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The lass gives my arm a gentle squeeze. Then she blinks rapidly, focusing on my face. "That's good. It'll make physical therapy much easier. Now, get moving."
I salute her.
She shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest.
All I can do is obey her command. I walk a circuit around the room while I memorize the posters on the wall. One shows all the muscles in the human body, with the skin stripped off to expose every sinew. My lip curls. Cannae help it. Anatomical drawings always make me feel uneasy. Humans have skin for a bloody good reason. Nobody would want to shag if we all had to see what's under each other's skin.
Five minutes later, Kate whistles and waves for me to go back to her.
"Do you always whistle like that to call your patients back to you?" I ask as I reach her. "Or are you being sarcastic, treating me like an animal because I said ahmno a dog?"
"I don't have patients. You are my client."
"That's what Jack says too. Are you sure you're not a robot programmed by my brother?"
She huffs and points straight down at the blue mat lying on the carpet. "On the floor, Callum. Now."
Bloody hell, she's more than bossy. She's a harpy.
I lie down on the mat, on my back. "You remind me of my cousin Logan, who used to be in the army and MI6. You're sexier than him, but just as demanding."
Kate bends over to aim her sharp gaze straight into my eyes. "Man up, MacTaggart. It's time for straight leg raises."
Bod an Donais. That woman is going to drive me barking mad.
Chapter Four
Hugh
I walk into the building and march straight up to the reception desk. Why am I here? To save my best mate from a shrew who might also be a she-demon. I expect to see glowing red eyes and small red horns when I finally meet Kate Wagner, considering the way Callum described her. He didn't mention her looks, which makes me wonder if she has green warts too.
The pretty lass behind the waist-high desk raises her head from whatever papers she'd been perusing. Her eyes widen for a heartbeat, then she smiles shyly. "How may I help you, sir?"
"I'm Hugh Parrish." I offer the girl my hand. "Viscount Sommerleigh. And I'm here to meet my best mate, Callum MacTaggart. I believe he's with Kate Wagner right now."
"Oh aye, the fireman." She shakes my hand while fluttering her lashes at me.
Callum hasn't been a fireman for nine months, but I won't correct the girl. She's lovely, and I am always in the market for a sexy companion—for dinner or the night.
"Mr. MacTaggart is with Kate right now," the girl says. "But I'll let her know his friend is here."
I notice the small name tag pinned to her chest. "Thank you, Mary. And what a lovely name you have, though it's not as lovely as you."
Mary giggles, then picks up the phone and punches three buttons. She listens while her gaze goes distant. "Kate, Mr. MacTaggart's friend is here. Should I have him wait?" She listens a bit more while catching her lip between her teeth. "Aye. I'll do that."
She ends the call and smiles shyly again. "Kate says she'll be out in a minute to speak to you, Mister—Viscount Sommerleigh? Or is it Lord Sommerleigh?"
I lean in and wink. "You can call me Lord Steamy."
Mary blushes.
Oh yes, I love making women blush. It's adorable and sexy. Maybe I enjoy telling women the moronic nickname that someone—a female someone, though I don't know which one—invented for me a few years ago. But it does come in handy when I'm trying it on with a woman. I don't want to seduce Mary, though. My flirtation is more of a reflex.
I lean in closer. "Why don't you just call me Hugh?"
"All right." She flutters her lashes again and slants toward me a touch. Then something past my shoulder snares her attention, and she straightens. "Kate is here to speak to you."
I pat Mary's hand. "Thank you for taking such good care of me, darling."
