Healing the Doctor (BWWM Interracial Romance)

Healing the Doctor

Copyright 2013 Sherice Cook

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author. All characters are a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental. All characters are over the age of 18.

Chapter One

Dr. Gregory Walt walked off the podium amid enthusiastic applause by the doctors and other medical professionals. This was the second time he had taken the time to travel all the way to Sacramento to speak at a medical conference.

His latest breakthrough in neurological surgery had given him the last thing in the world he craved – attention.

He pinned a smile on his face as he sat back down in his chair and focused his attention on another doctor who had taken his place at the podium. For a while, Gregory was interested, but soon his exhaustion got the best of him and his mind drifted to thoughts of the past - a past filled with fun and cuddles.

He was a nationally acclaimed neurologist, already one of the best in the country at the age of thirty-eight. His expertise cured hundreds every year of neurological problems, but the only thing he was unable to cure was his own mind. The memories of the past, the bleakness of the future, all combined to make him restless. As a result, he buried himself deeper and deeper in his work.

Greg was glad when he finally was able to return to his hotel suite. The opulent furnishings did nothing to lift his spirits, and his mood deteriorated further when he opened the curtains and stared at the city’s nightline.

A loud banging on the door startled him, followed by someone rattling the door handle. He spun around and without glancing through the peephole in the door flung it open. A tall woman with wavy brown hair stumbled forward, and his gasp of surprise was lost as she collapsed onto his chest.

Greg’s hands clasped her shoulders automatically to stay balanced, but the feeling of her skin on his hands seemed inappropriate. He pulled his hands away as if he had been scorched, and the woman in his arms began to shake.

Thinking she was crying, he clasped her arms and pulled her away. Her flowing mane of long, thick hair covered her face. Soon, the sound from her mouth spilled like bells through his room. She giggled uncontrollably.

“What are you doing here?” she asked almost angrily in the middle of her laughter.

Greg distanced himself physically from her at the same time that she pushed the hair off her face. Large brown eyes stared back at him. Just as he was about to answer, the woman kicked off her black stilettos and plunked her hands on her slim waist.

“Where’s my tea? I asked for tea,” she said drunkenly, and Greg gritted his teeth in frustration.

“Lady, this is my hotel room, and you’re dead drunk,” he started, but she began laughing again and traipsed over to the bed. As she flung herself across the pillows, she accidently kicked the lamp with her foot.

It crashed onto the floor and Greg lurched into action. “Whoa. Hang on! What are you doing? You need to get to your room. Where’s your key?” he asked, but the gorgeous woman only stared at him. She was lying on his bed, turned to her side.

The neckline on her short black dress was conservative, but in her current position, her breasts spilled together in a soft, ebony-colored pile.

“You’re
bubbles!
” she burst out and despite his frustration, Greg choked back a laugh.

The sensation of laughter building up in his chest was so alien, so foreign to him, that it stilled him in shock. The woman fell asleep instantly, her long hair falling over her neck and shoulders, spilling over his pillow.

Resting his hip on the bedside table, he sat back and watched her face, unsure of what to do. The woman was obviously drunk and had no idea what she was doing. He considered calling reception and asking them about her but he didn’t want to have her thrown out of the hotel just for having a little too much to drink.

He glanced toward the couch at the far end of the suite, and threw off his tie and shoes. His gaze kept drifting back to the woman, with her long, lean legs bent and naked beneath her short black dress.

Now that she was asleep with her full lips slightly parted as she breathed, Greg deduced that she was no older than twenty-five or twenty-six. Reluctantly, he walked over to her and pulled the covers over her legs. It was chilly in the room, and he didn’t want her to get cold.

***

Two hours later, Greg was still wide-awake, staring at the ceiling. The large sofa that was his bed for the night was pretty comfortable, except that it was obviously too short.

Occasionally, his eyes fell to the woman fast asleep on his bed. She was very still, totally wiped out, and Greg knew for a fact that she would have one hell of a hangover in the morning.

Greg glanced at his tablet, checking his appointments for the morning. He was supposed to meet with an old friend in town for the conference at noon. As he finally drifted off to sleep, he was wondering if his unexpected, drunk guest would be up by then.

He awoke hours later to the sound of someone moaning in pain, and years of doctor’s instincts lurched to attention. Glancing around, he remembered the previous night’s debacle and saw the woman in his bed, sitting up and grabbing her head.

Greg shook off the last remnants of his sleep and glanced at his watch. It was eleven am.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, but his voice came out slightly hoarse.

The woman lurched backwards, eyes wide with fear. “What? Who are you?” she cried, clutching the sheets to her chest.

Greg realized how this must seem to her and he slowly stood up. He was still in his suit pants and white dress-shirt. He usually slept in boxers, but hadn’t changed because of the woman in his room.

“Hi,” he said, clearing his throat. “This is actually my room. You stumbled in here last night and refused to leave.”

Tentatively, he walked towards the bed and looked at the large eyes smudged with mascara and eyeliner. She wasn’t saying anything, but thankfully she seemed to accept that he was telling the truth.

“Did we…you know?” she said with a look of pure horror on her face. Greg waited for her to complete the sentence.

Finally, he understood what she was trying to say. “Oh no! No. You passed out immediately. I slept there,” he said, pointing toward the couch.

The woman laughed again, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry you had to give up your bed. This is embarrassing.”

Greg felt like smiling as he remembered her outburst last night. “You said I was ‘bubbles.’ You seemed pretty adamant about it.”

