Page 39 of Taking Her Medicine

Zoelle unwrapped the gift, tugging tissue paper out of the way, and revealed her present. She pulled the fluffy teddy bear out of the bag, gasping. His fur was blond, and he had big cobalt-colored eyes. He was dressed in navy scrubs embroidered with the words, ‘Dr. Aaron Bear.’ The resemblance was not lost on my little girl.

“Oh, my god, Daddy!” Zoelle jumped up and down. “You! He’syou!” She hugged him to her chest. “I’ve always wanted a special teddy bear. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, kitten.”

“Did I make you uncomfortable when I asked you to make love to me?”

“No, Zoelle.” I kissed her forehead. “I promised you anything.”

“I’ve never done that before,” she confessed as she hugged me. “You make everything we do feel so special.”

“I’m happy to be the one to have explored such a connection with you. No more worries tonight. Fun times only.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Chapter 9

Zoelle

Letting myself into Aaron’s house with his key, I fretted about my choice to come over. There had been a terrible accident on the major highway outside of our town, and dozens of victims had been brought to several local hospitals. The clinic shut down and we sent over as much manpower as possible, due to the mass casualty situation.

Though I hadn’t talked to Aaron since he left for the hospital, the news stations had been reporting the fatalities. He faced an awful battle at work, and my homemade food might not make him feel better at all. I whipped up a pan of baked macaroni and cheese, fixed a huge green salad with grape tomatoes, and added a batch of his favorite brownies. It was not much, but I hoped he would at least appreciate the gesture. I wanted Aaron to be able to relax without having to worry about me or anything else.

The garage door opened and he came in through the kitchen.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Hey, kitten.” He closed the distance between us, but didn’t reach for me. “I’ve got to get out of these clothes. Thank you for being here.”

Something was off. His eyes were haunted and the look gutted me. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He took my hand and kissed it, and then set his belongings down on the counter, noticing the food warming in the oven. “Did you make dinner?”

“Homemade mac and cheese, a huge salad, and dessert.”

“That’s so sweet, kitten, but I’m not really hungry.” He checked something on his phone and pocketed it. “I need a shower.”

“Do you want me in there with you?”

“I don’t know.” Aaron kissed my forehead and shuffled out of the kitchen. I heard his footsteps taper off toward his bedroom, and I placed a hand over my stomach. I was stupid for thinking dinner could make him forget some of the horrors he’d witnessed at the hospital. I was so unsure of how to help him, but I couldn’t just stay home and not do anything at all.

Fifteen minutes passed but the shower remained off. I swallowed hard, hoped I was making the right choices, and entered his room. Aaron was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands. He hadn’t even taken his scrubs off. It pained me to see him torn up emotionally.

“Aaron?”

“Please don’t ask me anything about my day, kitten, I’m not as strong as you think I am.”

I wrapped my arms around him, his head pressed against my belly.

“No, you’re much stronger.”

“I lost so many patients today.” His voice was thick with emotion. Aaron pulled out of my embrace and wiped his arm across his eyes. “So many people died from complications due to trauma. There wasn’t a damn thing I could have done differently. There were not enough resources.”

“You should get out of your work clothes and take a shower. You’ll feel better.” His eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and it hurt my heart to see the raw pain held in them. “I’ll start the water.”

I padded off to the master bathroom and fiddled with the dials. His huge shower had two heads, and it felt super luxurious whenever we took one together, but my mind was on his relaxation. Aaron came up behind me and locked one hand around my throat, his fingers perfectly spaced on either side. I swallowed hard as arousal burned through my body. Guilt followed. He didn’t need to spend any time on me.

“D-did I do something wrong, Daddy?”

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