Chapter 31 Sonya
SONYA
One second I’m a gasping, sweating, shivering mess on the floor and the next, I’m thrown over a shoulder and hauled away.
Sandalwood, soap, mint.
A ripple of delight moves through me. I mean anger. Pure anger.
We almost make it out of the gym before I come back to life. Too bad my punches bounce uselessly off his lower back, and the upper curve of his incredible ass.
I can’t wriggle away either. His arm secures me down completely. I’m immobilized.
But my voice isn’t.
“Put me down, you Neanderthal!”
“Nope.”
“You’re going to regret this!” I warn, my voice going higher.
“Yell all you want, darling, you’re going to rest and not lift a finger until you recover.”
It doesn’t matter that I was quaking on the floor, mentally whimpering about how everything hurt, praying to be transported to a soft surface mere seconds ago.
Because how dare he manhandle me into resting?!
“Sonya,” Hughes grunts, stopping. “Did you just try and bite me?”
No.
Fine, yes.
“I’ll do something even worse if you don’t let me go!”
“Baby, I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”
I entertain screaming as loudly as I can into his ear. I’m about to, when he shifts his hold and I…whimper. Only because my sore hip doesn’t like this new position.
I’m lowered so fast to my feet the room practically swims. “Are you hurt?”
Hughes doesn’t wait for me to answer, he’s already inspecting every inch of my body.
Eyes growing wild, his palms skim over my skin as if afraid to aggravate anything further.
It’s thorough and businesslike how Hughes checks me over, but his hands look so big as they search for injuries.
The sight of them makes me throb between my legs.
God, I was exhausted and a mess seconds ago, and now what? I’m a mess in a different way?
My thighs clench. This is a wild thought, but what happens if I let him explore me for real? I have a feeling it would blow my mind. He’d have the skills to make me lose myself and forget about everything hard that’s been happening in my life. I could finally let go.
This warning flickers in my head—a reminder that so many other women have probably thought the same thing. Based on his reputation, I’m sure he’s been able to get whoever he wants in the past, so even if we did, somehow in a far-fetched reality, have sex, it wouldn’t be anything special to him.
My whole body tenses. I don’t want to become another member of that Adrian Hughes fanbase.
My deeply ingrained sense of self-preservation tells me it would make things so complicated, and with everything else going on, I can’t afford that.
So I have to pull myself back before I do something stupid like start touching him back.
I jerk away and run. Back to my original spot in the gym, breathing heavily.
Hughes stares at me, frozen, hands hanging in the air.
We stare each other down. I’m attempting to glare daggers at him, but it’s not working. That’s because when my attempted kidnapper finally reanimates, it knocks me more off-balance. Seeing him slowly stalk towards me stirs more dangerous arousal in my belly.
I move my arms into a fighting pose.
He chuckles, surprised. Then his arms go up, too.
Yes. Let’s go. We’re doing this.
I’m ready to battle, to face off. It’s another way for us to release all the pent up energy crackling between us. My muscles vibrate with a new urge. I could just tackle Hughes to the ground right now.
He grins and moves before I can blink. Instead of lunging, he lifts his hands in surrender. “I give up!” he declares dramatically, his blue eyes sparkling.
I blink. “No, fight me for real.”
He laughs, then shakes his head, his blue eyes growing more serious. “Not a chance in hell.”
I want to run again, because how he’s looking at me, so visibly worried, is something I can’t stand. It makes me ache in a way that has nothing to do with how hard I’ve pushed my body today. It makes me want to do strange, confusing things. Like, lean forward and rest my forehead on his shoulder.
I swallow. “Stop. I’m fine. You don’t have to get yourself so worked up.”
Instead of answering, Hughes captures my hand and holds it up. As if they make his point.
That’s because it…kind of does.
There’s a tremor to my fingers. I’m that exhausted.
“Darling, darling, darling.” His voice is soft, stern, unhappy. “It seems like you can’t be left alone, unsupervised.”
It doesn’t matter that my limbs are jelly or that I don’t want to move another muscle for the rest of the day, because I won’t agree with him.
I can’t. Not when every time I fight to keep my walls raised high against Hughes, he starts climbing them, and why doesn’t that bother me as much as it used to?
That alone is scary, and the reason why my tone is so snarky when I retort, “I can keep going for as long as I want to. I will keep going—”
“No, you won’t.” His words are gentle but infused with steel.
“T-Too bad, I wasn’t done.”
Turning to face the mirrored wall, I lift a trembling leg. Before I can execute the next move, he catches and holds my ankle.
“I’ll find another gym to use,” I threaten breathlessly.
“Anywhere you go, I’ll follow you.”
The matter-of-fact way he promises that makes my breath hitch.
Hughes hears it and maybe interprets it as something else. His brow wrinkles. He releases my ankle and rakes his hand through his hair.
I can’t help but avert my gaze. Maybe because in this case, deep down, I know I’m being the unreasonable one. It’s sweet how genuinely concerned he is, simply wanting me to rest, that I shouldn’t be arguing with him like this.
His eyes search mine carefully in our reflection. “Let’s settle this another way,” he says slowly like he’s come up with something.
I frown. “What way?”
“A bet,” he murmurs. “If I can make you laugh, then you have to listen and rest. If I can’t, I’ll walk away.”
Make me laugh? What makes Hughes think he can do that? I don’t laugh. Not openly in front of others. I haven’t been that person in forever.
My foot taps on the floor. I’m torn between curiosity and rationalizing whether leaving is the best way to keep my defenses intact. In the end, curiosity and a sense of competitiveness win out. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
Hughes procures a bench. I’m told to sit on it. And then he goes and roots around in the corner. An electrolyte drink is brought back, along with a handful of protein bars in different flavors. Next, Hughes turns the overhead fans on. A gentle breeze kisses my face.
At my puzzled expression, he winks. “Laughing starts with relaxation. Now get ready to lose.”
“Not going to happen, Hughes.”
“It is.” He points to the stash of protein bars. “Eat.”
The peanut butter one is calling my name. I tear open the wrapper and bite into it. I finish the bar pretty quickly. Guess I haven’t eaten for a while. Before I can decide whether I want another one, Hughes tears open the wrapper of another and holds it out.
Shrugging, I take it. Finish it. He hands me the electrolyte drink next. Polishing off a quarter of it, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “So, is the show ever starting or what?”
“This is going to be a performance you won’t ever forget, darling.”
Something unwinds inside me, making all my sore limbs relax. It’s back to our normal bantering, but for some reason that makes my mind hum with contentment. I’m not thinking about anything else.
I exaggerate a yawn as if he bores me, even though he could never.
Hughes’ dimple comes out. “Adrian’s gym, lights down by fifty percent.”
The room is hooked up to smart technology, linked to his voice commands. Brightness dims, shadows lengthen. It softens everything, including the lines of his powerful body. Then this melodic music starts?
I feel my eyes go big.
Wait, what’s happening?
Deft fingers start to undo the buttons of his shirt.
My mouth drops open.
Why’s he taking his clothes off? Did I just agree to get a strip show from Adrian Hughes?!