28. Alaric
ALARIC
The charting area sits just off trauma.
Inside it, a row of computers lines the wall beneath harsh fluorescent lights. Empty coffee cups crowd the counter. Someone’s pager goes off down the hall before falling silent again.
And then there’s me. Fresh out of a quick shower, hair still damp, I go through patient charts one after another. My fingers move automatically across the keyboard as I review test results, sign notes, and finalize discharges.
To an outsider, it might seem like I’m just doing my job.
On any other day, they’d be right.
Not this evening.
This evening, other than working, I’m waiting for Lilith’s call.
A quiet sense of satisfaction threads through me when my thoughts slide back to earlier.
Between cases, while the rest of our staff gulped down coffee, I ordered her gifts from my phone. But there were things I couldn’t order online. Hence, the short break I took to drop them off at her apartment myself.
Thankfully, when I got to her doorstep, everything else had already been delivered. All I had to do was let myself in with the spare key she’d given me and arrange everything on her kitchen counter exactly the way I pictured it.
Any minute now, she’ll find them there, if she hasn’t already.
The gifts that prove, even on my busiest days, she’s at the forefront of my mind. Tattooed into my head.
Mine.
The selfish part of me wishes I could be there to watch her go through each one. The widening of her eyes, the soft parting of her lips, how her breath will quicken. I want that more than anything.
But these gifts aren’t for me. They’re for her.
She deserves to walk through the door and uncover each one of them on her own, without me hovering. Without my presence shaping her reaction.
For years, her light was dimmed, her spirit silenced. No more.
I refuse to let her worry about thanking me before she opens the boxes and bags.
Next time, I’ll be there. Just not tonight.
So here I am.
Typing, typing, typing. Sipping stale coffee. Typing.
My phone rests beside my mouse.
Face up.
I steal a glance at it, because, dammit. Even though I took a quick shower, she should’ve been home already.
Nothing.
Another chart opens. Another signature added. The cursor blinks, waiting.
And then I see it.
Her name on my screen.
I’ve never picked up a call as fast as I just did now.
“Oh my God.” Lilith’s sultry voice comes through the speaker as soon as the call connects. “Oh my God, Alaric. What is this?”
“Gifts.” My brow furrows as I try to make sense of her tone. For all I know, she might be happy, or she might be about to slap me with a restraining order. “For you.”
“Gifts…” She sounds bewildered, her voice barely audible over the noise in the background. Cardboard rustling, items shifting, as if she can’t stop going through everything. “That’s an understatement.”
“Holy shit, is that…” Hope starts, then gasps. “And this…”
“Yes, there’s this, and there’s that.” The way Lilith’s voice shivers, I’m willing to bet her cheeks are flushed red. Thank fuck, she loves it. “I’m taking the call in my room. Alaric, I—you crazy man. Wait, aren’t you working?”
“I took a break. Wanted to be available in case you called.” The half-lie sits wrong with me, since I’m not going back to treat patients.
After we hang up, I’m heading to the storage unit.
I rationalize it by reminding myself she’s not ready to hear that yet.
“Figured I’d let you enjoy the gifts on your own. ”
“That’s…thank you.” I hear the smile in her voice, and my chest warms. “Hold on.”
“Okay.”
More shuffling. A small huff.
“Let me help,” Hope whispers.
“No.” Lilith’s voice is closer, like she’s holding the phone between her shoulder and ear. She must be flustered. Fucking adorable. “I’m sorry. Some things are kind of personal. I’ve got it.”
“Can I at least put the food he sent in the fridge?”
“Yes.” Then, to me, she repeats, “Oh my God.”
The longer her sultry voice seeps through the phone, the harder I get.
The filthier my needs become. Like picking out a black set from the new lingerie I bought her, sliding the panties up her legs, and clasping the lace bra around her, only so I can tear it all off again before I bite, suck, and devour her.
But as much as I want that, I don’t regret staying at the hospital.
Because she sounds like she feels special. Like she’s having her moment.
And that’s the whole goddamn point of this surprise.
“Alaric…”
“Alaric, what?” Thankfully, other than me and the computers, I’m alone here. No one sees me adjusting my hard-on. No one witnesses the other side of me, the softer one that likes to tease her by adding, “If it’s not enough, I can have more sent.”
“What?” A door slams shut. A muted, nearly inaudible thump tells me she’s dropped everything onto the bed. “No. No. This is already…wow. A lot. I love it. All of it. But I don’t need more.”
The urge to go to her intensifies the longer I have her on the phone.
Fraser, justice, or my trials don’t interest me half as much as they should.
Of course I’m going to handle him. For what he did to Steven, and because I’m always looking to improve my suturing time.
But right now, all I can think of is getting to Lilith.
The warmth of her cheeks in my palms.
That adorable bump on her nose.
She’d smile at me first, before moaning my name when I slam my cock into her at a relentless pace.
Except—no.
Fraser won’t live forever in the conditions I’ve left him in.
He doesn’t get to depart from this world without paying his dues.
