I grinned. “You are. And I should have listened. Does that mean you’re willing to go on a fake date with me?”

“You free tomorrow night?”

My smile widened to almost painful. “Yes.”

“Then I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Nine

Rhys

“What are we doing?” Parker’s arms were wrapped around my waist, her slim, strong thighs clenching mine. It felt so good that I was momentarily distracted.

Didn’t stop me from answering. I was good at multitasking. “Honey, if you don’t know, there’s no helping you.”

She laughed, sending a glossy strand of hair fluttering, and then poked my ribs with a bony finger. “Cut it out. And. Tell. Me.”

Each word ended with a poke. Violent little pixie. I approved.

“We’re going to my place.”

Her response was lost to me as the light turned green and I took off down the street. She squeezed me tighter, but I knew she liked speed. Her fingers did this massage thing on my abs when I accelerated, as if she could urge me faster just by touch alone. I knew she wasn’t aware she was doing it; Parker was too self-contained and careful when she thought about her actions. Which was why the little touches got me off even more. They were glimpses of the real her, usually buried deep inside.

A bolt of pure heat licked the underside of my dick. Damn. My mind kept jumping to sex, and I needed to cut that shit out. Especially since I was about to “practice” kissing her.

Practice. I wanted to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of that. Kissing was the last thing I needed to practice. Pretending to be a boyfriend? I had no clue how that was done.

I entered the covered loading dock area at the back of the gym’s warehouse and parked. Parker’s hair, once pulled back into a smooth, tidy ponytail, was now a mess of flyaway strands when she took off her helmet. She didn’t seem to notice but gaped around the grimy, cold space.

“We’re at the gym?”

“I live here.” With a jerk of my chin, I gestured toward the back door and headed that way.

“You live at the gym?” She followed, still looking around, brown eyes wide and bright.

The woman seemed to have endless curiosity about everything. What would it be like to see the world through her eyes?

Hitting the button that would close the big bay door, I shook my head and then led her to the elevators. “You should see your expression, Tinker Bell. I’m not sleeping on the couch and taking showers in the locker room. My apartment is on the top floor.”