Cassius by Stevens, Madison (chromebook ebook reader txt) 📕

up and then slamming on the brakes. I enjoyed what we did, and I didn’t mean—”

“It’s no one’s fault,” CJ interrupted. “And you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. Or if we’re going to complain about a very, very enjoyable time together, it’s both our faults. And I don’t have a problem with you giving me something to work toward. We all need goals to motivate us.”

His follow-up grin sent a zing right to Kendra’s center. The man was making her come undone with a smile. She prayed he didn’t ask to take her right there. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to refuse.

“I’m not going to say I’m not sorry things didn’t go farther along, but it’s not like you owed me anything.” CJ moved closer until his breath warmed her face. “But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on you, and once your race is over, I think we both want to see what it’s like when we go past the opening few… obstacles.”

“You’re right. You don’t have to give up.” Kendra swallowed. “You only need to be patient. There’s nothing like the reward that comes with the end of a race.”

CJ snaked an arm around her waist and pulled him flush against her. He dipped his head. She opened her mouth to greet his, eagerly accepting the invading tongue. Warmth spread through her as he crushed her against the wall of steel pretending to be his body. It wasn’t until someone loudly coughed next to them that she remembered where they were.

Her eyes snapped open. She didn’t even remember closing them.

Kendra pulled away, her entire body on fire. “I… uh….”

She winced, grateful Graham had decided they wouldn’t start filming until tomorrow. He would have loved to have teased her about the public display of affection.

CJ’s nostrils flared. He burned into her with those brown eyes, the desire obvious. A smile had been enough before, but now a mere look made her wet. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Let’s check out the course,” CJ said, his voice low. “We both might see something helpful.”

Kendra nodded quickly. “Y-yeah.” She gestured for him to follow. “Let’s do that.”

She cleared her throat as they approached one of the obstacles, an angled climbing wall. It was a rather conventional challenge and one that played to her strengths.

CJ was smiling, but there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes as he glanced around at the staffers and other athletes doing early recon. The kiss had almost made her forget he had a professional interest in the race, though she wasn’t sure if she could help him. If someone were dealing drugs or whatever else he was investigating, she wouldn’t know. All she could look for was anything that didn’t feel like it belonged at an OCR event.

“Lots of fit people here,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re not the only one doing early recon.”

“Not as many as I would have expected, but yes.” Kendra laughed. “Analyze, visualize, execute. That’s how things work in climbing and OCR stuff.” She shrugged. “I’m glad they’re letting us come and inspect everything. It helps.”

“Do they always do that?”

Kendra shook her head. “Everybody does it differently. Some races try to keep things as secret as they can right before. Others let you inspect. Some even run people through each obstacle while everyone is watching. It varies on the competition and who’s running it. A lot of people think all OCR events are like ASTC, but there are lots of different types. This kind is just most popular because of the show.”

Her explanation made her doubt anything sinister was going on. Criminals didn’t like lots of witnesses.

“Interesting.” CJ scratched his cheek. “I’ve never paid much attention to this kind of thing before.” He gestured to a large cylinder with handles connected to an angled cable at the top of the wall. “What’s the deal with that one?”

“It spins while it falls to the other side,” Kendra said, gesturing to the obstacle. “That kind of thing isn’t that hard in theory, but a lot of people don’t know how to deal with spinning stuff without getting dizzy. It takes a different kind of training.”

“And you?”

Kendra grinned. “I’ve trained for that kind of obstacle and balance obstacles. You need the full kit if you want to succeed.”

“That’s true,” said another woman from behind them.

Kendra and CJ turned around. A tall beautiful redheaded woman stood there smiling. Her identity wasn’t a mystery. She was one of the big stars of the OCR circuit and known for her appearances on American Samurai Training Challenge.

The redhead walked forward with a hungry smile, her gaze fixed on CJ. Though she was shorter than the giant man, she made Kendra look tiny in comparison. She offered her hand to CJ.

“Sarah Towers, you might have seen me on TV,” she said.

“CJ.” He rubbed his chin. “And nah. Can’t say I have.”

Irritation flashed across Sarah’s face. “Oh, this must be new for you.”

“You could say that.”

Kendra had the decency to look to the side before smirking. She couldn’t say Sarah wasn’t a good competitor, but being good at obstacle courses and being humble were two different things. Sarah even had a pose she called the “Tower of Preordained Victory” that accompanied her completion of stages in ASTC.

“Are you competing today?” Sarah asked CJ, ignoring Kendra.

He shook his head. “I’m just here as an interested fan.”

Sarah stared at CJ’s arms. “This is an easy course. It’s nothing like ASTC. I always say an OCR without a Katana Clash obstacle might as well be ignored.”

“I don’t know what a Katana Clash obstacle is.” CJ shrugged.

Sarah sighed. “Do you mind if I touch your bicep? I bet you don’t mind. Guys like you put in a lot of work, and I really admire hard work.”

CJ put his arm around Kendra. “I think she might mind.”

Sarah wrinkled her nose and put on a fake smile. “Oh, so you’re together?” Her smile turned sickeningly sweet. “I’m surprised, Kendra. You hadn’t mentioned it