CHAPTER SIXTEEN
She pulled back the sheets and went to the bathroom door, noting along the way that her dress was on a hanger and her undies folded neatly on the arm of the sofa. She knocked and then entered without waiting for his acknowledgement.
Mornings should always begin like this, she mused. With a vision of broad shoulders, ripped abs and a tight ass. She opened the glass shower door and stepped inside. “Mind if I join you?”
He turned to face her, his fully erect manhood brushing her belly. “Good morning, beautiful. I was just thinking about you.” He picked up the soap and began to lather her from neck to knees, paying special attention to her breasts and slowly working his way downward. When he reached the junction of her thighs, she spread her legs and he slipped two fingers inside.
She gasped and clenched around his fingers, pushing against his palm to increase the sensations that drove her wild.
“Hmm, it seems my lady is in a hurry this morning.” He found her sweet spot and circled it with his thumb.
Her orgasm roared through her, hard and fast, her arms locked around his neck to keep from sliding into a heap at his feet. Yeah, she could get used to mornings like this. She returned the favor, delighted that he gasped her name when he came.
When he turned back to the spray to rinse, she saw the ragged scar above his right hip. She’d felt it last night but didn’t want to spoil their mood by asking about it. Doubtless it was a memento from ISIS. No wonder he limped once in a while. He had a couple of other scars, one on his biceps and another on his left thigh, but this one near his spine had to be the one that made him leave the teams.
They dried each other off, laughing like fools, and dressed.
“You didn’t really get the full tour last night. Why don’t you come in with me this morning and I’ll show you around,” Jesse said.
“Tempting, very tempting. Will your crew be there?”
“Probably three of them. Marcus for sure. Why?”
“Because, as bright as those kids are, if I show up wearing the same dress, they’ll know exactly how we spent the night.”
Jesse merely shrugged. “So? We’re both adults, and believe me, all of them are well aware of what goes on between grown-up men and women.”
“Do you bring your other lovers to work?”
“I don’t have other lovers.”
Sydney arched a brow. “Really.”
“Really.” He rolled his eyes skyward. “Look, Syd, I admit I’m not celibate. But my very occasional sexual partners have never seen the inside of this apartment or the gym. And I don’t consider them lovers. I may not be a saint, but I don’t want to give any of those kids the idea that it’s fine to have sex without any responsibility. They may talk the talk, but none of them have yet to walk the walk. I don’t plan on being that kind of coach, anyway.”
Some of them could probably use that kind of coach, she thought. But that was a topic for later discussion. “Tell you what. I’ll come back tomorrow and you can give me the tour then. I have a few other things to do today.” Like get my head on straight.
She rode behind Jesse, the hem of her dress halfway up her thighs. He dropped her where she’d parked her car and kissed her goodbye.
She drove home, her head so full of conflicting emotions, she barely registered the drive. Jesse said he didn’t want what they had to end, but she wasn’t sure what that meant. What did they have, exactly? She knew she was falling hard for him. Yesterday, watching him interact with those boys warmed her heart. Then chilled it when she thought about breaking the news that she couldn’t have children. He would make such a fantastic dad. He should be with someone who could give him sons and daughters.
The amount of pain that thought caused showed her just how deeply she’d begun to care for him. When she pulled into the driveway, tears blurred her vision. Maybe she should skip tomorrow.
* * *
Jesse arrived at work a few minutes late and was rewarded with snickers from both Marcus and Ben Lee. He supervised Ben’s lifts on the weight bench, sent him through four sets of sit-ups and twenty minutes on the rower. The kid was tall and lanky, ate like a horse and never gained a pound. He’d added two inches to his height in the last three weeks. Jesse insisted he drink two protein shakes a day and took some time to look up growth spurts on Google.
However, none of his usual tasks distracted him from what bothered him the most. He’d fallen in love with Sydney. She was smart, sweet, beautiful and caring. Everything he could ever want in a life partner. There was only one problem. No. Two.
One: He didn’t deserve her.
The man she deserved shouldn’t have the possibility of paralysis hanging over his head. One wrong move could put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. How would he support a wife? Who ever heard of a fitness center with a crippled man for a manager? Oh, Mike would keep him on—out of pity and family commitment. His pride would never let him live like that.
Two: He didn’t know if her feelings matched his. He’d never said the word love. There was attraction there, for sure. Sexual compatibility? In spades. When he woke up next to her this morning, he must have spent twenty minutes simply watching her sleep. Imagining how great it would be to wake up every day next to her. But how much time had they actually spent together? Just because the infamous lightning bolt had struck him, there was no guarantee she was as far gone in love as he was.
Before he popped the big question, he had to resolve his injury one way or the other. He had to have the surgery on his spine. If he came through okay, he would ask Sydney to marry him. If the result was paralysis, well, he’d kiss her goodbye—again. He’d let some other lucky guy have the joy of marrying Sydney.
There was one big advantage to having both a father and a brother on the surgical staff at Hahnemann University Hospital. Speed. They already had all of his medical records from Walter Reed. They knew who was the best neurosurgeon in town. When he paged his dad, he was in surgery, so he tapped Luke first.
“Luke. It’s Jesse. Do you have a minute?”
“Of course, Jess. What’s up? Please don’t tell me you’ve hurt your back.”
“Not at all. I’ve decided you and dad are right. I want to have the operation.”
“Smart decision, Jess. Dad and I have been living in constant fear of you doing some dumb-assed maneuver at that gym and then, well, that’s all she wrote.”
“Yeah, so, how soon can I have it?”
“The surgery?” Luke couldn’t keep the amazement out of his voice.
“Of course, the surgery, Luke. What the hell else have we been talking about?” Jesse blew out an exasperated breath.
“Have you had anything to eat or drink today?”
“Yeah. Coffee, two protein bars and—”
“Sorry, that was a surgical joke, Jess. Never mind. Dad’s doing a lap chole. He should be out in about fifteen minutes. He’s got more clout with Dr. Maysfield than I do, so we’ll let him try to get you in as soon as possible. You’ll have to get a couple of CAT scans and some blood work done first.”
“Okay, I can do that. Tell me where to go.” Jesse waited through a long silence. “What aren’t you telling me, Luke? Is there some new complication with this back injury that you and Dad have kept to yourselves?”
“No, nothing like that. Do you mind telling me why you suddenly changed your mind? We’d given up trying to convince you.”
“I need to know if I’ll be paralyzed before I make plans for my future, that’s all.” He could hear the gigantic sigh on Luke’s end.
“Yeah, right. Okay. Hang by the phone. I’ll call you back.”
“Luke, I know I’ve been a pain in the ass about this. Thanks for not rubbing my nose in it—and for help speeding it up.”
“No problem, pal.”
Jesse went into his office and began to alter his schedule. After that, he took a little time to fantasize about life with Sydney.