Healing His Heart Read Online Free Page B

cracking but it's really just the fluid in the muscles as the muscle is stretched," Julia informed him with the same care she might have used with a child. "Now turn around so I can do the other side."
    Resigned, Caleb turned so that his head and feet were reversed on the foundation platform. Julia arranged him again and repeated the maneuver, the warmth of her body brushing against his as she held his shoulder and pulled down.
    This time there was only one pop. Caleb laughed in spite of himself. "That is really weird."
    "You should see some of the other procedures," Julia grinned as she straightened. "It's amazing some of the positions you can get people into."
    ''I'll bet you love every minute," Caleb replied, watching self-consciousness descend on her again, a surge of pink blooming over her cheekbones. Good, he thought. He'd had enough of the aloof doctor routine.
    Hastily, Julia suggested, "Lie flat on your back. We'll see if we can get a few up higher."
    "I'm game. This could be fun," he agreed amiably, perversity making him enjoy the flustered look on her face.
    Julia cleared her throat and moved to check his pelvis level again. He felt his pulse jump when her fingers accidentally grazed the bare skin above the waist of his jeans. Too bad his hormones didn't share his reservations about involvement with Julia.
    Crossing his arms across his chest in a position like a corpse in an old horror movie, Julia rolled Caleb's far shoulder forward to slip her hand beneath him in the hollow between his shoulder blade and his spine. The position brought them face-to-face, her breasts crushed against his crossed arms. Caleb could feel the smile growing on his face.
    Taking a deep breath, she leaned over, her upper body pressing against his for leverage, and rolled his torso back against her hand. Caleb felt another series of pops.
    "Ummm," Caleb murmured as she leaned over him to slip her hand from under his shoulder. "Feels wonderful. "
    Julia straightened again, her color high. "Uh, if you'd turn around so that the top of your head is at the edge of the flooring, I can work a little on your neck."
    "Whatever you say, Doc." He shifted around.
    "We'll just do a little rotation and maybe a stretch. I don't w ant to overwork the sore spot."
    Caleb noticed that the more she touched him, the more professional she got. It was a familiar tactic. One of his first professors had said it best. "Never let your patients get to you. Remember, you're not just another human being. You're a doctor." It had seemed like reasonable advice until the day Caleb had discovered his human propensity for error couldn't be eradicated by all the medical knowledge in the world.
    Julia shifted her hands and, easing his head slowly one way and then back the other, angled his chin slightly. She turned his neck to one side with a sudden, thrusting movement tha t resulted in a string of pops.
    "Whoa! What was that?"
    ''I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, but doing it slowly doesn't achieve the same release." Julia smiled at him brightly. She slid her fingers down the back of his neck in slow, massaging motions- - a touch which seemed seductively at variance to the studious way she avoided his gaze.
    "It sounded a little like radioactive breakfast cereal," Caleb commented with amusement. The more tense she became, the better he felt. Maybe a brief fling wasn't such a bad idea.
    "Yep. Snap, crackle, pop." Julia settled his head back down and stepped back . "There. That ought to do it."
    Caleb sat up, moving his neck experimentally.
    "Damn. That's amazing. It's a little sore but nothing like before."
    "You're welcome."
    "It really feels terrific." His eyes slid over her. "I'm going to have to reconsider my prejudices about chiropractic."
    "Osteopathy," she corrected him dryly.
    "Yeah, whatever," Caleb agreed, knowing the difference but unable to stop himself from deliberately annoying her.
    ''I'm glad I could get it to release," Julia offered professionally.