Falling for Him 4 (Rachel and Peter in Love) (4 page)

He pointed out times in her life when other teenagers and adults would have faced the consequences of their actions, but she
’d been spared those lessons. Whenever things had begun to spiral out of control, her father had always stepped in with a solution and the means to rescue her.

She could tell that in some ways, David pitied her upbringing and the fact that she
’d never learned life’s lessons while she was still young and the lessons were minor. She hated being the object of anyone’s pity and fought the teachings he wanted her to learn.

He pointed out on numerous occasions that she needed to stand on her own two feet, and stop relying on her father to always be waiting in the wings. At the end of the first week, she finally blurted out something that had been gnawing at her for the last two days.

“Where the hell is my father?”

He’d dropped her off at the facility and signed paperwork assuring the center would be paid for her time there, but that had been the extent of her interaction with him. He hadn’t called, there had been no messages left for her, and he certainly hadn’t come to see her.

She’d thought about calling him and demanding he come and
get her out of this, but David had calmly informed her that the house rules didn’t allow phone calls.  She’d pondered the idea that her father just forgot to leave her cell phone with her, but now she was beginning to wonder if he hadn’t abandoned her at the center, knowing she wouldn’t be able to contact him.

When David didn’t immediately answer her question, she recalled that he had informed her several days back during a tirade, that if she wanted him to respond to her questions, they needed to be asked in a calm, and respectful manner.

It was to go ballistic! He was making the rules and she had to obey! How in the world did she deserve that!

Lara s
wallowed back her irritation, lowered her voice and tried the question again, “Do you happen to know why I haven’t heard from my father?”

David smiled at her with a nod, “I believe he left word that he would be traveling out of the country for three weeks.”

Lara was furious! How dare he dump here in the facility and then leave the country! What if the place was abusive, or full of psychos! What if she needed him? His obligation was to be there for her!

She carried her anger over her father’s abandonment with her for the next three days until Da
vid finally challenged her on it, “Are you through pouting about something you can’t change?”

“What
?!” Lara asked, not liking his tone.

“Your father. You’ve been pouting and prickly as a cactus since you asked about him. You do realize that acting out won’t make the three weeks pass any faster?”

“Of course I do!” Lara replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

When David simply stared her down, she eventually realized that her was totally out of proportion and an irrational response to the situation.

So, her father was away on business. He was normally away on business. He would return, and call her or come see her at that point in time. David was right! Pouting about it, or holding on to her anger, was only hurting her – not her father. He didn’t even know she was upset with him!

“I get your point, and I’m sorry.” Lara took a deep breath and then continued, “I realize that being angry with him is only hurting me. I mean, he doesn’t even know I’m upset with him.”

David smiled at her, a smile that caused the butterflies to swirl in her stomach and her heart rate to increase. “Very good, Lara. Very good. I’m proud of you. So, how do you feel now?”

Lara thought for a minute, “Disappointed that I can’t talk to him, but three weeks isn’t that long and I know he’ll call me when he returns. I’m not angry anymore.” She grinned at him, liking how David was constantly challenging her to look at the situations around her with a new perspective and urging her to
become a better person. She offered a genuine “Thank you”, while smiling at him.

This time she didn’t try to flirt with
him, she honestly wanted to earn his respect and his liking.

David smiled at her warmly, “You did it, Lara. Good job.”

The center offered a variety of activities for those staying there to enjoy and use as therapy. When David suggested she make time for some physical activity each day, she saw the perfect opportunity to spend a little more time with him.

“Like weight lifting and such?” she asked, knowing that the center offered much more than a weight room, but playing ignorant seemed to fit her purpose.

David looked at her, but then offered to show her around at the end of their session. He gave her a tour, showing her where the tennis courts, running track, and Olympic-sized swimming pool were located. When the tour ended up outside the dining room just in time for lunch, Lara had shyly asked him to join her, but he had refused.

Lara
watched him walk away, more determined than ever to break through his defenses. She spent the evening hours planning her next attack and the next morning, arose an extra hour early to put it into action.

***

David glanced at the clock above the small credenza in his office and mentally groaned. Lara would arrive for her morning one-on-one in fifteen minutes and he still hadn’t recovered from the day before.

It was becoming more difficult to keep the beautiful young woman in the proper perspective. It was obvious that she was attracted to him, and aggravating to her as well that she couldn’t entice him to act on his mutual attraction.

David had gone out of his way to hide his attraction to her, but he evidently hadn’t been successful. The last few days she had ramped up her attempts to change his mind, and lure him into some sort of inappropriate behavior.

Shaking his head, he grabbed her folder and headed for the small sitting room he used when meeting with patients. He was just sitting down on one of the padded chairs when the door opened and Lara walked in. His breath stalled in his lungs as he looked at her and blinked several times.

Lara was a beautiful woman and knew it. She had evidently decided to take her assault to new heights, based upon the way she was dressed.

She was wearing the sex
iest dress he’d ever seen. It was a brilliant emerald green that contrasted wonderfully with her long wavy red hair. Hair that was perfectly styled, falling in soft waves around her shoulders and down her back.

David
opened his mouth in sheer awe when she turned to shut the door, giving him a view of her almost bare back. The dress was a halter style top, tying around her neck and providing the perfect framework for her lush breasts.

