Future Investment: (Taboo Romance Series) (Forbidden Fruit Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter 9

Elizabeth

Stephanie woke me the next morning before my alarm by pouncing on my bed. "Get up! You promised to stay up last night so we could talk, and your ass was out cold on the couch."

I pushed at her, groaned, and pulled my covers over my head. I was having a dream where Aiden wasn't a friend, but a lover. He had just taken a handful of my hair and was feeding me his cock when Stephanie interrupted.

"Get out. I was at the good part of the dream. Shit." I rolled over and playfully humped the bed, accentuating my words with my thrusts. "He. Was. Almost. There."

"Gross." She hit me in the head with a pillow and got off the bed. "Get up. I made muffins."

"You can't cook. Why do you torture me by trying?" I sat up in time to take a pillow to the face.

"Shut up and come in here. I have a plan, but I need your help." She laughed as she walked down the hall.

"This can't be good," I grumbled and got out of bed, working to fix my t-shirt and sleeping pants as I stumbled into the kitchen. "What time is it?"

"Just before six. Sit down and I'll get you some coffee."

I rubbed my eyes and yawned loudly. "Before six? Shit, Steph. I had another hour. What's so important?"

"Parks. I want him, and you're going to help me figure out how to get him." She set a cup of coffee in front of me, and I blinked the sleep from my eyes before finally focusing on her. She was in a cute mini-skirt and tight shirt that tried to accentuate her small breasts, but failed.

"Wait. Why are you dressed like that?" I lifted the coffee mug to my lips and took a tentative sip. A groan left me at the deliciousness of it. "You need to make my coffee every morning."

"I didn't go to sleep." She tapped the table in front of me, causing me to jolt back. My coffee spilled onto the table, and I gave her a look.

"Chill. I just woke up, or maybe I'm still trying to." I leaned back as she worked to wipe up the mess.

"I'll make your coffee every day for the rest of our lives if you just help me get Parks." She walked back to the kitchen and returned with a plate of muffins that actually looked edible.

"I'm not sure what you want from me, but, like always, I'm here, so just tell me what to do, and as long as it's not something that I'm uncomfortable with, I'll do it." I shrugged and reached over, grabbing a muffin and taking a small bite. I couldn't usually stomach her food because she always seemed to forget a necessary ingredient. Sugar was the one she loved to leave out the most. A sugarless cake was nothing more than a disgusting biscuit.

"Good. I need to figure out what to do." She pressed her face to her hands. "He didn't shut the fuck up about you for ten minutes last night. I love you. I really do, but you need to push him off unless you're interested, then you need to tell me. I think I might be in love with him."

I laughed loudly and rolled my eyes. "You're not, but okay. I'll tell him to take a hike."

The muffin was good, and I was more than surprised. "You didn't make this, did you?"

"No." She smirked. "I got them at the store on the way home, though I shouldn't have. Our electricity bill is overdue by two months. I really think one of us is going to have to get a job, or find someone to start sleeping with who's willing to pay."

After taking another couple of bites, I dropped the rest of it on my napkin and took another drink of my coffee. "I'll look for additional jobs after my shift today. I can take on more. You just focus on the hospital. You know you don't do really well when you have ten things to juggle."

"You sure? I know you're wanting to impress Doctor Hottie. That's not possible if you're a zombie." She reached out and tugged at my hair. "Tell me about the dinner, and the sexy dream. Don't leave out any details."

"Of the dinner?"

"No. The dream," she snorted, and I couldn't help but laugh. We were broke as hell, but we would figure things out. We always did.

*

The calmness that I had over the electricity bill and me getting an additional job faded fast as I sat on the train on my way to the hospital. There had to be a better way to make some money on the side. Maybe I could tutor or help out with someone's side business at the hospital. I knew a lot of nurses and doctors would pick up extra shifts at other hospitals, or work a few days a week in a private office for additional income.

I wouldn't need it ten years from now, but I sure as hell did today. The electricity would be cut off by the evening if we didn't get a payment into them. It wasn't going to happen, and that alone stressed me out completely. I couldn't call my mom, seeing as how she had less income than even the poorest of the poor. I was surprised that she still had the little house my dad had built thirty years prior, but he'd been smart and paid the thing off. She could afford the small amount in taxes and insurance since she was in the middle of the ghetto.

"One day," I mumbled to myself as I got off the train and jogged across the street to the hospital. I would make enough money one day to take care of both of us, of all of us. It would be my legacy to bring us from dipping past the poverty line to having more than enough. I'd use my excess to set up a fund to help others like me. Surely there were a handful of medical students who had used scholarships, fellowships, and loans to get their M.D. Not everyone had a paid ride and a silver spoon in their mouths. I had no doubt that Aiden did, but maybe I was being unfair.

