“Now that I know you have feelings for me and it’s just fear holding you back, I have hope. We can overcome fear. I can’t overcome lack of interest.”

She elbowed him playfully. “You knew I was interested. I doubt I’m that good of an actress.”

“Well, no, you’re not. You make this little sound in the back of your throat.” He stroked her behind the ear with the tip of his nose and she let out a little murmur.

“Mmm hmm. That’s the one.”

“Matt! You’re always teasing me.”

“Trust me, I’m not teasing you, pretty baby. You’ll know when I’m teasing you. I might do this.” His hand slid down her front to rest right between her legs. The heel of his hand nestled against her and she let out another soft, arousing sound. “Or this.” His fingers pressed through the cotton fabric of her jeans, rubbing the seam against her in a circular pattern.

“Matt, we can’t.”

He could only assume she’d meant it to come out sounding like a denial, but to his ears, it sounded more like a plea. “Oh, but we can.” He laid her back on the couch and tugged on her jeans. After a few wiggles of her hips, they slid easily down her long legs. He used his teeth to pull at her panties and she reared up off the couch. The motion allowed him to pull the cotton down her legs. He tossed them over his shoulder.

She wiggled halfheartedly in his arms. “I need to get on the road.”

“I know. I’ll be fast.” He punctuated the statement with a soft nip to the skin on her inner thigh. She shuddered and bit her lip while he settled himself between her thighs.

He had no intention of going anywhere for a while. At least not until she screamed his name a couple of times.

*   *   *   *   *

THE NEXT DAY, Penny patted Matt on the shoulder after they finished a set of exercises. “You’ve made some amazing progress over the past two months. It won’t be long now before you don’t need me anymore.”

He’d regained full range of motion in his shoulder, and they were now working to increase his strength and flexibility through the use of light weights. Although she knew it hurt his male ego to use the small, brightly colored dumbbells instead of the large weights he’d probably been pumping before, he’d been a good sport through it all. He’d even allowed her to take pictures for the website and had posed comically with the small weights as if he was struggling to lift them.

It wasn’t that often she got to see Matt in such a playful mood. It was a heady thing to realize she’d had something to do with that. There were many known scientific benefits to having great sex. Less stress, lower blood pressure, and better sleep were just a few of the more obvious benefits.

It was also a phenomenal mood booster. She’d caught herself humming in the shower that morning, and nothing Charles had said to her today had pissed her off. She simply didn’t care.

“Not that I haven’t enjoyed this, but I’m anxious to see how much progress I’ve made. Is it safe for me to do a mock fitness test just to see how I’d do?”

“It should be fine. Do you want to use the gym?”

At his nod, she gathered her clipboard and led him down the hall to the gym.

“I’ll start with the sit-ups. Last time I barely passed this part because my shoulder was aching so badly I couldn’t concentrate.” He sat on one of the thick blue mats and then interlocked his fingers behind his head. He started slowly, lowering and raising his torso carefully.

“How do you feel?” Penny asked.

“Good. I think I can do more than enough to pass.”

“No pain?”

“None. It’s strange to be able to do this without trying to hide how much it’s hurting me.” He increased his pace and then stopped a few minutes later. “I can do more than fifty sit-ups and I’m barely winded. This is encouraging. You were right that I needed to give my upper body a rest for a little while. I must have been overtraining because I feel stronger than ever now.”

He lay back until he rested on the mat. Then he turned over and got in push-up position. Penny sprang forward, instinctively ready to assist if he needed it. But it seemed like her help was unnecessary because he lowered himself smoothly before coming back up.

He’s doing it, she thought. Up and down, he pumped out push-ups to a beat no one else could hear.

He was healed.

Penny felt a pang behind her heart, but she pushed it aside. Her goal with her patients had always been to get them back to where they’d been before. Helping a patient rewind time so they could do the same things they used to was always her ultimate endgame. It shouldn’t be any different for Matt just because she cared for him. Despite how hard it would be for her to see him go, his goal was to qualify for the Special Forces. It was his dream and she wanted to help him achieve it.

It appeared she already had. Until he suddenly stopped moving.

“Matt? Are you okay?” Penny moved closer and then sprang forward when his arms gave out and he collapsed to the mat below him.

“I can’t do anymore.”

“It’s okay. You did quite a few. I’m sure with enough time you’ll be able to build on what you’ve done.”

“You don’t understand. I only have a certain amount of time to qualify.” He sat back on his heels. “I was so sure that this was the miracle I needed. I thought that if I worked hard and did everything you said that I’d be strong enough. But I’m not. I’m still not.”