“No. I’m fine. Thank you,” Adew said.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it,” she said, closing the door behind her. Adew turned to the WAB stand and internally groaned. It would seem his life was being reduced to him getting in and out of the damn machine.
He needed some softness in his life, he thought as he pulled off his clothes. He stepped into the footholds. The WAB clicked into place. He removed it and put on the loose clothes. He hobbled to the bed and sat down.
“That wasn’t so bad,” he said, rubbing the throbbing ache along the back of his neck. The door opened and in walked Dr Micha and the physical therapist, dragging a cart with all his torture tools. “Let the torture begin,” he said dryly.
Dr Micha laughed as he got closer to him. “I see you still have your sense of humour intact. How is the WAB? Have you experienced any problems with your mobility?”
“It’s holding me up, that’s for sure,” he said, not wanting to go into the painful details of what he went through every time he had to take it off. The doctors might decide it was too early for him to use it. The machine was putting a strain on his muscles every time he put it on. But he couldn’t have it any other way. He had to keep moving.
“That’s good,” Dr Micha said, moving to the bot. He pressed a button, and a data chip sprang out. He pulled it out and inserted another one. “I’ll leave him in your capable hands, Dr Ajin.”
“If only they were warm,” Adew mumbled. Dr Micha snickered as he walked out. He closed the door behind him, leaving him with the cold alpha.
Ajin stared at him listlessly.
“Okay,” Adew lay down on his stomach and inserted his face in the face port. “I’m ready,” he said.
Ajin moved close with his cart. He ran his hands over his patient’s back, and Adew flinched. “If you want warm hands, find yourself an omega,” the therapist said flippantly.
“I think you need one more than I do,” Adew said. He hissed as Ajin’s fingers dug into a sensitive spot.
“Your muscles are tense. You haven’t been staying in the WAB for long periods of time, right?”
“No.”
“I hope not. That’d be detrimental to your recovery. You might be using the WAB to walk, but your muscles are still doing the work. The point is to strengthen them, not to strain them,” he said. And proceeded to torture him further. Adew endured it. Though he’d never admit it, Ajin’s hands were magic. It was his personality that was icy. He groaned as his therapist worked a rather tight spot in the middle of his back.
“Is it too painful?” Ajin asked, gentling his hands and moving on to the rest of his body. Thirty minutes later, he helped Adew sit up.
“Thanks,” Adew said, feeling nice and loose.
“I was going to move on to the exercise room, but this is enough for today,” Ajin said, and then stared at him coldly for a beat. “Please don’t strain at home. I can tell when you’ve done something you shouldn’t.”
Adew clenched his jaw, stubbornly. He was going to get himself to walk on his own. He wasn’t one to wait around for things to happen.
As if he’d heard him. Ajin stepped close and touched the back of his neck, pressing down on a sore spot. Adew swallowed a wince. “One wrong move and all the work we’ve done will be for nothing.”
Fuck.
“Take it easy, Adew. I’ll get you where you want to be. I’ll get you back into the sphere,” he said. “You just have to trust me to get you there.”
“What should I do in the meantime?”
“Fuck, have fun, go out. I don’t know,” Ajin said with a shrug. “The rest of your body still works.”
“Not interested.” Adew slid off the bed and pulled off the loose clothes. He took a deep breath and shuffled back to the WAB stand, strapped himself into the machine, finishing off with his clothes He looked up to find Ajin watching him.
“Are you sure? It’s been a year after all. You were knocked out for your heats. You must miss sex.”
“Is that something you and I should be discussing?”
“You are my patient. It’s my job to make sure you’re healthy. And you should prepare for your heat. You won’t be having any drugs this time. You might find it hard. Excuse the pun,” Ajin said.
Adew stared at him, shocked. “Did you just make a joke?”
“Nope,” Ajin said, looking away. But Adew saw the curl of his lips anyway. The bastard was laughing at him.