“Good. That’s it. Now bend over and touch your toes.”
“You’re really getting off on ordering me around, aren’t you?”
Ian smirked at her. “Baby, if you thought Brendan was bossy, you have no idea. No fucking idea.”
The gym was warm, even sticky, but Diana shivered. In the world of the twins, she knew the truth: Brendan had been running the show for a long, long time. That had changed in the past week. If Ian enjoyed telling her what to do right now, she wasn’t going to argue. Her body had no arguments either.
She reached to touch her toes, flushed and damp. God, people were all around, she was bending over in a pair of tight shorts, and obviously, the prank had backfired.
But doing this on Ian’s orders, exposed for him, sent pulses of excitement over her skin.
She held the pose, feeling the stretch in the backs of her thighs. He wouldn’t touch her when she was bent over like this, would he? Not in the gym. But she almost felt his hands closing over her rounded ass, fingers sliding into her crotch, maybe landing a smack on one cheek. The uncertainty got her hot. Hot and nervous.
She straightened up, pushing her glasses into place, and smiled at him. Ian’s eyes looked a little glazed. But his pat on the back encouraged her. He waved her over to the wall.
“I’m gonna touch you now,” he said, like he’d read her mind. “Is that okay?”
“Of course,” she breathed. Ian probably asked people that question every day. But knowing he’d touch her in front of everyone — runners bouncing on treadmills, guys lifting huge weights — made her heart beat faster.
“Good. Hips and shoulders against the wall. Like that, Diana.” Ian held her hips, angling her in place as his eyes flicked down her body again. His skin burned hers through the thin shorts. Diana swallowed. “Now walk for me.”
“Walk,” she repeated.
“Here to there.” Ian pointed to the far side of the gym. His dimples showed in a broad grin. “Pick your feet up, put them down.”
Oh boy. She could handle this. It was just a walk. She hadn’t even started working out yet, but sweat pooled between her breasts.
Heads swiveled as she started across the springy gym floor. Ian stood nearby, watching her movements intently, but she felt every inch of the distance between them, widening as she walked. Eyes raked over her, more and more eyes, and now it was too hard to stare back, to know if the gazes meant lust or laughter or something else.
Self-consciousness flickered again, getting stronger.
She wasn’t in Ian’s arms, or, oh God — sandwiched between him and Brendan. She wasn’t surrounded by her friends. She was alone and exposed under the fluorescent lights, and the other side of the room was a mile away.
She should have eaten something in the diner. She should have drunk more water before “Samantha” sprang her prank. One solo walk across a rubber mat in a ridiculous workout outfit shouldn’t matter. But here in the gym, halfway across the length of the room, all the old memories rushed in. Jeers filled her ears.
Come on, Diana, we wanna see you run. Show us what happens when you run.
Her eyes closed. It was hard to breathe. The floor tilted under her feet.
“Diana? Diana.” A voice — Ian’s voice. His hand closed on her shoulder. Fingers pressed into her skin, bringing her back. She blinked, focusing on his face.
“Hey,” she said weakly. “I’m okay.”
“This way.”
One arm supporting her, he walked her towards the front of the gym. They turned a corner into a more private area near a small empty office. The wall at her back was solid and reassuring.
“Drink.” He thrust her water bottle in her face. “I want to see this gone.”
She gulped water. Thank God the gym was noisy. Machines whirred, music blared. If anyone had witnessed her little breakdown in the middle of the room, they didn’t think it was noteworthy.
“I’m okay, really.”
“The hell you are.” Ian was holding both her arms now. “What happened?”
“Ugh, nothing.” She pressed her forehead against his chest. “I just thought I was through feeling this way.”
“What way?”
“Shy,” she muttered. “Embarrassed. Scared. I’ve done a lot, and you’ve seen most of it. You were there. This should be nothing.”
Ian rubbed the back of her neck. “You mean, because you’ve fucked a few times, gotten drunk and high, and jumped in my pool twice when I didn’t invite you, you’re never going to feel scared again?”
