David Cameron, the newest member of the Idaho Outlaws, was cracking on the second baseman’s latest escapades with his new girlfriend while the team manager, Blake Anderson, former MVP and seven-time All-Star for the Thunderbirds, threw in his thoughts on Cruzer’s luck with the girl of his dreams.
Luke held on to his bruised ribs while he laughed and tried not to let the rumbling travel down to his throbbing knee. “Cruzer, you have a better chance of making a walk-off run than scoring with Priscilla. Her preacher daddy holds the key to that one’s chastity belt. She’s not giving up the pink without a ring, buddy. And you’re too damn smart for that.”
“You’re such a cynic, Garibaldi. What if the next woman who walks through that door is the one for you? Are you going to lay there in your sick bed and tell me you’d give up a chance at paradise because you don’t believe in true love?”
Luke grinned wide. “Without a second thought, bro. Women and men are good together for just a few things, and living together forever isn’t one of them.”
“That’s sad, man. You’re going to be one lonely and grouchy old man. Wait a minute, I forgot you’re practically there.” Cruzer snickered but stepped back from the hospital bed.
“Keep it up, Cruzer. When Miss Priss gets her hooks into you without offering a sample, you’ll be looking for the nearest exit. While I’ll take the next beautiful woman I see to nirvana and send her on her way the next morning. No way I’ll ever . . .”
“Ever what, Garibaldi? Sounds like another tall tale being told.” T.S. strode into the room and held the door for someone behind him.
A slim hand reached out to take the door and entered at a slower pace. Luke’s gaze noticed the long blond locks first. He lay back into his pillow and took the gut punch as T. S. introduced Lara to the room.
“Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce Lara Andretti, the Outlaws’ newest physical therapist. She’s graciously signed on to work with you, Luke, until we get Manny back.”
A loud bark sounded from the corner of the room. Maverick covered his mouth and walked over to greet Lara. He flashed a smirk toward Luke. “Well, well, if you’re not a sight for sore eyes, Lara. Hi there, beautiful. I believe you’re just what the doctor ordered.”
Luke watched with hooded eyes as Mav gave a her a bear hug.
“Thanks for signing on. I’m sure we’ll hear all about why we were lucky enough to steal you away from your job at the clinic.” Maverick turned back toward a stunned Luke. “What do you say, Luke? Looks like you’ll be proving us all wrong sooner than you thought, huh?”
The rest of the players broke out in howls of laughter. T.S. frowned. “Okay, what the hell did we miss?”
Mav answered for Luke and the rest of them. “Oh, nothing important. Just guy talk.”
Lara stepped to the side of T.S. and acknowledged everyone in the room before looking at Luke.
He studied her looking for signs of what she was thinking. Not sure what he wanted to see, he sat up straighter in the hospital bed and cleared his throat.
“Hi, Lara. Uh, thanks. I appreciate you signing on to help me out.”
The look she sent his way gave him pause. The heat from the other night was gone. The woman before him was pure professional. Not sure if he liked her cool detachment, he gave her his best smile and a wink.
“Luke.” She nodded. “I’m sorry to hear about your accident. And just to be clear, I’m still with the clinic. I have other clients that I just can’t up and leave. However, I’ve assured T.S. and Blake you’ll receive top priority.”
He relaxed a bit. Now that he’d decided he wanted another taste of her, this was the perfect opportunity, albeit at the price of his knee. But he’d make the best of it and he’d make sure her full attention included more of them together—naked.
Luke arrived late for his first physical therapy appointment thanks to a group of fans that had camped outside the front door. Somehow word had leaked out. And that’s how Lara found him. An overenthusiastic female fan had just asked him to sign her T-shirt, right above her left breast.
The fan gave Luke, Lara, and anyone within a ten-foot radius an eyeful of her ample cleavage as she bent down to look for a spot on his leg to sign.
