Free Below the Belt by Sarah Mayberry

shoes.
    She was magnificent. And he’d just said no to her.
    The moment she entered the women’s change room, he let his shoulders sag and ran a hand through his hair.
    He still couldn’t quite believe that he’d said no to her. He had a boner in his pants that couldn’t quite believe it, either.
    She’d felt so good in his arms. Even her sweat had tasted good, clean and fresh. And the needy sound she’d made when he suckled her breasts, and the way her muscles had clenched around him when he slid his finger inside her…He was going to be tortured by those few breathless moments for the rest of his life, along with all the what-ifs.
    What if he’d taken what she was offering?
    What if he’d lifted her onto that counter and wrapped her legs around his waist and buried himself to the hilt inside her?
    Shaking his head, he derailed his thoughts before his cock literally exploded with frustrated desire. Then, feeling like a desperate fourteen-year-old, he took himself off to the change room and took care of business solo, with nothing but the hot flow of the shower and a handful of soap for company.
    Not quite the same as all the slippery sweet heat that Jamie had been offering. Not even close, in fact.
    But it was going to have to do. He’d made a commitment to her, and he was going to stand by it if it killed him.
    She was gone by the time he’d dried himself off and dressed, not that he’d expected anything different. He paused by the front counter to switch on the after-hours answering machine. He would never be able to enter his gym again without remembering Jamie pushed up against the counter, her body straining with desire as she found her climax.
    He’d looked into her face as it gripped her, wanting to see her lose control, loving the way her mouth had opened, the way she’d panted, the little frown she’d gotten between her eyebrows. He’d never done that with a woman before. He’d prided himself on making sure they had a good time, but he’d never savored a woman’s pleasure so much before.
    Get over it. She’s a hot body, a challenge and off-limits. Of course you want to screw her. You’ve spent your life bucking the system.
    But at the end of the day, she was just a woman, same as any other woman that he’d slept with. Or not slept with, to be technically correct. There was nothing special about any of it.

     
    A S LUCK WOULD HAVE IT , Arthur Holloway accompanied Jamie to the gym for her workout the next day. Even though Cooper told himself that he and Jamie were grown adults and that nothing had happened last night for either of them to feel uncomfortable about, he still felt a flicker of guilt when he met the other man’s eyes. There was just something about the old guy, a sort of calm, centered integrity, that made Cooper feel like an asshole for what had almost happened.
    Cooper had had two trainers during his career, both of whom still occupied important roles in his life. A legend in fighting circles, Harry Muldoon had spotted Cooper brawling in the street when he was sixteen years old and homeless and shaped him from nothing. Harry had been everything to Cooper for many years—father, brother, teacher, trainer. When he retired, Cooper had felt like a heel going to another trainer. It had taken him a long time to forge a bond with Vaughn Stevenson, his second and last trainer. Younger and better-educated than Harry, Vaughn had brought fresh ideas and new science to Cooper’s training regime. But Cooper had trusted both men implicitly—with his health, his career, his money, even his life, if need be.
    That was the kind of trust he wanted his fighters to place in him. He was pretty sure he had the goods, experience and knowledge, to become the sort of trainer he wanted to be. But what had happened with Jamie last night had shaken his sense of his own values.
    She had to be able to trust him, and he had to be able to make clear-headed decisions about her. Sex was not, and never could