Prescription for Desire (3 page)

“
Thank you. I am rather
tired and famished.”

“
I bet you are.” Kay nodded
understandably. “A few things. The entrance we just used is for
staff only. You’ll need the scan card to get into the building, as
well as the elevators and stairwells to get to the third floor, so
never misplace it.”

Once they arrived to Raven’s
apartment, Kay promised to come back in thirty minutes to grab her
for dinner. As Kay was leaving, Armand and Dr. Watkins arrived with
the luggage on a gurney and brought her belongings
inside.

After everyone left, Raven took a
quick shower, and threw on a comfortable yellow maxi dress and a
pair of flat sandals. She piled her hair into a puffy ponytail at
the top of her head, and slid some lip gloss across her lips. She
had a few more minutes before Kay came back to get her, so she
plopped down on the couch in the living area to call Cannon and let
him know she’d arrived safely.

“
Thank you again, sis, for
doing this on such short notice.”

“
No problem.”

“
Have you met everyone
yet?”

“
No. Besides Dr. Phillips,
just Dr. Watkins and Kay. She’ll be here soon to retrieve me for
the welcome dinner.”

“
Ah, yes. The welcome
dinner. I think you’ll enjoy it. Dr. Phillips started those, and
I’ve suggested to the other clinics to do the same. The staff is
very close-knit, like a family, so I’m sure you’ll have no problem
fitting in.”

“
So far so good,” Raven
stated, even though her thoughts kept trekking back to when she met
Armand. She hoped she could get through her time here without
breaking her rule. A knock at the door sounded.

“
Gotta go. Kay is
here.”

“
I’ll check on you in a few
days,” Cannon said before hanging up.

Grabbing her key from the hook by the
door, Raven opened it.

She nearly swallowed her gum and just
barely stifled back an, “oh”. Armand stood there, looking even more
handsome and debonair, leaning casually on his own door across from
hers. He’d changed into a pair of khaki Dockers, and a black golf
shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar, exposing delicious skin.
His white coat was draped over his arm, and his stethoscope dangled
from his neck, which she couldn’t stop staring at. She had an
unwavering urge to nibble on it.

Okay, get it together,
girl. You’re just jet lagged, tired, and hungry.

“
Ready?” His deep, baritone
voice glided over her like warm hands on her body, and his gorgeous
smile stirred something in the pit of her stomach. She tried to
shrug it off as hunger pains, but she knew that wasn’t it. Or at
least she wasn’t hungry for food.

Closing the door, she stepped out into
the hallway.

“
Ready.”

Chapter Two

Armand sat at a dining table in the
mess hall—as the staff called it—trying his hardest to stay focused
on a conversation with Dr. Watkins about a patient that was
currently in the hospital. However, Armand’s attention kept
wandering toward Raven and her laughter as she chatted with Kay and
some other staff members a table on the other side of the room. She
had a cute Janet Jackson giggle which he found quite pleasant and
girlie.

He wasn’t sure what to expect when
Cannon called and said his sister Raven would be filling in for the
Ob-Gyn position while the board searched for a new one. Armand
figured she’d be intelligent and serious like her brother, and he
was right on that account. But what he hadn’t expected was a
breathtaking woman with a beautiful smile, witty personality, and
flawless, toffee skin that he found himself imagining bestowing
kisses upon. The strap of her yellow dress kept falling off of her
shoulder, and she would casually slide it back up, not realizing he
found it downright sexy. He wanted nothing more than to slide it
down along with the other one, and pull the dress over her
just-the-right-size-for-his-mouth breasts. Armand figured once he
was done feasting on her beautiful peaches, he’d continue dragging
the dress slowly over her hips and rounded butt so his hands could
squeeze it before letting the dress puddle at her feet.

His thoughts delved deeper as he
wondered how her skin would feel under his lips and hands, or how
she would taste on his tongue. He already knew she smelled simply
divine, for her scent had been imbedded in his brain from the
moment he spoke to her. Would she make cute giggles or erotic moans
as he devoured her until she could no longer contain
herself?

A loud crash from the kitchen pulled
him out of his thoughts briefly. Once again he tried to focus on
Dr. Watkins’ ramblings. However, Raven caught his attention when
she briefly glanced in his direction with a smile just as her strap
slipped again. She quickly turned back to the group of women she
was eating with.

When he’d told her earlier she was the
most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on, he meant it, but he
was quite surprised he’d blurted it out so soon after meeting her.
As soon as he said it, he realized how unprofessional he’d been,
and was glad when she immediately put him in his place. He’d
spotted her staring at him a few moments before, and he really
hoped she wasn’t the person he was looking for. However, when he
saw her up close, he knew immediately that she was Cannon’s twin
sister. Regardless, Armand still couldn’t help but say what had
been on his mind since he’d first laid eyes on her. He’d worked
around attractive nurses and doctors before, but there was
something about Dr. Raven Arrington that made him want to shower
her with compliments all day and make love to her all
night.

“
So what do you think?” Dr.
Watkins asked, taking the last bite of his pascualina, a vegetable
pie made with Swiss chard and hard-boiled eggs.

Armand placed his focus back on his
colleague, who had completely interrupted his thoughts of the
beauty across the room. It was probably for the best considering an
erection had crept up, and he didn’t have time to take another cold
shower. Besides, Raven had already told him there wouldn’t be any
mixing business with pleasure … but some rules were meant to be
broken. And if she kept stealing glances at him, he’d have to make
a move.

“
Um … I think what you said
made sense.” Armand stumbled through his words, and he took a sip
of his cool water, nodding as if he actually heard a word his
colleague had spoken.

