by Anthology
“So, we’ll call a lawyer and find out what can be done.”
Gently I step away. “It isn’t that easy.”
My body wants her, but I need space and time to think. I can’t deny the attraction. Its borderline inappropriate. No, it’s pretty damn inappropriate. I don’t want or need a martyred wife. Nor do I want my license revoked. She’s not a patient but it’s damn close.
Her face remains bright red and she looks down maybe embarrassed, but I can’t tell. “I get it.”
“Get what?” Her eyes gloss over and I expect tears.
“You’re not attracted to me, but that’s okay. This would have been a fake marriage anyway.” She clarifies confusing me even more. She wants to marry me, but not be with me? She thought I thought she wasn’t attractive? God my head hurt even more wrapping around that idea and despite being fluent in English my head goes back to my mother tongue cursing my stupidity.
“A fake?” No. I had to question Piper’s sanity. My sanity. We were not doing this. Of course, I’m fascinated by her, but marriage? We didn’t know the first thing about each other. Had she gone to college yet? Where did she live? What did she see for herself five maybe ten years from now? Maybe I was guiltier of not seeing my own bigger picture here in the long term.
I sit down in my chair suddenly more tired than all my thirty-eight years. I don’t even know how old she is because she didn’t answer my question the first time I asked.
Curiosity demanded the question be answered now, “How old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
“Twelve years.” I mutter noting the age difference and the throbbing ache between my eyes as I rub the bridge of my nose in a calming gesture out of habit.
I doubt she heard me and continues, “Yeah you know, you do your thing, and I do mine, but Maisy gets cured. We could get divorced in a few years and maybe remain friends. You get to stay permanently in the states and we all live happily ever after.” She claps her hands, a big smile from ear to ear and wham bam problem solved, except it isn’t, not really.
Her words sit with me. It’s crazy talk in a desperate situation. How could I fake something like that with her? I look at her and realize how hard that would be. Her soft skin and light scent that follows her everywhere, even lingers in Maisy’s room when I’m there. Nothing about marriage to Piper could be fake. My body wants her far more than that even if my head and heart are at distinct odds.
“It’s not as simple as that.” I toss a pen on my desk thinking about how I’ll be forty in two years’ time and she won’t even be thirty. Most of my contemporary friends are on their second child or second marriage by now.
“Sure, it is.” Piper sits on my desk taunting me with the curve of her ass bubbling on the edge. She starts sorting the mail envelopes on my desk. For some unknown reason, I don’t mind her invasion of my privacy. Save for her shuffling and making quick work of the mess the office is quiet in a soothing way with her here. In under a minute everything is placed neatly in corresponding stacks I couldn’t have managed on my own.
She glances around the office, her eyes narrow.
“You need someone to come in here and clean.” We both assess the current state of my office. Dust bunnies linger in corners from neglect. My bike helmet rests on the only other chair in the room with my jacket. Admittedly I’d rather be doing research than dusting. I couldn’t see myself in a cute little outfit and a duster, Piper however would look hot in one. She’s twenty-six for fucks sake. I shake the image out of my head, but I know my home office could use a good cleaning from top to bottom.
She’s too young.
Black silk and white lace fantasies.
If she only knew what I was thinking.
There’s definitely a method to my madness, a chaos in my order. She’s right. I do need someone, someone who compliments my faults, someone who enjoys sorting mail… an idea comes to mind and before I can squash it, my mouth opens going against all other thoughts I had in the span of five minutes.
I blame the honeysuckle.
That scent is like a drug and now I’m entertaining ideas I shouldn’t.
If there was a time to start drinking, this might be it.
“If we’re going to do this Piper, it’s going to be for real. Not some fake marriage that gets me sent back to Georgia.” Her eyes pop wide but I think she’s down with this as much as I am despite the hesitancy.
Maybe a little dusting outfit for our first anniversary.
What the hell am I thinking?
She steps back like she wants to run and my primal brain wants to chase.
I definitely want to chase her.
“What do you mean real?” Her arms cross defensively giving me side eye. I’d been around the block enough to know that look.
Is she kidding me? She came in here suggesting this. I’m merely capitalizing on her offer.
I get up and follow her until I’m the one leaning in close. Her loose workout shirt slips over her shoulder exposing skin that looks delicious bare. My fingers trail a path over the sharp jut of bone. I let my mouth hover next to her ear close enough that my tongue sneaks a taste of her lobe as I speak softly challenging her, throwing down the gauntlet. She’ll either lean in or push back.
Please don’t push back.
“What I mean Piper is that you give up the sexy time.” I groan. Sexy time? Really? Usually, my English is flawless, but occasionally I say things I shouldn’t translating in my head no matter how long I’ve been here.
Her eyes narrow. “Sexy time?”
I clear my throat trying again. “We continue with marital relations.” Stopping while I’m ahead is a good idea, too bad I don’t follow it. Right now, I don’t care how stupid I sound.
“Marital relations?” Her prominent eyebrows arch and I roll my eyes knowing how uncouth I sound. Maybe I should care how I sound? I might have actually blown this whole idea to hell and back before we even say I do.
