“Welcome to the Amputee Clinic. My name is Jake. I am one of the therapists you will work with here. My job is to rehab heroes,” he said with a genuine smile. “Therapy will be different than you may have seen at any other hospital. This center is completely dedicated to amputees.” Stark looked around at the equipment. There was a conveyor endless climbing wall running in one area. He was mesmerized watching a soldier with a prosthetic just like he would have pulling, climbing, and squatting as good as any other man.
“Nice to meet you,” Stark responded and stretched out his hand. Jake gave him a hearty handshake. Not the kind you give a broken kid, but the kind you give a man.
“Let’s go get you fitted for your new leg. Our goal will be to have you walking in the next four weeks. Then we can set up more extensive training for you back in Colorado, and at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio. Our long-term goal will be to have you back with your team in the next six months. Have you heard of THOR3?” Jake went over the itinerary as they moved to the prosthetic center.
Stark wanted to do back flips. Six months? Was this guy kidding? Six months and he could be back with his team? Fuck, yes! Sign me up! He listened as Jake described the extent of the work he would have to put in to make that possible. Another soldier who had lost both of his arms sat laughing and talking with his trainer while he worked on using his new prosthetic hands to pick up a marble. Stark was blown away by how positive and dedicated they all were.
“THOR3 is the USASOC’s Tactical Human Optimization, Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning Program. It focuses on the whole warrior, not just the physical deficits. The goal is to get you back with your team in a timely manner.
Whatever it took, he was willing to comply. He helped Stark onto an exam table, unwrapped his stump, and removed the shrinker sock. Stark stared down at his leg. He still hadn’t gotten used to looking at it. Nervously, he glanced at Kira and tried to gauge her reaction.
“Oh, the color looks good,” she said, mesmerized, and rubbed her hand over the wound. She pressed on his flesh and watched it turn white and back to pink. This excited her. “And your incision has healed really well. This looks great. Your capillary refill at the distal tip is perfect.” Her voice was excited as she poked and prodded him.
The therapist and the guys stood open-mouthed looking at her. Stark couldn’t help but laugh. She was a doctor after all. He knew she couldn’t help herself.
“First, we need to fit you with a gel sleeve that will be the liner for your temporary prosthesis. We will scan your residual limb to create a custom prosthetic,” Jake instructed.
After the scan, Jake helped Stark and Kira put on the gel sleeve. It was tight as fuck. Stark felt like his nonexistent toes were being crushed in a vice. He gritted his teeth and pushed until it seated properly. This is going to take some getting used to. He compared the pain to getting a root canal under his kneecap. Time for some vitamin M. Motrin that was, not morphine. Stark was determined to wean off all the medications. If he was going to succeed, he needed all his mental faculties. He had spent the last six weeks in a fog that almost ended his life. He wasn’t going to waste another day of his second chance on drugs.
Next, Jake came in the room with the temporary prosthetic leg and began to adjust it for Stark. He explained that the temporary prosthesis did not have a cosmetic covering so it was easier for him to adjust the alignment and to the knee.
“We can begin your physical therapy and gait training while you are wearing this temporary prosthesis. It is very important to let me know if you notice any pressure spots or abrasions that form,” Jake instructed.
Stark listened, but excitement mounted at the idea of being able to stand again. He wanted to feel the ground under him, to stand and move at his own will. He understood this would be difficult, but he couldn’t help feeling like a kid at Christmas. Will I really be able to walk again?
“Ok. Let’s get this seated all the way in.” Jake finished adjusting the leg. They wheeled Stark over to a set of parallel bars.
“I am looking at this leg, and my brain is trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. It looks like someone else’s leg, but I am moving it,” Stark said perplexed. The feeling was surreal. He moved and it moved.
“Ok. Stand up,” Jake instructed. “Keep your hands above the bars and just stand up with your weight on your left leg.”