Luke caught her eye at that exact moment. His face was flushed and he gave her an embarrassed grin. He took the girl’s arm and brought her back to a standing position and offered to sign an autograph. “I appreciate the support, ladies. But my therapist is waiting.”
He scribbled his name on her shirt and turned his attention toward Lara. “I’m ready when you are.”
Lara felt like a voyeur and gave him a quick nod before she did an about-face and headed toward the gym. She didn’t bother to wait for him. Total unprofessional behavior, but she needed to get away from the uncomfortable situation as fast as she could.
He cleared his throat and tried again. “I know it’s going to be strange, but I think we can make this work.”
“Look, we’ll make the best of it.” Lara sounded—distant. “We both knew, I knew, that the night we spent together was just to scratch an itch, right? We’re grown-ups and I believe we can keep things on a professional level for the next few weeks.”
Shit. A logical solution. It wasn’t like he wanted her to beg him, right? One and done. He’d more than learned his lesson with Syndi. But this situation, this woman was different. He wanted to discover why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He still wasn’t looking for forever, but maybe she would be open to having a little fun while they were now going to spend a lot of time together.
Luke tried to read Lara’s features but she was wearing a poker face and he had no clue what was going on inside her gorgeous head. His gaze dropped down to her lips. Lips that just days ago were wrapped around . . . and hello, hard-on.
“So why did you agree to work with me?” Luke asked.
Instead of answering him, Lara moved equipment around the gym making room so he could maneuver his crutches around another patient. She waved him over to the bench and motioned to where she wanted him to sit.
He hobbled over the five or so feet and prayed he wouldn’t make an ass of himself. He sat down and lifted and held on to his knee as he swung his body onto the too-small bench and looked up to see her staring just over his shoulder.
“Lara?”
“A lot of reasons. One, I’m a physical therapist; it’s what I do. Two, T.S. and Kelsey are my friends and they asked.”
“I hear a three coming.”
“No. No, that’s about it.”
“You mean, you didn’t give a thought to what it would be like working together after we had sex, not to mention one heck of an elevator ride?” Luke kept pressing. He didn’t like how cool and unaffected she was. And dammit, he wanted her to show just a little bit of the desire that was riding him hard.
Her face was flushed, and he watched as she clasped and unclasped her hands. A good sign finally, until she gave him her third reason.
“I’m going to interview in a couple of weeks for a new job at Seattle Children’s. So what happened between us doesn’t really factor in to my future plans. Sure, we’ll see each other at the wedding, but beyond that . . . Oh, and by the way, my boss doesn’t know that’s what I’m doing, so please don’t say anything. I need the time to phase out my current clients and find new PTs for them before the job begins after Labor Day.”
Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“So you don’t have the job yet, but you’re betting on it, and since you’ll have to give up your clients anyway you decided to work with me so you don’t have to tell your boss now that you’ll be leaving at the end of summer, huh? Wow, win-win for you. I’m flattered.”
Damn. It had nothing to do with their one night together and everything to do with her dedication to her other clients. Talk about an ego deflator. He should just be happy she wasn’t trying to cling to him like so many of his past ball girls did.
But instead of just accepting her response at face value and shaking it off, he said something he’d never said to a woman before. “I can’t stop thinking about the other night, Lara. I keep picturing you underneath me, being inside you, and I’m hoping you haven’t stopped thinking about it either. I thought maybe we could take advantage of our time together. You know, friends with benefits . . .”
He let the question hang. He couldn’t help pushing her buttons. And he wanted another chance to do more, much more.
He watched as her body went rigid and her face flushed a deeper red than before with his bold statement. He watched as she fought an internal battle and then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Little did she understand the challenge she was presenting.
At Luke’s blatant offer of more naked time together, Lara’s hand froze before she touched his shoulder to help guide him backward to lie flat. It was bad enough she was having naughty thoughts about her new patient and one-time lover.
