I'll Be Seeing You (13 page)

She throws herself at me, wrapping her arms tight around my waist and I lift her face to mine.

"You look really pretty tonight."

"Thank you. Could you kiss me now?"

"My pleasure." I lower my lips to hers, and she lifts onto her toes to meet me.

I missed this so much. The first tingling touch of our mouths is indescribable. Toying with her lips, I apply just enough suction to draw her in — teasing her — until her passionate nature comes out. I can't wait to experience it to the fullest with her.

"Baby, we need to stop, all right?" I say my breathing heavy. She nods, giving me a sweet smile in understanding.

"Let's sit and eat — as I said, I need to tell you about Emma." Joy listens with an eager ear.

"I was in college when I met Emma," I begin. "We were the golden couple. We attended only the best parties, dined at the best restaurants, were voted the best at everything. You get the picture." Joy nods her head in understanding, listening while she eats her dinner.

"Like I told you, I was doing my thesis on stem cell therapy. It was the talk of the University. They told me it held promise as being a breakthrough in the medical field and they were grooming me for a position at Johns Hopkins who wanted my hypothesis developed at their hospital. They knew that it would bring billions to their bottom line." I stop to take a bite of my dinner but can only stare at the food on my plate.

"Emma and I were inseparable. I can't stress the 'golden couple' moniker enough. We were in love and marriage was inevitable. Our families were close and vacationed together every winter. We attended dinners at the Dean's home on a regular basis. While Emma and I were hobnobbing with the upper crust, loving our lives and each other, I learned, through her best friend, that Emma coveted the position waiting for me at Johns Hopkins. Apparently she would do anything to get it, and she went to extremes to make sure she did. Evidently she didn't love me as much as I thought she did because a few months before we were to graduate, I learned that Emma was sleeping with several of the board members of the hospital." I set my fork down on my plate, unable to enjoy my meal.

"Oh, Matthew."

"She ultimately got the job … through blackmail. It was a position she clearly was not qualified for. One time she was told she was going to be terminated for incompetence, but she threatened to disclose the members she had the affairs with, and her job was safe and secure once again. Emma was able to retain the position for a few more months, but, ultimately, she was fired. The various members of the board were fired as well, and basically, the inner structure of Johns Hopkins was destroyed. Once the board re-grouped, they came knocking on my door in search of my project. By then it was too late and I had plans of my own. Once I get the approval for my procedure, many will come to my hospital for treatment. The Institute will be the only hospital of its kind that will perform this procedure. They want my private institution to go public, but I refuse." I stop to take a breath.

"Now, since my meeting at the Center in New York, the rumor mill has started about my procedure coming to fruition, and Emma has come sniffing around. I know she wants a piece of my project. Anyway, with all that said, I guess you can see where my insecurities stem from.”

"Oh, Matthew. I don't know what to say. I’m nothing like her. It takes a certain kind person to even think like that," she says, shaking her head in bewilderment. "She gives a new definition to the word 'traitor'," Joy says, quietly.

“I know. She’s an evil woman and when I saw you that day, I knew Scott was trying to get you into bed. He was probably telling you how he didn't want to lose your friendship, but, in actuality, getting you into bed was his mission,” I say, smiling.

"You know, maybe you're right. I remember him pushing on my upper back, which noticeably forced my breasts into his chest and when I tried to move, he held me there. I even made a mental note about it as he did it," she recalls, shaking her head. "What a cocksucker," she says, gasping and covering her mouth at her use of language.

"Why, Miss Joy, you have quite the potty mouth, don't you?" I say, taking her hands down from her face.

"Yeah, I guess it comes from hanging around Laura too much," she giggles.

"So, anyway, that's my story. Sad, but true. I promise you, my attitude has changed. I hope you allow me to prove that to you. I've learned a lesson in humility and jumping to wrong conclusions." I pull her up from her chair and place her in my lap.

"I need you to forgive me, baby. I promise you this will never happen again," I say nuzzling her face, stroking my hand along her long, soft hair.

"If we're going to do this, we need to talk openly with one another. I can't go around second-guessing what's going on in that overactive brain of yours. I need to know that this won't happen again," she says, laying her head on my shoulder.

"I promise. It will be easier knowing that you love me; my little heart can rest from the fear of someone stealing you out from under me." I know we will be all right when I see her beautiful smile.

"Now, I'm going to hold you close to me, Joy. There's no hidden agenda here. I am not hiding the fact that I want to feel those beautiful breasts against me," I warn her, as I hold her tight to me.

"You smell delicious," I murmur against her neck. Moving my mouth up to her ear, I gently tug her earlobe between my teeth.

"That feels good, Matthew," she whispers. I can't wait to see if she’s as passionate as I think she is.

"Okay," I say, setting her back in her seat before we get too carried away. "We aren't done talking."

"What else is there?"

"I have questions for you now. You have avoided a specific subject, and I don't want to skirt around it anymore." I watch for her reaction.

"What’s that?" she asks, clearly apprehensive.

"I want to know your medical history."

I can see that she is extremely uncomfortable with this.

"There's nothing to tell," she replies, somewhat angrily. "I've been to every doctor there is, and they all say the same thing. They tell me it's permanent, and I don't really want to discuss it again." She gets up from her seat to take her plate to the kitchen, but I catch her wrist and pull her down onto my lap again.

"Joy, how many years ago was that? There have been a lot of breakthroughs. Mine, for one. You might qualify for my procedure. Will you please allow me to review your files before you shut it down?"

"Dammit, Matthew," she snaps, jumping off my lap. "I told you. I've been to all the specialists, and they say the same thing. I'm blind. There's nothing you can do about it, and if you can't live with me the way I am, then …" Her response is not what I expected. She nearly runs to the kitchen in an attempt to get away from me.

