Cassia's POV

I think I'm a masochist. Beads of sweat roll off my brow and I itch to swipe it away but I have to complete this set before I can give myself a tiny break. I lift the bar of weights resting on my shoulders as I complete my squat, looking at the ceiling length mirrors to confirm my posture is correct. I groan as I crouch again, my hamstrings burning and trembling under the weight. I'm pretty sure I hate myself.

Pushing to a standing up position again, I slowly step forward before settling the bar against the rack safely and getting rid of the weight. I release a breath I was holding in and try to will my legs not to buckle under me. My shift only ended an hour ago and I'm here doing, what I'm sure counts as a form of suicide, lifting weights at the gym.

I had a few hours of sleep during my shift so I wasn't that tired as I left the hospital. That meant to my very twisted brain that I was okay to go the gym for a quick workout. I always try to keep a routine for my exercise and I usually go on my off days but I felt jittery after Ilya had left yesterday and I needed to blow off some steam.

I didn't even bother dropping by my house, I knew if I entered my safe haven, I would just crash into my bed and never get up again. So I picked up some spare gym clothes from my locker in the hospital and here I was, sweating like I have just ran a marathon. I walk over on wobbly legs to a bench close-by and decide I have earned to sit and rest for a bit. Plopping down, I release a grateful sigh to getting off my feet. I want to tip over to the right and ever so gently lie down on this bench and then never get back up again.

I open my eyes and look around. My usual gym is nice, packed with equipment I could ever need for a healthy body and close to my house and work. It's 10 a.m. on a weekday so it's not very crowded, a few people dispersed here and there, all minding their own business. I pick up my towel from where I had previously draped it and wipe away my face and neck. My hair is up in a ponytail but I can feel the escaped strands sticking to my neck.

My eyelids are drooping even though lifting weights have increased the adrenaline pumping through my system. Years of medical school and night shifts survived solely on coffee has inevitably increased my tolerance for caffeine. Now I need more than adrenaline to simply increase my heart rate if it ever has any hope to keep me awake.

Deciding this bench underneath me is a nice soft spot to rest for a bit, I lay down on my back and close my eyes. My wireless earbuds are blasting music and I'm softly mumbling to an old gym playlist of mine singing along to Usher's 'Yeah!'. Old club bangers are just way too good to workout to in the gym.

I'm slowly nodding my head to the beat and the smooth voice of Usher as I sing along, not caring that I'm about to fall asleep in the middle of the gym at 10 am in the morning. My sweaty body feels one with the leather of the slim bench beneath me but I have no intention of getting up soon so I just lose myself in the music.

My eyes flutter in movement as I feel a shadow fall over me behind my eyelids. I see the silhouette of someone standing in my vision and my eyes snap wide open in recognition before I immediately sit up on the bench like my body has been electrocuted.

"Darn it!" I exclaim as I put a hand on my heaving chest as I try to calm myself down. My eyes are trained on sleek shiny black dress shoes in galoshes standing on rubbery gym floor in a very weird contrast. I take out one of the earbuds, the next song on my playlist blaring way too loud as I lower it down. When I finally have somewhat of a control over my breathing I look up to the towering height of the russian I can't escape in dreams or in real life.

"Mr. Mironov, what are you doing here?" I ask, still breathless as I look over his immaculate form clad in one of his usual suits. It's black as the previous ones I've seen in but today he's not wearing a tie, the first button of his dress shirt is open to show the base of his strong neck and I have the strongest pull to just place my lips there where his clavicles meet and feel his heart beat. I have to snap myself out of eye fucking him and raise my eyes to his face.

I find his light blue eyes not on my face but roaming down the rest of my body, appraising me. Warm waves of satisfaction rolls off of me at knowing he was taking me in just as I was doing him before I remember that I am sitting there sweaty before him in a sports bra and black leggings. My body sparks up in awareness and mortification at the same time as I have only ever been before him in either scrubs or fully clothed and I feel severely underdressed in contrast to his business get up.

I have this instinct to cover up my breasts and bare midriff but stop my arms short of crossing over. I'm not as conscious of my body as I was before getting into the medical field and seeing how many different shapes and sizes the miracle of human anatomy comes in. Still the reflexes that comes with being self-conscious is hard to get rid of.

Ilya is standing there, looking down at me with this heat in his eyes that wasn't there a minute ago and the wide room of the gym floor is suddenly very small. He has this way of sucking the air out of the room he's in; everything except him becomes blurry like a camera lens focusing on him and everything else falling silent on the background. He's the most vibrant colour in the room, the most prominent person around and it becomes impossible not to fall prey to his intense gaze.

