Page 18 of The Pucking Fake Marriage

I start toward them, but before I can take a step, Blake yanks my arm and pulls me backward. “What are you doing?” he says, through gritted teeth. “You’re going to cause a scene, right here? Start a fight with this man too? Are you out of your damn mind?”

Glancing over at Charlie and the man, I realize that I wasn’t imagining it. The dude does look bored, maybe even a little impatient. “Yeah, I don’t think that’ll happen.” He doesn’t seem to be interested in Charlie. I can’t tell if that makes him a eunuch or the most pious man alive, but itdoesmake me like him better. If I’m going to go over there, the only person I’ll piss off is Charlie.

And that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

I shrug off Blake’s hold and start off toward where they’re standing. I cross a row of hack squat machines, another row of leg presses, before I’m in full view of them. Charlie’s got her back to me, and seeing the flare of her hips and ass in those leggings only makes it that much easier to keep going. She turns her face in my direction for a second as she speaks, and I note to my chagrin that she’s still grinning. Worse, the man now looks somewhat interested in what she’s saying.

I’m only a few feet from them when I hear her say the word “loan.” Just then, the man spots me and looks up. Charlie turns around immediately.

A mingled look of shock and fury appears on her face, but not for long. As I watch, she breaks into a delighted smile and turns to the man.

Then, in what I can very well describe as the mostshocking event of my life so far, she walks up to me, wraps her arms around my neck while letting her mat fall to the floor, and kisses me.

My shock freezes me for only a second. And then the smell of Charlie’s perfume invades my senses. Her tongue swipes over my lips, causing tingles to erupt all over my skin, and my brain shuts down. I forget everything—that she’s pissed me off over and over, that there’s a man watching us, and that we are in a gym filled with people.

All I can think of is that I’m holding her.

I surround her tiny waist with my much larger arms, pulling her in. I’m expecting that she’s going to draw back, but instead, she meshes her body even firmer against mine, a moan slipping from her lips. My erection comes back in full force, along with a yearning urge to touch hereverywhere.

My hands slide slowly down her waist, my fingers finding the curve of her hips and ass. She feels even more divine than I remember, and that sends my nerves into a frantic fever dance. I cup the upper half of her bum, pulling her in possessively. A moan escapes her again, and I realize how much I need to hear that sound. How much I needto hear her say my name—scream my name. I grind my dick against her stomach, instinctively seeking the sweet release of being inside her.

And then it’s over. Charlie steps back, her face wearing the same smile she had when she first kissed me. She turns around with a grand flourish to the man, leaving me standing between them with my dick straining in my pants.

“Oh,” the man says, looking much more interested. “This ishim?”he asks Charlie, who, for some reason, nods excitedly.

I glance from one face to another. What could Charlie have said about me? That I was her childhood friend?Doesn’t seem likely, seeing as that was such a long time ago. The blood still pulsating in my groin offers another explanation—maybe this dude is her friend or something, and she’d told him about that night in Las Vegas.

Now that’s an explanation I can get behind. Only, I’m going to need to confirm it.

“Him who?” I start to ask, but the man quickly steps forward.

“Congratulations,” he says. Suddenly, he’s leaning forward to take my limp hand and pump it up and down. “For this…” He nods at Charlie. “And…I shouldn’t say this, but I’m a Titans fan. You guys were great last season.”

What the hell is going on?

“Thank you,” I say. There’s nothing else to do. I’m merely meeting a starstruck fan, after all. One that seems far more interested in me than Charlie. If I’ve got any issues, they’re not with him.

“You could come by the bank again, Charlotte,” he says, now wiping sweat from his brow with his towel. “I’ll take a look at your application, and we can discuss how we can serve you better.”

Charlie looks weak with relief. “Thank you, Mr. Holloway. Thank you.”

The man strides off. I stare down at Charlie, whose look switches from joy to emotionless in record time.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she mutters under her breath, glancing at Mr. Holloway’s retreating form. “This isn’t your gym.”

“Didn’t seem to matter to you when you kissed me just now.” I cross my arms, my pleasure over the kiss evaporating. I’m starting to get the sickening feeling that Charlie’s playing me. I can’t imagine why, and for what, but I’m going to get to the root of it. “How do you know that man?”

Her cheeks brighten with color. “You have no right to ask me anything.”

“You just kissed me and let me grope you in public.” Her cheeks get even redder. “I’m going to ask you whatever I want.”

Her brown eyes sparkle with an emotion I can’t quite name. Worry? Fear? It’s gone the next moment, and she bends down to retrieve her mat. The sight of her ass pushing up like that in the air unshackles the last of my restraint. Taking her arm, I yank her upright.

“Let go of me,” she whisper yells. “Now.”

“Pull yourself free.” My eyes meet hers in a silent battle. “Or are you too scared that Mr. Holloway’s going to turn around and find out you’re bullshitting him?”

I expect a retort. Anything. But she just stares at me, her eyes bright with hatred.

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