Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Jaxson laughed, too, but then his hands were on me, and suddenly laughing was the furthest thing from my mind.
His hands were massive where they enveloped my rib cage, and he held most of my weight as he moved in close behind me.
“You want to think about lifting through here,” he said, running his fingertips along my lats. I knew without looking to confirm that a wave of goosebumps had erupted at his touch. “And here,” he added, ghosting those fingers over my deltoids and rhomboids.
And just when I thought I was safe from passing away at the feel of his warm hands on me, he wrapped them around my waist, one holding fast to my hip as the other splayed my stomach.
“Breathe,” he encouraged — as if that was easy with him touching me. “And tighten your core. Use the energy here.”
His touch lingered for a long pause before he pulled away, and I let out a shaky breath before feeling that determination sink back in.
With a grunt, I focused on all the areas he’d pointed out, using that sexual energy stirring in my gut to help propel me. I managed to lift myself halfway, and then I kicked my feet, tilting my chin up as if that would help it sail over the bar.
When I failed, I dropped limp again, hanging like a little kid from the monkey bars.
“I suck.”
Jaxson chuckled. “No, you’ve just never attempted a pull-up before. These take a lot of strength. Here, let me help you so you can feel the proper form.”
I waited for him to grab my waist again, but instead, he jumped, his hands finding the bar on either side of mine.
And that, of course, brought him flush against me — his chest to my back, our bodies in a tight-fitted seam.
Oh. My. Fucking. Fuck.
Heat rushed through me, from the point where his breath skated over my neck to where his massive biceps caged me in. He smelled like leather and fresh-cut cedar, the scent invading my senses and scrambling my brain just as much as his touch did.
“Oh, come on, Nova,” he teased, lifting himself a little so his voice rumbled right behind the shell of my ear. “What was it you said to me that night in Austin? Don’t look so scared.”
My eyelids fluttered shut, heart racing like I was doing cardio instead of weight training. Because that little jest, those four little words… they answered my question.
He did think about that night.
I swallowed, ready to drop from this bar and climb him like a tree, instead. But before I could, he wrapped his massive, watermelon-busting thighs around my waist, and pulled us both up.
“Oh, my God,” I squealed. “You are a freak of nature!”
“Lift with your core,” he said, but we both knew I wasn’t doing any of the work as he powered us up for another rep. Instead, I just laughed, feeling like a little kid on a ride at the fair. I was weightless in his grip, but I felt every inch of his hard muscle where it pressed against me, and I was all too aware of a particular muscle nestled conveniently against my ass.
Being the brat that I was, I arched that ass just a little bit, enough to drag the length of him in a slow, imperceptible movement.
Or maybe it wasn’t that imperceptible, because Jaxson let out a breath of a curse, and then he dropped to the ground, all contact broken.
I dropped, too, surveying my hands where they were red from holding onto the bar.
“Ouch,” I said, shaking them out. “I can see why calluses are helpful.”
I looked up at Jaxson with what I hoped was innocence, but the way he shook his head told me he saw right through the act.
“Menace,” he said.
I grinned.
We wiped down the machines and weights in silence before gathering our belongings, and Jaxson held the door for me to exit the gym.
“Wait!” I said, scrambling for my phone while Jaxson rushed toward me like I was hurt. When he saw me peel my phone out from where I’d tucked it in the back of my shorts, his shoulders relaxed a little. I held it up between us with a little wiggle before unlocking it. “Video time.”
I grabbed his arm and lugged him over to the full-body mirrors lining the wall, positioning him halfway behind me before I started the video.
“Today, Jaxson Brittain taught me how to do a pull-up.” I used my fingers to zoom in on where Jaxson stood behind me with one brow in his hairline and both arms folded over his chest. “Jaxson, tell me something good.”
“Well, it’s damn sure not your form.”
I elbowed him, the video going shaky with the movement as he chuffed out a laugh. Then, he rested his elbow on my shoulder and leaned on me like a crutch.