The Doctor and the Naughty Girl (12 page)

The door opened and absurdly, she stood up from her seat on the couch, holding her hands against her thighs lest they see how badly they shook.

The three of them walked down the hallway, passing by the living room on the way out the door. The woman glanced Amity’s way as they passed, a little wave of her hand and a pretty smile giving Amity a small bit of relief. Walking in on the exam had been mortifying enough… but what she’d seen in there had been something else entirely.

She’d been shocked, yes, but it had fascinated her too. She’d read about… couples like that. But maybe she’d thought such a thing, a dynamic like that, only existed in fiction, in fantasy?

There was
nothing
fictional about that beautiful half-naked woman bound, gagged, and blindfolded in that room.

The front door closed, and then he stood there, watching her from the tiled foyer with those too-keen hazel eyes. His hands were in his pockets, his normal button-downs and slacks exchanged for faded jeans and a snug, long-sleeved black shirt that did absolutely nothing to hide the man’s unexpectedly muscular physique. Who knew bringing babies into the world could make a man so brawny?

“Have a seat, Amity. I’m sure you’ve got some questions.” He disappeared for a minute

She sat, but only on the edge of the cushion, her mind still stuck in adapt-on-the-fly mode, readying her body to flee at a moment’s notice, if need be. Dane came back in with two dark bottles in his hand.

“You want one? All I’ve got in the fridge is light beer.”

“Yes, please.” She took it quickly, thankful he’d popped the bottle cap she was sure would have thwarted her shaking hands’ attempts to remove. She took two long drags from her bottle, the beer cold and surprisingly good.

Dane took the chair across from the couch, next to the stove.

“I can count on your discretion, can’t I?” His eyebrow arched, his lips drawing from his bottle. She remembered what those lips felt like… on
her
.

“I—of course, doctor.”

“Dane.”

Heat bloomed in her cheeks. “Dane—sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“I—I don’t know.”

It was the way he sat there in that chair, calm, his gaze fixed upon her. It was as if he were a great cat, circling cornered prey, waiting, watching, ready to move in for the kill at her slightest movement.

Get it the fuck together, Amity.

“What… was that? In there?”

“You mean Aaron and Lis?”

She nodded, not wanting to chance her voice would break on any further words.

“They are a twenty-four–seven couple. Master and slave.” He drank from his bottle again, his prominent Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed. “They come here because, well, they have special needs.”

“Like being tied down to the exam table.”

“Among others, yes.”

“Why… would they want that?”

His shoulder lifted. “People who live like Aaron and Lis—they don’t want to hide who they are. It’s as important to them as the air they breathe. And when you live that kind of life, it’s just… easier to have a doctor who gets it, who accepts it for what it is. A lot of doctors wouldn’t understand, or worse, might suspect abuse or coercion.”

“But you wouldn’t.”

He shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “Why don’t you come out and say what you’re thinking, Amity?”

“Because I… don’t even know what I think.”

And she didn’t. Was it smart to tell this man that she couldn’t help but stare at the bright red shaved pussy? At the glint of the gold rings through the labia? Should she tell him that her panties were so wet she was afraid she’d leave a wet spot on his never-used couch?

“I’m—” Dane waved his bottle in front of him, “—part of the community, you could say.”

“You mean, into… what they’re into?”

“A form of it, yes. Or I was, anyway.”

Don’t do it, Amity.

But the words tumbled out before she could reel them back in.

“But you’re not anymore?”

“Since my girlfriend left, no. I’ve been—on the bench, I suppose.”

Amity winced, looking away.

Well done, idiot.

“I’m sorry, Dane. I didn’t mean…”

“Nothing to be sorry for. Happens.” He drank down the remains of his beer, leaning over to the side and setting the bottle atop the wood stove.

She’d already cracked that can open—might as well finish the job. Her curiosity was going to get her ass in a sling. Again.

“Was she, um, like you?”

“Kinky?” He smiled, his eyes betraying anything but amusement. “Some, yes. But not enough, I guess. That’s what she’d tell you, if you asked.”

