"Look at you and your energy," Dro comments while watching me finish my eighteenth pull-up.

The laugh that escapes me takes the rest of my stamina. With lackluster form, I pull out one more, then drop from the bar to my feet. "People need to stop telling me that," I say back to him.

Dro's white teeth flash. "You're doing pull-ups between patients. I know you're young but something's got you going today. Your little friend still treating you well?"

Little friend? Teagan is pretty tall, but I guess parts of her are small. Her wrists, ankles, waist . . . All small enough to grip when I'm—nope. Can't think about that right now. "She is, but I'm a little pent up at the moment."

He passes me the mat and adjusts the rest of the therapy equipment between his arms. "Haven't been in it in a few days?"

My snicker is enough of an answer. As stupid as the contract is, it has me spoiled. Skipping one of our days, only to have her show up unexpectedly and tease me, left me so riled up and in my head that . . . Let's just say my sheets needed a wash this morning.

Frustrated or not, I'm in a great mood, because even if I didn't have an appointment to fuck Teagan's brains out tonight, today is one of my favorite days at work. Levi is here.

He waves at me through the glass walls of the waiting room. I wave back, a huge smile on my face. I love that kid. He's here early—a Hargrove trait—but I'm not mad about it. It sucks to only see him for an hour a month, but I'll take what I can get.

He's the closest thing I have to a little brother. Few people have the connection we do, which is good, all things considered. I'm grateful for it in a morbid way.

"You got this, right?" Dro asks me.

I look at him with surprise. He lets me fly solo often enough, but never on a case as intensive as paraplegia. I'll never back down from a challenge. "Yeah, definitely."

"Do your thing. I'll be here for support."

"Awesome. Thanks, Dro." He hands me the braces and holds out his arm. I bump the side of my forearm against his. When I turn to go to my space, a thought makes me turn right back around. "Hey," I grab his attention again. "Can you keep my sitch on the DL with this next client?"

He looks confused. "Yeah, but why? I thought this one was your bro."

"He is, but . . . He's my sneaky link's actual brother, too."

Dro stares at me for a second too long, then his deep laugh breaks the silence. "You are one crazy ass motherfucker, Heath." He keeps laughing to himself while he leaves for his desk.

I set the equipment down and go to the waiting room to grab Levi, and I'm excited as hell. It's stupid how happy his goofy ass makes me.

Levi was Teagan's shadow when we were kids, but when he met me, that changed. Like it was with her, meeting my mom made me seem safer, I think. While most people can't discern my ethnicity until they see her, knowing I'm less white than the sea of white dudes around us helps.

Levi was always tagging along with me to practice, games, everything. When my injury ended my pro-ball prospects, I was depressed as hell. But seeing what happened to him not two months later—the fear I felt thinking we would lose him . . . He put the loss of a sports career into perspective. While it sounds self-centered, helping him through his recovery showed me what I really wanted in life.

"Hey, Levi," we slap hands.

He smiles up at me. "Heath."

"Ready to get your ass kicked?"

"Might as well let you try here. We all know you can't beat me anywhere else."

"Oh, it's like that?"

"Hell yeah, it is!"

Levi plays Murderball—wheelchair rugby for those who haven't watched. I've gone to a handful of games and all of his Paralympic qualifiers, and when I tell you I was shitting bricks the whole time, I'm not kidding. It's violent, full-contact nightmare fuel.

At the table, Levi climbs out of his chair and gets into position on his own. "How's everything feeling?" I ask.

"Well, I haven't miraculously regained my ability to walk yet, but other than that I'm doing great." Sarcastic ass.

I shake my head at him. "How about the hips and back?"

"Good and fine."

"Details, Levi. Tingles? Cramps? Spasms?"

"Nah. Everything's about the same. Lower back still gets sore after practice."

"I'm sure ramming yourself into solid metal has nothing to do with that."

"Definitely not. Ramming myself into my dates may be setting it off though."

