“Name?”
“He won’t give me it.”
Romy’s heart began to thump unpleasantly. Surely, not. Surely Dacre hadn’t found her already? She smoothed her face out and nodded at the intern. “No problem, I’ll see him.”
For one awful moment before she pulled back the curtain, she imagined it was her violent ex-husband, that he would lunge for, get his hands around her throat, choke the life out of her.
The relief when she saw the patient was immense, and she smiled at the man, who was cradling a bloody hand. He smiled at her. “Dr. Sasse?”
“That’s me, Mr. …?”
The man grinned, his handsome face lighting up, his blue eyes intense. “Eames. Hey, Romy, I’m Gaius, your soon-to-be stepbrother.”
Her eyebrows shot up as she searched for a resemblance to Blue and definitely saw it, now that she was looking for it. The high cheeks and sculpted jaw were apparently genetic. “Hey, well, hey,” she stammered and then laughed. “Wow, you caught me off guard. Nice to meet you at last, even if unexpectedly.”
Gaius held his hand up. “I was careless while fixing my car.”
“Let’s take a look.”
Romy pulled up a chair and took his hand. “You didn’t want to see Dr. Allende?”
“I wanted to meet you. Something good to come out of this. Ouch.”
“Sorry.” Romy examined the nasty gash. “Well, it’s deep, but you won’t need surgery. I’ll clean it and give you some local anesthetic. Then we can stitch the wound, or even glue it.”
Gaius nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. “Thank you, Romy.”
As she worked, he asked her questions about her work. “Do you work closely with Blue?”
Was there an edge to his voice? She kept her tone neutral. “Well, he is our General Surgery attending, and that’s my chosen specialty. It’s strange to think he’ll be my brother soon.”
“I bet. I didn’t think to ask Dad … have they settled on a wedding date?”
“I don’t think so, but Mom’s being really secretive about it. Lord knows why; she’s not usually shy about anything. Of course, your father’s divorce isn’t quite final yet, so there’s that to consider.”
Gaius laughed. “Secrets are overrated. Do you have any secrets, Dr. Sasse?” His voice dropped lower, quieter, and Romy flushed, not out of pleasure, but awkwardness.
He was flirting with her, and it was freaking her out. For a second, she imagined saying Well, your half-brother just reamed me real good in a supply closet, but apart from that … “Nope. Boring, I know, but that’s me. We’re all done here.” She gave him a smile and pushed away from him. “The nurse will come to stitch you up.”
He reached out and took her arm. “Romy … thank you. To say thank you, I’d love to take you to dinner. What do you say?”
Romy stepped gracefully away from his grip. “Well, we’ll see you at Thanksgiving in a couple of days, and I’m afraid I’m pretty much working until then.”
Gaius reached for her hand and kissed the back of it. Instead of the heat that flared through her when Blue touched her, Romy felt her skin go weirdly cold. “Then I shall have to be satisfied with that.”
After he left, Romy felt unsettled. Gaius was all charm and politeness, but there was something underneath the façade, something that made her feel uneasy. She wondered if she should tell Blue that his brother had been in, but eventually decided not to. It was nothing, after all.
She didn’t regret her decision that night when Blue dropped a sheet of paper in her lap as he was pulling off his tie. Blood tests. She scanned them and grinned up at him. “Dude, some of these tests take weeks. How did you manage this?”
“Well, honey, let me just say there’s a very happy guy in testing right now.”
Romy giggled at the mischievous look on Blue’s face. “Blue Allende, did you pimp yourself out for tests?”
“Kinda, but not in the way you mean. He might have needed half a week off for a family destination wedding and I might’ve pulled some big strings.”
“Allende, bribery?” she teased. “That’s all kinds of wrong.”
“I know. I’m disgusted with myself,” Blue was grinning widely as he pulled her jeans off of her and knelt between her legs. Romy watched him lazily as he slid her panties down her legs.
Romy hooked her legs over his shoulders. “Lick my pussy, doctor, or I’ll forget my promise to milk you dry.”
