The Hardest Hit (10 page)

Trevor woke the next morning after one of the best nights of his life. Part of him was glad that it happened the way it did, as a surprise, because he couldn't have planned a more awesome evening. Never in a million years did he think Chelsea would come to him so freely, but he also knew their relationship had to be on her terms. He'd fallen for her the first moment he saw her. That was no lie. He'd admitted as much to her from the get-go. Knowing she wanted him too? Well, that was about the best a guy like him could ask for.

While she slept, he called into Stamina and told the guys he was going to be late. He didn't want to ruin their night together by rushing her off, making her feel as though she was less important than she was.

He walked to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. As it brewed, his cell phone rang. He reached for the phone and answered before it disturbed his girl.

“Mr. Redding,” a woman's voice said. “This is Dr. Evans's office. I'm calling to schedule your next appointment.”

He wanted to tell the lady that after a night like his, he could die and go to Heaven and everything would be just fine. Instead, he said, “I'm good anytime.”

“How about tomorrow, ten a.m.? We've had a cancellation.”

Agreeing, he grabbed a pencil, wrote down the address to the office, and hung up.

The coffeepot gurgled, signaling the end of the cycle, and when he turned to pour himself a cup, he found Chelsea emerging from his bedroom. She had thrown on one of his old T-shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts from his drawer. Not that he minded. The woman could wear a plastic bag and look stunning.

He made his way over and embraced her. He loved how she felt in his hands.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said.

“Hi.” She looked bleary-eyed, her head still filled with sleep. “I woke up and you weren't there.”

“I was making coffee for you.” He brushed a kiss on her lips and escorted her to the sofa.

She rubbed her eyes and curled up on the couch.

Taking two mugs from the cabinet, he asked, “How do you like it?”

“Just sugar,” she answered with a yawn.

He poured her cup and his, and then delivered one to her. “Thank you,” she said, “This kind of service I could get used to. You spoil me.”

He bent and kissed her again. “You have no idea how much I'm going to spoil you.” As he sat down beside her, he noticed how her skin glowed. She looked the way he felt. Happy. Sated. And totally spent.

“Dr. Evans's office called. I'm going in tomorrow at ten. I guess I'm officially his,” Trevor told her.

“No. You're officially mine. Ben is just your doctor.” She smiled.

“How long were you with him?” he asked, taking a sip of coffee.

“About six months. It was all too much too fast, and he wasn't the guy for me. I know this because I know who is for me.”

He raised a brow. “Oh really? Who?”

She laughed. “Don't worry about Ben. He's a great doctor. He'll do right by your case. Whatever happened between us has been over for a long time. He's a colleague. That's all.”

“Did you love him?”

She shrugged. “I thought I did. I thought he was the best choice for me, and on paper he was.”

Call him protective, but he didn't like the idea of Chelsea with someone else other than him.

“Are you worried about Ben?” Concern lined her brow.

He felt his face squish up. “I'm not worried about him, baby. But, I have to ask, what made you change your mind? You were so insistent on keeping things professional—not that I'm complaining—but why the switch?”

Steam rose from her coffee cup. She sat in silence. He knew her well enough to know that passing him off as a patient didn't come easy for her. Maybe she'd taken his case as a favor to Daniella, but she stayed his doctor long after he'd been discharged, and had never mentioned passing him off until showing up at his house looking like something out of a magazine.

“I had a decision to make. A choice. I could either do what everyone expected me to do or, for once in my life, I could do something for myself.”

“You okay with it? Choosing me?” For the first time he asked a question and a pang of regret followed. What if she only thought they could be together but when it came down to it, she'd realize how much she'd lost by turning over his case. He'd watched enough ESPN and Will Smith movies to know that concussion research was a big topic in the sports world, and a doctor like Chelsea could make a decent name for herself with a case like his.

She pulled him from his thoughts when she wrapped her free hand around his. “Nothing is more important than being with you.”

“You mean that, don't you?”

She leaned over and pressed her lips to his. Soft. Sensual. Slow and deep. He loved the coffee taste on her tongue. The kiss was one hell of a way to wake up.

“I want to be with you more than anything,” she said.

He believed her. He didn't doubt the assurance in her voice. Chelsea was the kind of girl who could have any guy she wanted. Yet, she chose him. The idea blew his mind. No one had ever cared about him, not until her. He'd never had someone abandon something as important as their work for him. He wondered if he could do the same for her if the shoe was on the other foot.

What if he was faced with a choice? Chelsea or boxing? Luckily that was a decision he didn't have to make. All was right in his world. He had his girl, and a job he loved. Nothing could tear them apart.

