I proved it all right.

All month long I used the knowledge I obtained from Kova and the meet and worked my ass off. If I wasn't with my private tutor, or at physical therapy for my calf, I was in the gym. I kept my mouth shut and took everything Madeline and Kova dished out. I didn’t complain or question them. Each of my routines were broken down and I was ripped apart. The coaches videotaped me so I could watch my progress. I consumed more Motrin in one week than I had in a month and I hardly slept. I was mentally and physically exhausted. But I didn't give in or give up.

I wanted this.

Tomorrow is Sunday, which meant the gym would be closed, but I was going to ask if I could start coming in to do extra conditioning. I'd need to beg and plead though since it was also Madeline’s and Kova's day off and no one would be here. I had a few weeks until my first official meet and that wasn't a lot of time to become perfect.

I shoved my wristbands into my duffle bag and my stomach growled. I pulled out a bottle of coconut water, something Kova had introduced me to months ago, and drank half the container. That would hold me over for a bit.

Standing up, I didn't bother to dust the chalk from my thighs or fix my hair. I didn't slip on any pants, I wore only my leotard. The cold tile shocked my bare feet and I felt a zip up my spine as goose bumps broke out on my arms. The lobby was so much colder after practice. Rounding the corner, I headed down the hall to Kova's office, strutting past the locker room with determination in each step.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled and knocked on his door.

"Yes."

I slipped my hand over the brass knob and opened the door. I hadn't been in his office since the day he pulled me from the meet. I glanced around. Memories assaulted me, both pleasant and horrible as I stood there waiting for his attention.

"What is it, Ria?" he said without even looking up. The lip of his ball cap shielded his view of me.

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. "How did you know it was me?"

He huffed out a low laugh as he continued writing. "I always know when you are around. I can smell you." I pursed my lips together, bewildered by his response. I know I put deodorant on this morning. "It is not what you think, so relax." He placed his pen down, then folded his arms behind his head and stretched back. The leather chair creaked as his shirt pulled up and his legs widened. I stifled the groan in the back of my throat. I fought hard not to glance down at his rock-solid abs and patch of thin dark hair I knew was there. All month long we were behaving—he was the coach and I was the gymnast, nothing more.

But of course, I just had to look down. I couldn't not. The blue vein driving toward his groin taunted me to look. My gaze lingered for a second and I wondered just how far it went and if it was the vein that wrapped around—

I snapped my eyes up, stopping myself. Blood rushed to my cheeks before I could stop it. Kova grinned. I hated that knowing look that glimmered in his eyes. This was new territory for us. Friendship. At least that's what I thought it was, how I'd viewed it.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked playfully and shifted from foot to foot.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Adrianna."

I gave him a droll stare and tried not to smile. He knew. I was embarrassingly giddy. "You are such a liar." I laughed a little, and his grin widened. "Stop looking at me like that."

"You have a very subtle hint of the ocean that lingers on you. I can always detect it."

"That's not creepy at all," I said, looking away, trying to push back my flyaways from the day’s practice.

Kova had a scent to me too, but I thought it was his cologne. I wasn't wearing anything scented. I never wore lotion to practice because the sweat would make me slippery. I wasn't big on body sprays or perfumes anyway. It had to be my shampoo, but he wasn't even that close to get a drift of it.

He shook his head. "Take a seat. What is it that you need?"

My nerves sparked at the ends. I was edgy and I didn't know why. I sat down, then blurted out what I came for.

"Even though I hate them with a passion, I want to add another dance class to my schedule. I'm not stupid, I know what ballet can offer a gymnast, so I'll suck it up if I must. I also want to keep up with the private classes with you to help with my flexibility. I don't want to revert to old habits or lose what I've already accomplished. I can stay longer into the evenings to make this work, and Sundays I want to come in and do extra conditioning, if that's okay with you, of course. I don't need you or Madeline here with me for that, I just thought you should know when someone is coming and going in your gym." Then, I got raw and honest with him. "I'm less than a month away from testing elite, and I'm nervous as hell that I'm not primed and ready enough. I want to know that I did everything I could to get at least the minimum points required to become elite. I want both floor routines to wow the judges and draw their attention but keep them elegant and artistic at the same time. I don't want to wobble on beam or jerk in my turns. I want to hit every handstand on bars and stick my landing on vault while getting the flight I need. I want to practice every waking moment so there's no room for error when the time comes. Please, Kova. I want this so bad. I won't complain or ask for a day off. I will do anything so that when my time comes, I will make it count. I want the challenge. I want to make the goals I set. I want it all."

"Breathe, Ria. I do not think you took a breath in between all that."

I blushed. Kova did what he did best and stared at me. He ran a hand down his face, and I noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble around his jaw. He hadn't shaved in days. I loosely wondered if today wasn't the day to push for this.

"You ask for so much. You are here nearly fifty hours a week as it is. Adrianna, I think you are on track as you should be. I do not think you need to push any more than what you are. If I thought for one minute you were lacking anywhere, I think you should know by now that I would not hesitate to hold back. As of right now, you are still recovering from an injury that we do not need to reinjure or flare up. Every athlete needs a rest day for their muscles to recover. At the rate you want to go, you are going to need your own physical therapist to help you recover quickly. You are going to be soaking in ice baths every night, hot tubs, massage therapy, cupping therapy. There are so many things you may require to keep going, to keep you healthy. Eventually it will all catch up to you."

My Achilles had hardly been a bother. In all honestly, I'd forgotten about it. And the work was already catching up to me, but he didn't need to know that.

"You know money is not an issue. I can get the best of everything."

