Private Dancer

by DahliaRose

  Ian looked at her skeptically. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “Nope.”

  “Listen, Lieutenant, if you think I am going to be in here wearing some kind of leotard and jumping around like Peter Pan, you are so very wrong.”

  Ian sat back and began to thrum his fingers against the arm of the chair in frustration. How the hell could Corbin think that he would be taking part in this, well, whatever this was? It was then that she leveled him with a dark stare. Anger was visible in her eyes, and she placed both hands on the table with a soft thump.

  “No, you listen to me, Major Scott,” Tasha said. “I did not send a message and call you. You came to me. Don’t you dare look down your nose at what I do here! I and my team help a lot of soldiers, including some who were hurt worse than you and are now back to their posts overseas and could continue a long military career.” Tasha stood slowly. “Now I’m not saying I can do this for you. I don’t know the extent of your nerve damage. But I am saying that my methods can work, and you won’t be dancing around here like Peter Pan like you said. We use a series of dance moves that can strengthen your legs and rebuild those nerves. But the choice is yours. Get with the program or step out of my space. Either way I won’t lose sleep over it.”

  She was passionate, he had to admit. By the time she was done with her speech, she was on her feet, and she looked like she was ready to deck him. He had nothing to lose, really. If he didn’t try, he was positive that he could not get recertified to active duty. So actually he only had one choice.

  “Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Ian said. “I don’t know if this will help, that’s all. It’s been four months since my injury, and I have not seen any real change.”

  “Well then instead of pooh-poohing my methods, how about trying them first?” Tasha retorted.

  “Pooh-poohing?” Ian raised an eyebrow.

  Her lips twitched. “Don’t be smart-mouthed. It’s not cute.”

  “So how do we get started?” Ian asked.

  “Well you go back into the locker room there and put on a pair of those sweats folded on the shelf,” Tasha instructed. “When you come back out, I’ll run you through some evaluation exercises and moves to see your range so I can build a precise routine to help you regain your strength.” This time Tasha looked at him compassionately. “We work with individuals here, so don’t worry, Major. No one will ever see you, and I will be your only instructor.”

  He appreciated her trying to make him comfortable even after he was kind of an asshole. “Call me Ian.” Ian was surprised that his voice was so husky.

  “Only if you call me Tasha.” She smiled at him, and his heart made a tiny jump in his chest. “Now go back in there and get in those sweats so we can work.”

  Ian gave a casual salute as he limped away. “Yes, ma’am.”

  * * * *

  “Oh my goodness,” Tasha said under her breath when Ian had left the room. She leaned against her desk and let her body relax after the first intense meeting with Major Ian Scott. He was by far a formidable man. She could see by his personality why he was a platoon leader. Ian Scott was also very handsome in a rugged kind of way. That low high-and-tight haircut of sandy blond hair and those light brown eyes made him look very intense. He had a lean jawline and a sexy mouth Tasha could see herself kissing. She was five feet eight inches tall, and he towered over her, so Tasha knew he had to be a good six-two in height. Luckily, I like them big, she mused. Quit it, girl. What are you thinking! Tasha went around her desk and began to gather up his file. His career in the military was extensive and peppered with medals and awards. This last mission where he got hurt could have killed him, but he survived, and now it was up to her to help him try to regain use of his leg.

  It hurt her heart to see the many disabled coming out of this new war. Men and women came into her center beat up emotionally and physically. She saw her methods make great changes in their lives. Even severe cases of post-traumatic stress disorder could be helped with someone to talk to and care.

  He came out dressed in the gray sweats and looking uncomfortable. He raised his hand. “So here I am. What do we do?”

  He was definitely not into this, Tasha thought with a smile. Most of the men who came in were less than willing, some of the women too. But Ian looked like he was ready to jump through the window and tuck and roll to his car and peel out of there.

  “First we put on some music, and you will stand here.” Tasha directed him to the set of mirrors and to the bar.

