The Agreement (Unrestrained 1)

I cleared my throat. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry," he said and turned his head away again, grinning widely. "Just don’t get to see real garters very often."

"My best friend made me wear them. Now she'll be pissed that I ruined her nylons."

"It's a shame they were destroyed," he said softly, a hint of humor in his voice. "I especially like the ones with the seam up the back. Really retro."

Once my nylons were off and I readjusted everything, he started to examine my calves, running his hand up my leg on the injured side, checking the bone. I had to spread my thighs a bit so he could examine my knees, and blushed profusely when I had to jam my dress between them to cover my crotch.

"Calves and knees look great," he said, a faint smile on his face.

He left me on the bed and went to the en-suite bathroom. I heard him opening and closing cabinet doors and drawers. Finally, he emerged with a bottle of peroxide and some cotton balls, some gauze and bandages. He also had a wet washcloth. He then tended my wounds, wiping the dirt off my knees and ankle.

"What kind of doctor are you?"

"Neurosurgeon."

"So you cut up brains?"

"Something like that," he said, a half-smile on his lips. "I don’t cut them up as much as fix them. Robotically-assisted electrophysiology is my specialty. Using electrodes to treat disorders like Parkinson's and epilepsy. You're thinking pathologist. But don’t worry," he said as he washed the dirt off my knees. "We also learned to look after superficial wounds. And I have a truckload of insurance, just in case you're wondering…"

He daubed the cuts and scrapes with the peroxide-soaked cotton balls. It stung a bit, but not too badly. All the while he was tending my injuries, I got the chance to see him up close. Man, was he beautiful. His black hair was a bit longish and wild as if he was just caught in the wind. Dark arched brows. Blue blue eyes fringed with thick black lashes. A bit of scruff on his face, and a jaw that screamed perfection.

He was perhaps the hottest man I'd ever seen.

"You'll be fine. Don't need stitches. Just a bit of antibiotic ointment and a few bandages. But you should rest your ankle. Are you going to stay or do you need a ride home?"

"I better stay. Do you know who Elaine is? Can you ask her to come and speak to me?"

He nodded. "Sure. If that ankle doesn't get markedly better in a couple of days, you might want to get an x-ray. Can't do anything for a broken bone in your foot but rest it. You could probably use some crutches."

He smiled at me and left me on the bed.

I'd just met Doctor Delish. It took me a few moments to recover.

CHAPTER TWO

In a moment, Elaine came rushing in and sat on the bed, hugging me.

"Oh, Kate it's you! You poor dear," she said, examining my cuts and ankle. "Drake told me this guest had fallen and wanted to talk to me. I had no idea it was you!"

Drake? Dr. Delish finally had a name.

"Yeah, we didn't introduce ourselves. Can I borrow something safe in the shoe department? I fell outside because I wore those," I said and pointed to the high heels on the floor.

"Of course," she said and went right to her huge walk-in closet with racks of shoes, sorting through her collection. She pulled out a pair of black ballet slippers and held them out. "Will these do?"

"Yes, thank God you have some. I should have been wearing those in the first place."

I put them on and limped out using Elaine as a crutch.

"Leave your coat here," Elaine said. "I'll have one of the staff hang it up."

We stood just inside the entry to the living room, and I was so reluctant to be there. The suite itself was huge, two full stories with cathedral ceilings in some of the rooms and floor to ceiling windows. Everything was cream and gold with rich dark wood on the furniture, floors and all the trim.

Almost two dozen people were there, most of them rich businessmen in several-thousand dollar suits, a couple of women there as arm candy, tall leggy bottle blondes who were managing quite fine in their own stiletto heels. I was a dwarf compared to the rest of the women in attendance.

Now, I'd have to explain to everyone why I was bandaged up and limping. I searched for Nigel. Immediately, he called out to me.