Bound to the Fallen (Prophecy #2) (25 page)

G
roaning into the phone, I said, “I just wanted to crawl under the table and die. I can’t believe this shit.” I rested my head on the palm of my hand and lightly slapped my fingers on my forehead.

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

I let out another sigh. “Yeah, I guess…”

Ashley sat in silence for a moment and then the tone
in her voice became perky. “Really, what do you have to worry about? You’re screwing the most gorgeous man ever, and no one gives a shit what Dan says anyway.”

I
appreciated her attempt to make me feel better, but it didn’t really work. Taking my pen in my hand, I drew tiny circles all over the legal pad next to my phone. “Okay, well, if I don’t have a job next week we’ll know why.”

“Shut
up, Brooke! No one’s losing their job,” Ashley said and hung the phone up.

I put the receiver down and stared at that poster
hanging over Peggy’s desk of the kitten holding on to the rope. At that moment I felt like that damn cat. I stared at the fear that had conquered that poor little kitten’s eyes and completely sympathized. My train of thought was interrupted by a beep on my phone.

Gavin:
Calm down love… it’s all well. Worry’s not becoming on you.

I kept re-reading that word
.
Love
, what did that mean? I immediately pulled up a British urban dictionary on Google and tried to figure out how serious this was. I could feel butterflies in my stomach as I scrolled down the list, and suddenly the slight smile on my face turned to a dejected frown. Evidently, according to Google, love is a common term used among British people. Although it
could
be a term of endearment, it was also used in casual conversation with waitresses.

I tried to remind myself that I needed to slow it down and stop trying to a
nalyze everything. I’d failed miserably at making this a one-night stand. I was obsessed with this man who was everything I’d said I never wanted. I was dying to have him tell me there was something between us more than just incredibly satisfying sex, but from the way Ashley was acting, I should just be happy to be sleeping with the man, even if he didn’t end up falling head over heels in love with me, so what?

So what
if I was pretty damn sure I’d already jumped off the cliff and was falling at lightning speed for the man, if I was pretty certain that a man like that only waltzes his way into your life once in a lifetime, and if I was completely unsure of how I, Brooke fucking Davis, could keep him interested in me? So fucking what?

Gavin

E
mbarrassment and concern had washed over her face when I pointed out the scratch. I found her tendency to embarrass attractive; her innocence refreshing, different, and so damn tempting.

S
crolling through my calendar, I flipped through the month to see when I was on service next. My weeks on service were hectic. Surgeries were scheduled during the morning and I had to stay at the hospital overnight to care for inpatients. I was scheduled to be on service in three weeks and I found myself dreading it.

As I looked over the calendar I saw where I had put “
host” for the next weekend. Tapping my finger on the square, I opened the event. I read the word again and inhaled. I hated being reminded of my dark secrets, of the eternal hell I’d put myself in years ago.

I glanced down at my watch
, realizing I had to be in clinic in ten minutes. I slid my phone into my pocket, pulled on my lab coat, and jogged over to the main hospital.

“Good morning
, Dr. Hunter,” the young receptionist said as I passed through the waiting room.

G
lancing up, I forced a smile. “Good morning, Meredith.”

I pushed the wooden door
leading to the exam rooms open and followed the long white corridor down to the nurse’s desk, walking behind the counter to glance at the schedule.

One of the nurses handed me a chart.
“Ms. Hawkins is in room three, Dr. Hunter,” she said. “Her vitals look really good, she walked in unassisted today.”

I took the thick file from her
and flipped to the notes she’d taken. “Thanks, Stephanie.” Closing the file, I looked around the clinic.

“Gavin?
” I heard Zach call me from the other side of clinic.

A
pproaching the desk Zach was standing behind, I placed the file on the counter top.

“Where t
he hell have you been, dude?” Zach asked as he dialed the phone.

“Had a conference in Boston.”

