissez-faire approach to life had fallen for her. Then again… Greg ran his gaze over Penny, making sure he didn’t miss an inch of her body. She was lithe, long-legged and willowy in a way that was bound to make any man take notice. Her hair was a perfect light gold, natural and soft looking despite its appearance of disarray. She had a pretty face, an allure that couldn’t be ignored.

  However, she was by no means outrageously beautiful. Greg was gratified to discover that looking at her didn’t make his blood heat or anything below his belt stir. Not this morning. Perhaps her effect on him had come to an end at last.

  He nodded to accede her point. He felt gracious enough to show some contrition for the offense he’d caused, now that he thought the attraction was dimming and he found himself on surer footing. “If you felt I disrespected your profession, or you, I apologize. I’m here and I’m ready to commit.”

  She studied his face, assessing his veracity. At last she must have decided he was genuine—or she’d remembered he was paying her seven hundred dollars to put up with him. Money made people tolerate all sorts of things. “All right. Let’s get started.”

  She uncrossed her arms and quickly unzipped her hoodie, revealing a tight pink crop top that exposed several inches of skin around her navel. Her belly was flat, her waist curved inward in a way that made her hips seem to flare even though Greg could tell there was hardly an ounce of fat on her. She tied the jacket around the frame of her bike, giving him an unobstructed view of her ass.

  It was a very tight ass. His detachment of a minute ago fled, to be replaced by a hot tingling in his nether regions. When Penny turned around he noted how close-fitting the crop top was, tight enough to showcase her breasts. They weren’t exactly large but the V neckline gave enough cleavage to make his mouth water.

  Jesus. So much for the attraction dimming. This was not good, not welcome. He didn’t want to respond physically to the woman who’d screwed over his little brother. But you always have, Danvers. You know it.

  He remembered that night of the double date. Bryan had followed Greg to Leyton’s wondering what had attracted his brother to the place so much he’d dumped his entire life in Sydney. Bryan being Bryan, he’d immediately decided it had something to do with all the women in bikinis, and he’d started dating as many as possible. When he’d met Penny, he’d shown more animation than usual. When Greg met her, he understood why.

  She’d been his brother’s date, but she of all people had been the first woman to stir a response in Greg since he’d been dumped at the altar. It had been an untenable situation, especially as Bryan had seemed enamored with Penny. All Greg had been able to do was avoid looking at the woman, to shut down his responses by not feeding them with visual stimuli. It was a method he’d continued to use up until yesterday.

  Why hadn’t he realized how dangerous changing that habit would be?

  “Are you coming?”

  Greg came back to the present to see Penny had started towards the beach. He noticed again how good that ass looked in yoga pants. Sexual deprivation wasn’t help
ing the situation, which had always been tenuous where Penny was concerned. He probably should have slept with someone in the ten months since his wedding became the non-wedding of the century. He would have, had the urge ever been strong enough to justify the effort. It never had been.

  Until now.

  Greg tamped down his male responses and took a moment to ensure he’d locked his car before answering. “Of course.”

  So he was physically attracted to the woman. That didn’t mean he was going to act on it. He had supreme control over himself.

  Greg almost believed that as he followed Penny down to the beach.

  * * *

  Throughout the session, Penny did her best not to be amused by Greg’s struggle to mirror her asanas. She’d been planning to teach him only a few of the basics, make sure he understood the point of it all before she went on to more advanced poses. But his smug attitude had changed her mind. She heard the groan he tried to smother the fourth time she’d moved him into Runner’s Lunge, a notoriously difficult pose for a beginner, and had to stifle a smile.

  He might be fit from regular running, but yoga fitness was a different thing altogether. It required flexibility and strength, not to mention patience and endurance. Strength, Greg had in spades—she couldn’t help but notice the corded muscles in his arms and legs—but the other traits? Not so much.

  “And this is Warrior One,” she said, moving into position with a slow, deliberate exhale. “It’s a nice, gentle stretch. Do you feel it in your quads?”

  He grunted his assent, still struggling to get his balance.

  “You can move your feet farther apart if you like. More like two skis, less like a tightrope.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Lord, he was stubborn. Whenever she suggested he try the easier version of any of the poses she showed him, he refused. But Warrior One was supposed to be done with the feet farther apart. “Seriously, you should move your feet.”

  “Condescension is not an appealing quality.”

  Neither is arrogance. If she hadn’t been focused on yoga, which always made her feel centered and more at peace with the world, she would have bitten Greg’s head off by now.

  “You know what they say about pride,” Penny warned. “It comes before a fall.”

  “I’m not going to…”

  His words trailed off as he teetered on his feet. The sand shifted beneath him and the inevitable happened. Greg fell on his ass.

  Karma might punish her for laughing, but there was no way Penny could hold it in. If ever there was a man who needed to be knocked down a peg or two, it was Greg Danvers.

  “I’m glad you find this amusing.”

  “I wouldn’t if you’d only listened to me once or twice.” Penny raised her arms to the sky, stretching her fingers above her. “But no. Your first attempt at yoga and you think you know more than me. I wouldn’t come to your office and try to sue someone without any training.”

  “I don’t generally sue people,” he said, remaining where he was on the sand while Penny went through her final stretches. Seems he’d finally conceded yoga was harder than he’d expected.

  Not that he was going to admit that aloud.

  Penny moved into Forward Fold, bending her body at the waist and bringing her chest right to her thighs. She enjoyed the stretch for a minute before moving to a flat-back position, remaining bent at the waist. She sensed Greg’s gaze on her, and something in his scrutiny unsettled her.

