Page 60 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

Fiona

Reed was already awake and out of our room by the time I woke up, but when I went to the bathroom, I spotted a little handwritten note from him next to my toothbrush.

Off to work on some business. Enjoy your morning, and meet me for lunch in the restaurant at noon?

Yours,

Reed

I traced my fingers over the tidy lettering, a warm thrill shooting through me at the way he signed it. True to his word, he’d kept his distance, letting me lead the physical contact between us at my own pace. It was a little strange, sharing the same bed, living together in such close quarters, and just sleeping next to each other at night, with no expectations of sex.

But somehow, the closeness, the anticipation… It was like this constantly building tension, which was delectable in its own way.

Part of me was ready to take the next step, to try something small. The bigger part was still terrified. I had the lid firmly on Pandora’s box right now, and opening it even a crack felt utterly stupid.

When I walked into the gym a bit later, lost in my thoughts, I nearly bumped into Elodie, who was doing what looked like tai chi in an open area with squishy mat flooring in front of a wall of mirrors.

“Morning,” she said cheerily, sidestepping me with ease and adapting her flow like the pro she was.

“Geez, sorry! Good morning,” I dropped my phone and earbuds on the nearest bench and just watched her for a moment while I stretched.

“You into tai chi?” she asked as she seamlessly changed forms. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and her teal workout set offset her light complexion perfectly. I was very certain I’d never looked that pretty in the gym in my entire life, but for Elodie, it was effortless. “You’re welcome to join me.”

“I’m not sure I’m coordinated enough for that, but it looks cool.”

She laughed, the sound melodic and free. “It’s not as hard as it looks, and you can go at your own pace. Come on, give it a try.”

“Okay, if you’re sure I won’t be in your way?”

“Not at all. This is just my warm-up.”

I stepped onto the mat beside her and started copying her positions. She slowed down so I could follow her, occasionally offering a minor correction to my pose. But within a few minutes, I’d sunk into the flow of the thing, losing myself to concentration on the physical.

When she finally stopped and went to grab her water bottle, I blinked as if coming up from a trance.

“Are we done?”

She shook her head at me incredulously. “You said you’ve never done it before, but we just completed a full hour-long flow, and that was a pretty advanced one. You’re a natural.”

“Wow. I had no idea it had been so long. Once you get into it, it’s so…” I faltered, lost for words.

“Meditative? I do tai chi when I need to think.”

I nodded, sipping my own water slowly. I definitely had a lot to think about these days.

“You want to talk about it?” she asked as she stepped up onto an elliptical machine.

I trailed after her, opting for an exercise bike instead. I’d had a seizure on an elliptical once. Not an experience I was eager to repeat, and my elbow twinged just thinking about it.

“I’m not even sure it would make any sense,” I finally said, once I had the machine set and started pedaling.

“Well, you never know until you try. I’m a good listener. No judgment, I promise.”

I swiped the sweat off my forehead and cast her a thoughtful glance. She seemed like such an open book, a happy, free person… It was hard to imagine her understanding my internal struggles over the evil lurking inside.

But then, I’d never have guessed she was orphaned at three or had essentially been pawned off by her adoptive family to spare their own bio daughter. She’d clearly dealt with her own demons, so what the fuck did I know?

“I’m scared to be intimate with Reed because I’m worried my powers will come out if I lose control and I’ll hurt him again. Or one of you.”

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