His shoulders tensed, and he kept his eyes downcast. He wasn’t nervous about seeing her again — but he could have done without it. It made his life more complicated than necessary and as Fox had already noted, complicated wasn’t his thing.
“Hey,” a male voice rang out. Apparently, Anna was not alone but had brought the head doctor, Dr. Reed, with her. “I don’t want to take too much of your time, I just wanted to inform you that we are welcoming a new doctor to our team today.”
Visors clicked and jerseys rustled. It sounded like the entire team was turning to look at the newcomer, so Moreau also reluctantly raised his head. Anything else would have been too conspicuous.
He found her immediately, and not just because she was the only woman in the room. No. It was mainly because her smile was so broad, it would have blinded the sun itself.
He knew that smile. Anna threw it around generously. His stomach clenched. Yet he still couldn’t take his eyes off her – that damn smile could turn weaker men into babbling idiots.
He looked away. He was not a weaker man.
“Hey, I’m Dr. Anna Temple,” she said openly. “I’m happy to be here to keep you playing your best. My door is always open, so don’t hesitate to talk to me if you have any problems!”
Those present nodded, but no one spoke. Perhaps they were afraid Jack might interpret one wrong word as flirting. Perhaps Anna’s smile simply had that effect.
“Dr. Temple’s focus is orthopedics,” Dr. Reed added loudly. “Which means you can see her for pretty much anything without having to bother me with your aches and pains.”
“What if I have a heartache? Can I come to her then too?” Leon asked promptly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas saw that Dax was opening his mouth, but Anna beat him to it.
“No problem, Leon,” she said lightly. “The same goes for sexually transmitted diseases, which you probably have more of a problem with. And just to be on the safe side: Yes, every penis looks different, it’s not a problem at all if yours is a little crookedor deformed. That’s normal! Especially if you touch it too often. Don’t worry about it for another minute.”
Lucas lowered his chin to hide his smile while the others weren’t so polite: Everyone laughed boisterously. Yes, Anna would get along fine here.
“My penis is great, thank you,” Leon said tightly, his head as red as Melody’s Lego fire engine.
“Well, I’m relieved to hear that,” Anna replied theatrically. “Does anyone else have a question about my range of duties?” Her gaze wandered over the crowd and…skipped right over him, as if there was a big gap between Ford and Fox.
That was all right with him. It gave him a chance to look her over. The last time he had seen her, she hadn’t been wearing any clothes. Now that he thought about it, he had only seen her in three outfits during their six-month arrangement: A black evening dress, sweatpants and a t-shirt, and naked. Now he saw her for the first time in jeans and a polo shirt. It was dark red, the club’s colors, with black lettering:Dr. Temple. It suited her. Not as well as his hands on her body, but still.
Lucas knew she was a doctor. She had once listed all of his leg bones, while they were having sex, no less. But he hadn’t realized she specialized in orthopedics or that she was interested in working as a sports doctor. He was shocked at how little he knew about the woman he had slept with for six months. Then again, he had planned it that way, and so had she.
He knew she liked it when he took her earlobe between his teeth while he moved inside her, but he didn’t know where she had attended college. He could list all the places to kiss to make her moan, but he didn’t know any of her hobbies.
Shit, it really had been the perfect arrangement!
He moved his jaw back and forth while Anna was still scanning the players and licking her lips expectantly. Desirestirred in him, so he looked away. It had been two months since he’d last had sex. With her.
And he remembered it.
“I have a question!” Charkov said in his heavy Russian accent. “How many men you seen naked? I didn't mean to shock you.”
“Jesus,” Dax muttered, but Charkov wasn’t known for making jokes and, judging by his expression, his concern was genuine.
Anna smiled wider. “Enough. Believe me. I…”
“Okay,everyonestop talkingright now!” Dax shouted.
Anna snorted as Fox stood and ordered his team out of the locker room and onto the ice.
Good. The sooner he could turn his back on Anna, the better. He grabbed his helmet and…
“Moreau, would you stay for a minute?” Dr. Reed called out.
He paused, sighing inwardly. He knew what was coming and he could do without Anna’s presence. Nevertheless, he sauntered over to the doctor and raised an eyebrow.
“You ‘forgot’ your pills yesterday,” Dr. Reed said, holding out a pill bottle.
