by Tara Rose
“I bought it a long time ago and never threw it away.” He gazed into Vivian’s eyes, smiling. “And now I’m very glad I never did.”
Preston grabbed her breasts, teasing the nipples into taut points. She found it so incredibly erotic that neither man had taken off their clothes yet, and she loved it that they were holding her arms down. It made her feel like she had no choice but to submit to them.
Where had Luke been hiding this? And had Preston always been this way, or had this arrangement brought out his kinky side? He obviously had one, as evidenced by his recent admission of having bought the paddle a long time ago.
Finally, he slid his dick into her pussy, and fucked her as hard and deep as Luke had done. When she came, Luke let go of her arms to play with her breasts, and Preston pulled out to lick her pussy juices until she swore she was going to have another orgasm.
When Preston stopped licking her pussy, Luke rolled her over onto her stomach again, and then pulled her toward the edge of the bed. “Stand on the floor and lean over.” She did as he asked, and then her arms were pulled behind her back. Before she could process what he’d done, Preston had bound her wrists together with her own bra.
“Is this too tight?” he asked.
“No. Not at all.”
He kissed her neck. “Good. I have a drawer full of toys at home to play with, so next time, we’ll do this right.”
She was completely at their mercy now, and the arousal coursing through her was crazy. They pushed a pillow under her hips to raise her ass in the air, and then they took turns fucking her in the pussy from behind. Each thrust massaged her clit, and Vivian couldn’t believe it when her body responded with another orgasm.
She was so sore, but it also felt so damn good that there was no way she’d ask them to stop. Preston pulled her hair as he fucked her, and she cried out as fresh desire raced through her. “Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you look right now?”
She didn’t answer him. She couldn’t. All she could do was moan as he let go and then pulled out. Luke took his place, and he smacked her sore ass cheeks with his hand. “You belong to us now, Vivian. All of you. We’ve claimed you. And we’re going to wear you out.”
You already have. But she loved this. She never wanted it to end. She heard them put on condoms, and then her ass was filled with two warm, wet fingers. He gently stretched the walls, and then a cock was inside it, fucking her deeply.
They took turns like that, until finally each man came, crying out loudly as he thrust in jerky spasms to squeeze out every last drop of cum. Her wrists were untied, and Luke carried her to the bathroom where they both washed her off as if she were a child. Vivian couldn’t do anything except stand there and let them.
When she crawled into bed, she remembered the mess in the kitchen, but they said they’d clean it up. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, dreaming of her two perfect men.
* * * *
The week went by quickly for Vivian. She was busy at work, which was always a good thing since Sin Hospital needed to increase their staffing to keep up with the planned expansion. She saw Preston every day, even if they only had five stolen minutes in her office, and she spoke with Luke as often as possible by phone or text.
The three ate supper together each evening, alternating homes, and she spent the night with them each time. They watched TV or simply sat and talked after they ate, and Vivian learned more about Preston every day. He and Luke seemed to be getting along fine, and once again she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It was almost too good to be true, but she told herself she felt that way because their relationship defied all the rules. She had no frame of reference for it. When she brought up her feelings in front of Luke and Preston, Luke, as usual, had the perfect answer.
“Hon, how can you expect to know what a normal relationship feels like? You were married to Cletus less than a year when he was arrested, and you spent the next ten hardly ever seeing him.”
She nodded. “That’s true, I suppose. I never looked at it that way before but you’re right, of course.”
“And then he betrayed you,” said Preston. “I’m sure you had dreams and plans of what your life would be like with him once he was released.”
“Oh, I sure did. I was even foolish enough to think I’d have a child one day.”
The men exchanged a glance. “Ah, you still can,” said Preston.
“Yeah,” said Luke. “You’re certainly not past the age where you can do that.”
She blinked a few times. “But…I mean…”
Luke reached over and took her hand. “Vivian, if you want a baby, I’m all for it. And I wouldn’t care which one of us fathered it.”