Zach cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder. He looked up at me and opened his mouth to speak, but then his eyes redirected down to the sheets of papers he had in his hand. Pulling the receiver closer to his mouth, he said, “I need the labs for Jones. Where are they?” He paused and rolled his eyes. “It shouldn’t take this long to get the results from a damn metabolic panel. Come on!” He paused again, listening to the person on the other line. “Page me as soon as you’ve got ‘em.” He placed the receiver down and then gave me an inquiring look. “Boston? When’d you get back?”

I thumbed through the chart
. “Thursday evening.” I glanced up to see a large grin on Zach’s face.

“Amy?”
he asked, his smile widening.

I
let out a long and agitated sigh, “No.” Looking behind Zach, I found one of the nurses trying to eavesdrop. As soon as I made eye contact with her, she darted her gaze to the side and rummaged through medical supplies.

Zach shot a displeased look at me
. “Man, I don’t understand. She’s smokin’ hot. What’s your deal? Are you into guys or something, I mean, if you are I’m cool with it as long as you still act as a wingman for me.”

“Just not my type,”
I mumbled and walked toward the next exam room.

“Okay
, man,” Zach said with a sarcastic undertone. “Lunch?”

“Sure,” I called back.

I sat in the physician’s cafeteria waiting on Zach. I pulled my phone out from my lab coat and texted Brooke.

How would you feel if I required you to stay after hours to
help me tie up some things around the office?

             
Brooke: Oh, I don’t know… depends on what you mean by tie up.

I laughed to myself.

It can mean whatever you want it to… Ms. Davis.

             
Brooke: I’ll be more than willing to do whatever you need me to… Dr. Hunter.

Zach sat his tray down on the table and scoot
ed his chair up. “I’m on call this weekend, which means I can’t go to the Gala. I’m relieved. I hate goin’ to stuff like that.” He picked up his burger and took a large bite of it; the grease dripped down his chin and he wiped it off with a napkin. “You goin’?” he asked through a mouthful of food.

I
glanced back down at my phone, neglecting to look up at Zach as I spoke. “Yes, have no reason not to. Scott expects our entire research division to be there.”

“That’s
why I stayed purely clinical,” Zach said and shook his head. “Had no desire to fight tooth and nail for grants and have to deal with all the regulatory grief. I’ll just use the trials other people open. My patients get the same benefit and I don’t have to deal with the extra work.” He took a sip of his water. “I told you that you were insane for tryin’ to do both. Overly ambitious bastard.”

“I don’t mind it
,” I said.

“Dude, what the hell did you do to Amy?”

Peering at him, a scowled formed on my face. “What do you mean ‘what did I do’?”

He finished che
wing and laughed. “We had lunch the other day and she was bitchin’ about you. Talking about what an ass you are.” Zach paused. “How did you two even end up hooking up anyway?”

Grabbing my water
bottle, I ran my thumb over the label. I glanced up at him. “We just ran into each other out at a club one night, started talking.”

“You
— went to a club… by yourself?”

Zach knew how much I hated going to bars and was suspicious
of my claim. He wasn’t a fallen or a vampire. Zach was nothing more than a mortal, but over the years I’d found having a few “friends” helped me blend in.

“Yes, just curious what the place was like,” I said.

“Man, you’re so secretive sometimes, are you a pimp or something on the side, a drug dealer?”

Laughing, I said,
“I’m sure you’d be one of my most loyal customers, wouldn’t you?”

He leaned back in his chair and grinned widely
. “Yeah, I’m not too picky when it comes to sexual gratification.” He threw his napkin down on the table. “So, if you’re not into Amy, can I try it? She looks like she’d be a freak.”

I raised my eyeb
rows at him and shot him a disinterested look. “Do whatever you like, but she’s bloody mad. Would most likely scare the hell out of you.”

Zach laughed
. “Doubt that. What about one of your coordinators? You seem to always end up with some damn sexy girls over in that office. That Ashley girl’s pretty nice lookin.’ ” He paused. “What’s that new one’s name? I saw her the other day when I came over to get something from Scott. She’s gorgeous. I’d bend her over in a minute.”