But her back was equally exquisite, with creamy white skin, the dip of her lower back just begging to be touched.
He managed to quickly shut his mouth again, before she turned to take the other vacant seat.

The fabric of the dress was a clingy material, slightly overdone for a therapy session,
but still barely acceptable for the situation. The formfitting dress hugged her hips, tapering to stop mid-thigh, giving him a stunning view of her long, tanned legs.

Legs that were so smooth she
’d to have either just had them waxed, or shaved. Legs that ended with her feet encased in strappy sandals that perfectly matched the color of the dress and highlighted the shell-pink polish upon her toes.

Lara
watched David take in her appearance, smiling at him.
She must be giving herself a high five for my drooling face!
That woman surely knew how to dress to gain every warm blooded male’s attention and that’s exactly what she’d done. Her dress, the makeup, the hair, the high heels everything screamed “Fuck me!” He felt his heart beat raise and would have obeyed in an instant, if it wasn’t for their professional relationship.

Oh God, this woman is making it difficult to resist her!

Just in case David was bold enough to challenge her attire, she had even prepared an excuse. Nobody could say she was sloppy in her conquest.
Looking good made her feel good and just because she was in rehab, was no excuse for letting herself go!

David struggled to catch his breath, trying to maintain his professionalism in the face of the temptation she presented.
The woman was perfect and he could barely stop himself from touching her. He would have loved to taste her luscious lips and savor her mouth with a kiss. To pass his hands along her body and measure the slimness of her waist or to mold those perfectly rounded hips.

He
let his eyes wander back up her body, lingering on the way the dress pushed her luscious breasts together and up. He longed to cup those wonderful mounds in his hands and to feel them pressed against his chest. He felt his cock harden, pushing against the confines of his trousers and he quickly stood, surreptitiously adjusting himself.
He had to get ahold of himself!

Lara
was his patient for God's sake. He'd lose his license if he started anything with her. Sexual harassment and abuse of a patient were not how he wanted his career to end.

He walked to the window and the small table that held a pitcher of water and several glasses. “Excuse me for a moment.” Pouring himself a drink, he downed it quickly, mentally rehearsing why his attraction to her was unfounded and only a figment of his circumstances.

Yes, Lara Bishop was beautiful on the outside. She had his mouth drooling, but that was where the beauty ended. Inside, she was lacking in character just like all the other society girls. Superficial, selfish, immature, and irresponsible.

David was a smart man. He knew that true beauty came from what was on the inside.
He valued more than superficial packaging; he valued other traits like sincerity, warmth, and honesty.

He turned, intending to retake his seat, only to find Lara had snuck up on him and was standing a mere foot away from him. She had a flirty smile upon her face, and as she leaned towards him, David caught a whiff of her perfume.
God!

From the way
Lara smiled, he could tell that she had enjoyed the way he devoured her with his eyes, and her knowing face gave away the fact that she knew exactly why he all of a sudden needed a cold drink.

He didn’t trust himself to not act on his instincts! She had
obviously planned this and was in advantage. If she was going to push him just a bit farther, he would give to her temptations without a second thought. He needed to stop her, now!

She lifted a hand and placed it on his shoulder, “What’s the matter, David? Don’t you like my dress?” Lara placed a fake pout upon her lips
; lips that had been glossed to perfection and were longing to be kissed.

David
tried to recuperate his self-control and stepped back out of her reach, denying his body what it wanted more than anything else. This had to stop now, before things spiraled completely out of his control!

"Lara stop flirting with me now or I will transfer you to another doctor immediately."
David gave her his sternest look, holding her eyes until she finally looked down and away.

Lar
a glared at him, frustrated and angry that he could withstand her allure. If looks could kill… Seeing that David was dead serious, she changed tactics again, putting an easy smile upon her face and returning to her seat. “Whatever you say, Dr. Richards.”

David gritted his teeth at her use of his formal title. She knew everyone at the center worked on a first name basis, and
he didn’t miss the fact that she was intending to make him break the professional barrier he had put up between them.

Once again, h
e was amazed at how quickly she was able to assess the situation and act accordingly.
If she would only apply this ability to change to her destructive behavior.
She could be such a wonderful woman, if she would only decide to take responsibility for her actions!

David returned to his own seat, opening her folder and starting the therapy session. His job was to be her doctor and help her become a mature person.
To transform her life from one of no conscience, to one of convictions and responsibility.

Three days after the incident in his office, David closed his office door and headed for the small bungalow he called home on the other side of the
Sunset Malibu clinic. As the on-call, and on-site treatment specialist, David lived at the center.

He loved living at the rehab center,
and enjoyed the benefits of such a stellar facility whenever possible.

The center
imposed a strict patient curfew of 10 p.m. each evening. They didn’t necessarily have to be sleeping by that time, but they were encouraged to be in their rooms and use the time before sleeping for their daily journaling activities.

This curfew also provided the live-in staff a chance to enjoy the amenities of the facility without the possibility of patient interaction.

Sunset Malibu was amazingly well situated with state-of-the-art sports facilities, even better than any of the fancy gyms in town. David had encouraged all of his patients to take advantage of those facilities, not only for the physical benefits to be gained, but also because exercise released endorphins, feel-good hormones, and he was a firm believer that people who exercised were less prone to bouts of depression.