Defy Fate (Fated Duet 1)

“I know.” I pushed my hand through his hair, relishing in the softness against my fingers. “I get it. It can be another one of our secrets.”

His eyes flashed and dipped between us. I knew he was looking at where my scars were beneath the denim of my jeans. When I looked down, I

saw the outline of his erection, pointing right at me, and thrust my hips to distract him.

“Fuck, baby.” He groaned at the sensation and gripped me tighter. “That feels so goddamn good.” He pushed his face into the side of my neck, each of his breaths fanning across my skin and causing goose bumps to rise. “We gotta stop.”

“Why?” I asked, loving the way I made him feel. He was exposing part of himself to me, exactly like I had last week, only his wasn’t pain-filled like mine.

“Because if we don’t…” He didn’t finish what he was saying as he pulled back, but the look shining in his eyes told me enough. He was on the verge of losing control, and however much I craved it right now, it was too soon. Everything was weaving together, tightening and threatening not to let us go. One wrong move, and it would all snap. We needed to learn to walk before we tried to run, so I shuffled off his lap and stood in front of him.

“Okay,” I said, waving my hand in front of my face to try and calm the blush on my cheeks.

Cade leaned back in his chair, his finger rubbing along his bottom lip as he tracked me from head to toe. “You’re something else, Aria Sayer.” His gaze finally landed on my eyes. “You know that?” I soaked in each of his words. “I’m not sure whether this is epically stupid, or the best decision I ever made”—he stood slowly—“but I’m not willing to give you up. Not now.”

“Is that a promise?” I asked, my voice sounding unsure.

“You’re damn straight it is, baby.” He threw his arm over my shoulders. “Now come on, I’ll take you home so you can do your homework. I hear your world history teacher is a demanding asshole.”

I picked up my bag on the way out of his office and grinned up at him. “You heard right.”

* * *

ARIA

If I thought kissing Cade would mean he’d go easy on me in my next practice, then I was wrong. So very wrong. He put me through my paces harder than any other practice. Reagan was off doing her five laps, trying to beat Monday’s time, but he kept getting me to do my start position over and over again.

I’d lost count of the number of times I’d bent down and he’d blown the whistle for me to take off. “Again,” he demanded, and I nearly told him to go swivel. My thighs burned, my back ached, and my fingers had imprints from where the track dug into them.

I swiped my hand across my face, bent down, and gritted my teeth at the burn in my thighs. My breaths evened out as I waited for him to blow the whistle, but after several seconds of nothing, I turned my head to face him.

His gaze was focused on me, more specifically, my ass covered by the athletic leggings I was wearing. I raised a brow and cleared my throat, causing his stare to ping to mine. “You about done ogling, Mr. Easton?”

His nostrils flared, and he widened his stance. “What if I’m not?” He paused and flicked his gaze over to the other side of the track.

“Blow the whistle,” I demanded, but my voice didn’t come out how I meant for it to. It was breathy, a clear sign I liked him staring at me. The last time we’d touched had been in his office two days ago, and it was killing me to be this close to him and not do what I desperately wanted to.

His long fingers reached for the whistle around his neck, and my stomach dipped when I remembered how they’d felt grasping my hips. I could still feel the burn of his palms all over me, and I never wanted it to go away.

“When you take off this time, keep running. Do two laps.”

I nodded, but I didn’t take my eyes off him. I drank my fill of him in the same way he had done to me. He blew the whistle, and I took off. My start was the best one of the day. I could feel it in the way my muscles extended with each stride. I could sense it in the way my feet hit the track and bounced back up again. Each stride was more confident, taking me around the track faster than I ever had before. It gave me the escape I desperately needed. Cade was a distraction when I was with him, but when I was alone in my bedroom at night, I felt the pain I pushed down during the day.

Cade had asked me to reach out to him, but last night I hadn’t. I hated to admit I didn’t have the strength to call him up and tell him I was struggling, so instead, I did what I always did. I found relief in the only way I knew how.

But now it was eating at me. I’d not kept my promise. I’d betrayed him, and it made me feel even worse than I already did. By the time I finished my two laps, Reagan was heading into the building, and Cade was waiting by the door.

I slowed down to a walk as I caught my breath, but my thoughts had rendered me speechless. “That was your best time yet,” he said, following me through the door. “Well done, Aria.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, knowing he’d hear me in the otherwise silent building. The flirtatious banter disappeared because I couldn’t even look at him as I walked down the hallway and past his office then into the locker rooms, nearly running right into Reagan. “Sorry.”

“It’s all good,” she said, and I stared up at her. She was a sweaty mess, much like I was. “I saw your last start. It was awesome

A smile quirked on my lips. “Thanks.” She’d been running track for years, so she had experience I didn’t have. “You have any tips for me?”

She tilted her head to the side and chewed on her bottom lip. “You need to work on your arms.”

“My arms?”