“Dr. Matthews, please don’t hurt my daughter.”
Before Don could answer, Alisha stood in the doorway. “Dinner is ready,” she smiled.
As he stood up to go into the dining room, he said quietly, “Never, Mr. Morton. Never!”
* * *
Don said he would take a taxi back to the hotel, but Alisha had told her parents that she and her long-time friend, Julie, had planned to spend the night together. “A sleepover, like we used to have. Some catching up to do, so it won’t be a problem for me to drive Don back to his hotel. I can borrow your car, okay, Dad?”
“By all means; no problem.”
CHAPTER 10
After helping her mother with the after-dinner chores, Alisha ran upstairs to change her clothes.
Accustomed to seeing her in a white lab coat or a colorful printed pants outfit at the office, when she came back down Don was stunned by how wonderful she looked.
Her hair was curled about her face in a pixie-like style. She was wearing a pair of black slacks with a beige silk blouse that was printed with a black paisley pattern. She wore black patent-leather sandals and large gold hoop earrings, a light wool black jacket folded over her arm. A black leather shoulder bag completed her outfit. At the bottom of the stairs she placed a small overnight bag on the floor.
“Now don’t forget, Dad, I’ll be spending the night at Julie’s. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
“One of my oldest friends,” she explained to Don.
“Well, I don’t want to put you to any trouble. Can just as well take a taxi.”
“Gosh, no. It’s right on my way to Julie’s. Right, Dad?”
“That’s right. Pass right by the hotel on your way to Julie’s place.”
Alisha kissed her mother, and turning to her father, said, “Dad, thanks so much for letting me use your car.”
“No problem, honey.”
“And, Dad, should you need me, use my cell phone number. That way you can always reach me…in case.”
“Don’t fret yourself about us. Have a good time at Julie’s. Tell her we said hi.”
“Will do.”
Don picked up Alisha’s bag and they made their way out to the car parked in the driveway.
“You don’t have to do this,” Don insisted. “I can get a cab back to the hotel.”
“I’m going in that direction anyway. May as well take the ride.”
“If you don’t mind, then okay.”
He helped her into the driver’s seat and then settled himself in the passenger seat.
As Alisha drove toward the city’s center, she said, “Thanks for coming tonight. My parents always like having company, happy when I bring friends home.”
“They’re a wonderful couple. Can see they are devoted to each other and they raised you to be a wonderful young woman, Alisha.”
* * *
Alisha Morton was not about to make any mistakes. She wanted Don Matthews and knew that if she followed her plans carefully, she would get him. He was everything she wanted: a successful career, good looks, an enviable position in society. If she could somehow make herself more valuable to him as she had done in his office. “Things run very smoothly,” he’d once told her, “when you are on duty.”
“Thanks, Don, for saying that. I am concerned, especially about my mother, and my father, too. He has hypertension, and watching over my mother doesn’t help that, either.”
Watching her skillfully negotiate the city streets, he said, “You’re a very good driver, Alisha.”
“Thanks, my dad taught me to drive when I was fifteen. Got my license when I was sixteen and a half…been driving ever since,” she said, grinning at him.
There was something about her that made him certain that she always knew what she was doing. She certainly was that way in the office: alert, a hard worker. He had begun to rely on her.
But what exactly was he feeling towards her? He truly loved Leanne. But why was he so attracted to his office nurse?
Having exhausted the usual small talk, they sat in a kind of expectant silence as they drove to Don’s hotel. Looking straight ahead, he took refuge in focusing on something safe—anything but what was really on his mind. Tomorrow’s session ends at eleven in the morning, giving me time to check out and make my flight to Providence Green Airport, where Leanne will be waiting. But indirectly reminding himself that he had a wife did little to dampen his overheated libido.
For her part, Alisha spent her silent moments glancing over at Don. Because he kept his eyes focused on the traffic ahead, she could see only his profile in the semidarkness. But that did not matter, as she had retained a mental picture of every inch of his face. Never had she seen a more handsome man.
He had a broad forehead and softly expressive dark-brown eyes. His black hair was cut short and brushed back from his forehead, and his smooth café au lait skin was tempting—practically an invitation to touch. And that is what she longed to do.
Don the doctor had retained the athlete’s body of Don the football player, having maintained well-defined muscles and a supremely confident bearing. Alisha wondered what it would be like to see that body bare.
The thought unsettled her, and she had to swerve to keep her father’s car directly behind the car ahead.
Don asked, “You all right?”
“Sorry ’bout that. I’m just thinking about my mom.”
The lie came easily, and she knew Don would accept it at face value.
“It’s so hard having an ailing parent, especially with a degenerative disease. My wife lost both her parents at the same time…an accident, and it was a hard time for her…for all of us, really.”
“I can imagine.”
“You have any close relatives you can call on for help, say, in an emergency?”
“ ’Fraid not. I have a cousin who lives in Alabama, but we’ve never been close…can count on one hand the number of times I’ve even met her.”
“That’s too bad.”
Alisha didn’t like the somber tone the conversation was taking and tried to lighten the mood.
