Splendor(138)
“Yes, but do other men your age have this sort of incredible body?” she murmured, running her hands up and down his chest. “Or are they able to physically dominate a man ten years younger than they are?”
He captured her hand just before it slid beneath the hem of his loose fitting knit shirt. “Actually, Jesse is only twenty-seven, so he’s a full thirteen years my junior. But I do confess to having had a secret advantage over him, which just might have helped me best the boy.”
“Oh? And what exactly was this so-called secret advantage?”
Ian trailed a series of kisses along the inside of her arm, stopping just shy of her wrist. His eyes twinkled with merriment. “Young Jesse had a great deal of trouble keeping his eyes off of my girl. I admit to having a very sneaky motive when I suggested you wear that particular workout top this morning.”
Tessa gasped, picturing the snug-fitting light blue tank top, the one she’d fretted about wearing because it had displayed a bit too much side-boob. But Ian, who normally preferred that she not expose too much bare skin in public, had surprised her by insisting the top was just fine.
“Ooh, you mean you did that on purpose?” she squeaked. “Knowing full well that I was, um, showing a little too much of the goods?”
He laughed in delight, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her easily off the floor. “I happened to remember that Jesse is – well, something of a breast man, based on comments he’s made in the past. And since you have the most fabulous rack in the entire world, I figured you’d provide a bit of a distraction. Just enough to give me a little advantage.”
Tessa pretended to give him a stern look. “That’s cheating, Ian. I thought you liked to win fair and square.”
He gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the lips. “Darling, winning was never my worry. Jesse may be thirteen years younger but trust me – I could kick his arse with one hand tied behind my back. He’s usually just – well, very focused on his workouts, a bit too intense for his own good sometimes. It was rather amusing to see him get distracted so easily.”
“Oh.” His explanation mollified her somewhat, and a wicked smile spread across her face. “Well, if you really want to distract him next time, remind me to wear the teeny tiny shorts that go with the top.”
Ian burst into laughter, murmuring in her ear, “Darling, you’d have the entire gym in an uproar if you wore those shorts. And while I can easily take that young whelp Jesse on, I’m not certain I could say the same for a whole roomful of horny men.”
***
Tessa still wasn’t sure if she should be offended, flattered, amused, or all three at Ian’s mischievous confession. But she couldn’t help the smile that played about her lips as she began to apply her makeup. Truth be told, she hadn’t paid the slightest attention to Jesse, the young, buff trainer Ian had been sparring with, and therefore couldn’t say for certain if he’d actually been sneaking glances at her or not. All of her attention had been focused solely on Ian, as it always was no matter how many other attractive men might be nearby.
He had very quickly become the main focus in her life, the one thing everything else revolved around, especially in the last few weeks when she’d stopped working at her old job.
Predictably, her co-workers had been startled to learn she was resigning, especially so soon after the fire at her apartment building. Equally as expected, they’d been extremely curious about her reasons for leaving and what her future plans were. Tessa had been obliged to be as evasive as possible, merely telling anyone who asked that she just needed a little break and would be going back to school after a time. She knew Kevin in particular was dying to ask her a million more questions, and that everyone must be puzzled about how she could afford to take some time off of work. But she became quite adept at avoiding any detailed questions, and then swiftly changing the subject.
Andrew, the only person besides herself and Ian who knew the real truth, had remained stoically closed-mouthed on the matter, not that any of the team would have dared to actually probe him for gossip. On her last day of work, the whole team – including Andrew – had taken her out to lunch, and she’d had to fight off tears as she bid them all farewell.
Ian hadn’t attended the lunch – though Kevin had rather cheekily invited him – for it would have looked highly suspicious if he had joined them. He had never in the past gone out to lunch with the support staff, whether it was for a birthday or when someone left the firm, and Tessa had agreed this would have been an ill-advised time to start. They had, however, celebrated her last day at the office after hours, in a way that still made her blush when she thought of it.