Not Your Fault

My back presses against the tiled wall, forced there by the weight of his body. His hands touch the wall on either side of my head as his eyes narrow, fixing me with a stare that is all hunger. I gasp as his body presses against mine, hard in all the right places.

Trying to avoid his gaze, I turn my head to the right. But that only makes things worse when he lowers his lips to my neck, kissing me and then dragging his warm tongue from my collarbone up to my ear. I shudder with a pleasure I’ve never felt from Nathan. Or anyone, for that matter.

He continues his emotionally lethal attack on my neck, kissing and licking and grazing his teeth over my flesh as his hands stay on the wall, temptingly close but still so far away. I groan and my knees bend a little as his lips begin to melt my cold heart.

Reflexes take over as my legs go weak and I grab onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding on tight. His chest muscles flex as supports me, throwing one arm around my back. The other hand slides off the wall and presses to my face with a touch so gentle, I’m not sure I can feel it over the water splashing all around us.

I meet his gaze now, unguarded desire flowing through me as I all but beg him to just fucking kiss me on the lips already. He lifts an eyebrow as if to ask permission.

I answer his question by pulling his head lower and slamming my lips onto his. His kiss is tentative at first, but I don’t hold anything back. If I’m going to kiss my ex-boyfriend turned boss in the men’s locker room, I’m going to do it right. My fingers twist in his short hair, pulling him as close as he can get with our pants still on. He grunts as his tongue parts my lips and slides across my mouth, sending chills down my spine and tingles through my toes. Feelings I’ve never experienced course through me, making me desperate for more.

I’m vaguely aware that what I’m doing is wrong. So, so very wrong. But I do it anyway. And when Kris slides his hands down my stomach and tugs on my pants, I let him push them down to my ankles.

His hand reaches for my most sensitive spot and my head rolls back against the tiles as my eyes close, taking in every second of his touch. His fingers rub against my lacy underwear and my body moves with him, begging him to take it further. My mind loses all forms of logical thought as he slides one finger inside me. I gasp and clutch him closer to me, burying my face into the crook of his neck. I lick across his collarbone and he groans.

I’m lost in Kris’s arms, my mind fully encapsulated in his touch. That is until an unexpected sound startles me, making me jump backward. “Did you hear that?” I whisper to Kris, who opens his eyes with a confused look on his face.

“Hear what?”

This time, the sound is louder and we both hear it. A man’s voice. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

“Fuck,” I whisper as my brain goes into freak out mode. How the hell are we going to walk out of the men’s locker room, soaking wet, and not look suspicious?

Kris grabs my soaked clothes and hands them to me, turning me toward the inside of the shower while he stands guard by the clear shower door.

“What are we gonna do?” I whisper as I tug my bra over my arms. Kris puts a finger on his lips, telling me to stay silent. He pulls his wet shirt back over his gorgeous body and it’s a shame to see those muscles disappear.

“I sure hope someone’s here,” the man calls out. “The door is unlocked and all this fancy equipment could get stolen.”

I recognize the voice now, and that only makes me panic more. The last thing I need right now is for him to see me in the shower with the boss.

A smirk stretches across my boss’s face. “Okay, okay!” he yells, aiming his mouth outside of the showers. “You win. You are the better plumber than I am.”

My eyes crinkle in confusion. A shadow steps into the locker room looking like a tall muscular blur through the glass shower door. Kris continues, “You fixed it, but you didn’t have to soak us in the process, geez.”

Kris swings open the shower door, muttering things about how I won’t get a raise after that stunt I just pulled, and he pretends to look surprised when he sees Austin standing there watching us. “Oh, hey man,” Kris says, reaching out an arm to do this handshake fist-bump thing with Carson’s Gym’s most loyal guest. “Sorry we’re still closed. Renovations took longer than expected.”

“It’s cool,” Austin says as he returns the handshake and follows Kris out of the locker room, agreeing to his offer of receiving a sneak peek at all the new equipment. I follow behind both of them, my heart still racing. Although I’m not sure if I’m more panicked about what I was doing with Kris, or the fact that we almost got caught.

Chapter 13

Susan eyes me as she squats below the front desk, refilling her wine glass from a bottle she keeps stocked in the mini fridge under there. “You’re acting weird,” she finally says after a few awkward seconds of me watching her watch me.

I twist the lock and key charm bracelet around my wrist, take a sip from my Diet Dr. Pepper can and give her an apathetic shrug. “No I’m not.”

“Yes you are. I’m not an idiot.” Susan rises from the floor and sips the red liquid from her glass, not giving a shit that everyone working out in the gym can see that she’s drinking on the job. I don’t understand how some people get away with the things they do. If I were drinking at work, Judy would—wait, no. Judy isn’t my boss anymore.

Susan sets her glass on the counter and narrows her eyes at me, trying unsuccessfully to conjure some unknown magical powers that will allow her to see inside my mind. “Girl, I’ve known you for like thirty years and—”

“I’m not even thirty years old,” I interject. She rolls her eyes and continues, “—For several years then, and you have never acted so damn secretive. I know you and Nathan broke up so it’s not like you have anything to hide from me.”

My eyes dart over to her. “Seriously, I’m not hiding anything. I’m at work. I’m bored. This is the same as any other day.”

The bells on the front door jingle. “Welcome to Carson’s—” I begin, before realizing the new guest is the owner himself. And I swear to god Kris wore this outfit on purpose, just to screw with my mental ability to not rip all my clothes off and throw myself on him. Gray Billabong board shorts cling to his thighs and a charcoal grey t-shirt stretches across his torso, the tightness across the chest just begging me to reach out and touch it. His hair is messy like he just got out of bed, and he’s wearing flip flops which makes me think he didn’t come here to work out today.

“What’s up, boss? It’s a beautiful day, huh?” I ask before immediately kicking myself for sounding so damn chipper. That ridiculous display of perky customer service is so not how I usually act. The Delaney way of doing things is to smile when obligated and just generally look bored all the time.

Unfortunately for me, Susan isn’t drunk enough to let that slide. “A ‘beautiful day’?” she asks with a snort. “Damn, Mr. Payne, what got into her? Someone must have put too much sugar in her coffee.”