Forbidden Prescription 2: MFM Ménage Stepbrother Romance (Medical Romance)

by Brother, Stephanie

  “Honestly,” she sighed, still high from pleasure, “No one has ever made me feel that good.”

  “Me neither,” James said. “I want you in my bed more often.”

  “I can’t stay forever,” she cooed.

  “I know. I’ll take you home.”

  “Do I have to? What if I just sleep here and you drop me off in the morning?”

  “Deal,” he said, smiling. “That would be perfect.”

  He found her a spare toothbrush and a shirt to sleep in. He pulled on a soft college t-shirt.

  He spooned her, and they both fell asleep within minutes.

  In the morning, she woke up alone in James’s bed. She fanned a leg over to his side. It was still warm. He hadn’t been up for long.

  She padded out to the kitchen to see James pour two cups of coffee.

  “Morning,” he said. “What do you want for breakfast?”

  “I’m a little hung over this morning,” she said. “I think I’ll skip breakfast if that’s okay with you.”

  “Sure,” he said, handing her a bottle of ibuprofen. “But next time, I’m making my world-famous waffles.”

  She smiled and washed the pills down with her hot coffee.

  “If you want to get dressed, I can take you home now.”

  “Yeah, I should probably be going.”

  She slipped back into her wrinkled dress and gathered her long hair into a ponytail.

  “I had a really good time last night,” James said as they drove the short journey to Isabella’s apartment. “I’m glad you gave me a chance.”

  “I had fun too,” she said, wiping the stray mascara from under her eyes.

  “Do you think,” he said hesitantly, “that you would want to do this again sometime?”

  Isabella grinned and nodded. “Yeah,” she said shyly. “How about next weekend?”

  “I can’t next weekend,” he said, looking disappointed. “I have to go to a conference out of town. Can we do this the next weekend?” he asked.

  “Okay. This time, I’ll pay for dinner.”

  “Deal.”

  Before Isabella got out of the car, he grabbed her hand.

  “Wait,” he said. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Yes?” she asked, a little nervous about where this was going.

  “I really like you. I know we’ve both got our issues, and we work together so things are complicated. But I want to be with you, Isabella. I want to try to make things work. Do you?”

  “I can’t promise you that it’s going to end well,” she said after thinking for a moment. “But I’m willing to give it a shot.”

  James was relieved. “Great,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Isabella gave him a quick peck on the cheek and retreated to her apartment. She ran a lukewarm bath, poured herself a glass of ginger ale, and soaked the excess wine from her system.

  She was still dazed by the quick turn of events. One moment, she was accepting a date with her attending out of curiosity, and the next, she was agreeing to be his girlfriend, or at least that’s what she thought he meant. What started as some harmless fun turned into something serious. It scared Isabella.

  She was also excited at the prospect of getting to spend much more time with James outside of work. At the hospital, they couldn’t talk about anything other than their patients, and they certainly couldn’t act like a couple. The other interns would raise hell so quickly.

  It was a risk, but maybe it was one worth taking. For Isabella, friends were so hard to come by, and here was someone she meshed with so seamlessly. She knew she had to go for it before the opportunity was gone.

  The next day was business as usual. The guys were bragging about the surgeries they were in the previous week, and Jordan was rolling her eyes at them.

  “How was your weekend?” she asked Isabella.

  “Pretty good,” she replied. “I mostly stayed home and studied.”

  “Same,” Jordan said.

  It was hard to lie to her friend when in reality, she desperately wanted to tell someone about her new relationship. That was just something she’d always wanted to share with a female friend. However, Isabella knew that it was best to keep this a secret for the time being.

  “I have an announcement,” James said at the start of rounds. “Dr. Jensen is finishing up his study, so he will be leading you again, starting tomorrow.”

  Isabella’s heart fell. She wanted to see James every day.

  “I’ll still be filling in for him a few days here and there, so you won’t miss me too much,” he joked. “Okay, let’s get started.”

  After Isabella answered his question on hysterectomies correctly, he sent her to surgery with a secret wink. Her stomach fluttered. It was a great surgery. She noted that she would have to thank him later.

  At lunch, she met up with the interns. They had spent an awful morning in the ER and were tired and cranky. Jordan asked how surgery was, and Isabella went into full detail, gushing about how fascinating it was.

  “If I fuck the boss, can I get in on surgeries too?” Martin mumbled under his breath. The other boys quietly snickered.

  “What did you just say?” Isabella asked.

  “That’s a messed up thing to say,” Jordan scolded.

  Martin got up and stormed away.

  “Don’t listen to them,” Jordan said. “He’s just jealous.”

  “I know. I just don’t know why he said that,” Isabella said nervously.

  “He’s an ass. Forget him.”

  Isabella couldn’t forget it. Maybe she had made a mistake. It was bad enough that she was falling for a guy, but even worse that the guy was in charge. If she could not ensure his discretion, she wasn’t sure she wanted the hassle of the relationship.

  She sent a quick text to James:

  Let’s meet up after work. I want to talk.

  Sure, everything okay?