  She pressed the small remote, and the room was flooded with relaxing mood music. The sound of chirping birds and babbling brooks was blended in with the soft tone of a musician playing the clarinet. Ian rolled his eyes when he heard the music, but Tasha paid him no attention when she stood in front of him.

  “Now breathe out slowly and then in,” Tasha said calmly. When Ian rolled his eyes again, she sighed in frustration. “Listen, this is not going to work unless you do as I say and give it a chance.”

  “Fine,” he grumbled and followed her directions.

  “Now follow my lead, and lift your leg outward, toes pointed,” Tasha encouraged softly.

  She watched as he tried to point his toes and his lips tightened with the pain of it. When he even tried to lift his leg, he was only able to get it inches off the ground. Tasha bent to her knees and gently cupped his calf. When she tried to help him raise it higher, a hiss of pain escaped. She pursed her lips and said nothing, instead trying a few more moves and exercises. They were designed to see how badly the nerves and tendons of his legs were injured, and with each she had to help him. By the end of the workout, he was sweating, and even though he wouldn’t say it, she could see the pain on his face.

  “That’s enough for today, Ian.” Tasha helped his leg to the floor before standing.

  “I can go on,” he said stubbornly.

  “No, you can’t. You’re in pain, and don’t even try to say it isn’t so,” she replied. “Half an hour in the whirlpool, then a hot stone massage before you leave.”

  “The base transport Humvee will be back to get me in about twenty minutes,” Ian said. “I have to get dressed and head down there. Corbin got me a house to stay in on base, but I can’t drive yet, so base transport is all I got right now.”

  “No one leaves this center without some relaxation therapy,” Tasha said firmly. “I’ll take you back on to base. There are towels and shorts in the back, same place where you found the sweats. Get in there, and I’ll have the whirlpool prepped.”

  Ian nodded and turned to go back into the locker room. A man of few words, Tasha thought as she went to the phone and called downstairs to cancel his base transportation. While she started the whirlpool, she thought about the man she was now treating. It was hard for a man like him to even have to depend on a ride from the mechanic pool on the base. Regardless of what his situation was, she was not going to let him leave without trying to relax the muscles he had just worked on. So if she had to take him home every day, then so be it. He came out of the room minutes later with only the shorts on and the towel slung over his muscled shoulder. Tasha had to admit her mouth went a little dry when she saw his body. Muscles rippled in his chest, and his lean torso was an appealing sight. She pulled her eyes away and walked to the doors that led to the therapeutic rooms of her rehab center.

  “Here you go. Do you need help getting inside?” Tasha offered.

  “I got it,” he said and gritted his teeth.

  Tasha stood back and let him get in on his own. She knew the mindset of proud, headstrong soldiers. If she had asked anymore, he would have been more upset. Ian sighed when he sank into the depths of the water that bubbled gently in the whirlpool. She turned away and smiled. He may not want to be here, but sometimes even though soldiers thought they knew best, she knew better when it came to injuries like his. The water would loosen up the tense muscles in his back and thighs that now worked twice as hard to compensate for his limp. It would also soften the scar tis
sue that tightened up considerably when healing, and it would give more flexibility for exercise. It made no point trying to explain all this to Ian, best to let him see it work for himself. Words meant little to a man like Ian. Tasha could tell by his demeanor he wanted action.

  She prepared the massage area while he soaked a few feet away. She plugged in the table with its built-in warmer so it would be a comfortable temperature when he lay down. She also got the hot stone heater ready and laid the stones in rows from largest to smallest so they could start retaining heat. By the time she was ready his half an hour in the whirlpool was done.

  “How was that?” she asked with a gentle smile.

  “Not bad.”

  “You seem so thrilled,” Tasha said sarcastically. “Well come on over here, and we’ll make not bad even better.”

  Ian walked over to her, and she could see a half an hour alone made his limp less noticeable. He walked around the table and looked at all her equipment suspiciously. “What’s all this for?”

