Defying Desire by A. C. Arthur Read Free Book Online

young and with her low self-esteem, thinking that Tia could relate to her. Which she could not since Tia never had self-esteem issues. What she had was a hardened resolve to never be hurt on the level she once was. The loss of a mate was one thing, but the loss of a child at the same time was something completely different.
    Just the thought was sometimes unbearable for her. Her grief had festered, she knew. It was unhealthy as the psychiatrist she’d seen immediately after the accident had advised. But Tia didn’t give a damn. She’d developed a way to cope and that’s what she was doing. All work and no attachments. And she didn’t need her employer telling her any differently.
    “Listen, Camille, I was in the middle of my workout. Thanks for checking up on me but I’m fine. I’ll talk to you on Monday,” she said, then disconnected before Camille could say another word. Because Tia was close to breaking down. If Camille had said another word about being alone Tia didn’t know that she could hold it in.
    Being alone used to work for her, that’s what Camille had said. Well, it had worked just fine for Tia for almost two years. But if truth were told, these last two months hadbeen different. Harder, it seemed, because there was a longing inside of her that did not want to be ignored. A longing that Tia feared would be her ultimate demise.

Chapter 6
    H e wasn’t upset.
    He was pissed off!
    Trent slammed the door of his truck and took long, angry strides towards the door to Madge’s Gym. The second the front door closed he’d bolted up in Tia’s bed. She hadn’t slammed the door. No, she’d closed it as quietly as she could manage. She’d probably forgotten that her alarm system beeped at the opening and closing of any doors with access in and out of the house. It was a good system, he’d noted when he’d seen the control panel near her front door last night.
    She’d snuck out on him, the little minx. He thought she’d at least leave him a note, after all he was sleeping in her bed. But there was nothing. That was what pissed him off. It was rude not to say anything the morning after. And you would know because you do it all the time.

    That was his brother Linc speaking, so Trent ignored that thought. But what he didn’t plan to ignore was the fact that she’d begged him to stay with her, then she’d run out. It had only taken one phone call to Joshua Landy, his SEAL teammate, to trace Tia’s license tag. Fifteen minutes later he’d received a call with the address to where the car was located. Thank God her car had a built-in GPS locator. Technology was an amazing tool if utilized correctly.
    After swinging past his condo to shower and change clothes he quickly made his way to the gym to confront Ms. St. Claire.
    It took him less than ten minutes to find her even though the club was crowded on a Sunday morning. She was straddling a bench, her long muscled legs tensing as she worked her upper body on an arm-press weight machine. Instinctively his eyes roamed her body, from her legs to her thighs, to the center he now knew to be hot and wet, and upward to her slim waistline and full breasts. It was there his gaze stopped, hesitated, then went red.
    She was using the cable crossover but whatever her weights were they must have been a test to her usual strength because standing entirely too close to her was a Mr. Universe wannabe with long dreadlocked hair and a face that looked all too happy to be touching Tia’s arms.
    Each time she pulled her arms in, Mr. Universe’s hands slid along the length from her shoulder to her wrist. When she expanded outwardly Mr. Universe opened his arms to do the same. The man was straddling the bench, as well, standing so close to Tia that they could actually kiss…That probably wasn’t the best scenario to pop into Trent’s mind because in no time he was moving across the room to approach them.
    “Mornin’,” he said in a less than happy tone once he was close