Page 15 of Attraction

“You don’t need that dumb piece of shit. You keep lookin’ at it and it’s slowin’ you down, so now just get fuckin’ runnin’.”

“But I can’t,” she pleads. “Look, I get it …I get that I can’t run as fast or as far as you—or any of you. So, point proved. Now you can go tell Jackson I failed.”

“That’s it? You’re just gonna quit, like that? Wow. Well, you just got this team killed and you’re right, your ass is so outta here. You know Darius is gonna ream you so bad if you perform like that and give up at the first sign of pain.” He shakes his head, his eyes still focused on her. “Kat, you’ll need to dig a helluva lot fuckin’ deeper if you want Darius to give you a place on this team.” He takes a breath and continues, “Just listen to me… to what I’m tellin’ you. We don’t leave anyone behind. And those tango’s over there … with AKs, they’re not gonna wait for yourbullshittech to tell us to run. You gotta do it for yourself. You’ve gotta find somethin’ insideyou, something to push you on—even when the pain is bad. Now…” He pauses. “Get yourfuckingass runnin’ Lieutenant!”

“Ryan, I said I ca—”

“Can’t.Yeah… yeah, I heard that bullshit. Well, I’m giving you an order …Fuckin’ run!” Then, giving her no choice, he grips his hand tightly around her wrist and drags her behind him as he sets off again at pace.

“Alright, alright… stop! Geez Ryan, give me a minute. Alright, I get what you’re trying to do, to push me on but I can’t keep up that pace, not if you want me to run.”

“Right, okay, that’s better.” He smiles and lets go of her arm. “You just admitted you’ve got a limit. Good. Now breathe nice and slow ’til you’re ready to go again.” She doubles over catching her breath, her lungs heaving hard in her chest. Ryan places his hand between her breasts and stares.

“Ryan …” She frowns awkwardly. “We can’t—”

“Oh, shut the hell up, I’m not tryin’ to feel you up. Though I can if you want.” Thewanna-ride-my-dicklook from last night fills his face again. It makes her think about how much she actuallydoeswant him to feel her up.

Ryan continues, “now breathe. Slow, deep breaths that fill your chest. You wanna run your best? Then this… this is where you feel it. Right here in your heart, that’s what tells you if you’re running your best. If it don’t hurt like hell—well, then you’re not givin’ it a hundred percent.” He lectures her, but with that soft drawlish tone, she could have him berate her all day. “Right, can we get a move on now cos I’m fuckin’ starvin’ and I need some breakfast.”

Sighing loudly, Kat can’t take her eyes off him. Something about him makes her tingle inside, and the heady scent of his testosterone-smelling sweat is driving her lady parts into overdrive. But as much as he physically turns her on, there’s also something that fascinates her about him, too. His body may be every inch the Alpha, but his mannerisms are a lot less. His beautiful blue eyes make her curious and she makes a mental note to pull his file when they get back and find out more about him.

Now catching her breath and pulling herself together, she runs again. But just as they head into the last half mile she struggles and trips on the curb, landing heavily on the sidewalk and cutting her knee.

“Fuck.” she curses. Sitting on the ground and clutching her chest, she struggles to breathe. “Oh man, I can’t do this, you’re going too damn fast.”

“If you can’t, then your ass is definitely outta here by the end of the week.”

“What? Why? Just because I can’t run as fast as you? That’s bullshit.” She grimaces, wiping the blood from the graze on her knee.

“What the hell do you think Darius is gonna do when you can’t complete his exercise run—athispace. I tell you what—first he’s gonna abandon your ass in the middle of nowhere, then we’re gonna take the extract helo’, and you’re gonna be left to a long fuckin walk back!” He laughs. “Now… c’mon, get your ass up… We’re gonna finish this.”

* * *

“I’m just going to take a shower,” she says when they arrive back at the house. “I need to get to the office; I have medicals to do all morning. Yours is booked for noon.”

“You booked me a medical? A medical for what?”

“I just figured I’d do a full physical on everyone and get the team records up-to-date. I noticed they hadn’t been done for a while. So, if nothing else, I’ll get everything straight for whoever comes after me.” She laughs.

“Wait. Have you told Darius you’re doing medicals on his team?”

With her hands resting on her hips, Kat looks at him and notices his eyes are only focused on one thing—the toned taut of her stomach. “I didn’t see any reason I’d need to…. I mean, tell him. I’m the M.O. in charge and I do what I need to for the team—on medical grounds.”

“Wow! Kat, you seriously know how to go about pissin’ him off. Trust me, before you do anything… you need to run it past him first.”

“No… I don’t think so. I told you I’m the medical officer, and it’s my call. Those records are seriously out-of-date, and I can’t do my job properly, not if I don’t know where you’re all at.”

“Kat… please listen to me and don’t do this without telling him.”

“Oh, and you think he’s going to be receptive towards anything I say right now? No… no sorry, I’m standing my ground. This is the right thing to do.”

“Alright, well then fine. It’s your funeral. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now… did you say noon? I’ll be there.”

“Good.” She smiles. Taking a deep breath, she frowns.Seriously… What’s the worst that could happen?

Chapter 6

“Come in—” Laying her pen on the desk, Kat looks up.

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