“Yes, it is, but well, ‘that’s the way the mop flops,’” she said lightly.
“I know, but if there’s ever anything I can do, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“Gee, thanks, I appreciate that.”
“You know, Alisha, I mean it.”
“I know, and it helps to hear you say that.”
She slowed the car, telling him that his hotel was the next street over.
“That was quick. And I want to thank you very much for an enjoyable evening. It was really great, meeting your folks…”
“They were happy to have you. I’ve been lucky to have them…owe them a lot. Well, here we are,” she said cheerfully. “Signed, sealed and delivered.”
“Right, and I thank you for your time and consideration.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Don unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Good night, Alisha.”
He got out of the car but stopped short of closing the door.
“Oh, just remembered. Two days ago there was a session on Alzheimer’s disease. Quite a bit of information, new clinical trials, that sort of thing. Might be helpful to you. Wait here and I’ll run up to my room and get the material I picked up.”
“I’d like that. Never know, something new might be coming down the pike. Let me park the car and I’ll come up with you to get the material. You don’t have to come back down. I’ll grab it and be on my way to Julie’s.”
“Okay,” he said, closing the car door and walking the few steps to the front of the hotel.
While waiting in the dark, he tried to remember what he had done with the monograph. He remembered picking it up and shoving it into his briefcase, but that was two or three days ago, and he had cleaned out his briefcase for new material.
As he stood there in the dark, he had another troubling thought. What was he thinking and…what was he
expecting? Suddenly he knew, and his body was insisting he wanted to make love to her. This was beyond reason, beyond thought. It was a primal need for sexual fulfillment, but his body hungered for it.
He watched as he saw her cross the driveway toward the hotel’s front door. He had such a strong feeling of certainty. It was right, he told himself, that she should come to him. Any lingering thoughts of decency, morality, fidelity fled his mind completely. He had to touch her; the urge to do so had been building from the moment of their “coffee” mornings.
As they walked to the bank of elevators to reach his room on the third floor, he warned her, “It may take me some time to find the article. Not sure where I put it. But I do know it’s somewhere among my papers.”
“That’s okay.”
“Well, I don’t want to keep you from getting to your friend. It’s getting late.”
“I’ll call her, let her know I’m on my way. No problem at all. This is a very nice hotel,” she said as they walked to his room.
“It is. I’ve been comfortable here.”
At Room 308 Don inserted the magnetic card into the door lock, opened the door, and stepped back for her to enter.
As she entered, she noticed that the bathroom was on the right, a closet on the left. Moving down the short corridor a few steps led into the bedroom.
The walls were painted a soft beige color and the draperies at the picture window were a robin’s egg shell blue with a gold and peach floral pattern.
Alisha went to the window and looked out at the dark night. The area was illuminated by several security lights that revealed she was looking at the parking lot.
“Oh, this room faces the front. I can see my car parked right out there.”
“So it does,” he said, joining her at the window. Then he closed the blinds, and turned on a table light, pointing to a dark blue velour armchair beside the table.
“Here, Alisha, sit while I look for the article I told you about,” he said, pointing to a dark blue velour armchair near the table.
Then he shrugged off his suit jacket, tossed it on the head of the bed. He then removed his tie, loosened his collar and rolled up his shirt sleeves—all of which she watched with growing excitement.
She continued watching him as he began looking around the room again looking for the article. Taking in the large king-sized bed, the plush dark blue rug, the French armoire that housed the television set, she began to wonder, could this be the night she gets Matthews? At least physically she was where she wanted to be, alone with the man she loved. His marital status was of no concern to her. Not at the moment, anyway. She would deal with that when it became necessary.
Then she heard him say, “Found it! Think you’ll find it interesting.”
“Thanks, Don,” she said as she took the stapled pages from him. She read aloud, “New Approaches to the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. This should be interesting…”
“Look,” he interrupted her, “maybe we can have a glass of wine before you leave. There’s some real nice sherry in the refrigerator.”
She settled back in the chair. Things were going her way.
CHAPTER 11
When he went into the bathroom, hot, perspiring profusely, Don knew he had reached a crossroad in his life. Was it possible to love two women? Leanne was his wife, the mother of his children, his partner in life, his friend of twenty-five years.
But what about this passion he was feeling for Alisha? Whenever he was near her he felt alive, alert, capable; and he had a strong sense of well-being in her presence.
How could he, should he? Indeed, should he throw away twenty-five years of marriage?
He took off his wilted shirt and removed his trousers. Then he washed his face with cold water, toweling himself dry. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a Patriots football jersey labeled Tom Brady, number twelve. While brushing his teeth and then swishing some mouthwash around in his mouth, he was actually aware that he was facing a pivotal moment in his life.
He clicked off the bathroom lights and found the bedroom in the darkness.
“Alisha? Where are you?”
“Right here,” she answered, her voice soft, inviting.
“Right where?”
His eyes began adjusting to the darkness. Then he saw her; she was in the bed.
“What…what are you doing in my bed?”
