Chapter 3
(Rylan)
Three months have passed since Quinn and Annoraâs wedding. Three months of avoiding Aaron Carter as much as possible. Three goddamn months of wondering if I will ever get over him.
I have gone on a few dates in the last three months but every time I do I see one of two faces other than my dateâs.
That slimeball Jake Paulsonâs face flashes through my mind if I feel the date is heading into the red flag territory. That bastard skipped out on his bond and ran. Knowing he is still out there running free scared the shit out of me.
I still wake up from nightmares after what he tried to do to me. It breaks my heart to know that I was luckier than some of the other women that came forward after I had him arrested. He got away with it for far too long all because of his job and his use of scare tactics.
Then there is the other face I see during my dates. Aaron Carter, the man I have been in love with for so long that I havenât thought of any other man very seriously. That stopped on that day in France. Well, I am trying to stop it.
Giving him the cold shoulder has been kind of fun. When he left town out of the blue two weeks ago, I was angry with him for leaving like that but then I reminded myself that he has no obligations to me at all. He doesnât need to tell me where he is going.
We are nothing to each other but an unrequited love on my side. He can come and go as he pleases and I need to get over him. The crush I had on him while we served in the army together turned into something deeper for me as time went on.
I learned while we were in France that it is far past time to move one with my life.
Yet, this morning on my way out to go on my morning run, who did I see in my driveway? Aaron Carter. The man who walked away from my very raunchy offer three months ago.
I have no idea what came over me that day to make that offer. I meant what I said to him at the charity auction when he told me that he felt unworthy of my love. Waiting for Aaron seems to be my thing.
After France I vowed to myself that I was done waiting for him to love me. I felt bad because I know why he feels the way he does. Knowing what we both lived through during our careers in the army I was willing to wait for as long as it took for him to get better.
PTSD is a shitty side effect of being a soldier. I saw death far too many times as I tried to save the lives of my fallen comrades. I walked away with mental scars of my own so I know what Aaron is going through.
Now after two weeks the man shows up out of nowhere to ask me to dinner with his family so he can drop the proverbial bomb on them. I was surprised and angry at the same time. Surprised that he showed up to talk to me in person and angry that I want to go.
Yet I want to strangle him at the same time.
What the actual fuck just happened? I stared at Aaronâs car until it disappeared from sight then I rubbed my finger over my lip. Heat pooled in my belly as I remembered the look in his eyes before he kissed me.
Desire.
Raw, naked desire shone in his eyes. Yet it was the other emotion I saw when he pulled back and spoke to me again that bothered me. If I didnât know better I would almost say it was love I saw in those beautiful, soulful brown eyes of his.
I scoff at the thought then hop in my car. Looking at the time on the dashboard I curse loudly then back out of my driveway. Because of his visit I am going to be late for work. Fanfuckingtastic.
Being the head of my department does have its merits but I hate being late to anything. My father always drilled the motto âBe early, never late or right on timeâ, into my head since I was a kid. That has stayed with me for my entire life so far.
Today I will be late because of Aaron Carter and his unexpected visit.
When I finally pull into my parking spot at Mercy General, another perk of my job, I groan inwardly as I see who is waiting for me. Heath Roberts is a mistake I made last month and he just isnât getting the hint.
He is leaning against the jeep in the spot next to mine as I pull in. His sandy blonde hair is styled in that messy just got out of bed look that is so popular with men these days. His bright blue eyes are staring at me as I get out of my car. There is a smile on his face as he walks to me.
âI thought I was the only one that was late this morning. Rough morning?â He asks as he hands me a to-go cup of coffee.
I take the coffee but only grunt as a response to his question.
âWhen are you going to let me take you out again?â He asks as he falls in step with me as I walk towards the entrance to the building.
There it is, the same question he has asked me at least once a week for the last month. Yes, I had a good time. Yes, the sex was good but not earth shattering. The red flags he gave off after were enough for me to take him up on his offer for a second date.
Sleeping with someone who works in the same hospital I do was a bad idea.
âHey, Iâm talking to you!â Heath grabs my arm and tries to spin me around to face him.
That was the worst thing he could have done. Images of what I went through that night with Paulson flash through my head in slow motion as I freeze in my tracks. Anger flashes through me like a wildfire and I spin around to face Heath.
His eyes widen as he takes a step back after letting go of my arm.
âDonât EVER touch me like that again. We had sex, it was good, now I need you to BACK THE FUCK OFF!!â I scream at him.
When he nods his head and then scurries away I take a deep breath to calm myself. This day is not going very well at all and it is all Aaronâs fault. At least that is what I will keep telling myself as the day continues.
Three hours later I am up to my eyeballs in the tedious task of doing inventory in the supply room. Thankfully or not, today is a slow day for me. I hate slow days. They are boring and give me entirely too much time to think.
Right now my mind is stuck on that damn kiss. The way he pushed me up against my car and just laid claim to my mouth like he owned it was so fucking hot. I wanted to both strip him naked right there on the hood of my car and slap that smirk off his face at the same time.
How dare he show up at my house after being gone for weeks then look at me with those sad brown eyes.
