Discovering Dalton (Manchester Menage Collection #2) (5 page)

Chapter
5

L
iam was just finishing a staff meeting with Kathy and the two other trainers he employed at Aspire when he spotted the sexy blond police officer skulking past reception. Dalton hadn't been in for two weeks, which was unlike him, but he was at his goal weight now and a lot of people slowed down their gym time and fell into bad habits again, thinking they’d won the battle of the bulge.

“Hey, Dee. Stop sneaking around like I can't see you and come over here.” Liam leaned over the chest high reception desk and smiled, watching Dalton come to a stop, his shoulders sagging slightly. “You thought I wouldn’t notice your skinny ass not hanging around here for two weeks?”

Dalton wore this lost look which Liam had become used to seeing, but it was even worse than normal. Dark bags circled his usually bright eyes, a couple of days’ worth of bristles covered his face, and he looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, not bothering to even have a shower or check his appearance before he walked out of the door. Very unlike the Dalton Liam had grown to know.

Dalton turned and made his way to him. “Hi, I've been bogged down with work. I haven’t been out much anywhere really.”

“Yeah, Milo came in last week, said you were off work. Now he’s either lying or you are. I'm going with you. Why you feel you need to lie is the real question I want to ask though.”

“I wasn’t at work, but I have been working.” Dalton pushed his chest out, pulling back his shoulders. Liam felt a little surge of pride go through him noticing how good Dalton’s body looked now compared to when he first walked through the door. “Besides, it really doesn’t have anything to do with you
or
Milo.” He gazed sternly into Liam’s eyes, and then turned. “I'm off, see you later.”

“Don’t forget to do some weights afterwards, and not those pissy, girl-sized ones either. You know you can do it.”

“I just want to run.”

“You can do that outside. Why don’t I—”

“There's really no need. I'm fine on my own.”

“Hey, I don’t doubt you're
fine
.” Liam watched Dalton pause for a moment and grinned. “I do however doubt you're okay.”

Dalton said nothing more. He walked into the changing rooms, ignoring Liam.

Liam smiled as he watched the door close behind him. Dalton
was
fine. So fucking fine it got him hot every time he walked into the building. Hell, even three stone overweight the guy was cute as a button. Now he looked slimmer, the edges harder on his chin and jaw. It changed him and gave him a tougher exterior, but Liam didn’t buy his act for a second.

He was a softy like Troy. Those two would have a field day sharing their emotions and watching musicals, doing each other’s nails, that sort of thing. Liam grunted to himself as he imagined it. Okay, too far in the other direction.

Dalton had stuff weighing him down, and it seemed to be getting worse. Liam was no psychologist, but he knew how to read a person’s body language, and Dalton’s was full of stress. His job would be stressful being a police officer, but according to Milo, Dalton hadn't been in for nearly two weeks. What the hell was up with his sexy policeman?

At first, Dalton was stressed over the newness of being surrounded by the equipment, and Liam knew he’d been ashamed of how he looked when stood next to him or the other guys who lived for the workout, but there was always something hiding beneath his exterior.

Liam rubbed his face with his palms. He very rarely took this much of an interest in his clients, but he wasn’t going to lie to himself and say Dalton didn’t have a few good reasons for him to be interested. Dalton was good-looking. When he’d first arrived, his hair was longer—light blond and wavy. Too long, Liam thought, for a police officer, and Milo agreed—hassling Dalton to get it cut every time they were together. Liam kinda liked it long. It suited Dalton’s quieter nature and less stern approach to the job.

He’d been in trouble with the police enough as a kid to know Dalton was one of the good guys. One who actually cared about the people he interacted with. Probably even with those who didn’t deserve it. They would make a good team together, and he knew from Milo’s talks through the years he’d been working out at Aspire he and Dalton had been partners for years. They would have that good cop bad cop thingy going on all the time. Milo being the one to look threatening and act by the book. Dalton being the one to calm him down and try the softer approach. Liam’s personal motto was you got more flies with sugar than shit, and Dalton was as sugary as a stick of rock candy.