My laugh comes out like a cough. "Bro . . ." He smiles with pride. "Not to sound like one of your lucky ladies, but it's time to take it off, man," I joke.

He laughs because he knows the protocol. He pulls his hoodie off to leave only his fitted tee on. The dude is ripped, but he hides it as much as possible. 

"Roll over for me."

Levi turns himself to lie on his stomach. His legs don't unlace. I unhook his shoe from his pant leg and lay it parallel. I roll up the end of his shirt and tug his pants down just a bit, then run through the steps while I clean my hands and grab the lotion.

"Heath, I need more foreplay before we jump into things."

I roll my eyes in jest. "You wish you could hit this."

I start in on his back, running my thumbs along the sides of his lumbar spine, feeling his thoracolumbar fascia for any inflammation. He doesn't twitch or show anything on his face, but he rarely does. Next to it, his medial latissimus dorsi is in knots. When I add a little pressure, his face twists, though his smile holds.

"How often do they have you lifting during practice?" I ask.

"Only about half the time."

"What is that? Two, three times a week?"

"Two, yeah. I've been skipping leg days." His grin is sheepish with his dark joke.

I close my eyes with a sigh to avoid rewarding him with a laugh. I know I'll go to hell if I do, but the dude almost got me with that one. "I cannot stand you sometimes."

"At least you can stand."

"Levi, I swear to God . . ." He laughs at my misfortune. I toss him the harness. "Put this on before I kick your ass out of here."

It's a bitch to put on and get attached to the lift, but it's important for his mobility. Dro slides the equipment over and waits. The unweighting machine cost more than my car. It's more complicated than it looks, of course, but the arched metal apparatus dangles him from a rolling support, allowing us to control the amount of weight placed on his legs while we have him walk a few lengths.

Levi gets into everything like a pro, which, after years of this shit, he basically is. There's always a doctor telling him some people with his injury miraculously regain their ability to walk, as if that's the only thing keeping him going. It is frustrating people can look at someone like him and think there's something missing from his life.

When he's secure and on his feet between the parallel bars, Dro pats me on the back and leaves me to it. "Is it a good height?" I ask Levi.

"Yep. Let's get this shit over with."

He grips the bars and leans his weight forward. I spot him while walking backward, tracing the movement of his LHPC as he swings a leg forward and measures his balance atop it. After one step, I can tell why his muscles were wound so tight.

"Hey. I saw you messaged my sister the other day," he says casually, though his voice is strained by the effort he's putting in. "What was that about?"

I chuckle at his attempt. Looks like Teagan was right to be pissed at me for that text. "Probably Ryan's wedding shit. Why? What were you hoping it was about?"

"Nothing," he lies. "I mean, I know she's hooking up with someone. Made me think it was you."

"Sorry to let you down." He reaches the end of the rails and I'm not surprised how quickly it has gone. "Ready to go back?"

He nods. I watch him as he turns around but he doesn't need my help.

"I'm just saying, you should shoot your shot. Summer's the perfect time."

"Give it up."

"You should ask Teagan to do that. I'm sure she would."

They have no problem talking about sex with each other. I don't know if that's a normal sibling thing or not. "Levi, please stop asking me to try to get it in with your sister." I still have to wait a few hours.

"Fine!" he says with that goofy smile. "Don't fuck her."

. . .

"Yes! Fuck me," Teagan moans.

She lays beneath me with her legs spread wide, letting me hit her deep. So deep. Her arms lay limp near her head, her face twisted in ecstasy as she takes everything I have to give her. Drowning in pleasure, I pump hard and fast. I'm finally buried in my soft, wet happy place, staring at her tits as they toss with every thrust. "You're so fucking hot," I murmur under my breath.

Her gaze finds mine. The heaviness in her eyes and the breathless, pouty look of pleasure drive me crazy. A hand grips one breast, and her teeth sink into her lip as she mewls.

"Don't look at me like that," I tell her.