The next day Trevor sat in an exam room at Dr. Evans's office. Funny, the reaction he had when the nurse told him the doctor was ready to see him. There wasn't an uptick in his heartbeat, no anticipation stirring through his stomach. He simply stood, like a lamb going to slaughter, hoping Dr. Evans would let him continue his light workouts. He followed the nurse toward one of the patient rooms, and sat quietly waiting for his doctor.

He already missed Chelsea's office. Sure, what they had now was so much better, but there was something about waiting in that tiny room and having her walk in that made having a head injury bearable. Now he really was just a number.

After a brief pause, three short knocks rapped on the door and the doctor he remembered from the hospital entered. The guy was everything Trevor wasn't. Chiseled jawline.
GQ
-quality handsome, and skin so perfect the chump probably moisturized. At one glance, Trevor hated him.

He tried to picture him with Chelsea. He couldn't. What had she seen in him? He didn't understand what in the world Mr. Silver Spoon could've possibly given her that he couldn't. Well, maybe if she had a thing for guys who got manicures or wore smoking jackets, maybe.

Dr. Douche didn't even bother to shake his hand. “Hello, Mr. Redding, how are you today?”

“Fine.” And his words were true. Actually, he was better than fine. He'd just had the best sex of his life with his dream girl, but he didn't think Dr. Evans wanted the real truth. He was out-fucking-standing.

“Nice weather we're having,” the doctor said, really to no one, even though Trevor was in the room. In case he hadn't noticed they lived in Las Vegas. There were only two kinds of weather, hot and hotter.

Trevor didn't respond. Both men sat silent as Dr. Evans read his chart. Trevor took Dr. Evans' reading as a sure sign he was unprepared, and could've cared less. Still, Trevor didn't do anything to interrupt him. If he wanted to keep training, he should probably stay on the guy's good side.

“So your last brain scan looked okay.” Dr. Evans said without even making eye contact.

“Think so. I mean, it was if that's what the paperwork says,” Staying on his good side was one thing, but Trevor wasn't about to do the doctor's job for him.

“And how are you feeling now? Any headaches, tiredness, blurred vision, that sort of thing?” Dr. Evans peered over the edges of the folder.

“None,” Trevor responded truthfully. His head didn't constantly pound like it had. He still got headaches, but nothing like before.

Dr. Evans rubbed his chin as he studied the file. “I see Dr. Fox cleared you for light duty. Any problems with that so far?”

He stared at him. “Not one. I mean, I'm exhausted, but that's normal, right?”

The doctor gave an agreeable nod. “I'd assume so, yes.”

“Good.”

Ben sat reading. A long silence stretched between them. “Dr. Fox was very thorough in her note taking. She must've taken a special interest in you.”

Trevor frowned. He didn't like the way Dr. Dumbass said the words
special interest
. “She's a very good doctor.” He didn't mention that at this point in his usual appointment with Chelsea she'd have already shone the tiny penlight in his eyes, made him follow her finger around the room, and asked him to remember things from four or five months back. She did all the things a good doctor should, while pencil dick sat there reading.

“I agree,” Dr. Evans said, “Dr. Fox is very diligent. And your case is very complex. It begs the question why she passed you off to me.” Then, Dr. Evans's gaze darted over the folder. “But I think I already know the answer.”

Trevor clenched his jaw as the man continued. “I know her. She would never give up a case like yours unless she had some other motivation. Her work is too important to her. You're fucking her, aren't you?”

Trevor's face tightened. “Excuse me?”

Dr. Evans frowned. “Well, she's either fucking you or she's going to. That's the only reason she'd pass off a case like this.”

“Look, dude, you're way out of line.” Tension crept into his face.

Dr. Evans's nostrils flared as if it had been an insult to criticize him. “It looks to me like she's ready to take a ride through the low-rent district and see if slumming has what she's looking for.”

Trevor's hand tightened into a fist. One more word and he'd introduce the doctor to his ferocious left hook.

“So, you're basically asking me to knock you the fuck out.” Trevor had to end this conversation now before he did something and wound up getting arrested.

“Ah, so she is screwing you.” Dr. Evans' accusation made what he and Chelsea shared sound cheap and meaningless.

Trevor's pulse raced. He tried to tamp down his rising temper. He was the better man here. “Who Dr. Fox spends her time with is none of your business.”

He waited for another snide remark, holding himself back. He had to. As much as he wanted to punch this guy out, he was a doctor, and Chelsea's jealous ex. Trevor should've known this wasn't going to work. He had no idea Dr. Evans cared for her as much as he did.

Part of him didn't blame him for being upset. He imagined being in the doctor's position; getting dumped by Chelsea would hurt more than he cared to think about. She was an amazing woman. While he could imagine what it might feel like to be dumped by Chelsea, it was an experience he hoped he wouldn't have. Ben did, and look how he turned out. Jealous. Lonely. And he operated way out of line. On some level Trevor pitied him, and a part of him wanted to cut him some slack.

