Page 77 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

KAI

F ind the things you can control.

My cock hardens uncomfortably as I imagine Avery, naked and wet, her eyes cloudy with lust, her lips parted, her expression needy, her voice soft and straining as she begs me for release.

I shift in my seat. You’re at work, damn it. Get a hold of yourself.

But when I’m around Avery, common sense goes flying out the door. Ten years ago, it was like this. Wild, blazing chemistry, uncontrolled desire, and a gaping void in my life when she left.

A void I’d filled with work.

“Then there’s the stuff that’s easy to ignore,” she’s saying now. “Exercise. Getting outside and enjoying the fresh air. Enough sleep. When times are tough, self-care is usually the first thing that we abandon, but those are precisely the times when we need them the most.”

Every doctor in the room is eating out of her hand. Colin Lecce can’t tear his eyes away from her, and I don’t blame him. She’s beautiful, clever, and witty. She’s one hell of a catch.

Plus, the faint undertone of her British accent is sexy as sin.

“That’s all the time we have today,” she finishes.

“I have some handouts here, as well as homework.” Everyone groans and she chuckles.

“Yes, yes, I know,” she says with a grin.

“But it’s not complicated, really. There are breathing and mindfulness exercises to try.

It shouldn’t take more than an hour to do.

” She hands us each a folder and then flashes us a wide smile.

“Thank you for attending, and I’ll see all of you here next Friday. ”

The room slowly clears out. A couple of people pull Avery aside to ask her some questions. I linger in my seat, waiting to talk to her. “I hope you’re hanging around to apologize,” Jayla hisses. “You bit her head off, the poor thing.” She nudges me. “She’s coming over.”

Indeed, she is. I lean back in my chair and survey her. Though her cheeks turn pink, she returns my scrutiny calmly. “Let me guess,” she says. “You’re not a fan of managing your stress, preferring to let your anxiety fester inside.”

Jayla laughs out loud. “I like you,” she says to Avery. “How long have you known Kai?”

Her eyes rest on me for a split second. “It’s been quite a while,” she replies.

“Really?” Jayla sounds intrigued. Fuck me. Now I’m never going to hear the end of this. Jayla is a relentless matchmaker. “I’ve known Kai for years. We went to medical school together, but does he tell me anything?”

I give my friend an exasperated look. “I didn’t know Avery was doing this workshop.”

Avery takes pity on me. “Kai’s right,” she confirms. “My friend Maggie Hakimi normally runs these, but she had a scheduling conflict. I’m just covering for her.”

She’d been wounded when I snapped at her about my patients dying. She’d hid it well, but for a second, there’d been hurt in her green eyes. “I’m sorry I was a dick.”

She smiles at me. “I can take it,” she replies. “You’re not the first hostile client I’ve had.” Her cheeks flush. “Not that you’re a client of mine, I mean. You’re not.”

It’s my turn to suppress a smirk. Therapists have the same ethics rules as doctors, I know. We can’t date our patients. A workshop won’t qualify because Avery isn’t giving me personalized advice, but if I were her client, I couldn’t date her.

Not that dating is the right word to describe what we’re going to be doing at the club tomorrow. No, fucking is a much more straightforward word.

Jayla picks up on the denial as well, and her eyes gleam with interest. “It’s Kai’s birthday today, Dr. Welch. We’re going to the bar across the street to celebrate. Would you like to join us?”

“Please, call me Avery.” She tilts her head to one side. “It’s your birthday?”

I’m not in the habit of inviting women I’m fucking to work events. I like to keep my worlds separate. Clean and uncomplicated. Yet somehow, my lips form the words. “Thirty-six,” I tell her. “Join us. You can buy me a drink.”

I’ve taken her by surprise. There’s a brief hesitation, and then she nods. “I’d love to.”

As much as I’d like to monopolize Avery, there are more than fifty people at the bar, all there to celebrate with me.

I get swept into conversation after conversation, as does Maddox.

We both keep an eye on her, ready to jump to her rescue if she needs it, but as I discover, Avery can take perfect care of herself.

My coworkers welcome her like they’ve known her forever, and Colin, in particular, decides to glue himself to her side.

Finally, I tear myself away and catch up with her. “Having fun?”

She smiles widely. “I am. I work for myself, you know, so I rarely get a chance to socialize like this. Your friends are very nice.”

“Colin Lecce has been flirting with you all night.”

She looks at me, her eyes amused. “Is that jealousy I hear, Dr. Bowen?” she purrs. “Are you the possessive sort?”

Only with Avery. I lean close. “Next time,” I murmur, low enough that no one else can hear me, “I’m going to tape a vibrator to your clit at the start of the evening.”

A sharp indrawn breath greets me.

Good. She’s driving me insane. I’m glad the feeling is mutual. “I’m going to push a glass butt plug up your ass,” I continue. “With each step you take, you’ll feel its weight inside you. All night long, you’ll be wet, turned on.”

She looks at me with clouded, lust-filled eyes.

I’ve been watching her. She’s had a couple of drinks.

She’s a little tipsy, and a lot turned on.

“Every time you think you’re in control of the situation,” I finish, grazing my thumb across the palm of her hand, “I’ll turn on the vibrator using the remote control in my pocket. And I’ll remind you who’s in charge.”

We’re in a corner, partially out of sight. The party’s in full swing. No one’s paying attention to us. It’s just Avery and me.

She bites her lush lower lip. “I didn’t get you a birthday present,” she whispers, standing on tiptoe and brushing her mouth against my ear. “I want to suck your cock in the bathroom.”

Fuck me. “You’re a dirty girl, Avery Welch.”

“Yes, Sir.” Her tone is meek, but there’s an undertone of sass there that makes my cock ache for her. I love feisty women. “Please, may I give you your birthday present?”

“Not here. Too many germs. I am a surgeon, remember?”

She chuckles. “Your friend Jayla’s watching us. Is she an ex?”

“No. She’s a good friend, nothing more. We went through med school together. I’m her kid’s godfather.” My lips twitch. “Jayla’s happily married, and she has decided that everyone around her needs to be paired up.”

Ten years ago, I would have wanted that too. I push that aside. This isn’t about commitment or love. This is sex, plain and simple. “If you do want to give me a birthday present,” I lean in, still holding her hand, “I have a very clean bathroom at home. Want to get out of here?”

“I don’t know.” She pretends to think about it. “It depends. This glass plug you talked about… You wouldn’t happen to have one at your house, would you?”

“Naughty little minx.” I lift her hand up to my lips, and nip the tip of her fingers, hard enough for her to inhale sharply. “You’ll have to wait and see. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

I make my way to the table where Jayla’s in animated conversation with a group of nurses. “I’m heading out, Jayla,” I tell her. “Thanks for the party and the cake. See you on Monday.”

Avery reaches for her purse. “I should go too,” she says. “I have so much paperwork to catch up on.”

“Of course.” Jayla smiles slyly, totally not fooled by either of us. “See you next week, Avery,” she says. “And Kai, I’ll see you Monday.”

I catch Maddox’s eye to let him know we’re leaving, and he nods. “You know she’s totally onto us,” Avery whispers to me as we head out the door, her face flushed.

I’ve never let my work and my play intersect this way. I rarely take women home. Where Avery’s concerned, all the rules seem to go out of the window. “I don’t care.”