Free ACHE (Naked, Book 5) by Kelly Favor

nodded, sighing. “I’m ready to try it,” she said, hoping to sound more confident than she felt.
    “We’re going to start out with some simple exercises to get a baseline, okay Caelyn?” Knox asked, grabbing a clipboard and walking with brisk, military efficiency over to a bench nearby.
    Caelyn and Elijah walked over to the bench where he was waiting. Soon, Knox was putting Caelyn through a set of exercises, and each and every one of them were exhausting.
    After just fifteen minutes, she felt like she was going to puke.
    “I feel light headed,” she said, after he’d had her do some shoulder presses with three-pound dumb bells.
    Knox came to her side and put a hand on her back and rubbed it lightly. “You’re doing great, kid. You really are.”
    Caelyn looked up to see Elijah getting up from the chair he’d been sitting in and walking over to Knox. “I think you and me need to talk,” he said, his tone casual.
    Knox glanced at him. “Not now,” he said, looking back at Caelyn. “Listen, Caelyn, you can do this. You’re just scared is all, which is natural.”
    “Hey,” Elijah growled. “I said I want to talk to you.”
    Knox straightened and stared at Elijah. “You see, this is why I said it wasn’t a good idea to have you in here.”
    Caelyn was concerned about what Elijah was going to say to Knox. And she was also concerned, because Knox didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would understand that Elijah meant business. Elijah could be dangerous if he was provoked.
    “Elijah,” she said, “it’s okay. I’m fine.”
    “I just want to talk with your trainer—it’ll take two seconds.”
    “I’m not a trainer, I’m a physical therapist.”
    “Whatever. Come on,” Elijah said, and started walking out of the room.
    Knox turned to Caelyn. “Does your boyfriend always act like this?”
    “Sometimes,” she admitted. “Just don’t argue with him.
    Knox rolled his eyes and then strutted after Elijah. Caelyn was worried that something bad was going to happen—a fight would be the worst. At the same time, she was so tired that she was glad to have a break from rehab.
    She sat on the bench and slowly her pulse rate fell, and her breathing went back to normal. The sweat started to dry on her forehead.
    And then Elijah came back inside the room, followed by Knox, who looked somewhat perplexed. There was something different in his attitude, and he wasn’t strutting quite as much. When he got back to where Caelyn was sitting, Knox gave a brief smile. “How you feeling? You okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m better.”
    Elijah walked over and sat down on a chair a few feet away and yawned, pulling out his phone.
    “Okay, let’s do a few more exercises,” Knox said. He wasn’t looking at her, and he seemed subdued.
    “Everything okay?” she asked.
    “Yup, everything’s good.” He looked at his watch and started her on a new exercise. But Caelyn couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t push her quite as hard, and he never touched her for the rest of the time she was working with him that day.
    When Knox let them go, Caelyn waved and Knox just turned his back and walked the other way.
    Once they’d left the building, Caelyn looked at Elijah. “What did you say to him?”
    “To who? Knox?”
    “He was acting all weird after he came back inside after your talk.”
    They got in Elijah’s truck. When Elijah shut his door, he grinned at her. “You didn’t even notice that you got in the truck and shut the door without my help.”
    She stopped and thought about it. “You’re right, I did.” She smiled. “I guess rehab really does help, huh?”
    Elijah started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, whistling softly as they left.
    “I’m starving,” he said.
    “You never answered my question.”
    He glanced at her. “We just had a little man-to-man chat. No biggie.”
    “Yeah, and what did you say to him?”
    “I told him that if he ever rubs your back again, he’ll need rehab for