Wheeler (Seattle Sharks 8)

Nearly every machine or weight bench had a Shark on it. Some shirtless, some in cut-off tees, some in pants and others in shorts. All sweaty. All muscly. All groaning and grunting and pushing through a workout that would likely kill me if I tried to keep up.

Though, despite all the testosterone and abs filling the room, my eyes found Lukas instantly…like a signature pulse he radiated that I could find in any situation.

Was that because he was my client? Was it because I was such a dedicated PA? Would it be like this with everyone? This…awareness?

Warmth rippled inside me as I took him in. He was across the room, wearing nothing but a pair of athletic pants and workout shoes. His chiseled chest gloriously bare, beads of sweat curling his blond hair at the nape of his neck.

“Who is that next to him?” Harper whispered the question in my ear like if she spoke too loudly the better-than Magic Mike show would evaporate before her eyes.

I tore my eyes off of Lukas, who was on the mats in front of the large mirror, on all fours racing through an intense round of mountain climbers.

“Noble,” I said, and it was a little too loud because the defenseman halted his exercise and craned his head upward, glancing at the pair of us in the mirror.

Lukas followed suit, and within a blink was on his feet, the gracefulness in the move sending chills along my skin despite the warmth of the room. And the way he sauntered toward me? The confidence in his gait, the brightness in those glacial blue eyes?

Goddamn him, it did things to my body.

Made me hot and cold all at once.

Taut and loose.

Hungry and yet so, so satisfied, like not seeing him for an entire day had left me dehydrated.

“Took you long enough,” he said by way of greeting, snatching one of the bottles out of the pack in my arms. He twisted off the cap and chugged, his lips trickling with the liquid.

Bastard.

I smirked. “Had to make sure to get the chilled ones, your highness.” I gave him a mock curtsey.

Noble laughed under his breath, taking the bottle Harper offered him when he approached. “Thanks,” he said, breathless, before mimicking Lukas’s chugging.

Before we could blink we were in the middle of a Shark frenzy—not entirely unpleasant. Once our arms were empty, Harper and I headed toward the entrance to the room, hanging by the doors as the boys returned to their workouts after being properly fueled. I made a mental note to bring more next time.

“How,” Harper said, again whispering. “Do you get any work done? Ever.” Her eyes scanned the room in a lazy way, watching the men in various states of exercise. It was a sight to behold, so much power in the room. “Don’t you get...distracted? Because I’m not even working, and I’m distracted. So. Much. Distraction.”

I tried and failed miserably to not notice Lukas as he’d walked over to a bar and started doing pull-ups. Damn him and those back muscles that tensed and flexed.

Up and down.

Up and down.

The motion somehow sensual and strong at the same time.

The way his hips jutted forward slightly on the ascend and then relaxed on the decline, showing off the glorious length and litheness of his body.

I swallowed hard, my heart racing even though I wasn’t the one doing pull-ups. I glanced at Harper, noticing her gaze had trailed and lingered on Noble, who had taken up residence at a weight bench, his arms pumping a massive amount of weight.

“Honestly?” I finally answered. “I have no idea.”

“You two stuck around,” Lukas said after another hour of working out.

I flashed him my most teasing grin, indicating the room of men who were wiping down themselves and the equipment with towels. “Why wouldn’t we?”

He glanced over his shoulder, taking in the room, and then planted me with a searing look that promised pleasure and punishment and all delicious things I only allowed to happen in my wildest fantasies.

But he kept his lips sealed, content to watch me puzzle out the look.

“You should come,” he said, and my eyes flared. He turned his attention to Harper, who was oblivious to the innuendo—too busy watching Noble wipe down his machine, a calculative look in her eye like she was mentally correcting the way he operated. “To Sweden,” Lukas continued, and the breath whooshed out of my lungs.

“What?” Harper asked, snapping out of whatever internal calculating she’d been doing.

Lukas glanced to me. “You’d like her there, yes?”

I smiled. “I actually would, yes.” I turned to Harper. “You should totally come.” The idea took shape in my mind and relief pooled inside me. If she was there, she could help me keep my head on straight. Help me focus on the job. “It would be so fun.”

