Page 36 of Bound by Affliction
He links his hands behind his head with his elbows sticking out on either side of his head. His legs are out and crossed at the ankle. Yes, he is settling in for theshow.
Each move I make, I feel his hot gaze. Insecurity sets in, and for a moment I think of giving up and saying to hell with it. That’s the moment I close my eyes and remember why I’m doing this. I remember Green kissing my scars and telling me I’m beautiful. It gives me the extra push to keepgoing.
I’m relieved when the ‘session’ is over and lay on my back, looking up at the ceiling. That wasn’t bad, but my muscles are going to kick my ass later. Part of me just wants to give up and say screw it. The other part is telling me to keep at it. It’s like a war inside my head. One side wanting one thing while the other wantsanother.
I feel him before I see him as he sits on the floor and takes my foot into his hand. Even with the sock covering it, his warmth penetrates through it as he begins to rub. A flit of panic comes in a rush, and I try to jerk my leg back and move to situp.
“Breathe, Leah. It’s me.” His calm eyes will my body to lay back down, but I can’t release the tension. “You’re just fine. I want you to keep your eyes on me so you remember who’s touchingyou.”
Everything trembles, and I can hear my teethclattering.
We’ve laid in bed together wrapped up in each other’s arms. He’s kissed my scars telling me they were beautiful. Green has been with me every step of theway.
This isGreen.
It’s notthem.
It’s nothim.
It’sGreen.
It’sGreen.
It’sGreen.
Looking down my body at him, he meets my gaze with a reassuring smile as he continues to rub the instep of my foot. My stomach flips and flops all over theplace.
“You know I did this in the hospital for you.” he says, pulling me out of my thoughts and on to himfully.
“Youdid?”
His smile is gorgeous and makes my heartconstrict.
“Yep. The doctors said you needed to keep the blood flow going in your legs and keep moving them or you’d have a hard time gettin’ back to walking.” He shakes his head like a memory is funny, making me verycurious.
“Tellme.”
“There was this physical therapist guy who came in and started to touch you. Let’s just say he and I got to anunderstanding.”
My inquiring mind needs to know. “How’s that?” His fingers dig into my foot and a moan escapesme.
“You know the man I am, Leah,” he says pointedly. “No one touches you unless it’s necessary. Him touching you wasn’tnecessary.”
“From the sound of it, it wasnecessary.”
He switches to the other foot, and I fight to keep my eyes open at the pleasure of having those muscles kneaded. “That’s why he taught me what todo.”
“And they justletyou do therapy on a woman who wasunconscious.”
He smirks. “Like I said, we had anunderstanding.”
The calm feeling begins to wane when Green stops talking, and my eyes eagerly stay onhim.
This isGreen.
This isGreen.
This isGreen.
I chant this over and over in myhead.
“Baby,” he calls softly. “I’ve got you. I’ve always gotyou.”
It’s taken me a while, but this time I really do believeit.
