Free High Risk by Vivian Arend Page A

you there in twenty minutes.”
    He walked the slight hill to where his truck was parked, and she couldn’t turn away.
     His broad shoulders, the flex of his ass under his pants. She’d spent a month studying
     him on the sly when they’d first met, and the same magnetism that had pulled her in
     back then was still there. Still had her staring long after she should have gone to
     grab her swim things.
    What was it about Marcus? What made her lose all common sense and want to flirt and
     carry on like some infatuated teenager? Even shaken from the experience on the wall,
     he caught her attention and made everything else she should be concentrating on slip
     away.
    She had to rush to make it in time.
    Stepping to the exterior doors of the rec centre pulled an involuntary smile to her
     lips. The stonework and glass made the huge building nestle into the trees as if it
     had grown there. The rustic construction style was shared by many businesses and homes
     in the Banff area. Like the mountains rising around them, the human-made structure
     became a fitting part of the whole. The log features carried the taste of nature inside
     as well. Becki took a deep, satisfied breath as she stopped at the desk to pay.
    A sense of the familiar, the . . . rightness. This was exactly what she needed to
     counter her chaotic soul.
    The girl behind the desk smiled at her. “Becki James?”
    Becki hesitated, trying to place the face. “Yes?”
    “You’re already paid for. You can stop by any time and get your picture done for the
     pass. For now, let me put this on you.” The girl held out a brightly coloured wristband.
    Obviously Marcus had beat her to the centre. “Are there any pool restrictions today?
     Or in the gym?”
    The girl shook her head. “Nothing booked in the gym until after supper. In the pool,
     there’s an aquasize class in about thirty minutes, but the deep tank will be free,
     and there’s always at least one lane kept open for laps.”
    “Thanks.”
    Becki changed before stopping by the floor-to-ceiling windows to check the aquatic
     centre. The sunshine had faded to grey as clouds moved in, but in the pool area an
     oasis of light and heat remained.
    “Weights first?”
    She twirled to discover Marcus standing directly behind her. He’d changed as well
     into casual running shorts and a well-worn T-shirt with the logo of one of the local
     restaurants emblazoned across the front. A neoprene sleeve covered his stump and wrapped
     over his elbow—probably both for protection and to provide a better grip. “You move
     very quietly for a big man.”
    “Helps me sneak up on all those innocent deer in the parking lot. Come on.”
    He held open the door to the weight room and she stepped in, the cool of the air-conditioning
     brushing the bare skin of her arms and legs like a caress. A few others were in the
     room, doing bicep curls or using the machines. Rock music from the local station played
     softly in the background, a fitting counter to the low-pitched hum of the treadmills.
    “General arms, legs? What are you thinking?” she asked.
    “Up to you. I’m game for more lower-body work in here—the swim later will be enough
     upper body to finish.”
    Perfect. She pointed to a couple of steppers that faced the exterior windows, and
     soon they were both moving. Outside the grey skies had gone nearly white, the brown
     grass making everything almost monochromatic. The mountaintops were dusted with fresh
     snow—the rain earlier in the week freezing at the higher elevations. Spring in Alberta—there
     was still a long way to go to get to the lush green that would take over the place
     in the summer.
    The conversation as they warmed up stayed generic. Comfortable. Fifteen minutes passed
     quickly as Marcus led the discussion of nothing important. Becki was grateful, even
     as she cursed herself for spending more time looking at his reflection in the mirrorlike
     glass than staring through it at the