Future Investment: (Taboo Romance Series) (Forbidden Fruit Book 2) (9 page)

"Go away, Steph. I'm not doing it."

"Fine. Then I'll do it my damn self." She hit the door, and I listened as she stormed off.

"Great. Fucking go for it. He's an incredible lover, just in case you were wondering." I reached up and pulled my pillow over my head. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't get involved in the drama that most hospitals had pumping through them, but here I was, slam in the middle of it. It would be the most scandalous thing those people had seen in eons.

Too bad it wasn't going to last. Things like that never did.

Chapter 15

Three weeks later

Aiden

I hadn't let her spend another night at my house. Waking up alone was too difficult to do. I wanted to be the type of man who could rest on lust alone, but it was a lie. We had messed around a bit in my office off and on, but hadn't had sex since that first night.

A large part of me wanted to tell her that I would simply help her with her finances because I cared about her, and because I wanted to see her succeed more than anything. She was brilliant and had quickly stolen the hearts and attention of most of the staff in the cardiology ward, mine included.

I glanced up from my desk as Peter filled up the door to my office.

"You doing okay? I heard you had a rough time in the operating room this morning." He walked in as I motioned him to do so.

"Yes. I guess." I got up and walked around him, closing the door. We'd been together for all of my career, and I needed advice. I was starting to feel the burden of falling in love with Elizabeth, and wanted to move from lust to love with her, but that would require sacrifice from one of us. I couldn't be her mentor and have her as my woman. It wasn't accepted, not even for me.

Peter sat down into the chair in front of my desk and crossed his legs as he watched me. "Well, as long as this isn't about you packing up and leaving me, I'm good with talking about anything you need to get off your chest. We've been friends for a long time."

"Friends. Is that what we are?" I had to know where I stood before I started the conversation about Elizabeth. No one knew how I felt about her, least of all her. I'd done a damn good job of keeping myself in check, though it was impossible when she was on her knees in front of me or sitting in my lap as I ran my hands over every part of her. Love was so incredibly present in those moments that it left me aching for something more than the future I'd planned and set in motion.

"Absolutely. Do you feel differently? Have I done something to upset you?" Peter's words were filled with concern, but his expression remained calm.

"No. Not at all." I dropped down in my chair and let out a long sigh. "Do you remember the story you told me about you and Martha?"

"About us falling in love and having to keep it a secret?" He chuckled as a smile lifted his lips. "You old dog. You're in love with Elizabeth, aren't you?"

"What? How did you know that?" I sat up and pressed my hands to the desk in front of me. If Peter knew, and we barely saw each other, then maybe I hadn't been as sly as I thought.

"How could I not know? You watch her with this deep adoration every time I'm around the two of you. Others might think that it's simply pride in your pupil, but I've known you for the last ten years, Aiden. You were
my
pupil. You're in love with the girl, and it's killing you. Isn't it?" He brushed something from his slacks and let a comfortable silence fall between us.

I nodded as he glanced up. "Yes. I thought maybe I could just let it go, forget about it, forget about her, but I can't. I've never wanted to give anyone the world, or share my own, but I do with her."

"And what about her? Is she in love with you?"

"I don't know. I think so, but I stay as far away from the emotional side of our relationship as I can." I groaned softly and glanced up at the ceiling. "Give me my options. I need to know if there’s any hope for us without having to turn our worlds upside down."

"The hospital rules are quite specific, Aiden, but let me read them over again." He stood. "You need to try to get a hold of yourself. You cracking up and turning into a bear in the middle of the operating room isn't going to fly, and you know it. You're known for your calmness and professionalism. Don't let that change. It's not worth love, or anything else."

I nodded but didn't respond. He had no clue what Elizabeth's attention meant to me. Everyone could pretend to understand, should I share my truth, but it would be a lie. I had no one. No family. Very few friends. And I had been fine with that up until she showed up in my hospital.

A page called out over the speakers above me, saving me from the torrent of emotion that wrecked my insides.

