Page 6 of What the Doctor Ordered

S imon

It was difficult to keep my eyes on the road while I drove with this young woman in the passenger seat beside me.

I watched Kiley out of the corner of my eye.

She was looking around with a curious expression on her face.

Her smooth, pink lips were pursed as she stared at the buildings and trees we passed, her green eyes shimmering even in the dim lighting of the car.

I couldn’t believe that I managed to find a woman to take home with me. She was more than I was hoping for. She wasn’t just attractive and agreeable. She was funny and genuinely easy to talk to.

She would make the perfect fake fiancée.

“Do you live in this neighborhood?” Kiley asked, the awe and wonder clear in her voice.

I blinked at the strange question. “Yes, my house is just off of this street,” I said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

Kiley shook her head quickly. “No, not at all,” she replied, and she looked out the window, as if to hide her expression from me.

“You can tell me, you know,” I urged carefully. “Is there something you don’t like about this neighborhood?” That would have been surprising to me, considering that Sunset Springs was a nice, safe neighborhood from what I understood. I have had no issues while living here for the past few years.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” she said, and I was surprised to find that her voice sounded almost embarrassed. “It’s just that I thought only celebrities lived in this neighborhood. Aren’t there a couple of movie stars that have houses around here?”

I barked a laugh, completely taken by surprise by her comment. “Yes,” I confirmed. “There are a couple of movie stars that live here but there are others as well. There’s a lawyer that lives down the street from me, a few other business professionals.”

Kiley’s eyes rounded, her mouth forming a tiny “o” as she looked around with even more amazement. I smiled to myself, realizing with a start that I found her expression adorable.

Kiley’s excitement seemed to double as we pulled down my street and stopped in front of my house.

“Wow!” she said immediately, stepping out of my Lexus with a bounce in her step. She stared up at me in shock. “Your house is huge! Do you really live here all by yourself?”

I cleared my throat awkwardly, unsure why I found her reaction equally as embarrassing as it was amusing. “I do,” I confirmed. “Although I do have a couple of cleaners and gardeners that drop by a couple times a week.”

Kiley laughed as I led her down the rose garden path that led to the front door. “Yeah, somehow, I can’t imagine you getting on your knees and pulling weeds.”

My jaw dropped. “And why is that?” I demanded.

Kiley just shrugged before grinning and gesturing at me vaguely. “Well, look at you,” she said, her green eyes studying me almost critically. “No offense, but you don’t look like you’ve worked outside a day in your life.”

My eyes narrowed playfully. “You know, I’m beginning to regret my decision to invite you over,” I sniffed, feigning offense. “I wasn’t aware that I was going to be insulted in my own home.”

Kiley giggled and it was a light, bubbly sound that lit up her whole face. “It’s a little late to be having those kinds of regrets, don’t you think, Dr. Vale?”

“Right again,” I said with an amused shake of my head.

I tried to be discreet while I watched Kiley look around the garden and then as her eyes widened when we stepped into my house and I flipped the lights on. Her eyes strayed from the dark wooden bookshelves to the marble statues that dotted the main room.

“You have quite a few impressive pieces of artwork,” she noted, seeming to choose her words carefully.

I shrugged. “I took a couple of art history classes during my undergrad,” I said. “The electives really got me through the dryer subjects.”

That earned me another surprised glance from Kiley. “I took art history too,” she said. “I loved it so much that I minored in it during my undergrad.”

About a half hour later, I was standing at the stove while Kiley sat on a stool at my kitchen island. We were discussing art history and some of our favorite historical pieces. Kiley had a sharp mind and was genuinely passionate about the subject. She just kept on surprising me.

“So, you’re in grad school?” I asked. “What are you studying?”

“I’m in veterinary school,” Kiley answered, spinning lazily in the barstool.

“Wow,” I said. “So, you’ll be Dr. Hart in, what? A couple more years?”

“Three,” Kiley said with a heavy sigh. She lowered her head onto the counter.

“If I’m lucky. Tuition is so expensive. I’ve been taking loans and trying to pay my own way by working while also taking classes.

It’s been rough but I’m managing. Hopefully, I can get a job right after I graduate so that the debt doesn’t pile up. ”

I tried not to make my expression too calculating. “That sounds challenging,” I said sympathetically. I logged away the information she just gave me. “I’m sure you’ll get a job right away. Less people are having children nowadays and are opting for pets.”

“I’ve heard that too,” Kiley said.

“Hope you don’t mind a simple but hearty meal,” I said as I spun around to place a full plate in front of her. “Steak and potatoes are one of the few meals that I know how to make decently well.”

I was pleased by the way Kiley’s eyes lit up as she looked at the food. She took a bite and smiled at me. “It’s delicious! Thank you.”

I sat beside her and started to dig into my own meal, watching her carefully out of the corner of my eye.

She already seemed comfortable with me, despite having just met hours earlier.

A twinge of protectiveness stirred in me as I realized that this girl was far too trusting. She should be more careful.