Her pulse raced. “You’d be all right with that? I mean because of Jacob?”
“I never got the chance to be his daddy,” he said quietly. “What I mean is that he was too young to know anything about what having a daddy really means. I’d love a second chance at that.”
“Family is what you make it,” said Preston. “It wouldn’t matter to me, either. The only reason I can see having a paternity test would be for medical purposes, but we could keep it secret unless it was a need to know situation.”
She put a hand over her heart. “Y’all have overwhelmed me. You really have.”
“In a good way, I hope,” said Preston.
“Yes. In a good way.”
“Nothing has to be decided tonight,” said Luke. “But now it’s out there. So you think about it, and we can revisit it if you want to. There’s plenty of time.”
“Time is something we all have now,” said Preston.
* * * *
Friday morning, Vivian was in the middle of reading a long, intricate e-mail when her desk phone rang. It was one of the extensions in the ICU, and she picked it up, hoping it was Preston sneaking in a quick call.
“Miss Vivian, this is Kay-Jean Harrell. Do you have a moment to visit with me? It’s important.”
Vivian rolled her eyes. She didn’t have a minute, and especially not to visit with Kay-Jean. A talk with Kay-Jean usually took an hour, minimum. She was one of those nurses who saw ethical violations everywhere she looked, and was offended by just about anything.
“Sure, Kay-Jean. Come on over.”
Vivian’s daddy always used to tell her that if you’re looking to be offended, you’ll always find someone who does that for you. Not one of Kay-Jean’s accusations had ever panned out. She’d mentioned Kay-Jean in passing to her aunt Millie one day and got an earful about Kay-Jean’s family, and how they were just plain mean folk. Aunt Millie told Vivian to stay clear of them, but that was hardly possible in her current role.
Vivian always tried to keep a neutral tone in her voice whenever she spoke to Kay-Jean, but inside she was usually screaming in frustration and anger. As soon as Kay-Jean walked into Vivian’s office, she knew this was going to be a whopper of an accusation, simply from the set of her jaw. Kay-Jean was the same age as Vivian, but she looked much older. She’d led a hard life, and Vivian imagined being angry and at odds with everyone all the time didn’t help.
This morning, she didn’t wait for Vivian to invite her to sit down. Kay-Jean took a seat across from her and simply blurted it out. “You know that new doctor in the ICU? The one from up north?”
Vivian forced her face to remain impassive, but her palms were suddenly damp and her mouth went bone dry in two seconds flat. “Yes.”
“He assaulted me, Miss Vivian. In the men’s locker room. Not one hour ago.”
Vivian couldn’t even answer her. It was the first time in her professional career that she was at a loss for words. This couldn’t be real. She had to be making it up.
Kay-Jean sniffed and wiped tears with a Kleenex. “I was walking past the locker room to the women’s bathroom, and I heard someone call out to me. It was a man, and I asked what was wrong. I thought it was someone who needed help, but I didn’t realize at first where the voice was coming from.”
“Was anyone else around?” It was a standard question in accusations of any kind. Witnesses were always better, but it didn’t matter in the long run. All violations such as these had to be taken seriously, witnesses or not.
“No. It was during shift change. Mostly everyone was still in report, but I had to use the facilities.”
“All right. What happened next?” Vivian detached herself from the reality and slipped into autopilot. It was the only way to keep from bolting. This couldn’t be real. Preston had not lied to her about the nurse’s allegations in Chicago, and he had not laid one finger on Kay-Jean Harrell. It couldn’t be true.
“Well, he called out to me again from inside the locker room, and said he needed my help with something. I thought it was odd, but I went inside anyway. You know me, Miss Vivian. I help others. I was raised that way.”
Vivian’s radar would have been on high alert at this point whether or not it was Preston that Kay-Jean had accused. Kay-Jean’s story had just taken an odd turn. Years of listening to false allegations had taught her to watch for subtle signs. And while part of her rejoiced at the realization that this was likely bullshit, the very real threat remained.