  “This is a hot stone massage. It will relax your body and help ease all that tension in your muscles,” Tasha explained.

  “This is a part of your rehabilitation too?” Ian asked. “It seems very hippie Zen. Are you sure you’re in the military?”

  “Sometimes hippie Zen, as you call it, works better than overworking already injured muscles with weights and bikes,” Tasha shot back. She honestly hated when people questioned her methods or her military career. “Major Scott, let me advise you now if you want our working relationship to be an amicable one. I didn’t find my lieutenant stripes in a Cracker Jack box. I earned them the hard way, including a tour in Iraq with the initial invasion in 2003. So question my methods in your mind and not to my face, because until you prove it doesn’t work, you should have nothing to say. Oh, and by the way, when you walked over here, did you notice you were limping less?”

  Tasha raised an eyebrow at him when he opened his mouth to speak. Ian gave her a shamed smile. “Okay, you got me there. I’m sorry, and I’ll behave.”

  Tasha grinned, not one to hold on to hard feelings. “You better because I am not above spankings.”

  They both stood silent for a few moments digesting what she had just said. It was meant as a tease, but it came across as much more. She felt her face flush with embarrassment. The attraction she felt between them became more palpable. Tasha decided to shut her mouth and to do her job lest any more slips of the tongue occur.

  “Let’s get you up on the table.” After her last statement, she felt awkward having to give him instructions. “Um, Ian, I’m going to need you take off those wet pants and lay on the table on your stomach. Under the blankets, of course. Don’t worry. You’ll be covered unless I have to work on a certain part of your body…I mean like legs and stuff,” she added in haste. “I’m going to change my clothes so I can…I’m going to go change.”

  “You can work on any part of my body you want,” he called out to her departing form.

  His voice was smooth as honey, but Tasha pretended not to notice. In her own little dressing area, she sat down to take a calming breath before changing her clothes. He had the power to disarm her walls and defenses and have her naked under him moaning in pleasure. Tasha was never one to hide from her feelings, but after a few bad relationships that almost left her destroyed, she learned it was best to hide her heart in a tower and never let anyone breach the barriers she had built. Major Ian Scott could do that without even trying. She knew it within minutes of meeting him.

  “No teasing, no sweet smiles, nothing,” she warned her reflection in the mirror. “It’s about treating him, nothing more.”

  With that she firmed her shoulders in determination and walked out to where he waited. The warning went out of her head when she saw him lying there. The muscles of his shoulders bunched up as he lay on his forearms. His gaze followed her. Tasha stood in front of him with what-ifs running though her mind. It was too late to put him off on one of her other therapists. She already gave her word to be the one to take care of him. The thought of running her hands along the lines of his body gave her a tingle at the pit of her tummy and warmth between her thighs. He stared at her silently, brown eyes questioning, but yet she could see the same fire she felt in the depths of those eyes.

  “Okay, so the hot stones might feel a little hot for the first time,” Tasha warned. “If they are too hot on the initial touch, let me know and I’ll take them off immediately. As I rub them along your…your body, it might feel a little like electricity. Let me know if it is uncomfortable in any way.”

  “You got it,” Ian agreed.

  Tasha started massaging by rubbing warm oil all over his muscled form with firm but smooth strokes. Ian made a sound in his throat, a low purr that spoke volumes to say he liked her touch. Tasha bit her lip. She had done this many times, yet never had it been such a sensual act.

  “I’m putting on the first stones now,” Tasha explained and was amazed at the huskiness in her tone.

  The massage continued with Tasha alternating warm stones on the slick oiliness of his skin. She rubbed them along the lines and contours of his body, and slowly but surely he became pliant and relaxed to the point that he fell asleep. Tasha grinned when she heard the first small snore and kept on with his massage, never deviating pressure or missing any points because he was asleep. Many soldiers came back from the field not being able to sleep or plagued with nightmares. Massages and therapy like this were considered a good way to make them relax, and she was even sent referrals to her center from psychiatrists so they could be treated for mental injuries, not just physical.

