“But I’m baffled as to why you’re being featured in the weight-loss issue when it’s obvious to everyone you still have quite a number of pounds to lose.”
Dead silence filled the room. Dumbfounded, Melissa glanced at Paige, who had taken a seat at the makeup table. Her eyes were as hard as granite and her posture, just as rigid. It had to be killing her to remain silent, but she was keeping her promise and letting Melissa stand up for herself. Neither of them imagined the opportunity would arise so quickly.
The heat from the lights burned into Melissa’s skin like the harsh rays from a desert sun, or maybe it was her white-hot anger washing over her. Anger that some asshole felt it perfectly acceptable to impose his standards of what a woman should look like onto her. For the majority of her life she’d encountered people like Delano Black and she was sick of it—sick of being considered a second-class citizen because of her size.
“Mr. Black, I’m being featured in the transformational issue because I’ve worked hard to change my life and the choices I make when it comes to my health. It’s not about the number of pounds I’ve lost, or if I can fit into a single-digit dress size. It’s not about having a thigh gap, or if I can see my collarbones sticking out of my skin. What it is about is listening to my body and caring for it like the precious gift it is.”
Her body hummed with barely suppressed fury as she continued in a strong clear voice, “You may think I need to lose more weight, but I don’t. I’m perfectly happy with my body and my weight, and my doctor feels the same way. So the next time you feel inclined to rudely and publically criticize a woman’s appearance, you’d better think twice because not everyone shares your opinion.”
“On the contrary, Ms. Atherton, I think you’ll find that the majority of people do share my opinion.” Unruffled by her rebuke, he glanced at the large glass window that separated the room from the cardio area and gestured with his hand. “All those people out there exercising, for instance. I’m sure if we asked any one of them, they’d be apt to say that despite your recent weight loss you’d still be considered obese.”
“Why don’t you ask me?”
Melissa nearly jumped out of her skin as Jake moved to stand beside her. He slipped a protective and comforting arm around her waist and focused his attention on Black. “I’m Melissa’s trainer and the owner of this gym. In my opinion, she’s at an acceptable weight for her height and body type. If she were so inclined, she could lose more weight, but it would take restrictive dieting and excessive exercise. The two main behaviors that lead to eating disorders.” Jake paused. “Do you think that’s healthy, Mr. Black?”
Melissa let her gaze skim over the assembled group surrounding them. All eyes were on Black. His irritated expression spoke to his displeasure at being taken to task in front of everyone. He hadn’t cared when he was the one doing the insulting, but now the tables were turned and he was in the hot seat.
“I’ve seen what some women go through to attain what society deems as the perfect body,” Jake said, as Black remained silent. “There’s a woman who comes into my gym at least two times every single day. Three if she feels she ate too much at lunch or dinner. She’s not overweight. But she’s scared to death of gaining even one pound so she does cardio until she can barely stand after she’s done. Is that the kind of life you’d wish on a woman you cared about?”
Black looked around the room as if in a silent plea for support. No one came to his aid. Not his assistant, not Suzanne Lyn, not the stylist and definitely not Erica, the writer. She was too busy scribbling notes in her steno pad. In light of the magazine’s mission to promote health, rather than focusing solely on attaining what society deemed to be the perfect body, Melissa had a feeling Erica would ensure his rude behavior would be chronicled in the next issue.
“I think we’re done here.” Black’s tone was cold. Like most bullies, he didn’t enjoy being called out for his behavior. “Carter, pack up the equipment. I’ll be waiting for you in the van.”
“Are you okay?” Jake asked softly as Carter disengaged the camera from the tripod, and Suzanne hurried over to Erica, shooting a hostile look to Black as he left the room.
“Yes.” He slipped his arm from her waist as she turned and met his concerned gaze. “Thank you.”
Jake’s lips twisted with a wry smile. “You don’t have to thank me. You were doing fine on your own. But the jerk ticked me off and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.”
“Nice going, Rico,” Paige said with amusement as she sauntered over and joined them.