“I know you were, Kay-Jean. Did you recognize his voice?”
Why was Kay-Jean doing this? Had something happened with her and Preston, and she’d misinterpreted it? Had she looked up the lawsuit online?
“No, I did not.”
“What happened when you went inside?”
Kay-Jean sniffed again and wiped her tears. “Well, Miss Vivian, this is very difficult to talk about.”
“Try, please. I need to know what happened.”
“Shouldn’t we call the sheriff?”
Oh God no… “I will if you want me to.” She’d have no choice if that’s what it came down to. Vivian was so afraid right now for Preston that she thought she was going to faint.
“Well, let’s just see if this can’t be taken care of another way first. You know I don’t want to cause anyone trouble.”
“If that’s what you prefer. What about security? Do you want me to call them?”
“No. That won’t be necessary, will it?”
“I’ll have to notify them, but you only need to fill out one report and it will go them, as well. What happened when you went inside the locker room?”
“He locked the door, and then he grabbed me.” She sniffed again. “Around the waist. No, wait…he grabbed me ’round the…” She pointed toward her chest. “Around my bosom. And then he tried to kiss me.”
Vivian wrapped her hand around a paper clip and slid it into her lap. She jabbed one end of it into the opposite palm, under the desk where Kay-Jean couldn’t see, just to keep from screaming. If this woman was telling the truth, she was the Queen of England.
“What did you do then, Kay-Jean?”
“I hollered at him to let me go, but he just laughed at me. And then I jabbed him in the gut with my elbow and he sort of fell out, you know?”
“Did he fall to the ground?”
“Well, not really. He bent over, clutching his gut where I jabbed him, and then he told me I’d be sorry.”
“What did you do then?”
“I ran. And I had to take care of my patients, but then just as soon as I could I called you. What should I do, Miss Vivian?”
You could start by telling me the truth. “I’ll have to set up a meeting with Jackie and Dr. Benson.” Jackie Jones was the Clinical Nurse Manager of the ICU. “This has to be addressed as soon as possible.”
Vivian’s hands were shaking, but she pulled up the appropriate form on the hospital website. “I’m sending you the link to the formal complaint form I’ll need you to fill out, and I’m copying Jackie and Dr. Benson on it.” She had to copy Joe Tyler, the risk manager as well, but Kay-Jean didn’t need another name to add to her arsenal. That was internal HR business, anyway.
“Oh, thank you, Miss Vivian. I knew this was the right thing to do. Like I said, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but this just ain’t right.”
Vivian didn’t hit ‘send’ on the e-mail yet. Not quite yet. “Is there anything else I can do for you right now, Kay-Jean?”
Kay-Jean rose, her tears mysteriously gone now. “No, I’ll be fine. Thank you again.”
Kay-Jean left, and Vivian put her head down on her desk until she stopped shaking. Then she texted Preston and told him they needed to talk, as soon as possible, and that it was very, very important. She also told him to expect an unpleasant e-mail at his work address, and that she had no choice but to send it.
Her worst nightmare had come true, but she knew that wasn’t the half of it. In her heart, Vivian knew that Kay-Jean had told a big fat lie. But no one else would care about that, even if the truth did come out. Preston was a Yankee, and it wouldn’t take a genius to Google him and find out why he’d left Chicago. Kay-Jean might have even figured it out.
When this came out, and it would, it wouldn’t matter if he was exonerated in the town square. His career at Sin Hospital would be over before it even got started. And there wasn’t one thing Vivian could do to save it without ending hers, as well.
Chapter Fourteen
Preston didn’t see Vivian’s text message until about three hours after she’d sent it because he’d been trying to finish up early. He checked his work e-mail first and nearly fell off his stool when he read it. There were other physicians in the lounge, so he logged off and walked out without a word to any of them. His entire body was shaking.
