I jumped at every noise I heard outside my door. This place was always loud. The athletes weren’t staying on my floor, but they were still around. I was housed with other trainers and team staffers. I hadn’t been in Rio long enough to befriend anyone other than the guys I traveled with.
I kept expecting that to happen once I was here longer, but like my move to Italy, things I thought would happen, never did.
There was a sudden rap on the door and I rose to answer it, untucking my feet from under my legs.
I pulled the door open. Pierce Miller stood there, filling the frame and grinning from ear to ear.
“Hi.”
“How’s your knee?” I tried to look around him. I didn’t want anyone in the hall to see him at the door. I ushered him inside.
“You can see for yourself.” He lowered himself on my bed and hiked up the cuff of his pants.
“Oh shit.” I covered my mouth with my hand. It was swollen and red. “That doesn’t look good. What did your trainer say?” I bent to take a closer look.
He leaned back on the small bed and I tried to ignore the fact that his massive body was all over my sheets.
“I didn’t show him.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“I wanted you to look at it.”
I didn’t know whether it was an actual compliment or part of a game. I doubted he knew much about my career in sports medicine.
“This could be serious. Why are you taking a chance like this?” I shook my head. He was no different than Sergio or Paulo. He thought he knew better than everyone else.
“I didn’t think it was much of a chance coming up here. I thought it was a sure thing.”
“Oh God.” I took a step back. This was a total booty call.
“Come on, Sierra. I want your expert opinion.”
I was tempted to kick him in the shins. “Men have done a lot of crap to get my number, but this … this is insulting.”
“Insulting? I’m putting my safety in your hands. I think it’s the opposite of insulting.”
He pushed himself forward on the bed. His eyes blazed. It was hard to be mad at him when he looked like he did. Everything was so angular and perfect. Damn it.
“I don’t know why I’m doing this,” I huffed.
I turned to the wardrobe cabinet and searched until I found a wrap. Next, I opened a silicon bag and filled it with a gel pack I kept in the dorm-sized freezer.
“Lie still,” I ordered.
Pierce’s eyes widened, but he reclined on the bed, folding his hands under his head. God, he was gorgeous. I was used to men’s bodies. I studied them for a living. I treated them. I healed them. But I don’t think I had ever seen one that was as exquisite as this one. I was almost afraid to touch him.
I applied the frozen packet to his knee and began to wrap it tightly with the bandage.
“We’re going to ice it for twenty minutes and then I’ll do a series of exercises,” I explained. I made another loop around his leg until I was confident the ice pack wouldn’t move.
“Twenty minutes?”
“Yes. And then twenty minutes of exercises before another twenty of ice.” I grabbed an extra pillow and shoved it under his ankle. “We also have to keep it elevated as long as possible.”
“You think I’ll be able to pl
ay tomorrow?” There was a hint of concern in his voice, but I wasn’t sure he would stay off his leg if I told him his life depended on it.