Walking into her room, Thomas was immediately concerned. Sitting in the industrial brown upholstered chair, Annie looked downtrodden and distressed. By her facial expression, Thomas inferred that she was in pain again and this angered him. It made his blood boil that she was so non-compliant with his instructions. Recognizing the need to rein in his anger and angst, Thomas addressed her in his usual professional manner, but it had an edge. “Ms. O’Reilly, are you alright? You appear to be in some discomfort. Is your medication not working?” His head cocked to the side, waiting for her response.
“Yes, Doctor, I’m fine. The medication is doing its job. Really… I’m… fine.”
Thomas huffed, annoyed at her generic response. “Well, you don’t look fine to me; in fact, when most women use the word ‘fine,’ it almost always means ‘not fine.’ When I entered the room, your facial expression conveyed discomfort. If you are experiencing pain, you need to tell me. I’d like a truthful answer, Ms. O’Reilly.”
Annie paused for a moment before responding. “Well, Dr. Callahan… you see… I am fine. Really. At least physically I am fine.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you caught me in a moment of self-pity.” She blushed. “The discomfort you saw was related more to my appearance. I was wallowing in my own misery. I think everything has finally caught up to me. I want to get back to normal. Take a long hot shower, sleep in my own bed, and wear my own pajamas. You found me at the most inopportune moment, I’m afraid. I was just in the bathroom trying to make my rat’s-nest hair look presentable and,” she waved her hand, “as you can see, I was unsuccessful. To sum it all up, the past few days have really sucked and I feel crappy and unattractive. So there you have it, Doc. You walked in on and witnessed my pity party,” she quipped.
Thomas felt the frustration dissipate and was entertained and enthralled by her adorable rant. He found her honesty refreshing and appreciated how intelligent and well-spoken she was. She was charming and witty. He was relieved to know that he was mistaken and his mood lightened instantly. In an uncharacteristic move, he sat down on the bed beside Annie as she sat in the chair. Leaning over, he patted her hand and smiled.
“I have to say, I’m glad that you’re ‘fine’ physically, Ms. O’Reilly.” He emphasized the word ‘fine.’ “I am sorry, however, that you are feeling so low. It is perfectly understandable though, given all that you have been through over the past few days. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by your recent experience. And you,” he added, “are far from unattractive. Nothing can detract from your natural beauty.” His voice sounded more seductive than he intended, knowing it was bordering on the fine line of appropriate doctor conduct with a patient.
Annie’s face was stained crimson. “Dr. Callahan, how is it that you always manage to say just the right thing at just the right moment? You have quite the bedside manner.” Annie softly laughed. “I’m sure it makes you popular with all of your patients.”
“Well, Ms. O’Reilly, having a good bedside manner is imperative in my profession, as you can well imagine. I also believe you seem to bring out my more articulate side. I stand by my words. Even with illness, your beauty shines through. I cannot tell you how much it pleases me to see that lovely smile on your face, which only enhances your beauty more,” Thomas continued. “I’m also happy to tell you that you are recovering quite well and I see no reason why you cannot go home today. I imagine that news in and of itself would make you feel much better, no?”
Her body vibrated with excitement. “Yes, that does make me feel much better. That’s the best news ever. Thank you, Doctor. I will be so glad to get out of this place and back home to my familiar surroundings.” Thomas could hear the animated joy in her voice.
Thomas informed her, “Of course, I will need to see you for a follow-up appointment in a week’s time. Your stitches will dissolve but I will need to examine the incision sites to ensure there is no sign of infection and they are healing properly. My office is located in the adjacent medical building.” He motioned his hand vaguely to the right, indicating the general direction and proximity. Ironically, Thomas needed to speak that reassurance for himself as much for her. He wanted to see Annie again and the necessity for a follow-up appointment, a standard requirement for surgical patients, was the perfect excuse.
* * *
Annie sat in Dr. Callahan’s waiting room with nervous anticipation. She had checked in with the receptionist over twenty-five minutes ago. Normally, she absolutely hated when her time was wasted, but today, her nervous anticipation made the minutes fly by and nothing could kill her good mood. Her 5:15 p.m. appointment with Dr. Callahan was the highlight of her day. Really, it was the highlight of her week. She was required to have this follow-up appointment in order to get clearance to go back to work. She looked forward to going back. She missed her clients and co-workers. In many ways, they were her family. However, there was another reason she anxiously awaited the appointment. She shivered at the thought of seeing him again. That tall, magnificent Adonis. Annie’s thoughts wandered to the picture she had of him in her mind during their encounter at the hospital. He walked with an air of authority and confidence that she found so attractive. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s so sexy too. Not to mention that erotic spanking dream. It was a fantasy that Annie would conjure again and again when she needed to relieve some sexual tension.
Earlier in the day, in anticipation of the visit, Annie had gone through her closet trying to decide what to wear. She had told herself she was not trying to impress anyone. At least that is what she had tried to believe. Truth be told, Annie wanted to make a good impression on Dr. Callahan. She was very attracted to him. Just the thought of him wearing his scrubs and stethoscope were enough to dampen her panties. When in his presence, Annie felt like she regressed to a silly schoolgirl unable to put a coherent sentence together to save her life. There was just something about him. His assured manner and commanding presence turned her on. Annie could not remember the last time she was so smitten with a man.
