Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

I pray that Nikki doesn't want to get back together with me, he thought. If so, then I'd have to fire her and she is the best at what she does. I can't have our past personal relationship affecting our business one.

Right then, Elsie popped her head back into the doorway. “Am I safe to come in? I don't want to overhear anything I'm not supposed to.”

r />

Ollie sat up and smiled at her concern. “Yeah, you're safe. I'm all done. Thanks.”

“Don't thank me yet,” she said, walking toward where he was seated. “We're aren't done with the session yet. You're probably going to want to curse me in a few minutes.”

I highly doubt that, he thought, smiling to himself.

Chapter 7

Elsie

“Good news, Ollie,” Elsie said, as soon as he had finished his stretches for the day. “We're going to finish this session off with an upper body massage.”

Ollie smiled with relief and let out an appreciate groan. “That sounds incredible. I didn't know that was part of the treatment, but I'm not going to argue.”

“Why do you think all of my patients love me so much?” she replied, taking Ollie's arm and helping him walk toward the massage table that was in the far corner of the room. He was getting stronger every day. Soon, he wouldn't need her help. “Also, massage helps you to relax which is good for promoting healing. The human body is an interconnected machine. Right now, you're compensating for your knee with every other muscle in your body. So we're going to give all of those muscles a little love so that they can keep up the good work.”

“Again, you aren't going to get any argument from me, Doc.”

They approached the massage table and Elsie turned to face Oliver. “Go ahead and take off your shirt and lay down face first on the table.”

Oliver didn't hesitate. He grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and peeled it up over his head. Elsie's eyes widened as soon as she saw his muscular torso. She looked away quickly, though. She didn't want to stare, or else she might get caught drooling.

Oh my God, she thought, as Oliver crawled onto the table. She caught another glance of him before he laid down. This man is physically flawless, she thought, swallowing down her deepest urges.

He was muscular, tan, and his skin was shiny with sweat. He was sex on legs. She'd known he was in good shape, but never imagined he looked this good. In an effort to distract herself, she began digging through her bag to get her massage oil.

You're a professional, Elsie, she thought to herself. It's work. Don't enjoy this too much.

“Comfy?” she asked, drawing in a breath to try to calm herself down a bit.

Oliver grunted an affirmative sound. Elsie approached him and dribbled a bit of the massage oil onto his back, then slowly rubbed it in. It only took a few moments to realize how tense his shoulders were, so she started her massage there.

It was hard for her not to enjoy the firmness of his muscles underneath her fingers. There was a reason he had all those sponsorships and ad campaigns selling things to women. He was incredibly sexy. Once again, she had to remind herself that he was a patient and that she couldn't allow herself to feel attracted to him.

But can I really help it? She thought. He's an attractive man. I'm allowed to think so, right? As long as I don't act on it, I can appreciate it, just as long as I stay professional.

Oliver lifted his head and turned to face her, his eyes squinting as the light hit them. “What did you say, Elsie?”

She froze, feeling her heart skip a beat.

Did I say that out loud? She asked herself. Oh God, please tell me that I didn't.

“Nothing,” she said, stuttering as she found her voice. “You're just really tense. Take a deep breath in and try to relax your muscles.”

Ollie put his face back down and let out a long breath. Elsie felt the difference in his muscles immediately. It seemed that he knew his body really well.

He must really know how to handle himself, she thought, but then stopped herself from going any further with that thought.

Her mind was heading in an unprofessional direction again, so she looked around for something that would pull her back into the right state of mind. She noticed Oliver's hair and for the first time saw that his roots were coming in. She remembered his beautiful dark hair from the search pictures.

“What are you planning on doing with your hair?” she asked.

His muscles tensed instantly. “Why do you ask?”