Filthy Doctor(206)

She hated him for never making the choice to pick them, hated him for never being around. Now, all she felt was indifference. Sure, he had cried and held her mothers’ hand, but ultimately he had gone back home, leaving her wondering about the life they could have had. She would look him up from time to time, and see the faces of her two half-brothers that never even knew she existed. She was essentially alone in the world, except for Andre, and that was a mess as usual.

He was a musician, and beautifully talented. She loved him, or at least she thought so. He always seemed to be busy these days, never having time for her. But then that’s what you had to do to make it big in the music business. Not to mention he often commented on how her dieting was going, trying to motivate her to do more and to get healthier. She knew her weight was an issue for him, especially when he always had women falling all over him. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be working, at least not quickly anyway. They had plans to meet tomorrow, and she couldn’t wait to hear all about the new developments on his album. She just had to be careful to not make him angry.

It wasn’t that he wanted to hurt her, in fact he hated himself anytime anything happened between them. Nothing had happened yet, but he would get so angry and from time to time she would get a little scared of him. He never touched her, but he had thrown a thing or two to get his point across. He was obviously under a lot of stress with his career. All she could do was be supportive and do her best to try to help him. She made her way out of the rooms and down the long hall to the garden to walk, she loved it there more than any other place on the ranch.

The weather was beautiful this time of year and she loved being able to enjoy it. She settled into a lounge chair, face upturned as she let her eyes close to enjoy the cool breeze that flowed over her skin. Taking deep breaths, she felt a sense of peace wash over her. It could have been an hour, or even two before she realized she had fallen asleep. She heard the crunch of gravel and knew now that someone had woken her. She sat up with a start and found herself face to face with him.

“You have a habit of napping in the garden?” He let his gaze linger, looking her over.

“No.” She said with an edge, jumping to her feet as she did. “I suppose I was just relaxed that’s all.” She crossed her arms waiting. She couldn’t leave the area until he moved out of her way, which by looking at his face he was well aware of.

He smiled at her as he leaned on the twisted oak. “You missed lunch.” He said it simply and she met his gaze.

“I wasn’t hungry.” She lifted her chin another notch. He chuckled.

“Well, perhaps I will see you at dinner then?” He waited for her to answer.

“Perhaps.” She knew it was weak at best, but it was almost like saying no.

He smiled at her once more, then sat down on the bench near the entrance. “So, how is mom doing, really?”

She felt his tone turn serious, and she relaxed. She couldn’t handle the charming side of him it unnerved her. But this… this she could do. She sat beside him.

“She’s actually doing much better than before. Her white count is lower and her blood pressure under control. She goes in to see Dr. Baker every few weeks, and he helps me keep her on track. She can be…. Well...”

“Combative?” He finished for her. “Yes, I know.”

“I think she just gets tired of life keeping her from doing what she wants.” She said it simply enough.

She felt his gaze on her face once more. “What about you Lila?”

She swallowed hard. “What do you mean? What about me?”

He leaned back on the bench, breaking his gaze on her. “Well, tell me about you. I let the agency find a few people, but my mother ultimately made the decision on who she wanted to have here. I never get to have an opinion, so this is my chance to get to know everyone.”

She sighed. “Well, I am a nurse; I grew up in Covington. I love your mother, and I love this ranch.” She shrugged. “Not much else to tell.”

“What about family?” He leaned up once more, this time closer to her. “Parents, siblings… boyfriend?”

She felt the heat creep in unexpectedly. He wasn’t touching her, but she felt the heat off of him like he was branding her skin. “No, no family. I do have a boyfriend.”

He focused his gaze on her mouth and she parted her lips subconsciously. He moved his eyes up then, until his eyes locked with hers. “You are a beautiful woman, Lila, so that doesn’t surprise me.” He almost whispered it to her.

She blushed, something she rarely did. He had an intoxicating effect on her. She averted her eyes, looking down at the ground.

“Thank You.” She gritted the words out.

The spell broken, he looked around them once more. “This garden has always been a part of this house. Did you know the gardens were designed first, and the house built around it?”

She shook her head.

“It’s true, my great great grandmother loved flowers more than anything in the world and my great great grandfather had them all planted so that when he brought her out here, to show her the land she would see her living bouquet. They planned the house around this.” He gestured to the massive expanse of foliage. “Of course it’s grown since then, but still, it’s the heart of the ranch.”

She smiled. “That’s beautiful.” She looked at him smiling, she watched his face shift once more.

“I want to kiss you Lila, boyfriend or not. I have a habit of just saying what I want, and I usually get it. With you there is a challenge in you, but I’m going to kiss you nonetheless.”

Before she could say anything she felt his hand on her back, pulling her into him, his mouth crushing hers in a kiss. She had no time to react, or to tell him no. Instead he just took what he wanted which seemed to be his way about most things. He raked his lips over hers, he slipped his tongue in, to taste of her honeyed sweetness and she felt the heat rolling up her body like a flash wave. She had no control as she kissed him back, giving him as much as he gave her. She felt him let her go and he stood then, moving back from her.

“You are quite a mystery Lila, and that was one hell of a kiss.” He turned on a heel, whistling as he left, sauntering down the path leading back to the main house.

She wasn’t sure if she was pleasantly surprised, or furious. Eventually anger won and she swore softly under her breath. Who does something like that? Just kisses someone? She stood then, smoothing down her dress and made her way into the other wing of the house, careful to avoid Ray at all costs. The biggest problem was she wasn’t sure who she was mad at more. Him for kissing her or herself for liking it.



Ray

“I don’t understand why I am being suspended for three games. The asshole had it coming.” He knew getting angry wouldn’t help his case, but he didn’t care.

“Ray, finding a guy in bed with your girlfriend is hardly a reason to beat the guy into the emergency room. You have to get a handle on the anger man.” His agent, Carter managed to get out.

“It had nothing to do with that, and she isn’t my girlfriend anyway… you know what fine. How much of it is leaking to the press, can you tell me that much?”

“None as far as I can tell. This guy wants to sue, but his lawyer is advising against it. I doubt it will get very far Ray, just take the time off and stay with your mom a bit until it blows over… but I meant what I said about the anger man, I tell you this as a friend.”

He tossed his phone on the counter top and with a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair. The whole situation was bigger than just some woman, but he didn’t feel like going into it, not with him anyway. He had already been there a week and although he knew his mother would like him being there, and the time spent but he knew himself. If he stayed too long he would have Lila in his bed in no time, and she would get moon-eyed over him like others he had known. He smiled, he may be wrong about that last part. Oh, he was sure she would be in his bed; she had kissed him back after all. There was something there, something untapped in her. He wasn’t sure about her being moon-eyed though, she really seemed to not like him very much.

He smiled, thinking about the kiss once more. She was a giver, just like him, he could tell that. It would be something good when it happened, and it would. She had a boyfriend, or so she said. He would figure that out first. After the situation with Angie, he didn’t want to mess up her life if she had something good going. But then she could have made the whole boyfriend thing up. All he did know is that she had been avoiding him for a week. Soon, he would know. Even now his hands itched to run over the perfect roundness of her hips, and pull her into him and bury himself deep inside her. She was more than some meek and mild model, and far more delightful than a viper like the one he had left behind.

He made his way down to the living room, and found his mother there, laughing lightly with Jeannie.

“Oh Raymond, I was just telling Miss Jeannie here about the time we all went camping and you fell into the lake.” She fell into a fit of laughter.

He couldn’t help but join, “I don’t remember it being quite that funny, mom. I had an awful cold for weeks after that.” He laughed with her and smiled when he heard his mother’s buzzer going off once more. He waited, knowing she would be there soon.