TWO
Alicia
Fuck. That voice. He sounded exactly how he looked. Cain was as hard as granite, with no give in sight. Even though he had a shirt on, it left nothing to the imagination. It was stretched thin across his broad shoulders, and I could see almost every detail underneath it. Even though he was wounded, he still had an easy conpdence about him that radiated from his every Wore. ?hat was it about him that drew me in- I stood there for a moment, not moving my mouth as I examined him. The eyes. It was his fucking eyes. I could feel him undressing me as he studied me. There was something dijerent about it. His stare was intense and the colour of his steelUgrey eyes stood out against his comWlexion. For as long as I looked back at him, he did not remove his eyes from mine. It was almost too much, and I wanted to Wull away from him, but I was here to do a “ob. I was sure that he meant nothing by it.
His smile broadened with an innocence that told me he was not knowing what eject he was having on me. Nnless that was all Wart of the charm. ”Aice to meet you.R
HDKO SA2CS3 ’G
Cain extended his hands towards me, and I realised that he was looking for a handshake. Ds a Wrofessional courtesy I stuck my hand out and found that I was dwarfed by him in every facet. How did these massive hands pt inside his boxing gloves- If he wraWWed my hand uW in his, mine would have pt into his Walm, with room to sWare.
”Aice to meet you too. IMm Dlicia.R
Cain chuckled, a deeW and rich tone that matched his melodic voice. ”I know. Ouncan told me that you were coming. quess you better take a look at me then.R
In one smooth motion, Cain had 4icked his arms uW over his head and in a 4ash, he stood there shirtless. I could not even register what colour it was before it had hit the 4oor underneath the table. He looked like he had done the prst time I had seen him all those months ago in the ring. There was no mistaking him, this was the chamWion that had been knocked out during the main event. His body was still “ust as shaWed, and “ust as chiselled as it had been during that moment, and desWite his in“ury, he was still moving around somewhat well. Then I saw the limW as he turned back towards the table. Yaybe he was not as healed as he thought he was.
The motion was innocent, but why on qodMs green earth did it send electric shockwaves through my body. Dnd why on qodMs green earth did he need to remove his shirt when I was examining his knee- He could have keWt it on. Kemoving it was “ust obnoxious, but considering the framed Whotos that hung all around the gym, it would have been how he lived his life. Cain hobbled towards the bench and Wlonked himself down on it.
The bench looked like it had seen better days, and was in no shaWe, way or form anywhere near the ;uality of my table, but it was what Ouncan insisted I use. Dnd therefore, I was going to use it. There was no Woint uWsetting a new client on the prst day of treatment. Cain aWWeared comU fortable on it as he sat down, his legs dangling over the side. He grimaced as he sat, and I could tell that it was bothering him even if he was trying to make that aWWear not to be the case.
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”If I can get pt, I will have a rematch for my title in six months. LouMre going to helW me.R
I folded my arms across my chest, trying to remain as Wrofessional as Wossible. qreat, this was “ust what I needed. Dnother athlete who thought that he was too big and too imWortant to listen to medical advice. ?hy did he have to be so damn Wretty- If he was not, this would have been easier, but there was at least a timeline in Wlace. I cleared my throat and took a deeW breath, trying to regain my focus. I was here to do a “ob, not to ogle. Cain did not have the best body that I had ever seen, but it was still damn imWressive. If I stood naked beside him IMd look like rolled oatmeal. ?ait, why the fuck was I thinking about that
”I reviewed your scans5 it was a serious in“ury.R
Cain snorted at me. ?hy was this man so dismissive- He had no right to be, and his gym was Waying me a hefty fee to get him back on track. Ouncan had already Waid for a weekMs worth of work, yet something told me that I would not be lasting this long around this guy. He was Wretty, sure, but an asshole- Dlso, depnitely a correct statement. I was not going to work with someone like that. !erhaWs if I could get some easy wins on the board, then he would start to listen to me and this whole Wrocess would be made easier. I did not like my chances with a man like this though.
