Reid focused on the sound of his feet hitting the belt of the treadmill, the rhythmic pounding a therapeutic soundtrack to the punishment he gave his body.
Though he’d told Lucie he planned on going to sleep, there was no way he could actually do that until he expelled the pent up energy he’d gained from Lucie’s first-lesson-gone-bad. He’d lost count of how many times the scene replayed itself in his head like a DVD stuck on repeat with no damn off button.
His eyes had been closed the whole time, but he hadn’t been lying when he said that his hands would create their image in his mind. It’d been over a decade since his hands had touched any sort of sculpting medium, but they hadn’t forgotten how to memorize every detail of a subject. Not by a fucking long shot.
As sweat poured down his body in a cathartic release, he tried to determine the exact moment it ceased to be a lesson and turned into something that was more about passion than anything else. Hell, if he was being honest with himself, it was probably from the moment he stepped in the room to see her in that sexy one-piece, eyes closed, and waiting on him.
She’d never been one to accentuate her body like other girls. She’d been more of a bookworm and seemed content to stand in the shadows of those who preferred the spotlight, like her brother. Growing up, she’d been like Reid’s younger sister, too, considering how much time he spent at the Maris residence.
So why the hell did brotherly love suddenly feel a lot more like a lover’s lust? Shit! He had to figure out what to do about these lessons he promised to give her or he was going to be in for a couple of hellacious months. Glancing at the odometer on the digital display, he checked his distance just as it clicked over mile number ten and brought himself down to a walk for a short cool down.
Distance. That was it. He needed to keep his distance when teaching her how to be the new her. Maybe he’d take a professorial lecturing approach next time. He could stand across the room and she could sit on the couch and take notes. Reid laughed out loud as he pictured the ridiculous scenario. Until the Lucie in said ridiculous scenario was suddenly wearing the Britney Spears version of a school uniform and asking for a hands-on lesson in Seduction 101.
“Fuck!”
Reid punched the STOP button and hopped off the machine. Breathing fast and heavy, he let his head fall back on his shoulders and squeezed his eyes shut, but decided better of it when the haunting image returned. Looked like it was going to be a cold shower before he turned in for the night. And starting tomorrow, all lessons were going to be purely hands-off and at least arm’s length for good measure.
Chapter Five
“Absolutely not.”
Reid chuckled from his seat on the couch outside the department-store dressing room where Lucie was currently balking at the fifth outfit in a row. After their morning therapy session and his lame-as-hell one-armed workout, they’d gone out for lunch. Watching her act in public had been torture. She reacted to life rather than participated, or even instigated. When spoken to, she responded. When given something, she accepted. But when the world wasn’t interacting with her, it was like she was in a bubble. She didn’t even look at the people around the restaurant.
For whatever reason, Lucie acted as though it was her place not to create any more ripples in life’s pool than necessary. As for Reid? He preferred the cannonball approach, but he knew that wasn’t for everyone. If she wanted that asshat of a doctor to notice her, though, she needed to at least make a small splash. To do that, he’d start with changes on the outside and work his way in.
As they finished their lunch he’d told her of his plan to take her shopping for new clothes. She had of course told him under no circumstance was she clothes shopping with him, but when he threatened to burn every last boring stitch in her wardrobe she reluctantly had a change of heart.
He’d been surprised to find not one flattering piece in her closet. It was clear she had issues with her body, though for the life of him he couldn’t understand why. She was slender and fit. Her breasts were on the small side which he supposed could make a girl self-conscious if she thought every man alive wanted a couple of Dolly Partons to play with. But she was a highly intelligent woman, so she would know that was ridiculous. Wouldn’t she?
“Come on, Lucie. Let’s see it.” The lady assisting them had picked outfits that hugged Lucie’s body rather than hid it. He’d approved of everything she’d tried on. From low-rise jeans to summer shorts, fitted button-downs to slimline tanks, she’d looked great in everything she tried on.