by Lisa N. Paul
“Well, at least she has a support system who agrees with her decisions,” April deadpanned and shrugged her shoulders. “That must feel nice.” She smiled at her own humor and laughed at her brother’s frown. “Stop pouting, Auggy. I understand what you’re saying, and while I think it was a monumentally bitchy call on Mom’s part, I have heard amazing things about that gym.” She watched as her brother’s face lit up. “Don’t get too excited. I’m only going to work out, not to boost the already inflated egos of the pretty boys who spend more time romancing themselves in the mirrors than they do lifting weights.”
August rolled his eyes and laughed. “That’s the open attitude I’m looking for, little sis. Keep that up, and the dates will be pouring in.”
“Whatever.” April shook her head and smiled as she leaned into her brother’s strong embrace. He wasn’t wrong, and she knew it. It looked like the new year was going to include a new workout routine. That wouldn’t suck at all.
Chapter Two
Gallant Behavior
NO DOUBT ABOUT it, the woman was stunning in more ways than one. He watched in the mirror as the blonde’s pert ass rounded with each perfectly executed squat. Her exercise routine was definitely a total body experience for…Decker. He had to constantly remind himself, and his dick, to pay attention to his own damn workout, because her leg routine nearly brought him to his knees. But thanks to the mirror, he could appreciate the view discreetly without looking like a complete jackass. The same could not be said for Mr. Meathead, who’d started out blatantly leering at her before upping the ante by adding touch.
The blonde had just racked her weight bar, evidently taking a break between sets, when the Schwarzenegger-wannabe swaggered up behind her and snaked his hand around her hip. Fuck. Decker placed his dumbbells on the ground and watched the encounter through the mirror. He noticed how her eyes went round at first but quickly narrowed as she removed her ear buds and looped them around her neck. Between the clanking of weights and the music pumping through the gym’s sound system, Decker couldn’t hear much of their conversation, but he couldn’t misconstrue her unimpressed and extremely irritated body language. Funny how he could pick up those vibes from across the gym and the guy standing right next to her couldn’t clue in. It was when she removed his leather-clad hand from her body for the second time and cocked her head to the side, her brows furrowed in what appeared to be frustration that Decker decided to intercede.
“Hey, beautiful, everything all right over here?”
Decker placed a protective hand on the sweat-slickened shoulder of the woman he’d spent weeks not-so-subtly flirting with at the gym. They’d swapped smiles, exchanged a few words here and there, and even engaged in a brief conversation the day he’d assisted an older woman who had sprained her ankle after falling off the treadmill. He’d led the injured senior to a bench so she could rest her leg while he went to get an icepack and a staff member to aid the woman further. When he returned to find the sexy blonde tending to the woman, offering a small, warm smile and her cell phone, his heartbeat kicked up a notch. Other than knowing her workout schedule, because clearly it was the same as his, and the fact that she seemed as kind as she was beautiful, not much about their acquaintance should have made his blood pressure spike the way it did when he’d caught the gym-jerk approaching her with a smarmy smile and lust-filled eyes. No, it shouldn’t have pissed him off… but it did. He knew she usually didn’t notice other men’s attention. In fact, other than the rare occasions when Decker spoke to her, she kept to herself, earbuds in, body in motion… and oh, what a body it was.
He knew touching her was risky, especially after seeing the disgust that marred her face when Meat Hook grabbed her. Over the years, he’d seen that same guy repeatedly hit on several women at the gym, making it clear that his skull was as thick as his muscles and left no room at all for his brain. The man never took no for an answer, so it would take more than words to get the point made. He just hoped the woman played along.
Decker wasn’t sure what surprised him more: her reply to his question or the fact that she tightly wrapped her arm around his waist, effectively pulling him closer to her. “Everything’s perfect, honey,” she cooed, staring up at him with the most incredible pale green eyes he’d ever seen. “I was just telling Rocco here that while my boyfriend does appreciate my”—she glared at the moron who still hadn’t figured out that he was unwanted—“what did you call them, Rocco? Oh yeah, my delectable ass cheeks, and while he does agree that a real man could spend a whole night buried between them”—she turned her stare back to Decker and smiled—“he doesn’t particularly like to share them or me.” April’s brows lifted as she punctuated the end of her statement. “But since you’re here now, maybe you could explain it better, baby.”
