Chapter 5
Chapter Five
MIA
W hat the hell did I just do? I hide my hand under the table, but I can still feel Jamison’s release on it. I wipe it along the waistband of my scrubs so that I can pull my top down over it. I'm praying that this will conceal it because there isn’t much else I can do about it.
When I push back out of my chair, I’m thankful Jamison unlocks his leg from around it. I need to put some distance between us before Dr. Crane sees what I did. When I look at him, I see his eyes narrow ever so slightly like he’s trying to figure something out.
My heart starts to pound as Dr. Crane heads toward us. I look at Jamison out of the corner of my eye, and I wonder if he’s going to say anything about what we did. Or, I suppose, what I did. It could end my nursing career before it even begins. What the hell was I thinking? Obviously I wasn’t.
I could lie .
The thought slices through me. There’s no way I could do that. It would be such a betrayal to Jamison. Sure, it would be easy, and everyone would believe me after what happened between Jamison and me. Not to mention, he’s the patient in this situation. They would take my word over his in a heartbeat. I’m sure of it.
Jamison leans back in his chair as far as his restraints will allow. He’s more relaxed than ever, but I suppose getting off two seconds ago helped. I’d barely touched him, and he came all over the both of us.
I glance down to see if there might be a wet spot showing on his pants but nothing’s there. However, he’s still hard and the outline of his cock is pronounced. Why didn’t it go down after he came? I lick my suddenly dry lips and press my thighs together. I would have thought the sudden rush of reality would cool my desires, but here we are.
Under his breath, Jamison whispers to me, “Relax, Mia.”
In some kind of twisted turn of events, Jamison’s words do just that. I relax back into my chair, and an odd sense of trust takes place between us. He’s not going to get me into trouble. I’m not certain how I know that, but I’ll add it to all the other strange things I feel when I’m with him.
“Good evening, Dr. Crane.” I try to keep my voice even and courteous.
“Mia,” Dr. Crane says, giving me a smile. “I told you to call me James.” He did, but it's incredibly unprofessional, especially now that we're working together.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to call you that.” Jamison winks at me. “I can give you a few other names to choose from.”
Dr. Crane’s smile falls away. “Has someone not had enough time in solitude?" he snaps, making me sit up straighter.
“Is someone jealous that I got the first taste?” Jamison smirks, and a small gasp escapes me. I shouldn’t be shocked. Based on everything he’s said to me, it’s practically tame.
“That’s enough,” Dr. Crane says, looking around the room. “Where is Alton?”
“It’s fine.” I stand up, placing my hand on Jamison's shoulder. I don’t want him to get into trouble, and obviously I’m partly to blame. I let things go further than they should have, and I still don’t know what came over me. There’s a mysterious pull between us, and it’s even present in my sleep. “We were just reading, but I should finish my rounds.”
“I’ll walk with you.” Dr. Crane doesn’t leave me an option as he motions for me to go ahead of him.
“It's not the wolf that appears most dangerous, it's the wolf that most resembles the sheep.” Jamison says this as I walk past him but not before I pause and turn the page for him.
“Mia.” Dr. Crane hurries me along, and I get the sense from the glare he’s giving Jamison that this isn’t over between the two of them. I don’t understand why Dr. Crane would let a patient bother him. I assumed that since this is his profession, he would be used to this kind of behavior and things wouldn’t affect him so easily.
It’s not until we’re in the hallway alone that Dr. Crane finally speaks. “You should stay away from Jamison.”
“But he’s one of my patients,” I remind him. Besides, I don’t think I would even if I know I should.
“Do you remember what he did to you?” he asks.
That’s the problem. I can’t forget.
Dr. Crane stops walking and grabs my elbow, prompting me to stop with him. “He’s dangerous.”
I couldn’t agree more, but I think for a very different reason than Dr. Crane. “If I was worried about the possibility of being hurt, then I shouldn’t have taken the job.” I think it’s a given that with the patients here at Bellevue Asylum, the risk of being injured is not only high but likely. Hell, there were several waivers I had to sign.
“He has some kind of fixation on you.” Dr. Crane brushes my hair off my shoulder and looks at the faint mark on my neck. I want to smack his hand away, but I try to remain still. He’s making me uneasy, and I don’t want to provoke his irritation any further. Jamison's words about the wolf are starting to make sense.
“It was one time, and I took the initiative to approach him today,” I admit. The second I saw him, my feet moved on their own in his direction. I can't explain this intangible attraction to Jamison.
“Why?”
“I didn’t want things to be awkward. I thought it was best to confront him and move on. Especially if I’ll be working with him in the future.” I move my hair back over my shoulder so that Dr. Crane can stop creepily staring at my neck.
The Dr. Crane I experienced at university lectures is not the same as the one I’ve encountered outside of a classroom setting. Even when I bumped into him in the apartment building, things felt off. I found myself becoming uncomfortable with being alone with him. Then again, I wasn’t really alone with him before. After today, maybe I shouldn’t trust my own judgment.
“I only want you to be careful. Some of our patients are very dangerous. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” Dr. Crane steps closer. “You’re a very special girl, Mia.”
“Thank you,” I manage to say as he crowds my space.
“No ribbon today?”
When he reaches out to touch my hair again, I take a step back. “I must have forgotten it.” His hand falls at his side, and I nod to the nurses’ station. “I should get back to my rounds.”
“You do that, Mia.” Dr. Crane gives me one of his signature smiles that so many of the students fawned over during lectures. “I’ll see you around.”
His words hold an unsaid promise that I’m certain I don’t want him to keep.