Two Hearts: Beyond Control (Two Hearts Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  A sudden rush of electricity charged the air, reminding me of the feeling I got when a storm approached. It made my skin tingle and created a burst of energy that motivated me to take on the next round.

  I blew out a breath, grabbed hold of the bars, and adjusted my grip. Ready to begin, I opened my eyes as I sucked in a sharp breath—followed by intense coughing and sputtering.

  Adonis himself leaned toward me, hands resting on his knees. His face was directly in front of mine. It couldn’t be . . . but it was. Nico.

  God, he was even more gorgeous than I remembered. And that was without taking into account the impressive display of well-defined muscular arms and shoulders revealed by his tank this time.

  He tugged my earbuds free. “Hey, you alright?” His expression held a mixture of concern and humor.

  I nodded, trying to regain control of my body.

  “You remember me?” He flashed his adorable, lopsided grin with that damn single dimple.

  Was he kidding? How could I have possibly forgotten him? I bit my lower lip and squinted at him while tapping against the bar I gripped. “Wait a sec.” I held up my finger. “New Year’s Eve, right? You’re, um . . . Nicky, was it?”

  His head dipped, and his grin stretched to a sly smile. “Well, I see I made a lasting impression.” He drew a hand to his chest, a wounded look on his face.

  Male egos were such fragile things. I bit back an amused smile.

  “I’m Nico, but I don’t think I ever got your name.”

  “Nico!” I froze when Kendra’s voice blasted from behind me. “I see you met my good friend, Danni!”

  His eyes flashed to Kendra then back to me, a stunned look on his face. His expression shifted, replaced by a playful one with a familiar spark of mischief as his grin grew wider.

  “Well, Danni, it seems we have a friend in common.” He took a step closer, his eyes locked on mine. When he spoke, he leaned toward me and lowered his voice, as if sharing a deep, dark secret. “And I have a feeling we’re gonna see a lot more of each other.”

  The jumble of nerves bouncing in my chest threatened to consume me. I swallowed hard and glanced over my shoulder, looking for Kendra. Looking to escape. She was a good fifteen feet away, pretending to be busy, and seemed in no hurry to join us.

  I’d handled a few minutes of harmless flirting, enjoyed them even, when I thought he was some random drop-dead gorgeous guy. But this changed everything. The idea of spending time with Nico terrified me, because I couldn’t remember the last time I'd wanted anything more.

  Chapter Eight

  Sinfully Sexy

  My soon-to-be-ex-best friend inched her way toward me, casually smoothing the top that clung to her flat stomach.

  Kendra was going to die. Plain and simple. As soon as I could feel my arms again, I was going to kill her. Nothing she could say would make me believe running into Nico was a coincidence.

  Tired of waiting, I stood and took three large steps, closing the distance to meet her. “Well, I guess I figured out the punch line to your little joke in the locker room.”

  Kendra’s smile beamed triumphant, almost to the point of being contagious. If I wasn’t so furious with her.

  I admonished her through gritted teeth, attempting to keep my voice low—which was not an easy feat. “You. Set. Me. Up! How the hell did you even know—”

  “I didn’t.” She shrugged. “Not exactly. But from the detailed description you gave, I had a pretty good hunch.” She looked at her nails and buffed them against her chest, acting as though this was no big deal.

  “You mean the details you pulled out of me with your little game of twenty questions? What about all that talk about ‘getting me fixed up’ and how going to the gym would improve my sex life?”

  She clung to my shoulder, shaking with a wicked chuckle. “Sweetie, have you taken a good look at Nico?”

  “Oh my God!” I sucked in a sharp breath and tried to control my conflicting emotions. “I’m in love with Will. You remember him? My husband?” Although intended for Kendra, my declaration served as a reminder to me as well.

  Kendra shuddered. “Oh, please. You mean the husband who ditched you on your birthday without a believable explanation?” She folded her arms, a smug look on her face. “I’m curious, were you thinking of him when you told me about the sinfully sexy man you met that night? The man who damn near melted your panties off you and left you feeling voraciously horny for days?”

