Chapter 201

Ella

The next morning, I found myself standing in Logan’s exercise room, a place I had only heard about but never seen.

It was much more spacious than I had imagined, equipped with various gym equipment, mats, and even a small boxing ring. The walls were lined with mirrors, reflecting the polished floors and the gleaming exercise machines. It was clear that this was where Logan honed his physical prowess.

“Well this explains a lot,” Ema said as I stepped into the air-conditioned room, my reflection staring back at me from the full-length mirrors. “No wonder he’s so muscular. Look at this stuff.”

As she spoke, I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. Logan was very muscular, but not in an over-the-top sort of way.

His muscles were long and lean, and his body was well-sculpted. He seemed just as agile as he was strong, and the various calisthenics equipment—the monkey bars, the hand hoops, and the yoga mats—laying around the gym only served to further prove my hypothesis.

I swallowed as I walked into the room and looked around. I was wearing my usual fitness attire: a pair of tight leggings and a slim fitted top, but I felt oddly underdressed in this environment. It was a reminder of just how much Logan was honing his physical fitness, and I hadn’t done much more than hiking and the occasional trip to the public gym in quite a while.

Working at the law firm had taken up most of my time and energy, and I had little drive left to do an intense workout after a long day of work.

But, our promise from last night kept whirling around in my mind, and I was excited to prove myself.

“And you’re excited to get sweaty with Logan,” Ema teased.

“Stop that,” I replied mentally, although I couldn’t deny the heat warming up my cheeks. “I’m just… looking forward to a good workout.”

Ema went to respond with another cheeky quip, but before she could, the door swung open.

Logan sauntered into the room, a cocky grin on his face, and his sleeves rolled up to reveal his toned arms. I had to quickly look away to hide the redness that was coming to my face just from looking at him.

“Morning,” he said as he entered.

“Morning,” I replied, then cleared my throat and gestured around. “This is impressive. I knew you had a home gym, but I didn’t know it was like this.”

“Yeah.” Logan chuckled. “I had it specially built when I bought this property. It’s important to me to have a nice place to workout.”

“You must workout a lot, then,” I pointed out, even though I already knew that he spent a good amount of time in here just judging by the way that he would disappear for an hour or two a day.

He nodded, then smirked. “I do. Why, are you checking me out?”

My face turned an even brighter shade of red. “No. Can we just get this over with?”

“Get it over with?” Logan asked. “I thought you’d want to savor beating me up for once.”

Now, I was the one who laughed. “I was actually thinking about that,” I said. “Why don’t we make this a little more… interesting?”

Logan arched an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Oh? What do you have in mind?”

I smirked, having spent the night thinking about this idea of mine. “Let’s raise the stakes,” I said. “If I beat you, you have to tell everyone you were beaten by a girl. If I lose, you could…”

“If you lose, I get to take you on a date. Like, a real date,” Logan said with a grin. “And you will lose. So start thinking of restaurants.”

My eyes widened at this new stake. It wasn’t something I had considered, but… “Alright,” I said, holding my hand out. “You’ve got a deal.”

We shook hands firmly, sealing our bet. But then Logan’s mischievous grin widened, and he added a twist to our wager. “Actually,” he said, “I’d like to add a new wager. If you can beat me, I’ll not only tell everyone I was beaten up by a girl… but I’ll also get the tattoo of your choosing.”

I burst out laughing at his audacity. “You’re on, Logan,” I replied, unable to resist the challenge even though I never intended on actually making him get a tattoo.

We took our positions barefoot on opposite sides of a soft mat and began circling each other in the middle of the room. Logan’s movements were smooth and controlled, his hands raised in a defensive stance. I mirrored his posture, trying to gauge his strategy. It didn’t take long for the intensity to build as we exchanged quick jabs and feints.

But then, Logan lunged at me, his speed catching me off guard. He managed to knock my front leg out from under me, and I stumbled back, regaining my balance just in time and slipping from his grip before he managed to get me to the floor.

“Nice,” Logan said, lowering his stance again. “You don’t go down easy.”

I didn’t respond. I was too focused on my next move, tapping into my years of training growing up.

And yet, as the seconds ticked away, Logan’s confidence seemed justified. He was relentless, his attacks coming from all angles. I dodged and blocked as best I could, but he was clearly the more experienced fighter. Sweat trickled down my brow as I pushed myself harder.

With just a few seconds left on the clock, Logan made a final, powerful strike. It was almost as if he was about to win, but then, in a burst of adrenaline and determination, I managed to get the upper hand. I grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and with a swift move, I pinned him to the ground.

Logan let out a grunt of surprise, his resistance fading as he realized he was trapped. He tapped the floor, signaling his surrender. “You win, Ella,” he admitted, his voice breathless.

I released him and got to my feet, my heart racing from the exhilaration of the fight. Logan rose as well, and we stared at each other, both sweaty and out of breath. There was a charged silence in the room as our eyes locked, and then, as if drawn by an irresistible force…

We rushed forward, and our lips met in a passionate kiss.

The world seemed to fade away as we kissed, the intensity of the moment overwhelming. His tongue worked its way into my mouth, and as it did, we collapsed onto the mat in a sweaty heap. I straddled him, pinning his wrists to the mat, but he was too quick for me.

In a swift movement, he flipped me over, and now I was the one who was pinned to the mat.

“You won the first time,” Logan murmured, his voice low and husky. “But I’m not losing a second time.”

I chuckled softly, my gaze locked with his. “Either way,” I murmured, “it looks like you’ll have to tell everyone that you were beaten by a girl.”

Logan grinned, his eyes filled with a gleaming desire, his breaths coming out thick and fast. “I’ll gladly admit it,” he replied, leaning in to kiss me again.