Lady and the Champ by Katherine Lace Read Free Book Online Page A

gorgeous? I start to feel dizzy. The pain is making me loony.
    The sound of the gurney wheels changes, and I can tell we’re finally in the locker room. They wheel me into the training area and leave me on the stretcher.
    “I’ll get some ice,” Chloe volunteers, and the doctor nods.
    “No…don’t go.” I reach out toward her, and the small jostle makes pain stab up my leg again. What the fuck did I do to myself? I’m beginning to wonder if there are bones sticking out of my leg or something.
    Chloe pats my arm. “I’ll be right back.”
    The doctor leans over me, looking into my face, then carefully takes my helmet off. “You didn’t hit your head, did you?”
    “No. Where’s Chloe?”
    “She’ll be right back with ice. In the meantime, we need to get this leg straightened out.” His hands move down my leg, brushing over my knee.
    “It’s not straight?” Visions of compound fractures dance through my head again.
    “It’s not too bad. I just want to be sure.”
    Chloe reappears in my line of vision and I reach for her. She takes my hand and squeezes. “You’re going to be fine, Austin. Just relax.”
    Right. Relax.
    The doctor moves my knee, laying my leg straight on the gurney. The pain blinds me. Everything goes black.

    * * *
    M y eyes peer open to blinding whiteness and a black, orb-like object. The orb is connected to a pair of legs, and that’s when I realize I’m staring at a woman’s ass. Chloe’s ass. How do I know? I remember the shape of her ass like I remember the warmth of her tits.
    She’s bending over to rummage for something in her purse. My arousal rises sharply, numbing the dull pain in my leg. The world spins when I move my head slightly, and it’s all I can do to keep my gaze focused on her incredible body.
    Waking up to your ass in my face is the highlight of my week .
    Chloe whirls around, outrage shooting from her electric blue eyes.
    Oh shit. Did I say that out loud ?
    “Yes, you did.”
    “I’m sorry. My inhibitions are low as fuck right now.”
    Her eyes narrow. “That would be the Vicodin. Sherwood .”
    Just looking at her makes my mouth dry. She is fucking gorgeous.
    My voice drops down to a whisper. “It would be super unethical if you took advantage of me right now, but nobody has to know .”
    “Austin,” her voice snaps like a whip. “There are four other people in the room.”
    I barely understand the words coming from her mouth. “What?”
    A man clears his throat loudly, and I turn my head, the world spinning. Are there eight people? No, there are four other people standing there. A distinctly uncomfortable-looking man in a white coat, my coach, and a woman wearing scrubs. I decide that this is hilarious and burst out laughing.
    Coach looks like he’d like to slap the smile off my face. So does Chloe.
    “You guys look so hostile.”
    The doctor takes a step forward, interrupting me. “I don’t think anything’s actually torn, but I can’t be sure.”
    Something ice-cold touches my lower quadriceps, just above my knee. I jump a little.
    “Sorry,” Chloe’s voice says gently. “Just trying to keep it from swelling. I think waiting for the MRI results would be best.”
    “Me, too,” says the doctor.
    “No hospitals,” I interject. Surely this is just a little sprain or something. “I can walk it off.”
    Chloe smirks at me. “You’re already at the hospital, Sherwood.”
    Oh .
    Now that I’m a bit more coherent, I can feel the hardness of the hospital bed and my growing sense of humiliation that I might’ve said too much in front of, well, everyone .
    The doctor snorts. “You are not walking it off. ”
    “Did we win?” I ask Coach.
    “We did.”
    “Hot damn.”
    Chloe crosses her arms firmly over her chest—well, under her breasts, which makes them plump up nicely. I stare by accident, and she glares at me. “You have more important things to worry about, Mr. Sherwood.”
    I glance at the doctor. He’s stone-faced. “What’s