Below the Belt (5 page)

Perversely hoping that it would be really, punishingly hot outside, he did some warm-up stretches and made his way to the front door.

“Hey, wait up,” Jamie called from behind him.

He turned to see her approaching, her arms busy behind her head as she braided her hair.

“I need to get my roadwork hours up this week. I’ll come with you,” she said.

He stared at her. He’d tried to escape temptation, he really had. Now fate—or whatever—was throwing it right back in his face.

Every man had his breaking point. He had a feeling his was damn close.

“Sure, why not?” he said.

S
TUPID
.
Stupid. Stupid.
Jamie chanted the mantra silently to herself as she pounded the pavement alongside Cooper.

Why had she gone out of her way to spend more time with him? Especially when they’d just had that moment where they’d looked into each other’s eyes and acknowledged at last that there was some heavy-duty chemistry going on between them?

She’d been rejected by five other trainers before Cooper had reconsidered his original decision and taken her on. She wanted to prove to the sport, to herself and to her grandfather more than anything that she could make it to the top. So why was she risking all of that by pursuing her attraction to her trainer?

She shot a sideways glance at him as they ran, taking in his superbly fit body, the harsh, determined lines of his face, the confident ease of his movements.

Because he was hot, that was why. Because she wanted him. Because he’d started to invade her sleeping as well as her waking hours. Making beds at the hotel, she imagined him sprawled naked across the white sheets. Scrubbing down shower stalls, she pictured him beaded with water, pushing her up against the cool tiles as he took her. And at night she had the steamiest, dirtiest dreams she’d ever had about any man, dreams of hard heat and friction and need that left her gasping when she woke up alone and desperately horny.

She was seeing Dean tonight. Surely that would scratch this itch of curiosity and need that was currently driving her just a little bit crazy. She tried to picture Dean’s face and body, tried to remember how good it had been between them last time…and couldn’t get past her awareness of the man running at her side. The man who, for whatever reason, had quickly assumed center stage in her fantasy life.

Sweat dripped off her chin and onto her chest. She wiped her brow with her forearm. The smell of hot asphalt filled the air, and the only sound was the
slap slap
of their feet as they ran. Normal, sane people were taking refuge in their homes, curtains drawn, air-conditioning on. Not her and Cooper. They were punishing themselves in the heat.

He didn’t want to want her. She didn’t want to want him. But he did, and she did. And if Dean didn’t do the trick tonight, Jamie honestly had no idea how to handle the situation. Human desire was a powerful, powerful thing. It had ruined marriages, brought down governments, destroyed dynasties. How in the hell was she supposed to stay strong when she saw the man
every day?
When he
touched
her time after time in the course of their work? When—

She caught movement out of the corners of her eyes and nearly groaned with frustration. He was peeling his tank top off, leaving his chest bare.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

She forgot to breathe for a moment as he balled his top in his hand and mopped his sweaty chest with it. He was beautiful. Great pecs, amazing abs, those big shoulders. Lucky she was already panting. As it was, she could barely keep her eyes off him, her gaze constantly darting to the side to keep checking that, yes, he really was that damned hot.

“So, do you miss it?” she blurted suddenly, desperate to normalize the situation. “Fighting, I mean.”

He shrugged, his breath coming easily despite the fact they’d been running for nearly half an hour now.

“Of course. It’s been the center of my world since I was sixteen years old. Never really known anything else.”

“And you had to walk away from the title.”

“No choice. Not if I didn’t want to go blind,” he said.

She tried to imagine how hard it must have been. To have worked like a dog to get to the top of the pile, only to have to give it all up because his body let him down.

“You must have been so pissed.”

“For a while. What’s done is done. No point wasting energy,” he said. “I’ve got the gym now, my fighters. Life goes on.”

Despite the surface confidence of his words, she heard the uncertainty beneath them. He was still feeling his way, trying to work out what life was about if it wasn’t about the ring and winning and training and being the best.

“You’re a great trainer,” she said impulsively. She felt herself blush.

He shot her a look. “Suck-ups get an extra mile.”

