by Hamel, B. B.
I thrust faster, rubbing, fucking. She’s moaning, eyes rolled back. I know she’s close. I know I can’t wait any longer.
She starts to come. Her pussy tightens as she does it, her hips start to shake. It sets me off, drives me wild. I try to keep working her clit but I lose myself in an explosive orgasm, filling her tight pussy.
We both groan, coming together, sweating together. I’m her Daddy and she’s my fucking gem. Everything else is wiped away in this moment, and everything is perfect.
We finish and I hold her in my arms, pulling her close. She breathes against my chest as I stand there. We support each other like that for what feels like a long time. My cock slowly goes soft inside of her, slips out on its own.
I kiss her neck. I kiss her lips. We get dressed in silence, almost like nothing just happened.
I hold her hand as we leave my office together.
15
Ruby
“Well, did the two of you make up?”
I smile at Grandmom and lean back in my chair. The day before flashes through my mind, his hands on my skin, his lips against mine.
“I think so,” I say, which is an understatement.
We definitely made up. Two more times after that first one.
I’m still sore from him fucking me deep and rough, but it’s the kind of sore that satisfies.
Every time I shift my position I can still feel him buried between my legs.
Grandmom smiles at me. “That’s good, honey.”
“I think so.”
“Now we just need to see what we can do about getting me out of here.”
I laugh a little. “I’ll see what I can do but I doubt he’ll listen to me.”
“No, I doubt that man listens to anyone.”
“Not about this, at least.”
She nods. “It’s a rare man that’ll stand up for what he thinks is right, no matter what.”
“Some people just call that ‘being stubborn,’ you know.”
“True.” She grins. “But when it’s a brilliant, handsome doctor, it’s not so bad.”
I laugh at that. The feeling in the room is surprisingly light, considering recently I thought she was about to freaking die.
That seizure aside, ever since Aiden took over this case, she’s been getting steadily better. Today she’s even more lucid, even stronger than I thought she’d ever be again.
I’d be lying if I said that I thought I’d ever see my grandmother the way she used to be again. I was the one that found her the first day, the one that brought her into the hospital.
I was visiting her like I do at least once a week. I knocked, but didn’t get an answer, which is weird. Normally she yells at me to come in.
Nothing that afternoon. Just silence. Fortunately she never locks her door, so I opened it and went inside.
I found her sitting in her normal chair, passed out, her lips blue.
I freaked, called an ambulance. I thought she was dead.
Of course, she wasn’t. I guess I saved her life, or at least I got the lifesaving process started.
Now she’s the total opposite of that person slumped in her favorite chair, looking about as dead as a person can look without actually being dead.
She’s smiling. She’s laughing. There’s a light behind her eyes that wasn’t there when we first got here.
It’s strange, how quickly she’s improving, but I’m not going to question it.
Aiden knows what he’s doing.
“Well, I don’t know what I’m going to do with that handsome doctor, so,” I say, shrugging. “I mean, he’s twice my age.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she says dismissively.
“It does to a lot of people. You’re weirdly progressive for your age, you know.”
“Or regressive. Lots of people in my generation married older men that they didn’t love just to have someone to take care of them.”
I wince a little. “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“I know that,” she says softly. “I’m just saying, I’m really not so progressive.”
I roll my eyes at her and we laugh together. We fall back into normal chatting, talking about mostly nothing, the hospital, the food, normal stuff.
It feels normal. It feels good.
Eventually, I decide to call it a night. I know Aiden’s busy with rounds and I’m tired and need a good night’s sleep. I kiss Grandmom on the cheek and head out, already dreaming about my comfortable couch and The Great British Bake Off.
I move down the hallway, past the nurse’s station. I nod at Jackie and she smiles at me. As I head toward the elevators, an older woman with short blonde hair and a severe smile waves at me.
I stop short and blink. I don’t recognize the woman, but she’s wearing a very professional looking outfit, like she belongs here or something. She smiles and cocks her head slightly at me.
“Ruby, right?” she asks.
I nod. “Uh, hi. I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.”
“My name is Liza Cutter,” she says, holding a hand out. She’s wearing a surprising amount of bracelets and her nails are painted light blue.
I shake her hand. “Nice to meet you. How, uh, do you know me?”
“I’m the director of medicine here at Jefferson,” she says, still smiling.
Oh, shit. The name suddenly clicks into place. Aiden’s mentioned her before, Liza, his boss.
Oh, shit-fucking shit.
I keep a smile plastered on my face as she releases my hand.
“Dot’s doing well, isn’t she?” Liza asks me.
“Uh, yeah,” I say.
“All thanks to Dr. Hill.”
I try to keep the fear out of my expression. “He’s doing a good job.”
“More than a good job. I think your grandmother will be leaving here fairly soon, don’t you think?”
“I hope so.”
Liza beams at me, but I can sense something else. There’s a tension in her expression, like she’s afraid of something.
