Free The Beauty Within by Savannah J. Frierson Page B

service, remember?”

    The Beauty Within
    51
    They smiled at each other, and Gunnar got into the driver’s seat and revved
    the engine.
    It was a leisurely, quiet drive from her house to his. Tyler looked at the
    scenery, as if cataloguing everything on the way. Gunnar guessed that made
    sense; he doubted she would want him to pick her up for every session, so she
    would need to take heed of the route. Gunnar wanted to speak, but had no idea
    what to say to her, so he focused on the road and what he’d planned for her
    today. Their main target would be on strength training and light cardio. She
    had to build up muscles so she would have a stronger back, therefore less likely
    to experience back pain. Besides, he suspected she would never be a slim
    woman, her genetics had determined otherwise, but Gunnar didn’t mind that
    at all. It was nice to hold a woman he had no fear of breaking.
    “You live here ?!”
    Gunnar blushed as he turned into the subdivision. Though there were
    gates at the entrance, they were more for show than anything else. Admittedly,
    he’d been turned off when his realtor had suggested the community. It was a
    few miles outside the city and its personality screamed snooty to him. Howev-
    er, he’d fallen in love with the split-level home the realtor had showed him, and
    the neighbors were very friendly. Though the neighborhood lent itself more to
    families, and Gunnar didn’t have one, a few single people lived here also. Added
    to that, it was more racially mixed than many of the other neighborhoods
    around; and after years of living in LA, Gunnar found he needed that diversity.
    Tyler remained speechless as he pulled into the driveway of his rustic-style
    dwelling. It wasn’t the largest house on the street, but it was larger than
    Tyler’s quaint home. Gunnar got out the Jeep and opened her door, then
    grabbed her bag again. Once the Jeep’s doors were closed and locked, he led the
    way into his home.
    “It’s…gorgeous,” Tyler said, hovering in the foyer as if afraid to go further.
    To her left was a spacious living room, though sparsely furnished and deco-
    rated, and farther down the hall there was the beginnings of a kitchen. To her
    right there was a door that led to the lower level where the garage, family
    room, and laundry were. He’d turned the family room into a small home gym
    and added another bathroom so he wouldn’t have to go all the way upstairs to
    shower whenever he finished his workouts.
    Gunnar shrugged, pleased she liked his home. “Who knew taking pictures
    could lead to this, huh?”
    “You’re a photographer too?” Tyler said, surprise on her face.
    He smirked and shook his head, stepping in front of her to lead her to the
    lower level. “Model.”

    52
    Savannah J. Frierson
    Tyler couldn’t focus on anything, not with him smelling like sweat and
    masculinity and ocean salt. His breath fanned against her neck as he fixed her
    positions during her stretch, and all she wanted to do was lean back against
    his hard chest than forward to stretch her hamstring. They had just completed
    the workout for the day, and her body burned from exertion. She felt ener-
    gized, however, primed, and she wondered if that had more to do with the
    workout or the man behind her.
    Gunnar had been very patient with her throughout the entire one-hour
    session, his voice gentle and his hands competent as they guided her through
    the movements on his equipment. He had started her on the treadmill with a
    light walk to warm her up, but his constant adjusting of her posture and his
    complete attention on her made Tyler temporarily forget how to do such a
    simple task. He’d asked if the conveyor speed was too fast, and Tyler had
    silently thanked him for offering her an out to explain her clumsiness.
    After that they had begun stretches, him in front of her to show her how to
    do them properly. Soon after, he’d crawled towards her and began fixing her
    form, and the tension in her