“I shouldn’t be discussing a patient with you and you know it.” I shoot him a look and he grins.

  “Sorry, doc. I just can’t believe you’ve got Kade Brooks coming in and you don’t seem that excited at all. I mean…he’s the best quarterback out there bar none.”

  “He would be if he’d quit getting in fights and all the other happy horse shit that football players seem to take as their due.”

  “Come on. You don’t know him. He could have had a good reason.”

  “There is no such thing as a good reason for violence.”

  “Except that that’s how I make my living.”

  I swing around and face the door, my head going back and back as I stare at the blond-haired man standing in the doorway.

  “Wow!” Grey rasps out and I shoot him a peeved look. He immediately steps back and stops talking.

  “You’re a bit early, Mr. Brooks.” He stalks closer and I feel a little flutter in my belly. Shit, dammit!

  No good deed goes unpunished and I made space for this guy as a favor to a friend. A favor I’m sorely regretting. That little flutter is not good.

  I hold out my hand and hope that being a professional is masking the shiver when he takes my hand in his.

  I’ve been shaking hands all day and yet not once did I feel the arc of heat in my fingers, traveling all the way up my arms and making my heart skip a beat.

  His bright blue eyes darken to navy and I know he felt it as well. Which is really fucking bad.

  Grey clears his throat and I jump, shooting him a startled look. He waves his hand to my office and I groan.

  My freaking secretary had to remind me to do my damn job.

  I wave a hand towards my office and nod my head. “Why don’t you follow me into the office and we’ll start going over all the things we need to work on to get you back in the game.”

  He grins and it’s a rakish, predatory tug of his full lips that makes me take a step back, my heart pounding out of my chest. His eyes flare and he stalks closer and then he steps around me, leaning down to whisper in my ear, “I’d follow you anywhere, beautiful. Say the word and I’ll follow you straight into heaven.” His eyes drift down my body and it feels like he’s stripped me naked right then and there.

  I shoot a desperate look at Grey but his wide eyes are fixed on Kade and he doesn’t see.

  I open the office door and usher him inside, gulping when I shut the door and he’s still standing there, so close that I’m backed into the door, his big, muscular body towering over me.

  “Well, doc, what should we do next?” he purrs and I shiver, my face heating at the seductive tone.

  “I think we should get down to business.” I stagger over to the chair where I work and drop into it, stunned into silence when he stands over me.

  “I like a woman that doesn’t play games, doc. So let’s get down to business.”

  I push myself back in the chair and stutter, “I-I really meant work. I know you want to get back to your position on the team. We’ve got a lot of work to do to make that happen.”

  “Or you could just sign this paper right here and we’ll go have a drink and discuss what else you might want from me.”

  I lift myself up in the chair, my back straightening. “I would never do that. If you’re going to get back on the team it’s going to be with actual work. I’m not going to let your pretty face distract me from my business, Mr. Brooks.”

  He leans down into my space again and I feel that need to run, to back away. Prey. That’s what I see in his heated blue gaze. His hands rest on the arms of the chair and he grins at me. “You think I have a pretty face?”

  Ugh! Keep your damn mouth shut, you filthy wench, I growl to the woman inside me who’s dying to jump the sexy athlete.

  “Let’s concentrate on business, Mr. Brooks. Keep it professional or I’ll have to refer you to a different therapist.”

  He nods and sits down but I see that he’s still thinking sexy thoughts and I cross my legs, gulping when his fiery stare locks on my legs and he shifts in his seat.

  “Sure, doc.”

  Oh my god! I should just send him to someone else. But I promised my best friend that I’d help this man and get him back as soon as possible. And that’s what I intend to do. Even if it breaks me.

  After an hour of torture during which he says next to nothing but his stare stays locked on me.

  “Okay. Well. That was less than helpful, Mr. Brooks. You’re going to have to work a lot harder if you want back on the team.”

  He stands up and I see him shift, grimacing.

  Looking away, I walk him to the door, staying as far away from him as I can.

  He stalks closer and presses up against me at the door, his hand resting above my head, holding the door closed.

  His lips rest just inches from my ear and I shiver, feeling his breath skate over my skin. A flush builds and it’s so damn hot in this room, I want to douse myself with ice water.

  Instead I growl, “Let me open the door, Mr. Brooks.”

  “Kade, what’s going on?” Another voice calls from the other room and Kade steps back, letting me open the door, his smirk making me want to smack the hell out of him.

  When I open the door I jump back, startled. My head falls back as I see the biggest man I’ve ever seen in my life. His dark hair is perfectly styled and his dark eyes burn with a fire like nothing I’ve ever seen.

  “Ah! Now I see.” He smirks and takes my hand. “Nice to meet you, doc. I’m Sebastian. Kade’s best friend.”

  I gulp and struggle to keep my breath from stuttering, my tongue from licking my lips at the pair of men in front of me. Dark and light. Dangerously sexy but yet teasingly gentle.

  Double trouble if I’ve ever seen it and my panties have just gone up in flames for sure.

  I need a drink. And maybe a few minutes alone to get my professionalism back because I’ve never wanted so much to climb a man as I have these two.