Milo was all gruff and hard. He only had to look at you and you felt like you'd done something wrong instantly, even if you hadn't. He made Liam edgy, though he tried hard not to let it bother him. The guy had that certain something which demanded your attention, and after six or so years, Liam still didn’t really know much about the guy. He wasn’t one for personal chats, well, neither was Liam, but he was nosy where it came to Milo. The recent police case he was involved in hit the headlines in the local papers and Liam learned more from that short piece than he had over the years of actually talking to the guy.

Liam and Milo back-chatted and bitched at each other. It was fun to wind him up and to get away with it. The fact Liam held a certain authority in Aspire, and Milo was a sergeant in the police force, well, Liam wasn’t going to pretend it didn’t feel good and boost his ego.

Liam briefly thought about what it would be like to really fight it out with Milo… in bed. His grin soon turned into a laugh, and he had to stop himself from acting so childish in case someone spotted him laughing all by himself and thought he was mental. The guy wouldn’t be what Liam preferred in bed. He would have fun fighting to be on top though.

Liam was slapped on the back as Kathy passed him. “See ya later, Liam. I’ll be okay opening up tomorrow morning. There’s just my seven a.m. spinning class, and Nick will be in the gym, so you're covered. Catch a lie in. Say hi to T for me, not seen him in a while.” She tugged on her jacket and looked over at him. “What’s up with him anyway? He’s usually in here mid-week for a couple of hours minimum.”

Liam grunted as he slid around some papers on the desk. “He’s getting over the most recent dick who pissed him about. I've tried to get him out, but he just wants to stay home and sulk. I've been with him, so he's not alone and all sad.” Liam shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. “He’ll be cool in a few days. I’ll drag him here for a couple of hours and get it out of his system that bit faster.”

“I dunno where he finds all these pricks. I mean, not only is he gorgeous, but he’s got the right attitude too. He’s so talented, and that ink work—” She whistled long and slow. “If he was straight, I'd be all over him.” She chuckled at Liam's smile.

“What can I say? He’s got exceptionally bad taste in men.” He sat down, running his fingers through his short brown hair, thinking briefly about getting it cropped closer for the summer. “You know what I think? Men see him and assume he’s something he’s not. They expect this bad boy, but he’s nothing like that. He’s this total homebody who prefers reading and drawing to going out. He’s not what they want, and over time, they see that. He needs someone to see past his looks.”

“You mean the ink?”

Liam scratched the stubble on his chin as he shook his head. “Not just that. Yeah, when he pulls someone and that’s what they see, yeah, but I've seen him all covered up out on the bike and they take one look at that good-looking face and dark hair, those green eyes…” Liam loved Troy’s eyes. They were sea green, and were wild just like the sea, moving and changing at the blink of an eye. They showed so much in them and Liam had spent days of his life over the years gazing into them. “I guess the bike doesn’t help.” Liam grinned. “Maybe I should get him a suit and see what happens then.”

“Hmm, he would look damn fine in a suit.” Kathy looked into the distance, like she was lost in her fantasy of Troy, and Liam threw a balled up piece of paper at her to bring her back down to earth. “Sorry, but that’s one sexy image. For my birthday, which is in a month—thought I'd remind you—can I have him in a suit?”

“I’ll mention it. See how he feels.” Liam sat back in the chair, arms folded behind his head and a big grin on his face. “Only time I ever saw him in a suit was when we buried Terry.” His smile slipped a bit and Kathy ran her hand over his shoulder. “I'm okay. You get going. There's only three people in and it’s closing time in an hour.”

Liam accepted the kiss on his forehead and watched as she turned the sign around to ‘closed’ before walking off home. Liam pushed up from the desk and started making his evening rounds. The main room was in the process of being cleaned so Liam left the two women to it and walked through the office where he closed down all the PCs and locked up for the night before he checked the other rooms.

