Risking the Crown

by Violet Paige

  “How did you end up working for another country? Why aren’t you helping the US win?”

  Her shoulders stiffened immediately and there was a new tightness in her jaw. Obviously I had struck a nerve.

  “It’s complicated.” She walked to the window. The rain hadn’t let up any.

  “We do have some time to kill.” Although I could think of other ways to pass the stormy afternoon that didn’t involve talking.

  “You should ask Eric.”

  “What does Eric have to do with it?”

  “Let’s take the ice off.” She spun toward me and reached for my knee.

  “Wait. What the hell does it have to do with Eric? You know him?” It didn’t make sense but I suddenly had an instinct to stake some kind of claim over her as if my coach were the competition.

  She continued unwrapping the bandage and removed the ice gel pack she had made.

  I thought back to the brief exchange they had on the beach. I had been distracted by her, but I noticed the way she bristled when Eric appeared.

  “It looks swollen, but better.” She placed the gel back in the freezer. “Can you relax why I work on your knee?”

  “If you tell me what the deal is between you and my coach.”

  As soon as her fingers sunk into the skin on the side of my leg, I took a deep breath. “Shit.”

  “Does that hurt?” She smoothed the side of the muscle then worked her fingers up toward my hip.

  Every nerve in my body tensed. Whatever she was doing was causing the pain in my knee to subside, but everything else felt awakened.

  “Yes. No.” I didn’t know what it felt like. There weren’t really words. She was working pressure points and nerve endings. I tried to breathe through it.

  “Try to relax.” Her palms rested on my hipbone.

  I took another sizeable breath. “What’s the deal with Eric?”

  The tips of her fingers dug into my hipbone and I winced. “Shit.”

  “Oh, sorry.” But I saw the smirk on her face. “Maybe less pressure.”

  “Maybe.” I tried to adjust myself on her bed, but she had a firm grip on my right side. For a petite girl, she was strong as hell.

  “How does it feel when I do this?” She held my hip steady while she folded my leg, letting my knee bend.

  “Not good,” I admitted.

  “And this?” She continued the steady hold, while she stretched my leg forward and pressed downward on my knee.

  “Much better. Actually really good.” I couldn’t believe she had switched the pain to something soothing with just the change in pressure.

  “Ok. It’s not a tear. I’m pretty sure at least. I think you have a meniscus strain. I’m going to keep working this exercise and then we’ll go back to ice. Are you ok with that?”

  At this point I’d lie in her bed as long as she kept her hands on me. She was some kind of magical temptress the way she treated my muscles. I floated between pain and pleasure, wanting them both, and wanting her to be the one to give them to me.

  I nodded. “I told you I’m not going anywhere.”

  I glanced up while her eyes focused on the line from my waist to my knee. Her fingers continuously wiggled back and forth with certain speed and agility. Her blond hair fell in front of her eyes and I had a sudden urge to reach up and tuck it behind her ear so I could watch her gaze. Before I could touch the strands she pulled them away from her face.

  There was a peel of thunder as it split through the sky and lightly shook the building. Sierra jumped.

  “Scared of storms?” I teased.

  “No. It startled me.”

  I wondered what it took to make this girl smile.

  I never shied away from a challenge. I sat forward, leaning on my elbows.

  Sierra was my new challenge. I wasn’t leaving here without knowing how to make her smile. I wasn’t leaving without finding out what the deal was with Eric. And I sure as hell wasn’t leaving without a taste of her.

  6

  Sierra

  His eyes never left my body. I could feel them following my every move. I should be used to it. Athletes studied what I did. They were curious. They wanted to mimic the techniques I used on their bodies. They usually asked questions and wanted to know how I knew so much about muscle, bones, and tendons. But Pierce wasn’t that kind of athlete. He wasn’t trying to learn trade secrets or find home remedies. There was a deep hunger in his eyes. And I felt as if I were the prey.

  He sat forward and the energy around him shifted. He seemed restless just like a lion who was tired of waiting for the gazelle to stop grazing. I hadn’t finished the first round of treatment and he was already impatient.

  “I’m not finished,” I spoke to him in a firm voice. I had to find a way to keep the upper hand.

  “I hope not.” His eyebrows waggled.

  Good Lord, what was he doing?

  “I think after another twenty of ice you need to get back to your room. You can take the gel pack with you, ok?” I had to get him out of here. The longer he stayed, the faster I forgot I was a trainer and he was an athlete on an opposing team.

  And it wasn’t any opposing team. It was the team we were in the middle of contesting once the storm let up. Add in the drama with Eric and this was a disastrous situation. There was no way anything good could come from spending more time with Pierce.

  I’d have to see him on the court. Sergio and Paulo wouldn’t be ok with any of this. Why did I ever open the door? Was it the guilt from talking to my parents? Did I really think it would somehow change things for the people back in Four Corners if I helped the US? Or was I opening the door to this moment the entire time? The moment when Pierce told me he wanted me. The moment when I stopped being a trainer and started being a woman who reacted to a sinfully sexy man, with a wicked body and more lines of temptation than I was able to resist.