“Piper, I want you. I couldn’t live in the same space as you like a monk watching sand fall in an hourglass waiting for a divorce.” My hips angle toward her testing her reaction. I don’t believe in divorce, but I don’t feel like having that fight when the rings haven’t been bought yet. It’s up to me to make this work.
She pants leaning into me, her body melting against mine and I think I’m done for. Her hair shifts and kicks up that floral scent hardening my dick instantly. I grind into her as her small nails pinch the skin of my biceps. I like the sting of pain her hands bring against my body.
“Dr. Lazare.” Her eyes flutter shut as she stutters my name.
“Milo. We going to be a heck of a lot more familiar than this.”
She licks her lips and starts again.
“M-Milo.”
I groan thinking about her lips and every other part of her I might be graced with in the near future.
“Come on Piper, I can’t have my American wife telling tales that I don’t satisfy her–” I kiss the spot under her earlobe letting my lips press gently teasing the skin, “every need in bed.”
She moans tilting her head back exposing the pale skin of her neck for my taking. I wonder if she will come from words alone. It’s an experiment I’d like to explore further another time as crazy as that sounds.
I nip her neck, my teeth grazing the skin and lean my hips in. “Even my home country would repudiate me for failing my wife.” The room feels about twenty degrees warmer and I would love to toss my white jacket to the floor and tug her shirt off her shoulder trapping her arms against her and out of my way so I can kiss and suck at her skin.
“You have a dirty mouth, doctor.”
“You have no idea.” Pushing her back, her eyes widen, pupils dilate. She licks her lips and I think that maybe, just maybe she wants this as much as I do. I mean, why she would come here and offer herself up to me on a silver platter thinking this wouldn’t go anywhere sexually? I couldn’t marry a woman and do my own thing as she suggested. That would feel
like cheating and I took marriage vows seriously.
Celibacy.
I snorted.
“You want my mouth all over you. Admit it. I can see your pulse beat under your collarbone here.” I touch her skin lightly, it’s soft as I run a fingertip under the thin strap of her sports bra tugging on it. She shudders. I like the way she fills out her gym clothes with subtle curves.
“Milo.” I kiss everywhere but her mouth. I’m saving that for later when I have time to dive deeper.
“I wish I could strip you bare.”
“Right now? Why?” She squeaks.
“Because the pretty flush on your cheeks must cover your breasts under this shirt indicating a distinct change in blood flow to your more erogenous zones.”
“You’re definitely a doctor.” She snorts.
I chuckle. “Call me inquisitive then.”
“Wordy.” She mutters.
“Observant.” I respond. She has no idea how observant I could be.
“You’re ridiculous.” Her breathy voice oozes desire.
I snicker. “Remind me again, who came to whose office with an outrageous idea to get married?”
“That’s unfair.”
“So, would be denying the attraction we feel toward each other, no?” I ask.
“That’s blackmail.”
“Says the woman pimping out her body for medical treatment.” I cough and rephrase. “Figuratively speaking.”
She slaps my chest and I grab her hand playfully. “That is not what this is and you know it.” Her face flushes darker. It’s a huge turn on.
“You’re right, I’m sorry.” I’m only half sorry.
“I care about Maisy and Diana seems to think this is the only way to save her.”
“So, it’s all Diana’s idea?” I tease.
“Yes. No. Stop trying to confuse me and give me an answer.”
Her lips press together and I want them open, apart and tasting my tongue. “I won’t do anything illegal.” I tell her, although the speed at which she arouses my body makes me reconsider every principal and oath I’ve ever taken. Illegal could mean a variety of things in my head.
“We have a lawyer friend, Naomi Whitehall. Diana works for her as a paralegal. I’ll ask her what we need to do to make this right.”
“Legal and real. We’ll probably have to stay married longer than a year to make sure.” I tap the end of her nose with my finger. She’s cute in a way I hadn’t thought of before, not my usual type if I had one.
“I want Maisy to be in remission.” She’s in my arms and I’m holding her close, close enough her scent makes me a little drunk, and her soft skin makes me woozy to go along with this crazy plan.
“Of course. Besides I can’t practice medicine from jail.”
Her brow creases like she’s thinking hard about this.
“Right. I love Maisy, but I’d be a terrible Auntie from jail.”
I tip her chin up to look at me.
“I don’t think orange is a good color for you.”
“No? I don’t think it’s good for you either.” Her coy smile makes this troublesome to resist.
“No, not when you blush such a pretty shade of pink.” I tug that lock of hair that doesn’t match the rest and I swear she shivers.
Her hand covers her mouth as she whispers. “So, we’re going to do this? For real?”
“For realsies.” I mimic my youngest patients’ words and her head bobs up and down looking anywhere but at me. I hope she’s not having second thoughts. I’ve already had a dozen, and then talked myself out of them. I’m out of options and I don’t bite the hand willing to offer me freedom. Not yet anyway…
CHAPTER THREE
Piper
My neck cramps holding the phone to my ear. I’ve been working extra hours because I know whatever Milo and I decide is going to take time away from the gym. “So just to be clear, Vegas is out?”