The ER was pure chaos as I walked in, and the madness of it caused me to stop short. "What's going on?"

"Move!" A loud voice yelled from behind me, and I jumped to the left to make way for the stretcher and the two EMS guys who were running past me. The guy on the stretcher was covered in blood and shaking violently. Another two followed him.

"Shit." I ran toward the locker room and chucked my stuff in before racing back toward the ER. I wasn't allowed to diagnose or perform anything more than the nurses might be able to do, but I was an extra set of hands, and surely someone could use my help.

"Elizabeth. Get over here. There was a bombing downtown this morning. People will be piling in. Just help with check-in and triage. I'll be going into surgery for substantial injuries. Join me as soon as you can, but start here." Aiden touched my shoulder before jogging toward the OR.

I didn't get a chance to reply, but there was no need to. It was time to jump into the fray. I worked for the next two hours beside a handful of nurses, helping with bandaging, assessments, and drawing blood.

"It's going to be okay. You're in good hands, sweetheart." I touched the side of the face of the little girl who sat on the table before me, shaking. "You're okay now."

She reached for me, and I moved up, wrapping my arms around her. I looked up as Karen walked into the room and mouthed for me to come on. I mouthed back, asking where the girl's mother and father were. Karen's face fell as she shook her head. They hadn't survived.

I let out a long breath and moved back, smiling down at the girl and squeezing her tiny shoulders. "Miss Karen's going to take care of you, but I'll be back to check on you shortly. Okay?"

"Okay. Where's my momma?" She looked around wildly, and my heart lodged in my throat.

"It's okay. I’ve got this." Karen moved up beside me. "Aiden wants you in room thirty-four. Now."

I turned and ran from the room, trying hard not to let the sadness that threatened to pull me under work its magic on me. Aiden glanced up from behind the glass of the OR room he was in as I raced by. Our eyes met, but only for a moment. The need to walk in and wrap my arms around him was a bit too much.

A nurse I'd yet to meet walked into the wash room and helped me with my gloves. She looked shaken, and I wanted to offer her comfort, but I didn't know her. She might bite my head off, which was the last thing I needed before going in to help Aiden. Something told me that I wouldn't be shadowing that day, but playing his second.

"Good luck. It's been unbelievable today. Dr. Crawford is on edge, so get ready." She shrugged and turned, walking back into the small operating room as I followed her.

Aiden glanced up, his goggles in place and his brow pulled tight. "Take over for me. Keep the clamp down and get ready to move when I tell you to. We're losing this guy fast. He took a pipe to the chest, thanks to the explosion. I've removed it, but we need to patch him up fast. You know how to stitch?" His voice was biting as he barked at me.

"Yes." I moved up and took the clamp as I forced myself into the calm place where nothing mattered but saving lives. I could do this, and had done it several times over the last few years. New York was a hot bed of activity, both good and bad. The hospitals there were no different.

"Alright. On my count." He looked up at me and I nodded. "Three. Two. One."

We moved quickly together, shifting and turning the patient on the bed as we closed him up and shared the responsibility with the nurses of keeping pressure on the right clamps while releasing others. Within half an hour, the man was closed up, and his vitals were looking good.

Aiden let out a long sigh and stepped back. "Great job. Scrub out and see if they need you out there. If they don't, then meet me back in my office. We'll talk through some of the things I've done today, and I'll have you write up reports for me. I'm exhausted."

"Of course." I turned to go, a little disappointed that I couldn't stay with him and help with the next thing he had coming up.

"Elizabeth. Great job today. I'm impressed." He tugged his goggles down and winked at me. "Thank you."

"Of course." I ignored the intense fluttering in my chest, and washed up, only to turn back and watch him share a laugh with a pretty blonde nurse next to him. I didn't want to feel jealous, but I did. It was stupid and childish, and I really needed to get over myself. He was too far out of my league to expect anything other than what we had.

Besides, I had bigger things to worry about. Like how to support myself over the next three years with little income and huge student loans. I could push the worry off only so long before it crept up and pulled me under. I was sure that time was coming, and fast.

Chapter 10

Aiden

I wrapped up my time in the OR and moved back to my office with a bit of pep in my step. I couldn't help it. Between saving ten lives that morning and seeing Elizabeth jump into action so well beside me, I was a little in awe. She was every bit as impressive as Peter had warned me she would be. I needed to tell her, to make sure she knew just how incredible she was.