  7:00 at the coffee shop by my apartment?

  Sounds good. See you then.

  Chapter Eleven

  Isabella arrived at the coffee shop on the corner across from her apartment building a few minutes early to scope things out. It was nearly empty, so she ordered two caramel lattes and sat down at a table in the back. He arrived right on time, and she waved him over.

  “Thanks,” he said, taking a coffee from her. “How was your day?”

  “Okay,” she said, not one for small talk. “Let’s cut to the chase. I need to know that this” —She waved her fingers between the two of them— “will be a secret.”

  “Of course. Did someone say something?”

  “Martin made some offhand remark about me fucking you, but I think that was out of jealousy and not so much knowledge.”

  He clenched a fist. “That little weasel. I can’t stand him. I hope he enjoys working in the urgent care clinic, because I’m banishing him there.”

  “I shouldn’t have said anything. We have to keep our work life and relationship separate.”

  “That’s easier said than done when work is our life.”

  “How about a compromise? Let’s tone down the flirting and favoritism during the work day, and then on the weekends, I’m all yours.”

  “Sounds good to me. Does that mean I can’t check out your ass during the work day?”

  She giggled. “Yeah, you should probably try to quit. I promise that if we keep this secret, I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “Yeah?” he raised his eyebrows.

  “I still don’t know how to navigate this relationship thing. How do we take things slowly when we want to be around each other all the time?”

  He chuckled. “I don’t know the answer to that. We hooked up in the on-call room shortly after you started here. I wouldn’t exactly say it’s been a conventional courtship.”

  Isabella smiled. “What’s your stance on talking on the phone?”

  “I’m not a big fan. I’d rather just talk in person.”

  She nodded in agreement. �
��Same.”

  “What about PDA?” he asked.

  “I think it’s gross, in most cases.”

  “You heartless woman,” he joked. “Not even handholding?”

  “On occasion. Everything else is off limits until we’re alone.”

  “Ok, fine,” he conceded. “Anything else I should know about you?”

  Isabella thought for a moment. “Sometimes I snore a little. Mostly when I’m really tired.”

  “I noticed.”

  “Sorry. Anything I should know about you?”

  “I like to play video games to relax. If you’re around while I’m doing this, I will ignore you and probably yell at the TV.”

  “I’m glad we’re getting this out of the way now.” She laughed.

  He reached across the table for her hand, then quickly drew it back.

  “Sorry, already forgot.”

  “I wish you weren’t going away this weekend,” she groaned.

  “The time apart will be good. You can get some studying done, and I will stay out of your business. I don’t want to be a distraction.”

  “Too late,” she said. “It’s a welcome distraction, though. It helps break up the monotony of my day.”

  He looked at his watch. “I need to run back to the hospital and finish up my dictations.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “You might not.” He grimaced. “You’re with Dr. Jensen for the rest of the week, and then I’m leaving for the conference. I might not see you until next week.”

  Isabella’s smile dropped. “Oh,” she said quietly.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I knew what I was getting myself into,” she said. “I completely understand.”

  “Good,” he said, getting up from the table. “I’ll see you later.”

  She sat and sipped her coffee in the quiet shop, watching him walk back to his car from the wide window.

  Work without James just wasn’t the same for Isabella. She never realized how much she looked forward to seeing him until he wasn’t around. In the rare instances where they passed each other in the halls, they could hardly do much more than wave and say hello. Even then, they were in danger of seeming too friendly with one another.

  Working with Dr. Jensen again was good for Isabella. It felt good that he remembered her name when he struggled to tell the other interns apart. Also, no one could accuse Isabella of sleeping with him when he chose her for surgeries because it would only sound ludicrous.

  James certainly knew his stuff, but Dr. Jensen held more clout in the medical community. Isabella was learning a lot and didn’t have the added distraction of the sexy attending.

  Late Saturday night, Isabella was sitting on her couch, glass of wine in one hand and a medical textbook spread out on the adjacent cushion, when her phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “I know we don’t do phone calls,” James said. “But I’m alone in a hotel room and can’t sleep.”

  “Nothing good on TV?” she asked.

  “Nothing that I can get for free,” he said. “What are you doing?”

  “Just catching up on my reading.”

  “What are you wearing?”

  “Sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt.”

  “Ugh,” he groaned. “Stop, it’s too sexy,” he said sarcastically.

  “You asked. Was I supposed to lie?”

  “I wouldn’t know the difference.”

  “In that case, I’m wearing a thin, silky slip and no panties.”

  “Nice try, but it’s too late.”

  “Fine,” she said. “What are you wearing?”

  “Nothing. I’m lying here, thinking about your sexy body and touching myself.”

  “Really?”

  “No, I’m just showing you how it’s done.”

  She laughed. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll make sure to do better next time.”

  “I can’t wait to see you next weekend,” he said softly.

  “Me too.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I thought I’d take you out to dinner, and then we could go back to your place. We could go to my place, but my bed is smaller and not as comfortable.”

  “I think there might be some new movies in theaters this week if you want to do that too,” he added.

