The Doctor's Secret Bride(9)

He scooted off the desk and walked around to sit in his chair, but as he tried to escape the intense immediacy, Erik knew that putting physical distance between them was meaningless. He was so hard, he hurt.

His gaze shifted to the portrait of his wife as if she could help cool the fire in his veins. The fingers of his right hand mindlessly toyed with the gold wedding band on his left as he studied her classic pose. She was seated in a Victorian chair in front of the fireplace over which the painting was hung. She looked like a queen in a long flowing red dress—a red rose wedged between her fingers. Her flaming red hair completely covered her bare creamy shoulders. That was his Cassie. Elegant, sophisticated, and…

“She was very beautiful.”

The mellow voice interrupted his musing. “Yes, she was.” He met the million-dollar question in Michelle’s eyes and to avoid it, he immediately asked, “Do you really only wear jeans and tank tops?” He groaned inwardly at how the question sounded, especially after he’d been admiring his wife’s portrait.

“Why? Don’t you like my style?”

“Well,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully. “I was just hoping you had something a little less... How should I say this? Um—”

“Trashy?”

“I was thinking… provocative.”

“Oh.” She smiled tentatively. “The truth is, most of my clothes were stolen from a laundromat. Since I lost my job, I could only afford to splurge at thrift stores. They don’t carry much for tall skinny girls, I’m afraid. Actually, I was at the laundromat when the agency called me. I hardly had time to finish my wash and get here. I was planning on wearing a jacket over the top, but when I got in the cab I realized I’d left it hanging on the doorknob. I didn’t have time to go back.”

So the explanation she’d given him earlier was payback for the lie he’d told Mrs. Hayes to relay, Erik thought with a smile.

He knew that Michelle’s world, where people went out to do their laundry and had their clothes stolen, existed. He attended patients at the free clinic in Manchester who came from that world. He was just never part of it. He’d never lived in it.

Even though the circumstances surrounding his birth had raised a few eyebrows in the elite circle, he was born and raised in wealth. His late wife had also come from a wealthy family. Michelle Carter on the other hand had been born and raised in poverty.

As he gazed at her standing in front of him in clothes that someone else had worn and discarded, Erik felt a strong protectiveness toward her. He wanted to provide all the luxuries she’d been denied. Yes, he was physically attracted to the girl, but something about her touched a place deep inside him, a place no other woman—but Cassie—had ever been able to reach. Strange, since the two women were as different as pink diamonds and cubic zirconias. Nevertheless, he couldn’t have her walking around the house or the neighborhood so distastefully dressed. “I’ll give you some money for a new wardrobe,” he said, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

Her shoulders stiffened and her eyes flashed with pride. “I don’t take charity.”

“Who said it was charity? Consider it an advance on your first paycheck.”

Her lips relaxed into a smile. “That, I will accept.”

Erik pulled out a stack of bills from his wallet and handed them to her.

“Thank you.” She tucked them into the pocket of her jeans without even looking at them.

Erik sensed her embarrassment for having to accept pay she hadn’t yet earned, especially in cash. A check would have been the normal and appropriate form of payment, but she would have had to wait the usual two days for it to clear, and he needed her clothed in proper attire immediately. “I noticed you brought your suitcase,” he said in an attempt to break the awkward silence between them. “Were you so sure you would get the job?”#p#分页标题#e#

She crossed her arms about her body. “I can be very persuasive when I want something.”

Nothing kept her down for long, and she possessed an uninhibited streak he found absolutely enticing, Erik thought as he watched amusement sparkle in her eyes. His gaze roamed down her body as she tightened her arms across her chest, causing her breasts to push upward and her nipples to strain against the stretchy material of her top.

“Well, that’s it for now,” he said, eager to have her gone. “Your bedroom is next to Precious’. Up the stairs, third door on your left. I’ll bring your suitcase up.”

“Thanks for giving me this chance, and the advance on my salary, Dr. La—”