Her Doctor Daddy (7 page)

“No, of course not. I trust you…”

He put his fork down. “Look, I understand. We haven’t known each other for very long, and I’ve practically barged into your home. I apologize, Lexi. The last thing I’d want to do is frighten you.”

She brightened up at the soothing, genuine tone of his voice. “No, no, no, it’s okay. I’m happy that you’re here, and I love that you brought dinner.”

“I’m sure you could always
barge
in on your sister for a meal,” he said with a chuckle.

“Probably, but I really need to start taking care of myself and not depend so much on others. My dad used to say that all the time,” she said, her lips curving downward.

He angled his head lower to meet hers. “I was kind of hoping you might
want
to depend on me.”

Picking up her fork, Lexi remembered their conversation at IHOP as she motioned toward the small handled bag next to his chair. “Is that a gift?”

A satisfied smile played upon his lips. “It was just a spur of the moment purchase. Why don’t we open it later?”

After they’d finished eating, Lexi watched in amazement as Raul cleaned off the table, rinsed the plates, and placed them into the dishwasher. Taking what was left of the Chinese food, he repacked every last bit and stored the containers in the refrigerator. “There, now you have something to eat tomorrow night. Leftovers are very important when you live alone,” he commented with a sigh. Looking down at his watch, his eyebrows drew together as he noted the time. “You’ve had a busy day, Lexi. Should I leave, so you can get some rest? I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome…”

Making herself comfortable on the gold patterned, upholstered couch, she hugged a large fringed pillow. “No, I’m not tired. Please stay a little longer.”

“Okay, would you like to open your gift?” Sporting a wide grin, Raul pulled a narrow wrapped object from the bag and took a seat beside her. “I may have just the thing to relax that tense mind of yours.”

“Of course. Who doesn’t love presents?” Lexi took hold of the package, ripped off the brown paper, and stared at the title. “
Mystery of the Glowing Eye
?”

“It’s a Nancy Drew novel,” Raul answered proudly.

“I haven’t read one in years, but I’ve always liked mysteries.”

“Actually, I was hoping to read to you. It might be a nice way for us to spend time together,” he said softly before waiting patiently for a reaction.

“My mom died when I was young, so I don’t have any memories of her reading to me and Dad never spent time doing those kinds of warm and fuzzy things with us. He wasn’t exactly what I’d call paternal.” Again, she stopped to think. “When we had breakfast together, you talked about wanting to nurture someone. Is this what you meant?”

“What I want is for you to feel safe with me. I’d like to take care of you, but there will always be consequences for disobedience,” Raul said, carefully moving a stray hair behind her ear. “I can remind you of the entire conversation we had not long ago…”

She liked the idea of his protective nature, but when he said the word
consequences
, her bottom actually quivered. On the other hand, his friendship really couldn’t have come at a better time.

“No, I remember every single word of it,” she said in a small voice, her face blushing a bright shade of pink as she peered through her long golden bangs.

Raul’s smile was bright. “Now, would you like to hear the story, young lady?” he asked, opening the brand new glossy covered book.

“Yes, sir,” she answered respectfully, watching as his face glowed at her response.

Chapter Ten

It was around 6:45 on Saturday morning when Lexi checked her watch to see if the shift had finally ended. With a feeling that someone was behind her, she immediately turned her head to find Dr. Morales standing in the hallway, his lips forming a tight line as he curled a finger in her direction. After following him back into his private office, she closed the door and watched as he walked across the room to sit behind his small desk.

“Was I supposed to drive you to work last night?” he asked, stretching his arms down either side of the smooth surface, leaning toward her.

“But you weren’t scheduled to come in, and it really isn’t that far for me to walk,” she responded, her eyes focusing on a small cot in the corner of his on-call room.

His fingertips tapped heavily on the desk. “When I came to pick you up, there was no one home. We arranged a time before I left your apartment on Thursday, remember?”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts, young lady. We had an agreement,” he said, his tone darkening as he stood and walked to lock the door.