  By the time she was done, Tasha breathed out a sigh of relief. He was a big man, and the massage took extra time, but she had to admit she did not even care. His scars on the back of his thighs were red and lightly puckered but healing well. She could not imagine the pain he had gone through.

  “Ian.” She shook his shoulder gently. “I’m done.”

  Ian turned on his side slowly and looked at her. “You’re all done,” she repeated and smiled. His response was to reach up and slip his hand around the back of her neck. His fingers were cool against her skin before he slipped them into her hair and made her scalp tingle. He pulled her down to him, and Tasha did not resist. His lips met hers, and a soft moan escaped her. Ian took that opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, and she was lost. With her hand braced against the table, their lips parried and played. She was so close she could feel his hardness through the blankets that covered him. If she pushed them back a little, she could have taken his hard length in her hands.

  That thought brought reality crashing back into her consciousness. Tasha pushed away from him and took a few steps back while trying to catch her breath.

  “I am so sorry!” she gasped. “That was completely unprofessional of me, and I apologize.”

  “As far as I could tell, I’m the one who started it,” Ian said calmly. He swung his legs over the side of the table and stood up. The blankets barely concealed his obvious arousal. “If you come back here, maybe I can finish it as well.”

  Tasha stared at him, shocked and wanting to say yes all at once. “No…um, no, I don’t think so, Ian. I’m here to treat you, and nothing more. I totally understand if you are uncomfortable with me, and I’m going to assign you a new therapist in the morning.” Tasha wiped her hands on the towel tucked into her waist. “I’ll leave you to get dressed, and I’ll take you home.”

  “No,” Ian said.

  “Excuse me?” Tasha put her hands on her hips.

  “No, I don’t want another therapist. I want you.” Ian’s voice held stubbornness “Corbin said you were the best, so you can’t pass me over to someone else. I want you.”

  Tasha nodded, not knowing what to say. She walked out of the room so he could get dressed. She knew when he said he wanted her it was more than just to be his therapist. Her body melted from the inside out when he kissed her. God knows if she had taken him up on the o
ffer to step back into his arms. She probably would be the one not able to stand in the aftermath of them coming together.

  Chapter Three

  Ian watched as she pulled away like a bat out of hell from the base housing where he was staying. The rear lights went out of sight quickly around the corner. She’d better watch out before the MPs get her for speeding on base.

  Ian walked into the little house next to the water. It was great being able to get housing close to the banks of the Potomac River. He could walk out to the small deck and stare out at the boats and hear the sounds of the water when he couldn’t sleep. This was usually every night since he came home from Iraq. He brought his thoughts back to Tasha, and it wiped the frown away that was threatening to cross his face. He grinned instead when he recalled how antsy she was as she drove. If he barely shifted in the passenger seat, she jumped like a frightened rabbit. It was obvious that he affected her in the same way she did him.

  The massage was intense enough. Her hands, oily, slick, and sliding over his body, were extremely enticing to him. More than once he wanted to roll over and beg her to take his cock in her hands and give him release. As the therapy went on, he began to relax, and his mind drifted until he slept and nightmares did not plague him. While he stood there looking out at the dark water, his body felt amazing, and he could see the merits of what she offered at the center. His leg, which was in constant pain, still hurt, but was by far more bearable now his body was not so tense.

  Even in the peace of the night, Ian didn’t want to be alone. He felt restless, and without even really thinking about it, he pulled her card from his pocket and dialed the number from his cell phone. When she picked up and said hello, he could hear she was still driving.

  “Turn around,” he said.

  “What?” Tasha’s voice sounded shocked.

  Ian smiled because he could picture her face when she said it. She was unlike anyone he had ever met. She put him in his place when he talked down to her, yet, she had a sweetness about her that was completely refreshing.