Page 25 of Fixation

“That’s it?” he checked.

“I’m just going to clean you up and remove the rest of the stitches right now itself. Then we can check your arm’s movement.”

“So, I was panicking for nothing?” He sounded relieved.

“You were lucky you didn’t injure yourself badly. How are you feeling now?”

“Better. The pain has lessened.”

She went to work removing the stitches that ran from his upper chest all the way to his shoulder. Once done, she cleaned and disinfected the scar. It was definitely healing well.

She stepped back, removed her gloves and tossed them into the bin.

“All done. Now let’s see your movement.” Lifting his arm, she began to raise it up and down slowly, studying his face all the while. She stopped when she noticed a bit of discomfort on his face. “As of now, you don’t seem to be able to lift it very high. That should improve with physiotherapy. Let’s check it again tomorrow after we remove the cast from your leg.”

When she was about to turn, he caught her wrist. Something crackled in the air around her. Her skin heated, and her heart began to race in her chest. Annoyed with herself, she tried to shrug off his hold. He held firm, his gaze fixed on her wrist as if he, too, was feeling that strange warmth unfurling between them. Insane. She was behaving insane. Yet, she couldn’t stop herself from staring at him.

More of his bruises had faded in the last week. With his tousled, just-woken-up hair and that stubble lining his sharp cheekbones, he looked so… good. She itched to feel the roughness of his cheeks, to rake a hand through his hair and learn if they were as soft as they looked. Her stomach knotted. Why was she unable to control her thoughts? Or her eyes? Or her emotions? All of them were behaving as if they had a mind of their own. Her eyes coasted down his body.

It suddenly dawned on her that he was shirtless, his whole chest on display for her. Her gaze shamelessly traced his abs and the vee going down his sides and then went up to his face. The beard on his jaw was much more enhanced now, giving him a rugged look. She looked into his eyes and found him watching her.Cut it out, Reina, she scolded herself.You don’t even like him.

“Mr. Oshnov, can you please let go of my hand?” Her voice came out all breathy, which further irritated her.

He stared at her and then at his hand that had captured her wrist, still doing nothing to let her go. She caught his fingers and removed them from her wrist. And now, she was so mad, at herself and at him.

“Look, I’m leaving your chest open. It has healed well,” she said. “But please, no jerking movements for a few days more.”

She busied herself studying his vitals on the various screens attached to him. He, however, hadn’t stopped watching her. Taking a plain shirt off from a rack in the corner, she helped him into it, taking deliberate care not to touch his skin.

“My ring,” he said, “It’s fallen on the other side of the bed. I woke up and saw it on the trolley. Tyrion must have left it here for me when I was sleeping. I was trying to pick it up when it slipped from my hand and fell. I was trying to get up to retrieve it when... when you woke up.”

She rounded his bed and found that the ring had rolled a little distance away. Set on a platinum band, it had a huge blue stone in the centre. She ran the tip of her finger around its periphery, studying it, before handing it to him. He wore it on the pinkie finger of his left hand, his lips curving into a smile. What was so special about this ring? Who had given it to him? What was this light blue stone? She’d never seen anything like it. Fuck, again, she was curious about him.

“Spasibo. Thank you,” he told her.

“It’s late. Try and get some sleep.”

She handed him the remote to adjust the bed to his position of liking. Moving away, she sat on the armchair she’d been resting on earlier. She breathed in and out, trying to gain control of her racing heart. She glared at the romance novel she’d been reading earlier.Shewasn’t the problem here. It was these delicious romance books that Su Min had insisted she read that had caused her thoughts to turn unruly and lascivious. Thanks to these books she’d been devouring every day, she had been checking out Vedant Oshnov even when she didn’t like him.

Yes, she absolutely didn’t like Vedant Oshnov. He was her patient, nothing else. The lateness of the night and the spiciness of the scene she’d been reading prior to dozing off were to be blamed for her minor lack of control. Yes, that was it. It wouldn’t happen again. She’d ensure it.

9

What had just happened right now? Once again, his doctor had been blatantly checking him out. And once again, he had enjoyed it. His chest had inflated on seeing the pink creep up her cheeks. His body had come to life, thickening and hardening, as if waking up from a long slumber.

And damn, she was gorgeous. It had taken him a while to realise she wasn’t wearing her glasses and that the knot at her nape had loosened. Seeing her in her natural beauty had been like a punch to his gut. With those soft strands of hair framing her perfectly oval face, her clear brown eyes shining, and those perfectly pink bow-shaped lips, Reina Singh was a stunner.

Dressed simply in plain black leggings and a white tee-shirt, her face bare of any makeup, and with her skin glowing, she was absolutely… wow. A natural beauty. Her slim body dipped and curved at just the right places. Perfect. She was simply perfect. It was like God had taken his own time while creating her. His chest lurched. Reina Singh was utterly gorgeous, and he was having a hard time moving his gaze away from her.

Vedant watched her pick up the novel, refusing to look at him at all. She pretended to read it; her lips curved into a moue. Her jaw, that defiant jaw, rose.

His eyes landed on the book she was holding—it was upside down. He held back a laugh. Could it be possible she was feeling as flustered as him? Did she too feel the heat when their skin touched? He raked a hand through his hair, feeling out of sorts. She was his doctor, for God’s sake, and barring that one laugh they had shared days ago, he was mostly annoyed with her.

Yet, he couldn’t help but accept that he was undeniably drawnto her. Even cloaked in the severe disguise of those monstrous glasses and the tight confines of her hair, she’d ignited a warmth within him. There had been something about her despite her camouflage. Even then, his skin had heated every time she had been near. Raw electricity had coursed through him whenever she had touched him. Now, unveiled in all her stunning glory, he was further taken in by her. He yearned to see that beautiful caramel-streaked hair cascade freely down her back. He wanted to see and learn all about the woman she hid beneath her carefully constructed façade. A façade he was certain was created for a reason. Why else would she be hiding all this beauty?

As if hearing his thoughts, Reina unwrapped her long hair. When she raked her fingers through her hair, he had to literally unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth. Bloody fucking hell. Why… how…? Fuck, he was unable to form sentences in his own head. It was criminal to hide all that beauty. He wanted to fist his hands in her hair and test the silkiness of her strands, to learn if they were indeed as soft as they looked.

When she began to gather them up again, he blurted out, “Wait, leave it like that.”

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