“The fuck?” Decker snarled, wrapping his arm around the slender woman to bring her even closer to his body. He allowed his hand to run from her shoulder down her arm, a gesture that would appear possessive but hopefully not make her feel uncomfortable while he dealt with the trash in front of them. “Listen here, Rocco,” Decker growled, staring down at the shorter man, “you think I haven’t seen you struttin’ around this place, trying to pick up anything that isn’t nailed down?”
Rocco’s cockiness clearly prevailed over his sense of preservation. “Yeah, old man, I’ve got skills. You jealous?”
“No, boy.” Decker smirked. “I’m not jealous… just nice. I’m giving you a warning to stay away from my girl here, or you’re gonna need to find skills that don’t include smiling, cause you won’t have any teeth. Got it?”
Rocco’s toothy smile faltered as he lifted his hands up in a defensive pose. “Sure, dude, whatever. But you should really keep your chick on a leash, because she was throwin’ out mixed signals. Shit, she was practically beggin’ me to come over here and check her out.”
“I was not, you bloated piece of shit.”
Decker nearly lost his footing when the woman lunged forward in attempts to do who knew what to the clearly IQ-challenged idiot egging her on. He quickly firmed up his stance, keeping the angered woman tucked safely in his arms. “Tsk, tsk, Rocco. I’d walk away if I were you,” Decker warned. “She doesn’t like being compared to a dog, and I’d say that leash comment just crossed the line.”
When Rocco laughed in response to Decker’s remark, the tenacious woman spoke up once again. However, this time, to Decker’s surprise, she was the perfect blend of calm, stern, and funny as hell. “Listen here, Puffy McPufferson,” she addressed Rocco directly but stayed rooted to the spot next to Decker. “Your advances were neither solicited nor wanted, and I can guarantfuckingtee that the other women who work out here feel the same damn way about your Rico Suave act. So I suggest you take your steroid-injecting, Axe-body-spray-wearing, grunt-while-you’re-lifting, sorry ass out of here, or I’m gonna get you thrown out.” He felt her triceps flex beneath his hold as her hands balled into fists at her sides. “Was that uncomplicated enough for you?”
Shit, the woman was a riot of surprises, each one more breathtaking then the last, but this time, she’d literally stolen his breath and his words. Trying his hardest to contain his reaction, Decker bit down on his tongue. Bite till you bleed if you have to, man, but don’t you dare let it out. Don’t you dare.
*
HOLY SHIT, DID those words just come from my mouth? April inhaled, realizing for the first time just how quiet the space around her had gotten. The solid arm that had been holding her tight just moments before was trembling, as was the body it was attached to. What the… hell? She tilted her head to the side and looked up at her make-believe boyfriend, whose focus was still set on Rocco. However, his face no longer showed the same overwhelming sense of acrimony it had possessed at first. His bottom lip was gripped firmly between his teeth, the plump flesh white under the pressure of his strong bite, and his nostrils flared as if he was having difficulty regulating his breathing. When her stare finally landed on his eyes, it wasn’t ang
er or hostility she saw boiling to the surface. Nope, judging by the fine crinkles that outlined the corners of the man’s chocolate orbs, he was holding in—laughter. Just barely, it seemed, by the small snort that escaped his tightened lips, but yes, he was definitely amused.
Uncertain as to what exactly had Super-Hot-Gym-Guy so tickled; April turned her attention back to the target of her rant. Rocco stood just feet away from her with flushed cheeks and a dropped jaw. He’d taken off his leather weight-lifting gloves and was twisting them nervously in his thick hands while his wide eyes scanned the gym as if he was looking to make certain no one else had heard the tongue-lashing he’d just received. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the case.
