Immortal Healer (8 page)

“So, you’ll agree to represent her?” Quentin watched the man impassively, and Mr. Devlin’s eyes passed from one to the other of them. Her heart fluttered. She wanted him to agree. She may not like the man, but he’d come recommended, and he had an exceptional reputation. And for the first time since this nightmarish post-Mason chapter of her life began, someone was trying to help her. Not the lawyer; he would simply be doing his job and hopefully doing it well. It was Quentin. She wanted to believe there might be light again. And at the same time, she didn’t want to believe it. It was frightening to imagine in some ways. She wanted to go back to her life, and yet she didn’t know if she could ever fit in there again.

“Yes.”

Quentin’s fingers curled against her skin, and he slid his palm around the side of her hand to hold hers, giving her a gentle squeeze. “You have my number, you know how to reach her public defender to get up to speed, and you know her court date. Call when you need to.” Quentin stood, and she followed his lead. His hand stayed on hers, and they walked from the office together hand in hand. She didn’t think of pulling away, and he didn’t remove his hand from hers until they were out of the building, and he was helping her into his car.

She didn’t quite understand the intimacy between them—not at all in fact, but she sure did like it. It popped up constantly when they were together. She’d been staying with him a week, and she’d been nearly comatose for the first few day, but there was something about the way her skin prickled when it brushed past his. He didn’t act as though there was anything wrong with touching her, though his touch was always innocent and gentle, and today was no different. His hand on her wrist was soothing to her heightened anger at Devlin’s approach, and it was his confidence in touching her that put her at ease.

She watched him cross in front of his car as warmth and desire pulsed between her legs. He was incredibly handsome and strong. Just watching the confidence of his gait, the casual way he held his keys in his hand, and the calm and cool expression that never seemed to leave his face, left wetness surging to her sex. It was more than odd. It was shocking she was being so … normal.

When he climbed in, his eyes fluttered closed as she glanced to him, and his nostrils flared as he breathed in deeply. “Care to tell me what you’re thinking about?” Yeah right, but his eyes flashed open to hers. It was a knowing expression, even though impressively impassive. She could feel her cheeks burn.

“No.” He wasn’t fooled. “So, do you have any … like … special powers or … like … uh…”

“Mind reading?”

Well, that was exactly what she was thinking, and she cocked her head as she looked to him. Wasn’t that proof enough?

“Yes.” She was almost whispering. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“No.” She breathed a sigh of relief as he started the car, but before pulling into traffic, he turned toward her, studying her eyes. “But I do have an exceptional sense of smell—hormones, slight fluctuations in body chemistry. All those lovely things that tell me exactly what’s going on inside of that mind of yours.” His smirk was almost imperceptible, and she gasped as his gaze returned to the road. Holy shit! She clamped her hands into fists as her panic ratcheted up a notch, and when he glanced back, he spoke again. “Relax.” And then he pulled into traffic as she stared at the ridiculously expensive pouncing cat on the display screen of the center console panel. She was trying hard not to let her embarrassment push her over the top while he acted like the cool cat he was.

*

He drove without speaking. He was letting her deal with her embarrassment. The sky was overcast, and he was comfortable. He didn’t want to take her home to the council building yet. He was enjoying her too much, and so he steered them toward Cambridge. They weren’t far, and rather than clue her into their destination, he ignored her. Her eyes started to flash toward him when she realized they weren’t headed back the way they came, and he continued to say nothing.

When he pulled into the parking garage, she finally spoke. “Where are we? Do I have another appointment or…” She looked confused.

“No.” And he ignored her some more as she studied the side of his face.

He opened her door for her once they’d found a parking spot and took her hand, leading her to the nearby elevator. She didn’t pull away, and he didn’t even think of letting go of her hand. When the doors opened to the Rooftop Garden, her mouth dropped open for a moment.

“I’d forgotten all about this place.” She smiled. Her teeth were straight, white and her smile was incredible. He wasn’t sure he’d actually seen a real smile from her before, and his heart stilled for a second at the sight. But her eyes shifted from his quickly when she realized just how carefree she’d allowed herself to get for a moment, as though being young and happy was somehow against the rules in her mind. He squeezed her hand as they started to stroll.

