by Ash Harlow
I know that I can get some fantastic shots and I have fun asking him to pause and hold partway through various exercises. Sometimes his body trembles with the exertion and it’s really fucking sexy.
Half the time I’m watching his hard cock, and when he finishes on the reformer I can’t resist straddling that bulge. Zach tells me to put my knees on the carriage and he starts to move it, in and out as if he’s doing the footwork series. Every time he brings the carriage in, he rocks his hips, pressing his dick into me.
My breathing quickens, my pussy thick and throbbing.
“This is nice,” he says quietly. He looks oddly content.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice all breathy.
“Quite a challenge to the usual pelvic lift exercise. I might add it to the advanced workout.”
I giggle and rub extra hard on him.
In and out we go, and the rhythm is sexy and soothing.
“I missed you last night in my bed. I wanted to hold you all night, wake up with my morning wood nestled between your butt cheeks and fuck you again.”
“I wish we could do that, Zach. I hate this sneaking around.”
His hands are on my hips and he squeezes them, then slides them up to my waist. “Come here,” he says, pulling me down for a kiss.
It’s a gentle, lazy kiss, his tongue circling mine as if we have forever to complete it. I love it when Zach is pounding into me, hard, telling me filthy things; it makes me feel like the most desirable woman in the world. This gentle Zach is different, but I like this side of him, too. Gentle Zach makes me feel cherished.
Zach glances at the clock. “Nobody is due yet for thirty minutes. I wish you were wearing that short red skirt of yours. No panties. I’d pull my shorts off, stick my dick in you and we could fuck like this on the reformer.”
“Do you always think about sex?”
“No. I mainly think about fucking you. Other times, I think about eating your pussy, or your mouth on my cock. It’s more than sex, Natalie.”
His strength is amazing, never faltering as the carriage glides along the track. Typical Zach, so precise, that even with me sitting on top of him, he makes every movement pure and true. He pulls me down for another kiss, and this time his hand snakes between my thighs, cupping my pussy, one clever finger slipping under the leg of my panties to find my clit.
I moan into his mouth.
“Is this what you want, treasure?”
“Yeah. I want you, all of you. Forever.”
“I want that too,” he says. “And babies.”
Emotion bubbles in my chest. This is real. His infatuation and need for me is as strong as my desire for him.
“Your pussy’s all wet again. I can feel it seeping through your pants. You’re going to have to change before you start work today. Either that or keep your legs closed.”
I find his cock with my hand and feel his own damp patch on his workout shorts. “You’re wet, too.”
Zach groans. “Maybe we should move to the shower.”
“Can we do that?”
“Fuck yes, treasure.”
He brings the carriage to a stop, his hand still a firm hold covering my pussy. “I want you to come first?”
Neither of us hear the door, but Maree’s voice rings out across the studio.
“Oh, for God’s sake, you two. This is a Pilates studio, not a bordello.” She slams her bag down on the reception desk, and the door bangs closed behind her.
“Well, this is awkward,” Zach mutters, lifting me off him while gracefully rising from the reformer.
I can hear Maree’s heavy footsteps on the stairs, and I guess she’s going to visit Grandma. My stomach’s churning. Gran’s going to kill me, and I expect she’ll send me back to my parents. I don’t want to leave Zach, ever, and I’ve got to go and defend myself. I make for the door but Zach’s too quick for me, seizing my wrist.
“Don’t go up there.”
“Zach, I have to. Gran’s going to be furious; she’ll send me back to London—”
“I love you, treasure, and I’m not going to let that happen.”
I’m stunned. Too much is happening at once for me to take in Zach’s declaration properly.
“I want you to go and take a shower, Natalie. I’ll let Maree say her piece and then I’ll talk to Birdy. There’s no point in us all descending on her and creating chaos. By the time you’ve showered, staff and clients will be rolling in. If anyone asks, you were doing a workout with me.”
I snort, because it’s not the workout the staff would imagine, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep a straight face.
“Wait in the studio until I call for you, and if things get tricky, take yourself out for a walk.”
He reaches for my face, the heel of his hand against my cheek, his fingers through my hair. He calms me with a steadying gaze before he kisses me quickly. Our foreheads touch.
“I love you, okay? Now play it cool for me.”
“I love you, too,” I tell him, because it’s true.
11
~ ZACH ~
I sprint up the stairs, slowing to listen as I near the landing. Birdy was out late last night, and I’d expect her to still be in bed at this time of the day. She’ll be cranky if Maree has woken her, and that’s obviously not the state of mind I need her in when I break the news that I’m in love with her eighteen-year-old granddaughter.
“She’s just a kid, Zach. What’s wrong with you?”
The landing between our apartments runs from the street side to the back of the building. We have a couple of chairs, magazines, bottles of water in a small fridge, nice art and—always—fresh flowers. Maree’s sitting on one of the chairs, and I don’t know if Birdy has sent her there to wait, or what the hell’s going on. My mind hasn’t stopped racing through scenarios and scripts designed to calm a woman who could well be ready to kick my arse out of her business, building and life.
Still, Maree’s words piss me off. I take a seat alongside her and keep my voice low.
