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me?”
    “Your bra
size,” he said, shamelessly eyeing my cleavage.
    The comment
tingled deep between my legs, turning my limbs into strings of
gummy worms. A bit more flirting on his part and there’d be a
little pool in my panties. But I wouldn’t give in. Cross must have
had plenty of women to fulfill his needs. I was just another fish
in a pond, and one with more important goals than sleeping with
this gorgeous man. Was this part of his test to see whether we
could work together without the obvious attraction getting in the
way?
    Still,
something inside me wondered how far he was willing to go, so I
replied, “36 C.”
    “That’s what I
thought.”
    “Cocky a bit?”
I stepped off the machine.
    “I guess
you’ll have to wait and see.” Both of his brows moved up and down
suggestively.
    “You’re
unbelievable.”
    “I know. And
I’m glad you know it, too. Have you always been a tease, Allie? Or
is it just for me?”
    I grabbed my
water bottle. “What?”
    “You say one
thing but mean something else. I can see the way your body’s
reacting to me.”
    I knew my
nipples hardened and my skin tightened in knots every time I saw
Cross. How could they not? I was still a woman in her prime with
bursting hormones, but I never dreamed he’d noticed. The control I
usually had over my reactions seemed ineffective when Cross was
around, and I made a mental note to relieve myself before the next
time I saw him. Except at this point I wasn’t sure when that would
be, as he was popping out of thin air all the time. Mr. D would
once again see its happier days.
    “Like you
never say anything without a double meaning.” I rolled my
eyes and loosened my clinging shirt. The patches of sweat probably
decorated the fabric under my armpits and on my back.
    “I know I do.
Let’s try this. Are you attracted to me, Allie?” He leaned against
the machine. The casual way he spoke made me a bit nervous. Like he
was just another guy.
    I took a sip
of water, noting how nicely Cross’s shorts outlined the curve
underneath the loosened strings.
    “Well, that’s
a little forward, isn’t it?”
    “In my
business I don’t have time to waste time.”
    “I can’t deny
you’re a good-looking man, but you already know that.”
    “Do you know
how gorgeous you are? How nicely your tits bounce when you
run?”
    “Seriously?
That’s sexual harassment.” I walked toward the exercise room on the
other side of the gym where Cole usually taught the Pilates and
Zumba classes. Cross followed alongside, and I had no doubt he was
checking out my behind because my ass swayed from side to side like
it wanted all the attention for itself.
    “You haven’t
applied for the position I need you in, so it’s not really sexual
harassment. I’m just stating the obvious. Are you saying you don’t
enjoy me harassing you?”
    Everything he
said sounded so right and so wrong at the same time. I saw myself
in different positions with Cross, and none of them had anything to
do with work as he took advantage of me.
    “I want to
take this job seriously, but I’m finding it difficult with you
around.” I said.
    “That’s the
most honest thing you’ve said to me. I take it as a compliment.” He
opened the door.
    My shoes
squeaked on the maple finish, which looked like it had been freshly
polished.
    “I’m surprised
your head isn’t swollen from all the compliments you must get.”
    He stepped
closer and I felt the wall behind me. I flattened my palms on its
surface. Cross leaned in until his front pressed against my hip and
his hardness ground against me. I couldn’t breathe or think. His
hands braced on the surface at the side of my head. The smell and
feel of him rushed my pulse like a bullet, and the walls closed in
on us. It felt like the ceiling had lowered as well and we were the
only two in the gym. A hint of mint toothpaste flowed on his breath
as he said, “It’s because you haven’t seen the right head.”
    It had been a
few