The situation had been so hopeless, for such a long period of time, that Zoe had pretty much forgotten about it, instead burying herself in work, friends and family. Other than giving the various battery-operated items in her bedside table a good and frequent workout, her sex life was neglected, non-existent.

And until Blondie had walked into the room, it hadn’t bothered her. But something about him, some sixth sense he’d sparked off in her, told her that there was a chance he could be different. Those tingles that had erupted all over her had been as surprising as they were exciting, and she couldn’t help thinking there had to be a reason for it. If that was the effect he had on her from the other side of a room, what could he do to her with a word, with a touch?

Zoe shook her head. She was getting way ahead of herself. Waaay ahead. Yes, he’d set something off in her, something to ignite her interest for the first time in forever, but still. The man could be married, or gay, or the most deathly boring person ever to walk the planet. Or the stupidest—he had crashed into John, after all. That hadn’t been the smartest move. Then again, perhaps he was just clumsy.

But, as was always the case with these situations—there was only one way to find out. She was going to have to discover more about him. Ask around, check if he was unattached. If he was, then she’d find a way to speak to him, strike up conversation.

A dreamy look crossed Elaine’s face. “Yeah… I know what you mean. John’s built like a brick shit house, isn’t he? So big, and muscular. Mmm. Shame he’s married…”

Breathing an inward sigh of relief that the attention had been taken away from her and the so-called Viking, Zoe brought the topic back around to the reason they were there. She helped Elaine and her sparring partner tweak some of their positioning and movements, then headed for the next twosome before the conversation could be brought up again.

As she passed the doorway leading to the gym, she couldn’t help sneaking a glance in that direction, and caught a tantalizing glimpse of the blond. He was removing his T-shirt in preparation for his workout. There was a vest beneath it—more was the pity—but Zoe was still able to briefly drink in the sleek muscles of his arms and his well-defined shoulders. She bit her bottom lip to hold in the moan that wanted to escape. He wasn’t as buff as many of the blokes that frequented the gym—but in her opinion, that was what made him so attractive. Bulky, bodybuilder types did nothing for her—never had.

Tall, athletic and toned, an impressive stature with underlying strength, on the other hand…

Yes, Blondie had most definitely piqued her interest, and was the first man in a long time to have done so. Not because she didn’t like men—she had plenty of them as friends—but because when it came to relationships, things inevitably got complicated. Her dual careers, the fact she was so busy all of the time… her life and schedule just weren’t conducive to romance. Add her additional ‘preferences’ to the mix and it was little wonder she’d been single for ages—men just didn’t ‘get’ her, and certainly couldn’t handle her. She’d decided a while back that if she couldn’t find someone to meet all her needs, then she’d just go without. Rather that than being in an unfulfilling, unsatisfying relationship.

Zoe’s gaze had been drawn to the tall blond guy from the moment he’d come into her field of vision. Scratch that—her gaze had been dragged to him, like it was magnetized or something. Not that that was a bad thing—looking at him was certainly no hardship. Fortunately, she was good at watching people in her peripheral vision, so she was able to keep track of him without staring directly. Which was just as well, because before long he was staring directly at her. The sensation of his gaze on her made tingles erupt all over her skin, and it took some work to keep her concentration on what she was doing.

That became especially difficult when—still from the corner of her eye—she saw the lanky hunk collide with John Bates’ back. He’d been so intent on staring at her that he hadn’t noticed John stop walking to let someone pass—hence the crash. The two men exchanged a few words, then carried on into the gym room, meaning her smirk went unnoticed.

Unnoticed by the objects of her amusement, anyway. One of her more eagle-eyed—not to mention utterly nosey—students spoke as she approached her and her partner. “You noticed him too, huh, Zoe?”

“Noticed who?” she replied coolly, adopting her most wide-eyed, innocent expression.

Unfortunately, the student—a tall, slim brunette called Elaine—wasn’t buying it. She snorted and rolled her eyes, somehow still managing to keep a grip on the pad she held while her partner kickboxed seven bells of hell out of it. “Get real, Zoe. The bloody Viking. I saw you checking him out—not that I blame you. He’s lush. I’d climb him like a damn tree!”

She shrugged. “Oh, him.” She refused to rise to Elaine’s jibing—the woman had been coming to Zoe’s classes for long enough that she’d learned how to handle her and her busybody ways. Overreact, and she’d latch onto it and poke and prod relentlessly at a topic until she’d learned everything there was to know. She’d actually be very good at torturing prisoners and spies for information—she could probably break even the hardiest of spirits. The only way to go was nonchalance. “I wasn’t checking him out, actually. I was just laughing because he wasn’t looking where he was going and he slammed right into John’s back—a mistake that would have put a smaller bloke on his arse.”

Nodding, John replied, “Yep. Told you she’s an enigma. You wouldn’t really put those two things together, would you? But in her case, they’re two sides of the same coin. She’s multi-talented, is Zoe.”

“Hmm…” He inched closer to the open door to see if he could get another glimpse of her. “Two sides of the same coin…” he said thoughtfully. “A beauty and a badass. I think I might be in love!”

John chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. “Yeah, well, good luck with that one.”

Something in John’s tone struck a chord with Alexei. He frowned. “What do you mean? Oh God, please don’t tell me she’s married, or a lesbian.”

