“Thank you so much,” she said into my ear. Her warm breath sent shivers down my spine. “I don’t know how I’m going to repay you.”
My lower half instantly thought of a way to be thanked for my intimidation tactics. My brain, on the other hand, could not control my body’s desires. I was aroused by her touch, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to be wrapped up in her embrace in my bed, with much less clothing. I wanted her affection to be for me, not just the favor I had done.
If she hadn’t noticed already, my body was sending a very clear signal to her, one that I wasn’t ready to express. She wanted to be with me because I could keep other men away from her, not because she wanted to be with another man. I needed to separate myself from her physically, even though I just wanted to be near her.
“I should make sure the door is locked,” I said. “Just in case, you know?”
“Oh, okay,” she said, quickly dropping her hands. I turned away from her as quickly as I could and walked briskly toward the front door.
When I got there, I faced the door and placed my hand on the metal deadbolt. Of course, I remembered locking it when I came home, but it was the best excuse I could come up with at the time. I needed to collect myself.
I closed my eyes, trying to think about anything other than Ariana and her gorgeous body. I tried to conjure up mental images of anything to turn me off—unattractive patients, gross diseases out of medical textbooks, and that stalker creep. After a long moment, I managed to get my excitement for Ariana to subside, but I knew it could come back at a moment’s notice.
I walked back to the couch and sat with one leg drawn up, my knee nearly touching my chest. From her angle, my leg could reasonably conceal anything I didn’t want her to see. I thought I had left those days behind me when I was done with puberty.
“It’s locked,” I said, completing my cover. “I put in a security system when I built the house. You’re safe here.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I really do feel a lot better.”
“Was it too much?” I asked. I had threatened a complete stranger over the phone. It was a first for me. I had always been protective over people I cared about, but they were usually family or past girlfriends. This was the first time I had intimidated a guy over a patient.
“In any other circumstance, maybe,” she said. “But I think it was completely appropriate for Jake. By the way, where did you come up with all of that?”
“The threats?” I asked. “Maybe I’ve been watching too many action movies. I’ve never even punched a guy in my life.” I laughed.
“No, the other stuff? About our supposed wedding?” she asked, looking bashful. “How did you know my mom’s name and my favorite color?”
I cringed. Apparently, I paid much closer attention to her than she did to me. I tried to cover, downplaying my observations.
“You have your mom listed as your emergency contact on your chart. I just saw it today. As for your favorite color, that was a complete guess. You’re wearing a blue dress. You also have a blue cell phone case.”
“Oh,” she giggled. “Well, you have excellent deduction skills. You were right on both accounts. What about the other stuff?”
“What other stuff?”
She looked at the ground. “The nice things you said about me. It all seemed so—I don’t know,” she trailed off.
Now I knew what she meant. She was wondering how I came up with everything I said about how wonderful she was and how important she was to me. I had no choice but to face reality—I was falling head over heels for my patient. Her safety meant much more to me than anyone else in my care. The more time we spent together, the more I adored her.
But, how could I explain that everything I said was based on my real feelings? I would scare her away faster than Jake had scared her off. The truth was, I did think she was stunningly gorgeous and sweet. I knew in my heart that I would be lucky to ever start a family with someone like her. I had even realized that I had been longing for a companion for quite some time.
I could date all the beautiful women in the world, but it would never give me the satisfaction that I truly wanted. I wanted just one girl, more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.
They say you always want what you can’t have. Maybe that had something to do with it. But maybe I was just in the middle of an impossible turn of fate.
“I don’t know,” I said, trying to come up with a reasonable answer. “I suppose it’s true, to a certain extent. You are very pretty and nice. I guess I just did a little embellishing to get the point across. I don’t know what came over me, but something about hearing him talk to you made me snap. You don’t deserve to have to deal with that kind of stuff.”
She bit her lip. “That’s really nice of you to say. You’ve done far more than I ever expected of anyone. Hearing you talk to him really changed my perception of men.”
“How so?”
“Maybe there are some good ones to make up for the bad ones.”
“Of course,” I said, taken aback by her generalization. “And girls like you deserve to find happiness, especially with good men.”
She leaned the side of her head on the couch and ran a hand through her hair. “I hope you’re right about that.”
Chapter Eight
Ariana
I tightened my embrace on Daniel, not knowing if I’d ever have this opportunity again. Of course, I was extremely grateful for his help. He had exceeded my expectations and I was so thankful for it.
But, I also had the chance to react in a way I might not if it were anyone else helping me. I certainly wouldn’t hug a classmate like that, even if they provided me with answers to my exams. I was taking advantage of my situation, and I don’t think Daniel minded.
I only say that because he hugged me back with equal enthusiasm. When I put my mouth up to his ear to thank him for his help, I felt his cheek graze against mine. When I purposefully pressed my lower half into his body, I suspected he became physically aroused.
When he quickly dismissed himself to check the front door, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. My suspicions had been confirmed. It was childish of me to be so pleased by his embarrassment, but it felt so good to finally have the right guy turned on by me.
It felt so good to be close to someone again, too. I hadn’t realized how much my body craved physical contact with another person. When I spoke into his ear, I wanted to rest my head on his strong shoulders and bury my face in his neck. I wanted to have him hold me while I inhaled the musky scent of his aftershave.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little aroused myself. For a moment, I let my imagination run wild, imagining him swooping me up and carrying me to his bedroom. I didn’t know if I could go all the way with him on the first night together, but I would have loved to kiss him. His lips just looked so soft and inviting. I had no way of knowing, but I had a sense that he was an amazing kisser.
As I waited for him to check the locks, sitting smugly on the couch, curiosity came over me. When he spoke on the phone to Jake, he said things that were a little too accurate. When I listened to him describe our imaginary life together, it was almost exactly what I had pictured in my head during my daydreams. I always wanted a small wedding with close family and friends. I had even imagined myself holding a small bouquet of blue hydrangeas.
That dream, and then listening to him tell Jake why he supposedly loved me, left me all choked up. I knew it wasn’t real, but it was still the most romantic thing I had ever heard said about me. Sure, I’d had a few guys tell me I was hot every now and again, but I was rarely told I was beautiful.
As much as I enjoyed listening to him compliment me and engaging in flirty banter, my heart ached the tiniest bit. Whatever was going on between us would never pan out the way I wanted it to. But, if I could spend one-on-one time with Daniel, I would try to enjoy it, even if it wouldn’t last.
“Now that we’re done with Jake,?
?? Daniel said, changing the topic, “should we have a drink?”
“Sure,” I answered. “One drink wouldn’t hurt.”
He pulled two beers from the fridge and handed one to me. I took a long sip, thinking of something to say to him to continue our fun.
“If you’re such a romantic guy, then why are you single?” I fished.