  He’s watching and learning, not checking out your ass.

  Greg wasn’t interested in her that way. He barely seemed able to tolerate her. She had sex on the brain, that was all, because she had noticed that Greg’s legs were strong, even if his balance needed work. And his abs were flat and hard, something she’d seen when he’d raised his arms and his T-shirt had ridden above the waistband of his gray running shorts. He had a nice little happy trail there too, and she’d wondered if the soft brown hair extended all the way to his chest.

  He was a first-class jerk, but apparently she wasn’t above appreciating his assets. Her sisters would call her out for being a total perv if she ever told them.

  “Summer tells me you’re reviewing Ty’s sponsor contracts,” she said, because conversation was better than the suddenly awkward silence.

  “Contract law was my specialty when I lived in Sydney. There’s not as much call for that here and I’ve picked up the slack with other things. Family law mostly. Divorces, custody arrangements, estate settlements. That sort of thing.”

  “You don’t sound thrilled. What’s wrong with family law?”

  “It’s about relationships ending, people tearing each other apart. Relationships are messy at the best of times. When they end they can wreak serious havoc. I don’t like the emotional upheaval.”

  Penny wondered if he was speaking from personal experience, or merely about his job. Any single man of Greg’s age, with his looks, was bound to have an ex or two behind him. It didn’t mean he was still hurting from a painful breakup, although that might explain why he was so ill-tempered. Maybe his ex had been a blonde and he’d vowed to avoid all blondes until the end of time and that’s why he seemed to hate every minute he spent with her.

  Stop trying to make excuses for him, Penny. That’s what got you into trouble with Bryan.

  “Well, you can’t avoid relationships,” Penny said as she stood straight and brought her palms together in front of her chest.

  “I don’t see why not.”

  Penny was so stunned by his retort that she couldn’t concentrate on giving thanks for the day. She brought her hands to her hips and squinted at Greg as he stood. “What?”

  “I said I don’t see why a person can’t avoid relationships. Aside from the ones we’re born into, of course.”

  “Aside from your family, you don’t think you need anyone else in your life? Ever?”

  “Not anymore,” he said darkly. He looked at her closely, the risen sun glancing off the gold flecks in his eyes. “It’s been my mother, my brother and I for a long time. We’ve done fine. I’m very protective of them. Especially Bryan.”

  The warning tone in his voice set Penny’s teeth on edge. How could he possibly think Bryan was in any danger from her? She’d decided the nine hundred dollars and change he’d stolen wasn’t worth going to the police about. Bryan hadn’t broken in, he’d been staying with her. What could the police do? He could easily say it was a misunderstanding between them, like the misunderstanding they’d had where Penny thought they were seeing each other exclusively but Bryan had been sexting other women.

  She’d trusted the wrong man, that was all. Bryan was a loser but he wasn’t a master criminal.

  “Bryan’s a big boy,” Penny said flatly. “I think he can take care of himself.”

  She turned and started walking back up the beach, not caring at that moment if Greg even followed. He did, and his presence beside her made her feel hot and unnerved.

  “Our father left when Bryan was only eight,” he explained. “I was almost sixteen. It didn’t have the same effect on me as it did him.”

  “Are you trying to make me feel sorry for him?”

  He made a sound in the back of his throat, a muted growl of irritation. “Are you incapable of that?”

  “No,” Penny shot back. If he knew her at all, he’d know she had a reputation for being too soft on people, too forgiving of their faults. She’d been like that with Bryan at first, but no more. “But I’m no longer in the mood to cut your brother any slack. If that offends your sense of familial responsibility, I’m sure you’ll deal with it.”

  He snorted. “You are some piece of work.”

  “I’m just a woman trying to live a good life. A decent life, with people in it. I like relationships. I want them. That’s made me a little too quick to get involved in the past. I was definitely too quick t
o get involved with your brother.”

  “Oh, you moved fast all right. Like lightning.”

  Penny trudged up the dune towards the car park, her footfalls sending sand flying behind her. Beside her, Greg’s body was tense, as tense as her own. “You have a serious problem, you know that? Are you calling me a…a tramp? If I slept with Bryan too soon, it isn’t any of your business!”

  “I couldn’t give a damn about your sexual habits. I care about my brother.”

  Penny stalked to her bike and untied her hoodie from the frame with jerky motions. She shoved her arms into it even though she was hot. Hot from the spring sun and seething rage.

  She turned and faced Greg. He was glaring at her with baleful eyes, and there were slashes of red color on his cheeks. He was an imposing man, especially in his current state of anger, anger that apparently came from a place of protectiveness so powerful it defied logic or compassion for anyone but the person he sought to defend.

  Penny tried to understand. The Danvers patriarch had left his family to take up with another woman, that much Bryan had told her. She could see how that could negatively affect a person, but it was no reason to take money that didn’t belong to him.

  Apparently Greg didn’t draw the same line. He’d do anything to protect his family, the only people he allowed in his life. She supposed if family was all Greg had, it made sense that he’d put them first. No matter what.

  But that didn’t mean she had to listen to him do it.

  “Under the circumstances, I don’t think I ought to teach you yoga anymore,” she said.

  His dark brow arched. “Are you giving up?”

  Penny scoffed. “I’m not the one who fell on my ass.”

  He glowered at her, but she saw the way the red in his cheeks intensified. He was a man not used to failing, and he was embarrassed to be called on it. Ordinarily, Penny would never do such a thing, but she was finding exceptions to her rules of tolerance and acceptance were easy to make for Greg Danvers.