Bender (The Core Four Series)

by Stacy Borel

  There was no sense in arguing with him, so I simply nodded my head.

  When we walked in through the glass double doors, there was a desk at the front with an attractive brunette sitting behind it. She looked up from her computer screen and beamed at Dodger, batting her eyelashes.

  “Hey you,” she cooed.

  “Hey.” Dodger gave her a friendly smile but really didn’t seem interested.

  “You looking for your brother?” Reception Girl asked in a sing-song voice. My heart jumped into my throat at the mention of Camden. I thought he wasn’t here. “He’s in the back doing a class, but they’ll be out,” she glanced at the clock, “in about ten more minutes.”

  Fantastic.

  “Nah, I’m actually about to show these two beautiful ladies around and get them started on a few machines.”

  The brunette looked at us as if she hadn’t seen us standing there. Her lip curled as she seemed to be sizing us up. I got a quick once over, but she must have deemed me non-threatening. When she saw Macie, her eyes opened a bit wider, and her face looked like she had just sucked on a lemon.

  “Well, y’all have fun,” she said in a perky, fake voice.

  Dodger grunted before leading us over to some blue mats.

  “Someone has a crush,” Macie said, laughing.

  “What are you rambling about?” Dodger asked, while bending over and unfolding some of the mats to make a long rectangle.

  “The little tart over there. She was practically fucking you with her eyes. ‘Oh Dodger’,” Macie chirped a fake, high pitch voice. “‘You’re so hot. Bend me over this counter and…’” she trailed off.

  Dodger shot around and pinned Macie with a look. I wasn’t sure what it said, but it was both heated and a warning. Macie didn’t back down though. She enjoyed a challenge like this. She thrived on them.

  “Careful,” was all he said.

  She raised a single brow and smirked. Dodger dragged his hands through his messy charcoal-colored hair and turned back around. Macie peeked over at me, and I just shrugged my shoulders. He seemed defensive about Macie’s teasing, but then again, who knew what that was all about. Frankly I didn’t care. My eyes were too busy darting back to the closed door that I assumed Camden was behind teaching his class. I didn’t know he taught. I just assumed he came in and dealt with paperwork all day.

  “Okay girls, we’re going to stretch first. I can’t have you doing anything before your muscles are warmed up, or you might hurt yourself. So down you go. Sit Indian style and keep your back straight, like you have a board behind it.” We did as he instructed. “Alright, now, you’re going to lean forward with your arms out in front of you and you’re going to fold over and stretch out those back muscles.” When I rolled forward my back popped twice. I moaned; it felt so good.

  I heard a deep sound in front of me that almost sounded like a growl. Slowly rising, my eyes landed on a pair of large tennis shoes. Hmmm…those were some big feet. The further my eyes went up, the more I admired. I knew who those toned legs belonged to. I’d stared at those narrow hips and sculpted arms on more than one occasion. When I reached Camden’s eyes, I was shocked to see a frustrated, and somewhat angry, face looking down at me.

  “What are you girls doing here?” He spoke low.

  “I brought them so I could train them,” Dodger said easily.

  He was still looking at me. The deep brown of his eyes pulled me in like a drug, begging me to take a hit. They made my stomach flip as though I’d just taken a dive off a mountainside, and I was free falling. In all my twenty years, I’d never met a guy who made me feel so curious, so angry, so pent up with….something. His eyes narrowed as though he were reading my thoughts.

  “So, after your little hissy fit, you had the balls to step foot in my gym?” His arrogance threw me.

  “Jesus Cam, could you just back the fuck off?” Dodger pleaded.

  “What’s he talking about? What hissy fit?” Macie asked curiously.

  Camden’s harsh eyes never left mine. I shook my head. Unbelievable! Was he looking for a fight? If so, I was rarin’ to go. Someone give me a pair of boxing gloves and put me in the ring. Every gym had a boxing ring, right? Err, maybe not. Either way, I was pissed that he brought up the argument from the day before and was now rubbing it in my face that I was here.

  I looked over and told Macie, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll tell you later.” Then I turned my attention back to him. “Your brother seems to be on some crazy mission. He asked me to come here with him, and I reluctantly agreed. However, I didn’t realize I was going to be judged for doing a friend a favor. My mistake.” I started to stand up and walk toward the front door.

