There was not enough Motrin in the world that could help me right now. I could barely walk. My thighs quivered relentlessly, and my stomach was so tender to the touch that I hunched over like an old lady.

If I had to guess, I'd say Kova ran me ragged because of his phone call with Katja. This was by far the hardest workout to date.

"You okay?" Kova asked, eyeing me with concern. I was on the floor, knee bent as I unwrapped the ACE bandage from my ankle. My Achilles had flared up earlier from Kova's merciless conditioning. I'd pushed past the pain. It was nothing I couldn't handle, but he had sensed it and told me to wrap it up, then handed me an anti-inflammatory. My eyes had lit up at the sight of the little orange pills in his palm. I didn't argue. Within an hour, it helped dull the pain.

"I'm fine," I responded on autopilot. And I was.

Kova crouched down and got on his knees. He tapped the side of my thigh for me to roll onto my stomach. He began to massage my calves, working his way up to my thighs to work out the lactic acid. God it felt good when he dug deep with his knuckles and pushed in a circle.

"I want you to eat something full of high protein when you get home. Add some whole grains into the mix and green vegetables. Make sure to ice that leg of yours. Actually, I would like you to take an ice bath. That would benefit you more."

I groaned under my breath. An ice bath was the last thing on earth I wanted after the workout I just had. Talk about suffering even more.

"I'll just ice it. Thanks for the suggestion though."

"Adrianna, I do not speak just to hear the sound of my voice. I am trying to inform you how much you are going to ache tomorrow and little things, like an ice bath, will help immensely. It will help your Achilles as well and bring down the intense trauma your body endured today."

I barely had the strength to drive home, let alone buy ice.

Kova moved on to my other leg and repeated the motions. An ice bath would be the best solution, but there was no way I could do it again. I didn't want to. Memories assaulted me like it happened yesterday and I squeezed my eyes shut. It was horrific, like thousands and thousands of tiny needles repeatedly stabbing my entire body for what seemed like an eternity. All I could focus on was the chunks of ice and the slow ticking of the timer counting down until I could get out.

I moaned as Kova made his way to my shoulder blades and groaned in the back of my throat as his hands worked magic on my sore back and neck. I could fall asleep to this. It was getting late and I needed to get moving, but the mere thought of standing exhausted me even more.

"I know how well ice baths work, Hayden helped me last time. And for the record, I detest them."

"Nobody likes them."

"I don't want to sit in an ice bath ever again."

Kova's hands stopped and I turned over to look at him and sat up. He scowled at me. "Then do not come in and train like a beast if you cannot handle the aftermath. That is being negligent, not to mention, plain old stupid on your part. Now, get up."

My eyes lowered as Kova stood. I said nothing. I didn't move.

I didn't like his tone.

He shifted on his feet, clearly annoyed with me. "Those little tears happening in your muscles right now that you cannot see, they need the cold water therapy. If not, you are going to be swollen and useless tomorrow." He paused. "And you will be here tomorrow regardless."

I rolled my eyes. I had a headache. "I know that. I wouldn’t dream of skipping."

With swift speed, Kova leaned down and slipped his hand under my arm and pulled me up. The world spun around me, I was instantly dizzy from being forced to stand.

Gripping my arm tight, Kova leaned down in my face. "I am not putting up with this defiant, childish behavior. You said you would do anything I said and would hire all the best people to help you recover. Remember? You continue like this and I will lock you out from coming in on your days off. I am trying to help you. Stop fighting me on every little thing, Adrianna. It is like you wake up and write up a checklist of things to do and say to get under my skin to infuriate me. Remember your place."

Kova was way off base, that wasn't what I intended at all. I yanked my arm back, but he had a firm grip on me. I had my reasons as to why I didn't want to soak in a stupid bath, reasons I didn't want to share because I knew in my gut they'd backfire on me.

"I'm not trying to defy you."

"Then what are you trying to do?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern as they searched mine. "You worked extremely hard today, you need to recover properly, or you will be useless and no good for your first meet. Is that what you want? Because it is not what I want for you. I want more for you."

I puckered my lips, determined not to answer honestly.

"Please, what are you thinking? Tell me?" he begged. He seemed truly bothered, and that didn't sit well with me for some asinine reason. The pleading in his voice broke my resolve and before I could stop myself, I gave him what he wanted.

"Kova," I said, in an uncomfortable sigh, "I don't have the strength to carry bags of ice up to my condo, okay? Or to prepare a bath. There. I said it. Hayden helped me the last time, and I have no doubt that he'd help me now if I asked. But seeing as he already knows so much about what happened between us, I really do not want to call him for anything."

He looked at me completely flabbergasted, and I almost laughed. I continued, "Truthfully, I'm in worse shape right now than when he helped the first time. I didn't expect this today, and something in my gut says you didn't either." He tilted his head down and scratched the back of his neck. "The thought of driving to the store, buying ice, walking to my car, driving to my condo, bringing it upstairs, and filling my tub is just tiring to think about. I don't want to do it. I'm one hundred percent depleted, I've never felt like this. I swear you made me work muscles I didn't even know I had. All I want to do is face plant on my bed and go to sleep." I took a deep breath. "Happy? Now you know. And don't give me that look. I can handle the work you dish out."

