Prescription for Desire (16 page)

Armand pulled her into his embrace,
and she rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed back and
forth to the music. No woman had ever felt so right in his
arms.

“
I hate you have to go,” he
whispered in her ear.

Raven responded with a deep, tempting
kiss, and a low moan rumbled from his throat. He weaved his fingers
into her hair, pushing his tongue further into her mouth. A sensual
sigh escaped him when he lifted her and carried her to the bedroom.
He placed her on the bed, lying on top of her as their lips never
left each other. He’d never felt so joined and in tune with a
woman. They weren’t even one yet physically, but mentally they were
in complete sync.

Her hands floated down his back,
grasping the hem of his shirt to raise it, and her fingertips
skated up his skin, sending a hot current to his groin. He sat up
briefly to take the shirt off, flinging it on the floor as her
fingers traveled to his chest. She pulled him back to her lips
while her hands massaged his bare chest. Erotic moans managed to
leave her mouth in between their tongues sensually colliding with
each other.

“
Take off your pants,” she
panted against his mouth, her hands roaming to the belt
buckle.

Armand obeyed, whipping the belt loose
and tugging his pants and boxers down with her help. Next came her
maxi dress, and he was pleasantly surprised to see she wasn’t
wearing a bra or panties. His lips met hers again, but this time
his kisses were gentle. He took his time, savoring her luscious
mouth and warm tongue that had a mind of its own. Not that he
didn’t mind the feral kisses, but he wanted to relish in their last
moments together, at least for now. His chest tightened at the
thought. However, he knew this wasn’t the end for them. It was only
the beginning.

He turned her over on her stomach and
began to place soft kisses on her neck, trailing his lips down her
body as his hands held hers firmly to the bed by her side. When his
penis rubbed between her butt, she gyrated against him.

“
Not yet.” Armand playfully
popped her butt and proceeded to place kisses along her back,
removing his hands from hers and running them alongside her hips.
His tongue inched closer to her other succulent lips and delved in.
She let out a relieved moan and gripped the pillow as he slowly
licked, greedily drinking from her canal. He held her steady to bed
as her body trembled and jerked. He continued twirling his tongue
around faster the more she bucked against him. Somehow, she managed
to turn over and grab him up to her. He pulled her legs over his
shoulders and entered with one stroke. He sunk in deeper with each
pull and moan from her. Holding her hands to the mattress, his eyes
rested intently with hers. Never wavering. The electric currents
shooting in him must’ve gone straight to her, for as soon as they
rushed through him she shivered in his arms and the bed shook. Even
though the walls of the staff apartments were soundproof, he had a
feeling someone, somewhere in the building, felt that tremor as
well.

Armand placed her legs around his
waist and gathered her in his arms, still keeping his eyes on hers.
The sun had started to fade through the window, but he could still
see her beautiful face. He knew he loved this woman; knew he would
find a way for them to be together.

“
This isn’t our last time.
I promise.” He nearly choked on his words as his muscles tensed. He
never wanted to be without her. That wasn’t an option for
them.

Armand kissed her forehead softly, and
a muffled cry sounded from her when she buried her head into his
chest. He slowed down their tempo a tad, and she ran her hands up
to his shoulders, holding on to him so tightly he thought she would
break him in two. Her moans were still muffled in his chest, and
that wasn’t like her. She usually looked at him or kissed him,
wanting him to hear just how much she enjoyed their
lovemaking.

He stopped for a second and gently
lifted her head. “Oh, baby.” Armand had never seen so many tears
cascade down her lovely face before. He kissed them, but more fell.
“Don’t cry. You hear me?”

Raven tried to move away from him, but
he held her close in his arms. “Let it out. Go ahead and cry. I’m
right here, baby.”

She dried her eyes with her hands. “I
don’t want to cry, at least not in front of you but … I–I’m going
to miss you s–so very much, Armand.”

“
I’m going to miss you,
beautiful.” He kissed her softly as he laced his hands in her hair;
his eyes were steady on hers as the tears silently fell down her
cheeks. He continued to make love to her until they both reached
their release at the same time. Afterwards, they took a shower
together and made love again. And somewhere in all of her crying,
he heard her whisper in his ear, “I love you.” That was all of the
ammo he needed to make sure they’d be together sooner than
later.

*****

Raven rested her head on his chest,
swirling her finger around the lion’s mane. She’d hated that she’d
cried during sex. She tried to suppress it, but it couldn’t be
helped. She knew it was their last time forever, and her emotions
had completely taken over at the mere thought. Even though he
promised it wouldn’t be their last, but she knew that it was. She
needed to cry again, but her body and mind were mentally and
spiritually drained. He stirred underneath her, rubbing her back
gently and placing a soothing kiss to her head.

“
Raven?”

“
Yes?” she answered
weakly.

“
This doesn’t have to be
goodbye. I’ll be in the States in May for my sister’s graduation
for at least a week, and you can come back here for a week or two
before then.”

This was the conversation she was
dreading. “I don’t know how that will be possible.”

“
Don’t you have vacation
time?”

“
Yes. One month a year, and
a few mini vacations here and there, but I’ve been here for almost
two months. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, at least not until
this summer.”

His chest rose and fell deeply under
her. “Well … May is six months away. Do we want to go that long
without seeing each other?”

She sat up and turned on the lamp next
to the bed.

“
Armand, we agreed that
what we had would remain here. We live thousands of miles away from
each other.” She had hoped this wouldn’t be so hard.

“
There is clearly something
more between us than just a fling or friends with benefits. I know
that’s what we said in the beginning, Raven, but I want more than
just a fling. I want a relationship with you past
today.”