Two beautiful women walked up to them, stopped, and smiled at April before turning to Rocco. “Stay away from us too, Puffy.”
Clearly frustrated and embarrassed, Rocco turned to leave the main workout room and mumbled, “Bitch.”
“What did you, say?” Super-Hot-Gym-Guy growled as his posture went from lax to rigid in a blink.
“Nothin’, man. I didn’t say nothin’.” Rocco hadn’t turned to face them.
“Yeah, you make sure you keep it that way. Because I only play nice once. You got it?”
April struggled to keep her own jaw from touching the shiny laminate floor when big, loud Rocco nodded before slithering out the door. She didn’t know it then, but that was the very last time she would ever see him.
Quickly shaking off the entire scene, April faced the man still standing at her side. “So now that you’ve defended my honor and practically felt me up, I think it’s time we introduce ourselves.” She extended her hand. “I’m April Maddox.”
“Yeah, look, I’m really sorry about that.” The man appeared to be studying her face, but he never reached for her hand.
“Wait”—April smiled—“are you sorry for defending my honor or copping a feel? Because to be honest, neither one was a hardship for me.”
She realized what she’d said when the crinkles around the man’s eyes reappeared and his mouth curled up in a sexy smirk. It was as if his lips alone had spoken the word, gotcha.
“Shit, no… no… no… that is not at all what I meant.” April felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment. “What I was trying to say was it felt so good to have a man want to touch me that way…” She slapped her hand over her mouth and prayed that the words would just stop spilling out before she died of mortification.
“April—” Super-Hot-Gym-Guy started to speak.
She needed to untangle the ridiculous web she’d spun before the man walked away thinking she was a nutcase. “Please, just give me a second.” She inhaled deeply, forcing air around the lump that had suddenly formed in the back of her throat. “What I meant to say was thank you. It’s been a really long time since there was someone other than family to have my back like that. We don’t know each other, and still you stepped in and helped me out. That was… cool. Really cool. So thanks.” Cool? What decade was she living in? She was a teacher in a public school. She knew cool was no longer… cool. She moved to retreat, hoping to leave with at least a modicum of dignity left in her arsenal when he stopped her. Eh, who needs dignity?
“My name’s Decker Brand.” He extended his long, muscled arm and waited for her to shake his hand before he continued. “And yes, I am sorry for manhandling you without your permission. That’s usually not my style. However, I’m sure as shit not gonna apologize for getting between you and that asswipe. To be honest, April, I’m not sure your honor needed my defending. You were doing a fine job on your own, but when I saw him touch you…” April watched as his brows snapped together, anger and something else she couldn’t identify etched on his ruggedly handsome face. “Hell, the second he laid his hands on you, I didn’t just want to throttle his ass, I wanted to protect yours.” Decker’s gaze quickly left hers and landed somewhere on the ground. “How’s that for embarrassing confessions?”
*
HE WASN’T SURE what he’d expected when he revealed his innermost thoughts. Hell, he hadn’t even known he was gonna do it until the words were literally falling from his mouth, but in that moment, she seemed so open, so exposed that he felt the deep-seated need to honor her vulnerability by exposing his own. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d sworn after Olivia that he wouldn’t fall victim to illusions again, but there was something in his gut that screamed this woman was genuine, and maybe it was time to start listening.
“Decker,” she spoke his name lightly, a slight tease in her tone. “Both me and my ass are grateful for your gallant behavior.” She punctuated her statement with a wink.
Her levity caused him to smirk, which in turn had her small grin splitting her face into a dazzling, dimpled smile. Fuck, look at those dimples, he thought as his cock twitched in his shorts.
“Gallant behavior? Who says gallant these days?” He chuckled, trying his best to get his mind off the sexy-as-hell divots in the sexy-as-hell blonde’s face.
She threw her head back and laughed a husky sound that did absolutely nothing to slow the blood flow to his dick. “I do. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a middle school English teacher.” She looked at him, her eyes dancing with delight. “Next time I’ll say, ‘Thanks for your super cool help, dude.’”