“First, I apologise. Messing about like that in the studio is disgraceful.”
Maree flicks an elegant hand. “That was an incident. The real error of judgement was laying your hands on Birdy’s jailbait. You’re going to fuck things up for all of us.”
“Come on, Maree, we both know Natalie’s not jailbait, and she’s certainly not a child. She can legally drink alcohol, drive a car, vote for government, buy a lottery ticket and have sex. She’s an adult, and she wants to be treated like one.”
“You’re being irresponsible. What are you going to do when you tire of her tight young body?”
It’s all I can do to keep my voice calm and measured because Maree holds the cards right now and I don’t want to set her off. “I doubt I’ll ever tire of Natalie. She’s everything I want in a woman, and I can honestly say, I’ve never felt this way about anyone in all of my life.”
Maree turns her head away and stares at the strip of sunlight on the carpet. It’s hard to read her when I can’t see her face, but her words do an adequate job of stunning me.
“I thought we could have been something…you and me.”
I can’t even pull the no studio relationships card to get out of this because I’ve already ignored that rule. “I had no idea,” I tell her, honestly. Not that it would have made any difference; she’s simply not someone I have feelings for beyond our professional relationship, which is excellent.
“We could have really made something of the studio together.”
“We still can,” I tell her.
She shakes her head. Finally, she’s looking at me and her face is red, her eyes are wide and glistening. “Not with Natalie around we can’t.”
Maree’s a hard nut, and her vulnerability surprises me. “Don’t worry about Natalie. I’ll get her out of the studio; she’s too young to be an instructor, anyway. She needs time to grow up a little, see the world, that sort of thing. An eighteen-year old would have to be seriously dedicated to the meth
od to make it work as a career, and let’s face it, she’s only beginning.”
I’m not dumping on Natalie, but I need to remove her from the equation that Maree’s adding and subtracting on in her head.
She frowns. “Birdy won’t like that.”
“Leave Birdy to me. I’ll give her a plan that’s so good she’ll think it’s her idea.”
“And Natalie?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with Natalie.” I stand up and hold my hand out to Maree. “Are you okay?”
She shrugs. “I’ll get over it.”
“Good, because you’re part of the plan, Maree. We’re going to make this studio great.” I give her a side hug, and she gives my arm a forgiving bump with her head. I release her when we reach my apartment door. “I’m going to take a shower, and then I’ll go and see Birdy. Give me an hour.”
I shower quickly. I really have no plan for dealing with Birdy beyond being completely honest. Her bullshit meter is utterly precise in any case, so I’m going to give it to her straight.
It seems incongruous that on this day, at the moment that lives are about to change, the set-up is completely normal in Birdy’s apartment. Coffee pot, newspaper, diary, and my godmother peering at me with those hawk eyes that catch every tic, every movement I make.
I feel like prey, but like every other morning, I pour our coffee, add a dash of milk to Birdy’s and set it down on the coaster at her right.
She gives me a look that’s as good as a threatening hand on the carotid arteries. “It’s probably time you told me what’s going on.”
I sip my coffee and set the mug back down at a deliberately slow pace. I didn’t expect her to open with that, and I wonder if she’s been listening to Maree and me at the door. Or if she has security cameras in the studio. There’s nothing I want to hide so without preamble I tell her what’s on my mind and burning in my heart.
“I’m in love with Natalie.”
“I see,” she says, the sharp edge to her voice making me sit straighter. “And what do you propose to do about it?”
“Marry her.”
Birdy frowns at me. “Why? Have you got her pregnant?”
I can’t believe she’s made me blush. I couldn’t be happier if I have got her pregnant, but I don’t think I have yet. “I don’t believe so.”
“Well, perhaps she should move in with you, and the pair of you can get this off your chest. Six weeks, Zach, is hardly enough time to know that you want to marry someone.”
“I believe you married your first husband after knowing him only seven weeks, and your third husband after ten days.”
Birdy looks pleased with herself. “You also know that I’m married to neither of them now. So you should listen to me because I’m speaking from experience.”
She’s almost got me there. “Yet you married your other two husbands after reasonably long courtships and still those marriages failed.” Touché.
“That’s correct, but at no time was I eighteen. She’s fresh from school, Zach. She still needs to explore and grow and, God help us, make a few more mistakes. I’d prefer marriage wasn’t one of them.”
“Well, let’s take that off the table for now. The fact is, I love her, and she loves me, which creates an issue at the studio. I also think she’s too young to train to be a Pilates instructor; that, too, would be a mistake. Natalie wants to be a photographer, and she’s good at it. Why don’t we get her to finish her last school year, then she can apply to study at the School of Fine Arts?”
Birdy’s gaze makes an exaggerated sweep of the room. “I don’t see her here, so why are we discussing her future in her absence? If she’s to be an adult, she needs to be present to give us her own opinion. What’s more, Zach, if Natalie is to be your life partner—God, I hate the modern way of talking about relationships—stop acting like her parent.”
I nod. Birdy’s right, but I have this need to fix everything for both of us.
“I’ve encouraged her to pursue her photography, and it might appease her parents if she’s continuing to study.”
