AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’s okay, Duran,” he said, gray brows creasing. “I’m giving her a lot of fluids and some painkillers, but she’ll be fine. Where did this happen?”
“I had a meeting on a boat. She went with me, but she slipped away,” I said hoarsely. “I found her drugged with six men standing around her.”
He winced. “Do you know if she was sexually assaulted?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so, she still had all her clothes on. There were no marks, no blood or semen on her body.”
“If she consents, I can examine her when she wakes,” he said.
I nodded. Dr. Howell’s sharp blue gaze raked over me and suddenly I felt much younger than thirty. I’d known him for a long time, he’d witnessed me grow up and he’d been my doctor from day one. It was hard to hide anything from him.
“Who is she?” he asked.
I sighed. “I met her at a resort. There was a misunderstanding. I thought she was spying on me so I took her with me and then I found out she wasn’t.”
“So, why is she still here?” he pressed.
I sighed, studying her sleeping form.
“I didn’t want to bring her home,” I said quietly.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Well, there’s no prescription I can write to cure what you have.”
Frowning, I followed him out into the hall. “What does that mean?”
He shook his head. “I’ve never known you to stay with any woman longer than a night. There’s something special about this one.”
“No, I’m just trying to be nice,” I said, fully aware how stupid I sounded.
He sent me a disbelieving glance from below raised brows. I followed him into the kitchen and leaned on the counter, watching him make a coffee.
“Who is she?” he asked.
I sighed. “Iris Scavo, the daughter of one of Romano’s bookkeepers,” I admitted.
Dr. Howell turned and I felt like I was being X-rayed as he raked his gaze over me. “I know the Scavos, not well, but we’ve spoken. Why is she here?”
Defeated, I let my shoulders sag. I’d been in such deep denial for the last few days that I’d never had admitted it. But after seeing her in danger, watching her fight for consciousness in my lap on the helicopter—I was tired of denying the strange warm feeling that flooded through my chest when I looked at her.
“I don’t know,” I said hoarsely. “But she’s not leaving.”
He crossed his arms. “Maybe I’d better prescribe her some birth control.”
I laughed shortly. “She’s not going to fuck me.”
The coffee machine gurgled and began filling his cup. The house was so silent it felt loud.
“Does her father know you have her?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Her family is really religious, she still thinks about herself as a good Catholic girl, so it’s going to be a shitshow when they find out.”
His brow creased. “Did you hook up with her?”
I nodded and then reconsidered.
“We hooked up, but didn’t take it all the way,” I said. “But that doesn’t matter. I did some digging into her family and they’ll be pissed she’s been with me alone, much less fucked around.”
“Hmm, Lucien isn’t going to be thrilled,” he said.