I drop my water bottle into my bag getting ready to leave. After rooting in my bag, one handed, I find my car keys and swing it over my shoulder. Jax is far enough away he can’t hear my conversation while spotting one of his trainees so I give him a wave while he nods back. He looks like he wants me to wait so he can say something. I make tracks and get out of there quick. He’s my best friend who doesn’t know about my plan. Guilt weasels its way into my head and heart. I’ve told him everything from the time we were five, but this feels different. At least I didn’t have to deal with his brother. Will had a knack for sniffing out trouble like a chocoholic hiding a Hershey bar.
“Is that a joke? Please tell me you’re joking. I’m telling you Piper, you can’t go to Vegas or do a quickie wedding if you want this to look legitimate. Those immigration officers are hard asses.” Naomi scolds me. I hear a filing cabinet shut on her end of the call, she’s still at work.
“I’m kidding.”
Once I’m seated inside my car I pick at my nail thinking about my long list of things to do. Milo said we have forty days but it’s been two already so technically we’re on day thirty-eight of the countdown to getting kicked out of the USA.
“You better be, I don’t need that kind of heart attack.”
“We still need to fill out the application.” Luckily Maryland doesn’t require a blood test to get married. Good thing because I have an appointment with the vampires in an hour to donate blood for Maisy. It’s not my favorite thing to do but the blood bank needs it.
“Yes, and then you both wait the mandatory two days before you do it.” Naomi sounds exasperated with me. I’ve been peppering her with a multitude of questions the internet couldn’t answer about marrying a non-US citizen.
Jesting I say, “Is that the chicken shit clause?”
“The what?” Naomi doesn’t see the humor in my joke. I might need to schedule teaching four or five daily Pilates and cycle classes to keep the edge off my nerves.
“You know, in case we get the cold feet sort of thing.”
Her sigh makes the phone connection fuzzy. “Are you getting cold feet about this? Piper, if you’re having second thoughts it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”
Don’t lie, don’t lie, don’t lie.
Yes, but I don’t tell her that in my pause and essentially lie because all I’ve thought about is Milo’s almost kiss and what the real thing might be like. My second thoughts resonate toward articles of clothing on the floor and a hot doctor ten years my senior pounding me against–
“Piper? You there?”
I clear my throat and the meddlesome thoughts away.
“No, I’m good.” Brushing it off is easier said than done.
“Piper, as your lawyer and good friend who happens to practice law, although not this type of law specifically. I would highly advise against something like this.”
“We agreed.” I check my mirrors to see if Jax has followed me out to ask what’s wrong. He knows I’m off, I tell him everything, but avoiding him for two days is a huge red flag and he’s going to catch me sooner rather than later. I see a large Jax-like body heading for the glass door and I start the car driving in reverse out of my spot.
Delay and run is my new tactic.
“What do you even know about this guy?” Naomi presses.
“He’s not a serial killer.” I say merging into traffic.
Naomi isn’t having it and her tone gets lawyerly real quick.
“Damn it, Piper!”
I know he’s a great doctor, he cares about his patients, oh and he kisses like he’s stealing your soul even though he never touched my lips. I keep that little gem of information to myself.
“He’s a doctor specializing in children’s cancer and research. He’s been great to Maisy and Diana.”
I hear Naomi shuffling papers.
“Is there a contract? Anything on paper? A prenup? I know Rex can draw one up if you’re worried. Shit we didn’t think about assets we only reviewed the legalities.”
“Naomi thank you, but I think Milo and I can man
age. I bet he has more assets than I do.”
“He could have a shit ton of debt, student loans, and who knows what his mortgage is like for his house in Federal Hill.”
Now that was interesting news we hadn’t had time to discuss.
How the hell did Naomi ferret that out?
“I didn’t know he lived there.”
“Like I said before, Piper. How much do you know about this guy?”
“Ugh, did you call a private investigator? It’s been less than forty-eight hours since I told you about this.” I focus on driving as I recall both Diana and Naomi’s reactions when I told them right away. Diana was happy and shocked. Naomi was less so putting it mildly.
She ignores my question completely. “Piper, you have partnerships with two gyms in two different states.”
“Yeah, and huge loans to cover until we start breaking even. My life consists of working non-stop running the gym and classes when I’m not visiting Maisy.” I can’t even think about the financial stress of being a business owner right now. Jax and his brother Will Holden have been my friends longer than Diana. This gym expansion is our baby. We’ve been working on building our brand and gym culture getting this off the ground. Those two Holden brothers are going to be pissed I didn’t share this with them. Luckily Will is in Austin and I’ve got Jax, the calmer of the two to deal with here in Baltimore.
“You know I’m coming to the wedding just to meet this guy.”
I snort. “Of course, you are. It’ll be at the hospital chapel since Maisy can’t leave right after her chemo.” I want to have her as my flower girl. Babies totally distract Naomi and I know it when she sighs sweetly into the phone.
“How is that sweet child?”
“Awesome. I’m actually I’m my way to donate blood.” When I learned Maisy and I have the same blood type I donate when possible. It’s one of the few things I can do in case she ever needs a transfusion.
“Drink lots of juice.”
“I will. See you soon.”
