by Donna Hill
Stephanie bit down on her tongue to keep from saying what was really on her mind. She knew her words would do her more harm than good. “I understand.” She tugged down on her V-neck T-shirt, showcasing a bit more cleavage, and smiled inwardly when David’s eyes were automatically drawn there.
“Same time tomorrow?” she asked sweetly.
David blinked. “Yes. Same time.”
Slowly she stood up. “I’ll be here.”
David nodded as she walked out. He shook his head to clear it. Maybe spending too much alone time with Stephanie wasn’t such a great idea. She oozed sex appeal and it was not lost on him. It took all his self-control not to see exactly what her treasures were beneath her skimpy track clothing. Man, he couldn’t find a new assistant coach fast enough. He went back to reviewing the potential candidates, jotted down some notes and made appointments to see them within the next two days.
He glanced up at the clock on the wall above the door. Three o’clock. He’d been up since five. He rubbed his eyes and craned his stiff neck. It was definitely time to call it a day. The team was gone and the cleaning crew had also come and left.
He pushed up from his desk, stretched and arched his back. Picking up his cap from the desk he dropped it haphazardly on his head, turned out the lights and locked the doors. Today was a day for a good hot bath, stiff drink and nothing more taxing than watching television until he fell asleep.
He walked down the corridor that led to the locker and exercise rooms, just to do a last check before leaving when he heard a locker door close.
He frowned. The training camp had been burglarized on more than one occasion and his pleas for extra security had netted him nothing. Then there was always the relentless reporter who in the pursuit of a story would stoop to digging around in the locker rooms to see what dirt they could unearth.
David eased down the hall toward the sound of the noise. He pulled out his cell phone and pressed 911, ready to hit Send the instant he saw anything out of order.
He turned the corner. If it was that bastard Miller again he was…
Stephanie stood in front of him, totally naked and soaking wet. Her breasts were full and firm, her nipples were hard and alert, her stomach flat and tight. Dark pubic hair glistened from the water. She made no effort to cover herself and David couldn’t seem to move. She was exquisite.
“I decided to take a shower before I left.” She reached for the towel that was on the bench but did nothing more with it than hold it in her hand. “I hope that’s not a problem. I didn’t know anyone else was still around.”
“No problem.” He still didn’t move, didn’t look away.
She started walking toward him. “I always have a problem getting to all the spots on my back.” She handed him the towel. “Would you mind?” She turned around.
David gritted his teeth. This was not good. He needed to run, not walk to the nearest exit. But he didn’t. How long had it been since he’d been with a woman? Months? His heart raced and his penis hardened. He took the towel and began to dry her back, like the fool he knew he was. He ran the towel over the column of her spine, across her hips and round rear end. As he bent to dry her thighs she turned to face him. His lips were inches away from her navel. She smelled like springtime.
She took his face in her hands and looked down into his eyes.
“I want it just as badly as you do,” she said, her voice a husky whisper.
Slowly he stood. He dropped the towel.
Their first kiss was anything but tentative. It was filled with fierce urgency, raw desire and a fevered hunger. David’s hands were all over Stephanie and she urged him on with moans and undulations all the while undressing him until he was stripped down to his socks.
For an instant they faced each other, stock-still, their breaths coming fast and furious knowing that this was the last exit before the bridge of no return.
Stephanie stepped around to the end row of the lockers and leaned back against the smooth, cool surface. She crooked a finger, beckoning him.
David walked over, roughly clasped her hips in his hands and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and sighed with pleasure when she felt him fill her.
Oh yes, she thought as he pushed and pulled inside her, murmuring dirty little turn-ons in her ear. Everything she ever wanted was hers.
“Yeah, baby,” she whispered.
When it was over they sank to the cool concrete floor. David couldn’t look at Stephanie without seeing his future irrevocably changed. Finally he pulled himself together and got up to get dressed.
“There’s more where that came from,” Stephanie cooed, reaching up to stroke his thigh.
He looked down on her barely able to contain his disgust with her and himself. “Get dressed, Stephanie. I need to lock up.”
“So it’s like that, huh?”
He tightened the string on his sweatpants. “Like what?”
“Take what you want and then ignore me.” She stood, hands on her hips. “Are you also going to add ‘this should have never happened’?” She chuckled a nasty laugh. “Well, Dave, it did. I liked it and I know you did, too.” She put on her bra and fastened it then stepped into her matching mint-green panties. “But, I’m a big girl so don’t worry I’m not going to stalk you or cry rape.” He flinched. “Just think of it as a thank-you for letting me start.” She put on her T-shirt.
He stared at her, unsure how serious she was. He nodded and pulled his shirt over his head. “Fine.”
She put on her shorts and sneakers. “Ready?” she asked.
He didn’t respond but headed for the exit with Stephanie behind him.