"Wow." I had no idea her reaction would be so violent. I walk up and stand behind her, my arms circling her small frame.

"Listen to me, baby,” I say softly. “We need to discuss this. I'm a surgeon. I repair eyesight. It’s what I do." She starts to pull away from me again, but I hold her tight.

"Don't you want to see how handsome I am?" I can’t help but smile at her giggle. "Don't you want to look into my eyes when I tell you that I love you?" I say, as I place a kiss on the top of her head as she nods against my chest.

"Although blindfold sex is fun, I would rather you look into my eyes when I make love to you."

"Matthew, you aren't playing fair."

"Just for now, let me look at your medical records. We can start there, okay? If I see anything that raises suspicion, we can address it. Will you at least agree to that?" I ask, feeling her ire go up again. Holding her head in my hand, I rock her back and forth.

"All right, but I'm not happy about this. I've been poked and prodded too many times, and the results are always the same." She’s exasperated, but I don’t really care. I want to see her medical files.

"But you haven't been poked by me yet," I whisper into her ear. I can feel her giggle against my chest.

"No, and you won't if you screw this up," she threatens, shoving me away from her.

"Why, Joy Johnson! Go get me a bar of soap to wash out that pretty mouth right now." She laughs that beautiful laugh as I chase her around the kitchen. "Dish soap will work," I shout, pulling her toward the kitchen sink. She screams and laughs, trying to get away from me. Conrad comes running in, wanting to play too, barking at our shenanigans. "Conrad, your mommy has a naughty mouth, and she must be punished," I say to him as I spin her around the room. Putting her down on her feet, I kiss her lips soundly and smack her bottom, pushing her toward the living room.

"Okay, I want the name and phone number of your doctor.”

She sighs, clearly hoping I had forgotten. I have my cell phone poised and ready to enter the number and follow her as she goes to her office. Looking around the room, I see the special equipment she uses.

"Very funny, Joy.” I say, looking down at the paper she hands me. It's in Braille.

She laughs as I hand the paper back to her and ask her to read it off to me as I enter it into my phone.

"Hey, tell me what all this is,"

"Okay,” she replies, pointing out to the various pieces of equipment. “Here’s the scanner. It's just a typical scanner, like you would use in your home office. Once I scan the transcript of a book through here, it sends it to my desktop there." She moves over to a large computer on her desk. "I have special software that converts regular text to Braille, and when I send it to this Braille printer right here, it prints it out there. Here is the next chapter that I’ll be reading to audio tomorrow. I then put this little headset on and speak into the microphone and it records back into my computer. As I complete a chapter, I email the audio file to Radiant where they compile my work into a final recording, and voila, instant audio book. Now, with Scott and I doing multiple parts, i.e. male and female," she says, grinning up at me, "He sits there."

I look at her keyboard, and instead of seeing the alphabet on the keys, there's Braille dots.

"How do you know the commands you input are the correct ones?" I ask.

"My computer talks to me. When I enter a command, it tells me what it's doing. It's the same with my cell phone," she explains.

I look at Scott's workstation and see napkins, junk food wrappers, and coffee cups from the café. Looking at hers, it’s clean and pristine. Grabbing the garbage can, I start cleaning up Scott's mess.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"I'm cleaning up all the trash around your valuable equipment. There’s several coffee cups that are one elbow-tap away from ruining a piece of your expensive equipment," I explain, tossing everything into the garbage can. I see the look of consternation on her face.

"He tells me every day that it's clean and, like a fool, I believe him. God, I can't wait until this project is finished," she mutters to herself as she fiddles around her desk.

“What you told me today about your observation of our conversation in the café really upset me. I thought he was my friend, and all the while, he was doing things that crossed the line with me. I'm sorry you saw that, and I'm sorry that I was too gullible and naïve to know any different. I trusted him."

"Don't you dare blame yourself. You couldn't have known that was what he was doing, but trust me, he did. It's all about sex, Joy," I explain, grinning at her seeing her cheeks glow a pretty pink.

"What about you, Doctor? Are you all about sex with me?"

"Absolutely. I want you all the time." I take a step closer to her. "I think about you before I go to bed." Another step closer. "I think about you while I'm in bed." I run my hands up her arms. "When I dream, it's about being inside you." I cup her neck in my hands. "I definitely think about you every morning in the shower," I say, taking her chin between my thumb and finger, bringing her mouth to mine. She lifts up onto the tips of her toes, and I groan as she cradles my head in her arms, her fingers rummaging through my hair. My hands fall to her lower back as I gently push her hips into mine where she can feel how my body responds to her.

Holding her hips firmly against me, she lightly moves her body up and down over my hardness.

"Please, Matthew. I want you so badly," she whimpers against my mouth.

Who am I to say no to that sweet plea? Bending down, I lift her, cradling her in my arms.

"Are you sure, baby? I won’t be able to stop once I lay you on that bed," I say before I start walking toward her room.

"I've never wanted anything so much in my life," she whispers with sincerity and conviction. That's all I need to hear, and I can't get to her room fast enough.

Lowering her feet to the floor, she gives me a sweet, chaste kiss as I slowly lift her dress over her arms. Looking down at her, she’s standing there in nothing but a purple and black lace bra and skintight leggings. The elastic band rests just under her sexy belly button, and I fall to my knees to kiss it. Lowering her leggings over her hips, I help her to step out of them. Eyeing the perfect body standing before me, clad in nothing but lace, I sit back on my heels and know I won't last long. Wrapping the delicate sides of her panties around my fingers, I slowly pull them down her long legs.