When he stopped and sat on a bench, she sat too, and her heart started to pound. She was so damn nervous with him. His hold on her hand wasn’t overtly sexual—intimate perhaps, but he wasn’t trying to scare her. But as they sat, and she met his eyes, she let her fingers slip away from his, letting her gaze settle on his chest.

He had no intention of letting her get away with being shy with him. “I want you to see a psychologist.”

“No.” She didn’t bother to wait for him to finish speaking.

“Abby, you can’t possibly think you wouldn’t benefit from—”

“No.” She was going to have to say something other than that damn word.

“Why don’t you want—”

“No.” He could feel his jaw tense at her stubbornness. Quentin wasn’t used to people being stubborn. He was used to making decisions and seeing it done.

“Say that word one more time, and you’re going to upset me.” Could she possibly?

“I don’t need to see another fucking shrink. I get it. PTSD. Fine. Fuck it.”

“How about you remove ‘no’ and ‘fuck’ from your vocabulary with me? Huh?” He was frustrated, and he was having a hard time masking it. He didn’t bring her here to argue. He took a deep, steadying breath before opening his mouth again. “What do you think you’d like to do once you’re through your court case?”

She studied him for a moment before taking her own deep breath. “You mean provided I don’t end up in jail?”

“I don’t want to see you end up in jail, but it could happen. But it doesn’t really matter. You should have some idea what you’d like to do even after you get out of jail, should that be the case. Some long term goal?”

She looked nervous, embarrassed. She had something to say. He could see it by the unsure expression on her face, but it was hard for her to spit the words out. “I don’t know.” She was lying.

“Yes you do.”

She let out a deep sigh as she rolled her eyes. “Umm … I guess … maybe school again.” Her eyebrows were up as she waited for his response. It wasn’t up to him, of course, and she wasn’t asking his permission, but he liked that she cared what he thought.

“Definitely. The same field as before?”

“Yeah. I liked it. I was good at it.”

He stared at her as his brow wrinkled. He’d never quite wrapped his head around her previous pursuit, and given the sheepish look on her face, he wasn’t the first person to think she was just a bit too hot for the field. “Stats… Really?” He cocked his head as he looked at her with a smirk on his face. Her cheeks blushed crimson, and he chuckled.

“You’re one to talk. What kind of doctor are you again?”

“Research at the moment. Molecular Biology more or less. But I’ve been alive for long enough that I’ve been in every field of medicine at one point or another. I was a resident in an ER for a time, clinical physician, even spent time in diagnostics. Like radiography. I’m enjoying the peace and quiet of research right now though.” She was studying him closely. She must still be judging just how much he deserved her trust, and he hoped honesty would be the key to that. He didn’t intend to hide much from her.

“See, you are as big a geek as I am.” She smiled again before her eyes flashed away in shyness. He smiled too. He was definitely as big a geek as she was. “How is it you are able to be outside during the day? Doesn’t seem very vampirely to me. I mean, you seem a bit normal is all—aside from smelling hormones and weird stuff like that.”

He laughed. Couldn’t help himself. Her question was plenty legitimate, but her phrasing was as always laced with her own brand of sarcasm. “Vampirely, huh?” She smiled at him. “I can be out if it’s overcast like this. Vampires are allergic to sun. It’s not the same as your skin burning from over exposure to UV rays. So, if I’m out in the sun, my skin may feel very much as though it’s burning, but it’s a different mechanism. I would get large irritated patches of skin on my torso first. You likely wouldn’t even notice it, as it’s usually limited to the back and chest. It spreads from there if we don’t stop the exposure. It’s not fun.”

She seemed curious, but she said nothing else. They sat in silence for a good long while. He wasn’t done discussing her need to see a psychologist, but he wasn’t going to push it any further at the moment. It was with reluctance that he stood with her when the rain clouds that had hung low over the city for most of the day finally decided to open up.

