Page 36 of Yours, Finally

I entered the executivegym fully expecting for it to be empty. Workouts were a part of my daily routine, ever since my therapist had told me that moving my body would help with self-regulation. Even though Vi and I had ended up using the room at the same time a few weeks before, we hadn't crossed paths since.

My hand stayed on the handle, door open and me halfway in, when I came face-to-face with Vi. The way I froze, I would need every single grounding technique Vanessa had ever taught me. Vi used the mats by the entrance for some sort of slow routine; she currently stretched her arms high over her head, palms together, and her eyes were closed. A soft smile curled her lips.

A deep breath later, I entered the studio and closed the door quietly behind me. I didn't want to startle her.

As soon as her smile turned playful, thoughts of quiet and calm and giving her space disappeared. My eyes traveled down her body, catching details I rarely got to look at for too long— her full breasts, covered by a sports bra and a loose crop top; the curve of her waist and the full, soft rounds above her hips and down a generous curve to her thick thighs.

She snorted, smiled, and dropped her hands to her belly. With gentle pressure, she accommodated its volume to tuck it at the right place for a forward bend.

She let out a laugh. Whatever she was listening to, it wasn't the instructions for her movement flow or meditation music. My bet was that it was one of her books, with a narrator whispering things into her ear. While in a position that made me want to walk around her, admire the view from behind, and ask her if she'd like to reenact one of her favorite scenes.

"Holy shit," I breathed, and ran a hard hand down my face. It pulled down at my skin and beard, but it was all I could do to hold back a groan.

I shouldn't have stayed. There was no way I could announce my presence without causing—

"Ah!" Vi's gasp was loud enough to be halfway to a scream. She whipped up to standing and took a step back.

"I'm sorry." I took a step to her and offered a hand, but hers had gone to her chest. I pulled mine back. "I was trying to get myself to go away and give you privacy. I didn't mean to scare you."

She pulled her headphones out of her ears. "Oh my god! I saw your shoes and I—"

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to go?"

"What?" She frowned, her eyes roaming down my shirt and shorts, the gym and suit bags I still held in one hand. "No, it's fine. I just need a second to recover."

"Me too, to be honest." I hung the suit from a hook and left the bag on the floor. "That gasp was fit for a horror movie."

She chuckled before taking a deep breath. I smirked.

"Oh, please." She sat on the ground, one knee up and her hands around it. "I really didn't expect anyone to show up. I've been alone here for most of the last couple of weeks."

"Yeah, I've been coming in earlier, and getting a bit of extra time reviewing documents for the transition. There's this binder someone gave me that's like three hundred pages long."

She laughed, and I began a warm up routine with a pleased smile on my face.

"It's hardly three hundred pages long." She got on her hands and knees, and crawled to her gym bag at the edge of the wall.

It seemed like a spontaneous move on her part; I didn't think she planned to give me ideas upon seeing her move like that on the ground. And yet she made me weak, it seemed, because allI could think about was her doing the same toward me, while biting her lips, because I had bid her to.

If I didn't put my mind in the right place, I would have to find a way to hide an erection.

"Since you're here—" she dug her headphone case from a pocket and opened it, to put away the buds— "it would be rude if I keep listening to my audiobook."

"You can keep listening if you want to. I can be quiet."

She gave me a funny look. "No, it's fine. We can be casual. We can small talk."

I mildly stretched my shoulder, pulling at an arm across my chest. My eyes were on her, and I couldn't help the smile at the corner of my lips.

"Who was it? Tristan? Was he the one making you laugh just now?"

She crawled back to her original spot, a smirk on her face. "No. I finished that book a while ago. It was a different character this time."

I released a slow breath and changed arms; between the practiced movements and all her unwitting help, I was plenty warmed up.

She crossed her legs and did a few twists to stretch her torso; I went to the barbell rack and chose one slightly above my usual. Some strenuous training might help curb the blood wanting to rush south, rather than to my limbs.

I sat at the bench. "What's happening in your book?"