For that briefest of moments, she’d seen it. Something she’d never expected to see in the cool gaze of her implacable doctor, and now occasional disciplinarian.

Pain.

Time to get away from this. She wasn’t ready—and neither was he.

“Are those the only ones?”

Dane shook his head. “Aaron and Lis are friends, so I help them out. They make me charge them, though I wouldn’t if I could get away with it. There are a few others though.”

“How many? More like them?”

She hadn’t said it, but they both knew what she meant. The extreme ones. The masters and slaves, the people who actually lived what she’d only read in the dirtiest of
dirty
smut books on her e-reader.

One of many books, you mean.

“There are a couple of more couples like them.” Dane’s fingers played with the gold-tipped handle of the fire poker. “A few others more like us.”

Amity’s heart flip-flopped. “What? What do you mean?”

Oh, but she knew.

“People like you and me.” His long finger sent the poker swinging on the hook it hung from. “Not master/slave, but definitely kinky. Those of us who enjoy… discipline in our lives.”

“I don’t…”

Dane sat forward then, leaning his elbows on his thighs. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Deny what you want. What you need.”

Her face flamed hot now, and she knew he could see it, his lips curving in a knowing smile.

Dammit.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She firmed her chin. “You tell me. What do I need?”

“Discipline. Accountability. And one more thing, something you still haven’t had the courage to admit to yourself.”

“What’s… that?” She whispered it, staring at him, at the movement of those soft, sensual lips.

There was a spark in those hazel eyes. “Submission.”

She couldn’t be this person, this person he seemed to see in her. There was a misunderstanding. Wasn’t there? She’d never really thought of herself as, well, kinky. That had always seemed like a label for… those
other
people. Not Amity.

Yet, what had her reaction to what she’d seen today told her? It was more than being curious, it was something much deeper, impossible to deny.

Fascination.

“Like I said, you’re not ready to admit it to yourself. You can’t even say the word… but it’s what you are, Amity.”

She had to get this on firmer ground. A more level playing field. She had no real idea of what to expect tonight on the way over here, but it sure as hell wasn’t this.

“I don’t understand any of this.” She met his now fiery gaze, her mouth so dry the words seemed to stick to her lips. “I’m … not ready, Dane.”

“I know you’re not.” He stood and walked to her, looking down at her, a hand cupping her chin, raising her gaze slowly to his. “Which is why I’m sending you home.”

No! Yes! Fuck.

“W-why? Did I do something wrong?”

“You heard me, Amity. It’s time for you to go home now. Your work here is done for the night.”

“But… I haven’t even been here half an hour.”

“I’ll pay you for two hours. Time and a half, as agreed.”

He moved to walk out, and she grasped his wrist, then let him go—as if it wasn’t allowed. He looked back at her, his mouth quirking.

“I… is this it?”

“There’ll be other appointments, if that’s what you’re asking. Do you want to help me with them?”

“Yes,” she said, the swiftness of her response shaming her with her eagerness.

Dane smiled at her then, the beauty of it almost dazzling her. “Then go home. Get some sleep. I’ll see you Monday.”

He walked her to the door, and just before she walked out—she turned back.

Are you fucking insane? You’re not seriously asking this.

It had been at the back of her mind all week long though, the promised punishment hanging over her, his justice ready to be meted out at a time and place of his choosing. At his whim.

“I thought—” she swallowed hard, trying to form speech even as she knew she shouldn’t say it, “—do I still have to be… punished?”

Dane crossed his arms, leaning a muscled shoulder against the door frame.

My God, that shirt does wonders with that body.

“What do you mean?”

Oh, but he knew. The quirk of those lips told all.

Her voice dropped to a shamed whisper. “You said you were going to—cane me.”

“And I will, Amity.” He stepped close, the heat of his body enveloping her, his great height making her feel like a little girl next to him. Those beautiful eyes had gone cool, the sternness that she desired and feared in equal measure hardening the line of his lips. “But it’ll be on
my
time, when I decide it’s needed. You’ll just have to wait and worry, bad girl.”

