Page 59 of Follow Your Instincts

“I want to make it very clear that I’m not doing this because I’m scared of that asshole,” Maggie said.

“We know you just want an excuse to get sexed up by the four of us every night,” Ben said, smirking.

Maggie went to smack him on the arm with her bandaged hand, then winced.

“I’m afraid there won’t be any ‘sexing up’ for a little while,” a brisk voice said. An older man, clearly a doctor, walked into the room. I stood to shake his hand.

“This is Dr. Meninger,” Maggie said. “He’s also the doctor for the Center.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, looking around at my pack. “But I’m serious, young lady. You have a fractured rib and need to take it easy for at least a few days. That means no strenuous exercise, including sexual activity.”

“Fuck,” Soren said under his breath. “I mean... Not because of the sex… Just can’t believe you broke a fucking rib.”

Dr. Meninger walked over and put up an X-ray on the lightbox on the wall. “It’s a hairline fracture, so it’ll heal on its own in four to six weeks. But if you don’t take it easy for a little while, you can do more damage. That means no running or weightlifting for at least a week.”

Maggie sighed. “Well that fucking sucks.”

“You should still stay active, though. Go for walks, do light stretching, but if anything causes sharp pain, you need to stop,” Dr. Meninger said. “Any other questions?”

“When can I take the bandages off?” Maggie asked.

“On your hands, tomorrow morning. The cuts are shallow, we just wanted to make sure the wounds were clean. But I’m giving you discharge instructions for changing the bandages on your knee since that wound is a bit deeper.”

Maggie nodded.

“Okay, well, you’re good to go and get some sleep then. I’ll follow up with you in a week at the Center,” he said and shook each of our hands, ending with mine. “I’m trusting all of you to keep her from overexerting herself.”

“Of course,” I said. “She’s safe with us.”

“Are you ready to go home?” Ben said, bouncing a little in excitement. I smiled despite myself, and he caught my eye, his smile getting even wider.

“I need to go get some stuff,” Maggie said, suddenly shy again.

“Let’s go back and pack a weekend bag for you, my dear,” Steffi said. “You can always come back and pack more when you’re not dealing with bandaged hands.”

“Get whatever you need and we’ll wait for you outside the Center,” I said, still smiling. I would now have both of my tormentors under one roof, but I knew it was where Maggie belonged.

Chapter 23

Ben

Ihated that it had taken Maggie being put in danger to get her under our roof, but I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t ecstatic that my pack leader seemed to finally be getting his head out of his ass and trying to connect with Maggie.

I had been worried about Lachlan. He had withdrawn from all of us, and I thought giving him space would help, but it seemed having a reason to take charge was what he needed. Based on how strong his scent had been lately, I knew he was attracted to Maggie, so maybe closer proximity would help speed things along.

We followed Steffi’s car back to the Center and waited while Maggie packed a bag.

“Thank you,” I said quietly to Lachlan in the backseat. Lucas and Soren were waiting for Maggie, leaning on the hood of the Range Rover.

“For what?” he asked.

“For getting Maggie to come home with us. Maybe now you can stop being a weirdo and talk to her,” I said with a smile. He scowled.

“I do talk to her,” he said and heaved a huge sigh. “I’m sorry that I’m still hesitating.”

“No, no moody bastard tonight,” I said, and poked him in theside.

“But I am sorry. About everything.”

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