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“Fine.” I threw my hands up and let them fall. “Lay back.”
He locked his gaze with mine and scooted back on the bed. His long legs swung around behind Justin, and he stretched them out toward the end of the table.
Justin shifted his weight but stayed in place. “They need us back on the ice.” He removed his gloves and set them on the counter. The sight of his long, slim fingers contrasted with the thick pads on his shoulders, chest, and legs. He gripped theedges of his collar where the pads met and used them as a handle.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him until Zachary cleared his throat. “What’s this all about, Lucy?”
“Nothing.” I cleared my throat and moved to the end of the table. “Can you get his pads off?” Heat scorched my cheeks and I made myself turn around. I couldn’t be trusted to do it myself, and watching would only make the heat worse. Lennox was injured. I needed to take care of him, not stand there lusting over him. They all had better things to do than to sit around waiting on me to get over my infatuation with them. God. I had a kinky need to be with all of them. That realization stopped me cold. I fisted my hands to keep from slamming them over my mouth as shock rolled through me.
Grunts sounded behind me, followed by a hiss that had to be Lennox. The sound of his clothing being removed did a number on me. It was too easy to imagine him naked, his long hair fisted in my hands as we came together. What good was it doing to torture myself like this? Why couldn’t I stop? Pads hit the floor in a series of thuds.
“He’s ready.” Zachary’s laughter eased through his voice and sent a ripple down my spine.
Turning, I moved quickly to Lennox’s side. I started at his ankles and worked my way up to his knees. “You rubbed this one.” I ran my fingers lightly over his right knee and watched his face for any sign of discomfort. “When you took that first hit, you stopped and massaged this knee.” He needed to know that I’d seen him, that he couldn’t hide from me.
I expected him to lock down his facial expressions, and he didn’t disappoint. Every time my fingers passed over the back of his knee, he didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t even breathe, and that was the telling motion. I passed my hand under his leg and lifted his knee into a forty-five-degree angle. “Does that hurt?”
His knuckles whitened on the edges of the bed, but he shook his head. “It’s just an old knee injury. Nothing to worry about.” Sweat dotted his upper lip and his calf muscle quivered in a series of tiny jerks that traveled beneath my hand.
“Hmm.” I straightened his leg, and he relaxed, his chest falling in a quick exhale. I wrapped both hands around his knee and rotated the kneecap beneath my thumbs. “Any pain when I do this?”
“None.” He spat the word at me like a curse. That meant it hurt like hell.
I’d been around hockey players my whole life. I knew them too well to trust a word out of his mouth. But I kept talking, kept asking questions, because it distracted me from the feel of his body beneath my hands. I rolled my eyes and moved to the other leg. “Any pain here?” He shook his head as I manipulated his ankle and then his knee. The left leg seemed in perfect condition, but I worried about the right.
“I’m going back to the game.” Lennox sat up and grabbed my hands.
“Not until I check you out and verify that you can skate without causing permanent injury.” I yanked my hands back and resumed my examination. His legs were strong beneath my fingers, the muscles well defined. They’d left his pants on, keeping me from seeing more than the lines beneath the black fabric.
Zachary and Justin looked at each other over Lennox’s head. They were all so close to me I smelled the sweat and the coppery tang of blood from Justin’s split lip. Zachary held one hand to his ribs, reminding me I needed to check him too. Cracked ribs were not uncommon, even with the thick pads.
Lennox flopped backward and settled his hands behind his head. “Check me out all you like, Doc. But I’m getting back on the ice.”
Zachary hovered near my right elbow while Justin watched me from the other side of the bed. I should feel closed in and angry, but their presence made me feel protected. “You know what I meant,” I snapped.
The overwhelming urge to be close to all of them turned inside me. I tried to fight it off by turning cold in my manners and speech. It probably wouldn’t work, but I had to do something to tamp down the growing need to be with them.
A shadow fell across the room. Dad stormed in, his eyes snapping with anger. “Refs have agreed that your time down here counts toward your penalty. I need you back up on the ice.” He snapped his fingers. “Can you hurry this up?”
“No.” I was not about to back down. “We agreed that I could do my job. So let me.”
Zachary’s eyebrows shot upward. He had his back to my dad, and he mouthedwowat me before schooling his expression.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and pout like a child. Dad had agreed to my terms. He’d know something was off if I turned Lennox over to him without a proper exam. “I need to check Zachary too. He’s wheezing. Ribs might be broken.” I shot a smirk his way when he snarled his nose.
Heat blasted over my face from the overhead heater and I shrugged out of my vest.
“Fine.” Dad jerked his head. “What about Justin?”
“Let me check his nose and put him through the concussion test.” Why was I trying to keep them all in here? I should let Justin go. Even Zachary. I doubted he’d even let me X-ray his ribs. But neither of them argued with me. For a brief moment, I considered the fact that they mightwantto be in here with me, the four of us together. My pulse whooshed hot blood through my veins, and my entire body warmed at the sudden rush of desire.
Dad threw his hands up in the air and turned on his heel. “Get back out there as soon as you can. The team needs you.” He stopped at the door. “You boys are on thin ice. Stop screwing around.”
All the heat I’d felt drained away in a blink. Dad had no idea, but he’d just reminded me of why this could never work out. This was why I couldn’t feel anything for these guys. They were supposed to be off-limits.
The door closed behind Dad, and we all stared at each other in complete silence. I didn’t want to be the one to break it, but I had an exam to finish. I cleared my throat and rolled my shoulders back. “Let’s get this over with.” My voice stayed cool and calm even if my pulse fluttered too fast. I blamed my libido for the sudden surges of heat and desire. After not having sex for five years and then hopping in bed with two different guys within the same week, my body was all over the place.
I craved more. I didn’t know what it would take to satisfy my urges, and that scared me almost more than the risk I’d taken by having sex with Justin and Zachary.