The silence between us brewed into palpable tension. I knew Kova by now. At least, I'd like to think I did. I knew when I pushed his buttons. I knew when he was frustrated with me in the gym. I knew when he was pleased with me, even though he'd never admit it. I could even tell when he was fighting with Katja.

But this Kova…the one standing eerily still in front of me, was a new side of Kova I'd yet to see. One I'd have to add to my list of Kovas I'd met. Frustrated was an understatement. More along the lines of he wanted to rip my head off with his bare hands and feed my limbs to the gators along Alligator Alley right outside.

"You know, for someone who is so determined to be the best, who wants to go all the way to the Olympics that so few have the ability to actually do, someone who has the gall to stride into my office and demand what she wants and will not take no for an answer, you can be so incredibly stubborn and dumb. Blatant stupidity standing in front of me." He spat the words out like little daggers. The vein in his neck protruded and pulsed with each passing second. "This is when I question if you truly want it, because if you did, you would show me, not just in the gym, but outside of it as well. You would show me that you are responsible. You would ask for help and not care about your pride." He clenched his jaw and sighed deeply, exhaling through his nose. "I do not understand you, Adrianna. You tell me what you want, you get it; but when you need assistance with something outside of the gym, you do not ask." He shook his head. Hurt filled his eyes, warring with the profound anger written all over his face, and it pierced my heart. "I told you I am here for you. Take what you need from me, Ria."

The wrath radiating off Kova was impossible to ignore, but so was the troubled look in his eyes. He was worried. I stood a little taller, speechless, resenting him for the truth in his words. He worked me like I demanded and I retreated on my promise when I said I wouldn't. He had every right to be angry with me.

"Are you just going to stand there and say nothing?" Kova asked, crestfallen.

I shrugged helplessly. "What do you want me to say? That you're right and I'm wrong? Fine, Kova. You're right. You're always right. My ego stood in the way today. I didn't want to show weakness because I got exactly what I asked for and then some. I was afraid if I did then you would think I couldn't handle it. I wasn't expecting not to be able to walk. Push came to shove, and I acted on impulse and bit off more than I could chew."

Without hesitation, Kova reached down and scooped me up into his arms.

"What… What are you doing?" I slapped his shoulder as he bent down to grab my bag before heading toward the front door. "Put me down."

"You were right—I worked you too hard. I was cross earlier and took it out on you. Believe me, I know you can handle what I dish out, but no one would be able to do what you did today and walk out skipping. I was being a dick."

I threw my hands up dramatically. "There is a god! I'm so glad you recognized your dickness for the first time in your life. I feel like we should have a moment of silence."

"Dickness?" he repeated like it was a bad taste. "Sometimes I do not understand you Americans and your choice of words. You make sayings up as you go."

I laughed. "Yes, your default personality is a dick. It means you can be an angry Russian asshole sometimes."

He side-eyed me. He knew I was right based on that look alone. "I swear, your goal since coming here is to aggravate me as much as you can. Why are all women the same? Every one of you females are born with a brazen tongue us men want to cut out. "

"Oh, so you expect us to just allow you to speak any which way you want and we take it? Typical man." I patted his chest. "Put me down."

He ignored me and kept walking.

"You know, this is why I sometimes call you Captain Dickhead in my head."

He feigned a grimace, and I smiled from ear to ear. He wouldn't stay mad at me for long. "Put me down. I'm capable of walking to my car."

"We are not going to your car, we are going to mine. I will pick up your slack today," he mumbled under his breath.

"Pick up my slack today? This is your fault, Kova. You just admitted it. Jesus Christ. Just put me down."

Kova pushed the door open with his back and carried me to his car. He opened the passenger door and carefully deposited me onto the seat. Within minutes, we were on the road.

"No more talking. Your voice is giving me a headache."

I glared at him. "It's Sunday. Surely you have plans with your girlfriend."

He didn’t answer me.

"Why are you doing this?"

Kova's cell phone rang. It was hooked up to his Bluetooth so the ringing echoed loudly in the small space. The caller ID popped up on his dash. Katja. He declined it immediately.

"How am I going to get to practice tomorrow since my truck is at World Cup?"

Again, he ignored me and that fired me up.

"What is your damn problem?" I yelled, but he continued to ignore me and pulled into a gas station. He picked up two bags of ice and placed them in his trunk, then drove in the direction of my condo.

"See, this is the exact scenario where I call you Captain Dickhead in my head."

He stayed quiet. His cell rang again, and again he declined it.

I huffed under my breath with a shake of my head. "You know, I should've just lied and yes'd you to death. Then we wouldn't be in this situation together." I glanced over at him. "From now on, I'll just respond with yes to every question."