  What a fucking day!

  Chapter 3

  Sebastian

  She’s stunning. I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as she is. And I can see the want in her eyes. Her long deep auburn hair is pulled up in a coiled knot on top of her head, baring her elegant throat kissed with a single strand of pearls to my gaze.

  That throat. I want to wrap my hands around her throat and hold her to me while I let my body delve into the slick depths of her. While Kade plays with the plush breasts that I know have to be tipped with pale peachy nipples. Or maybe coral pink. God, I want to fucking see what she looks like naked and spread out on my silky gray sheets.

  She draws in a deep, shuddering breath and I see her breasts rise under her pale pink blouse. My eyes drift down and I see the dark shadow where her breasts push together and mound in the open throat of her unbuttoned shirt.

  She clears her throat and crosses her arms over her breasts, trying to hide them from my view. But it’s not going to help because that image is burned into my brain, making my dick swell and press into the teeth of my zipper.

  Groaning silently I shift again on my feet, my eyes sliding to Kade’s blue gaze. And I see the same look in his eyes that’s in mine.

  This woman belongs to us. It feels like I’ve known her forever and yet I don’t know her at all. Not like I want to. Not like I need to.

  I need to know her every thought. What she has to eat in the morning. Does she like her job? Does she love what she does? Has she ever been in love? Who do I have to kill if she has? Because I can’t stand the thought of any other man touching what’s mine.

  Ours. Kade and I have always had a special relationship. Best friends from the time we were kids. We’ve shared everything over the years. Every damn thing a guy can share. Even women. There’s no crossing the line. We don’t want each other. We just need to own the same space. The same needs. The same desires.

  And right now, I see that he’s thinking the same thoughts that I am. We haven’t been with a woman that matters since college. Since Trudy. And that was a complete fucking disaster.

  But this woman right here? She stirs something in my chest. An aching tear at my heart.

  Her sea glass eyes narrow on me and her full lips flatten into a tight line.

  “Excuse me. I need to get home and eat a long-delayed dinner. Do you two think you could take whatever’s going on home?”

  I move into her space, crowding her, smirking when she gasps and her hands come up to push against my chest, curling into my pecs. Damn, I like that.

  “I’d love to take you home and cook for you. Just say the word.”

  She’s shaking her head no but her eyes are so close to saying yes. I can see it. Her gaze shifts from me and back to Kade who’s closing in on her other side.

  I shake my head no and he backs off, knowing that I’m right. She’s not ready yet. Fuck, I wish she was. But it’s not going to be tonight and that probably means I’m going to have a fucking meeting with my fist tonight.

  But I absolutely plan to include her in that meeting.

  I nod my head to the door and Kade shakes his head but then grunts and heads out the door, shoulders slumping.

  My eyes turn back to hers and they’re so wide, pupils blown until just a tiny ring of shimmering pale green rims the darkness. I lift my hand unable to stop myself. Her eyes close when my hand caresses the soft skin of her jaw and my dick jerks. I growl and her eyes flutter open. Dazed, wondering.

  I lean down and touch her lips gently with mine, feeling that softness against my lips, tasting her sweet as candy mouth, feeling her gasp feather across my skin. Goosebumps raise on my arms and I step back, needing to give her space. But not wanting to. I want to pull her into my arms and bury my lips in her soft mouth, sink into the wet heat of her lips. I realize my hand has slid down her arm and is still wrapped around her back, unwilling to let her go.

  But I have to. At least for now. This isn’t my shot. But I’m going to get it. I can see it in her eyes. The fire and need. It’s so powerful that it’s like a blast furnace to my heart. A body blow from the opposing team in the playoffs. Knocking me off my pedestal, off my feet and leaving me gasping for breath.

  That’s how she makes me feel without even trying.

  I nod my head, “Goodbye, doc. For now. But we’re not done.”

  Her fingers lift to touch her soft pink lips and I groan, feeling the urge to throw her over my shoulder and find the first solid surface I can get to slide into her and own her. Own the feelings that I can’t resist. Don’t want to resist.

  With another heated stare, I step out of the room and shut the door softly behind me, blowing out a deep, pained breath. I can still smell the soft floral scent of her out in this room and it has my body stiffening until it hurts to fucking walk.

  I do, though. I walk out the door and meet Kade in the hall, nodding. “I know. But she’s not ready yet. We’ll get her. But she’s too special to run the risk of rushing her into something she’s not ready for. If we both want her….?”

  He nods his head, his jaw clenching, his big hand running through his blond hair recklessly, tousling the soft waves that drive the damn groupies nuts. “I do. She’s the one, man. The one that we’ve been waiting for. I want to fuck her until she can’t walk. I want to make babies with that woman. I knew it as soon as I saw her.” He snorts ruefully. “I told you all this time that love at first sight doesn’t exist… but she’s it.”

  I chuckle, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and slapping him in the chest. “I told you it did. I knew we’d know as soon as we met her.”

  “Yeah. But you said that about Trudy.”

  My smile fades and I sigh, moving away from him and out the door. “That was a mistake but I swear this is real. That was just my damn mind playing tricks on me. I just needed it so bad that I kinda convinced myself it was real.”

