Relinquished Read Online Free PDF Page A

see what had caught my attention.
    Dante’s feet were planted wide apart, his arms firmly crossing his chest as he glared at us.  I hated to admit it, but I actually felt intimidated by him. A gorgeous woman with long black hair, wearing the smallest gym clothes imaginable, wiggled up to him and pressed her huge boobs into his side.  His arms stayed in place, and his narrowed eyes never left us as she leaned in and whispered into his ear.
    Shaking his head, he flicked his wrist and dismissed her without a word.  My jaw nearly dropped when she pouted and walked away.  If that were me, I’d be furious. I’d rip him a new ass. This was definitely a side of him I’d never seen, nor did I like.
    He looked at Holden and jerked his head to the side, demanding him to come over.  All I could see was the back of Holden’s head as he kept his pace on the machine.  He must’ve said something with his eyes because, a moment later, Dante grunted and stormed away in the direction of where Vince's office was.
    Huffing out a frustrated breath, Holden shook his head, then looked at me. “Sorry about that.  He seems to think everyone should accommodate him, and I’m supposed to just bow down to whatever that is.  I get so tired of that shit.”
    I got the feeling he’d been holding that in for a while but didn’t have anyone to tell. I’d gladly listen to anything he wanted to share with me.
    “It’s okay.” I glanced over at the woman Dante had dismissed. She was now stretching in front of the mirror, checking herself out. “I have a feeling most people are willing to do anything to please him.”
    He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I’m guilty.  Most of our lives, he’s been the one to take charge, but now that we’re business partners, it’s been difficult getting him to understand that I have an equal share here.”
    “So that was business?  For a second, I thought that was about me.” Oh crap!  Why do I keep opening my mouth!
    Smirking, he leaned toward my machine. “That’s because you’re very intuitive, Jules.”
    I blinked. “Wait, that was about me?” The timer on my elliptical went off, breaking my concentration.
    Holden stopped moving, stepped down, then helped me off mine. “It doesn’t matter.  He’s got some issues he has to work out.  You haven't done anything.  Believe me.”
    His words were soft, but his downturned mouth and rigid posture said something completely different.  Was it fear or regret?  I couldn’t quite tell.
    I nodded, deciding to accept his reassurance as he motioned for us to head toward the locker rooms. Holden picked up the hem of his shirt, exposing his incredible abs and swiped his face.
    Holy mother of God…
    “What’re your plans today?”  He blinked hard before swiping his mouth and chin.
    I tried to focus on his face and not the distracting thin line of hair that led from his tight abs down past his waistband. “Ummm, I was gonna grab some lunch, then do my laundry.” Lame. Why did I tell him that?
    He let his shirt fall as he gave me a sideway glance. “Mind if I join you for lunch?” he asked, just as we stopped by the women’s locker room.
    A beautiful woman passed by, staring at us, but Holden’s eyes never left mine.
    I cleared my throat. “Sure, but can we do a little more low key this time?”
    “Okay. Mind if I choose?”  He began strolling toward the men’s locker room.
    “Sure.” As I turned, I almost ran into another gorgeous, completely made up woman. This place was full of Barbie dolls, it seemed. “Oh, sorry.”
    She made a disgusted noise in her throat, then was on her way.
    Well, excuse the fuck out of me.
    As I grabbed my things, I ignored a few more Barbies on my way to the shower. I hadn’t realized I needed to be beauty pageant ready to step foot in this gym.
    Remembering the cash in my bag, I didn’t want to just leave it outside the shower, and I definitely didn’t want to go back through the parade of women. It felt