Page 25 of Those Who Are Bound

“Are you offering to be my personal trainer?” she asked suggestively.

Jonah’s voice dipped lower, hitting an intimate note. “I was hoping I was offering to be more than that.”

Her stomach did that swooping thing to make room for her heart to explode against her chest wall. Now she was tongue-tied. “Oh.”

His eyebrows rose. “Good to see you can be knocked for a loop, too.”

Recovering, she said breathily, “So you only said that to get a reaction from me.”

He shook his head. “I meant it. But I’m glad it had an effect.”

Boy, did it. He made her feel like she was on a roller coaster, a constant thrill with her breath catching and losing her tummy.

Elliott glanced around the room, trying to gain her equilibrium and also wondering if the intensity she felt sitting in front of this man was washing out over the patrons in the restaurant, but no one was paying any attention to them. Looking back into his amused greens, she answered his original question. “I would be open to something else.” At the gleam in his eye, she put up a hand. “Don’t throw me out of a plane immediately.”

“Does that mean you’d do it eventually?” he asked.

Elliott twisted her lips to the side, contemplating, then shook her head. “That’s a far-off possibility, if ever.”

Jonah nodded once. “Noted.For the record, I haven’t been sky-diving.”

“Oh, thank god.”

He laughed. “Yet.But, good. I’ll be excited to show you some of my hobbies.”

Elliott looked down at his words. He would run from hers. She tried not to panic, tried not to want it too much. She told herself to take his advice and not overthink it; one day at a time.

Besides, all of that ended two years ago, right?

Getting her head back in the present, Elliott raised her eyes back to his. “I’ll be excited to learn.”

He smiled knowingly; a bit challenging. “I think I knew the answer to that before I asked, given your competitive nature.”

“Ha,” she responded. “So you can’t take it as a win if I hand you the victory.”

“This whole morning has been a win for me.”

Everything in her stuttered again. He was so easy, so confident in himself without being cocky. She could rebuff him at any moment, but he still laid his vulnerability out there. It was refreshing and disconcerting at the same time. She breathed out, “There you go, knocking me for another loop.”

He grinned.

“I think we’re even now.”

He scoffed. Maybe he’d been off balance as much as she—in a good way. “Keeping score?”

“Not intentionally.”

“Side effect of a competitive nature,” he commented.“The activities I’m hoping to introduce you to… you compete against yourself and nature. Not others.”

“Rock climbing isn’t competitive? Who can make it to the top the fastest?”

He shook his head. “That’s a dangerous way to approach it.”

Elliott considered him for a minute; although his tone was light, there was a hard edge about him as he talked about it. In this, he didn’t play. It was serious for him. She understood that and she nodded once. “Got it.”

His shoulders relaxed a bit. “It’s not all discipline; we can still have fun with it. I have access to a challenge course—the ropes course I mentioned.”

She quickly looked down at her coffee, turning the cup in her hands, her cheeks flaming. She managed to say, her voice low and husky, “I don’t mind discipline; I know how to pay attention when I need to.” She cleared her throat and tilted her cup back and forth to watch the liquid slosh from side to side. Gathering control of herself, she looked up again and smiled as a way to distract from being taken off guard. “Remember, Daddy was military.”

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