My mouth is suddenly dry and I know it's not because of my workout.

"How did you get in here?" I ask, my voice coming out as a raspy mess.

I can see slight amusement in his brilliant eyes as he points to look down to his shoes and I follow his gaze to once again look at his dress shoes in blue plastic galoshes. He shrugs as I look back up at his face again. "Told the clerk at the front desk I am interested in signing up for a membership and wanted to look around the facilities."

I want to smile and shake my head at the same time at the moment and myself because I realised I have once again asked the wrong question. "How did you find me here?"

His eyes don't leave mine as he wets his bottom lip and it's such a simple yet groundbreaking gesture that I have to strain to understand what he says next. "You have very predictable habits, Cassia. Not really much places you go."

I know it's true that I don't really go out much and my pathetic life basically exists between hospital, gym and home but the idea of being predictable for Ilya doesn't sit well with me.

I arch one eyebrow and reach back to grasp and slide my hand down through the length of my ponytail, Ilya's gaze is focused on the movement as I bring the hair across my shoulder and let it rest beside my chest. "That's not really true though is it? I have this russian man that appears out of nowhere and then all predictability goes out the window."

The corner of his mouth tips up in a smile and light reflects in his eyes from the ceiling as he takes in my words. There is this distant voice in my head that says maybe I should be worried that this man keeps finding me wherever I am, knows where I live and work almost eerily like a stalker but yet nothing about him makes alarm bells go off. He had the opportunity to come into my house, he simply stood inside the doorway, never intruding on my personal space. I fell asleep over at his place and yet my organs are still where I last had them. I know I should be vary of him considering he's told me he's a russian mafia member and carries a gun but he's also a gentleman and boy is it giving me mixed signals.

"Is someone bleeding again?" I ask as I smile, unable to stop myself as I look at the slight tilt in his mouth. His eyes are as blue as glaciers in Antarctica but his gaze warms me like the sun.

His amusement breaks out in a genuine grin at my question and he brings up his hand to swipe a thumb across his bottom lip, almost like he doesn't want to laugh but can't stop himself. I want nothing more to find ways to tickle my way around to find what makes him flare up with responses like that until I see his uninhibited full smile.

"Is everyone who goes to medical school this excited about the prospect of blood?" Ilya asks, clearly teasing me.

I shrug with a tight lipped expression, trying to mask my amusement but clearly failing as I say, "Probably. Though we try not to give that away to patients. Makes them second guess our intentions."

I am once again rewarded with a small smile and I break out in a big one in response before I look away and I feel my cheeks flushing. I am clearly flirting with him and I can't seem to stop myself.

His voice brings my attention back to him, "Sorry to interrupt your workout doctor but you're needed again."

I'm technically off the clock and I have seen Ilya a couple hours ago and he was healthy and fine but I slip easily into my doctor role as I become more serious. "Are you hurt?" I ask even though I've already instinctively given him a once over, checking him for any injuries the moment I have first seen him.

He shakes his head. "Not me, I need medical help for my men." I assume he's talking about the other members of the bratva but I don't question him as I simply nod and get up. I gather my water bottle and towel and tell him I'll just grab my bag before meeting him at the front.

Ilya's POV

I stand before the front desk of the gym, waiting for Cassia to exit the locker rooms. The worker behind the desk is a fit woman dressed up in workout clothes, most probably hired to inspire people to work out and become like her and motivate the male species to want to sign up for a membership. She had offered to show me around the facilities and be my guide when I had first stepped in but I have no interest in signing up for this gym or the looks the blonde woman keeps sending my way.

Though after seeing Cassia in her workout clothes I am very tempted to fill out the forms for a yearly membership just so I can watch her sweat. The door for the female lockers opens and Cassia exits with a black gym bag thrown over her shoulder but not more clothed. I have to visibly relax my facial muscles to not react at looking at her body.

Still, I can't stop my eyes from sliding down and getting locked on her breasts. Beads of sweat roll down her elegant neck, down her collarbone and disappear in that cleavage that make my thoughts go silent. That scarp of fabric called a sports bra fit her chest so snug, a lesser men would have been brought to his knees wept. I knew if I was to reach forward and let my hands grab on to her breasts, they would fit my palms perfectly. Not too small, not too big... just perfect. God listen to myself, I sounded like fucking goldilocks picking porridge as I stared at the most magnificent chest I had ever seen in my life.

