Page 31 of Taeja

“Good, because last time you almost made me cry lavender. I love your tongue,” she said and licked her lips.

He smirked. “Yes?”

“Yeah.” Smiling, Taeja leaned over to place a soft kiss on his mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed when he kissed her back. Damon’s lips fluidly moved over hers, and it made her smile. The kiss was sweet — a type of kiss where lovers could speak without ever saying a word.

Taeja never wanted to break away, not even for air. But she had to. As heartwarming as this moment was, she didn’t want to die before seeing her other boyfriend.

Pulling away, her hazy eyes opened to meet his. Damon looked like he wanted to tug her close and give her another kiss. She pecked him again, so he didn’t have to.

She broke the kiss and gave him a small smile while hopping off the stool. “I’m going to find Zain.”

Damon nodded, moving his attention back to his food.

Exiting the kitchen, Taeja followed his instructions to find the gym. Slowly opening the door, she peeked her head in.

The wall to the back of the room was made entirely of a mirror. There were three of everything — three punching bags, three stair climbers, three pull-up bars, three weight-lifting benches. Everything.

Zain’s back was turned to her while he ran on a treadmill. The treadmills were facing away from the wall made of mirror. His headphones were over his ears. She figured he didn’t notice her presence yet.

Remembering what happened the last time she snuck up on him, the idea of scaring him like she did to Damon, disappeared from her mind. On the other hand, she didn’t want to loudly announce her presence and possibly frighten him, too.

Quietly sighing, Taeja closed the door behind her. She was light on her feet as she approached him. She was planning to get close enough to stand by the side of the treadmill so he could see her.

Suddenly, Zain stopped the treadmill and turned to face her.

Taeja froze mid-step. Her eyes always had a mind of their own when it came to her men, so they took a greedy take of him.

One of the earmuffs didn’t cover his ear completely, so he must have heard her as soon as she entered. Beads of sweat dripped down Zain’s pecs and trailed over his abdominal scars and six-pack. Zain was ripped, and he looked delectable.

Licking her lips, Taeja dragged her eyes to his. Amusement shimmered in Zain’s eyes, and it had her heart doing backflips.

Sure, even when he glared at her, she still felt weak to her knees and had a group of butterflies swarming her stomach. But whenever Zain was in a relaxed state? It meant everything to her.

“Good morning,” she finally said, her voice coming out raspier than she intended.

“Are you done checking me out?” Zain asked, raising a brow.

Her eyes flickered from his abs to his eyes. “I wasn’t checking you out! Yu deevn look good,” she lied quickly.

He scoffed. “Have you seen me, Taeja?”

She scoffed more dramatically. “You have a big ego, you know that?”

Zain raised his left brow, making his scar look longer than it was. “Your ego is bigger than mine, Taeja.”

“It isn’t!”

Zain scoffed, moving to sit on the weight bench. “It is. Think about all you’ve done since we met you.”

She thought back to how she stripped for them, had her boobs out in the pool, and was somewhat thankful she was still in the tiny shorts from last night. Taeja shrugged. “I have the right to a big ego. I look good.”

He gave her a head-to-toe, making a shiver run down her spine. “You don’t look good. You look great. Come here.”

Her heart thrummed wildly at his compliment. It meant a lot coming from him because he’d somehow managed to knock her confidence down a few pegs the first time they met.

Regaining her composure, she strolled over and sat on the weight bench beside the one he sat on. “You woke up in a talkative mood today?” she asked, and he raised a brow. “You rarely talk to me. Even if you do, it’s always after I talk to you first,” she said, and he tensed for a second before his body returned to a relaxed state. Thinking she struck a nerve, she rushed out, “Sorry, I didn’t—”

“Taeja.”

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