Stark stood slowly. He balanced his weight first only the left and held onto the bars. The cold steel sent a chill through him. Could this small amount of carbon fiber really hold him up? Very cautiously he put some weight on the right leg as well. I am standing! I am fucking standing! He held on tightly to the bars to keep from falling.
“Now, just take a couple steps in place. Gently shift your weight back and forth.”
Stark shifted his weight slowly onto the right leg. It was like wearing an air walker boot or a cast that hugged his entire leg. He couldn’t feel the ground beneath his foot but when he bore weight it worked. It held me up! He was ready for more. This is fucking amazing.
“Ok, now put your right toe on the floor and feel the give of the carbon fiber.” Jake was slow and patient.
Stark did as instructed. It had a slight bounce to it. Stark saw how if he wasn’t expecting it, then he would feel like he was falling. He almost felt like his foot was there inside the prosthetic. Like it was just shoved down inside it, but like walking on stilts.
“Good, you are getting the hang of it. Now, put your right heel forward and do the same thing …” Jake instructed, and watched as Stark complied. “Great. I want to see how you walk naturally, and we will work on form in a minute. Keep your hands above the bars and just walk to the other end when you are ready.”
Stark took a tentative step forward. It held him! He still felt like he was walking on a stilt with just the right leg but the left was normal. Yet, with each step his gait was the same. He took another with more confidence. Step by step, he reached the other end of the bars. He wasn’t done. He turned around, and that time he went faster. He kept his hands on the bars to steady himself, but let his hands glide over the metal rather than gripping it.
“Owen, you’re doing it!” Kira cheered. She beamed with excitement. Her joy made him even more determined.
He practiced back and forth between the bars working on his gait. He pictured himself like a drunk or a toddler, but everyone kept saying how good he was doing. Of course, that’s what they say to a toddler, too. Within fifteen minutes, he was walking end to end without problems.
“Now, let’s try without holding the bars,” Jake instructed. Just keep your hands ready, but don’t hold on this time.
Stark walked slowly at first. With each step, he had to adjust his center of balance. He was sure he looked like a toddler on stilts now. He held his hands out “Look, Mom! No hands!” he said, joking. He was really doing it. His gait aligned to a more normal position. Back and forth he traveled, each step more confident than the last. He was starting to feel a little throbbing like a tight band around the distal part of his stump. I really can do this.
They progressed to walking with crutches. Stark felt awkward away from the bars. He stood for a moment with the crutches and tried to get a bearing on how to move forward without falling back. He kept his weight on his left leg and swung the crutches out forward until they contacted the floor, then he stepped forward. He tried the other side. It was wobbly, but it worked. He was going to have to practice with the crutches.
Kira brought him a water bottle. “Ok, take a break and have a quick drink.”
“You are just worried I’m going to be outrunning you again before you know it,” he said with a grin and then swigged down the water.
“I have no doubt you will.” She smiled as he handed her the empty bottle back.
After a short break, they tried with a cane, back and forth across the gym floor. Stark was starting to feel some fatigue, but he didn’t want to quit. He had been sitting in that damn chair for the last six week
s. Being up on two feet again was like coming back to himself. He was still a little wobbly, but he didn’t want to quit until he could walk unassisted at least for a short span.
Another young man came in having some adjustment issues with his leg. Stark continued to practice while Jake helped the young man. He couldn’t help but notice how naturally the young man walked. If you didn’t see the prosthetic, you would never know he had one. Stark wanted that. He wanted to be able to do that.
“What do you think?” Jake asked him, “Are you ready to go solo?”
“Hell, yes!” Stark answered triumphantly. He could see Kira holding her breath. He was not going to let her or the guys down. He was not going to let himself down. Even if he fell, he was going to go for it. He finally realized the only way he failed was when he gave up and didn’t try.
Slowly, he began to walk across the floor. He teetered slightly, but used his core to balance between the prosthetic and his natural leg. With each step, he gained strength and an awareness of where his prosthetic foot was on the floor. Jake walked with him for the first few passes. Then he stopped and turned to Kira and asked, “Would you like to walk with him?”