She had a slim waist that flared into her hips and that black legging fit to her toned long legs like a second skin. Her alabaster skin was so fair and clear everywhere that I just wanted to run my hands through every inch of it, just to see if it would redden under my hand. If all the blood on my hands would somehow magically leave a mark on her innocence. Those big hazel eyes of hers were so clear and giving of her thoughts as she looked up at me. She had no shield in place, no wall put up between her or the world to hide her dark thoughts unlike me.

The contrast between us was so visibly stark that it roared a deafening sound at times. I killed people where she saved them. Black to white. And I knew there was no grey in me, but maybe she had some grey in her that I could pull out of her. Because I knew I wasn't going anywhere soon, drawn to her as a moth is to a white light.

The only difference was that this moth had the darkness in him to snuff out her light.

"You didn't change your clothes." I said between my teeth. My jaw was aching from the need to sink into that curve between her shoulder and neck, tasting her sweet skin. I was already hard from her half dressed state and my thoughts did nothing to help. The scrubs and the lab coat she wore at the hospital did no justice to the figure she was hiding beneath them, it was evident she worked out often by her lean muscles and the line that ran down the middle of her abdomen and disappeared into the leggings.

I watched as Cassia shifted on her feet and rubbed the back of her head in what I was guessing was a nervous gesture but all I could focus on was how her toned arms pulled her skin as she moved. "I came here directly after my shift, I only have my dirty scrubs with me. I was planning on going directly home afterwards." She gave me a tight lipped smile in an apologetic gesture and I have to turn my head to the side and close my eyes for a bit. I know, just know if I bring Cassia back to my house to tend to my men like this, I would kill the lot of them. And if I kept looking at her cleavage I was going to lose it.

Unbuttoning my blazer, I take the black silky jacket off with jerky movements, trying to calm myself down. It's not her fault she's beautiful beyond comparison or that I keep seeking her help out at inopportune moments.

Handing her the blazer I calmly state, "I suggest you put this on before we can find you some appropriate clothes doctor." She takes it without any complaint and slips it on. The larger size of it swallows her figure reaching below her ass and the shoulders looking off on her but she just rolls the arms of it up to her elbows and then buttons the front of the jacket. Her long legs are cascading down out of my jacket and the bigger piece of clothing does nothing to make her less attractive making me want to groan. At least her cleavage is no longer visible and I have to hope I won't resort to shooting anyone when we get back to my place.

The blond worker comes around the desk to stand by us and looks up at me. Finally working up the courage to approach me after shooting me looks. I don't send off the impression of approachable and that's exactly how I like it. I don't like unnecessary chats or pleasantries. "How have you found our facilities sir?" The blond asks as she looks up at me politely. Her shirt has a deeper cut than Cassia's and it's obvious that she wants to direct attention to it but it doesn't have the same effect on me the way a certain doctor's body just did.

"Yes." I simply say, I want to end the conversation and turn away to go but she goes on.

"If you have any questions about anything, I'd be glad to answer them. Our fees are quite reasonable and we offer a wide variety of discount for personal training packages. Our trainers are licensed in..." she goes on but I simply zone her out, wanting to walk away without saying anything. I know she's simply doing her job but I couldn't care less about how much money I'm saving if I sign up for a yearly membership instead of just a month.

I look over at Cassia to see her politely listening to the blonde like she's sharing information about her distant family members and she's just nodding along like she's interested. The normalcy of her response makes me want to grin but I just simply shake my head and then gently grab onto Cassia's forearm and turn her around towards the exit.

The blond suddenly stops talking when she sees us walking away but I don't turn my head or offer any apologies. "That was rude." Cassia mumbles beside me as I direct her towards the exit.

"So you'd rather us stand there and listen to the history of this gym all day?" I ask arching a brow down at her as I push open the door and hold it open for her to pass.

"No." She admits quietly. "But she never once talked to me and she seemed nice." Cassia says shrugging. "You could at least politely refuse her."

I don't respond to her and just walk the two steps over to the car standing before the sidewalk and open the back door for her to get in. Cassia just stands there with her mouth twisted and looking at the open door like she's thinking real hard on something.

Just as I'm about to say something, she swirls around and opens the door to the gym and yells. "He's sorry!" Before turning around and coming before me. "Okay we can go now." And then she slides in and closes the door before her and I just stand there looking at the empty sidewalk before me with a small smile at the doctor that is Cassia Whitaker.

Sorry this took a bit longer to post, I am speed reading romance novels and trying to synthesize some vitamin D.

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