Page 2 of Rehabbing the Beast
She gave him a little smile and said something, but Seth couldn’t quite make it out. Unlike Dave’s, her whisper-quiet voice didn’t carry as well. Whatever she’d said, Dave flashed his eyes toward Seth and nodded. Seth clutched the arm rests so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Quinn left the room without looking back.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Seth demanded when it was Dave who helped him into his wheelchair and started pushing him toward the exit.
Dave was everything Seth hated in a man. Tall, handsome, blond – too damn pretty, truth be told – with carefully sculpted muscles toned in a pricey gym and an easy smile for any female who looked his way. Women were drawn to him like bees to honey. All except one, which was the only thing that kept Seth from snapping his neck. “Where’s Quinn?”
“Missing her, are you?” Dave smirked.
“Fuck you.” Seth had seen the way the smooth bastard put his hand on Quinn’s shoulder. The way he’d leaned down and inhaled her scent while she’d updated Seth’s chart. She hadn’t succumbed yet, but she would. They always did.
As if reading his mind, Dave chuckled. “I’m working on it, Captain. I’m working on it.”
* * *
QUINN TOOK A FEW EXTRAminutes in the ladies’ restroom to splash some cold water on her face. Resting her palms on the marbled counter, she leaned in closer to the mirror.
“It was a lucky shot,” she told herself. “He couldn’t know. Fling enough random arrows and you’re bound to hit something eventually. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, right?”
That Seth had hit a sore spot didn’t bother her as much as the fact that she had revealed a weakness. That was unforgivable. Seth O’Rourke was not someone to whom she ever wanted to reveal a weakness.
Many of the black ops guys were like that, trained to exploit any weakness, mental or physical, though Seth seemed more dangerous than most. More feral. Sometimes he reminded her of a panther, poised to pounce on his prey. The way his blue eyes locked on her like lasers and tracked her every movement while the rest of him remained unnaturally still only strengthened the image.
He would seize any opportunity she gave him, exploit it, use it without mercy until there was nothing left. That thought made her laugh, though not in amusement. He already had everything he needed to destroy her. He just hadn’t realized it yet.
With luck, he never would.
She hadn’t meant to fall in love with him. It was wrong on so many levels, not the least of which was the fact that he was her patient.
It also defied all known logic. They were as opposite as two people could possibly be. He was huge and arrogant; she was petite and demure. He had bronzed skin, jet black hair, and ice blue eyes; she was a pale, honeyed blonde with dove gray eyes. He barked; she whimpered.
Yet from that very first day, she had been his. She’d fought it with everything she had, but to no avail. She loved him, wholly and completely, as if he was the missing part of her soul.Hewas the very reason she could never find it in herself to go out with another man. There would be no point.
And he thought she was a weak, pathetic, steaming pile of dog poop.
Well, she thought, dabbing at her eyes one last time, maybe he was right. He certainly wasn’t the first man to form that opinion of her. Yes, he had been a real bear today, but for most of her life she had lived among people who hated her with a passion that made Seth’s words seem more like endearments, really.
Besides, he didn’t really mean them; he was just lashing out. Just as her gift allowed her to heal, it also allowed her to look beyond the gruff, cruel words and see a good man who had been hurt so very badly. He had sacrificed himself for his team and from the stories she’d heard, it wasn’t the first time he had done so.
She wouldn’t give up on him; shecouldn’tgive up on him. He needed more than standard therapy; he needed her healing touch if he was ever to recover fully. The damage his body had sustained would have killed an average man, but there was nothing average about Seth O’Rourke. Even so, if she hadn’t intervened when she had, the chances of him ever walking on his own again were practically non-existent.
Now it was mostly up to him, though her continued touch and the special massage oil would enhance his progress. She’d driven for hours last weekend to get it. Her grandmother had mixed it up for her, an ancient family remedy that worked miracles. Quinn was taking a chance by using it here, on him. If the director of the rehab center found out she was using unapproved products on her patients, she could lose her job. So far, Seth was the only one she had felt compelled to chance it with, but there was nothing she wouldn’t do for him.
She sighed and dabbed at her face with the paper towel. A few hours of meditation in her studio apartment and a pot of herbal tea would allow her to seal some of those cracks he’d made in her defenses so she could wake up and do it all again tomorrow.