Diana sagged against him. Then she laughed. “Pretty much. You forgot the graduation speech and the declaration of love.”
“I haven’t forgotten. I never will.”
He kissed the top of her head. When she wrapped her arm around him, she felt the restraint in his bunched muscles. No one seemed to be able to see them in the alcove by the office.
“Is this like that night at the club?” Ian’s voice was soft now, barely a whisper. “Are you flipping out because there are too many people here? Believe me, you don’t want to hook up with any of them.” He nodded toward the water bottle in her hand. “But they’ll look better if you drink some more.”
“It’s not that.” She shook her head, slurping more water. “It’s the past. I shouldn’t care, it was such a long time ago, it’s not even a big deal…”
“Spit it out.”
Diana pushed her bangs off her forehead. “Gyms scare me.” Her voice dropped. She waited for Ian to say something, but he just watched her, standing very close, squeezing her arms. “They scare me shitless. I know they’re probably the greatest places in the world for you, but being here makes me remember the year away. You know, when my family moved.” Voices filled her head again, making her flinch. Ian’s hands tightened on her arms. “Gym was the worst. That and the bus. Being teased all day, and it never let up—”
Strong fingers gripped her shoulder. Ian was whispering in her ear. Breath, turning into words.
“It’s over, Diana. It’s not gonna happen here. Look around.” She stepped forward to see the bustling room around the corner. “See? Everyone just cares about themselves. Everyone’s trying to beat their personal best and check out their own ass in the mirror. No one’s laughing at you. I’m not laughing at you.”
“Okay.” She heaved a breath.
“Okay?” Ian’s gaze, unsmiling now, held hers.
“Okay.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened? Because what you said about it not mattering anymore is bullshit.”
“I thought it didn’t matter.” She looked right back at him.
“And it came and bit you in the ass.”
Her gaze moved across the busy gym. Ian was right. Everyone was huffing, sweating, checking the view in the mirror.
She took one last drink of water. “I’ll tell you. Tonight. I’m ready to go out there.”
“Good. Let’s do this.” He led her swiftly out of the office area.
The clang of another dropped weight made her jump. Ian watched her with a hint of a smile.
“If I didn’t know you already,” he leaned down to murmur, stopping at a mat, “I’d wonder if you really swing your hips that much when you walk.”
Diana’s face flamed, and she let out a surprised laugh. “Only when you’re around.”
“Uh-huh. Watch me.” Ian went into a squat.
Jesus, that was one instruction she had no problem following. Every move Ian made was pure muscled grace.
“Now you.” Ian kept a hand flat on her back, resting his other hand on her stomach to adjust her stance. Diana lowered herself, wincing at the pull on her muscles.
As Ian guided her through sets of squats and lunges, pushups, crunches, and five minutes of biking faster than she’d ever tried to do before, she kept waiting for him to give her a hard time. None of this was easy for her, and Ian had seized every opportunity to tease her mercilessly when they were kids. She’d learned to fight back, fight harder
. But Ian wasn’t laughing at her now.
“You’re doing great, Diana.” Approval lit his face as she eased herself off the bike. He gave her waist a squeeze. “You’ll do even better when you lose those.” He jerked his head toward her white Keds. “Cute. But get some real athletic shoes for next time. I’ll help you.”
Next time? She groaned out loud. Her body argued with every move. “Absolutely. Next time. I’ll get them myself.”
“Diana, let me help you with that one, okay?”
She pushed out a breath, then gulped her water. Her whole body was flushed and sweaty now. Ian led her to the back of the gym, chose a weight, and wrapped her fingers around it. Diana looked at the hunk of metal in her hands.
“You gave me the smallest weight.”
“And I'll take it away if your form is bad. Now swing like I do. Twelve reps.”
Diana gritted her teeth. She'd signed up for this. She swung the weight, imitating Ian's easy movements.
“Okay. You can help me pick out the right shoes.”
“See? That wasn’t so hard.” The words pulled her attention to Ian’s flexing muscles. Her own body tightened, and he gave her a knowing grin. “You can let nice people help you with things. And no charge for our sessions.”
