Page 28 of Captured Heart

“See you then.”

I wait for her to leave the ring and walk to the leg machines before I stand up. I’m still tenting through my shorts, so I hunch over, gripping my knees as I try to breathe through the discomfort.

“How you doing over there, John?”

I look up and encounter a smug smirk on Zayn’s face. It’s the same stupid look he was sporting the other night when he and Corey were giving me shit about Katelyn. “I’m doing just fine, Zayn.”

“You sure?” It’s taking everything in him to keep it together, but laughter still spurts out between his words. “You look like you’re taking strain. I just saw you with Katelyn, and man, this personal trainer gig looks...prettyhard.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Of course, I do...but they’re not as much fun.”

“Just fuck off, will ya?”

He chuckles and starts backing away. “See you around, John.”

As awkward as that was, I’m grateful. Zayn was just the right kind of annoyance to kill my erection. After a deep breath, I straighten and head to the locker rooms. I just need a cold shower and then I’m driving home and dropping straight into bed. The quicker I can fall asleep and get this woman out of my head, the better off I’ll be.

MORTY’S RICKETY TRAILERhas become home to me over the last eight months, but today feels lonelier than normal. The springs in the busted-up couch groan as I shift, staring at the cracked ceiling of the trailer. The silence is deafening, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves outside and the faint hum of a distant car engine. I told myself when I left the gym earlier that I was going to stop obsessing over Katelyn.

Yeah, she’s sweet, but that in itself is a problem. I find myself wanting to be around her constantly. She’s a distraction, and distractions get people killed in my line of work.

I close my eyes, trying to focus on anything other than her. But the more I try to push her out of my mind, the more vividly she comes rushing back. The way her laugh sounds like it bubbles up from somewhere deep inside her. The way her nose crinkles when she teases me. The way she looks at me like she’s trying to figure me out.

My fingers twitch toward my phone, and I curse myself for the thought. Fuck it! I need to stick to the plan. Keep it professional. Business and pleasure don’t mix.

But in the silence, the craving grows. The sound of her voice, the magnetic pull of her energy. It’s frustrating how much I want to hear it again.

I get up, deciding to distract myself with a shower. The water is lukewarm at best, and the soap smells like cheap detergent. It does little to subdue the tension coiling tightly within me.And maybe that’s all this is.Sexualtension. I haven’t had sex in...I can’t even remember the last time. That kind of pent-up frustration can make a man a little crazy.

That’s all this is. My brain is confusing physical desire with...something else. I’m literally thinking with my dick, and it’s making me stupid. I just need to get rid of these thoughts plaguing me every second of the day, and I’ll get back on my game.

Dropping my head, I allow the water to glide over my neck and run down my back. The steady stream does nothing to wash away my thoughts. Her on her knees in front of me. I shut my eyes as my hand closes around my cock, gripping it tight. Those sexy lips moving up and down the length of me. Those innocent brown eyes staring up at me.

My hand pumps harder, faster, my frustration growing because I want to feel her. This is not the sensation I crave. I want to know what it feels like to have her tongue circling my tip before she draws it into her mouth. Her firm tits were pressed against my chest today, and I want to know how heavy they would feel in my palm.

The images flash faster, keeping in rhythm with my hand. I picture how wet she’d be when I enter her. I see her gasping for air as I thrust into her hard and fast. The fantasy is so vivid that I can almost feel her pussy clenching around my cock when I make her cum.

With a loud groan, the tension releases, warm liquid spilling over my hand. I slump, resting my head against the shower wall as I try to catch my breath. That wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I would’ve liked, but at least I don’t have sex on the brain anymore. I can stop thinking with my dick for a change.

I step out of the shower, dry and dress myself, then head to the tiny kitchen in the corner of the trailer.

Dinner is a microwaveable tray of slop that tastes as bland as it looks, and I force myself to swallow each bite. It doesn’t take long for the urge to reemerge and then that feeling starts nagging me again.

I got rid of the sexual tension. I’m thinking clearly now, yet for some illogical reason, I’m still craving to hear her voice. Fuck, it’s not even ten minutes later, and she’s already on my mind again.

My phone is in my hand before I even realize it. I hesitate, my thumb hovering over her number.

You know what? I’m just gonna call. No harm in that. Calling never hurt anyone. A simple call isn’t going to derail the entire job. I’m going to see her tomorrow, find the files, then leave without a trace. This call won’t even mean anything in the bigger scheme of things.

I hit dial, and it rings twice before she answers.

There’s a moment of surprise, like she wasn’t expecting me to call. “Alex?”

“Hey.” I lean back on the couch, trying to sound casual. “Busy?”

“Yes. I mean, no. Sort of.” She lets out a small laugh. “I’m studying. What’s up?”

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