Mack slammed her back into his granite-hard chest. He reached around her body and felt her breasts. “I hate to say this. But you’re coming along nicely.”

She felt herself smiling. “Thanks. Or shouldn’t I say that?”

“You shouldn’t say that. You should say, ‘Of course I’m coming along, asshole!’ You’ve got to learn to get your body to deliver the rush. Pumped up means more than just the physical body, you know.”

“I know.”

He felt her again. “Yeah, you’re doing well. Of course, there’s always room for improvement. Your pecs have good tone, but no bulk.”

“What are you talking about! My chest is getting bigger all the time, and not a drop of it is due to fat.”

“Not enough.” Mack shook his head. “I’m going to increase your weights. What are you at?”

“Twenty each arm free weights.”

“How many reps?”

“Twenty.”

“How ’bout we use twenty-five weights, but we’ll drop the reps to ten. Try to bulk you up.”

“Whatever you think.”

“Tandy, get mean!”

She turned around and smiled. Then she punched his stomach as hard as she could. Her entire hand went numb from the impact, but it did the job. Mack had sucked in air from the surprise punch. Not a lot of air—not more than a little gulp—but she had actually caught him off guard. Mack shook his head, laughed, then pinned her against the wall. They went nose-to-nose.

“You ever try a stunt like that again, I’ll kill you!”

She spit at him. He spit back. Then they both laughed.

Mack said, “No good. Can’t pump and laugh at the same time.” He stared at her, then squeezed her arms with his massive claws. He thought he was being scary. But nothing, nothing physical, could be as scary as the mind out of control. She bit back the pain and kept eye contact.

“Good,” Mack whispered. “That was real good, Tandy.”

She felt him slowly easing the pressure off her arms, then he ran his hands over her breasts. Tandy closed her eyes. It felt good. In another world, she might have delved further. But that wasn’t where she was at now. Mack knew it, too. And really that wasn’t where he was at, either. It was just the touching. Gorgeous bodies like hers and his…they were meant to be touched by those who could truly appreciate them.

“You ready to sweat, girlie?” he said.

“Always.”

7

The shaking of his shoulder brought Decker into a groggy state of consciousness. He leaped up, then felt unsteady on his legs. He could feel an arm giving him support. He rubbed his eyes and focused on a round, fair face. A body garbed in slacks, sports shirt, and a white coat—Dr. Hendricks. No more scrubs. Decker took that as a very good sign.

“Are you all right?” Hendricks asked.