“Waiting.”
“Waiting for what?”
“For you. Who else?”
“Girl, Alisha, you must be crazy!”
“I am. Crazy about you. Now come to bed, I’ve been waiting too long as it is for this night. I love you, Don. You must know that.”
She wanted him, he thought, and any remnant of reason vanished. His body was reacting to a sexual invitation that rendered any restrictions or doubts from his mind.
He remembered something from one of his medical school classes in Human Sexuality: something about hormones, testosterone levels, chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and the like. But tonight he was not thinking or feeling like a physician. Tonight he was a man.
Before getting into the bed, Alisha had opened the drapes and soft moonlight filtered into the room.
“Alisha! I’m married, I can’t do this!”
“Yes you can, and you know you want to.”
As if he had no will at all, he found himself drawn to the side of the bed. Alisha was sitting up, her head against the headboard. He was stunned by the lovely satin luster of her bare arms and shoulders.
Staring at her, feeling the tense agony of an uncomfortable erection. He needed, wanted release from the painful sensation he was experiencing.
Reacting to her seductive smile, he tore off his clothes and slid into the bed. She was naked. Her boldness thrilled him, and her lovely warm body excited him.
She wagged a forefinger in front of his nose.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
With a blank look, he said, “Forgetting?”
“Under your pillow, my dear.”
She watched with amusement as he retrieved the silver packet, and prepared himself. As he stretched out beside her, feeling the seductive heat that rose from her body, he relaxed. All was well.
Alisha snuggled close to him.
“I knew it,” she whispered.
“Knew what?”
“That we’d be a perfect fit. Make love to me, Don.”
Her touches were gentle, her caresses light and feathery, but they sent flames of desire all through his body. He kissed her softly, tenderly. Then the demands of passion overcame him, and he sought the sweetness inside. Her responsive moans told him now that frissons of passion were engulfing her body.
He cupped his left hand around her delicate breast, its firm nub responding like a hard marble under his thumb.
Alisha gasped from the exquisite sensation she was feeling. She had been aching for this all these months. It was what she needed from this wonderful man she loved. Her mother had always said, “When the right man comes along, you’ll know.” But it was not her fault that Don had married the wrong woman. At last everything was right…as it should be.
Don began to kiss her closed eyes, her nose, planting delicate kisses along her neck, her ears. She trembled in his arms, and when his mouth covered the firm nub of her other breast, she thought she was going to die. She began to pant, her breath coming in hushed gasps. Waves of passionate excitement flooded her body. She never had a moment like this before. Her need for immediate fulfillment was so great, a tumultuous feeling rose from the core of her body.
Instinctively, she widened her legs and gasped frantically as Don entered her body. Losing all control, she made every effort to satisfy the demanding needs of her body. Swinging her legs over her lover’s back, she gripped him tightly, much as a drowning victim clings to a rescuer.
They lay together entwined until their breathing slowed and their heart rates returned to a normal rate.
Alisha spoke first, her voice husky w
ith emotion. “Thank you, Don. I love you, love you…”
“Shh-h-h, I know, I know.”
She curled her body up against his, making him all the more aware that she, unlike Leanne, had not fled their lovemaking nest. He lay there for almost an hour, thinking, I’ve been unfaithful to my wife after all these years. How did I let this happen? What’s wrong with me?
Alisha slept soundly, so Don eased out of the bed. He went into the bathroom. He needed to shower. He couldn’t let this happen again. Just couldn’t!
He washed his hair, finished his shower, dried himself with one of the hotel’s thick towels, then shaved and brushed his teeth. He put on the hotel’s white Turkish bathrobe, then combed his hair. He lectured himself, You must not get back into that bed!
When he moved quietly back into the room, he immediately noted a change.
The bedside table lamp was lit, but the bed was empty. He rushed to the picture window just in time to see Alisha getting into her father’s car. As if on cue, she turned and waved up at the window. She got into the car and drove off. He glanced at the clock radio on the bedside stand. It was three-thirty. You are such a dumb bunny. The girl planned this all along and you got sucked right in! What a fool! She set a trap and you stepped into it.
Since he was already up, he decided he might as well get a head start. Throwing the bedspread over the now offensive bed, he began to pack. He removed shirts, ties, socks and underwear from the bureau drawers and packed them into his carry-on bag. Then he cleared the bathroom of his toiletries.
He had placed a pair of gray slacks, a sport shirt, and a navy blue blazer on a hanger, planning to be dressed casually for the morning’s half-session and for the flight home.
After he had done that, he decided to watch the morning news.
By seven-thirty he was dressed and on his way to breakfast, and then on to checkout. After settling his bill, he returned to his room, sat down, thinking over the events of the past week.
How could he have been so befuddled? He, a board-certified physician, a man with the largest roster of patients in his group practice, a doctor who cared for and managed the medical problems of hundreds of patients. How could he have been so stupid, so captivated by Alisha that he became unfaithful to his wife, the mother of two wonderful children? Leanne had been his anchor, his friend, the woman he loved.
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