And he might have if the guy didn't act like a grade-A prick.

Dr. Evans smirked, unimpressed. “I'm not going to fight you like a Neanderthal. Chelsea may have chosen you for the moment, but she'll end up coming back to me. What could you possibly give her that I can't? If she wants to roll around in the sack with some dumb boxer, that's her business. Ultimately, she'll see that I'm the better long-term choice for her and she'll come crawling back.”

Trevor choked out a laugh. “If you could've given her what she wanted, she'd still be with you.” In a situation this ridiculous, common sense was the only response. God, Trevor wanted to smack the smirk right off his face.

Ben gave a shake of his head. “You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, pal. You might think it's you and Chelsea against the world, and maybe it is right now, but once her father finds out his daughter is screwing some two-bit fighter, your days of high-class pussy are over.”

Trevor hopped off the examination table, and walked to the stool where the doctor sat. “We're done here.”

He reached down and removed the file from Ben's hands. There was no way he was going to leave his case in Dr. Evans's hands. Hippocratic Oath, his ass. The guy would probably try to harm him based on spite and jealousy.

“Chelsea's a helluva woman. You failed to see that, and she left. You want to know what I can give her that you can't? Everything.”

And with that he tucked his file under his arm, strode out of the doctor's office, and didn't look back.

Chelsea's face grew white-hot after Trevor told her what happened at Ben's office. Her nostrils flared, and she wanted to kill him. Ben. How stupid. How jealous. She'd given him the case of lifetime, one he could use to make a name for himself if only he'd done the right thing. And what had he done? Pissed on it.

She knew Ben could be a jerk. Oh, he had it in him. But to take a case like Trevor's and treat him so unprofessionally, well, she knew she had to report him. Yeah, that's what she'd do, she'd report him. Her choice was either to tell the American Medical Association what he'd done or kick him in the balls. And while she ached to kick him where the sun didn't shine, she knew he'd hurt longer and harder if he had a complaint filed against him. A nice little black mark on his otherwise stellar record.

What an asshole.

Trevor had told her everything, how nasty Ben had been, and the comment about her slumming still had her reeling. There were no words for a guy like him. Jealous. Entitled. And a genuine prick. That's how she saw Ben Evans. That's what he was.

While she didn't want anything bad to happen to Trevor, she wouldn't have blamed him if he'd cold-cocked Dr. Douche right there in his office.

Now seated in front of her, Trevor looked calm and as delicious as ever.

“So, I guess we're just going to have to find another doctor for me,” he said, leaning back in the chair across from her desk.

“You bet we will,” she assured him.

Her heart ached for him, and she felt bad about the whole damn thing. She'd made a terrible decision. She'd placed him in such an uncomfortable position. That was on her. She hadn't expected things with Ben to go the way they did. She knew he still cared for her, but to show his true colors like that . . .

She shook her head. “I'm so sorry, baby. I don't know what else to say.”

“Maybe you shouldn't say anything. Maybe you should come over here and show me how sorry you are.” Then, that killer boyish grin started at the corner of his lip. It pulled its way upward in a slow, satisfying way that told her talking about Dr. Evans was over.

She got up from her desk and walked around to sit on Trevor's lap. Lifting her hand, she caressed his cheek, feeling the small stubble on his chin. If only she'd known how a guy like Trevor could make her feel from the first moment they met, she wouldn't have wasted so much time before jumping into his bed.

He rested his hand on her thigh. For the first time all day she was happy she'd worn a skirt to work, something she rarely did. But today, her spontaneity kicked in. Maybe she was hoping he'd drop by at the end of the day like he had.

The purple-tinted light of evening shown through her office window. She loved this time of day, when all of her staff had gone home and it was just her and her work. Having him beside her meant she liked being here alone even more.

His hand trailed up her thigh and she brushed a kiss to his lips.

“Well, someone's getting comfortable at work,” he said.

“There's no one here. It's just you and me and I simply can't wait to take you back to your place when there's a perfectly good desk to fuck me on right here.” She bit her bottom lip. That was too brazen, even for her. Usually a sexually explicit tease wouldn't have come from her, but then again, she'd never been with a guy like him before. One who stirred up things inside her—impulses she couldn't name but couldn't wait to explore.

He smiled, and with a dip of her head, she crushed her lips to his. Her mouth filled with the taste of him. She pressed her lips harder to his, taking more. Oh, so much more. His tongue met hers, and together they swirled in a wicked dance. Tempting. Teasing. Each daring the other to deepen the kiss and heighten the excitement.

His hand moved from her thigh, and his skilled fingers found the hem of her shirt. She loved how they crawled underneath the material, putting skin against skin. And they didn't stop there. His touch ran up the length of her body and covered her breast. Slowly, he cupped her, digging his fingers into her bra and pushing the material aside.