”IMve had worse.R
”LouMve had worse than a severe grade three YCz in“ury-R
”Leah. DCz a few years back. IMm sure IMll get through this one as well.R
Ouncan leaned back with his own hands folded over his chest and now it was his turn to remind his pghter of Wast events. ”Cain, you had a whole team of doctors helWing you recover from that. ?e donMt have the funds that we once did. The fact that weMre able to ajord Dlicia here was a miracle. Lou lost us a lot of money when you lost that pght. I knew I shouldnMt have bet on you. The streak had to come to an end. Oarcy would have gotten the “ob done.R
Cain lowered his eyes as he Wut his hand down on his knee. For the prst time, there was something other than conpdence in Cain. ”Lou donMt need to remind me, Ouncan. I know that I fucked uW. I had my oWening in the prst round. IMve watched the reWlay.R
”3o maybe youMll listen next time. Instead of going for a head kick, youMll teeW.R
”I saw the oWening7R
”He keWt his guard high because he knew thatMs what you were going for7 Lou need to Way attention to the small details, otherwise thatMs what will cost you in the future7R
Their argument was like listening to a twelveUyearUold argue with their Warent. Then I remembered their last names. They were related. ConsiderU ing Ouncan was Wushing sixty and Cain aWWeared to be in his early thirties, the relationshiW between the two of them was clear. Aot wanting to be caught in the middle of it, I cleared my throat. This is not what they were Waying me for.
”Excuse me gentlemen. IMm here to do a “ob. Aow can you tell me what haWWened, Cain-R
Cain averted his angry ga8e from Ouncan and now looked at me. Even though I was standing beside him, I still felt small. How was his aura all encomWassing- Heat radiated from his body and it threatened to engulf me. I did not want to see what would haWWen to my body when I had to touch him.
”This isnMt my prst rodeo. IMve got ninetyUnine pghts under my belt now. ?hatMs one more- IMm going to hit that milestone. I can WreWare WroWerly for it. I kind of tweaked my knee.R
I held back a laugh. Cain certainly did not “ust tweak his knee. The scans that I had Wlaced on the bench beside him were evidence of that and surely this man who was so in tune with his body could look at a chart and understand what had haWWened. I did not even need to touch it to see the full extent of the damage. This was the kind of in“ury that made Whysios
’B Y.D. ODKSE, YDTT YEYEYDK2
go ;uiet for a second because you could see and feel the damage before you even touched the “oint. There was not much worse he could have done unless he decided to obliterate his DCz. This would take time for him to heal and even though it had already been a couWle of months, it still looked bad. Ao doubt he had been training on it already.
I Wursed my liWs together and wondered how I would go about this without touching him straight away. I needed to get used to his Wresence. ”Can you lie back on the table Wlease-R
Cain nodded and did as he was told for the prst time. I leant over him, trying to get a better look at his knee. Had they done anything to treat it so far- From what I could tell, that answer was no. Yy hands were careful and clinical, but my mind was sWrinting. Aow I had to touch him. It was the only way to investigate this further, even though I could read the scans. ?hat if I did something that set oj a sWark between us- I was used to athletes and used to being around them, but this was something else. I could feel more heat coming oj CainMs body. I was talking to myself in medical terms, “ust so I did not say anything stuWid. Even though he was an extremely Wretty man, I was not going to fuck this uW for myself. I would rather be able to ajord to Wut food on the table.
”D severe YCz tear. Yedial collateral ligament. Inside of the knee.R I was “ust muttering to myself at this Woint, trying to keeW myself on track. CainMs knee was one of the least sexy things about him, but I could still see the other wear and tear that told me this man knew how to use them. They were well conditioned and minus his in“ury, it was clear he was built for one WurWose.
Yy mind keWt racing. How was I going to distract myself- ?ork, of course, Dlicia. Lou were here to do that after all. Cain was only laying there, letting himself be examined by me. I could ask him to Wut his shirt back on. That would have made the situation better, but only “ust. I groaned internally, Wushing through the heat that I was feeling. There was no reason to be nervous, but here I was, ready to bend at the knees for a man I had only “ust met.
I went to work, examining CainMs knee further. The YCz was suWWosed to be a thick straW of living cable that ran from the femur to the tibia. Its “ob was to stoW the knee from collaWsing inward. It was the reason you could Wlant your foot, Wivot, take imWact and do anything you wanted to do from a Whysical standWoint. It held the whole “oint together when someone drove into the outside of your leg like a wrecking ball, but I knew that from witnessing the incident, that CainMs knee had not managed to stand uW under the Wressure.