Chapter Fourteen
If every morning began with pleasuring Lily with his mouth, Kieran would die a happy man.
Even with their caffeine-fueled morning workout and showers, they managed to arrive at work five minutes early.
They went their separate ways. Kieran to the training room and Lily to the office, where she’d be briefing Neal on the gym’s marketing analytics and God knew what else.
After the last of the guys made their way out of the training room, Kieran returned to the weight room.
Lily stood at the center of it all, her ring light in one hand and her phone in the other.
She tapped her phone against her thigh in some unknown sequence as she turned her head, her long ponytail swaying.
Not wanting to startle her, he cleared his throat as he approached from her side. “We’re not paying you to stand there and look pretty, Princess.”
Lily released a beleaguered sigh and tilted her head toward him. “You’re not paying me. Neal is.” She peeked his way through lowered lashes. “Calling me pretty now, Southpaw?”
He settled in beside her and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve got eyes. You don’t need me or anyone else to tell you what you already know.”
She harrumphed, though the determined purse of her lips relaxed into a soft, upward curve.
Kieran tilted his head. “So, what are you doing?”
“Trying to decide what kind of content I want to create next for South Side. The videos we have are a solid start, but we have to maintain our momentum. Try out different ideas. Participate in trends but with our own twist.” Her lashes fluttered again, and she glanced at him sidelong. “Take risks.”
A rush of want shot through his abdomen. Those two words had no business sounding so sultry. He dug his short nails into the soft cotton of his hoodie to avoid pinning Lily against him and showing her exactly what risks he’d like to take with her. He cleared his throat. “What did you have in mind?”
She turned toward him, her full lips squinching to the side and her bright eyes unfocused as if deep in thought.
“Well, I was thinking I could film you or Becks doing how-tos on proper form. Maybe show our followers how to use some of the equipment. The content would be educational, but it would give followers a taste of what they could do at the gym.” She licked her lips, and she blinked back into focus. “What they could see.”
He hoped wherever she’d gone just then involved him.
“What if you starred in the how-to videos? You know what you’re doing behind the squat racks and on the gym mats.
” Shit, now all he could think about was laying Lily out on a gym mat and studying whatever form she took while coming again on his tongue.
Kieran unfolded his arms and tucked his hands into his hoodie pocket, tugging it down just enough to adjust his hardening cock.
The worst part about wearing gym shorts was how unforgiving they were.
Lily’s lashes lowered, and a secret smirk curled her lips. At least she didn’t call him out on it.
“I have on my personal profile, but it’s such a pain.
To get the right cuts and angles, I have to hop between the workout and the camera and film sets over and over.
By the time I’m done, I’m usually a sweaty mess.
” She shifted closer, the mischief in her eyes dancing like selkies under the moonlight.
He leaned in with her. He bowed his head and let his breath coast over the delicate curve of her ear. “I like when you’re a sweaty mess,” he growled, quiet and low.
A shiver traveled from her head down through her legs. Stepping back, she tucked stray baby hairs behind her ear. “I can be more efficient with my time and my videography when I film you guys. Plus, our followers love seeing you.”
“We wouldn’t have such a huge following if you hadn’t brought your followers along.” He relieved her of her ring light and held his hand out for her phone. “How about I film you?”
Lily’s eyes grew distant again, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Maybe she was thinking about the many ways he could film her, too.
“While you figure out what equipment you want to use, I’ll work on setting up your ring light.” He quirked a brow when the far-off look didn’t clear from her eyes. “Sound good?”
Lily shook her head and sucked in a breath. “Sounds good,” she echoed, then finally coming back to reality, she flashed him a shy smile. “Thanks, Kieran.”
Damn, he loved hearing his name drop from her lips.
He busied himself with unfolding the light’s tripod legs, and Lily toured the weight room, her eyes sharp.
They started at the free weights and benches and worked their way through Lily’s full-body strength regimen, taking time to slow down for form analysis on dead lifts, dumbbell curls and bench presses.
Then they moved on to the machines—lats, abduc tors and adductors, and leg presses.
Each new exercise was another test of restraint.
It wasn’t enough to watch her muscles quiver on her last rep; he wanted her on the bench, against the wall, in his bed.
But taking her home was out of the question. Bringing her around two days in a row would give Danny the wrong idea. He’d already seemed to hit it off with Lily during their hike. Kieran didn’t need his little brother growing too attached.
Lily dragged a stool under the pull-up bar of the cable crossover and climbed up. “I really should have done this while my arms were still fresh. I despise pull-ups.”
Kieran positioned the ring light closer to her. “Then why do them?”
“Because it was the one part of the fitness test when I could always beat the boys, and I never want to lose that.” She huffed a laugh and positioned her hands on the bar. She walked her invisible audience through proper grip and the difference between pull-ups and chin-ups.
After a few controlled pull-ups, Kieran paused the recording. “How about a wide-grip pull-up?”
Lily stared down at him as if waiting for the punch line.
When he didn’t deliver one, she shook her head and dropped back down onto the stool.
“Do I look like I have jacked lats like you?”
She might not have jacked lats, but she had a body he couldn’t get out of his head. “You’ve got to start somewhere.”
Lily shook out her wrists and glared up at the bar. “It’d be a hell of a lot easier if Neal got an assisted pull-up machine. I’m sure anyone new to working out would appreciate one, too.” Despite her hesitation, she leaped and grabbed the bar with her hands set further apart.
“I’ll mention it to Neal, but in the meantime, you don’t need one.
” Kieran mounted Lily’s phone in the ring light and backed up until her whole body was in the camera’s view.
“You’ve got me.” He hit Record and swaggered toward the cable crossover.
As he walked, he grabbed the back of his hoodie, tugged it over his head and tossed it aside.
“Lift your legs like you’re sitting and don’t let go,” he warned her.
He stepped behind her stool, glanced up at the bar long enough to gauge his trajectory and where his hands would need to land to be just outside the placement of hers.
He jumped, just barely grazing her backside, and bracketed his body against hers.
He lifted his knees until they touched the backs of her supple thighs.
This close, he could get drunk off the mix of her body wash and sweat.
Lily sucked in a breath, her back molding against his front. Her arms trembled next to his. “What are you doing?”
“I’m assisting you.”
“You said to keep it low-key.”
Kieran bowed his head just enough to kiss the top of her spine where the camera couldn’t see.
“And you said to take risks.” He tightened his core and nudged her thighs with his.
She could take the strain off the pull-up and use him as much as she needed.
He’d happily be used by her. “It’s all for the views, right? ”
Lily shivered. She rested her weight on his lap.
They pulled up in tandem.
“Right.”
@mrsdeanwinchester: I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I just watched this…
@pirates_swoop_gal: Lily, we all know you felt it #thatgymguy
@motownmusik: We get this for FREE?
@emmytaylor: right!? I was gonna ask for a link to their Just for Fans
@imtheproblemitsme: brb sending this to my boyfriend
@swampbitch: weird way to propose but okay #thatgymguy
@error404: love how all the girlies are here. No men in the comments. MMA is our sport now.
@stacysmom2004: I mean, they have a women’s team so you’re not wrong
@jayayayyyy: I don’t wanna hear a single one of you asking me about shirt colors or nothing
@pocketfullofsunshine: I ship it