The Marriage Beat. Doreen Roberts

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      The next ten minutes were pure hell. The more moves he showed her, and the more contact he had with her firm body, the more irritable he became. He was furious with himself, furious at his weakness, and even more furious at her for having the power to do this to him. In an effort to disguise his problem, he rapped out his orders, sounding like a sergeant major with a bad hangover.

      Megan was having just as much trouble paying attention. From the moment she’d seen him standing on the mat, legs braced apart in black gym shorts and a large portion of his chest bared by a blue tank top, she’d had trouble concentrating.

      Every time he came near her she jumped, and whenever he put his hands on her, she just about curled up inside. To make matters worse, he kept snapping out orders at her, making her even more nervous.

      In fact her nerves were strung up so tight she just knew if he didn’t quit yelling at her like that she’d explode, and tell him to forget the darn lessons. She should report him for being the worst instructor she’d ever encountered. Period.

      He’d shown her how to grab his arm and pull him forward, but when it came to getting her shoulder beneath him to flip him over, she kept forgetting to bend over at the right time.

      She was getting tired, and her muscles were sore. She just couldn’t wait until the lesson was over so she could go home and soak in the tub.

      “All right,” Tyler said, mopping his brow with the back of his hand, “we’ll try it one more time then call it quits for tonight.”

      Wondering if he’d read her mind, she gathered up the last of her energy. This time she’d do it. Just once she’d like to see him flat on his back with her foot in his neck. She faced him, muscles tensed, ready for the attack.

      He scowled at her, in his role of attacker. “Remember to yell.”

      He started toward her and she yelled, raising her hands to reach for his outstretched arm.

      “Grab and pull,” he shouted. “Get under, under, bend, bend...no bend!”

      She bent. This time, for the first time, his feet left the floor. For one glorious moment she felt his weight shifting over her shoulder. In her delight she started to straighten up, then gasped as her arm twisted awkwardly under his weight. She hadn’t quite got the hang of it yet, she realized in alarm.

      He crashed to the mat on his back, dragging her with him. She cried out as his full weight landed on her forearm. He rolled off her in an instant, but the pain brought tears to her eyes. She sank onto the mat, cradling her arm against her body.

      “Damn! I told you to bend.” Tyler knelt in front of her. “Let me look.”

      She tried to lift her arm to show him, but it hurt to move it.

      “Try wiggling your fingers,” he ordered, his voice softening in sympathy.

      She felt like crying as she gingerly moved her fingers. It hurt like the blazes, but they worked.

      Gently, he reached for her arm and ran his warm fingers up and down it. “I don’t think it’s broken,” he said gruffly, “but I’m taking you to the hospital to get it checked out.”

      “I don’t think that’s necessary—”

      “Don’t argue with me. You’re going and that’s the end of it.”

      She clamped her mouth shut.

      She kept it shut all the way to the hospital, even though she was aware of the worried glances he kept sending her. She’d had trouble getting into her jeans, and he’d had to help her. It had been embarrassing to say the least. Right then she couldn’t think of anything she wanted to say to him.

      Tyler did all the talking when they arrived at the check-in desk in Emergency. He’d pulled on a pair of black sweatpants over his shorts, and looked more like a high-school coach than a cop. Megan noticed the skeptical way the nurse looked at him when he explained who he was.

      She had to sign the form with her left hand, something she hadn’t done since she was in grade school. Her effort looked unreadable, but the friendly nurse assured her it was just fine.

      Told to wait in the lounge, she took a seat near the window, overlooking the parking lot. It gave her something on which to concentrate her attention.

      Tyler sat down opposite her, his face creased in a worried frown. “How’s it feel?” he asked her, when she looked at him.

      “Not bad,” she lied. “I’m sure it will be just fine.”

      He looked guilty. “This is bad. I’ve never had a student injured before.”

      “It was my fault. I didn’t bend properly.”

      “No, it was mine. I should have made sure you were following my instructions.”

      She shook her head at him. “No, really. Your instructions were fine. It was my fault. I forgot to stay down until you were all the way over and—”

      “I’m the instructor. I’m supposed to be able to prevent you from hurting yourself.”

      She sat back, knowing it was useless to argue. He was determined to take the blame. She felt miserable. She was tired, hungry, in pain and felt like a prize idiot. If she hadn’t been so distracted by Tyler Jackson’s great muscles, if she hadn’t been so conscious of his steely-blue eyes, she’d have paid more attention and this wouldn’t have happened.

      It would have to be her right arm, she thought in disgust. This was not turning out to be her week. First she’d had her purse stolen, which so far hadn’t turned up, and now she’d wrecked her arm in her very first lesson in self-defense. What else could possibly go wrong?

      “Megan Summers?”

      She looked up to see a young nurse standing at the door, beckoning to her.

      Tyler got to his feet.

      Megan got up, too. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she told him.

      “I’m going with you. Here, give me your purse. I’ll carry it for you.”

      “I can carry it myself. I’ll be fine.”

      “I want to be sure of that.”

      She looked up at him, ready to argue. One look at his face told her she’d be wasting her breath. Still hanging on to her purse, she followed the nurse into the cubicle with Tyler hot on her heels.

      The nurse made her sit on the bed and pulled the curtain around her. Tyler hovered in the small space, looking painfully uncomfortable. Megan wondered what he’d do if she had to disrobe. Getting out of a leotard with one arm would prove to be real challenging.

      She tried to think of something to say that would release the tension, but all she could think of was that she wanted him to leave. She didn’t think that would help much.

      Fortunately she wasn’t kept waiting too long before a man who looked too young to be a doctor whisked the curtain aside. “Well, what have we here?” he asked, СКАЧАТЬ