“Yes!” she practically squealed. Kira bounced over to Stark and he took her hand, not for support or aid, but with love. How fucking cool to be able to walk across the room holding your girlfriend’s hand.
It was late in the afternoon by the time they got back to his room. Stark was worn out, but he smelled like he had been working his ass off all day. He needed a shower before Paige and Zoe would be there that evening. He was planning to take his whole crew out to dinner.
Kira had put in her PT time as well. He watched her hit the treadmill after his training. “You did good today,” he told her as she placed his chair in the locked position and laid his new leg on the desk.
“Thank you. You did amazing, Owen. I am so proud of you. I was so scared at first and then all of a sudden you were just walking. It was crazy!” She gave him a hug. “Oooh, you stink!”
“I was just thinking about that,” he said with a smile. He unlocked his chair, rolled to the door and locked it.
“What, that you stink? Because you really do,” she offered back.
“I was thinking we should get a shower and remedy the situation. You’re not smelling so hot yourself, princess. Do you have your bag I sent you?” he asked with a hopeful smile.
“I knew it! I knew Holt didn’t pick all that stuff out!” she exclaimed, and went to retrieve it from the items Paige got out of her car before they towed it away.
“So, about that shower,” he offered again.
“Oh, you’re on, mister,” she said with a wicked grin and darted into the little bathroom to start the shower. This was going to take some finesse to work around such tight quarters. There was a shower seat. That would at least help.
Stark watched her. She was so fucking gorgeous. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her. He rolled toward the bathroom, but stopped. This would be the first time he had tried to have sex since his injury. What if she was freaked out …? He used to be able to pick her up and contort her to exploit her pleasure, but now he was limited. He started to back up.
Kira stepped around the bathroom door. She was completely naked except for the work out whistle she had swiped from the PT room. He could see the scar just below her collarbone. He needed her to know it was him. He couldn’t live with the guilt without telling her. That part of the mission was classified. Stark had been in this business long enough to know he couldn’t say a word.
“Time to hit the showers,” she said swinging the whistle around. “Don't make me blow this.” Her soft round breasts bounced with each rotation. Pert nipples chilled in the air of the room called to him. Her tiny waist tapered down before that glorious round ass. Stark wanted to reach around and grab a cheek with each hand and bury his face into her waiting slit.
He forgot any hesitation. “Oh, you’re going to blow something all right, but it’s not going to be that damn whistle.” Stark rolled toward her and stopped at the edge of the tiny bathroom. He ripped off his shirt and heard her gasp. She smiled appreciatively at his chest and abs. Stark locked his chair and used the edges of the wall to stand. He couldn’t wait to get his hands and mouth on her.
Kira came to his side. He was still holding onto the wall and couldn’t move. Kira slipped her arms around him pressing her naked chest against his abdomen. The warmth of her flesh enraged his already hard cock. It strained for freedom, but he couldn’t take his hands off the wall to adjust. He was at her mercy.
She stood on her tiptoes and her lips met his. Stark began to breathe heavily. God damn this woman did things to him. Of all the women, he had been with, all of the women at the club, not one could do what Kira did with the slightest touch. Fuck the wall. With his recovering arm, he wrapped her up and returned the kiss. His lips crashed down on hers. He needed to taste every last bit of her.
“You’d better hold on so I can get you undressed,” she cooed between his kisses. Reluctantly, he put his arm back up to the doorframe. Kira looked him in the eyes as she raked her nails down his chest to the waistband of his sweat shorts. The anticipation of her touch caused him to physically throb with pleasure and pain. The strain was almost more than he could bear. He shivered as she slipped her delicate fingers inside the waistband. She seemed to be moving in slow motion as she pulled them to the floor letting his thick cock spring free. It hung there, heavy with need, aching for her touch.
He was so wanton with excitement he forgot to be self-conscious when she helped him pivot into the shower. The space was cramped, but he didn’t give two fucks. It just let him be closer to her perfection.
