Chapter Four

Claire’s POV

I almost cancelled the next session.

All day the memory of being held down on the mat replayed with merciless clarity the weight of Marcus’s hand on my hip, the unyielding pressure on my knee, the single command to stay that had turned my body into a live wire. By late afternoon the frustration had sharpened into something restless and angry. He had shown me real strength and then withdrawn the second the air between us changed. I was tired of the careful measurements. I was tired of leaving the studio wet and unfinished and furious at my own reaction.

I went anyway.

The studio was...