The sound of her voice stopped me as I approached my office. It was tight, pinched... stressed.

"Mom, I know. I'm trying to figure it out." She sighed, and I could hear her pain. It was a sound I was accustomed to hearing daily. "I'm not calling Jackson. Because, Mom. We broke up, and I'm sick of having to ask him for help. I'll get another job. Yes. No. You're not getting one. Mom... I gotta go. I honestly can't do this right now."

She got up as I moved to stand in the doorway. I shouldn't have stood there and watched her, but I couldn't help myself. She had taken her hair down, and it moved across her back and shoulders as she walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window in my office.

Her face was tucked into her hand, and I could barely hear the sound of her crying, but it broke my heart. I didn't know this woman, but, for the first time in forever, I wanted to.

"Elizabeth? Should I come back?" I hated to have her turn and see me standing there like some kind of creep.

She jerked around and wiped at her face as her shoulders stiffened. "No. I'm fine. Sorry. Just a fight with my mother. She's worried and all up in my business."

"Do you need to go?" I walked in and stopped in front of her. There was less than a foot between us, and I knew by the sadness sitting on her that she needed me to reach out, to grab her shoulders and pull her against me, but I couldn't. We would end up in a place that I wasn't yet ready to take us to. She depended on me to maintain the space between us, and I was just barely strong enough to hold that unspoken promise in check.

"No. Really. I'm good. Just stupid shit that shouldn't be brought into my job." She wiped her eyes once more and forced a smile. She was beautiful in her softness, her femininity. The strong, tough girl who had been walking around the hospital for the last two days was gone for the moment, but I could sense her trying to regain control.

"We can't help it when life follows us in here. It's part of what makes us great doctors, right?" I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth and studied her.

"I suppose you're right." She smiled and ran her fingers through her thick tresses, teasing me with the desire to want to do the same.

"What can I do to help?" I moved to my desk and dropped down in my chair. "Have a seat and talk to me. I'm not just your mentor here. I've been through most of what you have, or so I assume. Sit down and let it all out." I wanted to know what was plaguing her. I had more resources than I knew what to do with. If she needed a small loan, I could help.

"It's okay." She moved to take a seat in front of me as her eyes lit up. "You were brilliant in there today. I enjoyed that so incredibly much."

"You were too. I'm impressed, and it’s not easy to do. You've done it in less than a week," I chuckled. "I'm sorry that I arrived in time to hear a little of your conversation, and I don't mean to press, but I'm going to."

"Alright." She glanced down at her hands, which rested in her lap. "Just don't think less of me when you peel back a few of these layers. Okay?"

Her eyes filled with tears again, and I was shocked by the level of need I had to shut down her sadness, to wipe it away and cover her in kisses. I wasn't falling in love, but the connection between us left me hungry for the thought of trying again.

"That's ridiculous. I'm concerned with you taking on too much and your performance here suffering. You're at the top of your class here, much like you were at NYU. Doctors are going to notice you, and you want that." I leaned forward a little. "Why would you think to get another job? Are you not happy here?"

"Oh. That." She wiped at her face again. "I'm not getting another job in lieu of this one. I need one in addition to it."

"Why? Are they not paying you enough?" I lifted my eyebrow. The residency didn't pay great, but it was good, at least from what I could remember.

"Yes, they are. It's very comparable, but I'm trying to help keep my mother afloat, pay back my student loans, and pay for my place with Stephanie, my roommate." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm one of those kids."

"One of what kids?" I crossed my arms over my chest and studied her.

"One who didn't have a father and my single mother did the best she could." She shrugged, working to deflect the sadness that went hand-in-hand with talking about such things. "We were poor. We still are poor."

I nodded. "I'm not sure I would classify myself as one of those kids. You're a woman… a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman."

Her eyes moved up to mine, and I could see that I'd struck a chord with her. I kept moving forward.

"You don't need to get another job. We can figure this out. I'll help. If you'll let me." I slid my hands across my desk and tapped it. "I was where you were at one time. It's about time I pay it forward now that I'm not there anymore."

She shook her head as a look of horror moved across her face. "No. Absolutely not."

I chuckled as she stood. "I didn't mean to offend you. Honestly."

"You didn't, but I'm not taking money from anyone. If you have another office or a side job I could do, then maybe, but I'm not one to take handouts." She shook her head, and the smell of her shampoo wrapped around me, driving a stake of desire down through the center of me. It was horrible, but I wanted to help her just so she might like me more, might consider going out with me sometime. I was too old, and Parks was much more her style and speed, but something sat between us. It was something that I wanted to explore it.

