Chapter 2 #2
Alex was on her side of the net by the time she regained her footing. “Are you all right?” he asked, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other running down her side to check for injuries.
A tremor slid through her as his calloused fingertips traced her jawline, tilting her chin upward, forcing her to look at him.
She shouldn’t be feeling like this. Her body ignored her mental reprimand, and she ever so briefly leaned into the touch.
It was just like that night, magnetism unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
His eyes left hers and drifted down to her lips.
She wet them unconsciously and he sucked in a harsh breath. It was enough to break the spell.
“Don’t touch me.” She pulled away, her skin immediately mourning the warmth of his hand. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Dom will kill me if you’re hurt.”
“Thirty–fifteen.” She ignored the pain in her hip—only a bruise—hoping to both reassure him and reignite the competition. She wanted to play, even more now than before.
Alex studied her and Penny kept all emotion off her face, not giving away even a hint of discomfort. “Thirty–fifteen,” he agreed before retreating to his side of the court.
A half hour later, they were thrashing each other, holding their serves, and despite the bruise still blooming on her hipbone, she was pleased with her effort.
The respect she saw in his expression after she returned one of his serves for a clean winner wasn’t a figment of her imagination.
She would never admit it out loud, but playing against him every day would help her prep for the French.
She was drenched in sweat, and adrenaline thrummed through her veins, so the sound of the gate opening didn’t register.
She was too caught up in the thrill of the match, of having a fierce opponent, and she relished every point she won, a small revenge for the little part of her that still resented him for hooking up with someone else the night after Penny was in his bed.
“Got going without me, huh?” Dom’s voice rang out, startling Alex as he tossed the ball up. It fell to the ground, bouncing away.
Penny cringed. Dom had instructed her to start on her conditioning, not get roped into a full-on grudge match. Her coach stood at the edge of the court, the breeze ruffling his dark hair. He looked every inch the elite athlete, still in great shape, even in retirement.
“Couldn’t help ourselves,” Alex quipped, retrieving the ball, and she contained the urge to glare at him.
“Well, next time, wait for me. I’m your coach. Can’t analyze anything if I’m not here to watch,” Dom said.
“Right,” Alex said, laughing. “Haven’t had a real coach in a while. Might take some getting used to.”
Shaking his head, Dom turned his attention to her. His eyes caught the red clay stain on her white tennis shorts and blue T-shirt. His thick black eyebrows lifted into his hairline, asking the question without having to voice it. What the hell happened to you?
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Penny asked, inhaling deeply through her nose, trying to keep from exploding at her coach. He didn’t know about her and Alex. This situation wasn’t his fault. It was hers. “Privately.”
“Say whatever you like, love. I’m a big boy.”
Her back teeth ground together and she turned to her coach. “Roland-Garros is in a few weeks and I don’t have time to waste helping him get back into match shape or whatever. I’m not training with him.”
“I don’t know. It looks like you two got in a pretty good workout. Any other reason?” Dom asked, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. It was his battle stance. She hadn’t seen it in a while.
“She thinks I’m a has-been,” Alex said as he started kicking around one of the stray tennis balls, picking it up with his foot and bouncing it off his knee then down, catching it with his toe, showing Dom exactly how seriously he took her opinion.
Penny pressed her fingertips against the side of her head, trying her best to ignore him as she led Dom a few feet away, giving her a little more privacy. “I can’t train with him, Dom,” she said, her voice quieter this time. “He’s too… I just… can’t.”
Words failed her. She couldn’t tell her coach she wouldn’t train with Alex because he was a smug prick who already managed to seduce her once. That no matter how much playing with him could help her game, he would be nothing but a distraction at a time when she could least afford it.
Dom lowered his head, keeping his voice low.
“Listen to me—he’s the perfect training partner for you.
” She tried to interrupt him, but he cut her off.
“This is the best thing for you going into Paris: someone who can keep up with you, challenge you on a daily basis. Even not having played in months, he’s better than everyone here.
And he won’t admit it, but you’ll be good for his recovery. ”
“He seems fine,” Penny groused, looking up at the sky and sighing in defeat as his words echoed her own thoughts.
“Good, then, so there’s no problem?” Dom asked, but it wasn’t a question, and he was already walking away from her, gathering up the stray balls from their impromptu match.
“What’s the verdict?” Alex asked, suddenly right beside her, and despite everything, as his body hovered mere inches from hers, her skin started to hum at the proximity. She spun on her toe, nearly losing her balance, and Alex’s hands came up to steady her, but she slipped away from his grasp.
“I told you not to touch me.” She moved back out onto the court and he matched her stride, their arms brushing as they walked.
She pulled away immediately and stepped in front of him.
Looking up, she squinted into the sunlight shining behind his head, reflecting off the golden streaks in his hair.
“Outside of this court, you stay the hell away from me, understand?” she whispered so Dom wouldn’t hear.
Alex grunted, a sound deep from within his chest, a sound she recognized. He’d made it once with his lips buried between her shoulder and her neck, his weight pressing her down into the bed, skin against skin.
“Understood,” he said, but Penny knew the real test wasn’t if he could stay away from her, but if she could keep herself away from him.