All I Need Is You (17 page)

“Oh, I should clean up.” She popped up and started stacking their plates and the spare plate she’d used to hold bread. Eli stood too, silently helping her clear their drinking glasses and the silverware. They worked side by side, loading the dishwasher and wiping down the counters until finally the kitchen was clean.
 

“Where do you keep these cups?” Kay turned to Eli.
 

He turned around at the same time and they ended up face-to-face. She sucked in a breath as his lips brushed her forehead. They both froze, shocked into stillness at the sudden intimacy. Her body instantly warmed, all her nerves suddenly hypersensitive. A heavy fullness settled in her breasts, her nipples tightening almost to the point of pain. If he moved any closer or brushed up against her, she’d go up in flames. Or melt into a puddle.
 

“The universe is conspiring against me,” Eli whispered.

Kay smiled, inordinately pleased at the idea of tormenting him. Why should he get off easy? She was walking around as a mass of shivery, fluttery hormones whenever he was near. It was vindicating to her feminine pride to see that he was struggling too. Although it would be so much more satisfying if neither of them had to struggle. If they could just…

Give. In.

Kay leaned forward slightly and sucked in a long, slow breath as she brushed up against him. He made a sound, a low growl in the back of his throat that made her panties go instantly damp.

“I’m going to go shower. And pray the water is cold enough,” he muttered. “Good night, Kay.”

“Good night, Eli.” She didn’t look at him as she said it. If she looked at him, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to keep it together. One look at that fierce face and she might decide she didn’t give a crap about pride and beg him to put her out of her misery.
 

Or at the very least to give her another taste of what she was missing.

THE NEXT DAY, Kay was in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast when Eli found her. He’d changed into sweatpants and a tight muscle tee. His arms flexed against the thin fabric, straining the edges until they looked like they’d cry out for mercy. Kay almost dropped the dish towel she was holding. Heat swept through her as she tried desperately to look anywhere but at him. No one needed that kind of muscle. He was like an action figure come to life.
 

“I’m going to ask Tank to stay with you for a while. I really want to get a workout in.”

Kay nodded. That made sense. A body like his required maintenance. And worship. She blew out a breath.
 

“Could I come with you? I’d love to get some exercise too. I can’t do all the stuff you do, I’m sure, but maybe they have yoga. Or dance classes.”

Eli looked surprised. “They do. They also have a daycare, so we could bring the baby. They give you a wristband that will vibrate if you need to come back to the nursery.”

“That’s pretty handy.”

“I know.” Eli shrugged. “It’s one of the things I recommended they do when I redesigned their security system last year.”

Kay felt a burst of pride. “Well, I feel completely safe taking Hope there, then.”

His eyes flashed at her words. “Okay, meet me back here when you’re changed and ready to go.”

Kay dashed down the hall to her room. Since she hadn’t packed her own bag, she had no idea if she had anything appropriate to wear for exercise. However, her purple fleece sweatpants were rolled into a ball and tucked into the corner of the bag along with a few sports bras and some T-shirts.

She sent up a silent prayer that whoever had done the packing had included several sports bras instead of just one. Due to her size, she always needed a double layer. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to do anything high-impact without putting out an eye. She giggled at the thought.
 

Eli was waiting for her in the kitchen. He looked up when she entered. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me just grab some stuff for Hope.” The diaper bag already had diapers and wipes, so she just added another outfit and a blanket. Then she leaned down and scooped up her daughter.
 

Eli appeared at her side with the car seat.
 

Kay smiled appreciatively. “You’re getting the hang of this baby thing.”
 

“I have a new respect for my mother after these past few weeks. And for you.”

Kay’s stomach tightened. “Thanks.”

She buckled Hope into her seat and allowed Eli to carry her out to the car. He settled her car seat into the base like a pro and then rounded the car to the driver’s side. Kay was fastening her own seatbelt when he spoke again.

“I’m glad you’re coming with me. An old high school friend teaches a dance class at this gym. If you want to learn about fitness, Janet is the perfect person to ask. She’s got a great body.”

It was impossible to miss the affection in his voice. Probably because he was so serious most of the time, it was even more obvious to see him light up now. Eli apparently still had a thing for this Janet.

“Let me guess, an old girlfriend?” Kay tried and failed to keep the interest out of her voice.

Eli’s laugh rumbled through the interior of the vehicle. “I wish. She was way out of my league in high school. And she’s happily married now. But I have no shame admitting that if she hadn’t married her high school sweetheart, I would have eventually made a move. She’s exactly my type.”

