Lily removed the earbuds of her MP3 player from her ears and held on to the rails as she turned to look at him.
His gaze drifted over the body-hugging white tank top she’d changed into and beyond to the snug, black yoga pants she wore. The outfit was a first for her, comprised of two pieces that didn’t overlap much at all to hide her big ass. It was all out there, like it or not. He shifted his eyes up to hers, so she caught a glimpse of the desire flickering there before he shuttered them again.
It had embarrassed her the first time she’d caught him watching her on the elliptical machine. She was nowhere near her goal weight, but she felt much better about herself now than she had during that first week or two, and she didn’t try to hide her body under baggy, unattractive clothing the way she once had. At the moment, he was staring pretty hard at her rear end. It didn’t embarrass her anymore. If she was honest with herself, she liked having his eyes on her.
Because of her issues and goals, she’d closed the door pretty tightly on the possibility of a relationship, at least in her own mind she had. She knew where Clay stood…or where he had said he stood. She had a feeling he’d put high boundaries in place for her benefit, not his.
She recognized the look in his eyes, but it didn’t scare her the way JT had scared her. In fact, she was very aware of the way her body was responding to his gaze as her pussy softened and trembled with arousal. His gaze made her feel sexy, an altogether foreign sensation for her. If that look had been in JT’s eyes, she would have felt like a trapped animal caught in the crosshairs. The timer dinged, breaking the spell.
“H–Hi,” she stammered as she slowed on the machine and came to a stop. “Supper should be ready to take out of the oven.” She removed the player and marked the place in her textbook then took the hand he offered to help her down. Her right knee twinged when she stepped from the machine, but she was distracted from it as she looked up at him. Heat suffused her cheeks and chest as he stared at the expanses of exposed skin on her shoulders and above her neckline. “Everything okay?”
Clay blinked a couple of times and then smiled good-naturedly as he measured his words, hesitated, then finally said, “You made it home before the rain?”
Lily nodded, appreciating the fact that he didn’t make fun of her fear of storms. “The rain arrived at the house right when I did.”
“You’re not going to believe who I heard from,” he said, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, reminding her of her intention to get it cut soon. She’d meant to get a referral from Emma or Grace but hadn’t done it yet. In the last few weeks she’d come to count both women as friends and not just acquaintances.
“Who?”
“Del. He’s back in the States. He said he should arrive home late tonight.”
Hot damn! “Oh, no! In the middle of the storm? Poor guy. But that’s wonderful news!” Lily was so happy for him she hugged him and then remembered she was all sweaty. “Oh, sorry. I’m yucky,” she said as she pulled away.
Clay gave her a sideways grin. “Not hardly, Lil.” His hand stayed put on her hip, which she tried unsuccessfully to ignore.
“Is he staying here tonight?”
Clay chuckled and shook his head. “It’s a good thing he’s used to roughing it. I told him he could stay here, but he said he’s going straight to the ranch. He sounded pretty happy that you’re here, by the way. He wants to take you to lunch tomorrow. I’ll even let you have the afternoon off if you’d like to spend some time getting caught up.”
“Gee! Thanks, boss!” She called him “boss” teasingly at times, but Lily was beginning to see him less and less as boss. Truth be told, she was beginning to hope for something more.
The obstacles between them, her obvious need to lose weight and the damned tattoo, reared their ugly heads again. She was saving absolutely every extra penny she had so she could afford it when she made her choice about how to handle the monstrosity JT had inflicted on her.
They enjoyed the meal together and then watched their favorite shows. Clay was understanding when Lily took a Benadryl capsule and went to bed early, hoping that would help her sleep the night through. It didn’t.
Chapter Ten
Lily gradually became aware of the fist holding her hair tightly, pulling against her scalp. The hand shook with anger, and she gasped in fear.
He found me. Oh, God, help me!
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and she couldn’t quell her whimpers of fear as she felt the cold steel of a gun barrel press against her right ear. It was so cold, it almost stung. The sounds emitting from her throat were like a wounded animal’s, and she bit her lip in an attempt to stifle them.