How dare I fall for it.
What the hell is wrong with me? I am a strong independent woman who doesnât need a man in her life to define who she is. Yet I turn into a puddle of goo anytime he looks at me. Damn my heart and body for betraying what my mind tells me.
Aaron sets my body on fire with those lingering looks. He challenges me at every turn. He knows me almost better than I know myself.
When we first met I had a crush on Quinn until I knew he had a girl. I thought of Aaron like I did all of the other guys in our unit. Like a brother. That was until I didn't anymore. One night of drinking at a bar and confessions made things awkward for me after that.
It was obvious that he didnât see me like that. I was just a fellow soldier to him. When I transferred out of his unit for the medical unit things changed between us. He was hostile towards me almost every time we met.
The day he got wounded and had to be airlifted to the base hospital I was working was a shock for me. I will never forget the state he was in when he arrived. There was so much blood.
He was my friend so I had to step back while another doctor took over. Aaron almost died that day and I felt like my heart broke.
I was there for him during his recovery but he kept me at a distance. I should have taken the hint back then but my heart wouldnât let me. I was in love and too stubborn to admit that he didnât care about me.
As it turns out he did care about me but pushed me away to protect me from his fucked up brain. I know I need to move on. Aaron isnât what I need but what I want. He is broken and I canât heal him.
The door to the supply closet bangs against the wall as someone pushes it open. I look up from my clipboard to see Heath standing in the doorway with a determined look on his handsome face. The look in his eyes sends alarm bells screaming in my head.
He has me blocked in and there is no way around him. Everyone else in the office is either out for lunch or in the exercise rooms with patients. No one will hear me scream for help.
âWhat are you doing here Heath?â
âYou canât treat people like how you treated me.â
âExcuse me? How did I treat you? We had consensual sex.â
He glares at me. âYou dismissed me like I was gum stuck to your show.â
That makes me frown. Ok, maybe not calling him back could be seen that way. I didnât mean it like that.
âLook Heath, I didnât mean to be like that. I did have a good time with you but we are just not compatible.â
âHOW THE FUCK can you know that after only ONE goddamn date?â He screams at me.
I flinch and take a step back. When my back hits the shelf behind me I take a deep breath. I will not let this man hurt me.
âHeath, it was fun but I am just notâŚâ
âShut up. Donât give me that crap about not being into me. You let me fuck you on the first date. How can you say you are not into me when I had you naked in my bed within thirty minutes of being at my place. Either you wanted me or you are just a whore.â
Oh how I hate that word. I am not a whore or a very promiscuous woman. I hate it when people use that word when they donât like how a woman acts.
âI wanted the sex you offered but I didnât want a relationship.â
The way his eyes flared in anger I quickly realized that was the wrong thing to say.
âSo you flirted with me for weeks only to ditch me after one night of sex. You are almost worse than a man. I really liked you. I thought you liked me too,â he says as he shifts in the doorway like he is deciding what to do next.
I slip my hand into the pocket of my lab coat to find my phone and almost groan out loud when I realize I left it in my office. Shit. I glance over at the metal filing cabinet where I left my keys. It is to his left just inside the door.
My mace is on that keyring.
His eyes follow mine then he snatches the keys off the cabinet and tosses them into the hallway behind him. The echo of them hitting the ground makes me flinch again. This will not happen how he thinks it will.
âHeath, think this through. This is not the way to get a second date that is for sure.â
âOh, we are way past that now. I have other plans.â
A lump of dread forms in my stomach at the predatory look in his eyes. What is it with my luck in men? Do I have a sign that says âcome get some, easy targetâ on my back or something?
âWhat are you planning to do? People will be back from lunch soon. The hallways will be a hive of activity in just a few minutes.â I lied to buy myself time.
He looks at his watch then back at me with a knowing smile on his face. Shit. He takes a step into the room as his eyes roam over my body.
âYou were a great lay, Rylan. Let's see what we can do right here against that shelf. I bet I can make you come just like I did that night.â
âThis is insane. I am sorry for rejecting you but..â
âShut up. I will get what I want,â he says quietly as he walks into the closet and closes the door behind him.
I quickly rush him and slam his back against the door. I knee him in the balls then push him away from the door but before I can pull it open he grabs a fistful of my hair then pulls me down onto the floor.
He is on me before I can stop him. I move my arm out of his grasp and punch him in the nose as hard as I can in the position I am in. He howls in pain as blood erupts from his nose.
âYou little bitch. If you had fought like this the night we fucked we would have had a much more enjoyable night.â
Eww gross.
âGet off me!â I scream at him as I buck under him.
âNot until I teach you a lesson that you will never forget.â
Before he can reach for the waistband of my scrubs, he is torn off my body by someone. I take a deep breath as relief floods through me. All I can hear is the meaty sound of flesh hitting flesh as I climb to my feet.
I step out into the hallway so that I can see who rescued me and my eyes widen at who I see.
Aaron is beating the living crap out of Heath.
Holy fucking shit. Where did he come from? All I know right now is that I have never been happier to see him than I am right now.
My hero, Aaron Carter.