Kay swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. Why should she care if Eli was carrying a torch for some old classmate? A classmate who was apparently gorgeous and a great dancer. It wasn’t like he was her boyfriend or even a casual date.
 

He was there with her because protecting people was his job. She was just the unlucky duck who’d attracted the attention of a psycho and needed protection. It shouldn’t matter to her one way or the other if Eli thought this Janet was the best thing since sliced bread.
 

Right.
Nothing to be jealous about at all.
 

KAY WALKED INTO the studio, shocked to see that the room was almost full. It was a wide space with bamboo flooring and large, open windows. Multicolored strobe lights pulsed with the beat of the salsa music blaring from the speakers.
 

After signing her in under a guest pass and getting Hope settled in the nursery, Eli had given her a quick tour of the multistory workout complex. By the time they looked at the schedule, he realized they were going to be late for the class she’d wanted to take. He’d seemed excited that it was one of Janet’s classes and promised to introduce her afterward. Kay wasn’t sure if she’d mustered up the appropriate level of faux-enthusiasm.

Just one more thing to look forward to
, she thought. Not only was she going to dance around until she was a sweaty, exhausted mess, but she’d have to meet the perfect Janet afterward. Maybe she should have just stayed home.
 

Tank would have left her in peace to read a book.
 

“Okay class, let’s get started,” a voice yelled out. The other students lined up in rows. Everyone chatted excitedly as the music turned up even louder. After storing her things in one of the cubbyholes at the back of the room, Kay took a place off to the side. Several students were stretching their arms overhead and doing dance steps to limber up. Kay hadn’t checked to see if this was a beginner’s class, so she could only hope she’d be able to keep up. She wasn’t much of a dancer and definitely wasn’t a triathlete like some of the other women in the class appeared to be.
 

“Welcome, ladies, to Zumba!”
 

There were three teachers at the front of the room. The instructor who spoke was thin and blond with very perky breasts. The one to her left was curvy with wild, curly hair. She looked biracial like Ridley and Raina. The one on the right was the same shade of skin as Kaylee and had a similar body shape with full breasts and wide hips. Even though it shouldn’t have mattered, the sight made Kaylee feel better. At least this dancing stuff wasn’t only for skinny girls. Maybe she could do this.

“It’s time to move those feet. Let’s warm up.” The blond instructor started stretching right to left. The class mimicked her movements.
 

Kay clutched her towel and energy drink in trepidation as she copied the movement. This was a lot more intimidating than she’d expected. She’d envisioned a few people in a room dancing. Not a huge crowd that looked like extras from a music video. At least she was in the back, so hopefully no one would notice her awkward moves.

Absently Kay wondered if the blond woman was Janet. Eli had made a comment over Christmas that he was glad she didn’t look like Raina, so she assumed the girl on the left wasn’t his type. However, she’d caught him checking out her chest more than once, and the blond woman looked like she’d had some surgical enhancements in that area. Plus the blonde had that perfect, thin body with the gap between the thighs. She looked like she spent as much time in the gym as Eli obviously did.
 

Exactly the kind of body that Eli would think was perfect.
 

The tempo of the music picked up and Kay stumbled as the whole class executed a turn. She picked up her feet and tried to emulate the way the person in front of her was moving. Was it left, right, left? Or right, left, right?

Just when she thought she had it, the whole class turned in the opposite direction and Kay stumbled into the person next to her.

“Sorry!”

The girl didn’t even seem to hear her because she was turning in the other direction. Her breath was coming faster now and not just due to embarrassment. Her lungs burned and her thighs ached. How was everyone else moving their feet so fast?

Kay moved to the side to get a better view of the instructors. To her shock and surprise, the teacher on the right was moving and shaking better than the skinny instructors. Kay watched, mesmerized, as she executed each step with perfect grace. Her hips seemed to have a seductive sway to them. Kay looked down at her own body and swung her hips. Some of the steps were easier when she put her hips into it.
 

Maybe she could enjoy this after all.
 

ELI WAS IN the middle of a dead lift when the first call came in. After several rings, it went silent. He blew out a breath and squatted again. The phone beeped, indicating he had a new voice mail. He ignored the sound and tightened his abdominals as he stood back up.
 

Eli gritted his teeth, relishing the burn and stretch of his muscles as he worked his back. He considered his body to be a machine, a tool in his arsenal just like his Beretta or his SUV. Honing it was part of his job and necessary so it would perform as needed. There were other “performance” benefits of a healthy body, as well. Not that they’d come in handy any time soon. Kay couldn’t handle seeing his kind of endurance.
 

All the more reason he needed to work out his tension in the weight room.