Ever since he hobbled into the room her palms had been itching to touch him again even if it was for therapeutic purposes, and now she had a choice. Accept his offer of pursuing the personal while somehow maintaining a level of professionalism. Could she do it? Images from their night together reminded her just how good it had been between them.
She closed her eyes and prayed for divine intervention, anything to help her make a decision. No, no she couldn’t compromise herself this way. Work before romance, or sex. Her integrity before guaranteed orgasms. Damn, sometimes it sucked being a rule follower.
“Luke, I’m going to be straight with you, and as appealing as your offer is . . . wait, you are offering, right?”
“Anytime, anywhere, sweetheart.” He’d been watching her closely the entire time she’d been debating with herself, making it hard to forget him relaxed and so damn sexy after they’d devoured each other.
“Hmm, anywhere, huh? I suppose if I said yes and ripped my shirt off right here for anyone to walk in and witness . . . well, you know. I guess I should have suspected after the elevator event.”
“Event? Oh, Lara, it was so much more. And no, I’m not into voyeuristic sex. I like to know I’m the only one enjoying you in all your . . . glory.”
His eyes had narrowed. His tone was serious and she shuddered at his possessiveness. She needed to change the conversation before one of her co-workers walked in. She wasn’t ready to quit yet, and being fired for propositioning a patient would not look good in the eyes of the medical board.
“How about we table this discussion until we’re someplace more appropriate?”
Luke held her gaze for the longest minute of her life. Then he made a show of turning that hot gaze on her body. Her now very achy and needy body. His gaze traveled ever so slowly down and back up. “You’re right. Hell, I didn’t think it was going to be so damn hard being close to you again. Not without touching you. All right, Lara. I’ll be the perfect patient. No more flirting.”
Just flirting? That was how he flirted? She wiped her sweaty palms on her slacks and did her best to sound professional and unaffected.
“Thank you, Luke. Now, uh, I need you to lie down. I’ll take off your brace so I can determine your level of flexibility before I design a routine for you. Today is all about seeing what you can’t do, okay?”
“Well, I don’t have much experience with the word ‘can’t,’ but I’ll do my best.” He grinned. She could see the pain in his eyes. He’d been playing the tough, typical alpha athlete who wasn’t about to let someone know the real amount of pain he was in.
As best she could, she turned off her personal feelings for Luke and went into therapist mode.
The knee looked better than it had in the hospital the other day. There was still a slight chance surgery would be required, yet everyone wanted to give physical therapy a shot before putting him under. His age and profession were two big strikes against him. The other would be his willingness to do the hard work needed to rehab his knee.
Secretly, she suspected he would do anything to get back in the game, even play injured. But she’d make it her mission to do her best at getting him to one hundred percent before the season was a complete wash for him.
“So tell me, how long have you been doing this? You seem pretty young to me to be so sought after as a therapist,” Luke said.
“I need you to concentrate on straightening your knee as much as you can for me, not on my level of competency. If I didn’t have the credentials, do you really think the Outlaws’ management would have asked me to work with you?” Lara didn’t know what to do with the fire he ignited and she didn’t have time to deal with his seduction attempts. She needed to get this appointment over as quickly as possible and then regroup.
“Okay, you got me there. So how old are you anyway? Twenty-two, three? You look like you’re fresh out of college. How long does it take to become a physical therapist anyway?”
“Gosh, you’re full of questions today. Interesting how all of a sudden you want to know about my background, especially since you’ve already been in my bed. And as flattering as it is to think I look that young, I’m going to be twenty-seven in a few months.”
“Touché. However, maybe I want you to know there’s more to me than just baseball and the best sex you’ve ever had.”
“How about this. If you promise to focus on the session and on what I need you to do, then you can ask me five questions when we’re done. Fair?”
“Just five? What if that doesn’t satisfy my curiosity about you? There’s something that fascinates me where you’re concerned. Maybe it’s because I’ve never had a woman trainer or therapist before, or maybe it’s because you’re so damn hot.” He ran his hand up the back of her thigh. She held back the moan she felt emerging and sighed.
