“Good,” she said, “you should be afraid of me.” Luna pulled her gloves off and tossed them into the ring. She had wanted to do what she was about to do for a damn long time now, and if she didn’t do it right now, she’d lose her nerve later.
Luna went up on her tiptoes and grabbed Rocco’s T-shirt with both of her hands, tugging him down to meet her partway. Before he could even protest, she sealed her lips over his. When she broke the kiss, they were both panting—for air, with need. But she could tell that he was just as turned on by the kiss as she was.
“What was that?” Rocco asked.
“That was me just testing the waters,” she admitted. He looked stunned, and she released his shirt so that he could back away from her, but he didn’t. “You’re going to need a new therapist,” she almost whispered.
“Why the hell would I want a new therapist?” Rocco questioned.
“Because I’m not allowed to date my clients,” she admitted. “And you’re going to pick me up on Friday, six sharp, to take me out to dinner. Technically, that will be our first date, and I can’t ethically continue to be your therapist.”
“Oh,” Rocco breathed. She liked the fact that she could both stun him and leave him speechless at the same time, but she had. “Um, Friday works for me,” he said.
“Great, I’ll text you my address. You can pick me up at my place,” she ordered. Her brothers liked to tell her how bossy she was, but she never cared. Most of the guys that she had dated over the years broke up with her for that same reason. But Rocco seemed to like her bossy, take-charge attitude. That worked for her because there was no way that she’d be able to change at this part of her life. It was who she was.
“See you Friday,” she said, walking past him to the ladies’ shower room. She was going to take a very cold shower after that steamy kiss, and then she was going to go home and close out Rocco’s paperwork to turn over to her colleague. The sooner, the better, since she planned on dating him in just three days. Her boss would need her to officially be off his case before she started dating Rocco, and she wasn’t going to take a chance that their Friday date wouldn’t happen. Luna was already counting down the minutes until he’d show up at her place to take her out.
Luna cut it close filing Rocco’s paperwork with her boss. Luckily, Gia understood and took Rocco’s case over herself. She knew that Rocco would be in good hands with Gia. Of course, she didn’t exactly tell her boss the whole story about why she needed to stop seeing Rocco. That would land her in hot water, and if their date didn’t go well, then there would be no reason to tell Gia. Still, Luna was playing a risky game, and she knew it.
She saw her last patient of the day and high-tailed it home to shower and change into the sexiest dress she could find in her closet. It was a black cocktail dress that she had worn to her company Christmas party last year, and it hugged her everycurve perfectly. If that dress didn’t get Rocco’s attention, she didn’t know what would.
As soon as he walked into her office, she knew that there was something about him that she couldn’t shake. Hearing his story and helping him through some of his survivor’s guilt and fear of abandonment was heartbreaking, but she told herself that she was doing it to help her patient. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that she stopped kidding herself and admitted that she had developed feelings for Rocco.
The doorbell rang, and she quickly checked her makeup in the mirror by the front door. She counted to thirty, grabbed her purse, and opened the door to find Rocco standing on her porch. She had to hand it to the guy—it was six on the dot. She liked punctuality and guessed that he did too. Most veterans did since they were on a strict schedule most of their careers.
“Wow,” he breathed, looking her over. “You look incredible.” She gave him a little twirl and giggled.
“I guess it’s a bit different from the outfit that I was wearing at the gym,” she said.
“Yeah, but different in a good way. Plus, you’re not asking me to punch you, or anything, so that’s a plus too,” he joked. Luna knew that he had an issue with sparring with women, but she was still a little pissed that he blew her off so easily. He looked a bit worried that he had said something wrong, so she decided to have some fun.
“What makes you think that you’d actually be able to punch me, Rocco?” Luna asked, her hands on her hips as she stared him down.
“Um, I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” he assured. “I just meant that I’m happy that you’re not asking me to spar with you right now.”
She giggled and dropped her hands from her hips. “I know,” she breathed, “I was just giving you some shit.” He let out a breath, and she couldn’t help laughing again. She guessed that he was used to professional Luna, and from the look on his face, she was confusing the hell out of him right now. That worked for her because she liked to keep her dates on their toes.
“Shall we go?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, leading the way to his truck. The poor guy seemed out of his element with her. During their sessions, he always seemed so confident, but tonight he was acting like a nervous wreck.
She looked his truck over and then smiled at him. “You’re going to have to help me up into your truck,” she said, “I’m afraid that in this dress, I don’t have much mobility.” The idea of Rocco having to put his hands on her body to help her get up into his truck made her hot in all the right places.
“Oh, sure,” he said, “um, how do you want to do this?” he asked.
“Just put your hands on my hips and help me up to the seat,” she ordered.
He did as she asked, putting his hands on her hips, and paused. “You know, you’re a lot bossier now than you ever were in our sessions.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about her bossiness or the fact that his having his hands on her was turning her on. She usually didn’t react to men the way that she did with Rocco, but that was the problem with her being histherapist. Her body seemed to crave the sexy boxer, and there was nothing that she could do to stop it.
“I’m aware,” she breathed. “I have five brothers, and my mother died when I was only seven, so I had to become a little bossy.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t describe you as a little bossy,” he teased. “Ready?” he asked. She had lost her train of thought from his hands staying on her hips while they had a conversation.
“Ready for what?” she whispered, leaning into his big body.
He chuckled, “Ready for me to help you into my truck?” he asked.
“Oh, um, yes,” she said, trying to regain some composure. He practically lifted her into the passenger seat, and when he shut her door, she took a few seconds to get her act together. Although she had a feeling that it would never happen around Rocco. He seemed able to make her forget her own name with just one touch, and Luna wasn’t sure how she was going to get through a whole evening with him, let alone one meal.