“I’ve never been out of the country before,” she said.

“Me either,” Noble chimed in, walking up behind Lukas. “I’m beyond ready for this trip.”

Lukas motioned to me, his eyes flashing to Harper. “I’m sure my wonderful assistant secured a jet big enough for all of us. Plus Langley.”

“Of course,” I said like it was even a question. The more people with us the better.

“Perfect,” Lukas said. “It’s all settled. Harper,” he said, bowing slightly, smirking up at me at what had quickly become our little inside joke. “It will be an honor to show you both my home.”

Harper’s brows raised, her eyes darting from Noble to Lukas, to me. Finally, she shrugged. “I recently completed my self-appointed summer research on organic chemical compounds and their effects when...” her voice trailed off, noting the wide eyes of the Sharks before her. “Yes,” she said. “I’m in.”

“Wonderful,” Lukas said, standing at full height now. “Faith.” He winked at me before walking past me toward the doors, his bare arm grazing mine, sending tiny electric shocks all over my body. “Shower time,” he said once he reached the door.

The breath froze in my lungs.

“Wait for me?” he asked.

I could only nod—because the betraying, ridiculous, fantasy part of my brain had hated how much shower time had sounded like an invitation.

One I desperately wanted to accept.

Chapter 7

Lukas

“Noble, you have the room on the right.” I pointed down the hallway. “Langley, why don’t you take the room next to his, and Harper, you can have the one across the hall.”

The three of them nodded and hauled their suitcases to their assigned rooms.

Langley’s eyes were red-rimmed, just as they had been the entire flight. She’d shaken it off, telling us it was just a little squabble, but she’d had a distant look in her eyes.

“Faith, are you bunking with me?” Harper asked, yawning mid-sentence. Faith’s friend was cute, funny, ridiculously smart, but just as awkward on all fronts. I wasn’t sure what had made me invite her—probably the fact that she eased Faith—but I was glad I had.

Faith looked at me, her eyes drooping. “Lukas?”

“You’re next to me,” I answered, taking her suitcase.

Harper arched a brow, but Faith smiled and waved her off. “Enjoy the room,” she said. “I think I want to sleep forever.”

Harper laughed, then nodded before disappearing into her room.

Faith blinked up at me. “Like...next to you, next to you?”

I grinned. “Like the room next to me. Relax, Käraste, your virtue is safe with me.”

“What does that even mean?” she grumbled, stumbling after me in a jet-lagged stupor as I headed to the east wing of the house where the master bedroom was located.

“It means I won’t take advantage of you until you ask nicely,” I answered now that we were out of earshot of Noble.

Not that he didn’t know what the fuck was up.

He’d given me an all-too-knowing look when Faith fell asleep with her head on my shoulder mid-flight.

“Be careful,” was all he’d said.

I liked that a

bout him. He didn’t chastise, or threaten, or look at me like I was robbing the cradle. But he still looked out for Faith, seeing as she was Gentry’s sister.

“I tried that once, remember?” Faith muttered. “It didn’t work out so well.”

“You weren’t ready.”

She scoffed. “How big is this place?” Faith asked, sounding more annoyed than awed.

“Big enough,” I answered. “It was my first big purchase. I wanted to know that I had a place to come home to, a place big enough for my family if the need ever arose.” The sprawling, modern minimalist estate was twice as big as my house in Seattle and had even better views of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Seattle was beautiful, but Sweden was stunning.

“I can see you with a big family. Do you want kids?”

“Only if you do.” I dropped my suitcase in front of my door and carried hers into the room directly across the hall.

“Why do you do that?” she glared at me before flopping back on the king size bed that dominated the white and silver space.

“Do what?” I asked, leaning against one of the bedposts to stare down at her.

“Act like I get a say in your life.” She pulled a pin from her hair, and the curls tumbled to the linen. “God that feels good,” she muttered, rubbing her scalp.

“Because you get a say in my life. You’re just not ready to believe it.” And every day she dug deeper into me, burrowing into my soul until I knew I’d never get her out. Even if she never accepted what was between us, she was a permanent part of me.

Her eyes drifted shut.

“Faith.”

One eye popped open. “Tired.”