Page 36 of Shattered Veil
Working out is part of my morning routine. Today is no different. Sweat coats my entire body from timed rounds of jumping jacks, push-ups, and side-leg kicks. I count in Mandarin, learned from a Master on a retreat in Hong Kong several years ago. Counting, I try to focus my mind and not think of Ella, that she’ll be here in the building near me, all day.
Flexing in extremely low lunges, I close my eyes to concentrate and balance. Even though in my periphery, I’m tracking all motion past the glass partition on the office side.
A door to the gym opens, and there she is, in a plaid skirt and boots. Fuck, those legs wrapped around my waist while I fucked her felt so good.
The vision breaks my chi, and I catch myself before I tumble.
“You told me to let you know when she got here, boss,” Trace says, standing behind her.
I lift my head, sweat pouring into my eyes. “Thank you.”
The way she stares at me makes my body feel different than when any other woman I’d been with looked at me. Because my escorts arepaidto look at me like that.
But I don’t buy them to ogle me.
And looking back, I can’t be sure if any of them had or hadn’t. Ella eyes me up and down. Her lids flutter as her gaze reaches my waist, and it triggers something visceral inside me. Even in that L.A. hotel, her stare unraveled me.
Right there, I should have known she lied to me about being an escort.
Ella tugs her purse strap against her shoulder. “I didn’t want to bother you. But your bodyguard insisted.”
“My workout ran late.” I stretch. “You can go, Trace,” I say to him, but my gaze fixes on Ella, realizing she looks horrified. “What?”
With Trace gone, she says in a strained voice, “I’msoembarrassed. That man... He was the one who gave me the money. My father was with me this morning, Balor.”
Fuck. “Trace didn’t say anything, did he?”
Even as I ask, I know he didn’t. A military guy who barely speaks would never betray a boss.
“No. It just messed me up in the head. My father... He’s going to find out.”
“He’s not.” I suck in a breath. “And if he does, I’ll handle it. We’re adults and we had no idea who each other was.”
“Right, tell him you thought I was a hooker.”
“You led me to believe that,” I argue, low and controlled.
The bitter words kick up my memory of those hours, away from the world in a hotel room, where I fucked her so damn good and deep. My cock stiffens, and I want to push her against the mirrored wall, spin her around and fuck her again. Watch her eyes roll into the back of her skull through the reflection while I enter her.
“Yes, but I don’t want him to find out.” Ella exhales and looks away. “Are you done?”
“Not really, but—”
“Finish.” She glances around. “This is a pretty sweet gym. Is it for employees?”
“No.” My forehead crinkles, realizing I sound like an asshole. “My guys...don’t work out. They’re the types who have coffee for breakfast, Red Bull for lunch, and fastfood for dinner.”
“The ones in the skinny jeans I passed to get here?”
“That’s them. I’ll introduce you if you want. But...”
“But?”
I breathe and straighten my back. “Hang on. Let me finish this last stretch.”
Balancing on my left foot, I bend my right leg so my foot is pressed against my inner thigh.
“Standing lotus?” Ella asks me, pacing like a caged lioness.