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“It’s good for you. Drink and we can get on the road. Are you sore from yesterday?” I couldn’t stop my gaze from dropping over her body.

She considered my words, drinking slowly. “Nothing I can’t survive.”

I nodded approvingly. The little heathen had decided not to complain. I respected that.

She finished her drink, pulling a face until the last mouthful, and then shuddered all over. She set down the glass.

“Okay. I’m ready. If I throw up your drink on you… just know that you deserved it.”

“Noted. Let’s go.”

It was hard to get out of my head today, even running. The weather wasn’t great. A shower had just passed. We ran on the rain-slicked streets, and I tried to drag my mind to the present and away from the dream. We didn’t talk, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

When we turned the corner and spied the gates at the end of the road, Selena put her head down and accelerated. She shot off in front of me, and I had the sudden, undeniable urge to chase her.

Not to race her and win.

The impulse to chase her. Catch her.

I followed, a burst of speed bringing me level with her as we reached the gates. I edged past her, and she threw out an arm and tried to hold me back.

“No cheating,” I told her firmly and slipped past her. “Last one to the door is the loser.”

Her laughter followed me. I raced inside the gates and up the long drive.

She was right behind me, tugging at my T-shirt, trying to drag me backward. I leaned forward and let my weight continue to bear me forward.

“God, you’re so heavy!” she said between gritted teeth.

“Don’t be a sore loser,” I goaded her and took another step.

She had my T-shirt in a death grip. A loud rip filled the air. I glanced down just in time to see the top tear down one side from the shoulder.

I was at the door, my feet brushing the huge welcome mat. I reached out an arm, within touching distance of winning.

“If you want to see me shirtless, little heathen, there are easier ways—” I started, smug with my win and enjoying the first time that morning that my sister’s death had fled my mind.

“Like hell! You haven’t won yet, Sinclair!” Selena exclaimed, and then her arms were going to my shoulders.

Before I could wonder how she was planning to still pull off a win, a weight landed on my back, throwing me off-balance.

She’d jumped onto my back. She shoved my arm down so it was no longer only inches from touching the door.

I hadn’t expected the move, and my feet weren’t planted right. I tilted to the right, pulled by her body weight, and then, we were heading right for one of the stone pillars that bracketed the front door. She was going to hit it.

I twisted at the last second and brought my other side into contact with the pillar. The reverberation shook me, and we weren’t finished there. Selena yelped, surprised by the crash into the pillar. Her weight shifted again, and then, we were going down. I managed to get under her just before we hit the flagstones.

Her knee sank between my legs, her hands on my shoulders.

We came to a stop, and I took a second to make sure we weren’t about to roll over anymore.

Selena was breathless above me, her face frozen in disbelief.

“Like I said, if you wanted to get me naked, and under you, there are easier ways,” I drawled.

Selena’s eyes narrowed, and she pushed herself up, sending her full body weight right onto my trapped cock.Fucking hell.It didn’t hurt. I wished it did. Instead, it felt incredible.

“Sorry, I thought after watching you training yesterday, you’d be able to handle one tiny person jumping on your back. My mistake,” she said tartly.