by T. C. Clark
She opened her mouth and then closed it. For some reason, Aidan had already made up his mind about them.
“Goodbye, Aidan,” she said simply.
“I’ll see you later but this is not goodbye, there will be no more of those between us.” He pulled out his wallet and set it on the table. The look in his dark brown eyes sent a signal to her brain that told her legs to move. She didn’t wait for him to say anything else, she just turned and ran for the door.
* * *
Aidan watched her go. He wondered if she knew how beautiful she was. Her thick black hair was cut in an elegant shoulder-length bob.
She’d worn a simple cotton thin-strap dress to meet him. Those dresses were her favorite ones. He didn’t need to check her suitcase to know that she had another five dresses like that one in her bag.
Anita was a creature of habit. To this day, she was one of the most uncomplicated women he’d ever met. He’d come to this dinner tonight wanting to know if he had a chance. To be honest, everything about her screamed stay away, from the tense set of her shoulders to the gentle rebuke in her eyes. She wanted him to leave her alone. But after tonight, he knew he couldn’t.
He’d made a promise to himself to walk away if there weren’t any feelings left between them. He’d never been the type of person to pursue someone who wasn’t interested.
But he’d seen it in her eyes. Whatever she’d felt for him was still there. It was twisted with pain, but there was something. He could work with that. A sinful smile touched his lips. It was time for him to turn up the heat.
Three
Goodbye...
Anita was on her way to Mina’s room when she spotted Aidan out of the corner of her eye. She cursed and ducked into the nearest utility closet. He was on the prowl again, no doubt looking for her. She’d spent the last few weeks on the run from him.
She’d tried to keep her distance, but he was always around. It was as if he thought his presence could break down the wall she’d built around her heart. To some degree his plan was working.
It was hard to hate this version of Aidan. He wasn’t the same arrogant kid he was years ago. He’d obviously learned some lessons in his life. The one thing that hadn’t changed was their attraction to each other.
When Aidan wanted you, he made himself impossible to ignore. She’d tried everything from icing him out to straight up ignoring him. None of it mattered, he continued his pursuit and, to be honest, he was slowly wearing her down. He kept bringing up things they’d done together at university.
There was too much history between them. He knew her secrets and she knew his.
His actions had definitely fed the gossip mill here at the hospital. Apparently, there were no professional boundaries, and people felt comfortable asking her intimate questions about him. Thank God the surgery was in the morning, so she only had a few more days of this.
She’d taken to running from him. She could examine this sudden cowardice streak later; for now, the move was working.
She could feel her heart reacting to him again. She would get giddy when she saw him and have butterflies whenever they talked. She couldn’t go there again.
She cracked the door open to peek outside and Aidan’s face came within inches of hers. He quickly pushed his way inside.
“I thought I saw you come in here,” he said.
“I just needed a moment to think. The people at this hospital are different. They um, like to talk, a lot.”
“I know. You have got something in your hair.” He reached up and picked it out. He moved closer as he did. His scent invaded her space. He started to back away but their eyes locked and he stopped.
Before she could blink, he leaned down and dropped the lightest of kisses on her lips. He moved back before she could say anything.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve wanted to do that ever since I saw you again. I knew I missed you, but I didn’t know how much until now.” He shook his head and sighed, “I fucked up with us. How did I let you go?”
“I’m not yours, Aidan, not anymore. We are exes who have to work together, so stop making this so hard. Why can’t you leave me alone?”
“I did that once and it was the biggest mistake of my life. I won’t do it again.”
“How do you know it was a mistake?” Anita asked quietly.
“I knew it the moment I walked out the door. I thought in time I would be okay, but I was never right after you.”
“So now that you’ve decided we belong together you think I should just take you back?” Anita rolled her eyes.
“No, I don’t expect you to forgive me easily. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, you’re worth the fight. I fucked up, Anita, I get that. I walked away and you still haven’t asked me why.”
“It doesn’t matter just stop chasing me, Aidan. You may have changed your mind about us, but I haven’t. Why can’t you understand that?” She moved around him and walked out the door.
She kept her head down and made her way to Mina’s room. She had a job to do. She stopped at the door; Mina’s handsome Italian boyfriend had a chair pulled up to the side of the bed. He was reading a book to her in Italian.
She didn’t want to interrupt this moment, but she needed to see if Mina had any more questions before she headed home.
Luca noticed her first, and he signaled for her to come inside. She could see why Mina had so many people who loved her. She was a sweet woman with a positive disposition, which was incredible considering all she’d been through.
“Oh, hey, Dr. Walker,” Mina said sleepily. Luca got off the bed and pulled the pillow tighter under her head. Mina tried to stop him from fussing but he silenced her with a quick kiss.
“Hello, Mina. How are you feeling?” she asked softly.
“I’m okay, the radiation is still not great, but it’s better than last time.”
“That’s good. Did you have any questions about how everything is going to go tomorrow?”Anita had already reviewed her chart an hour ago. All of her levels looked good.
