If Terry was capable of inducing an episode in me, I didn’t know what he would do if I began seizing. I didn’t trust him to get me the medical attention I needed. In fact, I worried he would go out of his way to make sure something bad happened to me.
I grabbed my phone and staggered outside, my vision getting worse by the minute. I managed to hail a cab through a carpool app and it came around the corner in the nick of time.
“You’re going to 244 Vine Street?” the driver asked.
I nodded weakly. “If you could get me there quickly, that would be great.”
The man eyed me through the rear-view window. He must have noticed I was in distress because he managed to get me to the clinic in just ten minutes.
“Do you need help inside?” he asked.
“I think I’m okay,” I said as I staggered out of the car. “Thanks.”
I don’t know how I managed to get inside the office building with how limited my vision had gotten. Then, my memory got a little hazy. I remember seeing the receptionist and telling her that I needed to talk to Dr. Malone immediately, but I have no idea how I got up to the third floor. The receptionist must have wheeled me upstairs as I tried to explain what had happened.
When I came to, I was laying on an examination table. Daniel’s face was hovering above me. It was the only face I wanted to see.
Chapter Eleven
Daniel
“Ariana,” I said, holding her hand as she lay on my exam room table. “Can you talk to me?”
I stroked her hand with my finger, trying to get a response out of her. I had just injected her with a medication that could stop a seizure if administered soon enough.
I had been so surprised to see her being wheeled up to my office. The receptionist looked petrified to be dealing with an emergency scenario. My office didn’t handle many of those.
Ariana was pale and clammy. I rested a hand on her forehead and her eyes blinked open.
“I’m so happy to see you,” she said dreamily.
“I’m happy to see you too,” I replied. “I just wish you were in better health. What the hell happened?”
She sighed, tears coming to her eyes. I ran my hand down her hair, trying to comfort her.
It tore me apart to see Ariana so sick and upset. I wanted to do whatever I could to make her feel better.
“I was in the kitchen, washing dishes,” she said, her voice shaky. “Your dad came inside the house and was making a mess.”
“What?” I hissed, trying to keep my voice down. “He shouldn’t have been in there. I’m so sorry.”
“That’s what I thought, but I didn’t know what to do. I was trying to get things cleaned up, but he kept getting in my way and making things worse. I was starting to get stressed out. I started to get a headache.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Is that what caused this?”
“It probably didn’t help. But then, he turned the TV to a channel with flashing lights and got me to look at it. I think he did it on purpose.”
I knew he did it on purpose. I knew that his warning to me was a threat. I just didn’t think he would put an innocent person’s life at risk.
“Did I have a seizure?” she asked.
“No,” I sighed. “Thankfully, you got here just in time. I gave you some medicine that will hopefully keep you from having a seizure. I want you to stay here for a while so I can monitor you. What symptoms did you have besides a headache?”
“I had that weird aura and the sense that something terrible was about to happen.”
I nodded. It was smart for you to get help. How did you get here?”
“I got a cab.”
I shook my head. “I’m glad you made it in time to see me, but next time, call an ambulance.”
She smiled softly and rested her head back on the table.
“I hope this doesn’t change anything between us. I’m going to make sure my father packs his things tonight. If you don’t want to, I completely understand, but I’d really like you to continue staying with me.”
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Apparently, she thought she had become too much trouble.
“It’s probably best for your health,” I added, coming up with excuses. “If you start feeling sick again when you’re at my house, I can give you the right medication.”
“I’ll come back to your place,” she said. “Just as long as that never happens again.”
I sighed. It would probably be difficult to kick my dad out of my house, but it was a long time coming for him in the first place. At least now, I finally had a concrete reason for him to go. What he had done to Ariana was probably illegal in some regard. I could hang that over his head until he split.
“He’s gone. I’ll contact him as soon as I can. You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
I expected to see a relieved look on her face, but instead tears started dripping down her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing her hand. “I’m going to take care of it. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
“That’s the thing,” she blubbered. “You’re way too good to me. Why do you go so far out of your way to help me? I tried to understand it, but it just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
I bit my lip. There would never be a good time to tell her how I felt about her. I could tell her now, or I could keep it a secret for as long as she was my patient.
“Listen,” I said. “We need to discuss something. This is really hard for me to do.”
She grimaced, sitting up a little. “Oh no.”
“It’s nothing bad,” I said quickly. “I mean, I don’t think it is.”
I took a deep breath. It was now or never.
“You’re my favorite patient. I think you know that, too. Ever since I met you at that first appointment, I’ve enjoyed spending time with you. There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m afraid my feelings for you have become more than a doctor should feel for a patient. My feelings are more than a friend should feel toward another friend. I’ve been trying to control my attraction toward you, but it’s becoming too much to suppress. I have romantic feelings for you, Ariana, and I don’t know how to move forward.”
