Dr. Fake It - A Possessive Doctor Romance

He kissed me then helped me down off the counter. We dressed, and he smiled at me, and I saw him take real pleasure in the long lines of my body. That sent a strange thrill through my chest, that even after taking me like that, he could still want more.

We ended up on the couch, my head on his chest, his arms wrapped around me.

“I’ll go to them tomorrow,” he said gently. “I’ll see what they say. If they’re willing, I’ll make it happen.”

“And if they’re not willing?”

He kissed my hair. “Let’s not worry about that yet.”

I nodded and let him hold me, and even though I could feel the anxiety creep back into my chest, I did my best to stay with him, still and calm and happy, because no matter what came later, we had this moment at least.23GavinErica slept in my bed that night, and I was a perfect gentleman.

Well, for half the time, at least. The first few hours, I spent exploring her body, teasing her until she could barely take it anymore, and held her tight when she fell asleep in my arms.

I woke up early and snuck out of bed. I showered, dressed, and kissed her as I left the room. She stirred, but didn’t wake up, which was good— I wanted her to rest while she could.

I didn’t know how this meeting would go, and I wasn’t about to drag her along to something that might end badly. I drove over to the bakery and parked across the street, then sat there for a few minutes watching the front door and wondering what the hell I was about to do.

They’d made their offer, and now I was about to try to negotiate. I knew Dante wouldn’t be happy about it, but I hoped my alternative plan would be tempting enough to make him forget that he was annoyed with me for trying to change things around on him. I got out of the car and took a deep breath of the crisp morning air then walked to the bakery and stepped inside.

The place was quiet. It was barely after six in the morning, and I guessed it’d only opened a little while ago. Dante sat in a corner booth with one other guy I didn’t recognize. He looked up and I saw a spark of surprise in his eyes as I walked over and lingered near the empty chair.

He tilted his head. “Dr. Majors. What are you doing here? Came to accept our offer?”

“I came to talk.”

He frowned then looked at his companion and nodded. The guy nodded back, got up, and walked over to a different table.

The hiss of an espresso maker steamed through the otherwise quiet room as I sat down across from Dante.

“What can I do for you?” he asked, spreading his hands. He wore a dark suit and a half-eaten bagel sat on a plate in front of him. He had bags under his eyes, and I wondered for a moment how difficult it must have been to be a gangster, constantly worried about death, about violence, about some up-and-coming asshole trying to take over your turf. I imagined most mafia guys didn’t live to old age. They didn’t have a retirement plan.

For one brief second, I thought about telling him to go fuck himself. I thought of my sister, and the asshole that killed her, and I wondered if these guys were like him. Some of them had to have been—it was the mafia, after all. Cosimo certainly was, and there must’ve been others. I wondered if Dante was an abusive, violent piece of shit, and decided that it didn’t matter.

I couldn’t protect every woman in the city, only Erica. She was all that mattered, all that I could protect.

“I thought about your offer,” I said, “and I came with an alternative.”

His expression darkened. “That wasn’t part of our discussion.”

“I understand, but hear me out first.”

“Dr. Majors, if most men came to me trying to change the deal at the last second, I’d kill them. You understand that, don’t you?”

“I understand. But we didn’t have a deal yet. I never agreed to a thing.”

He grunted and shook his head. “You’re testing my patience.”

“And you’re going to lose out if you can’t listen.”

I saw a surprised expression flit across his face, followed by anger. He wasn’t used to people talking to him like that, but I was sick of this bullshit, of the discussions and the negotiations. I wanted to be done with these guys, wanted to be finished with the bullshit.

“Speak your mind, and be careful.”

“I heard that you recently bought up a lot of buildings near here,” I said, speaking slowly and carefully. “It’s my understanding that those buildings are zoned for commercial use, and that zoning has been a real problem.”