  “What—I wasn’t even—ugh. That was not my description.”

  “So I paraphrased.” She waved, dismissing any possible misconception of remorse. “You practically gushed when you talked about him. And I have never, in thirty years, seen you act that way about any guy. Definitely not Will. I had to see your reaction for myself. And let me tell you, the sparks? They are flying.” She motioned between Nico and me, driving her point home.

  Dammit, she was right. I bit the inside of my lip and averted my eyes, hoping to hide the truth from her. There was no way I could deny it to myself, but just because I felt something for Nico—whatever this feeling was—didn’t mean I would act on it.

  Despite that fact, the mere thought of acting on it made my skin tingle. I turned to sneak a peek at Nico and found him standing directly behind me, casually leaning against a machine as he shamelessly eavesdropped on our conversation. He wore the same mischievous expression I remembered him wearing that morning in the elevator, the same one I’d seen in my dreams every night since.

  “Do you mind?” I crossed my arms to wait for his response, hating the nervous edge in my voice.

  “Not at all. I’m kind of enjoying myself.” His smile didn’t fade. Without releasing his grip on the equipment, he leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “So, I’m sinfully sexy, huh? Looks like you do remember me after all. Danni.”

  His warm breath brushed against my neck when he spoke, sending a chill through me. I closed my eyes, ordered my body to get a grip, and tried to ignore the heat building . . . everywhere. What the hell is going on with me?

  “This is Danni’s first visit to a gym, Nico. She should probably have a personal trainer to make sure she knows how to use the equipment correctly. Don’t you think?”

  I glared at Kendra through wide eyes, screaming all sorts of obscenities at her in my mind while I clenched my jaw shut.

  She smiled and flipped her honey-blond hair away from her face, clearly daring me to stop her. After taking a step closer to Nico, she continued with a suggestive purr in her voice. “Think you can take care of her?” She traced the intricate black lines that wrapped around Nico’s left bicep. “I mean, we wouldn’t want her to get hurt, wou—”

  “Enough, Kendra. Are you even sure you’re still talking about the gym equipment?” My eyes followed her French-tipped nails still gliding along their path, taunting me until my blood simmered. I swatted them away from his arm. “I’m going to grab a cab home. To my husband. I’ll call you later to talk about . . . this.” I made a wide sweeping motion to make it clear we’d be covering everything that had happened today.

  Kendra drew one side of her mouth into a victorious grin, and her eyes lit up like neon signs flashing the words I was right. Unfortunately, she knew me well enough to recognize my pattern of running from the truth when I didn’t want to face it.

  I shook my head and moved toward the machine I’d abandoned, needing to collect my things and get the hell out of there.

  “Danni, wait. Don’t run.” Nico’s fingers brushed against my arm, branding me.

  My chest clenched. The heat of his gentle touch kept me frozen in place. Despite my best efforts to resist temptation, I turned back, pulled in by the sultry tone of his deep voice. I lifted my eyes to meet his, skimming every glorious inch of him in the process.

  Big mistake. I’d heard the saying that our eyes were windows to our souls, but I’d never understood what that meant. Until now.

  Nico visibly tensed. His eyes closed, and I wondered if he felt it too
. That sense of familiarity, both invigorating and terrifying at the same time. He ran a hand through his already messy hair and clasped the back of his neck, pausing to take a few deep breaths.

  He spoke in a subdued tone. “Danni, I’m really sorry.” He opened his eyes but didn’t look directly at me. “I know you’re married, and I-I don’t—it won’t happen again.” He rocked back on his heels. “I do think Kendra’s right about having someone show you the ropes, but I can’t do it today. Logan is still in town and hangin’ out here. I’m sure he’ll take good care of you.”

  Logan. He said the name so casually, as though it should mean something to me, but it wasn’t registering. Kendra gave me a nudge, and her excited expression told me she clearly knew who this Logan guy was.

  “Logan VanBergen?” Nico said. “I assumed you knew him since you were at his party New Year’s Eve.”

  “Oh. Um, no. Will—that’s my husband—he got us on the guest list. I don’t know how, but . . . anyway, neither of us knows him.”

