Carinian's Seeker Page 0,1

set of leg extensions, Carin frowned. The tips of a pair of Nike’s stared back up at her. Someone else’s Nike’s.

Carin looked up to a solid, thick set of calves, and up some more to the nicest pair of thighs she’d seen on a man who wasn’t on TV. The muscles were large, well-developed and went on forever before finally reaching the hem of his shorts. An obvious bulge declared the owner of said shorts as well-endowed. Look at that thing, and he’s not even hard. Oh Lord, what am I thinking? She compelled her gaze to make the rest of the journey up to his face and blinked twice. Okay, he was still there. Not a dream.

This had to be the most striking masculine face this side of heaven. She’d never been attracted to a man outside her race before, but it was instantly there for this man. His features were strong, chiseled, like some kind of rare marble sculpture with nicely tanned skin. A clean shaven face allowed her to see the smoothness of it. No five o’clock shadow. No scars. No wrinkles. Not a pretty boy, but ruggedly handsome with midnight black hair tastefully cut shorter at the sides and back, and just a little longer on top with a hint of wave.

Carin pulled in a swift intake of breath. His eyes were the color of…well, what? She couldn’t quite decide. They seemed to have trouble choosing whether to be hazel, or light honey brown with a hint of silvery gray. He towered over her with a friendly expression, a bit of humor etched into an easy smile.

“Excuse me.” Oh, she liked his voice, too. “Mind if I work my sets in between yours?”

Without a word she forced her stare to leave his face, shifted her butt on the seat and hopped off the machine.

He leaned over, set the machine to two hundred pounds—obviously a moderate weight for a man his size—and settled down to work. Carin stood with her arms folded over her chest and watched his legs extend and lift the weight with ease, thigh muscles flexing sinuously, smoothly. The man made it look easy.

Every nerve in her body snapped to attention as she admired him from head to toe. She tried to stop looking, she really did, but just couldn’t help it. Biceps and forearms bulged under his tight long-sleeved Coolmax workout shirt. Those arms were folded over a wide chest with nicely pronounced pecs. Sculpted abs tapered down to a trim waist. Rock hard, everywhere. Dayum!

Gorgeous face. Killer body. Beautiful smile. He was, in a word, perfect. But there was no such thing as a perfect man, or a perfect anything else. So he was probably an asshole.

Turning smartly on her heel, she walked away and left the dark-haired, Lord of the Rings action hero look-alike behind her.

She’d been gracious, almost friendly, when Bix asked to work his sets in between hers. Then she went all aloof on him and stalked off in a huff. After that he kept a close eye on her from a distance.

So this was Dr. Carinian Derrickson? The picture stashed in the back pocket of his shorts didn’t do the woman one whit of justice. She was clearly the finest milk chocolate skinned woman he’d ever seen. Damn, she had a killer body. Cut, well-defined muscle. Nice curves in all the right places. Her features were classically Afro centric—firm full lips, mysterious smoky brown eyes, and thick naturally coiled hair. It was pulled back into a long ponytail. The casual style allowed him plenty of opportunity to memorize the lines of her beautiful face. The woman was, in a word, hot. Too bad she was his target.

Thankful for his psychic abilities, Bix brushed gently against her mind and was puzzled. For some reason the woman was extremely uncomfortable in this place. He’d have to be smooth if he wanted to get anywhere with her and made sure their meeting on the way to the front door was perfectly timed.

Carin looked his way and smiled, her deep brown eyes expressive, warm. Then, as if she’d caught herself doing something she shouldn’t, those eyes glittered as cold and frosty as the sheet of ice covering everything in the parking lot.

Bix ignored her body language. Then he caught her scent. He hadn’t noticed it before in the midst of all the sweaty bodies moving around the fitness club. It was times like this he wished his senses weren’t so keen. Something