Page 34 of Seven Nights

“X-rays on the ankle aren't necessary as long as the swelling goes down.” His fingers move along the back of my calf in a way that seems completely unnecessary from a medical perspective. “You'll need to stay off it for at least three days. Grif can carry you around. He seems to like that.”

I open my eyes and slowly nod. I want him out of the room as soon as possible, so I’ll play the docile patient unless he pushes too far again.

“I'll stay off it,” I lie.

Looking up at the ceiling, I plead with the hidden camera.

Bentley and Griffin may share certain traits, but it is Griffin I trust and Griffin I want in the room with me.

Grabbing the ice pack, Bentley positions it over the swelling then reaches into the bag he brought with him for more antiseptic wipes. “I'll leave instructions on the icing schedule. Were these sanitized?”

He gestures at the scrapes on my leg. It is at this moment that Griffin opens the bedroom door. He carries his iPad in his hand. The screen is off, but I am certain he was watching the entire examination—watching and listening.

Griffin fishes the bottle of Percocet from my limp palm and tosses it into Bentley’s satchel. “Take this shit with you.”

Next he points at my scrapes. “If that's all that's left, I'll do it.”

Griffin’s scowl turns into a snarl as he speaks. The veins along his arms stand out as if has been flexing the muscles while he waited on the other side of the door.

“Well, as I indicated to Katelyn, a scan—” Bentley begins.

“No,” I interrupt. I am not going to spend any more time around this “doctor” or have the entire hospital, and through them the whole damn town surrounding the estate, gossiping about how Griffin Montgomery’s latest pet injured herself.

Bentley shrugs. “Then you'll need to be checked for signs of a concussion every two hours for the next twenty-four hours.”

I suck in a breath. “Is that really necessary?”

Griffin doesn’t give the doctor time to answer. “I'll see to it. What else?”

Bentley pulls out his cell phone, taps through a few screens. “I've mailed you a list of instructions and signs to look for.”

Griffin turns his iPad on, taps through to his mail and grunts. “Got it.”

He rolls his shoulders and neck, the joints popping with tension. “More?”

Bentley catches my gaze again. Another knowing smile plays across his lips, flattening them until the smirk reaches the corners and turns them up. “Call me immediately if you needanything, Kate.”

I can tell Griffin doesn’t like the doctor’s tone, the words the man chooses to accent or the way he shortened my name. He grabs Bentley’s bag, snaps it shut and carries it to the bedroom door. Bentley takes the cue and retreats with a parting wink at me.

Standing at the room’s threshold, Griffin tracks the man’s path down the hall like a lion watching an antelope crossing the plain, each step intended to be the prey’s last.

Shutting the door, he turns to face the bed and catches me straining to reach one of the packets of antiseptic wipes.

“Stop,” he grunts. “I’m doing that.”

I keep reaching anyway. I don’t want him delivering any more first aid. It fuzzies up my brain, makes me wonder if I can be anything to him other than the woman he once paid fifty thousand dollars to fuck. With Bentley’s slimy persona still coating my senses, I don’t need to feel any more unsettled.

“I'd really rather not spank you so soon after your fall, pet, but I will.”

His warning echoes with a warm purr that goes straight to my pussy. My arms retreat to my sides. Putting his hands on my shoulders, Griffin coaxes me into relaxing against the bed pillows. He kisses each of my eyes shut, then continues on to my mouth. His warm, soft kisses ensure my compliance when he stops to clean the scrapes.

Cracking one eye open, I watch him work on my leg. Glancing up, he catches my gaze on him.

“I'll get you someone other than Bentley, so if the scan is about the bill—”

“It's not,” I interrupt.

Griffin disposes of the wipes then takes a seat next to my hip. He parts my robe to massage the front of my shoulders. There is nothing sexual in what he is doing, but it is very intimate anyway.

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