Once they were outside in the parking lot he turned to her. “Listen, what happened back there, stays back there. You have your spot. Okay?”
She smiled sweetly. “Understood, coach. See you in the morning?”
“Yeah.” He turned and walked to his car. What went down between them could never get out. If it did he would be ruined. He got in his car and sat there for a few minutes thinking about his options. He didn’t have any. Stephanie had to be kept quiet, whatever it took.
Chapter 26
Alex tried to stay focused on his patient as he went over the rehab regime, but thoughts of Kelly and what he believed he’d discovered kept playing games with his head. First and foremost, he’d broken his own rule by becoming involved with a patient. It was stupid and he knew it, but the part of him that was all male didn’t give a damn what the doctor’s rule of etiquette was.
Kelly Maxwell appealed to him in a way that a woman had not in a very long time, and he knew that spelled nothing but trouble. But what could he do now? He’d already crossed the line. Not only had he sat in her company outside of the hospital, he’d actually asked her out on a date.
He had two choices: one, he could cancel the date and cancel plans to take her home after her sessions; or two, he could keep the date, keep taking her home after her sessions and stop being her doctor. Neither option was appealing but not being able to at least pursue a relationship with her was the least attractive of the two.
If he turned her over to another doctor, David would have a fit and possibly take her back to Atlanta—and then what? But if he didn’t, he’d be breaking every ethic code on the books.
Finally his session was over and for the life of him he couldn’t recall what he’d told the poor man. Thankfully that was his last patient of the day and he was going home.
Fortunately traffic wasn’t too bad and he pulled up in front of his building in short order, parked the car and went inside. He tossed his jacket on the couch and went straight to the fridge. An icy cold beer greeted him. Screwing off the top he took a long, refreshing swallow.
Alex walked into his living room and plopped down on the
couch. He reached for the remote on the end table and pointed it at the television. At least now he had an idea how David maintained such a tight hold on her, he mused as he flipped through the channels. David was her eyes and her translator. She depended on him to get through her days. But at what cost? And why wouldn’t he want to see her do something about her problem?
Maybe he was jumping to conclusions. She could have had that brochure for any number of reasons. Yet he doubted it. From the little he’d observed about David, he was a control freak and her disability was the perfect way to control her. To compound her problems he was sure she had an eating disorder. All the test results pointed to it. It was the only explanation for the lack of density in her bones at her age. He wondered if David knew about that as well.
First things first, he concluded, finishing off his beer. He’d get her assigned to another doctor and he would only consult. David would just have to be pissed off. He’d talk to Dr. Logan in the morning and see if he had room in his schedule to work with Kelly. Hopefully having the chief of staff work with Kelly would appease David enough to let her stay in New York and finish her treatment. Then he’d work on getting Kelly out of David’s grip. Maybe then they’d have a chance at something—if she wanted it. His gut told him that she did.
The following morning, Alex was waiting for Bert Logan when he arrived at his office.
“To what do I owe a visit from you?” Bert asked with a smile.
“Need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure, come on in.” He unlocked his office door and let them in. “Coffee?”
“No. Thanks. I’ve already had my fill.”
Bert looked at him curiously. “That serious, huh? Must be a woman.” He put the coffee on then sat down. He folded his hands on his desk. “I’m listening.”
“I need to be taken off of a case and I want you to handle it.”
Bert leaned back. The corner of his mouth quirked upward in a half grin. “Who is she?”
“Kelly Maxwell.”
“The track star?”
“One and the same.”
Bert twisted his lips in thought, a slow frown brewing across his forehead. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
Alex braced his arms on his thighs and blew out a breath. He looked up at Bert hoping that their years of friendship would stand up to this test and not allow hospital politics to interfere.
Slowly he began and laid it all out on the table. When he’d finished silence hung between them and he was sure that Bert was going to explode.
Bert suddenly pushed up from his desk and stood. He ran his right hand through his shock of gray hair. He turned toward Alex with a look of utter bafflement on his face. His blue eyes darkened.
“Damn, man, don’t you ever do anything easy? Do you totally want to screw up your career?” He began to pace. “Does anyone on staff know that you’ve been to her place?”
“No.”
“I don’t want this hospital to be sued. And from what you’ve told me about this Livingston guy, it’s just the thing he would do.” He pointed his finger at Alex. “And you my friend would be ground beef.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. “Bring me her case file. I’ll take a look.” He paused then looked Alex dead in the eye. “Have you slept with her?”
“No.”
“Thank God for small favors.” He blew out a relieved breath. “Lucky for you you’re so damned good at what you do or I’d have your ass up on charges. Friend or no friend.”
“Duly noted.” He stood. “I’ll have Ruby bring down her file this afternoon.”
“When is Ms. Maxwell due back?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Gee that gives me plenty of time to rearrange my life,” he said, sarcastically.
