Home > When You're Mine (The Gallaghers)(8)

When You're Mine (The Gallaghers)(8)
Author: Layla Hagen

He trapped my gaze with his and didn’t reply, but the sheer intensity in his eyes made me squirm.

Oh dear God, it was too easy to get caught up in his seductive smile. I looked around, searching for a distraction before remembering I had the perfect one.

"Do you have the card with your exercises?"

"Yes."

He handed it to me, and I reviewed everything. It was all pretty standard. I was going to tweak a few things here and there. Everyone’s body was different; even though we liked to talk a lot about body types in fitness, each one responded differently to exercises. You could only be sure they were the right ones by observing your client as they performed them. And I planned to watch Dylan very, very close; I had no problem with that.

"By the way, thank you again for helping me out the other day. Isabelle always said you have a gentlemanly streak, but I have to say, I never believed it until I saw it." Truth be told, I thought chivalry was long gone.

"You're welcome, Mel. So, what else did Isabelle say about me?"

"Lots of things. Such as how she was hoping you and your brother would bring someone to the wedding. But I think she's given up all hope now."

"Good. I was worried that she still had her hopes up, and I’d have to do something about it."

Sadness passed over his eyes. He looked away, but I'd caught it, and my heart hurt for him. He deserved to be happy. Every instinct in me wanted to fix whatever was wrong, and although I couldn’t do that, I could make him smile.

“Do you always tease your sister?” I had to crane my neck to look up at him; I was tall, but my five feet seven to his over six feet made me crane my neck a bit.

“Yes. But she teases us right back, so don’t feel too sorry for her.”

“Oh, I don’t. I find it all very funny.”

He grinned. “She decided she wanted to be a counselor back when we were kids, so she played everything from the family’s peacemaker to the bad cop.”

“That sounds like so much fun,” I said wistfully. I was an only child, and my mom left Daddy and me when I was one year old. I didn’t even remember her.

Back then we lived in Harrisburg, and Daddy always said Mom longed for a bigger life than he could give her. We only moved to New York City when I was in college. Dad found a job in construction here shortly after I came to town. He said he didn’t want to be far away from me. Thank heavens he was close by. It made it easier to help him through the recovery after his stroke.

Dylan kept entertaining me with antics from their childhood once we started the weight training. I was doing my best to keep my eyes off him and only slipped a couple times. Thankfully, he didn’t notice. Fortunately, I kept my professionalism throughout the entire circuit. Dylan did three sets of everything. I offered him some additional mat work to incorporate, and he managed it all with ease.

"Okay, that's it. We're wrapping up this session," I said an hour later. Glancing at the giant clock at the back of the room, I grimaced.

"Damn. I’ll be late,” I muttered.

“For your next session?”

“No, I’m done for the day. I’m heading out to help a friend with her shelter, and I’m supposed to be there in forty minutes.” Crap, I’ll really have to hustle.

"Where is it?" he asked.

“Queens. I’ll never make it in time. And it’s raining too. I hope the gym has a spare umbrella.” We kept a few for clients, but they were typically gone as soon as it started raining.

"I have a company car that’s going to take me to my next meeting. You can ride with me, drop me off, and then he can drive you there."

“There’s no need.”

“It’s raining, Mel.”

“Ah, there you go, being chivalrous again.”

The corners of his mouth tilted up. He took one step closer. “Besides, it will give us more time to talk. I still haven’t heard about all those secrets. Not even one.”

I laughed. “I’ll add cunning and tenacious to your list of attributes.”

“Always,” he confirmed. He trapped my gaze in his. Holy shit, the man was intense and so hot that I felt my body temperature rise just because I was around him. He smelled like a spicy-scented deodorant and even a bit salty, but not sweaty. Perfect.

“Okay, thank you. I’ll change quickly. Thank you so much. I don’t want to be late, and my friend is counting on me. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother you.”

“You’re not bothering me, Mel. Quite the opposite.”

That was the only reason I was saying yes, I told myself. I didn’t want to be late, and it was raining.

I was lying to myself, and by the way he was looking at me—with a mix of smoldering heat and amusement—he was thinking the same thing.

***

Dylan

I showered and changed in fifteen minutes, and to my astonishment, Melanie was already waiting for me at reception. I was wearing a suit, and by the surprised look on her face, I could tell she liked what she saw. Her round green eyes perused me from my shoulders down and then back up. I cocked a brow when our eyes met. She looked away quickly, biting her lip. She was wearing a white dress that reached her knees, and the neckline showed a lot of cleavage. She was so damn sexy that I could barely keep my thoughts straight.

“I asked about umbrellas, but we don’t have any left,” she said.

“No problem. I asked my driver to wait for us in the underground garage. Shall we?"

She nodded. I put a hand to the small of her back as I guided her into the elevator. The gym was on the second floor of a skyscraper. We only needed to go two floors down into the underground garage.

In the small confines of the elevator, I couldn't miss her reactions to me. She drew in a sharp breath when I touched her lower back. Her cheeks flushed. Fuck, her response made me want to feel more of her, but the door opened.

I pointed to the car waiting for us.

“This is us,” I said.

“You know, I’m used to all the celebrities coming to the gym being picked up by cars incognito in the garage, but I didn’t think noncelebrities did that too.”

“I picked this up by watching Brayden. He needs private transportation for security reasons. I just find it practical. I don’t have to bother with parking, and it’s quicker than ordering an Uber every time.”

I did whatever was necessary to bring more efficiency to my life.

As we got in the car, I introduced her to Jeffrey, my driver. He was a great guy and an asset to the company.

“Jeffrey, you know where to drop me off. Then take Melanie wherever she needs to go.”

“It’s a shelter in Queens. This is the address.” She tapped the screen on her phone, showing it to Jeffrey.

“Got it,” he said.

Melanie leaned back in the seat, securing her seat belt. Our hands touched when she plugged the clasp in the socket, and she drew in a breath. Fuck me. It was a good thing we weren’t alone because I wouldn’t resist kissing her. Those full lips were taunting me. I hadn't seen her with her hair down until now. She looked gorgeous. I wanted to thread my fingers through it and pull her closer.

“Thank you again for taking me with you,” she said.

"There's no way I was letting you walk to the subway in this storm."

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