  I heard arguing behind me, and Dodger calling Camden a dick. I was almost to the front when a heavy hand grabbed me by my wrist. Heat scorched through my skin. I stopped in my tracks and twisted slightly toward Camden.

  “What?” I hissed.

  “So you’re going to give up, just like that?” He was standing so close I could smell the delicious sweat still on his body.

  “I’m not giving up. I just refused to be spoken to like I don’t belong. I’m a fucking human being Camden. I don’t take well to people embarrassing me.” I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent the tears from forming. I wanted to be angry, and unfortunately when I’m angry, I cry.

  He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments. I watched his features as they scrunched up. He was thinking about something, and his emotions were flitting across his face whether he realized it or not. This was a face of conflict. What he was possibly conflicted about, I didn’t know. His hand was still encircling my wrist. A sensation was running up my arm, and it made my legs weak. I didn’t think he realized he was doing it, but his thumb was stroking short, sweet circles on the inside of my tender skin. When his chocolate eyes opened and trained on me, they were softer.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have embarrassed you. I’m just confused as to why you’re here.”

  His tone took me by surprise, because he meant what he said. I looked down at the ground. His fingers squeezed me as if trying to get my attention. I looked back up. My eyes bounced back and forth between his. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Earlier today I’d told Dodger some things, and he thinks he can fix me s’all.”

  He took a step closer to me. “Things like what?”

  I gulped. “Just, things. Things that I don’t like about myself.”

  “And what don’t you like about yourself?”

  “It’s obvious isn’t it?”

  “Obviously not.” He threw my earlier words back at me. It caused me to half smile.

  I contemplated telling him. Here, in this moment, where it seemed to be just me and him, I almost told him. There was a soft pleading in his voice that made it sound like he really wanted to know. A loud clang of weights being dropped sounded behind me, and I jumped. Pulling my wrist from his hand, I turned my face away. Grateful for the distraction, I started walking toward Macie and Dodger, who apparently were having their own discussion. At this point I was exhausted, and I hadn’t even started to sweat. My pulse was already up, and all I wanted to do was get this over with and go climb into my bed. Camden was following behind me, and when I got back to the mats, I heard him speak.

  “Here’s the deal.” The baritone of his voice gave me the chills. “You’re more than welcome to come here and use the facility whenever you want, but I have two rules.” Macie and I were listening intently. “The first one is, when you’re here, you’re working out. No fiddling around on the machines, and if you don’t know how to use something, just ask and I’ll help. I can’t have people getting hurt in here.” I was tempted to roll my eyes. He was speaking to us like he was standing in front of a second grade classroom giving safety tips. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d do if I broke his rule. Spank me? I coughed, which caused his eyes to shoot toward me.

  I held up my hand. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” I could feel my face heating up.r />
  “Second.” He looked at me as though waiting for another interruption. “This isn’t a beauty pageant. Nothing chaps my ass more than seeing a girl walk in with her hair and makeup all done up. I don’t run a dating service. So if I see it, I’m going to call you out on it, understand?” That was what Dodger had said earlier in the apartment.

  He had directed rule two to Macie. She scoffed, “Oh get over yourself. If I wanted to pick up a guy, it wouldn’t be some juiced up meathead whose head is too small for their steroid ridden body.”

  Dodger, who’d remained quiet this entire time, barked out a laugh. His eyes were nearly sparkling at her as though she were something he’d never seen before. Camden grunted once, gave me a short nod, and walked away.

  “Could your brother be any more uptight? Maybe that should be my workout of the day. Pulling the oversized steel rod out of Camden’s ass.” Macie’s face was nothing but serious curiosity.

  Now it was my turn to laugh. “That would make my night so much better. Not to mention the rest of the year I’m living with him. Could make him more tolerable.”

  Dodger was chuckling at our comments. “Come on girls, let’s get started.”

  “I can’t feel my legs. I think they fell off on the stairs coming up here,” I said as I plopped down on the couch.

  “My ass is jello. Like, I definitely think I understand why people get their asses massaged,” Macie mumbled, face down on the loveseat.

