Possessive Doctor

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Lora probably doesn’t believe it all. And we didn’t tell her every detail.”

“We can go somewhere else.”

“If all of Facebook is seeing that ad…” I trail off. “I don’t know where’s safe.”

“Somewhere has to be. Somewhere rural, without internet.”

I sigh and rub my eyes. “We’ll figure it out. For now, let’s try to stay here.”

“If you think it’s safe.”

I clench my jaw. “It has to be. Otherwise, I don’t know what we’ll do.”

I help her to her feet and hold her for a second. “I know you’re trying. Maybe it’s better if we just—”

I don’t let her finish that thought. “No,” I say, a little anger in my voice. “We’re keeping you safe and away from that fucking asshole. Do you hear me? You’re mine now, Amber.”

She nods a little. I kiss her lips gently. They taste like salt.

“Come on.” I take her hand and lead her out of the gym. “Let’s get you showered.”

“Yeah,” she says, her voice soft.

That motherfucker. I hate her father more than I can even express. The fact that he’d stoop to posting that on Facebook is horrendous.

Dragging my family name into this is a bad idea. The Lofthouse family is quiet and likes to keep it that way. We have money, connections, and power. My family doesn’t like to be in the spotlight.

And Samuel Gibbins just shined a light right in the center of us.

There will be consequences. I’m just not sure who those consequences will be aimed at.13AmberAfter the workout, I shower and get changed. I find Brent sitting on a couch, staring angrily at a computer screen.

“Hey,” I say.

He closes the laptop lid. “Hey.”

“Listen. Can I go for a walk somewhere… outside?”

He cocks his head. “I think so, sure.”

“I just need to clear my head a little bit. Be alone with my thoughts. You know what I mean?”

He hesitates a second. “I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

“I know you don’t. But it’ll help. I used to go on long walks around my dad’s ranch.”

He shifts and stands. “Can you handle it? I mean, your leg.”

“I’ll be okay. I won’t go too fast. And plus, didn’t you say that exercise will be good for me?”

He gives me a look and laughs. “Using my words against me. Smart.”

“I’ll be fine. There are grounds I can walk around on, right?”

“There’s a nice path.” He looks reluctant, but I can tell he’s giving in. “It stays in sight of the house but moves through the woods. It doesn’t go too close to the outer wall. You’ll be fine on that. I bet you could walk it twice without getting too bored.”

“Sounds perfect.”

He sighs. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

“I want to walk it alone,” I say.

“I know, I know. I’m just showing you the path.”

I smile and lace my arm through his. He leads me out of the room and down the stairs. We go slow and head outside through a back door. He leads me along the lawn until we find a dirt path, clearly well maintained, that snakes its way into the trees.

“Stay on the path,” he says. “And if you yell, we’ll hear.”

“Thank you. I’ll be okay.”

He nods, hesitates, then kisses me and leaves. I watch him go with a smile on my face.

I’ve never met someone that cared about me the way he does. There’s a deep, intense protectiveness running through him. I’m a stranger to him, just a random patient, but he went so far out of his way to figure out what was going on with me… and now he’s keeping me safe. I don’t know what to think about him, but I do know how I feel.

I feel safe. It’s strange, but it’s true. He protects me. And he possesses me. I think I like both.

I start walking. The path is even and smooth. My cane sometimes gets stuck in damp grass and mud but this is nice and dry. Sure enough, it leads into the trees, but not so far that I can’t see the house anymore.

I limp along, taking my time. It’s not exactly like walking on my father’s ranch, but it’s still pretty. There aren’t any cattle or the long rolling hills, but the trees are lush and birds chirp as I go along. I hear little creatures rustling in the bushes and squirrels run along a branch, chasing after each other.

It’s nice to be out in the open air for a little while, alone with my thoughts. I linger on Brent for a while, thinking about his hands on my body, his mouth against mine. I think about how it feels to be around him, and how fast this is all moving. I think about not wanting to be away from him for a second, and how scary that is.