“Rico?” Melissa frowned and looked from Jake to Paige.
“Inside joke.” Paige grinned at Jake, then looked at Melissa. “Now that the fireworks are over, let’s blow this joint and get some breakfast.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “I’m starving.”
“Sounds good. Would you mind getting my purse? I left it over by the makeup table.”
Paige nodded. “Be right back.”
“Thank you again,” Melissa said, taking a step away from Jake. Now that she wasn’t so agitated, the clean, bracing scent of his soap reminded her of what she could no longer have. He may have come to her defense, but that didn’t mean things had changed between them. “I’m sorry you didn’t get your picture taken.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. If they need a picture, I’ll send them the photo I use on my website and personal training pamphlets.”
“Are you ready?” Paige walked up to them carrying Melissa’s purse.
“Yes.” Melissa grabbed her purse and her stomach twisted into a tight knot. This was it. The last time she would see Jake. Her heart constricted with pain; she couldn’t imagine how long it would take to fill the cavernous void his absence would create in her life. “Take care of yourself,” she whispered over the emotional lump in her throat.
His eyes shadowed, and for a brief second she thought she glimpsed a glimmer of sadness in their depths. “You too.”
As hot tears blurred her vision, Melissa turned, and with Paige by her side, she walked away from the man—the friend—she’d fallen in love with. Her low-heeled sandals tapped on the hardwood floor, echoing in her ears with the heartbreaking sound of goodbye.
“Wait.”
Melissa’s heart jumped to her throat; she froze in her tracks. As did Paige. In unison, they turned to find Jake still rooted to the spot where they’d left him. For several moments, he stared at her without speaking. “Don’t go,” he said, just when she thought he wasn’t going to speak at all. Was she only imagining the ache in his voice, or was it merely wishful thinking on her part?
Behind him, the magazine personnel stopped what they were doing and watched with rapt attention. Unsure of what was happening, Melissa’s heart thudded faster as Jake looked directly at Erica. “You said you wanted an interview?” The writer, still grasping her pen and steno pad, gave him a silent nod. “Then here it is. Take notes.”
He turned and butterflies danced madly in Melissa’s stomach as his stare fixed on her. “Melissa Atherton is the most courageous woman I’ve ever met. She’s worked hard to change her life. Both physically and mentally. She likes to say I’m responsible for her success. But I’m not. It’s all her. I had little to do with it.”
Melissa pulse skittered at a dizzying speed as Jake moved deliberately toward her. “For reasons I wasn’t entirely sure of at the time, I was drawn to Melissa. I wanted to help her achieve her goals, and because I was overweight as a kid, I understood her struggles.” He halted a few feet in front of her and Paige, who, like Melissa, hadn’t moved a muscle. “We trained together for eight months, and during that time we became friends. A little less than a month ago, we became more than that.”
Melissa’s knees suddenly began to tremble. She gripped the strap of her purse like a lifeline. Is this really happening? It felt like a dream. A surreal dream.
“I won’t go into the details, but because of a boneheaded move on my part, I lost her. It was only then that I rea
lized how much she meant to me, and that the reasons why I was so sure we couldn’t be together didn’t seem to matter much anymore. My biggest regret is that I never told her...” He paused and stared deeply into her eyes. “I never told you I’m in love with you.”
Indescribable joy filled Melissa’s heart as Jake continued, “You have every reason to walk out of this gym and never see me again. But I hope you won’t. I hope you love me as much as I love you, and that you’ll forgive me for being such a self-absorbed idiot.”
As yet another astonished silence filled the room, Melissa could barely think past the hammering of her heart. She couldn’t look away from Jake’s tender gaze, and while they weren’t alone in the room, it seemed as if this moment had come down to the two of them. No one else mattered.
“What about what people will think?” she asked softly, and tried to stop her knees from shaking. But her stupid limbs wouldn’t cooperate. She clutched her purse more tightly and prayed her legs wouldn’t give out and send her straight to the floor.