Blue, grinning, buried his face in her sex and Romy closed her eyes, moaning softly as his tongue lashed around her clit, then delved deep into her cunt. He made her come, then she made good on her promise, taking his cock into her mouth and sucking and drawing on him until he came, swallowing down his seed.
Blue scooped her into his arms and carried her to bed, tugging off her sweater and his own, feeling her full breasts soft against his hard chest. He lay on top of her, gazing down at her, stroking the hair back from her face. “So … do we need to use a condom today?”
Romy shook her head. “I’m on birth control … let’s go for it. I want to feel you inside me.”
Blue crushed his lips to hers before slowly burying his cock deep inside her. Romy shivered and Blue groaned. “God, you feel good. Your cunt is so velvety, baby.”
They began to move together, Romy savoring every sensation that he sent through her body. A deeper connection was being forged and they gazed at each other, murmuring sweet words to each other as they made love. Romy tilted her hips up so he could go deeper, harder, digging her nails into his buttocks, urging him on. God, this man … his cock, so big, so thick, reaming her into submission, his intense green eyes soft with love, with desire, with fire, for her … Romy couldn’t quite believe it.
She cried out his name as she came, shuddering and trembling, then felt his seed explode out of him, filling her belly. This man, this incredible man … she wanted to scream at the top of her voice that she was falling in love with him, that he was her destiny, her dearest desire.
But Romy settled for his sweet kisses, not wanting to spoil the moment with too-soon declarations. But she knew it was true; she was falling for him. Not just his handsome face, his glorious body, or the way he fucked her, both animal-like and yet so tender. It was his sense of humor, his utter lack of ego when he could rightfully claim to be one of the best, his playfulness.
More than anything, Romy felt she could trust him, and after what Dacre had done to her … it was a big thing for her.
She did tell him that she felt she could trust him (leaving out the parts about Dacre) and to her surprise, Blue looked utterly moved. “I’m glad, piccolo. I’m honored by that, and you should know … I feel the same. Whatever this is between us, whatever it becomes … you are my person. My lover, my muse, my best friend … and my family.”
Romy’s eyes filled with tears. “And you, mine.”
Blue kissed her tenderly. “Thank God you came home to Seattle, Romy. Thank God.”
And they began to make love again, loving each other long into the night.
Gaius smiled grimly to himself as he sat in his car outside his half-brother’s apartment. He had followed Romy from the hospital and could hardly believe it when she drove here. He saw Blue come down to greet her, saw them kissing. So his bastard half-brother was fucking his almost- stepsister. Gaius’ gut churned with jealousy. Romy Sasse was beautiful, sweet, and of course, Blue had gotten there first.
Damn you.
Still, it would make for extra sport, Gaius grinned to himself. Romy Sasse had a whole lot of secrets that he would bet his life Blue didn’t know about. The abusive ex-husband, for one.
Dacre Mortimer. Son of New York socialites, a billionaire in his own right. So, Romy liked the money … that would be useful, although Gaius could see from the divorce papers that she had not asked for a penny from Mortimer, not even the prenup money she had been entitled to. That was interesting.
Gaius also knew Romy had been hospitalized a year previously as she was about
to enter her last year of her residency program at Johns Hopkins. Smashed left femur, multiple wounds from a beating, bruised liver, and a burst ovary from being kicked in the stomach. Mortimer’s parents had done a good job hushing it up in the papers, but their son had gone to town on Romy when she’d asked for a divorce.
Why the hell had she married him? Gaius couldn’t figure it out but if he could find Mortimer, he would ask him. Romy had fled New York as soon as she was well enough and applied to Rainier Hope to finish her residency. A new life.
Hmm. Gaius began to see a whole campaign of terror he could unleash on the couple—especially if he could find Dacre Mortimer and lead him to his ex-wife. He smiled when he thought of watching Dacre confronting his ex-wife, of Blue finding out what had happened. Blue would defend Romy, of course, and maybe Dacre would get rid of Blue, once and for all.
Gaius got excited now. Yes, yes, this was perfect. If he could manipulate Mortimer into killing Blue, then he, Gaius, could sweep in and ‘save’ the day. Poor Romy would be devastated —unless of course, she too was dead. Gaius shrugged. Either way, he would win.