"Dr. Crawford. You're needed in E.R. Stat."

I jumped up and grabbed my phone, tucking it into the back of my scrubs and jogging toward the E.R. I passed up Peter and gave him a quick 'thanks' as I moved toward the action. Hopefully it would help me settle myself and find my center again. I wasn't going to last more than another week as Elizabeth's mentor, her friend, or her lover. I wanted far too much from her, and it was unfair to both of us.

Something had to give.

*

“Great job in there today." Karen patted my back as we walked to the wash room just outside of the O.R.

"Thanks; you too. It felt good to save a life. I don't think I could ever grow tired of it." I washed my hands and let her dry them as my eyes shifted to the opening just behind her. Elizabeth stood watching us, a sweet smile on her beautiful face.

"I'm here for my shift. Where do you want me?" She walked in and patted Karen on the back. "You guys having a good day?"

"I want you with me. We're going to have to deliver some bad news to a family, and I think it's time that you took on that task. It's the worst thing we have to do by far, but it's something you have to get used to." I turned and wiped my hands on another set of paper towels as my heart constricted in my chest.

"I'm having a good day," Karen chuckled. "He's been incredibly moody, but I think you're used to that."

"I have not." I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at the older nurse. "You're just being sensitive today because it's your birthday."

Elizabeth let out a sweet yelp. "It's your birthday? Happy birthday! That’s great. Did we get a cake?"

I nodded and turned to face them as my eyes moved over her curvy frame. I knew what every inch of her looked like, felt like, tasted like. My pulse sped up, and every cell in my body screamed for me to cross the room and pull her into a passionate kiss.

Yeah, it was time for a change. She and I would have to talk later that afternoon after our shifts were over. I needed her to move to another mentor, or we had to stop fooling around. Hunger for a long weekend of feeling her pressed beneath me rode me hard, and I was close to breaking down and inviting her in fully. She wouldn’t appreciate it, and I wasn't ready for her rejection.

"It's chocolate, and it's in the breakroom. We'll get a piece after we talk to this family." I walked out of the O.R. and back to my office, expecting Elizabeth to follow me.

Parks was waiting in there when I approached, and I growled at him as I stopped short.

"What do you want?" I moved into the office as he turned.

"Well, hello to you, grumpy butt. Jeez." He sat down in the chair across from my desk and glanced up as Elizabeth moved to stand beside him. "Hey, Lizzy. You look hot today."

She rolled her eyes. "Hush. No one is in the mood for your antics."

"I second that." I sat down in my chair. "What do you need? I have a family to visit with, and it's not pretty."

"Aw, I'm sorry, man. I know how much you hate that shit." Parks stood up and slid his hands into his pockets. "We can talk later. I just need some advice."

"I have a few minutes now." I forced my expression to soften. There was no reason to reject the guy. He'd been too good to me, and like a little brother for the last few years. I was being a dick because I was struggling with indecision. It had nothing to do with him. The only issues was the fact that I was almost positive that his need to talk had something to do with his desire for my girl.
Not good.

"Right. It's cool. I'll catch you later." He turned and walked out, not saying anything else as I let out a short sigh.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth closed the door behind her and moved around to my side of the desk, forcing me to turn in my chair so she could slide onto my lap. "You okay?"

Her arms wrapped around my neck, and I slid my hand up her back, cupping the back of her neck as I drew her close to me and pressed my lips to hers in a hungry kiss. I wanted her so fucking bad that I ached at the thought of it. She was addictive, and my drug of choice.

She pressed into the kiss and ran her nails rhythmically over the back of my neck as I made love to her mouth. My cock twitched to life and pressed against my scrubs painfully. She seemed to notice and reached down, rubbing her hand over my erection as she licked and sucked at my lips and tongue.

"I want you," she whispered against my mouth. "Take off tonight and let's go back to your place. You haven't let me come over since that first night. Why?"

I sat back and pressed my hand softly against her chest just above her breasts. "I don't want to talk about this right now. Let's go deal with the family and we can grab a coffee and talk afterward."

