Free Beat (The Beat and The Pulse #1) by Amity Cross

He didn’t want
me like that and I didn’t know how much more obvious he could make it. He
probably had a string of women on speed dial.
    The thought of Ash
fucking someone else, fucking Monica , made me see red. I kicked the bag
so hard, he stumbled back slightly and Ash was the kind of guy that never
stumbled. Ha. Take that.
    “Shit, Ren. Whose
head you picturin’?”
    “Yours.”
    He grunted and set
the bag aside. “Better?”
    “I’m done.” I ripped
off my gloves and tossed them on the bench, reaching for my towel.
    God, I couldn’t do
this. Watching him work out during the day was hard enough, but doing it
together in the middle of the night, alone?  This was a whole new
merry-go-round and I wanted to get off. I didn’t want to ride anymore.
    “You need to loosen
your muscles,” he said matter-of-factly.
    I guess he'd know
being all super fighter, but I couldn't think of anything worse.
    “Sit,” he commanded,
nodding at the bench.
    Because I had no impulse
control where Ash was concerned, I put my ass on the bench like a good little
girl. Should I feel special because the star fighter was giving me a
personalized training session? Why the fuck would he care? Sure, he made me
melt in all the places that mattered when it came to a rip roaring orgasm, but
what was in it for him?
    Ash straddled the
bench behind me and before I could ready myself, his hands were on me. Thumbs
began circling into my muscles, sending tingles right across my skin. A ripped,
handsome as hell man giving me a shoulder massage? Um, yes.
    Shifting around, I
flung a leg over the other side of the bench, my body between his legs. The
warmth radiating from him was almost overwhelming and I had to resist the urge
to lean back into his chest and moan like a cat in heat. The whole thing was... erotic .
    His thumbs moved to
the base of my neck, his fingers wrapping over my shoulders, his palms pressing
into the places he'd already worked.
    “Do any of your
muscles feel tight?” he murmured into my ear, his hot breath fluttering against
my skin.
    “No,” I whispered,
but it came out strangled. My entire body began to dissolve into one hot mess
and before I knew it, I was leaning back into his chest.
    The hard ridge of his
cock pressed into my lower back and my breath hitched. God, he was hard and despite all our hurtful back and forths, I wanted it in me. I wanted to
feel what he could do to me with everything he had. I wanted it all. He wanted
something, but Ash was like a wild beast. One wrong move and it'd spook him and
he’d bolt and never come back.
    Lips grazed the shell
of my ear and a shiver rippled through my body, making my sex clench. Leaning
my cheek into his neck, I breathed in his scent deeply. He smelt like sweat and
musk, like some heady drug I couldn't get enough of.
    Shit, if he'd asked
me, I'd strip his shorts off and go down on him in a flash. I'd suck him hard
and I'd take him so fucking deep he'd forget his own name. Then I'd stick my
ass in the air and let him fuck me like a beast...if he asked. But all he did
was gently push his palms against my shoulders, separating our bodies.
    My eyes snapped open
and I was relieved he couldn’t see the hurt blooming on my face because I sure
as fuck couldn’t hide it. Without a word, I stood sharply, snatching up my
towel and strode across the mat to the showers. Ash’s gaze burnt into my back
until I rounded the corner and the moment I was hidden from it, I let my head
drop into my hand.
    He was hard and he
didn’t want me.
    Who the fuck was I
kidding? I could lust after Ash all I wanted, but I was nothing to guys like
him. I wasn’t pretty or dressed nice or slapped makeup on my face. I wasn’t
exactly dynamite in bed. I wasn’t anybody but the abandoned daughter of the
high and mighty Coach of Beat. I fucking slept at the studio in the fucking storage
closet . That right there, said everything.
    Slamming the door to
the nearest shower open, I turned on the water as