  He shrugged. “No time like the present to thank your host for a wonderful party.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Besides, he’ll just get into trouble around here if I don’t—”

  “Nico, baby. I’ve been looking all over for you.” The sickeningly sweet voice came from a petite blond in tiny spandex shorts. She sashayed up behind Nico and latched onto his thick bicep with her bright pink talons. Her periwinkle crop top perfectly matched her eyes but barely contained her breasts, now pressed into the side of Nico’s chest. “You didn’t forget about me, did you?” She looked up at him, batting her lashes.

  Kendra leaned into me. “Holy shit, I’m gonna puke.”

  Her muffled complaint echoed my thoughts, eliciting a smile.

  She straightened and spoke up in her normal brash tone. “So Nico, who’s your little toy du jour?”

  I stifled a laugh, wondering if blondie even knew what that meant.

  The woman slinked her other arm around Nico, giggling. “You can play with me any time you like.” She snuggled against him, pinning me with a catty sneer.

  “Ladies, this is Trina. A client.” He peeled her off his bicep and grasped her shoulders, holding her in place as he took a step away. The gesture created a slight distance that she immediately shifted to fill. “Trina, why don’t you head over to the mats and start stretching. I need to take care of something for my friend Danni before I join you.” He kept his eyes on me the whole time he spoke to his pouting little groupie.

  “Oh, come on, Nico. Is she even legal?” Kendra asked, watching Trina walk away.

  “She’s twenty-three, which is well above the legal age . . . for hiring a personal trainer.” He cut a quick glance to Kendra at the end of his response, making it clear that follow-up questions were not welcome, then returned his attention to me.

  “Alright, let’s get you set up with Logan.” Nico extended his hand to me as he spoke but slowly lowered it when I didn’t move. “You are staying, aren’t you?” A trace of despondence hung in his voice.

  I hesitated for what felt like minutes, torn between staying and leaving. The slight nod I eventually gave earned a warm smile from Nico.

  He seemed more relaxed. “You can tag along if you want, Kendra. I’m sure Logan can give you some advice to step up your workout and make it more challenging for you.”

  “Sounds fair to me since you dragged me here,” I said with a forced smile. Grabbing Kendra’s arm, I leaned closer and growled through that smile. “Besides, I have a feeling you’ll just get into more trouble if someone doesn’t keep a close eye on you.” I motioned for Nico to lead the way. “Let’s go see if I can survive the rest of your torture. Then I can go home and tell Will that he was right. I shouldn’t have come.”

  Thoughts of Will’s concern this morning lingered in my mind as we crossed the room. My pace slowed until Kendra was practically pulling me along.

  “You know . . . on second thought, I’m going to go take my shower. You go ahead. I’ll wait for you in the locker room.” Without giving either of them a chance to protest, I released my hold on Kendra’s arm and made a hasty retreat in the opposite direction.

  I had survived both the Zumba class and Kendra’s meddling. My time alone in the locker room—complete with a long, relaxing shower—had allowed me to cool off before she’d finished her lengthy session with Logan. We were finally in Kendra’s car, heading for home.

  Or so I thought.

  “Where are you going?” I asked as she blew past the highway entrance.

  “Lunch. Did I forget to tell you?” She gave a quick glance in my direction then returned her attention to the road. “Logan said a few people were going to Pepper’s Deli and invited us to join them.”

  “And let me guess, Nico just happens to be among those people? Dammit! You need to stop—”

  “Okay. I get it! You still think you can fix things with Will.” Seconds ticked by in silence, her knuckles turning white from clenching the wheel. She eventually reached across the center console to squeeze my hand. “It’s just . . . I had a lot of fun with Logan. Can we do this for me? Please?”

  I let out a heavy sigh, unsure of whether I could handle spending time with Nico. “Fine,” I said, squeezing back, “but we eat, and we leave. No hanging around. No going somewhere else. And no trying to stir things up with Nico. Deal?”

  “Thanks, sweetie.” She gave me a grateful smile as we pulled into the parking lot.