He picked up the phone and called his detective, thanking him for finding out all the information he had already collected, then paused. “I’d like you to do something else for me, and I’m willing to pay you double if you can do it.”
“I’m intrigued. Go ahead.”
Gaius smiled. “Find out where Dacre Mortimer is, and ask him to meet with you. I have a very interesting proposition for him.”
Chapter 7
On Thanksgiving morning, Magda took one look at her fiancé’s somber face and sighed. “Uh-oh. What did she do now?”
It had almost become a joke between them; Hilary Eames’ attempts to draw out her divorce from Stuart were creative, Magda had to give her that. But Stuart was being worn down by it, his usually merry green eyes losing their sparkle. Magda stood on her tiptoes to kiss him; she was a tall woman herself, but Stuart was a big man, broad-shouldered and long-limbed.
He wrapped his arms around her now. “I can’t make head or tail of it, Mags. She’s dropping her objections to the divorce.”
For a moment, Magda was so shocked, she couldn’t speak. After months and months of vicious back-and-forth between Hilary and Stuart, Hilary was dropping her claim for seventy-five percent of Stuart’s wealth? How? And more importantly, why? Magda had only met Hilary on two occasions, but it was enough to get a measure of the woman. She liked power, and she loved money. Hilary Eames would not drop her claim to Stuart’s billions.
“What the hell?” Magda studied Stuart, who looked lost.
“I just don’t know… but I don’t trust it.”
Magda shook her head. “No. Did you call Gaius, ask him if he knew anything?”
“I did, and he doesn’t. He’s as bemused as I am. He said he would call her and report back later at dinner.”
Magda blew out her cheeks. “So … she’s signing the divorce papers?”
Stuart smiled now. “She is … which means, my beautiful Magda, we can get married. And soon. I was thinking … Christmas?”
“It’ll be finalized that soon?”
Stuart gave a wry grin. “Sometimes, being rich helps.”
“Moneybags.” But she kissed him, laughing softly. “I love you, Stuart. If you didn’t have a penny, I would still love you to the moon and back.”
“Mushy.” But he kissed her tenderly, tangling his fingers in her short, steel gray hair. “God, woman, you are beautiful.”
She smiled up at him. “Well, you’re old. Your eyesight is fading and … ouch, ouch, no, stop that,” she shrieked as he tickled her.
Juno wandered in, hopping up onto the counter and watched them. “Is this some kind of Cocoon foreplay?”
Magda shot her youngest daughter a withering look. “We’re not that old. Maybe I don’t mind so much that you’re moving out after all …”
Juno smirked and blew her mom a kiss. “You looooove me …”
Stuart laughed at their antics. “Hey, kiddo,” he said to Juno, “I’m trying to persuade your mother to marry me at Christmas. Help me out, would you?”
Juno’s eyes went wide. “Vampira’s signed the divorce papers?”
“Yup.”
Juno did a seated dance of victory, hands raised high in the air. “Yeah, baby! Then, hell yes, Ma, snag this dude before I steal him away from you. Can I officiate?”
Magda and Stuart looked at each other. “Can you get ordained before Christmas?”
Juno looked smug. “Already am. I was waiting for you to announce your wedding day then I was going to surprise you. What do you say?”
“I say I forgive you for the Cocoon crap,” Magda beamed, hugging her youngest tightly. “Stuart … yes? No?”
Stuart grinned. “I think that would make the day even more perfect, yes. Now all we have to discuss is where.”
Magda laughed. “Okay, you two, slow your roll. Let’s get today over and done with. Juno, are your sisters on their way?”
“Arti is, but Romy said she might be a little late. Emergency at the hospital, and she said that she and Blue might come together for convenience’s sake.”
“That’s cool … but I hope they don’t get tied up.”
Romy was indeed tied up but not in the way her mother meant. Blue’s tie was wrapped around her wrists, her hands behind her back as she lay on his dining table, her legs wrapped around his waist as he plunged his cock in and out of her, thrusting harder each time as he fucked her, his strokes brutal but his hands on her body, caressing her breasts, her belly, were soft and tender. Romy came explosively as Blue pulled out and came on her skin, shooting thick reams of creamy white come onto her belly.