  “If I’m going to be in a dark room with you,” she said, “I’d rather not be in public.”

  “What would you rather be doing?”

  “I’d rather be pulling your clothes off and touching every surface of your body. I can’t do that at a movie theater.”

  “Fair enough,” he said. “There’s no need to go out. I have a TV in my bedroom.”

  “Maybe we should just skip the restaurant altogether,” she suggested. “I’ll come over, and we’ll strip down and just eat take-out in bed.”

  “Not a bad idea,” he said. “How about instead, we cook dinner together and just see where the rest of the night takes us?”

  “That sounds nice.”

  Isabella heard James yawn. “I should try to go to sleep,” he said. “I have to wake up early for breakfast.”

  “Okay, have fun. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Goodnight, Isabella.”

  “Goodnight.”

  She felt giddy, like a little girl with a schoolyard crush. James was sexy and funny, but most importantly, Isabella felt like he was the only guy who ever really understood her.

  Isabella shut her book and climbed into bed. As she lay there in the dark, she replayed the events of their previous date in her head until she drifted off to sleep.

  The week leading up to their second date seemed to drag on forever for both James and Isabella. At six o’clock on Saturday evening, she pulled up to his house. His neighborhood was full of what looked like million-dollar homes. She didn’t notice last time, but his house looked like the only one inhabited by a single person. Everywhere she looked, there were couples going out or parents playing with kids in the yard.

  She knocked on his door, and he answered it with a big grin. Isabella had never seen him dressed so casually before. He was wearing khaki colored shorts and a short sleeve, button down shirt. He looked like a frat boy all grown up. Isabella was casually dressed herself with a pair of frayed denim shorts and a thin grey sweater.

  Upon her entrance to his home, he planted a big kiss on her lips.

  “I missed you,” he said. “I know that sounds super lame and cheesy, but it’s true.”

  “I missed you, too,” Isabella admitted.

  “I don’t have a lot of food here, so do you want to come to the grocery store with me? There’s one nearby, so it shouldn’t take long.”

  She agreed, and they climbed into his car.

  “How was the conference?” she asked.

  “Pretty good. A lot of hand shaking and ass kissing, but other than that, I’d call it a success. I talked with a lot of experts in the area, and I guess that Dr. Jensen speaks highly of me. That means that if all goes well, I can go to just about any hospital I want when my residency is over.”

  “That’s great,” Isabella beamed. “Do you think you’d leave the hospital?”

  “Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “It’s a great hospital, but I don’t know if there’s a place for me here. I want to branch out and make a name for myself, you know?”

  She nodded. “How soon would you leave?”

  He caught on to what she was really asking. “Don’t worry, Isabella. I’m not going anywhere for at least a few more years.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  She was getting ahead of herself even worrying about their relationship years from now.

  At the store, they decided to make a simple pasta with tomato sauce. Isabella also threw in a pint of cookie dough ice cream for good measure.

  She found it oddly enjoyable to be grocery shopping with James. She felt like an old couple, play fighting over the merits of different pasta shapes. He wanted linguine, but sh
e preferred angel hair, so they compromised and got regular spaghetti noodles.

  Back at the house, they started cooking. James pulled two beers from the fridge, and they talked more about work as they boiled the noodles and browned the beef. Isabella put the sauce in a pan, but she grew impatient and cranked up the heat. The bright red sauce splattered all over James, who had leaned over the pot to check the noodles.

  “I’m so sorry,” Isabella said, observing what looked like a crime scene.

  Hardly phased, James wiped a splatter of sauce from his face and tasted it.

  “Needs more salt,” he concluded.

  Isabella was horrified. His shirt was probably ruined.

  “Lighten up,” he said, pulling off his shirt and tossing it to the side.

  “I’ll buy you a new shirt,” she said.

  He waved his hand. “If you want to make it up to me, take off your shirt so I don’t feel so naked.”

  She laughed and slipped out of her sweater. “Better?”

  “Oh, definitely.”

  They finished making supper and sat at his kitchen table, both still shirtless. After they finished eating, James grabbed more beers from the fridge and popped the caps off.

  “This is nice,” James said, taking another swig. “I really like staying in.”

  “What are your neighbors like?” she asked. “This seems like a really nice neighborhood.”

  “Oh, they’re a bit like me—workaholics with big paychecks. There are a lot of young families. Some stay at home moms, but a lot of nannies taking care of kids.”

  “Would you ever want to have kids?” she asked, curious about his response.

  “I don’t know. The idea is nice, but I’m already thirty. Men don’t seem to have biological clocks like women do, but I don’t want to be fifty, having my first child.”

  She nodded. “So it’s completely out of the picture for you?”

  “Not necessarily. That’s why I had problems with dating women my age. I could agree to settling down and getting married. In fact, I would love to. It’s just that I could never give a definite response or a timeline to when I thought it could happen. What about you?”

  “I don’t even want to think about kids,” Isabella said. “I’m not even sure about marriage. I don’t have a problem with monogamy, but it’s the commitment that scares me.”