Th
e blood pumped swiftly through my veins. I swallowed and tried to take in a calming breath. Looking sternly at Zach, I said, “You’re not going to be harassing my coordinators.”

He
stared at me, narrowing his eyes momentarily before a knowing smile crept across his face. “You’re fuckin’ one of them, aren’t you?”

I continued to stare at him silently.

“You are! Which one, or are you doin’ both of ‘em?”

I pulled my lips in and exhaled loudly
. “I don’t particularly care what you do with Ashley, but Brooke is not for you.” I could hear my voice adopting a slightly primitive growl.

“I can’t believe it. You finally decided to let the allure of screwing somebody you’re in charge of get you.” Zach
pulled both of his arms behind his head and a smirk fell across his face. “Pretty hot, isn’t it? The whole power trip and all?”

My pager went off. I glanced down at it as
I rose from the table. “I’ve got to get back to clinic.”

Zach had no idea. I was
on anything
but
a power trip with Brooke; the entire ordeal was so far removed from my personality. I felt like I was having a time identifying exactly
what
I was doing with her.

Anger. I’d immediately
felt anger when Zach had mentioned Brooke in an inappropriate way. I’d every physiological reaction possible to the emotion without even thinking about it. Taking one last look at him, rage welled inside me. She was mine and I wouldn’t have anyone talking about her like that. His words brought that dark side of me bubbling to the surface and I clawed my fingers against my palms. Fire scorched through my blood and the image of wrapping my hands around his neck and crushing his throat until he could no longer breathe shot through my mind. I’d kill to protect her, to ensure she belonged only to me.

Look what she’s doing to me. I should just walk away before I lose every ounce of control I have, but then again
, if I were to walk away now I’d be letting fear conquer me. I just have to keep control of it all; I can keep control of it.

Brooke

A
fter having dinner with Constance, I pulled into my parking lot. Just as I turned my car off Gavin called my phone. I answered and, as always, was completely turned on by how sexy his voice was.

“Hello
, Dr. Hunter.” For some reason I thoroughly enjoyed calling him that.

“Well, hello
. What are you doing?”

“I just pulled up to m
y apartment. You still at the hospital?” I asked as I unfastened my seat belt and climbed out of my car.

“Just left. So, you’re c
oming to my house so that I may serenade you with the piano, correct?”

I leaned against the open door of my car. “Hmmm… well, I did have plans to do some laundry
.” I stalled, wanting him to beg me to come over.

“Laundry? I offer to serenade you with the pi
ano and you mention laundry?” Gavin paused, “I’m deeply offended, love.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his calling me that
, whether or not he meant it the way that I wanted to take it. “Well, I
guess
I could come over just for a little while.”

“Mmmm
, well good. You may as well bring something for work in the morning because you know there’s no way I’m going to let you leave once you get here.”

S
ighing into the phone, I said, “Okay, you’ve talked me into it. I’ll be over in a little bit.”

“See you then
.”

I walked into my bedroom and shov
ed clothes into my duffel bag, zipping it up as I made my way into the kitchen. Simon rubbed his side up against my calf. I squatted down to pour some food in his bowl and gave him a quick scratch behind his ear, then left.

T
urning right, I pulled into Gavin’s subdivision, passing house after house of tall brick homes with professionally manicured lawns and matching mailboxes. Each driveway was decorated with luxury vehicles. It felt too much like the neighborhood I’d grown up in; the only thing lacking was the ocean.

Gavin’s house was the last on the left and I pulled into the driveway.
I put my car in park and peered through the large windows at the front of his house. Gavin was sitting completely still at his piano.

A light breeze picked up as I approached the brick steps of his house
. A few sprinkles of cold rain hit my shoulders and I looked up at a sky that was heavy with dark clouds. I knocked lightly on the glass door and waited on Gavin to open it.