Dr. Watkins grinned and pushed his
chair back, grabbing the white coat that was hanging on the back of
it. “Really?” he whispered. “I think you didn’t hear a word I said
because you’re distracted by the lovely Dr. Arrington.” He patted
Armand on the back and grabbed the empty plates from their table.
“Keep focused, Armand. Gotta go do my rounds.”

An hour later, the majority of
everyone had cleared out of the dining area to either go down to
the hospital—if they were on duty for the night—or back to their
apartments. Raven was still chatting with a few members of the
staff as Armand pretended to look over some of the patients’ charts
on his tablet. However, his ears were listening to Raven’s voice as
she and Kay discussed the procedures and rules of Doctors
Unlimited. He’d assumed Raven would rather rest after a long day,
but he was quite impressed that she was focused and actually
listening and taking notes. However, when he saw her yawning after
Kay left with their plates, he decided to rescue her.

“
Hi there,” he said,
sliding into the chair across from her and placing his tablet on
the table. “You okay?”

“
Just a little tired.
Everything was delicious. I could get used to eating Argentine
foods.”

“
That’s what I said when I
first moved here, but every blue moon I crave my mother’s home
cooked, southern meals. We try to make them here, but it’s not
quite the same.”

Yawning again, she stretched her eyes
wide to look at him with a meek smile. She let out a soft sigh that
stirred his manhood.

Darn it
.

He shifted in his chair. “You’re
exhausted.”

“
I am. It didn’t really hit
me until a few minutes ago. I think I’m going to turn in.” She
glanced at her watch and smiled as she wound it, yawning again.
“It’s not six o’clock, is it?” she asked sleepily.

“
No, it’s nine. It may take
you a few days to get used to the time difference.”

“
Yep. I just need a good
night’s rest. I’m sure I’ll be fine in the morning.”

“
You know, you don’t have
to start work tomorrow. Just unwind and relax. I have you on the
schedule to begin officially on Wednesday.”

“
Okay, but I would still
like for Kay to give me the tour tomorrow.” Standing, she gathered
her possessions.

“
Of course.” He nodded and
stood along with her. He was supposed to have been downstairs ten
minutes ago. “I’m working tonight, so I probably won’t see you
until tomorrow afternoon, but if you need anything just let me
know.”

“
Thank you.” She displayed
a cute yet sleepy smile. “Good night.”

“
Good night, Dr. Arrington,
and welcome to Ghilaua.”

He turned toward the staircase, threw
on his white coat, and rushed down to the next floor. Once he
stepped into the hospital, he knew he had to put on his game face
and erase all thoughts of the new doctor. He decided to chalk it up
to the fact that it had been a while since he’d been in a real
relationship. He’d dated a few women in Buenos Aires, but nothing
serious because he didn’t know how long he would be there. In
addition, having an emotional attachment with someone wasn’t in his
plans at the moment. At age thirty-three, he’d been in a few
long-term relationships that had ended amicably, but right now he
wasn’t interested in anything permanent. He still wanted to travel
and work for Doctors Unlimited for the next few years before moving
back to the States.

And yet he couldn’t get Raven’s cute
giggle and beautiful face out of his head.

*****

A loud, blaring ring resonated through
the air, but Raven was so exhausted she couldn’t open her eyes, and
her brain waves wouldn’t allow her to make out where the sound was
coming from. Then a loud banging caused her to shoot all the way up
and open her eyes to a dark room. Disoriented for a moment, she
wasn’t sure of her surroundings. Suddenly, she remembered that she
wasn’t in her home in Memphis, but halfway across the
world.

The ringing had stopped, but the
banging hadn’t. When she realized it was coming from the door, she
slid out of the bed and turned on the bedside lamp. Adjusting her
vision, she sped toward the door and opened it. Kay was standing on
the other side of it with her hand in a fist, positioned to knock
again, just as the cell phone from Doctors Unlimited began to ring
from the coffee table in the living room.

“
Dr. Arrington, I hate to
wake you, but we have an emergency.”

Adrenaline raced through Raven’s body
at the words. Glancing down at her green scrubs that she’d slept in
for pajamas, she told Kay to hold on, and trekked back to the
bedroom, slipped on her tennis shoes, and headed out the door. She
made a mental note to make sure to place everything she needed by
the door for middle of the night emergencies. At home, everything
she needed was always in the mud room by the garage door or already
in her car.

“
What’s happened?” she
asked as the ladies sprinted toward the elevator.

“
One of our patients, Mrs.
Gonzalez, has gone into premature labor.”

“
How many
weeks?”

“
She’s only thirty weeks,
and has been on bed rest since her third month after she had a
cervical cerclage,” Kay explained as they walked down one flight of
stairs to the second floor. When they arrived to the birthing room,
all Raven heard was frantic screaming in Spanish from a man holding
Mrs. Gonzalez’s hand and Armand trying to calm the man down.
Another nurse, whom Raven had met earlier, began updating her about
Mrs. Gonzalez’s condition. As Raven listened, she looked at the
monitor as well. The baby was breeched with one foot stretched out
and the other tucked underneath, and headed to the birth canal. She
could try to move the baby, but it would be very painful for the
mother who was already in pain and bleeding.

However, Raven was more curious to
know what the patient was trying to whisper out as her blood
pressure and heart monitor continued to drop. Raven spoke Spanish,
but the conversation was so intense and fast between the two men,
she could only make out what Mrs. Gonzalez kept repeating before
the nurse placed a breathing mask over her mouth.

“
Por favor,
sólo
salve a mi
bebé.
No importa
si yo
muero.”

Please just save my baby.
I don’t care if I die.

Raven turned to Kay. “Prepare her for
a C-section.” She sped to the sink and scrubbed her
hands.

Armand approached her and whispered,
“Dr. Arrington, Mrs. Gonzalez is requesting—”

“
I understand Spanish just
fine, and I’m not honoring her request. I intend to save
both.”