She nodded and got off my lap, her expression showing me that she felt rejected, which was the opposite of what I wanted her to experience.

"Yeah. Of course." She brushed her fingers through her hair before pulling it up in to a loose bun.

Just the smell of her drove me crazy, but there was nothing I was willing to do about it until we had a little bit of resolution. I prayed like hell that Peter would get back to me with some good news, and soon. My mood was souring more and more every day, and I knew I was going to hurt her, to push her away, but it was simply my defense mechanism, and it was already starting to churn.

"Alright. Here’s the file. Read it over and prepare as we walk down there." I handed her the file and opened the door.

"Aiden, are you upset with me? You've been a little edgy lately. Did something... I don't know... did something change?" Her face was a mask of indifference, but I could see pain in her eyes.

"No. I'm just struggling with a few things, but everything is fine. I promise." I reached out and touched the side of her face. "You do look hot today. Parks was right."

She nodded, but didn't return the smile that I'd forced onto my face. I moved out into the hall, and she walked slightly behind me, her head down as she scanned through the file. I kicked myself internally for being so damn flaky around her. It was tearing apart her confidence and affecting her as badly as it was me.

"You ready?" I glanced back as we stopped outside the patient’s door.

"Yep." She was all business, and didn't wait for me to open the door, but moved past me and opened it herself. "You don't need to come in unless you want to. I'm a big girl. I've got this."

I stood there as the door closed in my face. She was hurt, and she had a right to be.

I just had to figure out if I was going to reach out and help make the bleeding stop. I had to fix my own shit before I could help fix hers, though.

"Aiden, Peter wants to see you if you're free." Karen walked down the hall behind me and gave me a friendly smile.

"I am. Thanks." I turned and walked toward the front of the hospital, grateful for the reprieve, and yet feeling like a bastard for wanting one.

Chapter 16

Elizabeth

If I didn't feel like a useless whore before, I did now. He was pulling away from me, and if it had just been about the arrangement, I wouldn't have cared. I might have even been a bit relieved to have an out, but it had nothing to do with the sex. I was in love with him. Every part of him stimulated me and left me panting for more. I wanted to be in his life as his woman, not just in his bed or his hospital.

The older woman who sat just beside the patient’s bed glanced up at me when I walked into the small room. I could sense the sadness all around me, but the weariness that sat on her features was heart-wrenching.

"Hi, Mrs. Peterson, I'm Elizabeth Jenkins; Doctor Crawford's resident. Kind of like his right hand man." I gave her a tight smile and moved to stand beside her husband’s bed as I checked the machines for his vitals.

She groaned as she got up and moved to the other side. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Call me Sarah, please. Aiden has been with me and Lance for the last ten years. He's a good man, and a great doctor."

I nodded and let out a soft sigh as I glanced up at her. "I know that you were hoping that Lance would wake up from his coma, but Aiden has looked for every possible solution, and your husband's organs are starting to shut down. It's time to call in the family."

Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. "I know. I prayed about it this morning, and I honestly believe my Lance is already dancing in the clouds somewhere."

She pressed her hand to the older man's chest as a soft sob left her. My heart broke.

"How long were you married?" I pressed my hand to the top of hers as it rested on his chest. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and hers as well.

"For forty-three years." She laughed through her tears and looked over at me. "He was the greatest gift I'd ever experienced. There is nothing like living life with your best friend."

"I can't imagine." I let her go and moved around to the other side of the bed as she started to cry harder. I pulled her into a hug, knowing that Aiden would probably kill me. He was caring, and seemed to truly invest himself in his patients, but hugging them was most likely off limits.

She squeezed me tightly and let her pain out against my shoulder in hard sobs.

"I'm so sorry. I wish there was something else we could do." I held her until the door opened a few minutes later, and Aiden poked his head into the room.

