Alex went to the barn to see how Trix was settling into the loft. She found him staring at a weight bench sitting in the middle of the aisle.
Trix looked up and answered her unspoken question. “It’s too wide to use up in that room.”
“Why did you guys move it over here, then?”
Trix scratched his chin. “I have an evil plan. You in?”
Alex narrowed her eyes at him.
“It’s to screw with Winn,” Trix confessed.
“Tell me.”
Alex helped Trix grapple with the weight bench and in not too long they managed to move it into Winn’s training office. After getting everything set, Alex took her place at the desk, where she had been spending her time working Winn’s note nightmare into an actual billing system. Trix looked up to her give her a mischievous wink before he removed his shirt, loaded the bar with a couple of plates and lay down to press out a few reps.
Alex heard the door opening and had to stifle a giggle while getting ready for Winn to enter the room.
After coming through the door, Winn did a double take and then pointed back and forth between her and Trix. “What’s this now?”
With her chin in her hands and her unblinking eyes trained on Trix, Alex murmured, “He needed the space. We had the space.”
“We can’t have gym equipment in the office. It’s unprofessional,” Winn said and then turning to Trix added, “Put a shirt on fool.”
“Hey!” Alex exclaimed looking away from Trix. “The reason I told him it could go in here was so that I could watch him do that. I like watching him do that.” She laughed at Winn’s hard stare. “What? Being in love with you makes me blind?” she asked.
Winn pointed to his own chest. “The only sweaty man you need in your life.”
She smiled, “Agreed… I suppose.”
Winn turned to meet Trix’s laughing expression. “If you need more exercise we can find you bales to stack. Honestly, what ranch hand has a weight set? Work out equipment is for people who don’t do work. Go do work.”
Trix hopped up and gave Alex a fist bump after pulling a t-shirt over his head. “You win the bet, Red. Took less than an hour for him to notice.”
She laughed. “I could’ve taken the under on,” glancing at her watch, “thirty minutes.”
“Seriously,” Trix looked to Winn, “your sixth sense when it comes to this woman is creepy.”
“Ha, ha. Now we’re clear - I’ll always know when you’re with a half-naked man.” Winn said, then he broke into an earnest laugh. “Or you know, it was a coincidence, because I left my phone.” He pointed to the shelf behind her.
“Oh…” Alex pinched her lips.
“Think that means I get to keep my money, Red.” Trix laughed before making a quick exit.
When they were alone, Winn turned to Alex. “You two aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are.”
“Do work,” she imitated his low voice, laughing again. “From the man who does hundreds of sit-ups before the sunrise.”
“You don’t like the abs?” he asked pulling up his shirt to reveal rows of firm ridges. “Throwing hay doesn’t give you this.”
“Oh, put it away, Magic Mike,” she teased, but couldn’t stop her hand from reaching out and running a single finger from the bottom of his sternum to the top of his waistband.
Her eyes jumped to his and her pulse quickened when his eyes instantly went from laughing to storming as he grabbed her hand to still it. He held her gaze for a long second and then without releasing her hand, pulled her into a standing position and led her over to the weight bench. He sat leaving her standing as he drew her into his arms. His hands roamed up and down her body as she bent down to kiss him. A slow relaxed hunger simmered between them.
He broke from her mouth as she ran her hands through his hair. “I miss you when you’re not out at the stable, but I love the days you don’t ride. This sundress is going to be the death of me,” he confessed as his hands made their way up her thighs under the light fabric.