CHAPTER 13
Krusk
Ithink I’m dead.
As I blinked from where I was lying flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling, unable to move a single inch of my body, I panted for air.
“And now we’re going to start the cool down,” purred the gentle voice of my mate from where she was barely sweating—meanwhile I was pretty sure I’d permanently stained the mat under me.
I turned my head—a feat in itself—just so I could look at her. I’d thought she was beautiful before, but watching her contort her body into postures that should be impossible—and maybe illegal in certain states—I couldn’t do anything but stare in awe.
The light sheen of sweat on her skin glimmered, giving her a glow that I wanted to lick off of her. She’d be warm and soft now, her face relaxed in a way I’d never seen her before. She liked this torture.
I didn’t take my eyes from her as she kept moving—sleek and smooth—stretching herself until I had to lift my legs to hide what was happening in my shorts.
When I’d been distracted by my muscles and joints screeching that they couldn’t do what I was asking them to do, I’d been able to control my thoughts.
Now that I was focused on her again, I couldn’t help myself.
I wanted to kiss every inch of her, peel her clothes off until she was naked, and fuck her until we were both sated.
When my hip muscle gave a scream from where I was trying to pivot to look at her better, I wondered if she’d be willing to be on top for the first round.
Just as I thought that, she peeked over at me from where she’d pressed her palms to the floor in front of her feet, a smile curving her lips as she saw me sprawled on the floor like the absolute disaster that I was.
Fuck. I can fall in love with her so easily.
It helped that she was my mate, but I hadn’t expected to like her so much. My hardworking female who trudged herself through job after job—hard jobs—just to make ends meet.
She had grit and tenacity. Something that I admired more than her beauty—although it was a close thing. I lay there staring at her beautiful face for a few more minutes before she slowly lifted, her hands clasped in front of her.
“Thank you for coming,” she ended in that same low, soothing tone she was using. It sent goosebumps all over my skin.
I wanted her to talk to me like that. Sweet, low whispers at night when she could say anything to me because we were alone together and naked… My imagination decided to take a turn about what that could look like and I jolted into a sitting position, hiding my straining cock that had zero decorum.
Get it together or we’ll never get her to like us.
“Who’ll never like you?” Emma asked, taking a seat in front of me with folded legs.
Fuck, I said that out loud.
Her smile widened. “Yeah, you did.”
Shit. That too.
Her eyebrow quirked and I stopped trying to have internal thoughts. I was clearly too exhausted to be trusted.
“That was a great class,” I told her, a splatter of sweat dripping off my forehead and landing against the already soaking mat.
She pursed her lips together as she smothered a smile. “I can tell you enjoyed it,” she giggled, pulling her legs up, wrapping her arms around them while looking at me.
It was as if she felt the need to protect herself from me. Which was the opposite of what I wanted from her. I wanted her to feel safe with me. To be able to ask me for what she needed. Damn it. I was fucking everything up.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I asked her, broaching the silence between us.
She tilted her head to the side, so cute I wanted to kiss her, but I needed to control my impulses.
“Uncomfortable?” she asked, not judgmental or accusatory, just curious.
“By forcing you to be around me?” I asked, scratching the back of my neck where sweat was still dripping.
Her nose scrunched and she laughed, shaking her head.
“I’m not uncomfortable, per se. Just… confused,” she told me, hugging her legs tighter. I wondered if it was an anxious response.
My stomach churned at the thought that she didn’t feel safe.
“Aren’t you dating my friend Lin?” she asked me, and I stared at her, confused.
“Who?” I asked, and it was my turn to tilt my head at her.
“Lin,” she repeated, as if that would help me recognize who she was talking about. I kept staring at her, and she shook her head.
“You don’t remember your own girlfriend’s name?” she asked me, scrunching her nose and curling her lip. “That’s… ew.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” I told her, my muscles suddenly having a miraculous recovery so I could sit straighter. “Unless…” I cleared my throat, ducking my head and avoiding her eyes as I prepared myself for the most bold statement I’d ever made to her. “Unless you’d like to be my girlfriend?”
When I finally gathered the courage to look at her again, her face was a mask of confusion.
“You’re dating Lin,” she said as if it was a statement and not a question. “The harpy that works in the Bureau with me.”
“Oh, her,” I laughed, shaking my head. “No, I’m definitely not dating her.
I…” I rubbed the back of my neck before dropping my arm quickly in case I overwhelmed her with my sweaty scent.
“I was trying to talk to you,” I explained, offering her my best smile.
“But you left before I got there. She was giving me some tips about how to… meet you.”
Heat swamped my face—which really didn’t help the sweating issue one bit. But my mate just sat there, her jaw dropped and her eyes wide with shock.
“You…you knew that, right?” I asked, unable to comprehend how she couldn’t see that she was the one I was trying to woo this entire time.
She blinked at me for a few moments before she shook her head. “I… uh… I didn’t. I thought…” she trailed off before swallowing hard. “I guess I was wrong?”
“Was that—” I cut myself off before swallowing hard, keeping my shaking limbs from moving closer to her. “Was that why you didn’t want to talk to me?”
She looked away, her beautiful eyes darting to my right, licking her luscious lips before her gaze flittered back to me. “Yes,” she admitted, tucking her hair behind her ear.
I wanted to touch her. I wanted to hug her close. Two things stopped me. First, I wasn’t sure she was even ready for any of that and second, the neighbors could probably smell how gross I was based on how much I sweated during the class, so I couldn’t imagine how bad I would smell to her.
“I… I have to go,” she said, clearing her throat, but when she looked at me, it wasn’t with the same glare that she’d been wearing previously. “I’ll see you later?”
I nodded with enthusiasm, and watched as a small, shy smile fluttered across her lips. It was like an arrow to my heart.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
“You’re so beautiful,” I blurted and that made her eyes widen before she looked away from me. Instead of running, though, the smile widened.
“Thank you,” she murmured, clearing her throat as she stood, walking away, her gorgeous ass swaying at my eye level.
“I’ll see you tonight,” I called, like an idiot, but she peeked back at me, biting her lower lip and making my shorts tent again. I cursed, scrambling to cover myself, hearing a tinkle of laughter from my mate’s direction.