Her heart pounded the entire way back to the building, and he wanted to take her hand in his and reassure her. But he had no business touching her after his somewhat reckless comment, or was it confession, about just how strong his senses were? He was getting used to her scent, her arousal, but it snuck up on him all the time. Occasionally they were just watching television together, and he’d catch her studying him. Other times, it was as his fingers grazed over hers inadvertently. But it was always enticing. His cock was getting an incredible workout as the scent of her arousal always led to his, and his dick ended up threatening to force its way out of his trousers.

It had been a week since she’d returned, and she was stronger, healthier and had likely put on a couple pounds thanks to his kitchen loaded with nothing but the finest junk food money could buy. She seemed quite fond of anything with sugar in it, and she wanted for nothing in that regard. Nutrition would have to be a concern at some point, given how long it had been since she’d had a healthy diet, but right now, he just wanted her to eat.

After the first night he’d taken her to his bed and tortured himself with her, she hadn’t spent a night away from him. She ended up in his room every night, finding her way on her own most of the time. She didn’t sleep well, even curled up next to him as he read or watched television. She flinched and whimpered until he slowly caressed her skin to calm her. He was getting nothing done at all that he ought to be accomplishing, but he was happier than he’d ever been. None of it made sense, and he spent every day with some fantasy of her running through his mind. He was distracted, but fuck, he liked the distraction so damn much it hurt.

He followed her into his residence when they finally made it home. She was still nervous, and while he knew it was likely piss poor timing, given the tension between them, he’d put it off long enough. “I’d like to examine you.”

“No.” That damned word again. She spit the word out before he was even done speaking, and her eyes were wide and petrified.

“I told you, it’s not that kind of exam. You’re finishing your antibiotics, and you’re definitely better, but I still want to get some basic vitals and start a base line for you. You’ve had literally no medical treatment for years, and after being as sick as you were, it’s important.”

She fidgeted, her heart thudded, and her throat muscles looked tight and strained as she took a deep breath, but eventually, she relented, and he walked with her into his clinic. “Will you change into a gown, or is that asking too much?” She eyed him suspiciously. “You’re more than welcome to leave your undergarments on. I’m not a gynecologist, nor am I going to pretend to be one.” Though he’d certainly love permission to go there. “However, I’d like you more accessible.” She took a deep breath and nodded.

He left her a traditional hospital gown to change into and returned a few minutes later. He listened to her heart as he washed his hands, and when he turned to her, her brow was furrowed in worry. When he approached her, her chest heaved as she took a deep breath, and he pulled the stethoscope from his neck. “Thought you didn’t need that.”

He smirked. “It’s far too easy to miss a subtle murmur without it.” He slipped his hand past the opening of her gown, holding the diaphragm to her skin. He didn’t need the stethoscope to hear her heart pound, and after checking for any abnormalities, he pulled his hand from her chest. She was so nervous. “Please relax. I promise, this is painless.” She nodded, and he leaned to her, moving the diaphragm to her back. He couldn’t escape being close to her body, though he’d stepped to her side rather than pushing between her legs, but the sound of her throat swallowing harshly was obvious the closer he came to her. Her lungs were still slightly congested, but only barely. He tossed the stethoscope on the counter before moving back.

Her ears were clear, her throat was fine as well, but when his fingers met the smooth skin of her neck to palpate her glands, he was mildly surprised to see them still swollen. “Do you still have pain here?” She nodded, and he could feel his brow wrinkle, though he didn’t want to worry her. Swollen glands could be anything and as sick as she’d been, it would certainly be premature to worry … but he liked to worry about her; he was quite good at it in fact.

Her reflexes were normal, though he thought her heart might stop when the back of his knuckles brushed the skin of her leg as he lifted the gown to expose her knees. Of course, since his heart lurched at the touch as well, he wasn’t in any position to judge. When he tested her neurological function by having her follow his finger, he was really torturing them both again. His heart sped just as hers did every time he directed her eyes back to his, and it was far more intimate in the silence of the room than it should be. He was standing close to her, damn near pushing his way between her slightly parted knees, and when he was finally done with the test, he could barely speak.