“Oh,” she said, her eyes wide.
I balled up my fist. I knew I should have kept my mouth shut. I had a weakness for grand gestures.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I should have kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to make this weird for you.”
“I think that’s inevitable,” she smiled. “We both know that this is wrong. If we did start a relationship, it would probably end in disaster. We have way too much personal baggage. Not to mention, I really don’t want to find another doctor. You’re the best one I’ve had so far.”
“So, what do I do?” I asked. “You’re smart—give me a solution to my problem that will work out for the both of us. If you don’t want to see me anymore, I understand.”
She furrowed her brow. “What makes you think that I don’t want to see you?”
“I don’t know. The fact that your doctor admitted his feelings for you might make visits a little awkward.”
“But you never asked me how I felt. All this time, you could have told me the truth, and we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve had a huge crush on you for a while. Why didn’t you ask me out?”
“I didn’t know,” I sputtered. “Besides, it would violate some ethics, I’m pretty sure about that.”
“Screw ethics,” she said, staring me straight in the eye. “No one has to know.”
The next thing I knew, Ariana was on her back and I was leaning over her. She grabbed onto my face and pulled me in close. Her lips mashed against mine and we were finally kissing. Endorphins rushed through my bloodstream. I hadn’t felt this good in years.
My hands wandered down her body. I slid my hands up her skirt, feeling her long, smooth legs.
“Are you sure this is okay with you?” I whispered. “Are you feeling up to it?”
“I’ve never felt better,” she responded. “Lock the door and take off your pants.”
I was fully aroused now. This was finally happening and I had never been more turned on in my life. I double checked the lock and unfastened my belt. I slid Ariana’s panties down her legs and tossed them on the floor. Then, I unbuttoned my trousers and let them fall around my ankles.
“I knew it,” she said, looking down at my exposed lower half.
“What?” I asked, self-consciously.
“I knew you’d have a fantastic ass,” she giggled.
I smiled, kissing her softly on the lips. “You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to do this.”
“Then let’s do this,” she grinned.
I grabbed her by her legs and gently pulled her toward me, the protective paper rustling underneath her. I turned the volume control for the radio up a few notches, hoping to drown out the sounds of our lovemaking. The last thing I wanted was to be interrupted in the middle of it.
As it happened, I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t care. I could deal with the fallout later. At that moment, I needed to fulfill a deep desire that had been weighing on me for quite some time.
I tried my best to be gentle with Ariana, in hopes that I wouldn’t cause her to become ill again. But in the heat of the moment, it was hard to control myself. And, if anything, she encouraged my intensity.
As I penetrated her, I watched her face express her pleasure. This made it even hotter for me. There was nothing I enjoyed more than taking care of her, in more ways than one. If I could provide her with protection, security, and pleasure, then I was doing something right.
When we were finished, I quickly pulled up my pants and handed her the crumpled panties to put back on. I turned down the radio and quietly unlocked the door.
She was still laying flat on her back, her hands still gripping the sides of the table. Her lips were parted and her eyes still locked shut.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
She nodded. “I’m just trying to pretend that you said these feelings for me weren’t new.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
She cracked one eye open, winking at me. “I could never forgive myself if I could have done something to make this happen sooner.”
I kissed her on the forehead. “Rest up. I’ll have a nurse check on you in a little bit. I just need to finish seeing a few patients and then I’ll take you home.”
“Okay,” she said. “Can we do more of this tonight?”
That was music to my ears. “Of course, we can.”
I walked out of the room, feeling like a new man. I ran into my nurse on the way back to my office.
“How’s Ariana doing?” she asked, a look of concern on her face.
“Much better now. I’ve advised her to hang out here for a while to make sure no other symptoms pop up. But, I’d say she’s feeling pretty good now.”
I smirked as I walked away. There was something a little dirty about what we did, but at least she had been into it just as much as I was. If we were going to go down for this, at least we would go down together.
I wanted to get through the rest of the day as quickly as possible. I couldn’t wait to take her back to my house and make love to her as many times as she wanted to.
Looking through my charts, I tried to refocus on my work. All I had to do was see a few more patients, and then I was home free for the weekend. I could forget about work and just spend my free time with the girl I adored.
Before I could do that, there was one last thing I needed to accomplish. I picked up the phone in my office and dialed digits that I had called many times before.
“Dad?” I said after he finally answered the phone. “Yeah, Ariana is going to be okay—no thanks to you. I’m going to be home by five. When I get back, you better be gone. Leave the mess if you must—I’d rather clean it up myself than have to see you in my backyard. Goodbye.”
I hung up the phone, feeling a little relief. Sending my dad away was just one obstacle out of many. But, if I could slowly chip away at the barriers that threatened to keep Ariana and me apart, then with any luck, it wouldn’t be long before we had a chance of being together.
