Free Knockout (Fighting For Love Book 1) by Evelyn Glass Page A

He grips the steering wheel hard so that he doesn’t reach out to touch the smooth skin on her endless legs. Get a grip, Grayson; it’s not like you’ve never seen a girl in shorts before. But Adriana wasn’t just any girl, she never had been.
     
    She smiles at him with that smile that makes her eyes shine. “Yeah, I still like to walk.” She doesn’t offer anything more, but he gets the feeling that she’s pleased, and the knowledge that he’s the reason for that gives him a warm sensation in his chest.
     
    They drive in silence, and Grayson is glad to be able to concentrate on the road rather than on the girl in the seat next to him. It’s as if his body is completely attuned to her; he’s aware of every slight movement that she makes, and he has to resist the urge to stop the car and ravish her right there. It was the same feeling he’d had the night before when he’d come face to face with her in the club; she did something to him that he couldn’t describe. She awakened feelings in him that he thought he was incapable of having anymore.
     
    He’s grateful when he can finally pull into a parking spot and get out of the damn car; being in such close proximity to her was dangerous and confusing and wonderful all at the same time.
     
    He takes her hand to help her out of the Jeep, and the contact is like an electric shock passing between them. Adriana’s eyes go wide and her perfect rosebud mouth opens in surprise. Whatever the hell that was, she feels it, too.
     
    “So, no work today?” Grayson steps away from her and leads her towards the paved promenade.
     
    “No.” Her voice sounds breathless. He knows the feeling. “Early shift tomorrow though, prepping for surgery on a little girl to remove a tumor.”
     
    The way she says the words makes it clear there’s more to it than a routine operation. “Shit, that’s tough. You care about her, don’t you?”
     
    “I care about all my patients. But it’s always harder when you’ve known them a long time. Casey has been at the hospital longer than I have.” She laughs without humor to cover her emotions. “Poor kid, she’s had more surgeries than anyone I’ve seen. She’s only eleven, you know? How is that fair?” Adriana looks at Grayson as if she’s hoping he can give her some kind of answer, and he finds himself wanting to come up with something that will comfort her. He wants to put his arm around her and tell her that everything will be alright. But he can’t do that.
     
    “It’s not fair.” Grayson shakes his head. “But I’ve learned that not a lot of things in this world are.” There’s a bitterness in his voice that he barely even notices anymore. “Casey is lucky to have someone like you looking out for her, caring about her. When did you decide to become a nurse? I don’t remember you talking about that.”
     
    Adriana gives him a surprised look, as if she’s shocked that he would remember anything that they spoke about all those years ago. But how can she think that he wouldn’t have every second they spent together burned into his memory? Because you left her without a word, genius , he reminds himself.
     
    “No, it wasn’t something I’d thought about until my dad got sick.” Her voice wavers, and she looks out towards the ocean, away from him so that he can’t see the pain in her eyes. “He had a heart condition. I guess on some stupid teenage level I thought that if I became a nurse that I could save him.” She shakes her head at the naiveté of her younger self. “He died a little while after I started at Mercy. I wasn’t even there when it happened.”
     
    Grayson doesn’t stop to think about whether he should or shouldn’t do what he’s about to; he only thinks about what feels right. And, right now, what feels right is comforting Adriana. He snakes his arm around her shoulders and turns her round to face him. She looks down at her feet, avoiding his eyes.
     
    “Hey, you don’t have to