The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 215

Margot’s POV

The gym felt… different today… but the more I thought on it, maybe it was just me that felt different?

Maybe it was everything that had changed in the space of just one night.

How my world had been totally flipped upside down since coming in to this project and meeting him…

Coban.

Coban had insisted that we come back here early today after breakfast – something about reclaiming his private gym slot that he had been promised.

Typical of him. Always needing control. Always needing to feel in charge.

But this time… it didn’t feel suffocating to be in here alone with him, waiting for my friend to arrive. Things were calm between us. We were both calm.

The silence was nice, watching Coban head straight for the treadmill to warm up, kissing my head first, as I made my way over to the same sofa in the corner – the one by the windows – and sank into it slowly, adjusting myself carefully so I didn’t aggravate the dull ache still lingering in my body.

My knee started bouncing almost instantly. A nervous habit I’d adopted from being here.

Waiting.

For Cara.

To tell my friend all about what happened…

Sunlight poured in through the tall windows, casting a warm glow across the gym floor, catching on the metal weights.

And on him…

God…

My eyes betrayed me.

They drifted straight back towards Coban.

Running now.

His pace steady, controlled – exactly like everything else about him.

His thick muscular legs flexed with every stride, muscles tightening and releasing beneath his skin, his body moving with a power that was impossible to ignore.

My breath caught slightly.

Heat curled up low in my stomach.

Flashbacks hit me like a wave all over again.

What we’d done…

Last night…

The way he’d touched me.

The way he’d looked at me.

The way he’d owned every inch of me…

I swallowed hard, shifting slightly on the sofa as warmth spread between my legs, my cheeks flushing instantly.

Get it together Margot…

But I couldn’t stop looking at him. Couldn’t stop replaying it. Couldn’t stop feeling it.

I felt like he was mine now.

And I was his.

Completely.

The gym doors swung open suddenly, snapping me out of my trance – finally.

Leo walked in first, casual as ever, like he owned the place, with Cara trailing in just behind him.

Except the second she spotted me?

She lit up.

And darted around him without hesitation.

“Margot!” She beamed, and I barely had time to react to her before she was dropped down beside me, her energy immediate – in the best possible way.

Meanwhile, Leo headed straight for Coban, climbing onto the treadmill beside his like it was second nature to him because I guess at this point, it was.

I watched as Coban slowed down slightly, shifting from a run to a jog, glancing sideways at Leo.

Leo seemed to say something to him, before reaching out to push his shoulder, and then-

Coban smiled.

Actually smiled.

A full real one.

And my heart fluttered at the sight.

He dipped his head slightly, like he was trying to hide it, before looking back at Leo again who was seemingly to talk at him about something.

“Hello?!” Cara suddenly nudged me hard in the arm.

I jolted.

“What?” I blinked, turning to her.

“You’re doing it again,” she laughed. “You’re in another Coban trance and I’m trying to talk to you!”

My cheeks burned instantly. “I am not – I…”

“You so are!” she cut in, grinning. Then her expression shifted slightly, her eyes narrowing as she studied me more closely.

“Wait…”

Uh oh.

“Something’s different today…” she stated as fact, as my stomach flipped.

Her gaze flicked over my face, my posture, the way I was sitting – everything about me was being assessed by her now.

And just like that, my heartbeat picked up fast.

“Cara…” I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice instinctively.

Her eyes widened.

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