“What?” she protested. “Of course I’ll pay you. This is your job. I’m working too. I can afford it.”
“Baby, believe me.” Ian leaned against a column. Dimples marked both his cheeks. “I’ll get a lot out of this.”
She frowned up at him, giving the weight a harder swing. “You think I’ll have a better body? You’ve never had a problem with, uh, my physique.”
“It’s not how you’ll look.” Ian’s grin widened. “It’s what you’ll be able to do with it.”
“Meaning…?” She let her arms follow the weight in rhythm.
“In the bedroom.” He kept his voice low, exaggerated, and near her ear. “Not making your boyfriend do all the work.”
“Oh— Ohhhhh,” Diana breathed as understanding broke through. A dozen hot fantasies surged through her mind. She set the weight down and shook out her arms, trying to stay focused. “Don’t complain. I work too.”
Ian laughed and motioned her to the pull-up bars. “Dip your hands in this.” Diana eyed the bucket of chalk, then shrugged and dipped her hands in the white powder. “Stand on this.” He kicked a wooden box under a bar. Sighing, she climbed onto it. “One pull-up.”
Diana gripped the bar overhead. As she stepped off the wooden box and hung, her arms trembled. Her palms were slippery on the metal, even with the chalk. Every muscle in her body shrieked a protest. Without a doubt, she was going to fall.
“You got this, Diana.” Ian’s voice was patient. “You can do more than you think.”
Her fingers strained to circle the bar, her arms were on fire, her body swung in the air, and pulling herself up even once seemed impossible. But so many things had seemed impossible a few weeks ago.
Inch by inch, clutching the bar, she lifted her body. At the top, she managed to murmur, arms straining, “You too.”
Hazel eyes flickered. “That’s enough for now. Let go. Easy does it.” Diana dropped to the box and stumbled onto the mat. Ian rubbed her aching arms briskly as she groaned. Then he leaned close.
“You look really hot,” he said in a low voice. “I like seeing you sweat.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. Ian was already showing her another stretch, back in professional mode. But she had to admit — she liked sweating. A lot. It felt good to push herself.
“I like seeing you work,” she whispered. “Love you, Ian.”
A slow smile spread over his face, dimples deepening in both cheeks. She felt warmer, lightheaded and dizzy again.
“Bend over like this.” Ian demonstrated, then guided her into the same pose. His hands on her in public, their movements obvious under the fluorescent lights, made her even warmer. He bent close. “I love you too,” he whispered.
“Do I look like an idiot?” she whispered back.
Ian laughed softly. “You look amazing. Come on, Diana, you're so fucking good at everything else you do. Seeing you a total beginner like this…” He shook his head.
Diana bristled, about to snap back, when she realized the expression on Ian's face was more lovestruck than teasing.
“I’m trying,” she said softly.
“Oh yeah, you are. You're trying really hard.” Now his grin was mischievous. “Bet you can try harder.”
When Ian helped her deepen the stretch, she groaned. But the reach of muscles she'd never known she had, Ian's warm hands wrapped around hers and the lights gleaming on his rippling body — it was all really, really hot.
“Ooh,” she gasped. “Ian…”
“I’m not going to take you anywhere you can't go,” he whispered. “You're safe.”
She squeezed her thighs together. Here in the gym, yards away from where she’d panicked earlier, she was starting to get wet. She needed Ian to hustle her back to that empty office, slide a hand into her red satin shorts, and find out how excited she was…
“And if I wasn't here,” Ian went on, his voice all tease now as he pointed for her to sit on a mat facing him, “you would have injured yourself in three seconds, lifting the heaviest weight, trying to impress the guys who’ve been eye-stripping you.”
“I’m not that crazy,” she sniffed. “Give me some credit. Ooohhh…”
Ian stretched her arms, his fingers laced through hers. “Pull back.”
She pulled. His words came to her, from the first time with the twins in the treehouse. Push back.