She got out of the bed and fished
around in the comforter for her dress. “A long-distance
relationship? What … we’re going to email, text, and Skype all the
time? Send smoke signals? There’s a time difference. We work crazy
shifts. It wouldn’t work.” Finding the dress, she slipped it over
her head.

“
It won’t have to be long
distance forever.” Armand jumped out of the bed, put his boxers on,
and stood in front of her. “In a few years I’ll probably move back
to the States.”

“
Exactly. In a few years.
A
lot
can happen
during that time period. One of us may start seeing other people.
You were in a long distance relationship before, how did that work
out for you?”

“
I was younger. I wasn’t in
love with her.”

“
Armand, you’re a wonderful
man, and I’ve enjoyed every single moment with you, but I’m not who
you should be with. You need to be in a relationship that actually
has the potential to develop into more. You’re thirty-three, not
some young cat jumping from girl to girl every few months. You need
someone that can give you what you want. I’m almost forty, don’t
want to get married again, and I can’t have children. I’ve seen you
interact with the children at the orphanage, and even the ones here
in
Ghilaua
. You
want a family. You want kids. Your own flesh and blood, and I can’t
give that to you. You shouldn’t waste your time with me after
today.”

Tears welled up in her eyes again, but
she suppressed them.

“
Raven, I don’t care about
that. If we ever got that far, we could adopt or use a surrogate.
It wouldn’t matter.”

Running her hand through
her hair, she shook her head. “My point exactly. If we
ever
got that far. What
if we don’t? What if we find out three years from now when you move
to the States that we can’t stand each other and break up? That’s
years wasted with me when you could’ve been with someone who wants
to get married and can have your babies.”

He grabbed her to him, and instantly
the suppression of the tears ended. One dropped, followed by
another.

“
That’s a chance I’m
willing to take,” he said with so much assurance in his voice that
she knew he was telling the truth. “Aren’t you the one who told me
to have a little faith?”

When she stepped out of his embrace,
she was suddenly very cold with shivers as she turned toward the
door.

“
Can you honestly look me
in my face and tell me you don’t love me?”

Raven stopped in her tracks. Here was
her chance to tell him how much she loved him. Needed him. Here was
her chance to give him what he wanted, or at least half, and that
wasn’t good enough. Armand was a wonderful man and deserved nothing
less.

She pivoted in the spot where she
stood, but didn’t come near him even though she was dying to caress
his five o’clock shadow just one more time. “I care very deeply for
you, and have enjoyed our time together, but … no, I’m not in love
with you,” she lied, wondering how the hell she managed to keep her
composure without breaking down completely again. “I will always
treasure what we had during this short period of time and miss you
dearly.”

Armand stepped forward, his gray eyes
dark. “I know you’re lying,” he stated in a matter-of-fact
tone.

Raven’s breathing became unhinged, and
her heartbeat was at a standstill as she sought to find the right
words. “I think it’s—”

Armand’s emergency cell phone blared.
His brow deepened as he tore his eyes from her and toward ringing
phone, but right back to her. He cursed under his breath and
grabbed the phone from the nightstand.

“
What?” he
demanded.

Raven retreated from the room, but
stopped when he said, “Oh no.” She turned on her heel to face
him.

“
Okay, I’ll be down in
five.” He hung up and immediately began to throw on his clothes.
Raven ran to the living area to grab his shoes.

“
What’s wrong?” After she
handed them to him, he immediately slipped them on and headed
toward the door.

“
Car accident.” He grabbed
his keys and scan card from her coffee table. “Four people in
critical condition and one may already be dead. I gotta run, but
we’ll talk again before you leave. I love you.” He kissed her
quickly before he rushed out of the door. At the same time, Dr.
Watkins darted out of his, and the men jetted toward the
elevator.

Raven closed the door, resting against
it as she let out a long breath. Her eyes scanned the suitcases on
the floor. Making a sudden decision, she grabbed her laptop from
her carry-on bag and glanced at the clock.

Thirty minutes later, she’d managed to
change her flight to a red-eye. It may have cost her more money,
but she wanted to be gone before Armand made it back upstairs. She
figured he’d be busy for the next few hours, so she asked Kay—who
wasn’t on call—to take her to the airport. They even managed to
pack the car with all of her suitcases in one trip.

Raven knew Armand would be mad when he
realized she was gone, but she couldn’t bear to say goodbye to
him.

*****

An hour later, Armand rested his head
against the elevator wall as he thought about his situation with
Raven. While he understood her side, he didn’t care. He loved her
and would find a way for them to be together. When the elevator
door opened, he made a beeline for Raven’s apartment.

“
Dr. Phillips,” a female
voice called out just as he raised his fist to knock.

He turned to see Stacy, one of the
receptionists, coming toward him. He wasn’t in the mood for a
conversation with her. He needed to talk to Raven.

“
Yes, Stacy?”

“
Dr. Arrington isn’t here.
I just checked her out about thirty minutes ago,” she explained
with a shrug.

His heart muscles tightened, but he
kept his composure and remained professional. “Checked
out?”

“
Yes. She changed her
flight to a red-eye. She said she could just sleep on the plane. I
think Dr. Arrington was homesick. She looked so sad,” Stacy stated
in a sincere tone. “So Kay took her to the airport.”

He nodded, trying not to hit the wall.
“Good. Good. Thank you, Stacy.”

Fifteen minutes later, Armand was on
the road speeding to the airport. He couldn’t believe she’d
actually changed her flight to avoid saying goodbye to
him.

When he arrived, his eyes scanned the
check-in area. She couldn’t have gotten further than that, not the
way he was driving like a mad man. When his eyes spotted her, she
must’ve sensed his gaze. She turned in his direction, and her
expression resembled a deer in the headlights. He immediately moved
the few feet to approach her in the check-in line before she went
through customs. He’d made it just in time.