Free Up in Flames by Trista Ann Michaels Page A

or lifting it back up became too much for her.
    He tried to keep his eyes on her face. He really did. Instead, they shifted to her breasts, which rose and fell enticingly with her breathing. Masturbating in the shower this morning hadn’t done a damn thing for him. He’d gotten hard again the second he saw her. He would probably stay hard until he either fucked her or she left.
    Damn, what had he been thinking? He should’ve known just touching her wouldn’t be enough. He could still smell her arousal, taste her kiss, feel her firm body beneath his, and none of it helped to lessen the pain in his balls.
    She was his patient; on top of that, she was a virgin. He had no business touching her. She was confused. Her emotions were ruling her thoughts because she wasn’t able to rule them. Taking her now would be taking advantage of her, and Hayden refused to do that.
    No matter how damn bad he wanted to.
    Her gaze pinned his as she pushed the bar back up. Heat emanated from those beautiful light blue eyes, making Hayden freeze right on the spot. It took everything in him not to touch her, to give her what he knew she wanted. It was right there in her eyes. Her gaze was a mirror for all the desire and pent-up frustration he felt for her.
    “Hayden,” she breathed.
    Her arms began to shake, and Hayden quickly grabbed the bar. He placed it back in the rack, then stepped away. If he didn’t, he would touch her again. He had to put some distance between them. Fast. “It’s almost lunchtime. We should probably take a break,” he said, not looking at her.
    He couldn’t. If he did, she would see how much he wanted her. But would she recognize that for what it was? Did she understand enough about lust to know it when she saw it on someone else? Lord knew he wanted to teach her, show her all the ways he desired her.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her sit up on the bench. She ran her hand up and down her thigh while sighing deeply.
    “Are your legs hurting?” he asked.
    “A little.”
    Hayden closed his eyes. He should rub them for her. Unfortunately he wasn’t sure he could without it leading somewhere else. Like him sinking deep inside her hot, tight body.
    She pressed her palm into her thigh and winced. Hayden threw down the towel he’d just picked up and walked over to her. He knelt on one knee and pushed her hand away from her leg, replacing it with his. He rubbed his palm up her thigh, noticing instantly just how tight that muscle was. She gasped and jerked away.
    He looked up at her and saw the slight flinch of pain on her face. “You’re tight,” he said.
    Her gaze shot to his, and she swallowed. He’d thought the same thing about her pussy this morning. Had he said it out loud then? Was that why she gazed at him in surprise before the light in her eyes shifted to a look of longing that made his chest tighten?
    He knew of patients who fell in love with the doctors who nursed them back to health. It would be easy for Cara to do that, especially in her weakened emotional state. But that love wouldn’t be real, nor would it last. As soon as she realized she’d only latched on to him because he nursed her back to health, been all she’d known during her recovery. But as for him, he had a sick sense of dread his feelings for her would last a very, very, very long time.
    “Lie down on your stomach, and I’ll stretch your legs,” he said.
    She nodded and rolled from the bench to the floor. Hayden got down on his knees next to her. With his hand on her ankle, he bent her knee and pulled her foot back to her behind until he felt resistance.
    God, her ass looked good. Firm and round and so tight he could bounce a gold piece off it. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on this woman’s body anywhere.
    “What kind of training did you do?” he asked, trying to get his mind off her ass. “When you were a Mundi?”
    He lowered her foot, letting her leg relax a few seconds before repeating the stretch.
    “Mostly