“I’m not sucking up, just telling it the way it is. All the guys are happy. Ray keeps saying that coming over to you was the smartest move he ever made.”

He shrugged, but she could tell he was pleased. Hell, who didn’t like to know they were doing a good job? He was big on praise. She’d noticed that about him over the past few days. He always rewarded hard work with a well-placed word or a pat on the shoulder or the back. She’d started to look forward to those moments, to seeing the light of approval in his eyes.

Another reason why sleeping with him would be a big mistake. She was well aware that there was a healthy dose of hero worship mixed in with her lust. He’d been a great champion. He was an inspiring trainer. Giving in to basic instinct would mess things up between them big-time.

Or…maybe it would clear the air.

The thought popped into her head as though it had been hand-delivered by the devil himself.

The road ahead began to rise, and Cooper pulled ahead of her as he dug deeper. She eyed his broad back and powerful legs greedily, toying with the idea that had just insinuated itself into her thoughts.

Hypothetically speaking, if they let instinct take over and went at each other, all the sexual tension that had been dogging her days would be gone. The weirdness between them would be a nonissue—for both of them. No hyperawareness, no waking fantasies, no nothing. Just…satisfaction. All the questions her body had been asking would be answered. They could put it behind them and move on.

The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. It made sense. She wasn’t the kind of woman who had to dress sex up as something else to enjoy it—for her, it was simply two bodies seeking pleasure with each other. Most men, in her experience, were on the same wavelength and she’d heard enough gossip about Cooper and his women over the years to suspect that they shared a similar philosophy when it came to the bedroom.

In theory, there was nothing stopping them.

In no seconds flat, her body was on fire as she gave herself permission to experience her full desire for Cooper. As they neared the top of the hill, her anticipation rose and with it her heartbeat.

She was determined to have him now that she’d made her decision. First chance she got, she’d make her play, get this madness out of her system.

“You ready to head back?” he asked as they started down the hill.

It was past dusk, and they were about five minutes from the gym, running through the backstreets of Newtown. In a handful of moments, they’d have privacy. His office, the change rooms—she didn’t care, as long as there was bare skin and heavy breathing involved.

“Absolutely,” she said.

He shot her a look but didn’t say anything. They completed the rest of their run in silence.

Usually after roadwork she felt pleasantly tired and warm and loose. Today, despite the heat, she was buzzing. She could feel her pulse pounding low in her belly and between her legs. Her mind was filled with steamy images as she anticipated his touch.

She’d been thinking about this from the moment she first saw him in the flesh, she finally admitted to herself. Weeks and weeks of secret wanting, all of it about to come to a head….

The coolness of the air-conditioned gym hit her the moment they pushed on the front doors. One of the gym attendants—Jason?—was tidying up the front counter.

“Good, you’re back,” he said, looking relieved. “I was a bit worried, since it was time to lock up.”

Cooper frowned and looked at the time. It was twenty minutes past the usual closing.

“Sorry, mate, I didn’t have my watch on. You head off, I’ll lock up,” he said.

“Yeah? Great. Thanks,” Jason said, grabbing his car keys and heading for the door.

Jamie smiled to herself. Now they really were alone.

“I’ll lock this for now. You can let yourself out when you’re finished in the shower,” Cooper said as he latched the front door after Jason.

She stepped in front of him when he turned to head for the change rooms, blocking his path.

His hair was damp with sweat, his chest glistening. She studied him for a few delicious seconds before meeting his questioning gaze.

“I think we have a problem,” she said.

He frowned. “Do we?”

“Yeah. And I think the best way to take care of it is to just deal with it, get it out of our systems.”

He frowned. She took a step closer and she saw something wild and exciting flare in the depths of his eyes.

“No. I’m your trainer, Jamie,” he said—but he also took a deep breath, as though those careful words weren’t his first impulse.

“Yep. And you want to sleep with me. Just like I want to sleep with you. I’ve been thinking about it all week,” she said. “It makes it hard to concentrate. It’s driving me crazy.”

“Which is exactly why this isn’t going to happen,” Cooper said. “We’re supposed to be getting you ready for your next fight.”