It’s just a touch, Lara. Get a grip. But it wasn’t. It was so much more. If he couldn’t keep his hands to himself five minutes after she asked him to keep things businesslike, then there was no use pretending she could do this job. Because the truth was, she wanted his hands all over her and the sooner the better.
Lara stepped back from the bench. She crossed her arms over her breasts and let him have it. “Luke, I’m not playing. You agreed to stop with the personal stuff. I have no qualms about kicking your ass right out of here. This is not going to work if you can’t keep your hands off me. There are plenty of other PTs in the area who could help you. I’m done here.”
Her hands shaking, she turned around and grabbed a towel off the shelf and wiped her sweaty palms and tossed it into the bin. “I trust you know how to put the brace back on by yourself. I’ll call Kelsey and let her know this isn’t going to work.” She strode toward the door; she couldn’t stay in the same room with him. Not as much as she wanted this man.
What he made her feel was beyond the flutterings she’d experienced with other men. With just a look, every pulse point in her body went off, her nipples hardened, and tiny throbs exploded in her core. She wasn’t sure she could do this and maintain her own strict standards of professionalism.
Having a one-night stand was one thing. Working with the man who had rocked her world during said one night was something else entirely. She didn’t want another relationship where she came second. No, mixing business and pleasure would not work for her right now. Or anytime, for that matter.
She swept past him, but didn’t make it. He put his arms out and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her into his body. For being injured, he moved fast. He’d managed to sit up and swing both legs on to the opposite side of the bench. He spread his legs to accommodate her in between and held her tight.
“My career may be all about how well I play a game, and I’m paid very well for that ability. However, game playing in my personal life doesn’t happen. Ever. I’ve had my share of dead-end relationships, and the press hooks me up with every woman who has the misfortune to be seen within ten feet of me. But, I’m very choosy about who I share my time and my body with. And I’m not going to fight these feelings I have for you. So, in my not very suave way, I wanted to let you know how I feel about you, okay?
“I can work through it if you don’t feel the same, but I’m not going to spend time with you and pretend I don’t want you. So if you need to walk away from this job, that’s fine. But I wanted you to know this isn’t some random attempt at getting in your pants—again.”
Lara didn’t know how to respond to his declaration. Becoming involved with a patient was ethically wrong, no matter how hot he was or that they’d already slept together. After what she’d gone through with her ex, she didn’t know if she could deal with a friends-with-benefits type of relationship.
“Luke, I appreciate your honesty. It’s refreshing and, well, I wouldn’t have expected it from you.”
“Why not? Because you think of me as a meathead ballplayer?”
She laughed at his description and it was then she remembered he was still holding her around the waist in between his legs. Anyone could walk in and see them and that would be the end of her job, sooner rather than later.
She placed her hands on his shoulders to push herself back and stifled a groan. Rock-hard muscles greeted her touch. Another round of impulses traveled up her spine and back down. She was in trouble, no matter what.
This time he let her go. She missed his warmth and almost stepped back into the V of his thighs where evidence of his feelings for her was evident.
“Luke, this is not going to work. Now that you’ve told me about . . . these feelings, we can’t work together. I just . . . can’t, okay?”
“Why not? I can keep my hands to myself during our sessions. No one needs to know. You didn’t have a problem sleeping with me the other night. And if—”
“There are no ‘ifs,’ Luke. I’m sorry if my answer is not the one you wanted. If you’re going to push me on this then I’ll see to it that another therapist is assigned to you. We have many competent people on staff and . . .” She held up her hands at his obstinate look. He was a man used to getting his way, but in this instance, she couldn’t let him.
“And as for the offer of . . . us, I was prepared for one night with you. Nothing more. See you around, Luke.” She walked backward a few steps. She marveled at her ability not to walk into the wall and turned and headed for the front office. It was the hardest trip down the hallway she’d ever made.