Insider (Exodus End #1)(64)
Author: Olivia Cunning

And what did she want exactly? Toni glanced over her shoulder to find Logan watching her as he continued his squats.

Logan. That was what she wanted. Who she wanted. And not just as a temporary sex coach. Or a justfriend. As her forever.

“I would appreciate some advice,” Toni admitted.

She wasn’t the only woman in the room being closely watched by a man. Sed always had at least one eye on Jessica and now that Reagan’s bodyguard had returned to the gym, he was doing a poor job of pretending he wasn’t watching her. Perhaps it was time for Toni to employ her cleverness.

“Maybe you can give me some pointers on how to catch the attention of that guy,” Toni said, nodding in tall, dark, and obviously smitten’s direction.

Reagan’s eyebrows arched. “What guy?”

“That guy over there who keeps staring at us.” And by us, Toni meant Reagan, but the woman’s reaction was priceless.

“Ethan?” Reagan squeaked and almost face-planted on her treadmill.

Finally! A name to go with the face. And the body.

“Yeah,” Toni said. “He’s quite attractive.” In an I’ll-rip-out-your-spine-and-use-it-to-stir-my-coffee kind of way.

“I think he’s taken,” Myrna said, snorting on a laugh.

“Really taken,” Jessica added.

Reagan cringed and shook her head at both women.

“He does appear to have a crush on Reagan.” Toni sighed as she continued to try to work some information out of the tight-lipped woman.

“What makes you say that?” Reagan said, her grayish-blue eyes locked on her treadmill display.

“Well, he watches you constantly.”

Reagan laughed. “He is my bodyguard. That’s his job.”

Touché.

“Besides, I thought you liked Logan,” Reagan said.

“I do,” Toni admitted. She so much more than liked him. “I just figure he’ll tire of me sooner rather than later.”

“Oh, honey,” Jessica said. “We really do need to have a long talk with you.”

Myrna shut off her machine and slowed to a walk before hopping to the floor. “It’s been lovely,” she said, “but I need to get back to Malcolm. My boobs say it’s feeding time.”

“It was great meeting you,” Toni said. “Maybe you’d let me interview you about what it’s like to raise a child on the road with a rock band.”

Myrna smiled. “You’ll have to read my book to find out,” she said. “I should have it finished in about eighteen years or so.”

So that would be a no on the interview.

Toni set her equipment down—she wasn’t getting any work done anyway—and took Myrna’s spot on the treadmill. She set a brisk walking pace. She and Birdie often took their border collie for long walks, so she was used to this level of exercise. All the strength training and weightlifting going on across the room was far beyond her current ability. But it was fun to watch in the mirror in front of her treadmill.

A few moments later, a pair of men entered the gym. She immediately recognized the black spikey hair and tattoos of Brian “Master” Sinclair, and his laughing partner in crime was none other than Trey Mills.

“I’m surprised he’s out of bed,” Reagan said with a self-satisfied grin.

“Where Brian goes, he goes,” Jessica said.

Ethan’s attention had finally shifted from Reagan, but he didn’t look pleased to see the new arrivals. Maybe he was jealous of Trey’s relationship with Reagan after all. Strange thing was, Ethan’s cold stare of animosity wasn’t aimed at Trey, the man competing for Reagan’s affection. Nope, he directed all his rancor in Brian’s direction. Toni knew there was a huge story in all this somewhere. She had to keep reminding herself that she was there to write a candid interactive book to make Exodus End look good, not stir up gossip about their newest and likely temporary bandmate.

Trey parted ways with Brian and offered Ethan a sexy smile that probably melted the guy’s tennis shoes to the mat.

What? If Toni had been confused by the dynamics before, she was now completely flabbergasted. She’d hung around enough gay guys to know that look. She certainly hadn’t expected to see it here.

Trey made his way toward Reagan and climbed onto the front of her treadmill, leaning forward and offering her his sensual lips in a pucker. Toni had no idea how Reagan managed to kiss him without knocking their teeth out.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Reagan asked after their mouths parted.

“I was lonely.” He pouted in a way that made Toni wish she could take that loneliness away. “And Malcolm was screaming his little head off for his breakfast. Can you believe Brian wouldn’t let me give the baby a sucker to shut him up?”

“That asshole,” Reagan said with a laugh.

“Are you done in here?” Trey asked. “There’s a bed on the bus with your name on it.”

“Aren’t Eric and Reb hogging the bedroom?”

So that was where Sinners’ drummer was. All other band members were accounted for.

“Maybe your big, tough bodyguard over there can convince the perpetual newlyweds that it’s our turn to rock the bus.”

Reagan grinned. “I think he might be able to.” She shut off her treadmill and hopped off. “We’ll talk later, okay, Toni?”

Toni was surprised that Reagan knew anyone but Trey existed.

“Okay.”

“I’ll offer you a few pointers on how to get what you want.”

“Thanks.”

Well, that should be some valuable information. Toni was pretty sure that Reagan Elliot was a master at getting everything she wanted out of life.

with Maximillian Richardson

Toni fiddled with her recording device, not because there was anything wrong with it, but because this was her first official interview with one of the band members and, frankly, she was intimidated by Max. He’d never really done anything to unsettle her per se. There was just something about him that was a little raw. A little dangerous. A lot sexually charged. She wasn’t even sure she would have recognized the feelings of unease as awareness of his masculinity if she hadn’t spent so much time in Logan’s company. But while Logan’s prowess was in your face, Max’s existed on a deeper instinctual level. It was as if her lady bits knew he’d make gorgeous, healthy babies and wanted a piece of his genetic material.

And why was she fixated on his allure? They weren’t here to discuss how mind-bogglingly attractive he was or how he was a perfect physical specimen of a man. They were here to discuss his part in Exodus End and maybe, if he trusted her, some personal fragments of information to add to her book.