  He eyes me, the sympathy in his eyes real. He knows what I went through with my family. The fighting. The nights where no one was home when I got home from school. The nights I called and he begged for me to spend the night so I wouldn’t be all alone.

  The nights that we talked long into the night about a future where we could make our own choices. Our future wouldn’t be mapped out for us, we’d have a say in it.

  In his own way, he struggled with the same issues. He had loving parents. They wanted to be there for everything. But his dad knew that he had something special and he pushed him so hard to be the best. To conquer. To get that fucking brass ring that eludes most players. The NFL. The Super Bowl. All those things.

  And now he’s getting close to retirement and I know he feels rudderless. Like he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with the rest of his life.

  I thought the same thing when I got hit in my senior year of college. The hit that tore my ACL and damaged my leg so bad that I couldn’t’ go back out on the field without the threat of damaging it so bad with the next hit that it might be the one that made it impossible to function without a cane. To this day I walk with a limp, a slight hesitation.

  But I worked my ass off to get even that level of mobility back. I don’t need sympathy from people about my busted-up body and career. I took that and turned it around into a damn good living as a defense attorney. I like to protect the underdog. Because they remind me of my own damn start probably.

  I didn’t see any of that in her eyes though. She doesn’t feel sorry for me. She wants me. And she doesn’t understand it because she also feels that pull to Kade.

  We’re two halves of a whole. Two men with a past that’s entwined to such an extent that we’ll never function away from each other.

  Now all we have to do is invite her in and seduce her so well that she doesn’t realize what’s happening until it’s too late.

  She’s never going to be anything but ours. Forever.

  Chapter 4

  Alexandra

  My heart feels like it’s in a vise when I get the call. I can’t breathe, sucking in air like it’s being pulled through a straw with holes punched all the way around it.

  Tears well in my eyes and I have to push it all down. Have to try and project that cool, cynical persona that everyone expects from me.

  The detective standing in front of me sighs. “I’m really sorry to have to tell you this. I really am. And I hate to have to bother you, but I could really use those records and files. It could bolster our case.”

  I nod my head, shocked to the core. I can’t even think through the fog that won’t lift. The fog that’s covering the pain and anger that I know is coming.

  “I’m sorry but you know client confidentiality is a big deal.”

  “I can get a court order. I just thought I’d ask you first.”

  “If you can get a court order, I’d prefer to go that route. I don’t want my patients thinking that all the police have to do is ask and I’ll turn all their information over without a fight. That could ruin me.”

  He sighs and tucks his notebook away, handing me a folded piece of paper that I unfold and read stiffly. “I had a feeling you’d say that so I already got it.”

  I nod my head. “I’ll have Grey pull her files and then I’ll send you the copies of my online notes.”

  “That would be amazing. Thank you.” He turns to go but hesitates, looking over his shoulder, his blue eyes sympathetic. I feel my stomach churn. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened. I’m sure you tried to get her to leave. I’m sure a lot of people did.”

  I was the only one she had left. Her parents wrote her off and haven’t contacted her in years. Since he started moving her away from them and all her friends. Until all she had was him and lately me. A friend of mine saw her at a shelter and referred her to me. I did pro bono work sometimes and as soon as I saw her face with the healing split lip and the lost look in her brown eyes, I knew she needed me.

  As soon as the detective leaves, I stand before Grey and say, “Get her files together and send them over to this man at the police department.” I hand him his card and he studies it with sad eyes which lift to mine and I gird myself for it. Knowing it’s coming. But I feel like I’m so close to breaking. So close to just losing it completely.

  I shake my head at him. “Can you cancel my appointments for today?”

  “Of course,” he clears his throat roughly. “I’m really sorry, doc,” he whispers.

  “So am I.” I turn quickly and close the door behind myself. Only to lean against the door with a shuddering sob. And then I sink to the ground, my arms wrapped around my shuddering body, sobs tearing out of me like a storm.

  It feels like hours later when I lift my head from the carpet, pushing the pieces of red hair that have fallen out of my french twist out of my face. I stand shakily and tug at my clothes, huffing out a tortured breath.

  I step over to the computer and pull up Connie’s file, adding it to the email to the detective and shooting it off into the ether of computers.

  I flop into the desk chair and turn it to stare out of the window, brutally pushing the pain back and clearing my head of everything but the mountains outside my window.

  The phone rings and I pick it up absently. “Hello. Dr. Wright here.”

  “Oh, honey. Why are you still at the office? Go home. It’s almost five and you know you’re not taking clients today.”

  I clear my throat and whisper, “Why didn’t I try harder, Sage? Why didn’t I push her to get the hell away from that asshole before…” My voice trails off as I struggle to keep from breaking down all over again. My throat tightens and I can’t stop the sob that rips out of me. “Why the hell did I let her go back there?” I wail, tears pouring down my face and clogging my throat.

  “I’m coming over there.”

  “No. No. I just want to go home and take a sleeping pill and pray that I can get some damn sleep.”

  “You need someone with you,” she argues, her soft voice firm in my ear.

 

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