He
appeared in the entrance way and walked toward the door. His dark brown hair was pulled back, allowing the light to catch the brilliant green of his eyes. He had on a fitted white v-neck shirt and a pair of jeans. His bare feet served as a contrast against the dark, wooden floors. The silver pendant hung outside the collar of his shirt, resting in the indention between his muscular chest.

This man didn’t have to try to look
sexy, he just was. No matter what he had on, he was amazingly beautiful.

He smiled as he opened the door to let me in.
“What are you grinning about?” he asked as I walked inside.

I hadn’t realized that a
n enormous grin had formed on my face while watching him come to the door. He kissed me gently and took the bag from my shoulder as he made his way back to his bedroom.

“Well, are you going to tell me what brought that smile on your face?” he
asked as he glanced back at me, putting my bag down at the foot of his bed.

I lightly placed my hand on his chest. “You…” I drew my eyes up to his. “You have no idea how attractive you are.”

Pulling the silver chain up, I palmed the flat, circular pendant. My thumb traced over the emblem engraved over the front of it.

Gavin wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his hands in the small of my back. “I don’t?”
he asked, peering down at me.

Lo
oking at the pendant, I shook my head. “Mmm-mmm…”

“I could say the same about you.” Gavin fell qui
et for a moment, then pushed me away slightly to study me. He tilted his head to the side and squinted. “You know. I’ve never been so attracted to a woman in my life. That first moment I saw you — I was mesmerized by you.” He pressed his lips against mine, then pulled far enough away to look into my eyes while keeping his lips close enough that I could feel them brush against mine as he spoke. “I knew you would mean trouble.”

I formed a faint smile on my face. “Trouble? Really?”
Turning slowly, I took several steps away from him. “Well, then, I guess I’ll just be on my way!” I teased.

Gavin
snatched my hand and pulled me back to him. “Oh, I think not. You’re not going anywhere, love,” he laughed and quickly placed one hand on my back and the other arm underneath my knees, swooping me up into his huge arms and carrying me toward the living room. “I refuse to let you leave, trouble or not,” he said.

I laughed
, pretending to try and free myself from his grip while he carried me through his living room toward the piano.

Sitting
me on his couch, he looked sternly at me. “You’re not going to try and leave when I turn my back, are you?”

“No, I suppose not.”

Gavin pointed at me and raised one of his perfectly-shaped eyebrows as he walked to the piano. “You better not.”

There was a bottle of red wine
sitting on top of his piano. He poured some into an empty glass next to the bottle. The rain picked up, tapping furiously on the roof as the wind blew the raindrops into the glass.

“Do you like Beetho
ven?” he asked, swirling the wine around in the stemless glass before handing it to me.

I took a sip of
the wine. “I do. Are you going to play some for me?”

“Of course,
” he said and walked back toward the piano to take a seat. “Even if you’d told me you hated Beethoven.” He smiled and reached back to pull his hair loose.

The
re was no doubt the man knew how to turn me on.

A loud groan of thunder shook the windows and was foll
owed almost immediately by a bright, pulsating flicker of lightning.

Moving
his hands along the keys, the soft notes of Fur Elise filled the room. The beautiful melody echoed from the cathedral ceilings. I was completely impressed as I watched his fingers move effortlessly from one end of the piano to the other, the muscles in his forearm flinching and tightening at times. During moments of the song Gavin became lost in what he was doing and closed his eyes.

He
finished the song and I clapped. “That was absolutely gorgeous! I can’t believe you can play like that. I’m jealous.”

Spinning
around on the bench, he placed one hand on his knee. “Come here to me,” he said as he leaned forward and motioned with his finger for me to come to him.

I walked toward
him, stopping in front of him. He gazed at my face for a moment, his eyes set heavily on mine. His tongue skirted across his lips and he released a deep breath through his nose. His eyes seemed to gleam and his pupils dilated.

“Take your panties off,
” he ordered.