  “I’m going to give Will a quick call to let him know why I’m late. I’ll meet you inside.” I grabbed my phone from my bag and pressed the button without waiting for her response.

  “Don’t be long.” She blew me a kiss and walked toward the entrance.

  Will’s phone went straight to voicemail.

  “Hey, babe. Just want to let you know I went to lunch with Kendra. I’ll be home soon.”

  As I ended the call, a sporty blue Ferrari zipped into the space next to me. I dropped my phone into my bag and closed my eyes, letting my head fall back against the seat. How on earth am I going to get through this? Every minute I spent with Nico made it harder to ignore the feelings he stirred in me.

  A loud knock on my window made me jump.

  Nico pulled open my car door and leaned inside. “Hey, beautiful. You know you have to go inside to get service, right?” His nervous laugh accompanied a stiff-looking grin. After reaching across to unclasp my seat belt, he held out his hand for me. “Come on. I promised to behave. Remember?”

  “I’m sorry, miss, is this degenerate harassing you?” A rugged face pushed past Nico’s in the open doorway. The man wrapped Nico in a headlock and thrust his right hand toward me. “You must be Danni. It’s nice to finally meet—umph—you.” He laughed, undeterred by the elbow Nico had delivered to his ribs. “I’m Logan.”

  Of course, I recognized him from his party without an introduction. I took his hand.

  In one swift move, he tugged me from the car, shoved Nico aside, and caught me against his chest. I squealed with laughter, smiling broader than I had in days.

  Nico shook his head, an amused sparkle in his eyes. “Let’s go eat, shall we?” He grabbed my bag from the seat and closed the door, then the two men escorted me inside.

  The little deli was packed. Kendra waved to us from her place in line and pointed toward a group of people preparing to leave. “Danni, grab that table for us, and I’ll get your food—Caesar salad?”

  “As always.” I reached for a chair as soon as the other customers moved away, but Nico grabbed it first and motioned for me to sit. “This is a pretty small table—I don’t know how many more people are coming.” I scanned the room, but nothing else was available. “Do we need more chairs?”

  Nico tilted his head, a confused expression on his face. He sat directly across from me. “It’s just the four of us. Well, maybe one more.”

  Our legs brushed under the table, and the aftereffects of the brief contact rippled through me. “It’s just—”

>   I swept a crumb from the table and fumbled with my bag, all the while searching for Kendra. What is taking her so damn long? Instead of hurrying right over, rushing to my rescue, she lingered by the deli counter. Her hand rested on Logan’s arm as she laughed at whatever he was saying, the tray with our lunch carelessly balanced on one hip.

  “Kendra said—well, I thought—” I propped my elbows on the table and let my forehead crash against my palms. Set up again. There was no holding back the frustrated groan building inside me. “Could I really be that gullible?”

  “Don’t blame me.”

  I split my fingers apart to peek at Nico.

  He held up his hands in surrender. “I had nothing to do with this. Not that I’m complaining.”

  And there it was, that damn irresistible grin again.

  Focus, Danni. You can get through this. Taking a deep breath, I leaned back in my seat and let my hands drop to my lap. “So, you’re a personal trainer?”

  “I’m certified, but—”

  “It’s worse than that.” Logan returned with a tray full of food and settled into the seat next to Nico. “He owns that joint.” He took a bite of his wrap and let out a satisfied groan.

  “Really?” I didn’t know why, but that surprised me.

  Kendra slipped into the seat beside me without a word.

  “Nice of you to join us . . . finally,” I whispered and grabbed my salad from her tray.

  “Yeah. Scrawny as he is, it was the only way he could get hired.” Logan drew back, apparently expecting some sort of retaliation from Nico, but it never came.

  I loaded my fork and paused. “How long have you two known each other?” They clearly had a close relationship, acting the way brothers would.

  “Freshman year in college. Our rooms were on the same floor,” Nico said.

  “I was impressed that anyone could have such a steady stream of sexy co-eds flowing in and out of his room. I had to introduce myself.” Logan had a very animated way of talking with hand gestures and facial expressions that drew me in.