Page 73 of Cross the Line
I blink in surprise. He’s gone into full physical therapist mode in a heartbeat, watching me expectantly, waiting for me to comply with his orders. He’s a professional, and he’ll probably tattle to Dev if I try to brush off my pain again, so I do as I’m told and walk toward him. I can’t mask the slight limp.
His frown deepens as I approach, then he grasps my elbow to support me when I reach him. ‘You need to stay off that for a bit,’ he instructs. ‘I can work on you. See if we can get that hip sitting a little better in the joint.’
My jaw goes slack as I scrutinize him. ‘You’d do that for me?’
‘Of course,’ he says with a scoff. ‘You really think I’m that much of an asshole?’
‘No,’ I blurt. My face goes hot with embarrassment, but he’s seen right through me. I didn’t think he liked me enough to go out of his way to come to my aid. ‘I just – I didn’t think – you’re here for Dev, not anyone else.’
He rolls his eyes as he tightens his grip on my elbow, taking on more of my weight as he turns me toward the elevators. ‘I’m here for the people I care about, and you’re one of them.’ He gently nudges me into walking, watching each of my steps. ‘Come on. Let’s get some breakfast and then we’ll see if we can get your pain level down.’
I let him guide me, thankful to him for both the literal support and for being so open to helping me. ‘Thank you,’ I tell him quietly as he hits the button for the elevator.
He doesn’t look at me as he says, ‘I’ve got you, Wills. You should know that.’
I certainly do now.
Mark doesn’t let me go even as the elevator descends. Surprisingly, the silence isn’t the least bit awkward, but I do have to break it. ‘I don’t want Dev to know about this.’
I can feel Mark’s eyes on me, though I continue to focus on the steel doors straight ahead. It has nothing to do with hiding who I spend my time with from Dev, but because I don’t want him to know that I’m hurting. I don’t want him to take on that worry.
Blessedly, I don’t have to elaborate. Mark gets it. ‘I’ll send him down to the gym after breakfast,’ he answers. ‘He needs to sweat out all that alcohol from last night anyway.’
I snicker, finally peeking up at him. ‘You’re cruel. I like it.’
A hint of a smirk creeps up his face. ‘I have a feeling you won’t like it for long.’
——
An hour later, I’m lying on the massage table that Mark keeps set up in his room so he can work on Dev at any time. I have to respect his preparedness, but right now, I kind of hate him for it.
‘Holyfuck,’ I grit out.
This time, Mark’s smirk makes me wonder if he’s a sadist.
He’s perched next to me on the edge of the table with my knee hooked over one of his shoulders and his hands wrapped around my thigh over my compression shorts. We’re all up on each other, but there is nothing evenremotelysexual about this. Honestly, he’s lucky I haven’t kicked him in the face yet.
‘Breathe out,’ he says calmly.
Obediently, I force a puff of air out of my mouth as he gives my leg a controlled tug.
The relief is immediate, like the ball part of my hip isn’t jammed into the socket any longer. The excruciating ‘massage’ he gave me first has even encouraged the usually tight muscles surrounding the joint to relax. I’m in heaven.
My head is spinning up in the clouds when Mark asks, ‘So. You and Dev, huh?’
Panic assaults me, dragging me back down to earth, before I stutter, ‘I – I don’t—’
‘Stop.’ He moves his hands a little lower on my thigh so he can pull it at a different angle. ‘I already know.’
I let out a heavier exhale as he yanks my leg again. This adjustment is almost better than the first. ‘Did he tell you?’
There’s no avoiding Mark’s questions; I’m truly at his mercy right now, so I might as well be honest.
He shakes his head. ‘He didn’t have to. I saw you kissing last night.’
My stomach plummets to the floor. Oh no. If he saw us, that meansanyonecould have. It means we’ve been careless and rash. We let our emotions lead us without thinking about repercussions. Though Dev asked me to think things through, we’ve pretty much already thrown caution to the wind, and now I could be facing down a nightmare.
‘Do you think anyone else saw?’ I ask, dread creeping into my stomach.
