“I don’t give a shit if he does or not. Now, there are lots of machines here.” I turned to pointedly press the start button on mine. “Go find another one to use.”
“No. If I’m irritating you that much, you go find one.”
I gritted my teeth as I broke into a light jog. He was right. I could do that. But we both knew I wouldn’t.
Because doing so would mean Dom winning.
Dominic smirked as I picked up the pace, hopping back on his treadmill. Within a few minutes, we were both running at a steady clip, our chests rising and falling in unison.
Ten minutes in, my headache wasn’t getting better. Probably didn’t help that I couldn’t sink into my usual meditative headspace with Dom here. Also didn’t help that my eyes kept betraying me. Every few seconds, they’d find their way over to the man working out beside me. Noting how his calf muscles bunched. How his tight shorts moulded to the high, firm cheeks of his arse like a second skin. The beads of sweat rolling down his neck to disappear under his T-shirt.
Kate. Kate is beautiful. She’s the only one you find attractive.
I didn’t need Dom to call me a liar. My body’s response was doing it for me. Apparently my cock didn’t give a shit that I’d promised myself to someone else. All it caredabout was pinning Dom to the nearest wall and seeing how serious his offer last night had been.
Between that insanely dangerous thought and my headache, I couldn’t take the silence any longer. “How’s it going at Blackthorn?”
Dominic shot me a disbelieving look. “That’s what you want to talk about? My job?”
Yes, given it was the only topic I could think of that was safe. “You’re a client now. I’m showing a professional interest.”
To say I’d been surprised when Taff emailed the signed letter of engagement last week was an understatement. After leaving Dom at the restaurant the way I had, I’d assumed that door was closed. I’d been wrong.
Dom gave me a toothy grin. “Do you get off to thoughts of all your clients? Or is that benefit reserved just for me?”
I went to deny it, but pain pulsed through my temples again. Fuck, this was a stupid idea. I should’ve left the instant I’d seen Dom. Why hadn’t I?
Because being around him makes you feel alive.
That wasn’t true.
Was it?
“Work’s good,” Dom said when he realised I wasn’t going to speak. “Busy, but interesting.”
I let out a relieved breath at the normalcy of his answer. “Surprised you chose to work in an office. I seem to recall it was once your idea of hell.”
“Me too,” Dom confessed with a chuckle. “Especially after being in the army.”
Curiosity nipped at me. I tried to ignore it. Getting to know this version of Dominic was reckless. Dangerous.
But just like when I was eighteen, I couldn’t help myself.
“Why did you choose it?”
Dom considered his answer for a few seconds. “Well, I knew Taff and I worked well together, so that wasn’t an issue. I trust him implicitly, which makes going into business easier. Plus, no one knows the pitfalls of the weaponry being used on the ground better than two people who’ve served. We spent a lot of years bitching about how we’d fix the various issues we’d uncovered. Made sense to try and do something about it.”
A grudging sense of pride filled my chest.
“Plus, getting bored sitting in an office doesn’t seem as daunting after spending fuck knows how many nights on watch.” Dom shuddered. “Turns out it’s not all fighting and missions. Most of the time I was just sat, bored out of my skull, waiting for something to happen.”
A small smile tugged at my lips. I tried to batten it down, but Dominic noticed it immediately.
“What? Is the idea of me sitting on my arse for years amusing?”
“No.” I kept my gaze straight ahead as my feet pounded the belt. “But I won’t lie, knowing you weren’t in danger every minute? I kind of love that.”
Dom fell silent, but I caught his grin as he ducked his head.