"Money cannot buy you everything, Ria," he said like it was common sense. "If you have that kind of mindset, you are not who I thought you were. After a while, your strength will deteriorate, and your mental aptitude will weigh you down. Not because you are weakening, but because you push too hard and do not recover properly. I will always be by your side pushing you, but I know when not to overdo it too. I was where you are at one time. It is not just about recovering your muscles, it is about your mind too. Your body can only handle so much."

I wanted to work more, work harder, to be the best, just like he wanted me to be. It's what he implied and suddenly he didn't want to give it to me. That lit a fire under my ass.

"Didn't you once tell me the body can endure anything, but it's my mind I have to convince?"

"Probably. It sounds like something I would say."

"Well, you did. And I'm trying to do just that."

Kova sat up, his face twisted. "Do not throw my words back in my face, Adrianna." His voice hardened, his accent strong. I loved when it came out like this.

"I'm offering myself to you to do whatever you want. You tell me to do five beam routines, I'm going to do eight. You tell me to come in at seven, I'll be here at six. You wanted me to prove it. Here I am, proving myself. I don't understand why you aren't agreeing to this. The whole reason I came here is for a coach who will push me hard and not give up. I want someone to coach me the way Nadia was coached. Someone who will back me. You're supposed to work me to the bone. I don't feel like I'm at that point, I don’t feel like I'm doing enough, Kova. I want more."

Kova's emerald eyes flared to life. I’d hit a nerve.

He stood up and stalked his way around his desk in three steps. My stomach dropped when he neared me. I wasn't sure whether I should stay seated or stand, so I stood. If he wanted to argue, I'd go toe to toe with him.

"I back you," he spat low and angry, like I insulted him. "I push you. I work you harder than anyone. I spend more time with you than anyone else. I blow off my girlfriend for you, to give you more time, and look how you show your respect. You come into my office, shove my words in my face, demand I do what you want, in hopes of what? That I will bend to your will? That is not how it works here, Adrianna. And it never will. You need to remember your ground. Every athlete is different. Not everyone can handle more. I do not want to push too much. Yes, you are resilient, much stronger than what I have seen in years come through these doors, but you are nursing an injury that I do not want to appear again. Everything that you have worked on this past year will go down the drain all because you had to be stubborn and hardheaded when something did not go your way. I have things set up for your future I want for you. Things you do not know about yet. But you injure yourself again, and you are done." He paused. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked at the floor, ashamed he just put me in my place when I should've been humble. "Why can you not just trust me?" he asked with disgust in his voice.

His breathing deepened like he exerted himself, but when he clenched his eyes shut, I knew he hurt more than anything. I would never be done with gymnastics. Just like he wasn't, seeing as he coached. It was never going to happen. It wasn't possible.

I began pacing. He had a point, and while I understood his trepidation, I couldn't think past him saying he had plans for my future. Throwing my arms out to the sides, I dropped them with a plop and asked, "What things?"

His head angled to the side and he watched me. "Hmm?"

"You said you have things planned for me. What things, Kova? Why haven't you spoken to me about them?"

Kova leaned his hips back on his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. My eyes drifted to his pectorals straining against his shirt. The man was built solid under clothes. Suntanned and strong. I swallowed hard, my gaze dropping lower to take in the rest of his delicious body.

"Ria?" he shouted my name.

My eyes snapped up. "What?"

"I asked you a question."

He had? "What question?"

"When was the last time you had an orgasm?"

I gaped at the boldness of his invasive question. Full on jaw hanging to the floor, eyes as big as a full moon, heat so hot it flushed my cheeks, and my ears burned like they were on fire.

"I know you didn't just ask me that question." He grinned. "God! You are so abrasive. What is wrong with you?"

"I just call it like I see it. You are wound tight and overworked, have been for weeks now. Then you come in here like you took a hit of crack. You look like you could use the release."

My brows shot to my forehead. I had no idea what that even looked like.

"And so that gives you the right to ask when was the last time I came?" My voice rose, baffled he would ask me such a personal question. "I have a lot on my mind. Not everything can be resolved through sex, you know."

His eyes gleamed.

"I'm not answering you."

Kova's mouth twitched and the lopsided grin he awarded me with hit deep inside. "You did not have to."

"A while. Okay?" I caved. "It's not like I have a slew of boyfriends at my door waiting for me to call on them." Not that I would ever do something like that.

His entire face shifted from playful and flirty to brooding and dark. "You better not."

I rolled my eyes.

"How long?" he pushed.

I swallowed and felt my cheeks flush once more. No way would I admit to getting myself off to the thought of him last month. "Since the last time we were in here… When Hayden caught us."

The smirk that pulled at his whole face warmed my body. I knew every inch of my coach in ways I shouldn’t. I knew how low his shorts sat on his tapered hips, how deep the V indented and how low it dipped toward his impressive cock. My eyes lingered on the outline of his shorts, the wideness of his hips. He didn't own boxers; he always went commando. A sensual stir lit inside me. His thighs were like boulders, the dark blue cloth contoured each muscle like a second skin. I dragged my gaze upward to where the fabric hugged his thick and long length. I could see how his shaft laid against his heavy sack, the way his thighs propped it up on display. The material was so thin it left nothing to the imagination. At least, not to my imagination. I remembered what it felt like in my hand, inside me, how I stretched to fit his size. I knew what he was capable of with that thing and my body heated all over wanting it.

"Subtlety is clearly not your specialty. Are you done? Or do you need more time?" he asked in a low, husky tone that only fueled my desire.

Fuck. My. Life. This just proved his question.