“And that’s it?”
“That’s it. Well, try not to think about anything except your breath.”
She opened one hazel eye. “That might be harder said than done.”
“I know,” he admitted. “But give it a try.”
For the next few minutes, the only sound in the room was the soft swish of inhalations and exhalations. He fought the urge to cheat and watch Sienna’s chest rise and fall. Instead, he did his best to satisfy himself with the thought of her beside him. After he’d finished, he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the dim light. He sat there a few minutes longer, letting her breathe.
“Time’s up,” he finally said softly.
Sienna opened her eyes and brushed a few stray hairs from her forehead. The serious frown between her brows had disappeared. “You were right. That was pretty relaxing.”
He reached down to give her a hand up. For just a second, a current passed between them. Her eyes darkened. Her chest lifted, and he wondered what she was thinking. What she was wanting. I could kiss her right now. Hell, every single atom of his body wanted to kiss her right now.
Then, to his utter surprise, she leaned over and kissed him.
She tasted like lemons and the tang of salty sweat, and desire rushed over him. All his earlier vows fled as his tongue slipped over hers. She leaned into him, and he could feel the catch in her breath as the kiss deepened. He took her shoulders in his hands, bracing himself so he didn’t fall over on top of her. Not like that would be a bad thing. She ran one hand down his arm, light fingers, the touch fire. He dropped his arm and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her close, breathing her in.
Then he broke away. What was he doing? Windows lined the studio, which meant anyone could look in and see them. People would talk. Stories would hit the rumor mill. But that wasn’t what bothered him most. He absolutely, positively could not let this happen again. Not with Sienna. Not with anyone.
“Sorry.” He grunted as he stood. “It’s just...” He didn’t know how to finish.
“No, I’m sorry. I thought...I read things the wrong way, I guess.” An injured expression crossed her face. Her hair dropped into her eyes, but he could still see the confusion and hurt inside them. She gave a short nod, stood, and rolled up her mat. “Thanks for the workout. I’ll see you next time.”
“Wait. I...” He stopped, unsure what to say. She hesitated, but he couldn’t put a sentence together, and after a minute she pushed open the door and left. Idiot. Dash cursed himself as he watched Sienna go. But seriously, where did that kiss come from? He’d been caught completely off guard. Hadn’t imagined in a million years that Sienna Cruz, of all people, would kiss him out of the blue.
He chewed his bottom lip as he headed for the locker room. Damian had said she’d just broken up with her boyfriend. It was probably a rebound thing. He’d been around women enough to know how that worked. And as much as he’d like to spend more time kissing her—hell, doing a lot more than kissing her—that wasn’t a road either of them needed to go down. She didn’t need to get involved with someone with a past like Dash’s. And he didn’t need to get involved with someone who was leaving town in a matter of months. Pretty women had always been his downfall. If he wanted this place to succeed, he couldn’t follow the urges of anything but his brain. Been there, done that, he thought as he ran a hot shower.
Dash soaped up, the pattern of his tattoos turning a rainbow of colors under the water. Every one, a memory. Every one, a reminder. It’s better for both of us. He’d train her, they could be friendly, but that would be the end of it. Tomorrow he’d explain that to her, just to make sure things were square and she wasn’t expecting anything more than self-defense training.
He just wished Sienna Cruz looked a lot more like Godzilla and a lot less like a Sports Illustrated model. Beasts, he could slay. Beauties, he didn’t stand a chance against.
Chapter Six
Sienna sat in her car and turned the heat to high. Had she misread the situation? Obviously she had. She’d thought maybe Dash was interested in her, attracted to her, the way he kept stealing glances and smiling at the smallest thing she said. I thought we were getting along. Thought we had some chemistry. Her face burned with embarrassment. She’d made a total fool of herself, kissing him that way.
“You were wrong, Max,” she said aloud. Dash Springer obviously wasn’t interested in casual hookups. She might as well shelve that plan right now.
Thankfully, her phone buzzed with a text from her mother. Dinner in 10 minutes. Want to join us?
Sure. Friday night dinners were a staple at her parents’ house, but sometimes she ate there during the week too. Sienna’s cooking couldn’t beat her mom’s. And it was better than sitting in her apartment overanalyzing a kiss that never should’ve happened.
Your brother won’t be here, Ma added, so there’s more for us.
That didn’t surprise her. Since turning sixteen, Louie had turned mopey and distant, spending more time at his friends’ houses than his own. Sienna knew it bothered her parents, but teenage boys were a breed all their own. He’d come back around when he grew into his hormones.
Need anything? she texted before pulling out of the lot.
Just you.
Be there in 5. The nice thing about Whispering Pines, Sienna thought as she headed down Main Street, was that it took ten minutes to get anywhere. More than that, and you were lost or on your way over the mountain to Silver Valley. She headed down Main Street on her way to Galley Circle, one of a handful of cul-de-sacs that ringed the town. Theirs was only a half-mile around, and she knew every single one of her neighbors. Eight homes, all the same style, either white or beige or blue, all with black shutters. They’d gone up in the late 1980s, and some still had pastel tiled floors inside and the attached redwood decks that had been so popular back then.
Sienna parked in the driveway and hurried inside. Snow spit from the sky, angry and ominous, and she wondered how much would stick before morning. A gust of wind took her breath away, and she yanked her hood over her still-sweaty hair. If I catch a cold because of that stupid workout...
She couldn’t keep thinking about the workout, though, because that meant thinking about Dash. And the kiss. And what had happened after the kiss. Am I the first and only person he’s turned down? Because honestly, she’d heard all the stories about him. She’d thought if anyone was a sure thing when it came to helping her learn a few things in the bedroom, it would be Dash Springer
“Sienna!”
The minute she stepped inside, the warmth of the woodstove embraced her. Thank goodness. The sting of rejection faded a little. The whole house smelled like empanadas and arroz con pollo, and her stomach growled. I will never get tired of walking in that front door. Never. She wondered if any place in London served rice and beans the way her mother made it.
Ma kissed her on both cheeks. “You look tired,” she proclaimed.
“Of course she’s tired,” her father said from the kitchen doorway. He had a towel over his shoulder and one hand on his lower back. “She just started a new job.” He winced.
“Your back still bothering you?” Her father had disk problems from years of working as a contractor. He’d spent the last two years going to doctors in and around the valley, with little relief.