  “I think I get it.” He settled onto the bed.

  “Get what?” I was afraid to look in his eyes.

  “You’re afraid.”

  I pressed into his knee cap gently. “What am I afraid of?” I shouldn’t have asked.

  “What’s going to happen next.” His eyes darkened. I didn’t know blue eyes could change shades so quickly.

  “What’s going to happen is I’m going to wrap your knee and you’re getting out of here.” I released the pressure on his leg and stepped back from the bed.

  He sat forward, swinging his feet to the floor. “You don’t mean that.”

  I didn’t care if the gel pack wasn’t frozen. I yanked it from the freezer and tossed it across the room so it landed in his lap.

  “Here. I definitely mean it.”

  He rubbed his jaw. “You’re throwing me out?”

  I stared at him defiantly. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

  It felt good to stand up to him. I felt as if I had regained some sort of control over my body and my senses. I wasn’t going to succumb to his skillfully planned compliments. I wasn’t going to take the bait.

  “I think your trainer can take it from here. Larry’s pretty good.”

  I handed Pierce the bandage wrap as he stood next to the bed.

  “I guess I read you perfectly.”

  My eyes shot to his. No, I was proving that he had read me completely wrong. I could stand up for myself. I could tell the playboy I wasn’t playing by his rules. He didn’t know what he was talking about. There was no way he had sized me up in this short amount of time.

  “How so?”

  He walked to the door, stopping to pause before leaving. “You’re scared as hell to be alone with me.” He smiled a wide wolfish grin. “Because you know what will happen if the two of us are trapped in this room with no other distractions.”

  My breath hitched and I felt a quick tightening in my core. I didn’t want to speak. I didn’t want to admit that he had read right through me. I was afraid he could hear the uptick in my heartbeat. Afraid he would know that every part of me reacted to what h
e had just said. Afraid he knew the truth and I didn’t.

  “Goodbye, Pierce.” I kept a firm hand on the door.

  “Thanks for the help with the knee.” He still hadn’t moved.

  “I hope the swelling goes down for you.” It sounded lame and even that innocent statement could be misinterpreted to mean I was somehow pulling for him on the court. Nothing I said was right.

  “See you tomorrow, Sierra.”

  “See you.”

  I closed the door behind him, wishing I’d never opened it in the first place.

  7

  Pierce

  I held the ice pack and a bandage in my hand. I threw it in the nearest trash can I passed on the way to my building. I was staying two down from Sierra. I didn’t bother to shield my face from the rain as I emerged into the storm.

  As I walked from one tower to another I heard the athletes talking about all the events canceled today. There was no rowing, canoeing, or soccer. The lightning took the weather to a whole other level of safety issues for the Olympics.

  It seemed as if I wasn’t the only one trying to kill time today. I could head to some of the other Team USA events and cheer on my fellow athletes. Swimming was always popular, and I knew the men gymnastics needed support. But after what happened in Sierra’s room, I didn’t think I was in the mood to cheer on anyone.

  I was still in a state of shock. Had a woman ever told me to leave? Had a woman who was clearly that attracted to me ever turned me down?

  I took to the sidewalk cautiously, careful not to put much pressure on my knee as I stepped up. A cute ginger held the door for me and giggled. I hardly noticed her as I brushed past. My head was still in Sierra’s room. On any other day I would have stopped to talk to her, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what the trainer had said about Eric.

  If he had something to do with her being on Team Italy, I wanted to know what it was. I took the elevator to his floor, skipping over the level where my room was.

  I pounded on the door. “Eric, you in there?”

  “Hey, how’s the knee?” He opened the door and smiled.

  I walked past him into the room that looked almost identical to Sierra’s.

  “What did Larry say about it? I haven’t had a chance to check in with him yet. We still don’t have a time for the match tomorrow. Scheduling is a nightmare. So far all the matches today have to be postponed.” He sat in front of his computer. There were several different boxes pulled up on the screen with dates and times in bright colors.

  “I haven’t seen Larry, yet.”

  He whipped around. “Why not? We need you to be healthy.”

  “I want to know about you and the Italian trainer. What’s the deal between you two?”

  “Why? What did she say?”

  I was getting pissed. No one was talking. There was obviously something they were both keeping from me.

  “She didn’t. That’s why I’m here.”

  Eric’s shoulders relaxed. “Good.”

  “Good? What in the hell is going on? Why is an American with her talent working for the Italians?”

  He chuckled, leaning back in the seat. “You noticed her skill level?”

  “She knew what was wrong with my knee in less than five minutes. We need her on our team. Larry naps in between sets.”

  Eric shook his head in disapproval. “Give me a fucking break, Pierce. You don’t give a shit about her resume. You took one look at her and wanted to add her to your list.”

  Sometimes Eric and I didn’t agree. He wanted Scott and I to work on plays we knew wouldn’t work. He wanted to back off when we wanted to be aggressive. He wanted us to train when we knew we were too exhausted for another round of reps. But I’d never felt the need to fight him so adamantly as I did right now.