He kept his head down and his gaze on the floor, counting the steps until he was out in the parking lot and walking toward his car. He didn’t have any more patients to see today, and everything was stable in the ICU. No one would miss him, and he had to get out of here, regardless. He needed to breathe.
He went straight to Vivian’s house and used his key to go inside through the back door. Only then did he text her back, telling her he was at her house. She called him, her voice filled with relief. But that only made his heart sink even lower. It didn’t matter whether she believed the bullshit lies. It didn’t even matter if she was able to get Kay-Jean to recant. Kay-Jean could stand in the middle of the ICU and shout it to the entire staff that she’d lied about him. None of that would matter.
Someone—probably Kay-Jean—had found the lawsuit online. And it didn’t matter that Renee had dropped it. The allegations were there for everyone to read. He didn’t belong here, and someone had taken it upon themselves to send him a very clear message. Yankee, go home.
“Preston? Are you still there?”
“Yes.”
“I’m on my way now to talk to Jackie Jones, Bob Crawford, and Joe Tyler. I wanted them all together so we could talk before Jackie, Joe, and I meet with you. I’ve already told Luke. I hope that was all right.”
“Yes. It’s fine.” Jackie Jones was Kay-Jean’s boss, and Preston really liked her. She ran the unit efficiently, and she’d been nothing but kind and welcoming to him. Bob Crawford was head of security. Had Kay-Jean filed a complaint with them, too? And Joe Tyler was the risk manager. So of course Vivian had no choice but to involve him. She was only doing her job, and he’d have thought less of her if she hadn’t done exactly what she had to do in this instance.
“Try not to worry,” she said. “I know that’s a silly thing to say right now, but I’m on this.”
“Do you really think it matters?”
“Yes. It does matter. You matter. I’ll tell you everything that Jackie, Bob, and Joe say to me as soon as I get home. And don’t worry about supper. Luke is bringing food for all of us. We should both be there before six.”
“Okay.” After she disconnected the call, Preston took a beer out of the fridge and drank half of it. Her thoughtfulness and Luke’s support only made things worse. They were the only two people in this entire town who would back him up. And at the end of the day, that wouldn’t matter, either.
This was her home. Her sisters worked in the hospit
al. Her mother was the director of the cafeteria. Her father owned one of the largest construction companies in middle Tennessee. She had roots here. She wouldn’t have a choice but to dump his sorry ass, because she had to live and work here long after he ran home with his tail tucked between his legs.
And it was the same for Luke. His family’s business was here. He’d grown up here. This was his hometown. He’d have to side with them or risk losing his livelihood. Preston understood that in a way both of them probably didn’t even realize, because that’s exactly what had happened to him.
Chicago might not be his hometown, but he’d lived there for ten years. He’d worked at Northwestern that long, and they had been his family away from home. The few friends he’d had all worked there. The women he’d dated had worked there. He hadn’t known anything else. When he left, he left behind his entire world.
That’s what it would be like for Vivian and Luke if they tried to fight this. They’d be leaving behind their entire world, even if they got new jobs and stayed here. No one would ever look at them the same way again. He could not do that to either of them. And especially not to Vivian. He would not do it. He would not force them to make that choice, and he would not allow them to sacrifice their entire worlds for his reputation.
It didn’t matter that he loved her. She didn’t need to know that. Luke didn’t need to know that. It was no longer a factor. He’d have to deal with it. And that wouldn’t be easy, because he’d never met anyone like Vivian, and he knew he never would again. She was the one he’d searched for. And now that he had her, he’d have to let her go. It was the best thing to do for both her and Luke.
* * * *
Vivian sat in Joe’s office with the door closed, facing Bob and Jackie. “Thank you for agreeing to meet like this before we speak with Preston.” She handed them each a copy of the form that Kay-Jean had already filled out. “I don’t believe her.” Vivian put up a hand. “And before y’all tell me I have to believe her, let’s remember who we’re talking about here.”