He sat on the shower seat and she stood between his legs.
“Turn around,” he commanded and took her loofah. The smell of honey and jasmine took her back in time. It was like yesterday, and yet a lifetime ago. Just feeling his hands on her again took her breath away. Slowly, he began to massage the soapy water into her neck and shoulders. Kira relaxed into him. He worked the lather into her scalp and hair. Kira let her head fall back onto his shoulder. A week ago, this was only a dream. Now, she savored every second of his touch. He circled around to her breasts, one hand working the loofah, the other massaging slowly. The entrancing circles made her dizzy. He worked his way down her abdomen and stopped just before her clit.
She was desperate for him to go just a little farther. Kira bit her lip with frustration. His stiff cock pressed against her backside. She reached around and took him in her hand. Slowly, she began to work up and down his length. He let out a deep moan. God, it had been so long. With one hand, he reached up and held her around the neck gently pressing her body to his. With the other hand, he began to trace slow circles on her clit. As she began to breathe harder he picked up the pace and pressure of the friction on her electric nub. She began to swell and throb under his touch.
Kira clenched her teeth. She needed this so fucking bad. He moved the hand from her throat down her chest and abdomen to her soft, silky opening. While working her clit into a fevered frenzy he began to move two fingers from the other hand in and out of her. “Sweet … aaaahhh … fuck,” Kira cried out as the sensations became too much to bear. She gripped onto the walls and thin plastic curtain of the shower. Water was getting everywhere and she could care fucking less. He had complete control and she was happy to give it. Panting and writhing in his arms, the ecstasy built to a state of delirium and crashed back into her. Her whole body shuddered and she slid to the floor between his legs.
Sitting here watching this exquisite woman shudder with pleasure he had given her, he didn’t feel like a broken man. He felt like the fucking warrior he was on the inside. He rubbed her hair while she recovered. She turned and looked up at him, her eyes were like pale blue flames ready to consume him. Fuck yes!
She turned so that she knelt between his legs. She began working her hands up and down his straining cock. Waves of pleasure washed
over him with each movement. He lay his head back against the shower wall. Her touch felt so good he couldn’t fucking breathe. She stopped suddenly and he opened his eyes and looked down at her. Kira smiled up at him and licked her lips. She stared directly in his eyes as her tongue slid painfully slowly from the base all the way to the tip. She swirled around the head for a full minute, testing every ounce of patience he could muster before sucking him deep in her throat.
“Fuck!” he moaned, his heart pounding so hard he couldn’t hear the water from the shower. Instinctively, he grabbed the back of her hair hard and began working her head up and down. She sucked insanely hard on each withdraw and let her tongue caress the veiny underside on each violent penetration. She moved expertly, taking him in until her eyes fucking watered.
The pressure in his balls and gut built like an atomic bomb. He was going to fucking blow. He gripped her hair and fought the rising wave. With both hands, he held her deep on his cock and let go. Sweet fucking Christ. Cardiac arrest. He threw his head back into the linoleum. His entire body tensed and spasmed. The ensuing explosion emanated from his balls and spread through his entire body.
He sat back barely able to catch his breath. Kira looked up and saw she had missed a drop. She licked it off the tip of his cock sending waves of aftershocks.
Kira stood up. “Let’s finish getting you cleaned up, shall we. Paige and Zoe are going to be here soon. We’d better get dressed. I don’t want the girls to get the wrong idea.”
“Oh, woman when we get back from dinner, I going to remind you what a warrior is.” You’re going to think, relentless.
TAYLOR AND REED picked up Zoe and Paige and were going to meet them at Bistro Provence. Miller came to give Kira and Stark a ride.
“Kira, will you help me put this leg on?” Stark asked still a little sheepish about needing help. He was determined to learn to put it on himself. Jake said that would come with time, and it was just the first day. He still felt on top of the world from walking and then the incredible shower with Kira. He was not going to let anything get him down.
Stark Resolution (Stark Trilogy Book 3) Page 19