Chapter Twelve
Ariana
Things were moving quickly. After Daniel brought me back to his house, it was as if we were already a couple. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and I couldn’t have been happier. Things were already unconventional between us, so it didn’t seem like a big deal that I was spending all my time with him. We had waited far too long to get to that point, anyway.
Being with Daniel was so exciting that I completely forgot all about Jake. I occasionally got the random phone call from an unknown number, but I didn’t sweat it. If he bothered me too much, I could just hand the phone over to Daniel and have him take care of it. I felt so safe with him around.
I completely forgot about my kitchen debacle until we returned and it looked like there had been an explosion in a bakery. I remembered it being messy when I left, but this was on a whole other level.
I was starting to feel myself getting upset and embarrassed about how I had left things, but Daniel was completely chill about it. He simply ate a cookie, told me that it was the best cookie he had ever had, and gave me a big hug. Then, we tackled the dishes together while he told me stories about some of his patients.
That night, when we were in bed together, I mentioned that I wanted to go back to my apartment to grab some clothes, but that I was still feeling a little nervous about returning.
“Do you have a special attachment to any particular items of clothing?” he asked.
“No,” I responded, confused by his question. “I just don’t want to keep wearing the same dress every day until Jake is gone.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” he said. “Let’s take a drive to San Francisco. It’s been ages since I’ve left town. We can spend the day shopping and walking around. Maybe we can go out for a fancy dinner, too. It’ll be my treat, of course.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! I’ve been itching to get out of town for a while. Plus, if we’re going to hang out together outside of the house, it’s probably best if we don’t do so in town. Rumors spread quickly.”
“Okay,” I grinned. “That sounds fun.”
When we got to San Francisco, we ended up having so much fun, we didn’t want to leave. Daniel found a hotel room and we stayed the night. I loved how he really went all out to make sure we were having a good time. We made love and cuddled all evening, and enjoyed breakfast in bed. I felt like we were on a honeymoon.
We were so infatuated with each other. I didn’t want the weekend to end because that would mean that we had to return to reality. I was getting used to living a dream life with the guy I was crazy about. I was eager to get back to class so I could be one step closer to getting my degree, but I also savored fancy meals and shopping sprees on his dime.
After about a week, we had really settled into a routine. I even started going back to class, catching a ride from Daniel and having him pick me up after he got done with work. Then, in the evening, we’d make dinner together and talk about our day. Eventually, we’d retreat to the couch to talk or watch TV, but we almost always ended up with our clothes scattered all over the place. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As much as we enjoyed our time together, we both knew that the good times couldn’t last forever. So, when my mom called me in a panic one morning, I wasn’t entirely surprised. It had been over a week since our last catastrophe. We were overdue for another one.
“Ariana, I don’t have much time to talk before I have to get back to work. I just had a very disturbing phone call.”
“What happened?” I asked, my stomach filling with dread. “Are you okay?”
“This isn’t about me. It’s about you. I just got a call from Jake. I don’
t know how he got my phone number.”
I gasped. “What did he want?”
This terrified me. After hearing nothing from him, I was almost certain he had gone back home. I walked around campus so confidently and lounged around Daniel’s house, so sure that he was no longer a threat. But, if he was contacting my mom, whom he had never met before, then things were more serious than I originally thought.
“He asked me about your husband. He wanted his address so he could send you a belated wedding gift. I assured him that you were not married, but he said he saw you with a ring and talked to your husband on the phone. I know this guy is deranged, but it was such a weird story that I wanted to clear it with you.”
I sighed. At least he bought my story.
“Mom, I would have told you if I had plans to get married,” I chuckled. She didn’t seem to find that funny.
“So why does he seem to think that you are?”
I explained to her that I was in Daniel’s office after Jake scared me and I was desperate. I assured her that there was nothing to worry about and that everything was fine. I stressed the fact that Daniel was a friend and there was nothing more going on between us.
I didn’t want to add my mom to the list of disapproving parents. Not like she’d go crazy like Daniel’s dad, but I knew she would question my choices. Besides, everything with our relationship was still new and I wanted to preserve all the good things about it before handing it over to the world to be scrutinized.
“I don’t want you to be taking this lightly,” my mom said. “I think it’s time to try contacting the police. I know you don’t want to, but you’re not in Ohio anymore. Maybe you’d have better luck with this department. Even if you’re filing a restraining order that won’t go into effect for a few weeks, it’s probably worth a try. I’m glad you found a friend to stay with, but you can’t stay with him forever.”
I wanted her to be wrong about that last part. I wanted to stay at his house as long as possible. I was not ready to move back into my tiny apartment. I had gotten used to hanging out with someone every night and weekend. I knew I would be lonely going back to my own place.
Forbidden Prescription 4: A Stepbrother Fake Marriage Medical Romance (Forbidden Medicine) Page 7