Page 19 of Doctor Daddy

I admired his confidence, then again, I was easy for him. I had already proven that.

On the drive home I wondered if maybe, I should have taken Mark up on that offer for lunch. When I got home, I fell instantly asleep. I couldn’t get the smell of the flowers out of my nose in my dreams. When I woke from my nap, I was disappointed that I had left all the flowers at work, and the dream smell was just a memory.

In the morning at work, there was a noticeable reduction of flowers. I didn’t know if Lisa and Terry had taken any home, or if Mark had taken me up on taking some up to his office. I no longer worked in the midst of a florist display. If I had any doubts that Mark was the one behind the flowers, I was certain now. The day after I told him it was too much, suddenly there were fewer flowers and no new ones.

“Good morning.” I loved his deep rumbly morning voice. “Did you have a good nap yesterday?”

“I did. I dreamed about flowers.”

“Do you want to know what I dreamed about?”

I had to swallow around the sudden lump in my throat. My mouth went dry, and heat and dampness welled up between my thighs. I really wanted to know what he had dreamed about. And I really wanted him to keep talking to me in that sexy voice.

“I dreamed that you went out with me. But when I woke up, I realized it had only been a dream, and that was a sad way to start my morning.”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

“You laugh at my pain.”

I shook my head. “Not at all. I just realized that I could make your dreams come true.”

“You have no idea. But all you do is toy with my affections.”

I shrugged. “What can I say? I like playing with you.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Damn it, Brooke. You… I know you’ll say no, but you did say there is yes somewhere. Can I take you out to dinner?”

“Yes, of course. That sounds lovely.”

9

MARK

Iadjusted my tie in the mirror. I needed to remember to speak with Brooke about our situation— if we were going to date or if this was going to be a friends with benefits situation, whichever— she needed to be clearly aware that we needed to keep this on the down-low.

I ran my fingers through my hair. I didn’t want it to look too slicked back, that showed off the graying hair at my temples. I knew they were supposed to be dignified, they just reminded me that time was not on my side. I wasn’t anywhere near being old. Old was an attitude. Age was a number. I ran through all the age-based platitudes I could think of that I would need if Peyton ever found out about us.

Her father would have my balls if he knew we were having sex. And that was going to be a very big part of whatever this was between us. Keeping it secret would also keep everything smooth at work. My practice wouldn’t suffer, but she would. No matter what happened, or how long we were together, I did not want Brooke to suffer.

My car cut through traffic like a hot knife through butter. There was no such thing as light traffic, even on a Saturday night, but that didn’t slow me down. I wasn’t about to be late. I wanted to be there, waiting when Brooke made her entrance. I thoroughly enjoyed watching that woman move. She had a wiggle in the way she moved that made me feel underage. She was a sight worth devouring.

As I parked the car in the garage down the street from the restaurant, I chastised myself for not offering to meet her in a more parking-friendly area and then drive to the restaurant together. She could have come to my place, and we would have left from there. Hell, we could have had sex first, taking care of all the sexual tension beforehand. My gentleman skills were suffering when it came to her.

With Brooke I didn’t give a fuck about social graces. I just wanted to be in her, raw and primal. That closet at the gala had been perfect on so many levels. I craved more of that. I craved her.

Tonight, after this pretense of a date I planned on taking her home and making her scream. I knew she would pull everything from me, leaving me withered and beat, and begging for me.

When I got to the restaurant, Brooke was already there. She sat regally, like a goddess waiting to be worshiped. Her hair was down, falling in soft rolling waves around her face. She had on too much makeup for my tastes, but she was exquisite. Her lips shined, begging for my attention, tempting me with their softness. Her dress was red, and she showed off just enough skin to make my cock throb, demanding to see more.

The smile she gave me when our eyes met was breath-taking.

I leaned down and kissed her cheek when I got to the table. I couldn’t take my eyes from her breasts. They were perfect, and so artfully framed for appreciation.

“Mark,” she said, pulling my attention up to her face.

“You look ravishing.” My voice had gotten low and husky. Damn it, I needed to focus.

“I think there is something we need to agree on before we continue,” I blurted out. I wanted to get this over with.

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