Bad Fighter Stepbrother (Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

house to recuperate.”
    The tears slipped down her cheeks and she swiped them away. “Okay, will you keep me posted on how his surgery goes?” she asked.
    “Of course, sweetheart.” The pause was so long that Emma wondered if her mom had hung up before she said, “Would you be willing to do physio with him?”
    Emma nodded before she replying, “Of course, you didn’t have to ask me that.”
    “Well, I wasn’t sure...considering...oh, Tony, I’ll be right there,” Alison said. “Sorry, sweetheart, Tony is calling me. I have to go. I will talk to you soon. Love ya.”
    A soft click sounded in her ear, and Emma realized the connection had been severed. She stared at the phone, her mind reeling by what had happened. Aiden was injured and it could ruin his career. It stopped the headlining fight in a week’s time for sure and probably put him out of the cage for at least six months, if not longer.
    A new sense of guilt washed over her and she shuddered when it clutched at her heart. What if she was the reason he was injured? What if their fight had caused him to lose focus in the ring and that was why he was hurt?
    She felt miserable, and it would be weeks before she could see him for herself and make sure that he was okay. Grabbing a blanket, she curled up on the couch with it and cried herself to sleep.

Chapter Five
    “Take it slow, damn it,” she snapped at him, and Aiden growled in response. He had been a pain in the ass for the last six weeks and everyone was ready to drug him just to keep him silent. The surgery had been successful and then it had been six weeks in the sling as his body healed the damage.
    Once he was out of the sling, he had wanted to get right to training to be back in top shape, but Emma had refused and had started him on light exercises that would strengthen the pectoral muscle. He’d been surly ever since arriving home and they were always fighting.
    In fact, Emma had no idea how to deal with him now and she wasn’t sure where she actually stood with him. He had avoided her the first week and only saw her when their parents were in the room. When he did see her, he cast angry glances her way, and she felt devastated that he was like that.
    The sessions had started while he was still in the sling, and it was miserable. He bitched constantly, and whenever she tried to talk to him, he pulled away. The sessions were filled with tension – it was like he couldn’t stand her touch anymore. She left each session completely spent and in tears, but Aiden never seemed to notice.
    Currently, a migraine was playing in her temples and she was ready to call it quits. She had never had such an obstinate patient! “I can handle more weight,” he cursed as he lifted the bar. She watched his face and his injury site to make sure he wasn’t straining too much.
    “Probably,” she said tersely, “but if we push too far and too fast, you will only tear it again...and then that poor surgeon will be upset with you.”
    He glared at her, but he fell silent as she counted out the reps before they moved on to the next exercise. Finally, after a half hour of excruciating exercises, Emma was stretched thin and wanted this to be over. “I thought we would finish with some hydrotherapy. I will get the tub fixed up and then you can undress and spend some time in the tub.”
    Aiden stared at her, but he didn’t answer, and Emma bit down the anger that was surfacing. Over the last few weeks, the guilt she had felt was quickly being replaced by anger. She was so angry with him over everything. He needed to talk to her more now than he ever had to before, but he refused to talk to her about anything except his physio.
    She left the room and began running the water into the tub. She felt him, rather than heard him, enter the room behind her and when she glanced back, she blushed as he took off his shirt and shorts. He slipped off his underwear as she said, “You know, I have a change room and robes for you to