“Okay, then,” I say. “Which one’s your favorite so far?”
“Well…”
“Lilith.”
She whimpers at the faux-warning, and my cock throbs.
And yet she doesn’t give me an answer.
“If you won’t tell me, you’ll be punished.” I run my thumb over the plastic tubing of my stethoscope, imagining it’s her delicate neck. “No more hard fucks. No more biting or breath play. In fact, I’m going to be gentle. So fucking gentle.”
There’s nothing wrong with being soft. But while it’s some people’s thing, most of the time, Lilith needs me to match the feral, wild, unhinged side of her.
Which is why I’ll never deny her.
It’s just that I like hearing her gasp when I tease her. Like she does now.
Also…whether she answers me or not, after I’m done with Fraser, I’ll do anything she wants.
But first.
“So,” I start again, returning to what I was trying to say earlier. “Lilith, you deserve to feel special. Appreciated. Worshipped. Spoiled fucking rotten. That’s what the gifts are for. They’re not me saying I’ve got better things to do, so here, take this. Not at all.”
The line goes silent, then she sniffles, and I could die. It’s like she doesn’t think she deserves it.
“Oh,” she pipes out eventually, breaking my heart.
“That Oh is why I got you these gifts today.” I square my shoulders and sit taller.
This part of the conversation matters too much to slouch through, whether she sees me or not.
“To show you, with more than my attention, how important you are to me. That even on my busiest days, nothing will stop me from taking care of you.”
“Your T-shirts that smell like your cologne.” Her breath hitches. She sniffles again. “That’s my answer. My favorite gift. Because you packed them yourself. Unless you’re here, I’m going to inhale them all the time.”
A short, surprised laugh bursts out of me. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Love it. It’s perfect.” She gasps as if she just remembered something. “And the chef-prepared meals—you got all of mine and Hope’s favorites.”
“You two work hard, spending hours on your feet.” When I hear the beginning of Alaric, the start of her protest, I cut her off.
“And with the bakery still in the planning stages, I’m assuming there’s a lot on your plate.
The least I can do is make sure you don’t have to worry about dinner.
I just wish I’d thought of it sooner. From now on, they’ll be delivered daily to the apartment, even after you move in with me. ”
“I’m moving in?”
I raise an eyebrow. “If it were up to me, you’d have movers in your apartment today.”
“Oh my God.” It’s her turn to laugh, the melodic sound sending warmth through me.
“We’ll discuss it later.” I pause, biting back a smile. “What did you think about the pillow?”
“You mean the…um…” She pulls in a breath. “The maternity pillow?”
She sounds like she’s blushing, which is so fucking sweet. And makes no sense. There’s no reason for her to get like that over a pillow unless…
“Lilith.” My cock throbs. My chest heats. I’m ready to throw my backpack on and head over there, and to hell with Fraser. “Are you pregnant?”
“No, no,” she blurts out. “I think my period’s coming next week.” The heavy sigh that follows, the quiet sadness in it makes my stomach roil. “Are you disappointed?”
My teeth grind when I hear it. Her damn mother still terrorizing her from the grave.
I’ll wait as long as it takes for Lilith to become pregnant. And if it doesn’t happen, for whatever reason, I’ll be just as content exploring other options.
What I won’t tolerate is anyone hurting her. Even if it’s a dead bitch.
“Lilith, I seem to remember telling you disappointed is one of those words you don’t use on yourself anymore.
” I work hard to keep the anger out of my voice, the emotion I would’ve unleashed on her mother if she were alive.
“And just so we’re clear, no, I’m not disappointed, sad, or upset.
If anything, I see it as a challenge, and I live for those. ”
“Good. If you said you were, I’d have to give you a full-on biology lesson.” Hearing her sass me again soothes the ugly hate curling in my chest. “Because, correct me if I’m wrong, it should be obvious to a doctor that having the biggest cock doesn’t mean you’ll knock me up on the first try.”
“The biggest one?” I pick up on the shift in her tone and go with it. If she’s happy, I’m happy. “Compared to who?”
“Oh, quiet.”
Since our conversation is winding down, I pull on my hoodie, sling my backpack over one shoulder, and log off the computer, ready to swing by the storage unit now that Lilith sounds okay.
“Lilith, about what I said earlier, I mean it. You could never let me down.”
“I believe you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met.”
The best man wouldn’t be out there murdering people. The best man wouldn’t hide things from her.
A dark cloud descends over my bright mood when I remind myself that soon enough, I’ll have to come clean.
I’ll explain myself. Will do my best to rationalize my actions.
I’ll be respectful, loving, and careful. Earn her trust and heart all over again.
Without letting her get away from me.
“Listen, I’ll be even later than I thought.” I head for the exit. “Don’t wait up for me. I’ll let myself in.”
“Are you kidding? Of course I’ll wait for you. But…” The pause has my brow furrowing. “In case I do fall asleep, you have my permission to wake me up. With your mouth. Or your dick. Or the stethoscope.”
Jesus Christ.
I can already tell my stitching job is going to suck tonight.