“Does it hurt so bad, Diana?” Ian’s voice was soft enough that she barely heard it underneath the blaring music, the whir of the exercise machines, and the clang of the weights. His low tone went straight between her legs. “Or does it hurt so good?”
“It’s good,” she breathed.
“Then harder.” He grinned at her. “Show me what you have.”
Gripping his hands, she leaned back. “You don’t know yet?”
“I bet there’s more.”
She flushed, but she managed to retort, “A lot more.”
Chapter Three
“You did it.” Ian slapped her on the back. “Congrats.”
Diana bent over the rowing machine, panting. “We’re done?”
“For tonight.” He let her catch her breath, then held out a hand. Diana took it. She climbed off the machine, muscles aching. “Ever worked up a sweat like this before? I bet you haven’t.”
Ian was right. She thought she’d known what it meant to sweat — with nerves, with excitement. But not like this. Wincing, she stood on wobbly legs and stretched her arms.
“Dare you to come twice a week.” Ian looked much too pleased with himself. “You’ll see the best results if you’re here a lot.”
“I had no idea what I was doing.”
“The more you come, the faster you’ll learn.” He cocked an eyebrow at her.
She nodded, too wrung out to laugh at his suggestive tone, and pulled at her damp tank top. “I borrowed this.” Her voice was hoarse. “It’s going straight to the laundry.”
“Can it wait?” One finger stroked her shoulder, and her breath caught.
“Why? Are you taking me to a place that’s not my backyard?”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” He gave her a half-smile. “Somewhere nice and private that I’ve always wanted to show you. We can talk.”
Warmth ran over her cheeks. “I bet you’ve used that line a lot.”
“I mean it.” He rubbed her arm. “You were about to collapse back there. Time to get that shit out.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. She was tempted to skip the talking. It would be so much more fun to bury the bad memories and focus on Ian, here and now. Go someplace alone, get him out of his workout clothes as soon as possible. But the conversation didn’t have to be long. She’d rip the band-aid off, toss the hurt away, and get on with her life. “No
shower?”
He tugged her ponytail. “You’re hot like this. You okay with a little sweat? Some dirt and mess? I know the ice princess wouldn’t approve, but—”
She smacked his arm. “Don’t start. You know that’s not the real me. This is fine.”
As they left, Ian insisted on refilling her water bottle by the door. Molly fluttered her hand in a little wave from the front desk, calling out that she hoped “Samantha” had a good session.
Outside, orange stained the sky — the beginning of sunset. The twins’ Jeep waited by the opposite curb. As her fingers linked with Ian’s and they crossed the street, she looked both ways. Not for cars, but for people she knew.
“Where’s your worse half? Doesn’t he take the Jeep to work every day?”
“Worse half.” Ian chuckled. “Nice. I’m telling Brendan.”
“Go ahead. We all know it’s true.”
A breeze cooled the sticky air. They stopped on the sidewalk by the Jeep. Ian backed her against the passenger door and brushed damp bangs off her forehead.
“Yeah, he takes the Jeep. Used to be, he’d drive over, work out near the end of my shift, and we’d leave together.”
“And now?”
“He’s been dropping off the car. It’s close enough to jog home.”
“Why’d he stop coming? Molly’s pining for him.”
Ian grinned. “Yeah, she’d love to get in Brendan’s pants.”
“She thinks he’s such a gentleman,” Diana giggled. The passenger door was warm against her back. Ian leaned over her, one hand resting on the car, smiling down at her.
“Her and the rest of the world.”
He ran a finger along the low neckline of her tank top. No one on the sidewalk seemed to notice, but Diana shivered. The move was public and very obvious. When he tweaked her shoulder strap, she laughed and pushed his hand away.
“Why’d Brendan stop coming to the gym?” she repeated.
Ian shrugged, his smile gone. “We’ve been doing more things apart, babe. It needed to happen. Once I got with you — okay, once everything went to shit after that crazy night out — it wasn’t a matter of if, but when.”
There was a lot she wanted to say, so many questions waiting to be asked. The one that popped out was, “But where’s Brendan going to work out?”
The Girl in Between Page 3