“No, Luca could you get me a Sprite?” she asked him hoarsely. He looked at both of them suspiciously before he conceded. He kissed the top of Mina’s head.
“Did you want anything, doctor?” he asked as he grabbed his wallet.
“No, thank you, Luca.”
Mina waited until Luca was gone before she spoke again. “I want you to promise me something,” Mina whispered, her dark brown eyes exhausted but alert.
“What do you need, Mina?”
“After my surgery, no matter what happens, will you look after Aidan?” she asked with a solemn expression.
“Look after Aidan?”
“He’s one of my best friends, and I need to be sure he’ll be okay. If something happens to me, he’s going to blame himself for convincing me to come back. He’s a good man. I know there is something between you, I haven’t said anything because it’s not my business. But I need your promise, please. You can’t say no to a dying woman, that has to be one of the rules for the universe,” Mina whispered.
Anita shook her head. Mina really was a special woman. She reached down and took her hand. “I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, Mina. But if anything happens to you, I will look after Aidan. So for once, stop worrying about everyone else and relax.”
They spent the next few minutes praying. Anita walked out of the room with renewed strength. There was something about seeing her patients before surgery that spoke to her soul.
Nothing could stop her now. When she saw Aidan, she told him to gather the team. She wanted to go over everything one more time. By the end of the day, she was ready.
* * *
Aidan woke up in a good mood. Today was a good day to save a life. Everyone arrived at the hospital early to go over the surgery for the millionth time. When Anita walked in he saw a new version of her. This Anita was different from the one he knew at university.
They started the surgery at 7 am. It took him three hours to get
through his part of the surgery. He stepped out to let her work. Through the glass window in the anteroom, he looked over at the woman who was creating such havoc with his nervous system and smiled.
She was the definition of focus. She’d only looked at him once during the surgery. She’d been too focused on completing her ritual.
Anita always did the same thing before any surgery. She liked her table prepared a certain way. He’d secretly watched her as she went through her process. Her small hands made short work of her area.
Her focus was completely on the small woman lying vulnerably across the metal table. That was one of the things he’d always envied about Anita—her ability to shut everything out and focus on one task.
He looked at the operating theater. So many doctors from across the area had come to watch her work. She’d explained how the magnetic waves worked a million times, but he still had a hard time following.
He walked out into the hall and took a deep breath. He’d purposely had Bryan clear his day. He followed his instinct and walked to the hospital chapel. He wasn’t surprised to find Luca there with Eden. She was one of Mina and his closest friends. She always turned to prayer in times like these, and her habits had rubbed off on him.
He walked over to them, and Luca stood. The sadness in his eyes was all-encompassing. He’d wondered if Mina’s ex really cared for her. He knew now; no one could make up the emotion on Luca’s face.
Aidan held up his hands. “I only finished my part so far. But she was doing well when I left, Luca. Anita’s part still has three more hours.”
“But Mina looks good,” Luca said, focusing on that one bit of information.
Eden walked up and grabbed both of their arms and brought them back to the altar. They looked at each other for just a moment and took a seat on the pew and for the first time in years, he prayed.
* * *
Anita ignored the cheering as she closed Mina up. She couldn’t let them distract her. She needed to check Mina’s stats. That’s when she would know everything was okay. They’d been blessed today, so many things could have gone wrong, especially when Mina had started bleeding.
But here they were, and she was pretty sure Mina was going to be fine. They’d removed it all. She smiled at the remaining OR staff as she made her way out the door.
She counted each step she took; she’d learned from a therapist a long time ago to counteract stress with menial tasks.
She needed to get to an empty room. Every time she performed her surgery, it was always followed with a devastating loss of control. She didn’t want to freak out in front of everyone.
She needed to find an empty space so that she could react to everything that had just happened.
She cursed when she saw the number of doctors loitering in the hallways. She could feel her pulse accelerating. She took a deep breath and then another. She jumped when a hand landed on her back.
“Anita, I can’t believe…what’s wrong?” Aidan asked. Up close, he recognized the look in her eyes.
“I need a room, I have to decompress. I need space…” she babbled. She knew she wasn’t making sense. But at this moment, she could only remember him as Aidan—a man she’d trusted with her heart, mind, and body—and she needed him to get her away from here.
As for Aidan, he’d seen this before. She always had some version of a panic attack after a stressful situation. They’d both thought she would outgrow it. They were wrong.
Aidan nodded his head and grabbed a coat from behind her. He pulled out his phone and made a call. Before her eyes, the halls emptied as the people waiting around rushed towards the west entrance.
“How…how did you do that?” she stuttered.
“I called the biggest gossip in the hospital and let it slip that you were talking to the press downstairs.” He guided her from the room and down one flight of stairs to a small on-call room that was unofficially reserved for the chiefs.