"Sarah." His voice was soft, and his expression calm. I was furious with him, and destroyed by his callous, uncaring attitude toward me as of late, but the way he spoke to the woman melted a part of me. I wanted to hear him call out my name with such reverence, such kindness.

"Oh, Aiden." Sarah moved from me and walked quickly to Aiden as he opened his arms to her. He kissed the top of her white curly hair and glanced up at me with sadness in his eyes.

Tears were still dripping down my face, and I was sure that I would get negative marks on my assessment for being overly emotional, but I couldn't help it. I hadn't wanted anything like what Sarah and her husband had before coming to St. Mark's, but now... after getting to know Aiden better, I wanted it all. With him.

The older women cried hard as her thin shoulders shook. I moved past them and avoided Aiden's eyes, not needing to see disappointment in them. He hadn't seemed to have a kind word to say over the last few weeks, and undoubtedly I'd done something wrong the night we made love in his bed, because I hadn't been invited back.

After slipping out into the hall, I walked to the breakroom and grabbed a cup of coffee. Parks walked in behind me and stopped short as he studied me.

"You okay?" His voice was soft, not the usual playful tone he took with me.

"Yes," I whispered as a fresh wave of pain rolled through me and forced more tears from my eyes. "Ignore me."

"Not happening." He set down the file he held in his hands and moved toward me, pulling at me as he wrapped his strong arms around me and tightened them.

I sunk into his hold, not caring if Aiden or Steph walked into the room. They both could bite my ass. I was tired of her playing my emotions and trying to grab Aiden's attention, and I was tired of him using me when he wanted to, and leaving me out to dry when he was tired or satisfied.

I didn't know who the hell I was anymore, with the drama that raged around me almost daily.

"I need to go home and get some sleep. I must be worn out." I moved back, but Parks kept his arms around me.

"Let me take you. I'll drop you off at the door and not even make any sexy jokes," he chuckled as I laughed through my tears.

"No. I'm good. Really." I pushed at his chest, and he dropped his arms from me, but reached out and brushed his thumbs over my cheeks as he cupped my face.

"No, you're not. You haven't been for a few weeks. Wanna tell me what's going on?" He smiled down at me, and I honestly felt nothing but the warm friendship that was building between us.

"What are you guys doing?" Aiden's voice was tight and filled with angst.

I moved back from Parks and shook my head. "Getting a cup of coffee and going home. I know my shift’s not over yet, but I need a break before I crack."

His expression was ugly, and I could tell that he was pissed, but there was very little I could do about it. He'd have to get over it. Parks was interested in me and had been working as hard as he could to treat me like the princess he'd labeled me as for the last month. He wasn't going to stop or give up until Aiden put his foot down. The poor guy had no clue that Aiden and I were sleeping together, or fucking, rather.

"You're working her too hard, boss." Parks turned and patted Aiden on the back as he walked to the door. "Offer still stands, princess. I'll be in my office if you need a lift or a shoulder to cry on. I'm your guy."

He walked out, and I turned my attention back to Aiden. "She took that better than I thought. Forty-three years of marriage is incredible, but to have to say goodbye..."

"
Is
he your man?" Aiden's eyebrow lifted as he crossed his arms over his chest. It was the first spotting of jealousy that I'd seen in him.

"What? No. You know I don't have feelings for Parks." I lifted my coffee to my lips, blowing on it softly. I wasn't playing into his emotions. He was all over the place, and yet he'd effectively closed me out. I had no clue what was going on with him, but I was getting tired of trying to figure it out.

"He seems to have enough feelings for the both of you." He pursed his lips. "Your shift’s not over for another four hours. You can go home then."

Anger burned my insides as I watched his expression darken. He didn't believe me, and because he thought something was going on with me and Parks, he was going to punish me.

I turned and dumped out my coffee before dropping it in the trashcan and moving past him. I didn't say a word, but slipped into the women's restroom and dried my eyes in an effort to look more put together. I walked to the E.R. in stony silence and forced myself to ignore him for the rest of the afternoon. He'd pulled out the asshole card for the first time since I'd started there, but something told me it wouldn't be the last. The fact that he had paid almost thirty thousand dollars of my debt kept me tied to him. I owed him far more than he'd accepted from me. I was starting to think that paying him back in the future was my best bet, my only bet.