Chapter Nine

Amity had the morning off for an appointment. He hadn’t asked her what it was for at the time, but now as Dane sat at his desk, sifting through the rather long weekly newsletter e-mailed to him by their medical group’s director, he wondered. Lately, it had been happening more than he was comfortable admitting—thinking about Amity.

There was a knock on his door, and Cathie peeked in, a hand fiddling with the blond length of her ponytail. Her mouth was curved in a knowing smile. “Looks like you’ve got a visitor.”

“Who?” He’d actually had a light morning, God-knew-how, and he was using it to make at least a tiny dent in mountains of paperwork and insurance forms—it never ended.

“I didn’t ask. He seemed to know you though. Want me to tell him you’re out?”

“No, it’s fine.” Any excuse to delay doing paperwork would do nicely. Dane followed Cathie back out to the lobby.

Dane stopped at the door to the lobby.

It was Chuck Derrington.

He looked up, smiling at Dane as he stood, the man’s blue eyes the same hue of cobalt as that of his daughter’s.

“Doctor McKendrick!” He extended a hand, and Dane shook it. “Hope I’m not catching you at a bad time. Do you have a minute to talk?”

“Sure,” Dane glanced back at Cathie who still hung back in the hallway, the nurse no doubt hoping to glean some juicy information with which to rib him about later on. “Can you hold down the fort for a few minutes? I’m gonna take a walk. Be back in fifteen.”

“Knock yourself out,” she said, slipping behind the lobby desk. It was just as slow for her as it had been for him. It was good that Amity was gone. He looked over at Chuck.

Yes, very good indeed.

The sky was overcast, the leaves now showing that bleeding in of bright color that heralded the coming fall. Dane and Chuck walked through the expansive courtyard that was tucked within the massive U-shaped footprint of the main hospital building. They followed a stone path that meandered through lush grass, Japanese maple, and small clusters of evergreens. The space was so large it felt more like a park than a courtyard, the foliage and shelter of the massive building muffling sound such that the area possessed a comforting hush, a relaxing escape from the noise of the surrounding city.

“How’s my daughter doing, doctor?”

“Dane, please.” At least the man was getting right to business. “She’s doing all right. Can be a little bit of a challenge with young people sometimes, as I’m sure you know. But she’s damned smart, and I think she’s heading in the right direction.”

“I hope you don’t think she’s too young for that environment,” Derrington said, lifting a shoulder, the charcoal suit he wore seeming to absorb the day’s light. “I worried about that some when I called you. I know how… flighty she can be. She’s still basically a kid, college degree or not.”

“Yep, takes some time to season ‘em.” Dane glanced at him, smiling. Derrington gave a soft grunt.

The man stopped, crossing his arms behind his back. “I know this is odd—visiting you like this. We haven’t spoken in… quite a while.”

Try exactly once since I agreed to hire your daughter.

Derrington continued. “But I wanted you to know. There’s been some exciting things happening with two of the corporations I’m affiliated with.” He inclined his head toward Dane. “Possibly some developments you might be interested in.”

Dane had to smile at the phrasing. Chuck Derrington sat on the board of directors for not only the largest hospital system on the west coast, but also of the largest medical group in the region. The same medical group Dane’s current practice happened to be a part of.

“Don’t tell me, Chuck. More legislation? More regulations?” Dane wiped a hand across his mouth. “I’m still wading through that last e-mail they sent out. Looks to me—unless I’m reading it wrong—like a total overhaul of reporting and record keeping.”

“Fucking assholes in Washington,” Chuck said, looking down. “It never,
ever
ends with them. But no, definitely better than that. A lot better.”

“I’m listening.”

Cathie had been exhorting Dane to press the flesh more often, to attend some of the many social functions he’d been invited to. He’d stopped telling her about all of them, knowing he’d get her eyes rolling at what she perceived to be his wasted opportunities. Now, it appeared one of those opportunities might have landed right in his lap.

“There’s another medical group the hospital has agreed to grant affiliation to. Bright Star Group. Have you heard of them?”

“Oh, I’ve heard of them.”