“I don’t care. Let them think whatever they like. I love you, Melissa. That’s all that matters.” The hope dimmed in his eyes as she remained silent. “It’s too late, isn’t it?” he asked, mistaking her stunned silence for rejection. Oh, how wrong he was.
Melissa moved to him and lifted her hand to his cheek. “It’s not too late.” She gently brushed her fingers over his smoothly shaven skin. “I fell a little bit in love with you the first day I walked in here and you were so kind to me. And over the past eight months that feeling only grew stronger. I love you, Jake Sawyer. You changed my life.”
“You changed your life.” Jake put his hands on her waist; she could feel the warmth of his fingers through the flimsy fabric of her knit dress. “I just came along for the ride.”
She smiled at him as happiness soared in her veins. “I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that.”
“I’ll agree to anything if you kiss me,” he said huskily, then lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.
Melissa wasn’t sure how long she and Jake kissed passionately, but the only thing that stopped it was the unmistakable sound of the camera’s flash and then Paige’s voice calling out, “get a room.” Jake dragged his lips from hers, then they both turned to find Carter—with a wide, goofy smile plastered on his face—holding the camera. It was pointed in their direction.
“I got the money shot!” he exclaimed with glee.
* * *
It wasn’t much after midnight when Jake closed up the gym. After setting the alarm and securing the main entrance, he headed for the parking lot and when he caught sight of Melissa’s smaller SUV parked next to his Land Rover in the first row of spaces, his pulse kicked with anticipation.
Although the dark sky wasn’t lit by a moon, the muted white light shining from the security lampposts installed in every row enabled him to clearly see her curvy body leaning against the tailgate of his SUV. As he approached her, he noted that she had traded the modest dress she’d worn at the photo shoot for a short, sexy sundress that bared her lightly tanned legs and arms.
More than anything, he’d wanted to spend the day with her. But his assistant manager had asked for the day off over a week ago and that left no one to cover the late shift except for Jake. The expression harder than hell took on new meaning when he’d watched her leave with Paige, but she told him not to worry, they had all the time in the world.
“Happy to see me?” she asked him with an impish grin, as he ambled to a halt in front of her.
“What do you think?” He let go of his gym bag. As it fell to the pavement with a thud, he reached out and hauled her against him. Hard. She gasped, her perfect pink lips forming an O of surprise as she tilted her head back and looked up at him. “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he said, then lowered his head and kissed her.
As she melted against him, he had a fleeting thought of how close he’d come to living without her. But then her scent enveloped him and primal desire took over his brain. He deepened the kiss and slid his hands down to her sweet round ass to pull her even closer.
“We’ve got to stop kissing in parking lots,” she murmured against his mouth when they came up for air. Winding her arms around his neck, she pressed her soft lush body against his and when he looked into her eyes, darkened with passion, he felt like he was drowning.
“Why?” He grinned. “As I recall, you were into it the other night. I distinctly remember you telling me not to stop.”
In the dim light he was able to see the telltale blush that spread becomingly over her cheeks. “Yes. Well, we were lucky that guy in the truck showed up. Otherwise—”
“Otherwise I would have had your jeans and panties down around your ankles. And trust me when I say that if I’d gotten that far, neither of us would have cared if anyone was watching.”
A seductive smile crossed her lips. “I didn’t know sex in public places turned you on.”
“It doesn’t. You turned me on and we happened to be in public.” He pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. “All I could think about was burying my face into your pussy and making you come.”
Her eyes flared. “I do like the way you think,” she said huskily, then slanted her mouth over his. Jake’s heart tapped against his ribs as her lips brushed teasingly over his. With a low growl, he plundered her mouth and what started out soft and sweet morphed into something hard and fiery. She tasted amazing, and felt even more so as the softness of her body melded to the hardness of his. With each second that passed, Jake found his control teetering on the precipice. Her hands threading through his hair, her breasts flattened against his chest, and her warm seeking tongue dancing with his had him so hot he could barely think straight.