“Look, I appreciate this, Bert.”
“I know you do. And you owe me. A golf game.”
Alex groaned. Bert knew how much he hated golf. “Sure, name the day and time and I’ll be there.”
“I’ll let you know. And be sure to bring your smile with you. Now get on outta here before I change my mind.”
Alex chuckled lightly in relief. “Thanks again.” He walked out and shut the door behind him.
Now for the hard part, he thought, getting Kelly to trust him enough to tell him what was really going on with her so that they could work on it together. And while they worked on her problems they could work on a relationship.
He went to his office and closed the door. For several minutes he stared at the phone, debating. Finally, he picked up the phone and dialed.
Chapter 27
Kelly was stretched out on the couch going over the information that Ms. Stevens had given her when the phone rang. As she reached for the phone, she hoped it wasn’t David again.
“Hello?”
“Kelly. It’s Dr. Hutchinson.”
Her expression immediately brightened. She sat up straighter and put the booklets aside. “Hi. Is…anything wrong?”
“No. Actually I was wondering if maybe we could meet somewhere…to talk. Maybe the restaurant in the hotel so you won’t have to travel.”
“O-kay,” she said a bit hesitant. “Are you sure everything is all right?”
“Yes, fine.” Of course it really wasn’t. “I can be there in about an hour.”
“I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
“Great. See you soon.”
Kelly hung up with a mixture of confusion and excitement. It was great that Alex wanted to see her, but the question was why.
Well, if she was going to meet him in the restaurant, she certainly needed something more flattering than her pajamas. She got up from the couch and walked, limped to her bedroom to find something appropriate to put on. She pulled open her closet and went into panic mode. Her entire wardrobe consisted of sweatpants, T-shirts and oversize sweaters. Not that she had a lot of going-out outfits to choose from but the few she did have she hadn’t brought from Atlanta.
She chewed on the tip of her finger, thinking. Then she remembered she’d stuck an ankle-length Indian gauze skirt in her suitcase and she’d put it in her dresser drawer instead of hanging it up. She went to the drawer, took it out and held it in front of her. Perfect. She could wear the pale green-and-yellow skirt with a yellow tank top.
Kelly checked the bedside clock. He said an hour. She’d already spent fifteen of those precious minutes looking for something to wear and she still needed time to get ready. She sat down on the side of the bed and gingerly took off her space boot then unwrapped her ankle. Gently she massaged her calf and then her ankle, then her foot. She reached for her crutches, stood up and headed for the bathroom. She couldn’t risk falling in the shower so she’d take a quick bath. She’d gotten that down to an art.
Twenty minutes later she was in front of the mirror pulling her hair into a ponytail and checking the pimple that was beginning to erupt on her chin. Not much she could do about it now other than wish it away. She blotted the shine off her nose with a tissue and added lip gloss to her mouth. That was the extent of her makeup.
She stepped back and took a look at her reflection. Why couldn’t she be beautiful? Why couldn’t she have flawless skin? Why couldn’t she feel better about who she was? She turned away from the questions. Well, at least for a little while she could pretend to be all the things she knew she wasn’t.
She picked up her purse from the end of the bed, tucked her crutches beneath her arms and walked out.
The hotel lobby was moderately busy with a steady flow of guests and hotel staff. She stood near the registration desk and spotted Alex the moment he walked in.
He was casually dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a pale blue long-sleeved Oxford shirt, open at the neck. Kelly waved to get his att
ention.
“Hi. Sorry if I kept you waiting. Traffic was a mess for some reason.”
“Not a problem. I just came down.”
“Well let’s go in and get a table so you can get off your feet. How are you feeling by the way?” he asked, placing his hand on her lower back as they walked toward the hotel restaurant.
“Pretty good actually.”
He nodded.
“Two for dinner?” the hostess asked when they entered.
“Yes,” Alex said.
“Right this way.” She showed them to their table and placed down the menus. “Would you like something to drink while you look over the menu?”
“I’ll have iced tea,” Kelly said.
“Same here.”
“Coming right up.”
“So…” Kelly hesitated. “Why did you need to see me?”
Alex chuckled a bit nervously. “You don’t beat around the bush do you?”
She shrugged. “Not if I really want to know something.”
Alex glanced off for a second then looked back at her. “Okay, I’ll get straight to the point. But hear me out first.”
“All right.”
“I’m giving your case to another doctor.” He held up his hand when he saw she was about to protest. “He’s the chief of staff. The best. I trained under him.”
“I don’t understand. Why?”
He took a breath. “I think it’s the best thing to do…because if not, my continuing to treat you would go against ethics and hospital policy.”
She frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about? When we came to New York it was because you agreed to be my doctor. Is there something wrong, something you aren’t telling me?”
“I want you to be seen by another doctor because—”
