Chapter 3

Three

Aron

W hat the hell am I doing? I really should drop her off at her brother's house and be done with all this, but I can't force myself to drive to the other side of the city. I could, but I won't. Not when I can care for her best.

Another lie. I could have left her at the hospital. The nurses would have cared and watched over her all night and then when they saw she would be fine in the morning Willow could have gone back to her life, leaving mine untouched.

But I'm a fucking fool who wants what I want. Seeing her again, holding her close and having her scent permeate my senses has me harder than stone. A problem I'll have to deal with at some point tonight after I get her home and tucked in.

Willow sighs a feminine sound from the safety of the passenger seat of my BMW, drawing my eye.

Seeing her hurt brings out a fierce, protectiveness in me I never show. The doctor with nerves of steel and unwavering control never falters.

But tonight, I nearly went crazy trying to find her. I rake my gaze over her sleeping form, anxiety clawing at my chest. I didn't worry about my patients after they left the operating room. That was someone else's job. But with Willow it is different. She's different.

She's drawn me in like a moth to a flame; captivated me in a way no one ever has and I don't know if I can simply care for her and send her back to her life.

I ease my way through the ever-present midtown Manhattan traffic to my condo over in the Flatiron district.

I reach out, settling my hand on her knee, shaking her awake when the car hits a damn Manhattan pothole. My hand slides up her bare skin, settling on her thigh. I glance over. Between her black knee-high boots and velvet skirt, her legs were bare and the smooth silky skin beneath my palm is the sweetest I've touched.

Hell. God, give me the strength to pull away.

Her warm, supple thigh feels amazing beneath my fingers. I give the tender flesh a tight squeeze and bite back a fucking moan. My cock strains against my scrubs. Jesus H. Christ. She does things to me I have no control over. She makes me want to find a parking lot and just take her. Possess every inch of her body and fuck her until we both can't stand. It's not healthy to starve a craving and I've hungered to have her honey on my tongue for two long years. Endless months of dying to have her have left me starved. And now here she is, under my roof. And my care. Which should make her off-limits. But I don't think that's going to happen.

"Hmm, Aron. That feels so good. Go higher. Pleeease," Willow purrs, her voice a tender mix of sleep and arousal. She slouches slightly in the seat, forcing her skirt to ride higher, exposing more of that delicate smooth skin I'm dying to lick every inch of.

Little minx. I guess she wasn't asleep after all.

"Like this." She places her hand over mine and guides me up her thigh to where she wants my touch.

My cock throbs and I groan, fighting the urge to move the last inch it would take to slip a finger under the strip of cloth between her legs.

I jerk my hand away, pulling into my usual parking. Bringing temptation home with me might not be the best idea, but I'll deal with it like I do with everything else in my life. With acute precision.

But weren't you the one who said she'll sleep only in your bed?

Fuck. My stupid sex-deprived brain really set me up for failure on this one. I slide Willow into my arms. The freight elevator off to the side is outfitted with designer colors and artwork and manned by a uniformed doorman who helps me with the gate.

"Evening, Doctor." The doorman nods but doesn't allow his gaze to stray to Willow for more than a brief glance.

Good. I am in no mood for questions or for her to be ogled. The doorman presses the necessary buttons to whisk us up to my penthouse without having to engage in mindless conversation. A privilege I pay a hefty price for.

Standing outside my penthouse, the doorman disappears and I am left alone with Willow.

She has her arms flung around my neck, her cheek pressed into my shoulder and her skirt so high I can see the tips of red lace. And whatever she has on for a shirt is doing nothing to hide the fact her nipples are hard as my dick right now.

"Go ahead and look. You can touch too."

I groan but this time out of frustration. How many times have I dreamt about slipping her shirt up and devouring those hard tips again? Of finding them pierced and fucking beautiful with my jewels. Too many damn times to count.

I swallow.