  “Bull shit.”

  “All right. You want the truth?” He crossed his arms.

  “Damn straight I do.”

  I sat in one of the fluorescent green chairs next to the wall. I wasn’t over how gaudy some of the decorations were around here.

  He pressed his elbows into his knees. “Ok, here it is. She did apply when we had an open position.”

  “Then what the fuck, Eric?”

  He held up his hand. “Some people aren’t the right fit. She wasn’t going to work on our team.”

  “Why not? Did you fuck her?” I was instantly mad thinking he had his hands on her. I wanted to punch him for touching her creamy smooth skin. For his lips pressing into hers. It was irrational, but I didn’t give a shit.

  “No, but I was worried you would.” His eyes flared.

  “What?”

  “She’s too pretty. Gorgeous, really. I couldn’t have that kind of distraction on the sideline. You’d screw her over night one and then what? I’d have to hire a new trainer anyway. I decided to go with someone a little less easy on the eyes.”

  “Fuck, Eric. That’s a shitty answer.”

  “It’s the truth. You’re already interested in something with her and she’s on the Italian team. She’s completely off limits and yet here you are asking about her.”

  “I’m asking about her because she knows what the fuck she’s talking about. My knee already feels better.”

  “What does that mean? She looked at it for five minutes on the sideline.”

  I looked at the ceiling. Fuck.

  “I went over to her room for an assessment.”

  “A what?” he roared. He stood from the chair, slamming his laptop screen in the process. “You need to stay away from her.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do or who to see. This isn’t high school. And you sure as hell aren’t my dad.”

  “I’m your coach. And I’m not interested in getting a violation from the Olympics committee because you screwed some trainer from another country.”

  “I screw lots of people from other countries.”

  “Yeah, exactly. But not this one.”

  “Why are you so protective of her? Why do you care? Did you have something with her and you can’t man up to it?”

  “It’s not like that, but I feel like I need to look out for her. And you are exactly the kind of man she needs to stay away from. She’s not built like your models or athlete hookups. She’s a kind, genuine person. I doubt she’s ever had a one-night stand.”

  “And just how do you know so much about her?” I believed him less and less. He had an emotional attachment to Sierra. It was as visible as the USA flag embroidered on his coach’s hoodie.

  “Because she’s my best friend’s little sister. Ok? I’ve known her since I was in college. Although back then she had pigtails and braces. She’s off limits.”

  The relief hit me first followed by the realization that Eric was dead serious about me keeping my distance from Sierra.

  “You’re telling me your best friend’s sister applied for a job on our team and you turned her down because of me?” I wanted him to feel like a total shit for putting this on me.

  “I helped her get the job on Team Italy. I think she’s doing fine.” He flipped the screen open and the boxes of schedules reappeared.

  “Well she’s not a little girl anymore, Eric. And I don’t think it’s your place to play big brother.”

  I rose, heading toward the door.

  “Stay away from her,” he warned.

  “You’re my coach and I’ll listen at practice. I’ll listen during the matches, but other than that I don’t give a fuck what you say.”

  I slammed the door behind me.

  8

  Sierra

  I stared at the television. There was a huge red blob sitting over top of Copacabana beach. From what I could pick out of the forecast, the storm wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. On the other side of the red were swirls of green. In any language I knew that meant more rain.

  I sank onto the pillows on my bed and was hit with an overwhelming scent of Pierce. Holy shit, he smelled amazing. I thought about rolling my face into the pillow, but that woul
d basically put me in the same category as a thirteen-year-old girl.

  I rolled on my side and watched the rain slide down the pane. I did the right thing kicking him out. There was no way I could treat him and remain neutral. Every nerve in my body was screaming out to pounce on him. That wasn’t professional or ethical.

  I had to throw him out.

  I jumped when I heard my phone beep. I picked it up from the table and read the text from Sergio.

  Bella, join us for dinner.

  I sighed. I wasn’t up for the dynamic duo. But maybe they would be a distraction from my room. I could only watch the weather for so long.

  I typed back a quick message.

  Where are you going?

  Meet us downstairs.

  They probably didn’t have an idea, but I’d tag along.

  See you in five minutes.

  I grabbed my purse and the set of keys I had received at check-in and locked the door as I headed for the lobby.

  Sergio and Paulo were waiting for me near the front desk.

  “Hey.” I waved.

  “Ciao, bella.”

  I leaned in for a customary kiss on each cheek from the guys.

  “Any word on the match?” I asked.

  “No,” they answered. “Too big of a storm.”

  I had figured that would be the answer. As long as there was lightning they couldn’t put fans in aluminum seats.

  “I guess we should eat then.” I smiled. I needed them to distract me. Food worked. Ridiculous Italian athletes worked. Anything other than seeing Pierce Miller and his irresistible blue eyes.

  At least the one good thing about going out was that I could finally tell my parents I had seen a part of Rio other than the athletic venues. I tried to take a few pictures of the restaurant and the elaborate fruit displays. My mom would ohh and aww over those. She seemed disappointed every time I told her I was focused on work.