Page 13 of The Hacker
Those intense eyes opened again and his long fingers wrapped around hers, his grip sending a sensation of warmth and strength vibrating up her arm. He bent his legs and rose to his feet with barely a tug for support. He didn’t release her hand until she forced the issue by pivoting toward the exit door.
“Give me a minute to check the status of all my body parts,” he said, rolling his head and shaking out his arms. “All right, I think I can move.”
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” She gave him a sidelong glance when he fell into step beside her. It felt good to know that she had challenged him with her program. But he challenged her peace of mind with those intelligent eyes watching her through his nerdy glasses and the athlete’s body trying to hide under a geek’s clothing. It was like unwrapping a package to find a surprising gift within. A really hot gift.
“I’m used to swimming, where I am in control of my own fate. I’d forgotten how useful it is to have someone push you in new directions.”
Pleasure surged through her but she brushed it aside and lowered her voice. “Are you going to check your phone before you swim?”
“I’ll take a quick glance at it, but I need my office computers to dive deep.” His honeyed drawl sounded close by her ear as he bent to keep their conversation private. It seemed to flow downward to pool in her belly.
“You’ll email me?”
“Don’t I always?” There was an undertone that heated the honey as it poured through her.
She managed a nod and lengthened her stride. She needed to get away from this madness. “Make sure to drink plenty of water,” she said as they reached the hallway leading to the locker rooms.
“I figured on absorbing it through my pores while swimming.”
She couldn’t stop herself from glancing up. His lips curved in a teasing smile, but his eyes glinted with something hotter.
“I’m pretty sure that won’t work.” Her voice came out all wrong, like she’d been on the treadmill running hard.
“Another urban legend shot down.” He flicked the end of her ponytail so that it flipped over her shoulder. “I’ll find you after my swim.”
The playful intimacy of his gesture sent a shiver of heat spreading through her. She had to swallow hard before she croaked, “I’m tied up with a client for the next hour.”
“Then it will be a long swim.” He pulled open the locker-room door and left her with an accelerated heart rate.
She needed to make sure she trained her next client far away from the windows that offered a view of the pool. In her experience, work was the best antidote to the kind of insanity Leland evoked in her brain and other parts of her body.
After the final stretches with her client, she checked the email that had come in fifteen minutes before. Leland was waiting at the juice bar, staring at the glass in front of him with a dubious expression. His longish brown hair was still damp and showed more curl than usual. He was dressed in jeans and a clean dark-blue sweatshirt that somehow made the blue of his eyes behind his glasses all the more vivid.
Dawn tried to quash her reaction as she slid onto the bamboo stool next to his. “Not a fan of protein shakes?”
“It tastes like suntan lotion and trail mix combined in an appalling way.”
“Must be the Caribbean Zen. Let me get you a Jamaican Karma. You’ll like it better.” She signaled the bartender.
Leland pushed the half-empty glass away. “That’s enough healthy intake for today. Just water for me.”
“Didn’t swallow enough in the pool?” If she kept sparring, she wouldn’t think about the texture of his skin where it stretched over his sharp jawline. Much.
He ignored her jab as the server produced a glass of water with lemon slices floating on top. “What would you like to drink?”
“I’m good. I’ve got all the bottles of water I want back in the gym.”
Leland picked up his glass. “In that case, let’s sit over in the corner, where we can speak without being overheard.” He cut his eyes toward the server and the two other customers sitting at the juice bar.
He offered his hand to Dawn to help her off the stool. How could she refuse to take it? When his warm, solid palm met hers, sensation sizzled through her arm, and she let go as soon as she could without being obvious. She turned her back to him and headed for the wooden café table in the corner.
This was the one room where Vicky had taken a break from turquoise, going for a rain-forest effect with potted palm trees and the piped-in twittering of birds. It was supposed to be soothing to go with the names of the drinks on the menu. Or maybe it was the other way around.
Leland had chosen the location well. The only other occupied table held two women having what looked like an intense gossip session, but it was on the other side of the space.
Dawn took the chair that allowed her to see anyone approaching and kept Leland’s back to the room.
He sat down across the small tabletop from her. His wide swimmer’s shoulders dominated her view, but out of the corner of her eye, she could still see his long, powerful legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. All his exertions seemed to make him radiate strong, male pheromones. At least her receptors were picking up the signals.