He fondled her breast. Teasing the tiny bud between his fingers, then as her breathing increased, he gave her nipple a tiny pinch. Oh, the combination of pleasure and pain felt wonderful.

She broke their kiss, and a moan escaped her. Oh. God. They were going to do this right here, right now, and she wanted it. She wanted it so, so bad. Good girl Chelsea was about to get fucked in her office. She would have done anything to have him in that moment. Her hand plunged down and felt his dick.

Yes. He was hard. So fucking hard. Just like she'd hoped.

“You like that?” he said as her hand rested on his cock.

“Oh, yes.” She massaged him through his pants.

His hot breath touched her neck as he planted soft butterfly kisses along her throat. Her nipples tightened in response. She was oh-so-ready for him. She was his and he was hers. This was how it was supposed to be. Total completeness. Wetness dampened her thighs.

“Fuck me, baby,” she panted. “I can't wait anymore.”

She didn't wait for him to respond, or stop kissing her. When she stood up, she knew he'd follow. And he did. In a moment her boxer's hands were up her skirt, pulling down her thong. He teased the material between her thighs until it fell away.

Heat filled her body. She wanted him inside her so much that she placed both hands on her desk and showed him her ass. In an instant, his hands caressed her bottom, and then the sound of his zipper pulling down filled the space between them.

Her stomach tightened. The anticipation for him was almost too much to bear. She bent lower, her fingers splayed out on the desk, while his hand gripped her hip.

And he slid inside.

She gasped in response. When he entered her she felt so full, so good. The warmth of his hand landed on her back. And he fucked her.

“You okay, baby?” he asked.

“Yes,” she responded in a ragged voice.

“You feel so good, baby. So tight.” He continued the push-pull of their lovemaking ever so slowly, then increased speed at a gradual rate. Fast. Slow. She didn't mind. She loved the feel of him.

Being taken from behind hadn't been her thing, but with Trevor the experience was different. There was something about the feeling of having him behind her that captivated her. She felt like a seductress as he drove himself inside her. Leaning toward her he bent over and played with her clit. He worked her with those skilled, sexy fingers. Damn. Oh. Yes. His touch felt so good.

Emotion welled inside her and her nipples grew tighter, nearly begging for his touch. But he wasn't a neglectful lover. Quite the opposite. Sex had never been this damn good.

He drove deeper. His cock was rock fucking hard and oh the pressure, the teasingly sweet pressure that almost caused her to come, wound around the base of her spine. Tension built and mounted. Then built again. She let him drive deeper and deeper. Oh god. He fucked her so hard, so good. She'd never want anyone else.

He moved both hands to grab ahold of her hips. The slapping sound of flesh against flesh filled her ears, and she loved it. The sounds. The smells. She loved everything about sex with Trevor. He was giving it to her and she was doing everything she could to ensure maximum pleasure. For both of them.

And then, he hit the spot.

With his dick buried deep inside her, he worked those magic fingers until her body started to hum.

“Oh,” she said, “That's it.”

Usually, she didn't speak much during sex, or at least she hadn't in any of her previous relationships. But, with Trevor, it was as if some kind of disconnect existed between her mouth and her brain, one that didn't allow her to hold anything back.

His touch focused on the spot, and nothing but moans emitted from her mouth. He played her. Oh God he played her like a musical instrument, and his fingers felt spectacular.

His touch grazed her again.

“Yes,” she cried out. Her emotions betrayed her.

Her body tightened around his cock, and he let out a tiny grunt. Yes. He was close, too. His experienced fingers continued to work her sex until she could no longer bear it. Her body grew warm, too hot for her to contain, and her chest heaved with the expulsion of breath.

The wicked tension that built and strained inside her begged for release.

“Oh.” She said again. “Yes. Oh God. Yes.”

And within a moment he had her soaring. She rode the orgasm, letting it take her to new heights. And once he moaned she knew Trevor had met her, and they came together.

Love and lust. Satisfaction and pleasure. All of her emotions piled on top of one another. They were too much to sort out now. She felt like she was running on overload, and there was so much she wanted to share with Trevor that she didn't know where to start.

She wanted it all with him. A life. A home. Happiness. She thought she could find all of that with him and she hoped he did, too. Her life had become so different so fast and it was all because of him. Knowing how much he wanted her, changed her. He filled her with confidence she didn't know she had. The new Chelsea was bold, sexually charged, and ready to explore new things with him. He'd already changed so much for her in the very short time they'd been together, and she was looking forward to whatever their relationship had in store for her. No matter what happened now, she knew two things were absolutely true.

One, she didn't know how much she could love someone until she met Trevor Redding. And, two, she was absolutely sure she'd never look at her office the same way again.