Beware Of Me(15)
Though she didn’t exactly know why.
Dr. Keith Nelson had come with the highest possible recommendation from her previous psychiatrist. He was an up-and-coming therapist with a thriving practice. Dr. Nelson was in his mid-thirties, with thick, blond hair, and a handsome but serious face. The glasses he wore—they gave him a distinguished air, though she’d secretly started to suspect he wore those glasses just for that air.
“Does this have anything to do…” Dr. Nelson asked her, “with the gentleman I saw you embracing outside of the building?”
She tried not to let her surprise show. The shrink had been watching that scene?
“Because,” he continued before she could respond, “I saw that you let him touch you, and touch has been such a very big issue for you to overcome.”
The ticking of the clock on the wall seemed incredibly loud. “This isn’t about Ethan.”
“Ethan.” He paused, then said, “Your voice softens when you say his name. You already feel a-a connection with him?”
The problem with shrinks—they could see too much. And when she felt like hiding, that wasn’t a good thing.
“Do you really believe you’re ready for a normal relationship?” Dr. Nelson pressed.
At that question, she had to laugh. “Who said anything about normal?” Normal wasn’t for her. She’d realized that long ago. Carly rose from the couch and paced to the window. When she looked down, yes, she could see Ethan’s car. But there was no sign of Ethan. Was he waiting inside the vehicle for her, shielded behind those tinted windows? Her hand lifted and touched the glass. “Normal is overrated. It’s not what I need. I’ve realized that.” She’d tried to stick herself in a normal world for so long, and she’d felt nothing. But when Ethan had come back into her life…
“Does he know about your attack?”
“Yes.”
Silence. Then… “While I applaud the level of intimacy you’re reaching by sharing with your new partner, I must caution you to—”
“No more caution. I’ve had plenty of caution.” Brisk now, she turned away from the window and faced the psychiatrist. When had he moved so close to her? “Thanks for all of your help, but I’m going to be taking a—”
He caught her hands in his. She flinched instantly and tried to draw back, but he held her tightly. “Do you see this?”
“Take your hands off me.” Her voice was flat.
“You aren’t done with therapy. You still tense up when I get too close—when most men do.”
Not Ethan.
His eyes narrowed behind the lenses of his glasses, as if he’d just read her thoughts. Isn’t that what shrinks are supposed to do? Know the patients, inside and out? “So you found one man who doesn’t scare you,” he said. “What happens when you’re done with him? Or when he’s done with you? I can help you. You need me.”
“Right now, I need you to let go of my hands.” She wasn’t going to say it again. If she had to do it, she’d be kneeing him in the groin or shoving her high heel down on his foot, just like she’d done to her attacker in the subway.
His lips parted. He glanced down at her hands. His fingers slid up, almost…caressing her wrists.
That one touch—it was wrong. She knew it with utter certainty. A caress. Far too intimate for a doctor to give his patient. It felt wrong.
She jerked away from him. “Trust me, I don’t need you.” She should have listened to her instincts with him long ago.
Shock had slackened his face. “Carly, I didn’t mean—” He broke off as heat stained his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I-I overstepped.”
And it was time for her to step out. “Bill me,” Carly said as she marched briskly for the door. “Because we are done.” Then she yanked open the door and swept past the empty reception area. As soon as she entered the elevator, she whirled back around because she’d heard the rush of footsteps following her.
“Carly, please!” Now Dr. Nelson’s voice broke a bit. “Let me explain.”
Blindly, she jabbed the buttons on the elevator. She wanted those damn doors to close.
“I…I feel deeply for you, Carly. I didn’t plan it, I—”
The doors closed before she could hear any more of his confession.
She sagged back. Some days were bad. Some days…were freaking insane.
***
Ethan’s fingers drummed against his knee. Carly hadn’t been inside the building very long. Maybe ten minutes, fifteen max.
So why was an edge of worry knifing through him?
He opened his door and glanced up at the building. Charles was still seated in the front of the vehicle. They weren’t exactly parked legally there, and when he glanced to the right, Ethan saw a cop approaching. Figured. Cops could usually smell him from a mile away.