The Entitled (The Entitled Duet 1)

“What… already?” Her big blue eyes open wide. She turns and cuddles in my arms. Christ, she feels good. Her vanilla scent wraps around me like an invisible force field.

“Will this make you happy? Relieve your mind?” I pull a piece of hair off her face.

“Of course.” Her voice is raspy.

“Then I want it done.” Rubbing the back of her neck, I pull her closer to kiss her temple.

Brance interrupts us with his empty glass clanking as he puts it in the sink.

“I love this dress on you. Turn around.” He spins his finger. Tess laughs.

Reluctantly I let her go. She twirls and catwalks around the kitchen. Her pretty pink dress accents her thin body and fantastic tits.

“Work it, baby.” He grabs her as she passes and twirls.

“What do you think, Reed? It’s okay to admit that I’m a master at dressing her.”

He winks at me. Then he dips her, they both laugh, and my heart aches. It’s been so long since I heard her laugh. I forgot how good it makes me feel.

“My personal Barbie doll.” His brown eyes are full of mischief.

A cough causes all three of us to turn. The guy that Dr. Miller has sent is standing in blue scrubs in the doorway, a tall guard with a beard standing behind him.

Brance chuckles. “And on that note, Tess and I will leave you to it.”

“Actually, it’s important that Tess stays”—I pull her to my side—“in case you have questions.”

Knowingly, she narrows her eyes at me. “You’re just scared of needles,” she whispers. It’s the first time I’ve seen her face genuinely soften since we had sex.

“That too.” My lips twitch. “I need you to hold my hand.”

“Christ, you two, I think I’m going to be sick again. Although knowing that Reed Saddington is afraid of needles makes my day,” Brance calls over his shoulder as he leaves.

I turn to the guy in scrubs. Shit, he looks nervous. I smile, trying to calm the guy. I mean he is going to be putting a needle in my arm.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Tess’s manners break the awkward moment.

“No… No, I’m fine. He glances around Brance’s ridiculous fortress. The white walls make me nervous. I can only imagine what this guy is thinking.

“So, where do you want me?” I want this done. I hate needles. When we were kids, my mom always had to bring Tess whenever I got a shot; otherwise, I caused a scene.

“Uh, well, wherever is comfortable. I need to draw blood. When was the last time you ate or drank anything?”

“I had coffee and a banana.”

“That’s fine. So, I need a urine sample, and I’ll draw your blood. Dr. Miller will get the results and call you in a couple hours.” He smiles reassuringly. I fight the urge to laugh because this is so stupid but I guess necessary.

“Wow, that is so quick.” Tess caresses my arm as she holds my hand.

“This is my girlfriend Tess.”

“Hi.” The guy is flustered. He barely looks at her as he writes something on the plastic cup he wants me to pee in.

“And you are?”

“Um, yeah… I’m Steve. Sorry.” He looks around like he’s sure someone is going to come around the corner and gun him down. Can’t say I blame him. If our positions were reversed, I would probably hesitate to give my name too.

“My girlfriend has some questions for you. Tess, fire away.”

She smiles at him, obviously trying to put him at ease too.

“So, if he is clean, that means I have nothing to worry about?” Her new attitude is different. I love it.

Steve clears his throat. “Well, yeah, if all the tests are negative, you should be fine. If you’re worried about it, he can get retested in six months.”

Holding up my hand, I say, “We’re fine. Let’s do this. I’m hungry.”

He gets prepared, and Tess watches as he ties the band around my bicep. “You have great veins. Makes my job easy.” A nervous laugh escapes him.

I look at Tess who’s biting her lip as she looks at me. I’ll give Steve credit—he knows what he’s doing, and I barely feel the needle prick. Tess moves closer. I lean into her as she runs her hand through my hair.

Steve clears his throat again. I wonder if it’s a nervous tick

“So… that’s done. Now take this, urinate in it, and I will be out of your way. Unless you have any more questions?”

“No, thank you. You’ve been great.” Tess smiles at him.

He blinks, clears his throat, and looks at his feet for a moment. I can’t help but chuckle.

“Steve?” His eyes pop over to me.

“The cup?”

“Oh, geez… I’m sorry. Here.” He shoves it at me.

“Thanks.” Making my way down the hall, I pee quickly and send him on his way.

I turn to Tess. “Pack some stuff. We can come back for the rest in a couple days.”