Staring straight into my eyes, she dares me.

I don't stop, I can't. My hips slap against her thighs while I stroke myself in her tight grip. The head of my cock pushes against her with every stroke. I'm rock hard, right on the verge, but I have a reputation to uphold.

The moan I attempt to hide comes out like a growl. "Do you want me to fuck you harder?"

She nods, "Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I slow to a stop and she looks at me like she wants to kill me. When I open my drawer and grab our best friend, her expression changes real quick. I flip the little switch and it comes alive in my palm. Her eyes stay glued to it, her chest heaving with anticipation.

The second the little flower touches her clit, she bucks.

Holding the toy against her, I stroke it deep, even. Her hands fist the sheets while her hips lift from the bed. She's sopping wet, shaking, I can't tell if she is coming or if she has been this whole time.

With something between a moan and a scream, her back arches and her knees snap together. I drop the toy to hold her thighs against me and cradle her hips off the mattress. Her pussy squeezes me like a fist. I stroke it just a few more times before my eyes roll back and I spill.

Sense leaves me with every shot. Over and over, the feeling rushes through me, and for a few moments of pure bliss, I think—maybe hope—it will never stop. My cock continues to pulse even after I'm empty.

My strength leaves me and I drop her hips onto the bed between my thighs. I slip from her and run my hands over the tops of her thighs while I pant. When my vision comes back, I find her with both arms draped over her face, her chest raising and lowering with heavy breaths. I stare until the sound of our friend gains my attention again. I flip it off and toss it beside us. Untangling myself from her legs, I leave her for the bathroom to take care of business.

When I'm cleaned up, I grab a towel and go back. She's already sitting up, hair back in place, cold demeanor trying to mask the desire still lingering behind her gaze when she looks at me.

She takes the towel from me and says, "We need to talk."

I glare at her, my muscles tensing with anger. "You cannot be serious right now. I just fucked your brains out and now you want to—"

"About the schedule, chill."

I breathe out in a mix of relief and frustration. "Why did you phrase it like that?!"

"Uh . . . If you let me finish my sentence before flipping out, I wouldn't have."

I flop back onto the bed. "I swear to God if I didn't just cum inside you I'd—"

"We're less than two months before the wedding, which means a ton of events with the guys are coming up, including the engagement party next weekend."

I'm still in my feelings. "'Kay."

"Okay . . . Dinner was already a whole thing. This has been easy to hide until now. We need to be careful going forward."

"We won't get caught."

"How do you know?"

Still lying on my back, I look up and give her a grin. "You think I'm a complete dumbass, but you have to admit I'm still smarter than half the group," I remind her. "If we're not holding hands or tonguing each other down, they're not going to notice."

Her lips twist to the side while she considers my words. She puts her shirt back on and smoothes her hair back into place. "You're too confident for your own good."

"Weird way to say I'm hot, but okay." I get the eye roll I've been looking for. "Teags . . . They know we hate each other. A small increase in your tolerance for me isn't gonna wave a flag. Keep being you and they'll never know anything has changed."

"Nothing has changed."

I reach up. "This wet spot you left on my sheets begs to differ." Her little groan of annoyance is cute. "This is good, Teags, whether you want to admit it or not. I'm not going to risk getting laid four times a week by having the guys find out. Trust."

She looks over her shoulder, eyeing me as if trying to find the lie. "You mean it?"

"Every part."

She keeps looking at me and I have no idea what she's thinking. Not that I ever do. "Okay."

"Okay," I repeat, telling her the conversation is done.

She stands up and limps to her pants, wobbling as she does. Girl can't walk straight. She squeaks when she reaches down to grab them.

"You good?" I ask with a laugh.

She straightens up with a wince. "I bet you're real proud of yourself right now."

"Yep."

_____

I should apologize for that transition but I won't. More wedding events coming up! Do you think they'll be able to keep their secret?

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to vote, comment, and add to your library!