A shard of sanity somehow managed to penetrate the all-consuming need that filled him. He wanted her. Right now. But this sure as hell wasn’t the place he had in mind.
With superhuman effort, he pulled his mouth from hers. Her lips, moist and swollen from their kiss, remained slightly parted and her breathing was labored. As was his.
“You’d better have a damn good reason for stopping.” The husky cadence of her voice and the sultry glitter in her eyes as she stared up at him was almost his undoing. But before he could follow through on his sudden insane notion to make love to her in the back of his Land Rover, he lifted his arms to disengage hers from around his neck.
“Not here.” He stepped back, holding her hands in his. “I don’t want a quickie in the back of my truck. Not tonight. Tonight should be special.”
She gave him a slow smile that sent his pulse racing. “Jake Sawyer, are you a closet romantic?”
“If romantic means I want to take my time and worship your beautiful, sexy body all night long, then hell yeah, I’m a romantic.”
One delicate brow arched up. “Did you say all night?”
“Yes. You and me. My place. All night.” He grinned. “That’s my final offer. Are you in?”
“Am I in?” Melissa’s delighted laugh echoed across the parking lot. “You bet I am.”
* * *
Several hours later, Melissa slipped her arm around Jake’s waist and laid her cheek against his warm, bare chest. Staring at the nearly burned-down candle sitting atop Jake’s dresser, she sighed with contentment. True to his word, Jake had fulfilled his promise to worship her body, and since said worshipping had resulted in four mind-blowing orgasms, she didn’t care that dawn was almost upon them. Sleep was overrated anyway. And what Jake could do with his mouth and tongue was nothing short of magic.
Jake tightened his arm around her. “You still awake?”
“Barely.” With her free hand, she pulled the sheet up to their hips. The citrusy scent of the candle filled the room and reminded her of her favorite perfume. She hadn’t figured Jake for a candle guy. Maybe he really was a romantic at heart.
“I don’t have to open the gym in the morning so we can sleep in,” he said, idly stroking her arm with his fingers. H
er skin prickled pleasurably at his touch. “How about brunch at Café Lido after we walk Max and Mikey?”
“Sounds heavenly.” She snuggled closer to his delicious body. “But I’ll have to go home and change first.”
“Have I told you how proud I am of you?”
She lifted her head and, in the soft flickering candlelight, met his admiring gaze. “For what?”
“For standing up to Delano Black. You were magnificent today.”
Melissa blushed, basking in his praise. Jake wasn’t the only one who was proud. She was proud of herself for not doing what she’d done most of her life. Cowering to a bully. Somewhere between October and June, she’d finally realized her own worth and no one, especially Delano Black or Denise Snow, was going to make her feel like she was lacking in any way because of her weight. For the first time in her life she was at peace with who she was.
“Are you sorry you kissed me in front of everyone?” she asked, thinking of the cheers that had erupted from the cardio room after Carter had captured their kiss with his boss’s camera. She had a feeling their lip-lock had been the talk of the gym for the rest of the day.
“No.” Jake smiled down at her. “This past week I asked myself what my life would be like without you in it. And the answer was lonely. Yeah, I could have a successful business. Maybe even franchise Jake’s Joint throughout the Sacramento area.” He paused, the tenderness shining in his eyes stealing her breath away. “But it wouldn’t mean a damn thing if I didn’t have you by my side to share it with me. I love you, Melissa. That’s what’s most important in life. Love. My parents found it, and so did J.T. and Angie. And I want nothing less than that for myself, and for you.”
Happy tears threatened to blur her vision. “I’m so glad I walked into your gym all those months ago. I was ready to change my life, but I never dreamed it would turn out like this.” Her heart filled with emotion. “I love you.”
“You won’t be saying that at our next training session.” Jake’s eyes took on a devilish gleam. “Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you because I’m in love with you.”
Breaking His Rules (Feeling the Heat #4) Page 22