She made it through the doors just before the tears came. Her whole life she’d always struggled to process big emotions. Her therapists said they were just panic attacks, but she always believed they were more than that. It was like her brain needed a good cry after she had applied so much pressure to it. She cried deep heaving sobs as her mind went through everything that could have gone wrong.
She felt Aidan’s arms lock around her. She thanked God that he didn’t try to ask her any questions. He held her as she cried. Just like he’d done a million times before. After a few minutes, she started to catch her breath. He didn’t wear the same cologne but he still smelled familiar.
He tilted her head back and looked into her eyes. She didn’t need a mirror to know she looked a mess. There were, no doubt, black circles under her eyes, and her face was swollen from crying.
There was something heartbreaking about being with someone so close to death. It made Anita think about all the regrets she had in her life. In a few weeks she was going to leave this hospital and walk out of Aidan’s life forever, this could be her last moment with him. Anything could happen the second they stepped out of that door. What would one more day with him cost her heart?
She didn’t think as her hands pulled his face down to hers. She kissed him deeply. Her tongue battled with his. She wanted him. She’d wanted him for so long and he hadn’t been there. She tried to recall why she couldn’t do this, but the logical side of her brain wasn’t working.
It took him a second before he responded. His body reacted as if it had struck a live wire. He quickly took over the kiss. She felt his hands everywhere. When one of them slipped inside of her panties, she opened her legs. At this moment, her inhibitions were gone, and all she wanted was him. She groaned when his fingers found her. He slipped a finger inside and growled when he realized how wet she was.
“Anita…”
“Don’t talk,” she commanded, if she took a moment to think, she would find a reason to stop this. She moved against him using her body to tell him what she wanted. She pushed her tongue deep, trying to show him what she needed.
He moaned, and his hand cupped her head, destroying the tight bun she’d created that morning. She didn’t care. Her nails scraped at his back, and he pushed her against the door. She could feel every muscle through the thin scrubs.
His cock was like a steel rod pressing into her. She wanted it. She wanted him. Over the years, she’d forced herself to forget him and the feelings he’d invoked in her. Her hand found him and squeezed. His eyes narrowed with desire and she knew there was no turning back.
Aidan locked the door. He didn’t want anything to stop this. She was vulnerable right now. As hard as he’d tried these last few weeks, she hadn’t let him get close. He knew from the start it would be hard; Anita was smart, and he’d hurt her badly. She was the type of person who would learn from her mistakes.
He knew he should let her go and give her a chance to come to her senses, but he couldn’t. This was his chance to remind her of what they had. This heat between them wasn’t something that could be recreated with anyone else. He wondered if she’d felt even a fraction of this with her ex-husband, and then he forced himself to abandon the thought.
No one else mattered here but them. They’d done their job well, and Mina was safe. He would take this moment and make the best of it. He picked her up, his body rejoiced in the act. Right now Anita belonged to him.
He placed her on the small, uncomfortable bed and cut on the light. Her brown eyes were glazed over with lust. He loved how she looked before they made love. As reserved as Anita was, a person would never know she was wild in the bedroom.
He could still remember his surprise the first time he caught her with a purple dildo she’d nicknamed Luther. She’d laughed at his scandalized look and called him a prude.
She took off her clothes slowly, her eyes on his. She wanted to play an old game of tease and chase. He grew harder with every bit of brown skin she revealed, memories from the past mingling with the present. He groaned when she reached
around to peel off her bra. When all she had left on was her panties, her small hand moved down to play with herself through the silk.
His body finally reacted to the sight. He stripped quickly. He smiled at how her eyes widened when she realized how aroused he was. He wanted her to see the effect she had on him. The tip of his mushroom-shaped cock was already wet with pre-cum. All she had to do was look at him and his body prepared itself.
He moved forward, his cock so stiff that it stayed erect in the air. He pushed her back against the bed. He couldn’t play her game, not today. He’d wanted her back for a long time, and now that he had her, he was close to going over the edge.
He crowded her back into the mattress. This time, he plundered her mouth. He delivered deep kisses, forcing his tongue deep even as his body moved over hers. He fitted himself between her thighs. He kissed his way down her neck, using his tongue to map his way.
When his mouth found one chocolate nipple, he sucked hard. His hand massaged and pinched the other one. He knew she liked it because of the sounds she made in the back of her throat. He felt one of her hands moving down his body. She stroked him as he played with her.
When she pulled her hand back to lick it and then placed it back on him, he lost it. He pushed her hand away and pulled her panties to the side. He didn’t wait, he just thrust deep. Her swollen muscles tightened around him.
He gritted his teeth as her tightness threatened to send him over the edge. They were a fucking perfect fit. How had he walked away from this? She gasped at his size and he gave her one minute to adjust before his body took over.
He thrust into her again and again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should slow down, but he couldn’t. It was as if years of pent-up frustration were eating away at him. He felt like a beast as he forced her body deeper into the mattress. Every thrust was brutal as her tight muscles tried to lock him out.
