Page 46 of Taking Her Medicine

“Mm.” I smiled. “There’s something else I feel the need to tell you.” I took a deep breath and let it out. “I wanted you to use me last night. I wanted you to do whatever you needed to do to me in order to feel better. Please tell me you’re not upset with yourself.”

“You placed all of your trust in me, which allowed me to work through some tough things yesterday, kitten, but you kept all of the control. I’m not upset with myself, but it means so much to me to hear it from your sweet lips.”

“I’m happy we got to spend time together, and I want to do it more often.”

“Even if it’s not a kinky medical exam?” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

“Yeah, Aaron, even if it’s sitting in traffic together.”

He chuckled as we got out of bed but our reluctance was obvious. For so long, I had wanted to wake up in his bed, in his arms, and the reality of it made my heart so happy.

A random memory popped through my brain. I’d told him I loved him while I was in my little space!

Oh, god.

Aaron had said it back to me. I wanted to deconstruct the meaning behind it in my own mind before bringing it up to him. He had told me once a while ago that he felt no love for his family, that they all treated him like absolute garbage. He said he didn’t have many friends, only a close few, plus one or two from medical school, and other casual acquaintances over the years.

If he said the word back to me though… then he felt it on a deeper level.

Aaron didn’t say pretty words just to say them. No. He loved me. The thought unlocked something in my heart. Our relationship had been a long time in the making, and we really were meant to be together.

As long as I stayed out of my head and focused on the present, we’d be fine.

Chapter 10

Two weeks later

Zoelle

I successfully convinced upper management for more private accommodations when they’d determined my productivity tanked with the constant interruptions from the nurses and other staff members who treated me like an errand girl. I wasn’t stuck up, so if I could help someone out, I helped. But I had gotten behind in my daily tasks. Unfortunately, the best they could offer was a small desk positioned behind a screen divider in the breakroom.

It was not quiet, but at least no one purposefully bothered me anymore. I’d brushed up my résumé last week and started putting out feelers. As much as I enjoyed seeing Aaron at work, it was not a good environment.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with Aaron.” Leeann’s voice filtered out from behind the divider.

My pulse thundered in my ears as I processed the implication behind her words, but I forced myself to continue typing the email I’d been working on.

“Wow. Are you guys dating?” Tanya giggled. “I thought he was seeing someone else.”

“Why do you think that?” Leeann scoffed. “Aaron and I are both so busy, but I think we could make it work. This job and the extra shifts at the hospital allow us the downtime to explore options.”

Oh. That does it.

I jumped up from my chair to give Leeann a piece of my mind, but forgot that I had taken a phone call a few minutes ago and still had my headphones on. I was yanked backward by the wire, smacking my head on the edge of the desk. Tangling myself further, I pulled the entire laptop down on top of my head along with the divider that I had been about to move. I crashed to the floor, pissed off and mortified at my clumsiness.

Tanya reached me impossibly fast. Becca reached us moments later. I didn’t know if she was already there or had been alerted by the crash from the equipment. Leeann offered her hands to me as well, but I nearly growled at her.

“Don’t you fuckingtouchme!” My head was spinning, and tears poured down my cheeks. She was the absolute last person I wanted to be around. “This is all your fault, Leeann. Get out of my face.”

She paled considerably. “You hit your head pretty hard, and you’re favoring your shoulder. It might be dislocated.”

“I’d rather pop it back in myself,” I seethed at her, allowing Becca and Tanya to slowly help me stand. But my stupid knees buckled, and they caught me, sitting me back down on the floor.

“Get Dr. York,” Tanya said, shooing Leeann toward the door.

“No, that’s a terrible idea,” I countered.

“He’s the doc on call,” Becca said. “Tell him Zoe is hurt.”

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