  Dodger had just dropped us off at the apartment after he’d nearly killed us. I had quit at least fifteen times through the two hour workout, but he’d tell me he wanted more. I’ve never pushed so hard in my life. People actually paid him to torture them? I was baffled. They needed their heads examined. Yep, I was convinced that people who go to the gym and push themselves to the point of losing a limb were certifiable.

  “I need a shower,” I groaned.

  “I need a wheelchair.”

  I giggled. We were pathetic. I slowly pushed myself off the couch, almost falling on my face in the process, when the front door opened. Camden came in like a man on a mission. His eyes were trained on me, and I swallowed hard at their intensity. When he kicked the door shut he moved toward me but stopped when Macie cleared her throat. He must not have seen her.

  “What the hell?” she wondered, just as confused as I was feeling.

  He pointed at her and ordered in an authoritative voice, “You…out.”

  “Excuse me?” She was taken aback by his tone.

  “I need to have words with Keegan, and I’d prefer you gone.”

  She was about to say something that probably resembled a death threat, but I held my hand up and said, “It’s fine, Mace. Just go, and I’ll call you later.”

  Macie kept her eyes pinned on Camden. “You sure? He looks like he’s about to blow a gasket.”

  I nodded my head but didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure. In fact, my pulse was thrumming, and my hands were slightly trembling. I squeezed them into fists to hide it. Macie stared a minute longer before she conceded and pulled me into a tight hug. She spoke loud enough for Camden to hear. “If he hurts you, I’m going to need your help moving the body.”

  I smirked at her silliness, but I had the distinct impression she wasn’t kidding. When she walked out Camden took two deliberate steps in my direction. “What the hell was that?” he asked, his voice calm and yet not, all at the same time.

  I tilted my head to the side questioningly. “What are you talking about?”

  Another step. “You know what I’m talking about, Keegan. I’m extremely pissed off right now, so I suggest you answer the fucking question.”

  The way he said my name made my body shiver. “No, I really have no clue. And I can tell you’re mad.”

  He was still advancing toward me. He seemed to take a deep breath and blew it out. “Let me tell you a little something about me. I like to have control. I control every single facet in my life. It keeps things running smoothly, and there are rarely any hiccups. It appears you didn’t listen to me earlier. I told you what I didn’t want to happen and yet, it still did. Now I want to know, did he ask you out?”

  Oh, now I knew where this was going. But even still, why did it matter? He couldn’t possibly think he could control me, or what anybody else did. That’d be absurd! About an hour into my workout a good-looking guy with longer blond, shaggy hair approached me and struck up conversation. I was a disgusting, sweaty mess and never once had it occurred to me that the guy had been flirting. His name was Luke. He had walked over after lifting some free weights and asked me what my name was. He’d commented that he’d never seen me in here before. I was polite, despite my huffing and puffing. He’d flashed me a dazzling smile and chatted away while I lifted my legs and stretched my arms, keeping a steady tempo on the elliptical. I’d noticed Luke in the far corner when I had been scouring the place to see if anybody was watching me. And not like, watching me watching me, but looking at me like I didn’t belong. Luke’s eyes had locked on mine, and I had looked down blushing. I’d never fathomed that he would have approached me. When he had been mid-conversation telling me that he was a graduate student, I’d felt a pair of eyes boring into my back. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I had goosebumps despite it being hotter than Hades. My eyes shifted from Luke’s, and I locked eyes with dark brown ones that were staring at me warily through the mirrors. Camden looked pissed. It must have been only ten minutes into us chatting, err…well him talking to me since I couldn’t really breathe, let alone talk, that he asked me to go out with him sometime. I told him sure and puffed out my phone number. He blew me away with a beautiful smile and said he’d be calling soon. After he’d walked back to the weights, I looked back up to see if Camden was still watching, but he was nowhere to be seen. Now, standing here with the prowling beast of a man taking slow menacing steps toward me, I wished I were able to speak. Unfortunately, cat got my tongue.

  “I’m going to ask you again, Blue, did he ask you out?” The bass of his voice shook in my chest.