Her shriek of laughter made him grin, and Greg literally felt like his stiff cheek muscles were cracking. His grin faded instantly, but the bewitching girl looked at him again and slid off the bed in her now very rumpled dress.

“I’m so sorry. Thank you so much. I’m really embarrassed. I should go,” she said, flustered. Hurriedly, she took a step and then stumbled, dizzy from her hangover.

Instinctively, Greg clutched her arm and made her sit on the bed. He found two aspirin and handed them to her with a glass of water.

Greg knew he was late for his meeting. He glanced at his watch; he didn’t have enough time, and he hated being late.

“Listen,” he said and she glanced upward. Greg’s heart flipped over at the innocence in her eyes. With her makeup wiped off on his pillow and her mascara smudged, she looked like a little girl. Her skin was clear and smooth, breathtakingly young. He was taken aback. “How old are you?” he blurted out.

The woman chuckled, and then clenched her eyes shut, grabbing the side of her head in pain. “I’m twenty five,” she said and Greg breathed a sigh of relief.

“Okay, the thing is…” he began. He was about to ask her to leave when something stopped him. “I have to be somewhere. So, do you want to stay behind? Have room service bring you something to eat, and I’ll be back in an hour?”

The woman instantly stood up and glanced around for her stilettos. “No, I think I should leave,” she said in a hurry.

Greg’s eyes narrowed in surprised shock. For some strange reason he wanted her to stay. She’d made him smile. A real smile for the first time in a long while.

“Don’t take me wrong. I meant… actually... I don’t know how to say this. Can I take you out to lunch? You can stay here. I’ll come back and pick you up at say, one-thirty?”

She smiled, and her full lips stretched over perfect white teeth. “Okay,” she replied meekly. Greg caught her eyes darting down to his chest, his shoulders, and to his hands.

“Okay, great,” he said with a smile of relief. He grabbed a clean suit from the closet and slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower. When he stepped out again, fully dressed, she was seated on the couch with her long legs curled beneath her.

“I forgot to ask. I don’t know your name,” he said.

She smiled, and Greg felt the unmistakable tug in his chest again. “I’m Hailey,” she replied.

Greg nodded and stepped forward, extending his hand. “I’m Dr. Gregory Walt,” he said and she shook his hand formally.

“Nice to meet you, doctor,” she said and then her own smile stilled as he smiled back at her.

Chapter Two

When Greg left the suite, Hailey stood up to get her bag. She needed to grab some stuff from her room, including clean clothes and her cosmetics.

She was looking forward to having lunch with Greg. He was strikingly good-looking with striking, piercing blue eyes that lit up with the laughter lurking in them. His body seemed muscled beneath his suit, and his sandy-colored hair, with a no-nonsense, business-like haircut, made his eyes pop out even brighter.

A doctor,
she thought. Educated men had always seemed especially attractive to Hailey. She smiled to herself at the thought of him.

Her eyes fell to his open suitcase, with a picture-frame lying upside down on the top of his clothes. The sexy doctor had been so shy in asking her out. Curiosity got the best of her and she lifted the frame.

Hailey’s heart plummeted and anger burned her cheeks. A pretty, brown-eyed woman with short blond hair stared back at her. The expression in her eyes was pure happiness and trust.

She had her arms wrapped around a curly-haired boy of about two years old. He had the same striking blue eyes as Greg’s. The unmistakable feature of the photograph was the large engagement ring, along with a thin, yellow-gold wedding band the woman wore.

Handsome, blue-eyed Dr. Gregory Walt was married, and he had asked Hailey out on a date.

“Perfect,” she mumbled under her breath, and dropped the picture back in the suitcase, facing upwards. She stared at the beautiful picture of his happy family. “Bastard,” she added in frustration.

She should have expected this. Wonderfully good-looking educated men were too good to be true.

Chapter Three

Greg was in a hurry to get back to his room. He wanted to see the mysterious Hailey again and had returned slightly earlier than he’d promised her.

He slid his key in the lock and walked inside with his heart beating like a teenager.

The suite was empty.

Greg glanced toward the bathroom door. It was slightly ajar and to his surprise, empty as well.

“Hailey?” he called out. He was expecting her to emerge from somewhere, but silence met his call.

Despite his maturity, he felt strangely dejected. He hadn’t expected this when he had hurried back to his suite. As he loosened his tie and undid his collar, his eyes fell to his suitcase.

Pain and shock made him inhale sharply. He knew he had placed the framed photo upside down. He had the unavoidable urge to carry it around with him wherever he traveled. It was facing up, which meant only one thing. Hailey had seen it, and that explained her disappearance from his room.

Greg quickly strode downstairs to the reception. “Hi,” he said, turning his smile on the young woman working behind the desk. “I’m wondering if you could help me out. I met a young lady here last night and didn’t get her contact information. If I gave you my cellphone number would you please give it to her if she drops by? Her name is Hailey.”

The woman at the reception smiled at the tall, broad shouldered man standing at her desk. “Sure,” she said, handing him a slip of paper. “I’ll be here until six so if she drops by I’ll make sure she gets it. What does she look like?”

Greg ran his hand over his forehead; he was frustrated and angry at himself for being so careless with the photograph.

“She’s African-American? Brown eyes? Tall?” he added and realized he was acting like an idiot.  With a dejected sigh he quickly scrawled his name and number on the paper and handed it back.