Page 25 of Match Point

“It’s been a while, but yeah, that was pretty damn fun.” Color flushed his cheeks and his entire face lit up. Her heart, already beating hard from the exercise, kicked up a notch. Being outside and raw suited him. “You’re a natural at this.”

“It’s fun.” Pulling her tire out of the rutted mud, she hopped back onto the trail.

He put his hand to his ear. “Wait, what? Did you just say you were having fun while working out?”

She wrinkled her nose at his teasing. “Are you ready to keep going?”

“Are you going to answer my question?” He rolled his bike closer to hers, green eyes lit with challenge.

Her chest swelled with something she didn’t want to name. She lowered her head, pressing her lips together to stop the mad thoughts. This wasn’t personal but work. He was her manager but also her trainer. She had a bad habit of falling for her trainers. Part of her reason for coming back to the States was to avoid making those lapses in judgement. . After their initial meeting, it shouldn’t be difficult. Shouldn’t be. “What do you think?”

“Never mind. You don’t have to answer. It’s written all over your face.” His warm laughter only added to his appeal.

“Fine, I’m having fun.” She gripped the handlebars and spun the pedal with her foot.

“See, that wasn’t too hard,” he said, white teeth flashing. “Let’s cut onto the trail at your right. We built some jumps about a hundred feet off the path. Let’s see if they’re still there.”

Prioritization was the key. She cut to the path as he instructed. Low branches hit the top of her helmet. She had to prove to herself that she could rise above the growing attraction. Stay on track. She veered to the left to miss a fallen log. The bike lost traction. She corrected it and her breath caught when the earth fell out from beneath her.

“Sorcha!” she heard Leo call, and she leaned as far back as she could in the seat, the back tire maintaining traction, but barely. Frantic to gain her equilibrium, she willed herself to breathe. The ground sped toward her, the drop a good twenty feet where the side of the trail had collapsed. A strange calmness came over her, and she worked the back brakes, pressing and releasing in an attempt to slow her momentum. The smell of burning rubber reached her nose before the terrain flattened, a knoll of grass bogging the tire down more. Focus, you’re almost there. She managed to turn the bike at the last moment. Applying the brakes, she brought herself to a shaky stop. She fell off the seat and landed on her back, staring up at the cliff side. Her heart beat a mile a minute, limbs heavy and numb. Hysterical laughter bubbled from her throat. Now that she was safe, she felt an almost out-of body-experience. Every muscle in her hummed and she’d never felt more alive.

“Don’t move or try to get up.” Leo called out while he biked down the path that ran parallel to where she’d come down.

She didn’t try to move. She worked on controlling the raw emotional response, but it was difficult to still her racing heart. Laughter spilled out, the giggles coming in a torrent of waves.

“Sorcha, are you okay?” Leo dropped his bike and ran to her side, his face ashen, lips drawn in a tight line as he knelt beside her in the damp grass.

Tears blurred her vision and she nodded, her body shaking,

“Do you hurt anywhere?” He touched her arm, inspecting her limbs for outward injury. “Nothing appears to be broken but there’s always internal bleeding.—Talk to me, Sorcha! Are you hurt? “

“That. Was. Fucking. Awesome. Did you see me? I rocked that hill.”

He snapped his head up, frown lines between his eyebrows. “I take it you’re okay?”

“I’m more than okay. I was freaked out at first but once I gained my footing, it was smooth sailing. Damn, that was better than sex.” Perhaps we could have sex and compare the two? Get your mind out of the bedroom. She shifted her gaze from his mouth. His close proximity wasn’t helping matters. Perhaps she was hysterical, but she felt more alive than she had in ages and she wanted to celebrate the feeling.

Leo cupped her cheek, thumb brushing the underside of her chin. “You took ten years off my life. You’re lucky you didn’t break your neck and it would’ve been my fault. It’s been years since I’ve taken this trail. I should’ve been more cautious.”

Sorcha rose onto her elbows, the action bringing her nearer to him. To temptation. Her knee jerked, a cramp seizing her thigh. She clutched at it, the pain growing in intensity. “Ouch, ouch, ouch, muscle cramp. Muscle cramp.”

“Let me help.” Leo pushed her hand away and began to run his thumb and finger along the tense muscles, starting at her knee. Teeth clenched, she forced her leg to relax but it was difficult to ignore the deep tissue contractions.

“You should have told me you were hurt,” he said.

“I’m not. I don’t suppose you ordered a massage therapist for this little getaway? I’d gladly exchange one for the nutritionist.” Being on a restricted diet was as excruciating as the muscle cramp.

“How about one of each?” He continued to work out the knot in her leg, a dimple peeking out on his cheek.

“I hate to deny myself anything. If I can’t get what I want, I get a bit squirrely. Call me spoiled, or controlling, but it freaks me out.” The pain lessened and she licked her lips, her eyes falling to his mouth.

Don’t. Go. There. Another thing she had denied herself. Sex and Leo.

“I can relate, with one exception. Waiting for something instead of immediate satisfaction can be, well, satisfying,” the husky bent of his voice added to her growing awareness of him.

If she had sex with Leo, and got it out of the way, would her rising passion for him lessen? Not that she had the option. In the space of ten minutes, she’d completely gone back on her earlier determination. Foolish to take this path but the higher along the muscles of her leg he went, the more she needed him to keep going. “Want to know the truth?”

Raindrops fell onto her cheek, a damp wind blowing.

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