Free The Hardest Hit by Jennifer Fusco Page B

melted. He affected her like that.
    â€œI couldn’t possibly monitor you personally. I have hundreds of patients who require my attention.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
    â€œI require a lot of your attention,” he said flatly.
    She huffed. “No. You don’t require my attention, you demand it. There’s a difference.”
    He gave a nonchalant shrug. “Is that a bad thing? Shoot down my offer, that’s fine, but if my prognosis doesn’t improve, who do you think Daniella is going to blame, you or me?”
    A fire lit inside her. Oh. He pulled the friend card, did he? It was amazing to know he’d go that far and throw her under the bus to Daniella to get what he wanted. “Persistent, aren’t you?”
    He flashed those bedroom eyes at her. The ones she remembered from the kiss at the hospital. Those eyes penetrated. Called to her. Those soft brown beauties showed up in her dreams. It was as if that magnetic connection reached into her soul and drew her to him.
    â€œI’m very persistent when I know what I want.” He stood up from the bench and took one step toward her. Then another. He stood so close that she smelled the musky scent radiating off his skin. The primal odor sent a wave of need pouring through her. A need she had to resist.
    â€œI just don’t . . .”
    He took another step toward her, so close they were almost touching. The heat pulled at her core. He placed his hands on her arms and caressed her; any tighter and it would have been a hug. The promise of personal contact eroded any objection she had. “I want you to help me get back in the ring. No one else. Just you.”
    â€œIt’s going to take a lot of work.”
    His hand moved up and down her arm. “I’m not afraid.”
    â€œIt’s going to take a lot of your cooperation.” She gazed into his eyes. He wasn’t the most agreeable. He had yet to listen to anything she’d said. In fact, he’d downright blown off all of her instructions.
    â€œI’ll do whatever you say.”
    â€œYou have to understand; I have a lot of patients who need me. They demand my time, too. So, if I give you something to work on I expect it will get done. I can’t fret over you like a worried mother.”
    He shot her a stern glance. “I don’t need a mother. I need a doctor. A beautiful, sexy, brainy, doctor.”
    She bit her lip. She knew being around him was going to take a lot of restraint, like the kind she was calling on now, the stuff that came from way down deep and kept her emotions in check. She bit her lip harder, but she didn’t feel the pain. The slight twinge was a reminder that there’d be more repercussions than teeth marks on her lip if she acted on her feelings.
    Doctors were cautioned not to have relationships with patients outside the office. She was in a position of power over him. Anything that happened could be held against her. She could lose her license if things went bad. There was simply too much to risk. But imagine the reward.
    She shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind.
    â€œDoes that shake of your head mean we don’t have a deal?”
    She lifted her hand to her mouth. “No. I mean, yes. We have a deal.”
    â€œGood.”
    He held her gaze, and for a moment she thought he was going to lean down and kiss her, but he didn’t. Trevor released his grip on her arms and let her go. He must’ve known, like she did, that they were going to have to separate their needs from their desires.
    He needed to get well. She needed to be the one to see that he got better. She had a vested interest in his progress. This kind of injury occurring in someone so young was rare. She knew that if he improved and she documented his treatments, his case would be the kind of information medical journals craved. She could do so much good for so many people, and advance the science that was