Ultimately, Annie had decided to dress for comfort. She wore her favorite well-worn jeans. They were a bit faded but soft from years of wash and wear. Annie also chose a simple white button-down blouse untucked, with flat sandals. They were clothes that made her feel good, most like herself. She spent more time than usual styling her hair. She also put on some blush and lip gloss, a task usually reserved for special nights out.
Despite being an independent, career-focused woman, Annie often thought about what it would be like to have a strong, dominant man in her life and in her bed. She desired a man who would take charge, yet at the same time, would take care of her. A man who would care about her. All of those erotic romance novels made her think about her desires and the type of man she found most appealing. Her preference was always the take-charge alpha male who would love, revere, and protect his heroine, but would also take her in hand and discipline her. Annie dreamed about blissfully surrendering on her knees, breathless with desire for his firm, yet tender, intimate touch. He would be possessive and demanding with a piercing gaze that would cause her to squirm with anticipation and arousal. Dr. Callahan could have easily walked off the pages of Annie’s favorite erotic romances. With his distinguished good looks and natural confidence, she could fall for a man like him. More specifically, she was falling for him.
Annie looked impatiently at her watch again. Taking a deep, calming breath, she glanced around the waiting room, empty except for her. The décor was impressive, appearing to have been done by a professional interior decorator. The walls were a sage green and several large framed paintings of flowers arranged in vases were evenly spaced around the room. The waiting-room chairs were not the industrial faux leather found in most doctors’ offices. Rather, the upholstered chairs had sturdy armrests in a dark brown oak stain. The fabric was in a floral print that complemented the wall art perfectly. Each side table next to the chairs had neatly stacked magazines. It was an inviting environment meant to put patients at ease.
Though Annie was anything but at ease as the minutes ticked by.
As she continued to take in her surroundings, a skinny woman wearing pink scrubs appeared and announced Annie’s name. Finally. Annie stood up and followed the blond woman down the hallway to the exam room.
Chapter Two
Thomas was in his office. He knew that making Annie wait for so long was terrible and he regretted it. However, he found it necessary for his sanity, needing the time to gather his thoughts and pull himself together. Upon her discharge from the hospital and continuing over the past week, Thomas had been obsessive, torn between his ethical duty as a physician and his desire to see her again. This war continued to occupy him throughout the week and he was exhausted.
Thomas had waited a long time to feel that level of attraction to a woman. Over the past several years, his encounters with women had all been dominant/submissive relationships. He enjoyed the physical gratification of sexual domination. He never had a problem finding women who were attractive and shared his particular tastes. But if he was being perfectly honest with himself, Thomas was tired of doing the same thing over and over. What he truly craved at this point in his life was a real, heartfelt connection with a woman. A woman that he could dominate, but, more important, one with whom he could develop a long-term relationship. At the core, Thomas believed in old-fashioned love. The type of love that his parents had. A deep, meaningful connection between two souls.
Finding that type of relationship was more complicated, if not impossible, given his need to dominate and control. The submissive women he had been with up to this point were great at meeting his sexual needs, but were not his heart’s desire for the long haul, and so he had been patiently waiting for a special woman to come along.
Thomas knew in his gut that Annie O’Reilly was that woman. He could feel it in his entire being. Since the first moment he laid eyes on her, he knew she was the one for him. Aside from her natural beauty, Thomas was also intrigued by Annie’s character and personality. She had a grace and dignity to her that he found very appealing. Her light-hearted jokes and easy banter put him at ease in a way he had never experienced. He felt comfortable with her, almost like they were old friends. He also had overwhelming protective feelings, wanting to guard and shelter her. Keep her safe.
So many times over the course of the past week, Thomas had wanted to put professional protocol aside and call to check up on Annie. It worried him that she was all alone, and he had spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about it. Of course, the ethical code of his profession forbade him from pursuing a patient on a personal level. The most troubling thoughts to run through his mind were that she might not have any interest in him, given his particular tastes for dominance. He was a dom and it was a non-negotiable deal-breaker. Any woman he pursued must be able to fulfill his needs and freely submit to him.
Thomas craved control in the bedroom and needed to be the authority figure with any woman he was in a relationship with. His tastes ran beyond D/s role-playing scenes at a club. Thomas needed to lead and influence his subs sexually, emotionally, and physically. He loved to train women to bend to his will and follow his guidance in all aspects of their relationship. He considered himself to be a sensual dom and enjoyed discovering the balance between pain and pleasure with his subs.
Annie might not accept his need to dominate and control, and this was what unnerved him the most. To not even get the chance to know her better because his sexual preferences turned her off. It made him pause and truly consider that perhaps he should not pursue her at all, but to keep their relationship professional. He kept telling himself that one minute and then, in the next, the mantra would play again in his head, ‘I’m going to see Annie today.’