He took a step around her. Jamie reached for the hem of her sports crop and pulled it over her head. Her breasts bounced free, her nipples already tight in anticipation of his touch.

“Damn,” he said. His gaze caressed her, and his face was tight with restrained desire.

“Let’s just do it, get it out of our systems and move on,” she said.

Cooper closed his eyes, the muscles of his chest and arms tensing.

“It’s my job to coach you, to advise you, to protect you. This will mess things up, Jamie,” he said.

“No, it won’t. It’ll make it cleaner. No more wondering, no more imagining. It’ll be a nonissue, over.”

He opened his eyes. She could see the resolve harden in him.

“I’m not starting my training career by screwing one of my fighters,” he said.

Frustration and need welled up inside her. She knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She was so sure that this was what they needed—the release of it, the freedom of it.

She took a last step forward, so close that she could feel the heat coming off his body, so close that her nipples brushed his chest.

“You’re really going to let this go to waste?” she asked, holding his eye as she slid a hand onto the long, thick ridge straining against the fabric of his shorts.

He felt so big and hard in her hand she almost purred with anticipation.

His jaw tightened as she gripped him through his shorts and rubbed her hand up and down his shaft, once, twice, maintaining eye contact all the while.

He swore and reached for her, hauling her against him and angling her head as he took her mouth in a fierce, no-holds-barred kiss. She closed her eyes as she discovered his shoulders and arms with her free hand, the other remaining on his straining cock.

His tongue danced with hers, stroked it, teased it as his hands slid onto her breasts. She arched her back as he massaged them, plucking at her nipples before squeezing them gently. Between her thighs, molten heat pooled and she relinquished her grip on his erection in favor of grabbing his butt and grinding herself against him.

He felt so good. So strong and big and hard. His shoulders, his belly, his thighs, his cock…

She dropped her head back as he broke their kiss and began to lick and suck and bite his way down her neck, finally pulling first one then the other nipple into his mouth. His tongue was hot and fast as it flicked over and over her, and she clenched her hands into his taut butt and dragged him as close as they could possibly get with clothes on.

“Cooper…” she begged, needing more.

He responded by sucking her nipple so hard it almost hurt and sliding both hands down her back, beneath the waistband of her hot pants and over her butt cheeks. His hands massaged her curves for a torturous moment before he slid farther still and she felt the first magic touch of his fingers between her thighs.

“Oh, man,” he groaned as he discovered how wet and hot she was for him.

She made an inarticulate, needy sound and widened her stance, inviting him in. Backing her up against the front counter, he slid a hand around her hip and down the front of her pants, into her damp curls. She held her breath as he slid a long finger between her folds, gliding in her slick heat, seeking the heart of her. Her whole body contracted as he found her and slid inside. She sobbed his name and reached for his hard-on again, moving her hands inside his running shorts to grip the pure, hardened steel of him.

He worked his hand between her thighs, his mouth busy at her breasts, his body tense and focused entirely on her. Then his thumb found her clitoris, and she bucked against him as he pressed her, teased her, flicked her.

She wanted him inside her when she came, but already her climax was rushing up at her, fast and furious, and all she could do was let it take her, her muscles throbbing around his clever fingers.

His touch gentled as the tension left her body, then he slid his hand free from between her thighs and lifted his head from her breasts. She stared at him, loving the dazed, unfocused look in his eyes, already imagining how good it was going to be between them when he was inside her.

She reached for the waistband of his running shorts, ready to strip him bare. He caught her hand.

“No.”

“What?” she asked, not quite understanding the word.

“You heard me.” His eyes were crisp and clear, not a shadow of doubt in sight. “That’s as far as it can go, Jamie.”

He had to be joking. They were just getting started. She still hadn’t tasted him, or had him inside her. She hadn’t discovered all the secret, soft places on his body that drove him wild. There was still too much unknown, unexplored…

“Cooper, forget your conscience for ten minutes. Hell, forget it for an hour or two. It’s just sex. It doesn’t mean anything, it won’t change anything,” she said.

She reached for him again. This time he caught her hand and held it loosely in his.