Birdy sighs and sits back in her chair. “You make me tired, Zach. It’s so much to think about for someone my age. Why couldn’t you keep yourself under control instead of going after my granddaughter?”
“Because she’s irresistible, much like you.”
Birdy actually rolls her eyes. “This discussion is over until Natalie is here. Lunch is at 12.30. I want you both on time.”
I consider myself dismissed.
The studio is busy when I return. Teachers and clients are working out, and there’s the low hum of voices, punctuated by an occasional groan or a burst of laughter. My stomach clenches. I can’t see Natalie anywhere.
Maree’s with a client so I can’t ask her, and anyway, I’m not about to involve her in anything to do with Natalie. I glance at the clock on my way to the staffroom to see if Natalie’s there. My first client of the day is due in five minutes, but all I want to do is find Natalie and assure her everything’s going to be okay.
The staffroom is empty, as is the bathroom, so I send her a quick text, finishing just as my client walks through the door. This continues all morning, texting between clients with no answer. I prefer to assume she doesn’t have her phone with her, but the unease that won’t leave me suggests I’m getting the ‘hard ignore’ for reasons I can’t fathom.
I wait in the studio as long as possible for Natalie to return before heading back to Birdy’s apartment for our lunch appointment. I smell her in the stairwell. I actually catch her fucking gorgeous scent, and the fact that she’s been here drives me to take the stairs two at a time. My reaction also shows me how scared I’d become when she ignored my texts.
I open the door, and there’s a hum of conversation drifting towards me. Natalie is here with Birdy, and I have to knock back the terrible feeling that I’m being set up. Natalie could well have been right here all morning. And that’s good, right? Or bad. Birdy could have been doing a number on her, convincing Natalie that she and I are a very bad idea.
By the time I see her, I have that much energy contained inside of me, I feel I might blow an artery. I open my mouth to fire off all the questions fighting to be first asked, but Natalie instantly turns her back on me and leaves the room.
I have to get to her, to find out what the hell has gone wrong, but the loud thump of Birdy’s tiny fist on the counter stops me. She flings her arms wide.
“This, Zach. All of this…drama. This is why we don’t have relationships in the studio.”
She’s right, of course.
“We can meet again this evening, and by that time I expect you two to have sorted yourselves out. I don’t want to be party to it, so you go to your apartment, and I’ll send Natalie over. Remember, you have clients again in just over an hour.”
12
~ NATALIE ~
Zach’s words rang in my ears as I walked the coast of Devonport all the way around to Takapuna and back. I couldn’t wait in the studio like he asked. This was about both of us, and if he was going to speak with Gran, then I wanted to be there, too. Ascending the stairs, I heard Zach talking with Maree. When I heard him telling her he’d get me out of the studio, that I was too young, needed to grow up and see the world, I sneaked back down the stairs and took that walk he suggested. I didn’t want to wait and hear their complete plan because he’d made my heart vulnerable when he’d told me he loved me.
By the time I reached North Head, I knew that all he was doing was protecting his place at the studio and the future he wanted there. Caught by Maree, about to have his deception revealed to Gran, he’d thought first of his plans and was quite happy to sacrifice me to get what he wanted.
Well, if he wanted me to see the world, that’s exactly what I would do. My walk took a couple of hours, and I switched off my phone after the second message from Zach. Fucking hypocrite. He could sort Gran out himself because I wasn’t going to help him by going along with whatever story he was going to tell her
.
I took the fall for Poppy, but I’m not going to do it again. All that’s done is got me into a bigger mess.
I would tell Gran I wanted to go back to London. Once my plane tickets were purchased, I could change them and go somewhere else. Europe or South America. I don’t care where, so long as it’s far away from people who want to use me.
I have to creep up the stairs so that I’m not seen from the studio. Zach is standing with one of his beautiful clients, and she has her hand on his arm, the other covering her mouth as if he’s just told her the dirtiest, most shocking thing. I know how that feels, and self-pity and betrayal slice in little razor cuts across my heart.
Prick.
I hate him.
And I want him.
Wow. I never knew this would hurt so badly, but I vow that no one will see how this affects me. I pull back my shoulders and put on my stone face just the way I did when they kicked me out of school.
Gran greets me as I enter the apartment and tells me to sit. She makes me toast and tea without saying anything beyond the fact that she knows I haven’t had breakfast. The toast attempts to choke me as it sticks in my throat, and without an appetite, I push the plate to the side.
“You have a lot to sort out with Zach.”
I’m trying to imagine what he’s told her, but I have so many ideas crashing about I’m left bewildered. “I—”
“Stop. I don’t want to hear.” Gran’s manner is curt.
I feel my eyes prick with tears. I’m tired of trying to be heard, and I have a need for some sympathy, for someone I love to tell me that everything’s going to be okay.
“I want to go back home,” I blurt, keeping a watch on Gran’s face. She looks puzzled.
“Oh dear,” she says, and pulls up a seat alongside me. “Zach isn’t going to like the sound of that at all.”
“He doesn’t want me.”
Gran snorts. “Whatever gave you that idea? He’s mad about you.”
