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

Graham sighed. “You’re a big girl. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but trust me, I’ve had plenty of guys rock my world and convince me they were the one, only to find out I was nothing more than a notch on their bedpost. Don’t let your heart run everything.” He tapped his temple. “Relationships can be fun, but your head should always be in charge. That way you don’t end up on the bad end of a bottle and quart of ice cream later.”

Kendra looked around. “Well, he’s coming to cheer me on at least. Though, he’s not here yet.”

Graham’s doubts seeped into the back of her mind. She’d given into CJ, and he wasn’t even from the area.

They were both travelers. Banging and running would be an easy strategy. Just because she thought he was perfect for her didn’t mean he felt the same way.

“It’s a big crowd.” Graham smiled. “I’m sure he’ll come.”

The loud hiss of air brakes caught her attention. A semi-truck with a long white trailer was pulling up near the fence toward the back of the course. Staffers ran to open the gate.

“The race starts in a couple of hours and they’re still getting deliveries.” Kendra shook her head. “I hope it’s nothing important. I’m ready to race.”

She pulled out her phone and sent a text.

Hey, are you here yet?

Graham eyed the phone. “I’m not going to tell you how to live your love life, but for today, you need to concentrate on the race, not your man.”

“I’m more prepared for this race than I’ve been for one in a long time.” Kendra smiled at him.

Her phone chimed with a new message from CJ.

Be there in about fifteen minutes.

Kendra held up the phone. “And he’s coming.”

* * *

Graham wandered off to get more prerace crowd shots while Kendra waited near the front gate for CJ to arrive. She spotted him in the distance walking with another huge man around his size. At first, she thought they might be brothers, but once they got closer, she could see the differences in their faces, not to mention the other man’s red hair.

The second man said something to CJ before jogging off into the crowd. Kendra waited for CJ to get past the admissions tables and head inside to the gate area, which was dominated by concession stands and a bustling crowd.

CJ jogged up to her and nodded past the smoothie stand marking the edge of the concessions area. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk without yelling.”

They headed past the stand and toward the fence line, the density of athletes and spectators decreasing with each step. Kendra’s heart kicked up. CJ didn’t seem like the dirty type, but she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to turn him down if he was planning something sweaty and hot that didn’t involve obstacles.

CJ looked around and cleared his throat. “I’ve got something to say, and I want you to not overreact. Just listen to me and then come up with a response, after thinking about it.”

Kendra’s stomach tightened. Crap. She was going to get dumped by her soulmate right before a big race. Graham had been right.

“O-okay.” Kendra nodded quickly, trying to will her galloping heart to calm down. “What is it?”

“I don’t think you should do the race,” CJ said.

“Huh?” Kendra stared at CJ, trying to be certain she’d heard what she thought. It was a relief that the words out of his mouth didn’t involve “We can still be friends,” but she didn’t understand why he wouldn’t want her to do the race.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about the race. I think you shouldn’t do it.”

“A bad feeling?” Kendra frowned. “You don’t think I can do it? Just because we had a little fun yesterday doesn’t mean I can’t perform. Yes, you rocked my world, but even you aren’t so good as to disable me the next day.”

CJ placed his hands on her shoulders. It took all her self-control not to nuzzle them.

“I know you can do this,” he said. “This isn’t about me questioning your capabilities.” He offered a lazy grin. “You took control for most of the second half yesterday, and you never slowed down. I know you’ve got the endurance and muscle strength.”

Heat assaulted her cheeks. Kendra chuckled and looked away.

“I didn’t want to seem greedy,” she said. “Even a guy like you might want a break.”

“With you? Never, but I didn’t mind having you on top.”

Kendra frowned and shook her head. She jerked away from CJ. “Don’t think you can distract me with talking about how much you liked doing me. Why do you have a bad feeling about the race?” She stepped closer to whisper. “Is this about your job?”

CJ sighed and nodded. “Kind of.”

“You found something, didn’t you?” Kendra bore into him with her most suspicious look. “You must have seen something the other day when I was taking you around, but you didn’t want to mention it because of client confidentiality.”

“Something like that.” CJ rubbed the back of his neck and couldn’t look her in the eye.

Kendra folded her arms. “If there’s something so dangerous you don’t want me around, shouldn’t you be calling the cops?”

CJ shook his head. “It’s not necessarily dangerous to everybody, but I worry about you, and I don’t have evidence, not enough for the locals to get involved.”

“You have to give me something more to go off of.” Kendra sighed. “I’ve been hyping this race for a while. I can’t blow it off without a big backlash from my viewers. I don’t want them to think I’m just getting lazy, and I don’t get how something could be dangerous for me, but not for anyone else.”

“It’s complicated.” CJ sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I can’t really tell you.”

Kendra scoffed and put her hands on her hips. “Then I’m not leaving. I owe it to myself, Graham, my fans,