Decker chuckled. “No, I can handle the larger words, but thanks for trying, Ms. Maddox.” He hesitated briefly then asked, “Or is it Mrs.?” He found himself holding his breath while he waited for her to answer the question.
She shifted her eyes to the left and paused for a second. Decker felt his heart pause too. I knew it was too good to be true.
“It’s Ms. Maddox.” She looked up at him and swallowed. “I’m divorced, and Maddox is my maiden name. I took it back the second my divorce was final.”
Decker slipped his thumb under her chin, tilting it up until their eyes met. “Well, Ms. Maddox, it has been a pleasure finally meeting you properly. May I walk you to your car?”
“That would be awesome, dude.”
They laughed and chatted as they walked through the parking lot.
He felt like a nervous teen when he asked for her phone number, and he wanted to pound on his chest when she gave it to him. “Here, let me text you right now so you’ll have my number as well.”
April opened her mouth as if to say something but instead pulled her lip between her teeth and kept silent.
“What’s wrong, April? You’re not gonna call me?”
She shrugged. “To be honest, no. I probably won’t. At least not at first.”
“What? Why?” Decker, at thirty-three years old, had done more than his fair share of dating and had been married to a woman who had made him work hard for each smile, laugh, and ounce of happiness they’d ever shared. He’d played every game, knew every trick, and saw through all sorts of bullshit, yet never once had he come across a woman who was so brutally honest.
“Look, if we’re gonna be anything—even just friends—you need to know that… well, my mother is fucking crazy.” April ran her long fingers through her ponytail. “Seriously. I’ve spent most of my life trying to do the opposite of nearly everything she told me, but some things have stuck, and there’s nothing I can do about it. One of them is not calling a boy too soon.”
Decker smiled as April’s face flushed. “A boy?” he asked with humor lacing his tone.
“Yes”—April nodded emphatically—“a boy. It was drilled into me and my sister that it was bad to call boys too soon. And I’ve never gotten over the fear of what would happen to me if I did.”
“Dare I ask?” Decker’s abdomen clenched as he tried to hold in his laughter once again. This woman was giving him his core workout for the week.
With her face as serious as he’d seen it so far, she answered. “Sure. According to my mother, if a girl calls a boy too soon, she will not only be viewed as easy, trampy, and stupid, but, and this was always the main sticking point for me and my sister, those girls would never ever
reach orgasm, because the guys they chased after would know they were desperate little hussies who didn’t deserve it. Therefore, no, I will not be calling you for a little while. Sorry, but I like my orgasms.” She shrugged and added under her breath, “From what I can remember.”
“Wow, your mother sounds like an interesting woman.” Decker smiled as he watched April toss her gym bag into the back of her Acura RDX.
“You have no idea.”
“All right, well, I’m certainly not one to tell a girl not to listen to her mother.” He knew he must have looked like a loon with his smile spread clear across his face, but he couldn’t help it. The woman had intrigued him from the first moment he saw her, and now that they’d finally spent a few minutes together, he was as good as caught, completely beguiled by her sense of humor and quick wit. “But I can tell you I completely disagree with her theory.” He shook his head slowly. “Not that it matters, because it’s not gonna be an issue in this situation.” Two prominent dimples flashed back at him. Nope, not gonna be an issue at all, he thought as he watched her climb into the driver’s seat of her black SUV.
“It was nice to finally meet you, Decker Brand. To be honest, in a strange way, I kind of owe some gratitude to that asshole Rocco.” With her cheeks flushing at the admission, April slid her key into the ignition and flipped on the engine.
“What do you mean gratitude?” Decker asked, genuinely confused. In fact, just hearing the guy’s name on April’s lips made his skin crawl.
Shrugging her shoulders, April eyed him. A bashful look crept over her features. “I don’t know… I’ve wanted to talk to you for weeks, but you never seemed that interested. So other than our quick ‘hellos,’ I’ve pretty much stayed away.”