I want to get out of here. I know I shouldn’t be talking to Liza. I know the freaking director of medicine would never bother with a random patient’s granddaughter unless that random patient’s granddaughter was fucking one of her star doctors.
It’s obvious what this is about, and the longer we stand here doing this weird small talk dance, the more I’m about to freak the fuck out.
Breathe. Calm down.
There’s no way she knows anything for sure.
Everything she hears is just a rumor. Aiden even said so himself: just rumor.
Just the nurses chatting.
But I don’t know what I’ll do when she asks about it. I never discussed it with Aiden.
Do I lie? Do I tell the truth? I don’t know what this woman would do if I lie, or what she’d do if I told the truth.
She could kick my grandmother out of here. She could fire Aiden.
Fucking fuck.
“So, has Dr. Hill been… ah… respectful since he took over your grandmother’s case?”
That question throws me. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Dr. Hill has something of a reputation, you see, for being very… short with patients.”
I can’t help but smile a little at that understatement. “He’s been okay,” I manage to say.
“Good, good.”
“My grandmother likes him. I think she finds him very authoritative. It’s almost comforting her for.”
“That’s very good. Yes, Dr. Hill can come off that way sometimes. Other times, he’s just…”
“Difficult?” I supply.
“Yes, that’s a kind way of putting it.” She sighs a little. “Good. I like to check in on his patients and their families, just to make sure he isn’t doing something stupid.”
Relief slowly floods through me. Of course this is what she does. She’s the one that deals with hospital lawsuits and all that stuff.
She has an interest in making sure Aiden doesn’t piss
anyone off. She plays damage control with him.
That’s pretty amazing, actually. I know he’s talented, but to have the director of medicine herself coming down to play defense for you… that’s impressive.
He must be way more valuable than I even realized.
Liza gives me a big smile. “Well, okay. Glad we had a chance to chat, Ruby.”
“Me too,” I say. “Really, Dr. Hill’s been great. No problems here.”
“Good to hear,” she says, and starts to walk away.
I smile at her, stepping toward the elevators. I feel like I’m going to get away. My apartment is calling for me.
Liza turns back. “Oh, by the way. When did you start sleeping with him?”
I stop dead in my tracks. I stare at the floor. I feel like she just plunged a spear into my back.
I slowly turn toward her.
“What do you mean?” I ask like a moron.
Her smile is dripping venom. “Ruby, come on. You think you’re the first?”
Something rocks through me. A shockwave, a tremor. “Excuse me?”
She sighs. “You don’t have to protect him.”
“I’m not,” I say. Confusion rolls along my spine.
I’m not the first?
What the hell does that mean?
She steps toward me, pitches her voice lower to make sure nobody can overhear her.
“Listen Ruby, you’re young, and I’ll admit, Dr. Hill is very attractive. Everyone knows the effect he has on women.”
“Uh,” I manage to say, feeling like this is the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced.
“But you can’t sleep with him,” she continues. “It’s against hospital policy, but more than that, it’s dangerous for your grandmother. If you distract Dr. Hill, or make him biased in his decisions, he could do something to hurt her by mistake. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I say, a strangled whisper.
“Please, stop seeing him. Stop sleeping with him. You can do better. Find someone your own age, for example.”
Anger flashes through me. She doesn’t fucking know me, not at all. She doesn’t know what I want or need.
I open my mouth, but stop myself.
There have been others?
“I’m glad we chatted,” she says again. “Please think about what I said. I’d keep my distance, for everyone’s sake.”
She turns and leaves, heels clacking a clipped rhythm on the tile floor.
I stare after her like a moron before slowly turning and getting into the elevator.
I don’t remember riding it down. I don’t remember getting home.
I just keep thinking one thing, over and over.
Others?
What others?
16
Aiden
I collapse onto my couch and stare at the fireplace, my mind a total blank, my body feeling heavy.
It’s like I’m never fucking home these days. I’m either sleeping at the hospital or I’m out somewhere. My townhouse has become just another place I go to sleep once in a while.
I manage to get up and make myself a drink. It’s late, after eleven. I have an early shift tomorrow but fuck it. I need a drink.
I sit back down and kick my feet up. I turn on The Great British Bake Off and lose myself in the syrupy, sappy, absurd British food show.
But it doesn’t last. My phone starts ringing after a few minutes.
I want to ignore it. It’ll probably be the fucking hospital. I mean, who else calls me this late?
I frown and sigh. I can’t ignore it and I know it. I grab my phone and look at the screen, surprised to see Ruby’s name.
“Ruby?” I say, answering it.
“I need to talk to you,” she says.
She doesn’t sound happy.
“What happened?”
“Your boss cornered me,” she says.
Shit.
“I’ll send a car for you, okay? Come to my house.”
She hesitates a second. “Okay, fine. Hurry up.”