  I blinked once, twice, three times before I nodded slightly. Camden made another move in my direction, and by instinct, I took a step back. He narrowed his eyes at me, silently daring me to move again. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but my fight or flight instinct was kicking in, and I wanted to step out from under his penetrating glare. His anger was somehow turning me on, and I could feel the dampness in my panties. Camden was only a few feet away from me and inching closer.

  “I need to shower!” I suddenly blurted out.

  His mouth tipped up into a half smile. “Did you say yes?”

  Bastard, he wasn’t going to let this go. Why was it such a big deal? Better yet, why was it such a big deal to him? I cleared my throat then responded, “I gave him my number.”

  I was backing away toward the steps, and he moved with me. We seemed to be in some sort of dance. “What did I tell you about my gym not being a place to pick someone up?”

  I perked up. “I didn’t pick anyone up, I gave him my number. He asked for it. What’s the big deal?”

  He ran his hands through his spiky brown hair. “The big deal is you broke one of the rules I gave you. It’s not a place for a meet and greet. You go in, work your ass off, and you get out. It’s that simple.”

  “And again, I didn’t go searching for Luke, he came up to me. What I’m failing to see here though is it’s not like anybody was making out or jumping each other’s bones, Camden. He was a nice guy, he asked me out, and then we went on our merry way. But exactly what part of that concerns you?”

  Now he was really moving toward me. I turned and picked up my speed toward the stairs. I came to an abrupt halt when his voice boomed, “Stop,” through the apartment, and he was less than a foot away. I could hear his breathing. It was ragged and sounded edgy. We stood that way for several moments; the only sound in the apartment was our breathing. When he finally spoke I tensed. He had stepped in, lightly brushing me from behind. My nostrils flare
d, and I could smell that soapy clean scent of him.

  “When I give you rules to follow, you follow them. If my rules are ever broken, there are consequences. There are always consequences. I said don’t pick anybody up, and yet you somehow did.” I wanted to bristle at his choice of wording ‘somehow’, but chose better of it and kept my mouth shut. “I’m going to let this go for now, but here’s how it’s going to play out. You ever come back in my gym, and he’s there, you ignore him.” His breath blew across the outside of my ear, and I nearly moaned in pleasure. “If pretty boy so much as winks in your direction, I’ll terminate his membership and kick both of you out.” I felt his presence step away from me, and I glanced over my shoulder. He was walking backwards toward the door. It felt like his eyes were burning into me. “Rules, Keegan. Break them again, there’ll be consequences.”

  I wanted to turn around and lash out, then beg him to fuck me. He nearly had me in a puddle of mush on the floor. His hand was on the door leading outside when he called over his shoulder. “And feel free to share what I said to Luke,” Camden sneered with an emphasis on his name, then slammed the door behind him.

  My body gave out, and I flopped down on the bottom step. I felt more exhausted now than I had when I got back from the gym. Camden was being such a hard ass, and he somehow seemed to take great pleasure in fighting with me. How was it possible that a man who showed his clear distaste for me was completely adverse to me exchanging numbers with someone? It shouldn’t even matter to him. And what was worse? None of that was what was truly bothering me at the moment. It was even more disturbing than his stupid rules. It was that with one look, one snap of his fingers, one menacing step in my direction, my body became needy for him. Camden made me feel desire unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I was angry with myself for every single ounce of it. I’d come to realize that I wanted him to touch me, and I wanted more than just his eyes to penetrate me. It was unacceptable.

  Sitting here in the quiet apartment, the only sounds were of the AC units outside humming. My long wavy blond hair was draped around me, covering me like a blanket. It felt cold and bereft without Camden’s presence. I gritted my teeth and tried to pull myself together. Standing up I marched up the steps and climbed into an icy shower. While the water beat down on my sore muscles, I decided that I was going to go back to the gym. I would face seeing Camden on a daily basis. I’d deal with the fact that I was physically attracted to him, but I would ignore it. I hoped that I would run into Luke, and we could work something out and possibly go do something. I hadn’t been on a date in a long time, and I was long overdue for one. My bossy roommate was going to have to deal with me and my non-compliance to his stupid rules. I smiled to myself, almost giddy at my determination of defiance. Take your rules and shove them up your perfectly carved ass, Camden. I had other things in mind.