Lexi’s feet were glued to the floor as she stood there wearing a stunned expression. “Why are you doing that?” she asked, angling her head toward him.

As he moved to stand behind her, his palm rested firmly on her pert, rounded bottom. “Have you ever been spanked, Miss Roberts?”

“No,” she said, swallowing hard. Even through her pants and underwear, she could feel the heat of his hand, and something deep inside her vibrated from his tender touch.

“Well, I think you deserve a trip over my knee, little girl. Maybe a spanking will do you some good,” he said, his hand patting the lower portion of her backside.

Her pussy clenched as she closed her eyes. It was the second time that his spanking threat moved her insides that way, but the thought of him actually doing it had her trembling with embarrassment. “Jesus, there are people outside this office. Don’t you care?”

“Well,
someone
should have thought of that before she decided to walk to work alone last night,” he said, leading her by the hand back to his desk. Her eyes widened as Dr. Morales pulled out his chair, and all that could be heard was elevator music softly playing over the hospital’s sound system as he deliberately lowered her across his lap.

Taking his sweet time to place her in a particular position over his sturdy thighs, it became obvious that he wanted to give her an extra moment to think about the spanking she was about to receive. There was something so embarrassing about being disciplined by him, yet she could feel the inside of her belly curl with desire as he placed his large palm on her heinie.

Oh, my God, this is really happening.

“Although the morning and evening shifts are busy right now with their patient reports, I think it would be in your best interest to keep quiet while I spank your naughty behind. And you’re absolutely right—we wouldn’t want the secretary sitting at the emergency desk to hear.” He had one strong hand holding her tight around the waist and his other was poised high in the air, ready to strike her wiggling bum.

“You can’t do this,” she insisted, dangling over his knees, her face radiating with moist heat.

“Oh, but I can. And you should consider yourself lucky that we’re here in my office. If we were home, your backside would’ve been bare and very sore by now,” he said with a loud
smack
, his hand impacting hard across the seat of her black polyester pants.

“Oh, my God. Stop that! Let me up!” she maintained through clenched teeth, her mumbled exclamations following each loud crack as she squirmed over his blue cotton scrub pants.

“Sorry, but a fair warning was given that there would be consequences for disobeying me, and you might as well get that idea straight through your head right now,” he said in an even tone while applying consecutive hard swats to her tight, round behind.

Lexi bucked and squealed as she tried to roll off of his lap, but he shifted her over one knee and anchored her with his other strong leg. She never thought his hand would hurt that much right through her pants, but this was obviously not a playful romp.

It was the real deal.

“This spanking is not going to end until you settle yourself down,” he assured with two more whacks to her smarting bottom. “When you act like a rebellious teenager, you’ll be punished like one. Are we clear on that?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, blinking back the tears that were welling in her tired eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you.”

He spoke in a low and gentle voice as he rubbed and affectionately patted her rear end. “I honestly don’t get it. You were frightened out of your mind when that car followed you down the hospital driveway, yet last night you were willing to walk here by yourself. Was that a bratty move on your part, or were you just trying to test me? God knows who could be lurking out there in the dark…”

Large tears fell freely as she squeezed her eyes shut. “It wasn’t a test, and I’m not trying to be a brat! I just wanted to prove that I’m not helpless and can make it on my own,” she said in between sobs.

“Come up here,” Dr. Morales whispered, gently sliding Lexi off his lap to scoop her into his tan, muscular arms. “Of course you can make it on your own, but there’s nothing wrong with a little assistance from your friends. And my suggestion is that you get used to my help, or an inflatable inner tube might be necessary for you to sit on at work, young lady. Because the next time you decide to disobey me and put yourself in danger, you’ll be spanked on your bare bottom,” he warned, tilting his head. “Understand,
mi querida
?”

She pressed her nose into his warm, smooth neck and inhaled his tantalizing manly essence that was mixed with the spicy fragrance of his aftershave. “I love how you smell, Raul.”