I hang up the phone, wait a second, and call the car service I use from time to time.
I finish my first drink and pour a second. I don’t know why I feel nervous, but the thought of Liza talking with Ruby drives me fucking crazy.
I’ve had a strange relationship with Liza for a long time. She’s not exactly an ally, but she does clean up my messes with patient families sometimes. She gives me the space and the resources I need to succeed, and turns a blind eye to a lot of what I do.
But she’s also constantly watching. She’s breathing down my neck, waiting for me to really fuck up. I know she wants to get rid of me, and only enables me because it’s easier than fighting the board for my dismissal.
This, though, this can be bad. This might lead to her finally getting her way.
Or worse, depending on what sort of bullshit she told Ruby.
Liza is a hospital administrator. Lying and bullshit are her specialties.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she said something awful to Ruby just to get her to flip.
I pace around my living room until, twenty minutes after I first called the service, there’s a knock at my door.
I answer it quickly. Ruby looks tired as she steps into my house for the first time.
“Nice place,” she says, standing in the foyer. There’s a table, a mirror, a painting, and a closet to the right. Up ahead is a staircase, and beyond that are the living room and the kitchen.
I lead her toward the back. “Want some wine?” I ask her.
“Sure.”
I get her a glass and open a bottle of red. I have no clue if it’s any good or not.
She sits at my table, crossing her legs.
“Very nice,” she says. “But it doesn’t look like anyone actually lives here.”
I look around. “What do you mean?”
She frowns, accepting the glass of wine. “There’s no personality. It’s spotless.”
“I keep it neat.”
“It’s like a hotel room.”
I shrug. “It basically is. I’m not here all that much.”
“I guess I’m not surprised.”
I hesitate a second. I’m afraid to get into this, but no sense in putting it off.
“What happened?” I ask, sitting down across from her.
She sighs, looks at the floor, and sips her wine. “I shouldn’t even be here.”
I narrow my eyes. “Ruby. What happened?”
“Liza cornered me as I was leaving my grandmom’s room,” she says.
“And?”
She shakes her head and suddenly looks up at me. “Were there others?”
I frown. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”
“Others,” she says, looking angry now. “Other girls, other… patients.”
I blink, surprised. “Is that what Liza said?”
“Yes. Is it true?”
I feel my anger flare up. I knew Liza would tell Ruby some bullshit, but I never expected her to stoop so fucking low.
“No,” I say. “Never. I’ve never been with a patient, or a family member of a patient, before you.”
Ruby takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Why would Liza tell me that?”
“She wants to get rid of me. She thinks I’m an asset, but also a huge liability.”
“But you said she wants to keep you around because of all that business you bring.”
“That’s not the whole story.” I shift in my chair. “I have an ex-girlfriend on the board.”
Ruby looks surprised. “Oh,” she says.
“Her name is Amber. We met in college, dated for a little while, but it never got serious. We’re friendly now, and she… I guess she protects me.”
“Why didn’t you mention her sooner?”
I grit my teeth. “Because I’m stupid. Because I was afraid of how you’d react.”
Ruby watches me carefully. “I know you had a life before me.”
“It was a long time ago.
”
“I don’t care about that. I just… I don’t know. I don’t want to feel like I’m just another patient conquest to you.”
“Ruby, you’re not.” I stand, go over to her. I kneel down next to her again, take her hand. “I swear, you’re far from that.”
“Liza asked about our relationship, but I told her we don’t have one,” she says. “Was that the right thing to do?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s what I would’ve told you to do, at least.”
She nods. “Okay. Good. I just… I don’t want to let you down, Aiden.”
“I know you don’t. I don’t want you to feel trapped in the middle of this power struggle.”
“Just please, tell me everything, okay? So I can understand.”
“I promise.” I kiss her softly. “I’ll tell you everything.”
Ruby takes a breath and lets it out. She looks at me, her face brightening. “Now that I’m here, you might as well give me a tour of this hotel.”
I grin at her. “Okay, but let me warn you, it doesn’t get much better from here.”
“That’s okay.”
We stand, still holding hands, and I lead her upstairs.
17
Ruby
I follow him upstairs, my heart beating hard in my chest.
He was right. The upstairs isn’t much better. More gray, more boring, bland decorations. I can’t say I’m really surprised but I guess I expected something a little more… human? Not warm, though, definitely not warm.
We reach the end of a hall and he pushes open a door. I follow him into his bedroom as he shuts the door behind me.
“Here it is,” he says. “Where I sleep when I’m here.”
I look around. The room has bare gray walls and a gray and black color scheme.
“It’s very colorful,” I say.
He grins. “I know. I moved in like this and never bothered to do anything with it.”
“No, really, I love it. Screams ‘serial killer’ but in a good way, you know.”
He grins at me and walks over to his bed, sitting at the end. “Maybe that’s the impression I want to give off.”