The weight room had two of his regulars in. They always stayed right to the end and came every evening to boost their size. They were training for a weightlifting competition next month, and Liam often let them work over closing time to help them out. Tonight though, he was beat. Another hot day and a visit from the Health and Safety busy bodies from the local council checking up on the site had worn his patience down and he wanted a cold shower followed by a beer with Troy.

He spotted Dalton as he walked along the cardio room. He was on one of the running machines. It was hot outside, so Liam couldn’t blame him for opting for the air con and not burning up on the streets. He paused, staring through the floor to ceiling wall of glass separating them, watching how he sprinted at full speed as he listened to his Mp3 player. The guy had stamina. He should think about doing the half marathon this year. He’d do well, and Liam had a few members who’d signed up and were taking part already. He’d mention it to him before he left and see how he felt. Maybe a group event would help ease him out of the slump he was stuck in.

Liam finished closing down all the unused areas and was saying goodbye to the cleaning crew when Jeff and Adam, his weight lifters, came into reception. “You're both looking great. How’s the diet going?”

Adam, who was the bigger out of the two, and taking part in the heavyweight category, looked pleased with himself. “Good. Strict, and I miss carbs, but it’ll be over in a month or so.”

The weight these guys dropped was insane before they got on stage. Liam wasn’t a big fan of how they achieved their look—it wasn’t healthy for the body to go through such a dramatic change so quickly, but he couldn’t deny their muscle definition and just how big they got looked good. “Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He sat back in his chair and watched them leave, Adam barely fitting through one door. Although he appreciated the hard work they put into getting so big, Liam would never want to be that huge. He wasn’t small by anyone’s standard but next to them he kinda felt like a scrawny teenager again. It made him think about Dalton and how edgy he was when he went into the weight room.

He was perfectly toned, medium built, five ten, and he had good definition on every part of him, especially the thighs. Liam took more time than was necessary looking over them when he worked out on the step machine, but the guy still thought he was second rate and Liam should do something about it. He had no idea why, but then he guessed it was his job and he was becoming more professional and less selfish with his time.

Thinking of Dalton…

Liam stood up and walked to the cardio room, checking out if he was still running. It had been forty minutes since he last saw him. When he found it empty, he checked the weight room. Seeing it was empty too, he turned off the lights and shut the door. All the other doors were locked and clear, so he had to be in the changing rooms. He was the last one, and Liam gave him another ten minutes before he began tapping his foot on the floor outside the changing room. He didn’t have all night to waste waiting for him to shower and change.

He pushed the door open, checking out the pristine polished floor and mirrors as he passed, hearing the water running in the back as he made his way past the lockers and benches. “Hey, Dalton…” He waited for a response, but got none. “Dalton?”

He walked to the back, peeking into the communal showers but finding them empty, looking clean and ready for the next day. He should have guessed Dalton wouldn’t be one to shower in there. He’d be in one of the private cubicles. He walked further down, seeing the one he was in. The stained glass was frosted for privacy, but you could still make out the figure behind it. He looked above the door, seeing two hands planted on the tiles. Liam looked at his watch and then at the water drilling down from the shower. The pressure was amazing, and he wondered why he didn’t shower here instead of at home when the shower there was so shit.

He grabbed a towel from the stand and stripped off, choosing to use the communal one the furthest away from Dalton. It was big enough for around five men, and after been cooped up in his small ensuite, the space was welcome. He stripped off, discarding his clothes on a bench before making his way into the communal shower. He chose the one right at the back and let the water heat up before he stepped under it, leaning his palms on the flashy new Oxford blue shiny tiles he and Troy chose, the small specks of glitter sparkling on them with the overhead light. It felt great, it looked great, well worth the thousands of pounds it cost to refit it out.

He was lost in the massaging effect of the water as it pounded over his flesh, letting the heat relax his muscles and shut down his busy mind. He could stay there all day. He used some of the gel provided to wash his body, lathering his skin up in the musky scent before turning and rinsing himself off.