Romy begged him not to stop, and so he turned her onto her stomach, pulling her hands, and she cried out with pain and pleasure. He pushed into her perfectly rounded ass and fucked her slowly this time. “God, Romy, you’re so beautiful, so exquisite … I’ll never get enough of you, not ever…”
He made her come over and over before, exhausted, they showered together then fell onto his bed. They had been working an all-nighter and had gotten home just after dawn. After sleeping for an hour, they both woke, horny for each other and for the next three hours, fucked each other’s brains out, clawing at each other, desperate for that connection.
Now they lay side by side, sleepy and exhausted. Blue grabbed the alarm clock and set an alarm for two p.m. “Don’t want to be late for your mom.” He grinned, but then saw Romy had fallen asleep, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. Blue studied her face, so lovely, so expressive even in repose. He knew he was in love with her, had been for weeks now, almost since the first, but Blue struggled with whether to tell her or not. They needed to get this dinner with their parents over with, then decide whether or not to go public.
The only person Blue had told was his chief of surgery, Beau Quinto, not wanting any improper behavior on his record, nor to let his mentor and friend down.
“It isn’t a fling, Beau,” he’d told him seriously, “I’m crazy about her, but it won’t affect either my work or Romy’s. We’re professionals. Yes, Romy and I work closely together, but I assure you I don’t favor her above the other residents.” He grinned slightly. “Even if she is the best general surgery resident I’ve ever seen.”
Quinto had rolled his eyes. “Blue … I’ve been where you are. When I met Dinah, she was a patient, so I know all about improper relationships. I trust you and Romy not to let your relationship interfere with your work. Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t, I give you my word. Thanks, boss.”
Blue laid his head on top of Romy’s and closed his eyes. Feeling her in his arms was like a drug to him; he loved her brain, her commitment to her work, to the hospital … God, he’d dreamed of finding a woman like Romy all his adult life. The only person who had ever gotten close was Julia, his college sweetheart, but she had had an affair with Gaius during their final year at Harvard.
When a vindictive Gaius had dumped her soon after, Blue had had no interest in resuming the relationship though he hadn’t wished his brother’s cruelty on her. He wouldn’t wish it on anybody.
Gaius had always been resentful of Blue, of anything he had that Gaius didn’t. Success, focus, commitment —Gaius thought these things were something one either had or didn’t have, rather than things one would work for. Blue had no time for his feckless older half-sibling, and even less time for his stepmother. Hilary had made Blue’s mother’s life a misery while she was alive, and continued to besmirch her memory after death.
He shook himself now. Later, he would have to see Gaius and not give away that he was in love with Romy. He had nightmares about Gaius setting his malevolent sights on the beautiful young woman in his arms. Of course, they were nothing to the other nightmares that had plagued him ever since the eight young women were brutalized in the city, since Yasmin Levant had died on his operating table. She had looked like Romy, too much for Blue not to imagine it was his love bled out and dead in the O.R.
His arms tightened reflexively around her now and he pressed his lips to her forehead. Romy murmured in her sleep and opened her eyes, smiling up at him. He kissed her soft lips, treasuring every moment, before she sighed and went back to sleep.
God, I love you, piccolo. He hadn’t exaggerated when he’d told her he wanted to whisk her away to Italy, to show her every place he’d loved as a child, everywhere he had been at his happiest until he’d met her.
He closed his eyes and slept then, with that happy dream in mind, until the alarm went off at two p.m., and he and Romy made love again before finally dragging themselves from their beds to go celebrate Thanksgiving with their blended family.
He had been following Artemis for weeks now, and finally, she had led him to the Sasse family home. When he and Romy had been married, she had been cagey about where her mother lived, scared of him even on their wedding night. Dacre smiled to himself, remembering. She hadn’t wanted to sleep with him, and as she’d held out until they were married, Dacre had been certain of one thing. He would fuck Romy on their wedding night if it killed him … or her. It had taken his forearm across her throat before she gave in, tears pouring down her face as he forced her legs apart.
The Naughty One: A Doctor’s Christmas Romance (Season of Desire Book 2) Page 5