Pros and cons. Dos and don’ts. Maybe this final appointment with her would be enough to get it out of his system. One way or the other, today was the day. Either he would find the courage to ask her out and risk his heart or he would let her walk away to live her life, leaving him with the possible regret of never knowing.
His hesitation was around the whole other issue of whether or not Annie was submissive. His gut instinct told him that yes, she was. Just in the few short interactions with her, Thomas recognized her eagerness to please and immediate action or response when asked to do something or answer a question. She seemed to have an innate genteel manner that suggested a submissive nature. The question was, did that translate to her sexuality?
Since her discharge from the hospital, Thomas had not been able to stop thinking about the voluptuous beauty. She was a woman with curves in all of the right places and this suited Thomas just fine, especially her prominent spankable bottom. He had snuck a peek at her derriere just as she was getting ready to leave the hospital. On the pretense of ‘passing by’ before her discharge, Thomas had entered her hospital room. She was getting into a wheelchair brought in by the nurse. It was a quick moment, but Thomas saw how nicely her bottom filled out her pants. He remembered the need to swiftly exit the room after saying good-bye for fear she would see the bulge in his trousers, and he had discreetly fled to his office before she or his colleagues could see his predicament.
When he got home, he had taken care of the pent-up desire. In the shower, he fisted his cock while thinking about her ass. He pictured it pert and pink from a spanking by his hand. He imagined her kneeling at his feet in submission. It was mere minutes before a powerful orgasm ripped through his body.
Realizing he had spent the better part of an hour in his office formulating a plan to ask her out, he decided that enough was enough. It was time to face the music.
God, she is so pretty, he thought as he approached her. Her kind face and warm smile greeted his. Thomas took the moment to enjoy the sight of her. She looked casual in jeans. Her white blouse was sheer enough that he could see the outline of her bra. The shirt was buttoned tight across her ample breasts. Her sandaled feet showcased ten perfectly painted pink toenails. Thomas was surprised that he found her feet to be appealing. What a strange thing to focus on.
Mentally shaking himself back to the present, Thomas greeted her with a handshake as they stood in the doorway to the examination room. He ushered her in with a wave, stating, “After you, Ms. O’Reilly.”
Annie giggled, shaking her head. “Doctor, are we really going to start with that again?” She walked into the exam room, then turned back to look at him as he followed behind. “It’s Annie. Please call me Annie. Calling me Ms. O’Reilly makes me feel so old.”
“I hardly think that forty-one is old… Annie.” He emphasized her name. “You look great,” he said, unable to tone down the nervous excitement in his voice. Thomas knew he sounded like a teenager in high school about to ask a girl to the prom. He sat down at the desk, silently ushering her to sit in the chair across the small room. “I have to say, your statement that you feel old causes me worry, Annie. Are you not feeling better? Are you experiencing post-operative pain?” he inquired.
“No… I mean, yes. Yes. I am feeling better. Much better, in fact. And no, I’m not having pain now. I feel like I have fully recovered and I’m very much looking forward to you clearing me to return to work, Dr. Callahan.” Annie’s hand swept her hair behind her right ear. Thomas thought it was a telling gesture. She was nervous. “I need it in writing for my human resources department. They are such a stickler for the rules,” she added sardonically.
“Rules are important, are they not?” He smiled, raising his eyebrows. Oh, Annie, how I would love for you to learn how much of a stickler I am for rules. He would love for her to submit to him. He would teach her to follow his rules and rituals to please him. In return for her obedience, Thomas would show her the ecstasy to be found in submission.
“Yes, I guess they are, Doctor,” Annie replied.
The silence in the room was deafening as each got momentarily lost in their thoughts. Thomas realized the need to proceed with the examination. It would help him to focus. He needed to regain his balance and control. F
ulfill his obligation to her as a physician before pursuing her romantically.
“Well, have a seat on the exam table and let me take a look at you, Annie.” She rose from where she was planted to sit up on the exam table. She used the attached step to climb up onto it.
His deep voice filled the otherwise quiet room. “Please lie back. I’m going to lift your shirt up to take a look at the incision sites.” He paused, waiting. As soon as she lay down on the table, Thomas reached for the bottom of her shirt and carefully pulled it up to just underneath her breasts, exposing the span of her fair abdominal skin. Stay on task. Check incisions. Don’t think about her breasts. Bet she has nice rosy nipples. I’d love to suck on them. Thomas struggled to stay composed and focused on the task. She smells so good.
Trying to concentrate, Thomas looked carefully at the small half-inch incisions on her abdomen, starting with the top one right underneath her cleavage. Methodically, he examined the other incisions, which were located counterclockwise on the right side. The last incision was inside her belly button, which he could not see clearly. In order to check it, Thomas had to unbutton her jeans and pull the sides down slightly. He did so, only to discover white cotton panties also covered the incision site, so he carefully pulled the band of her panties down just past her belly button. White cotton panties, perfect for peeling down as she lies over my lap before I spank her bottom pink. Thomas continued his struggle to focus and he was acutely aware of the growing problem in his trousers. His aroused response, knowing it was unprofessional, disgusted him. In an effort to gain control, he cleared his throat. “Any pain or tenderness at your incision sites?”
Her Dominant Doctor Page 3
