Page 18 of Wild Card
“Talon.”
“Talon, this is my job. And well…”
“Well, what?”
“I just… this is my job.”
“Heard that the first time.” I can’t stop my grin.
“What happened to scouts honor?”
“Keeping it real, babe. Get used to it.”
“For some reason, I highly doubt you talked like this to Dr. Koch.”
“Dr. Koch isn’t a gorgeous woman who I happen to know tastes like peaches and kisses like she was made for me.”
I’m pushing hard, but fuck if I don’t enjoy seeing her flustered.
There’s a flicker of heat in her gaze before it switches to a mix of disbelief and irritation. Without responding, she walks away, coming back a minute later rolling a cart with weights and kettlebells. It’s been a long time since I worked with free weights. In the last few months with Dr. Koch, we skipped the basics on my insistence.
“We doing the kiddie exercises today?”
She purses her lips. “Standard initial discovery. New injury, new protocol.”
“I can respect that, but I can handle much more.”
“Humor me, tough guy.”
I resist the urge to argue that this is a waste of time. For the next forty-five minutes, she guides me through exercises, constantly measuring my range of motion. With each rep, she increases the weights.
Before the incident in December, I could bench press over two-hundred-and-fifty pounds without a thought. But fuck if I’m not feeling this as sweat trickles down my neck.
“That’s enough for today.” She eases my elbow down from the extension.
I bite the inside of my cheek at the throbbing in my shoulder. Her lips curl at the slight twitch in my arm.
“Something amusing?”
“Hmmm.”
“You enjoying this?”
“Kiddie exercises kicked your butt.”
“Take a lot more than that.”
“I’ll remember that.”
She bends to load the cart and my eyes zone in on her ass. “Eyes off my ass, Mr. Simms.”
“Just making sure you didn’t need help with the cart.”
“You able to control your reaction if I assess the muscles before you leave?” She points to my shoulder. “Or should I ask Lucas to come back?”
“Want me to take my shirt off to help you out?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