His smile was faint as he pulled back to lovingly thumb the tears from her face. “That was not an answer to my question, little miss, and don’t try to sweet-talk me with compliments. I was not amused by your shenanigans last night. Not at all.”

She loved the gentleness of his voice when he scolded her and wished she could stay protected like this in his arms all day. But just as he hugged her tight, his intercom buzzed and a woman’s voice was immediately heard. “Dr. Morales? There’s a patient waiting for you in Room One.”

He pushed the button and grinned at Lexi, who immediately slid off his lap and straightened her white jacket.

“Thank you. I’ll be right there.”

Rubbing her smarting backside, she peered at him with curiosity. “Can I at least walk home this morning? The sun is shining, which means it’s extremely light outside.”

Dr. Morales shook his head as he stood. “I see the sass doesn’t end even after a good spanking.” He thought for a moment and sighed. “Stay put for a few minutes. After I check on this patient, I’m going to have one of the security guards drive you home.”

Gingerly, Lexi lowered herself onto the chair. “Raul?”

Placing a stethoscope around his neck, he gazed over at her. “Hmm?”

“Did you just speak to me in Spanish?”

With a twinkle in his eyes, he smiled. “I called you my sweetheart.”

Chapter Eleven

Holding a can of Heineken in one hand and a joint in the other, the boyish-looking man sat in his comfortable recliner, staring mindlessly at the television screen. After inhaling a deep, hot draw from the rolled paper, he held his breath before blowing out a long stream of smoke. The weed was little harsh for his taste, but a sip of cold beer after every drag took the edge off.

Work has been killing me lately.

Chuckling out loud, he adored the irony of his thought. It was almost time for the evening news, and he wondered if there would be any detailed reports about the young women murdered along the coastal area of Southern Florida.

Staring down at his smoke-stained fingernails, he lifted the joint once again to his mouth, inhaled and carefully set it down in the ashtray. Taking a moment to revel in the effect of his indulgence, intimate memories of the murdered women surged throughout his mind. As he closed his eyes to reminisce, the attractive newscaster interrupted his thoughts as she read a teaser from the prompter.

“There will be a special report on the Ft. Lauderdale Lady Killer,
right after this commercial break.”

What kind of fucking lame title was that? They couldn’t come up with anything more imaginative?

Bending forward to reach the volume, he turned it up and plopped back down into the chair. When the anchor returned to the screen, she instantly connected the viewers with a correspondent who was reporting from the scene of the last murder.

“
This is Meredith McDonough standing in front of the apartment building where twenty-one-year-old Ginger Renner was murdered just two weeks ago.
”

He moved upright in the seat, his dark eyes glued to the bright blue light of the screen.

“
I’ve spoken to police who at this time are still unwilling to give out too many details of the latest tragedy. But they did confirm that the recent gruesome murder was consistent with the strangulation of three other young women in the last four months. The victim’s apartment has been thoroughly dusted for prints and the police are canvassing the surrounding area for clues that point toward who the assailant might be.
”

He jumped from his chair, raised his fist, and let out a joyous rebel yell. Anxiously pacing back and forth across the living room floor, his focus still remained on the television as the reporter continued:

“
The body of the young woman was discovered by friends after her mother called to see if she’d stayed with them overnight. According to Mrs. Renner who lives in Gainesville, she and her daughter were close and talked daily, so she became suspicious when she hadn’t heard from her. The victim’s mother went on to say that she was kind, generous, outgoing, and well-liked by everyone she knew. In speaking with Ginger’s friends, we learned that she frequented bars alone and usually attended those that had music and a dancing area. The bartender at the Java Hut remembered serving her, but no one working in the establishment saw her leave that night. Florida residents are being encouraged to contact local authorities if you are approached by anyone who seems suspicious, and the hotline number at the bottom of the screen is the one to call if you have any information that might help us catch this man before he kills again. No composite sketch is available at this time on the Ft. Lauderdale Lady Killer…
”