She clearly needed a keeper.

I studied her. She was a tiny thing, probably barely over five feet tall. Her thick, wavy red hair was pulled away from her face with shiny hairpins. Her smooth legs were crossed, and she bounced them slightly as she ate happily.

“Had you always wanted to be a doctor?” Kiley asked conversationally after a few moments of companionable silence.

I stilled at the question. “Not exactly,” I said. “My father was a doctor. Since I was a little kid, I knew I wanted to be just like him. Everyone admired him and he was one of the kindest people I’d ever known. He didn’t just save lives, he enhanced them.”

I marveled at how I was already opening up about my father to this girl. Since his death, it was difficult to talk about him. I could barely have conversations about him with my own mother.

For some reason, talking to Kiley was as effortless as breathing.

I shook that thought away. She might clearly need a keeper but that wasn’t going to be me. All I needed was someone to play the part of my fiancée, and then I could carry on with how life used to be.

I just needed to come up with a tactful way of asking Kiley. She would be perfect, but I didn’t want to rush into things this time. My cheek still stung slightly from where the last woman I tried to offer the position to had slapped me. I was determined to make this one stick.

“Thank you for the meal,” Kiley said, putting her fork down on her near-empty plate and grinning at me.

“It was my pleasure,” I replied, reaching over to take her plate away. I paused when I noticed something, and I frowned at her.

She blinked up at me. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Yes, actually,” I said, pushing the plate toward her. “I couldn’t help but notice that your broccoli is untouched.”

Kiley blinked before shrugging her shoulders shamelessly. “Yes,” she said. “Sorry. I don’t really eat vegetables much.”

I raised an eyebrow, feeling my palm twitch. “Are you allergic to broccoli?”

Kiley tilted her head as she studied my darkening expression. “No.”

I leveled her with a look. “Then, I would like to suggest you eat it,” I said calmly.

Kiley wrinkled her nose and gave me an unhappy look. “I don’t particularly like broccoli,” she said. “And like I already mentioned, I don’t really eat vegetables.”

I let out a hard laugh before I could stop myself.

Kiley scowled. “What’s so funny?”

“Sorry,” I said, even though I didn’t really mean it. “I just find it amusing that you’re going to be a healthcare professional and yet you refuse to eat your vegetables.”

“Well, I highly doubt that I’ll be encouraging my patients to eat their veggies,” Kiley rejoined wittily.

“Since the high-quality food I will recommend comes conveniently prepared with all the nutrients they need. Now, if you hide broccoli in some brownies or something tasty, like dog food makers do for nutrients in dog food, I might eat it.”

I just stared at her in amazement before shaking my head. “That has to be the brattiest thing I have ever heard come out of a young woman’s mouth.”

I wondered briefly if that comment was a bit too forward, but Kiley just smirked at me. “I have been known to say quite a lot worse,” she said sassily.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” I said. “And I suppose you have never been paddled for any of these sassy comments either, am I right?” I felt great satisfaction as I watched Kiley’s cheeks turn a delicious pink color, and noticed she recovered much more quickly than I would have expected.

“No, I can’t say that I have,” she said, her eyes dropping to the top of the counter.

Was that an ounce of disappointment I was detecting? My cock pressed against the front of my slacks at the thought. “It’s no wonder you’ve got such a smart mouth,” I said, my voice dropping an octave. “Have you ever been spanked before?”

Kiley’s cheeks darkened and she shook her head, her eyes suddenly shy.

My heart rate picked up speed and I slowly turned my stool so that I was facing her fully. My fingers found Kiley’s chin and I lifted it so that she was forced to look at me straight on. I marveled at how soft her skin was.

I stared at her for a long moment, trying to decide if this was something she might be interested in.

The decidedly carnal need I had to dominate a woman was clawing its way to the surface.

I never even entertained the possibility that it might happen with a girl that I was planning to have as my potential fake fiancée.

Kiley’s breathing was becoming more labored and her face more flushed. Her bright green eyes appeared a little stunned as well. I wondered if I was reading the need behind them correctly. I crossed imaginary fingers in my mind.

Lowering my hand so that I could wrap my fingers around her slim wrist, I gently began to tug her up from her seat. “I think you are long overdue for a punishment,” I told her in a low voice. I stood up, watching her carefully, giving her plenty of time and space to refuse if this was not for her.

She inhaled sharply but stood to her feet.

That was all the encouragement I needed.

I frowned down at her, trying to hide just how pleased I was by her wordless agreement.

“You’ve been sassy, careless with your safety, and disobedient,” I intoned, pulling her along with me out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“For all that, I’m afraid that you’ll have to be punished quite severely, young lady. ”

Kiley was mostly silent as I pulled her into the living room. I thought I heard her whimper, but it was too quiet and brief for me to be certain.

There was only mild resistance as I sat down on the couch and pulled her between my knees. “Is there anything you’d like to say before we begin?” I asked sternly, giving her one last chance to back out. Once I started, there was no going back.