"Close the door. Please." I moved around the desk and watched as she got up and walked to the door. Her confidence was all but gone, but I enjoyed seeing this side of her as well. She was in need, and I wanted to provide for her.

"Dr. Crawford. Look..." she stopped just in front of me.

"Aiden. Please." I reached toward her and squeezed her shoulders softly. "Let me help. I want to."

"I can't." She reached up and pressed her hand to my chest, shocking me. It felt good to be touched by her. I just needed her fingers to brush against my skin under my clothes, to feel the silkiness of her exploring me.

"Then let's come up with a proposition. We're going to be in each other's lives for the next three years. We can find a way for you to work the money off, or, when you're a successful surgeon, you can just pay me back." I released her and took a step back before taking a shallow breath. "Don't deny my help. Please. I have no one in my life to bless with all I've received."

"Where are your parents?" she asked softly.

"They died when I was young, and I have no siblings." I glanced up at the ceiling, hating how much it hurt to bare my soul to anyone. "I honestly have no one."

"That's horrible." She stayed put, but I could see the desire she had to move closer.

"It's life, and it's been by choice, I think. I love it here, as I've said before. Let me help you." I gave her a warm smile.

She nodded just before pulling her bottom lip into her mouth and studying my face. "Not that I'm that great, but what if... what if I gave you my time? My attention? What if I gave you access to me? Would that at all be of interest to you?"

I almost swallowed my tongue. She wasn't anywhere as innocent as I'd believed her to be. I couldn't speak as I watched her closely. My body hardened painfully and I ached to take her up on the offer, starting now.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Forget I said that. I've never tried to sell myself for money. I don't know what I was…"

"Yes. I want that." I nodded as warmth flooded me. "I don't know what the details would be, but I've spent too many nights with women I don't know just to feel some semblance of warmth. I want what you're offering."

Her cheeks flooded with a beautiful muted red, and I touched the side of her face, forcing her to look up at me.

"But only if you want what you've offered. I won’t be comfortable with us sharing ourselves together if you're not at all attracted to me." My head was spinning. Were we really having this conversation? I could barely keep up thanks to the blood pumping through me at breakneck speed.

"I am." She glanced down and took a shaky breath. "I know I shouldn't be, but I can't stop thinking about you."

"Not love, Elizabeth. Lust." I moved closer as she reached for me, her hands sliding over my hips as she gripped me tightly. "Offer me lust."

She nodded and moved up to her toes as I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. The kiss was delicious, everything I thought it would be. She groaned low in her chest as I slid my fingers into her silky, thick hair and forced my tongue deep into her mouth.

We were both panting by the time I pulled back, and I had no doubt that I'd found my match in the bedroom if nothing else. The fact that she could keep up so well in my operating room made the idea of taking her late at night even more appetizing.

"Lust," she whispered. "I can do that."

"Good. We're nothing more than what we were five minutes ago when we're here at the hospital or anywhere in town. Understood?" I gripped her face tightly and leaned down for another long kiss. She opened up to me and pressed herself to the front of me as my insides throbbed with desire.

"I understand." She moved back and pressed her hand to her lips. "You call when you need me, and I'll come."

"Yes, several times if I have anything to say about it." I licked at my mouth and walked around the desk, not entirely sure how I felt about things. "Give me your bank account information soon, and I'll set up an automatic pull from one of my accounts."

"Not too much, okay? I'm serious, Aiden." She moved to the door, and I almost lamented letting her go. There was relief in not hiding just how much she turned me on, but now that it was out in the open between us, I was ready for the next step. I wanted her beneath me, wet, hot, tight, mine.

"That's none of your concern. No more being worried about money. Just focus your job here, and on me when I need you, and everything will work out." I took a shallow breath and pressed my hands to the desk. "Two more things quickly."

"Anything." She pressed her back to the door behind her, the position showing me the sexy little pebbles that pressed against her top.

"You're not with your boyfriend anymore, right? I don't like drama or things that can't be fixed with medical instruments." I smirked, trying to lighten the tension between us.

"We're over." She watched me like a hawk, and I reveled in the fact that the lust I'd seen the night before was intensified tenfold now.

"I'm demanding, and I'm dominant in the bedroom. I'm giving, but I want what I want." I stood up. "When I want it."

She nodded. "I'm all in."

"Good. Now, get out before I start taking advantage of your offer here and now." I sat down and pulled a file into my lap as she left. I waited until she was gone to press my hand to the front of my scrubs, and let out a soft growl. She had my insides twisted up completely, but it would be her job to soon relieve me.

I honestly couldn't wait.