Page 74 of The Fall
“I need you to chase them away, Dean.” I watched his eyes light fire as I slid down on top of him. My body adjusted to his size as he let out a low, guttural moan. He watched me as I lifted up slowly and fell back down with all my weight, making us both cry out. He cupped my breasts as his eyes remained glued to mine, his mouth parted, his eyes hooded as he bit his lip. I found it sexy as hell and began to move, taking all of him deep inside me. He brushed his thumb over his tongue and circled my clit, and I came quickly after. Still connected to me, he moved me beneath him, lacing our fingers as he thrust slowly inside me, stroking me deep but never breaking our locked eyes.
He came minutes later with my name on his lips like a prayer, his heart pounding in his chest. He never lost his grip on me as he adjusted our bodies so he was spooning me, and our legs became entangled.
“Way to go, Martin.”
We both chuckled before drifting back into a deep sleep.
“I’ve got to say, Dallas, you’re looking better every day. Wouldn’t have anything to do with an extremely tall, dark, and handsome doctor, would it?” Beatrice looked at me expectantly as I buried my face in my hands and, with it, my deep smile.
“Oh, honey, please give me something. I’ve been striking out at every turn. Humor a sick old lady.”
“Never been the type to kiss and tell,” I muffled into my hands, peeking over my fingers.
“Fine, at least tell me if it’s him,” she said in a whisper as a small group of nurses walked by.
“Of course it is,” I confirmed, grabbing my tablet and opening my appointment schedule.
“Uh huh.” She picked up the phone, answered, and held her finger up to me to keep me where I was. “I will let him know.” She put the phone back down.
“I’m happy for you, honey. Just remember he has a penis.”
“And?”
“Oh honey, you really need me to spell this out for you?”
I nodded before I said the words, dying for this explanation. “I think I do.”
“If he has a penis—”
I felt my phone vibrate and looked down at the text.
DEAN: I am really sick of you using me for my body. I think you should at least treat me to dinner once in a while.
I laughed out loud, and Beatrice grumbled under her breath about being too far gone to listen to good advice. It had been two weeks since he’d brought me back to his house, and I’d barely left. I had finally agreed to bring over a few changes of clothes and had only slept in my own bed once—and alone. The rest of the time, we made it work between our mad schedules. I was working endless hours in oncology, and when I wasn’t working with cases of my own, I was studying old cases similar to the ones I was diagnosing. I was making progress, and Dean had kept his promise to me by taking only the time I had to spare. He listened to my daily recap with interest, telling me about his own. I could only hope it remained another one of the reasons for the extra spring in my step. The deep gash in my chest seemed to be healing as the days passed. I knew I would eventually have questions I wanted answers to, but for now, I was happy with simply filling in the blanks.
It seemed the other half of my heart had returned, blazing a trail into the center of my universe, not suffocating any part of me as I feared. Dean only made my world brighter and better with each step we took together—and toward each other.
Today I had lunch to look forward to. Cammie, my old college roommate—who also roomed with me my first two years of medical school—was coming to see me for the first time since she moved to Oklahoma. She had signed on with her dad’s practice in Oklahoma City, and we hadn’t been able to see each other much since our trip after graduation. I greeted her with a hug in the cafeteria. We had agreed to have lunch in the hospital. I wanted to talk to her before I reintroduced her to Dean. She sat with her salad, eyeing the people around us. We made small talk, and she told me about her life in Oklahoma and how she was seriously thinking of joining me at Dallas Memorial. We discussed the possibility of her joining my practice in the next few years.
“So…any hotties here?”
“A few,” I answered vaguely.
“Oh shit, someone new? Since Josh?”
“Kind of,” I said with a smile. “I want you to be happy for me, okay? So, promise me you will hear me out.”
“He comes with a warning? This can’t be good.” Cammie had always been a bit leery of the opposite sex. She had no problem entertaining them but had absolutely zero tolerance for bullshit, which made her list of exes a long one. I’d always admired her for it, and at the same time, it made me dread this conversation all the more. I opened my mouth to speak when I was cut off.
“Hello, ladies. Wow, is that you, Cammie?” I stiffened upon hearing Dean’s voice. Cammie’s smile faded instantly as she looked up and saw Dean giving her a shit-eating grin. I braced myself.
“What in the fuck is he doing here?” She gave me an expectant look, and I shook my head. Cammie brushed her box-colored auburn hair out of her eyes and glared at Dean.
“Dean, give us a minute?” I looked up to see a stunned look on his face. He wasn’t used to this kind of reception. I hadn’t expected them to run into each other at all. Dean had told me he was on his way to an appointment when we spoke just before I met up with her.
“Is this who you’re seeing?” She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms, her face reddening with anger. I started to panic as words failed me. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was going to talk to her at lunch to test the waters and then possibly invite her for drinks later. I could see now it was a grave error in judgment. Waves of anger rolled off of her as she looked between Dean and me for a long minute. I saw her resolve take shape as she turned her attention to me.
“Are you out of your fucking mind? Do you not remember! Or should I remind you?”