"Absolutely not. Let's get you to bed." She melts into me like warm butter. I got a whiff of her fragrant hair, the fruity scent sending my senses reeling. Its color is otherworldly, a blend of reds and golds that I've never seen before. Her body is soft and pliant. Her heavy breasts pulling at the V of her shirt, giving me a teasing scene of sexy cleavage.

Only a few sparing lamps flicker on as I move through the condo, the majority of the light coming from the city. Just the way I liked it.

I walk us past the kitchen and down a wide hall. I want her here in my place and in my bed. I might not be able to have her the way I want, but at least I can have her near me until she recovers. I have a feeling her disorientation is due to being shaken up more than any of her bumps and bruises, but I'd take whatever excuse I can to keep her near me longer.

Setting her down on my massive king bed, I step back and turn, taking a minute to reposition my throbbing cock—her eyes on my back the whole time.

Fuck this is going to be a long night.

"Help me with my boots?" Those crystal blue eyes look up at me and the heat behind those pretty lashes goes straight to my already aching arousal.

I give a stiff nod, kneel and slowly peel her boots off, one by one. The sound of the zippers in the dark is the most erotic sound I ever heard. I crave to push her flat on her back and remove the rest of her clothes, revealing her body inch by painstakingly slow inch.

Touching Willow, giving in to my fantasies, taking her the way I want would ruin everything I've built and her dreams. This should have never happened.

I push to my feet to put some distance between us, removing myself from temptation. But it seemed Willow won't be happy until my torture is complete.

A rustle of cotton draws my eye back toward my bed and I watch from the large windows lining my room as she slips out of every inch of clothing covering her body. One by one each piece falls into a pile on top of her boots. Her eyes fall on me just as she drops her bra to the side.

"I don't want to sleep in these clothes. Burning them would be a nice touch, don't you think?" She hooks her thumbs in the band of her panties, and I look on as she pulls them down her thighs and steps out of them. "Can you handle me being naked and in your bed for one night, Aron?" she purrs.

She takes a step forward and that's when I notice them.

Red glints catch in the light from the bedside lamp.

Fuck me.

I narrow my eyes. "Stop, Willow. You don't know what you're doing. I haven't changed. What I want hasn't changed. You can't become a prima ballerina while being round with my baby so back the fuck off and go to bed."

Too young. Not good for her. Just a passing lust.

I force my brain to recite all the reasons why I need to keep my ass on this side of the room and my dick to myself.

"Do you like them? I did it for you." Her voice is low, as if she's afraid of my next words.

Willow plucks gently at the jewels decorating her nipples. She pierced them for me.

She's making it hard to resist. Very damn hard and she knows it.

Sweet Jesus . My gaze lingers on all that taut, finely toned muscle from years spent dancing. The dip in her waist, the long muscles of her thighs and the curve of her hips all have me spilling pre-come in my scrubs.

A growl catches in my throat at the red thong perched on the end of her finger. I fight the overwhelming desire to bury my face in her pussy just to breathe in the scent of her. There is no doubt Willow is a natural redhead.

"Stand still and don't touch me." It's the only way I'll make it through this.

I'm across the room, my hands shaking as I take the weight of her breasts in my hands before claiming a nipple between my teeth and tugging. I work my tongue over and around the tip until she's panting.

Fuck. I make a mental note to murder Willow's brother next time I see him for sending her to my hospital and putting me in this position again.

I carefully work one nipple into my mouth, massaging and working the flesh of the other. Even the light dusting of freckles over her chest turns me on. I growl as I move between one nipple and the other, giving both all my attention. I can't believe she pierced them and with my birthstone. Damn, that makes a man go crazy with lust.

I hate you, Aron. Now and forever. The reminder of her last words floating through my mind gives me a jolt of reality. I release a nipple, the jewel catching light, and I take a step then another until she has no choice but to lie back on the bed. I grab the edge of the comforter and toss it over her, turning away before I break completely. But not before her words float across the darkened room and kick me in the balls.

"Don't leave me again."