Wrinkling his nose, John shook his head. “Nope, not married. And nah, don’t think she’s into women, either. Though if she was, I wouldn’t mind watching. Lesbians are hot.”

“Agreed. But that didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t ask one.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, you know what I mean!”

“All right, all right.” John held his hands up. “Keep your bloody hair on. No, she’s not married, or a lesbian. But I don’t think you’ve got a cat in hell’s chance, either. In all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never seen her with anyone, heard her talk about anyone, you get the picture. And it certainly isn’t because no one’s interested in her. I mean, look at her. So I reckon she’s just super-picky.”

Alexei glared. “What, and I look too much like Quasimodo, do I?”

Smirking, John replied, “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. You asked the question, I answered it. Looks and unusual mix of professions aside, she’s a really nice girl. Get talking to her, find out for yourself. Prove me wrong.”

Wondering why he was getting so defensive about a girl he’d never actually met or spoken to, Alexei gave a determined nod. “Oh, don’t worry, mate. I intend to.”

“Hey,” John said, turning around and putting a hand on Alexei’s shoulder to steady him. “Look where you’re bloody going, mate. What the hell’s the matter with you?”

Alexei opened his mouth to reply, but his brain refused to supply any words. Instead, his eyes gave him away, as he couldn’t resist another glance in her direction.

Following his gaze, John smirked when he spotted just who had distracted Alexei so much. “The cute blonde, I take it?”

Alexei nodded, his face growing hot at the thought someone might have seen what happened. At the thought she might have seen. “Who is she?”

“Come on,” John jerked his head in the direction of the room they’d been heading for. “I’ll fill you in.”

Forcing himself to keep his eyes firmly on John’s retreating back, and not sneak another peek at the sexy blonde, Alexei followed him into the room that was full of workout equipment. The sounds of metal against metal, whirring pedals and grunting men and women filled the space. Though it wasn’t noisy, exactly, there was enough going on that the two men could talk without everyone overhearing them.

“That, mate,” John said, pointing with his thumb, “is Zoe. Not surprised you noticed her—she is bloody gorgeous. For God’s sake, don’t tell my wife I said that, though. She’ll have my guts for garters.”

“Your secret is safe with me, don’t worry. So… what’s her story? I’m guessing there’s more to it than her name and the fact she’s gorgeous, otherwise we wouldn’t be gossiping in the corner like little old ladies.”

With a smile, the other man said, “Yeah, there’s more to it all right. She’s an enigma, that one. Teaches a kickboxing class twice a week—needless to say she’s bloody good, bet she could put any of us down, no bother—but her day job is as one of them beauticians. You know, does hair and nails and all that other women’s stuff.”

Alexei let out a splutter, which he tried to cover up by clearing his throat. “Erm, yes, I know what a beautician is, mate.” As the information sunk in, he pursed his lips. “Wow, so she does kickboxing and she’s a beautician?”

Alexei followed John into the building, a sense of trepidation hanging over him. It was never easy moving to a new place, and as an army brat he’d had more than his fair share of relocating. Dealing with new landlords, new neighbors, new neighborhood. Not to mention the job side of it—new role, new building, new boss…

He’d spent the last month dealing with all that, and now – thanks to the friendship that had sprung up between him and his colleague, John – he was getting back on track with his hobbies, too. John wasn’t a gym bunny, exactly, but he did like to keep in shape, which was why he’d recommended his local sports gym to Alexei when he’d asked.

“Just a bunch of folks keeping fit and trim, letting off some steam,” he’d said. “No posturing, silly competition, or showing off. God, I reckon if someone started posing in front of a mirror in that place, they’d get their arse kicked.”

He’d made the place sound a bit rough and ready, but that was fine by Alexei. As long as it had the equipment he needed, it would suit him down to the ground. It was made all the more attractive by the price – around half of what the more traditional gyms wanted in membership fees. And he only had to pay when he actually attended. He wasn’t sure yet how much working away his new job was going to entail, but it still made more sense to use a place that had a pay-as-you-go system. At least until he got settled.

They passed a reception desk of sorts, which looked like somewhere the building’s owner probably did the admin and accounts. After that, there was a row of seating up against the wall on their right hand side, and the space opened up on their left. Wooden flooring stretched from just beside them to the far end of the long area, and a boxing ring sat in one corner.

Alexei raised his eyebrows. It was a bit rough and ready, but it was well-appointed and clearly well-used. Much better to have a place with regular, dedicated clients than some gleaming, spick and span monstrosity of a gym that nobody ever went to, or went more to lift weights and gaze lovingly at themselves in the mirrors than to actually do a thorough workout.

He continued following John along the carpeted area that ran around the nearest two sides of the wooden flooring, allowing people to access the rooms opposite the entrance without getting in the way of the people using the main space. It was currently taken up by what looked like an all-female kickboxing class. And they were good. He certainly wouldn’t like to piss any of them off—they could definitely handle themselves.

Alexei was just about to look away—he didn’t want them to think he was some kind of pervert for staring—when his gaze alighted on the instructor. She was a petite blonde, with a long, sleek ponytail sitting high up on her head, which swung as she walked from one student to the next, passing comment, suggesting improvements, and so on. He was so mesmerized by her that he forgot all about not staring. In fact, he forgot about pretty much everything, and let out an “ooof!” as he slammed straight into John’s broad, hard back.