I stood still for a moment
. I wasn’t expecting him to demand that I disrobe right then. He pulled me in by the waist. His voice became deeper as he told me again, “Take them off.” He squeezed my hips with his large hands as he spoke.

Rea
ching under my skirt, I pulled them down. I stepped out of them and stood in front of him. 

“Now take your skirt off.”

I unzipped the side and the material quickly slipped around my feet. Staring into Gavin’s eyes, I waited to see what he’d ask me to do next. He quietly stood up and said nothing. He wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me up, placing me on top of his piano. Pushing my legs apart with both of his hands, he slid his fingers down my legs to the tops of my feet. Gavin pulled the bench up to the piano and sat down. His eyes still locked onto mine.

The height of the piano allowed his face to be directly in front of m
y spread legs. I was so turned on I was trembling as I sat completely exposed to him. Reaching up, he placed his hands on my ass, bringing me to the very edge of the piano. He took my feet and positioned them against the front of the piano where his sheet music had been placed.

He looked at me spread out in front of him
, and then his eyes slowly moved up to my face. “Don’t move your feet, or you’ll mess me up,” he said, placing his fingers above the keys. A dark and seductive melody vibrated through the room.

“This is Moonlight Sonata,
” he paused and looked down at the keys. “You know it?”

I shook my
head.

“It’s a very beautifu
l song. One of my favorites.”

I sat on top of his piano
with myself spread open in front of him. His eyes drifted down between my legs and I began to feel timid. I closed my legs slightly and he immediately lifted one hand from the keys and forced them back open. One of his brows pointed down, giving me a stern look for interrupting his view. His aggressiveness caused a swell of heat to wash over my body. The vibrations from the strings underneath me deepened my arousal. I kept waiting for Gavin to touch me, but he just continued to play, his eyes locked onto my body in an unfaltering stare. His hands moved fluidly over the keys without his eyes ever leaving me.

“Come closer to me,
” he instructed as he continued to play.

There was a calmness and control to his voice that sent a flash of desire through my body.

I reared my back and placed myself on the very edge of the piano, being careful not to move my feet from the spots he’d placed them. Gavin leaned his face between my legs and delicately lapped the outside of my opening. His tongue moved from my lips to my clit, sucking gently on me as he played. Moving his tongue in rhythm with the song, he made circles and every so often surrounded me with his mouth. I could feel him breathe a heavy, lustful sigh as he kissed those tender areas, so softly stroking the outer part of me with his tongue.

A deep roll of thunder shook the walls
, the pictures hanging on the wall rattling from the loud boom. The rain pounded against the window and the wind howled around the corners of his house.

Gavin
’s tongue pressed against me, giving a long, hard lick. Groaning, he rose from the bench, his hands still delicately stroking the keys of the piano. He thrust his tongue deep into me, forcing me to release a hard breath.

T
he beautiful melody was abruptly interrupted by a harsh grouping of notes as Gavin slammed his hands into the keys and pushed his mouth harder over me, his tongue furiously thrashing in and out.

R
eaching his arms around me, he placed his hands firmly on my ass and pulled me toward him. He lifted his face from between my legs and stared at me as he slowly wiped me from around his mouth. His eyes met mine in a heated stare. They were full of such a primitive desire that it caused a rush of adrenaline to flow over my body, and my heart rate accelerated.

He grasped at the bottom of my shirt
, lifting it above my head. My hair caught in the material as he removed it from my body.

“Stay just like that,” he demanded
.

I sat there
, as instructed, and watched as he undressed himself. The large window behind him became electrified from lightning and cast shadows across the room. Gavin folded his arms across his body as he reached down to the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. 

H
is fingers traced along the waist of his jeans as he took a few steps towards me. He unbuttoned them, then pulled down the zipper. Pushing them off, he paused when they reached his hips. I could see the v-shaped indentions from his abs and the beginning of his hairline peeking out from the edge of his pants.

His eyes set on mine
as he said, “How badly do you want it?”