"I would prefer that, but we both know you will never hold true to it."

"Ah, so he speaks again. And here I thought you forgot your English. You're not coming in."

"Too bad. I am doing my job. I got you into this…condition." He waved his hand toward me. "I will help you get out of it."

Lowering my voice, I said, "I don't want you coming up to my condo." Didn't he know by now that nothing good could come from us being alone?

Kova parked his car and turned off the ignition. "I am."

My jaw slackened. "You can't just barge into my home whenever you feel like it."

Kova sighed and ran a hand down his face. He stared ahead at the wall of trees. "Adrianna, I do not want to come inside, I have better things I could be doing with my time, but you leave me no choice. If you have a problem with it, I will call your father and let him speak with you. I am certain he will be on my side."

"You would call my dad, wouldn't you," I stated more than questioned.

"Whatever it takes. Now, can you make it out of the car?"

It wasn't long until we were upstairs and in my unit. Kova had to carry me from the car to the lobby, as I walked slower than an eighty-seven-year-old.

I sat in a daze on the toilet and watched Kova bring in the ice bags and fill the tub. He ran the cold water and I dreaded what was to come next. There was so, so much ice. He had bought the twenty pound bags instead of the smaller five pound ones. Asshole. He rambled on and on about the importance of quick and efficient muscle recovery, but I wasn't listening. It was nothing I didn't already know. Combined with his thick accent, I could barely hear him over the roar of water and ice anyway.

Kova sat back on the ledge of the tub and glanced over his shoulder. He gazed down my body like he was waiting on an answer. Fatigued, I just nodded. I had no idea what he said.

"Ready?"

I sat up taller at his edgy tone. I just wanted to go to sleep. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Reaching into the convenience store bag, he pulled out a few medicine bottles. I looked away and eyed the freezing ice water I was about to sink into, trying desperately to mentally prepare for the dreadful temperatures that were about to shock my body. But I knew no amount of manipulating myself would work for this. It just sucked big time all around.

"Here. Take these." I glanced back at Kova who had his arm stretched out and palm open with a handful of colorful pills and capsules. They looked like multivitamins and a few more of the standard amount of Motrin that I usually took. His other hand held a water bottle.

I folded my palm up and the pills tumbled into my hand. He uncapped the water and handed it to me.

"What's this one?" I pointed a pill I hadn't seen before.

"Melatonin. It will help you relax and get some rest. It is all-natural."

I swallowed them all in one shot.

"I can take it from here, Kova. Thank you, though."

"I do not trust you to get in and stay for the correct amount of time. Come on." He reached out to take my hand, but I didn't move. I just stared at his hand. "What is wrong with you?"

"I… I can… I can do it on my own. I appreciate that you're here, I really do, but I got it." I didn’t want him to see my hard nipples when I got out, or for him to wrap me with warmth. I knew myself, and I knew I would sink into him and beg him to hold me.

Kova's Adam's apple bobbed as he frowned down at me. "Do not make me pick you up and drop you in there."

"I will fucking kill you if you do that."

He challenged me. "Do not tempt me, Ria. I will do it."

"Can you just go? This… This is too much." He tilted his head to the side and propped his hands on his hips. "It just feels too intimate to me."

His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in shock. This was the first time I had ever made him do that. "I know," I said, giving him a halfhearted laugh, "but we should really try to not put ourselves in such situations anymore, Kova."

"You have got to be kidding me. After everything that has happened between us, sitting in an ice bath is too intimate for you? Are you serious right now?"

A faint heat crept into my cheeks. I was embarrassed.

I looked down. "I know it sounds stupid—"

"It is stupid."

"It's just you are being nice and helping me like this… I don't know, Kova, it's too much for me, too much for us. It shows you care, and honestly, I don't want that."

His brows furrowed. "Why do you not want it?

"Because it's not something I'm ever given."

"Ria." His voice rose. "Of course I care about you. I care about all of my gymnasts. I would not be here if I did not."

"Right, but you're not supposed to care this much," I stated.

"Why is it wrong that I do?"

I pulled back. "You don’t see the real issue, do you?"

"No, please enlighten me."

"Because then you have officially crossed the line. It's one thing to have sex with someone when you're not supposed to, sex doesn't have to come with strings attached. It's another thing entirely to care for them emotionally. Whether you want to admit it or not, we're crossing that line. You care for me far more than you’re obligated to; you would not do the same for the other girls. You know I'm right."

Kova flattened his lips and looked away. If I was being honest, I’d admit I cared far more than I should too. I knew in my heart I did. That’s why I was trying to create some distance between us.

When we were together—intimate or just having a conversation—it was explosive, the chemistry combustible. Only we mattered. I got him, he got me. We complimented each other in the most unusual way, and it just worked…when it shouldn’t have.

Kova glanced back at me. The onyx that flickered against the brilliant emerald of his eyes captured my attention. I stared back at him for a moment before he nodded, but just barely.

I knew him well enough to know that would be all the acknowledgment I would get, but now he knew too.