To say I was crushed by his subtle rejection would have been an understatement, but to say I was done with him was the truth. Maybe giving Parks a chance was a good call. At least he wouldn't keep me tucked in the darkness when we were together, as if I wasn't good enough to be called his.

*

“I'm surprised you wanted to come with us." Parks glanced down at me as we walked into the bar and showed our IDs.

Steph bounced on her toes just ahead of us, but turned as Parks spoke to me. "I forced her to. She looked like hell when she got home today. Life can't just be about saving others. Who's going to save us?"

"No one," I mumbled, and walked toward the bar after moving through the large group of residents who came with us. Everyone went out drinking and dancing on Thursday nights after work, but I'd yet to take them up on the offer to join them. After the shitty day I had with Aiden, coupled with having to deliver bad news to Mrs. Peterson, I needed a pick-me-up. Too bad the one person I wanted to call wasn't interested in anything related to me or my needs.

"What'll it be, sweetness?" The bartender leaned down toward me and smiled.

"Bud Light, please, and a shot of Patron. Make it two shots actually." I handed him my card and glanced back to see Stephanie hanging on Parks, who looked almost out of patience. When had my best friend become so needy and overbearing for a guy’s attention that she would drive all of us wild?

About the same time I sold myself to my mentor.

I took one shot after the other and growled as the liquor burned down my chest.

Parks moved up beside me and picked up an empty shot glass, lifting it in the air and giving me a funny look.

"Oh, damn… You drank yours
and
mine," he chuckled, and I did too before drinking half my beer.

"I'm getting drunk tonight. Make sure I don't go home with anyone. Okay?" I smiled at him and turned to watch our group move out onto the dance floor.

"Not even me?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tilted his head slightly. He was wickedly hot and impossibly cute. Why was I working so hard to push him away? Right. I was in love with Aiden.

"Definitely not you." I pushed at his chest to get him off of me.

He glanced up to the bartender and tapped the bar. "Three more shots. One for me and two for the girl I'm taking home with me."

"Lucky boy." The bartender chuckled as I rolled my eyes, and reveled in how fast the shots were working to help me find peace, comfort, numbness.

We took another shot and Parks dragged me out to the dance floor. I finished my beer and laid it on the tray that a waitress carried by us.

"Did I tell you that you're the sexiest resident at St. Mark’s?" Parks spun me and pulled my back to rest against his chest as we moved to the music.

"Me? No." I closed my eyes and let my head drop back, imagining him to be Aiden. I wanted us to live a little, to experience something thrilling and overwhelming together. Our sex the one night we'd had it was all of those things, but there were so many other moments I wanted with him.

Parks’ hands cupped my hips as he rocked against me, and lust blossomed deep inside my stomach.

The sound of Stephanie speaking above the crowd as a fast song started pulled me from my fantasy, and I moved up a little.

"Picture time. Crowd in and smile." I moved in next to her and cheesed it up good for the camera. Parks pressed his lips to my cheek about the time the picture went off, and we all moved back, laughing and jumping around to the music. I had to let my hair down more often. Just being around everyone my age and forcing myself to have fun was helping to heal my wounds and stitch up my heart.

"Send me that picture!" Parks poked at Steph before wrapping his arms back around me and lifting his phone. "Take a picture with me."

"Beauty and the beast?" I laughed and leaned back against him as he took the picture and then pressed his mouth against my ear.

"Keep it up and I'm going to ignore your false pleas for me not to spend the night with you."

I knew it wasn't right, but some part of me wanted to throw caution to the wind and forget everyone and everything for the night. Parks could help me do that for sure, but waking up the next morning would leave me worse off than when I’d started. My heart belonged to Aiden, which meant that, unfortunately for me, my body did too.