The Surgeon and the Princess Karin Baine (websites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

stationary bike and though her first instinct was to scoff and tell him she knew how to ride one, a different instinct held her back.

‘You can change the gradient here depending on how much resistance you want.’ He was talking as he pushed the buttons on the electronic display panel but she was more interested in watching the bulging thigh muscles rippling with his every pedal.

‘I know how a bike works,’ she snapped eventually, not happy about the physical reaction she was having to the scene before her. It wasn’t as though she was unused to being in close proximity to men in their prime. She’d been in the army, for goodness’ sake, living and fighting along with the best the country had to offer, and she hadn’t had her head turned. Yet she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off every flex of muscle and wonder what lay beneath the fabric of his clothes.

‘We’re supposed to run through instructions for the equipment with all new patients but I guess I’m not an instructor and you’re not a patient.’

‘No. Think of it more as private rental of the space. I’m not here for the social side.’ Even if spending time with him tonight had proved an eye-opener for her.

‘I don’t suppose you’ll be needing an exercise programme customised for you either? That could be arranged along with any of our other services.’ He swung his leg over the bike and came to join her again. Georgiana knew he meant well but she’d be more at ease once he left her alone.

She shook her head. ‘I have all that from the rehab centre and I’d prefer to adapt things to suit my own body’s needs and capabilities. I know my boundaries and how far I can push them.’ Cardio and strength training had been her priority since coming home in her effort to get her body back to the way she wanted it. Short of growing her leg back. She didn’t need anyone interfering or disrupting her training and slowing her progress.

‘Right, well, don’t overdo it,’ he reiterated, managing to raise her hackles again. ‘I’ll be working in my office if you need me. Let me know when you’re ready to leave.’ He pointed to a door down the hallway. Thankfully, it wasn’t one of those open-plan, all-glass set-ups, which would have stripped away any illusion of privacy. Once he was secured behind his office door, she was free to do her thing without an audience.

As he made his way off the gym floor, Georgiana followed so she could close the door after him. He caught her off guard when he spun around again. She didn’t have time to react and move back, so they were almost nose to nose when he spoke.

‘Oh. I was just going to say I didn’t have time to show you the pool area. Not to worry. You can’t use that without supervision anyway. We’ll sort something out for next time.’ He seemed to say everything in one breath, then turned away sharply to disappear down the corridor. Leaving her breathless in his wake.

It took her a few seconds and some deep breaths to absorb what had happened. His usual cool demeanour had deserted him momentarily. Almost as though being so up close in her personal space had thrown him as much as her. She had to concentrate to remember what he’d even said. Something about the pool being out of bounds. It didn’t matter tonight as she hadn’t brought a swimsuit with her, but the pool had been the clincher for her coming here. She missed swimming but hadn’t been able to face doing it in a public area with people staring. A situation where she really couldn’t hide any more.

Once Georgiana completed the cool-down part of her workout, she longed for the soothing relief of a warm pool to ease her aches and pains. Hydrotherapy was the one thing she’d looked forward to when she’d been in the rehab unit.

When she’d first slid into the water after her amputation, the sense of movement had been a defining moment in her recovery progress. It was then she’d realised she didn’t have to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Her physical therapist had helped her see the benefits of exercising in the water. The warm water relaxed her body and allowed her to become vertical without bearing weight on her remaining leg. It made things more bearable in those early days compared to her land-based regime.

She’d done her cardio now on Edward’s expensive toys, so she didn’t need to do the deep-water jogging while wearing a flotation belt around her middle, which did the same job. Some sense of normalcy would be nice now, where she didn’t have to strap on fake body parts and work hard just to walk. Her mood was completely different when she was in the water because she wasn’t consumed by anxiety. She was free to enjoy a swim and move unimpeded. Without pain or fear.

A glance down the hall told her Edward was still ensconced in his office as she undertook a little tour of her own. All she had to do was follow the smell of chlorine. Georgiana had only intended to take a look, get a feel for the place, but the water was so inviting. The low-level evening lighting was preferable to the usual fluorescent glare she was forced to endure when swimming. It was calming and the empty pool was calling for her to take a soothing dip.

She could see they had all the hoists and devices for lowering disabled bodies into the water but she no longer needed any of that. The fact she didn’t have a bathing costume didn’t put her off either. She simply stripped off at the side of the pool, so she was standing in her neon-pink sports bra and mismatched black knickers. It was removing her leg that made her more self-conscious but with no