Prescription for Desire (15 page)

Once they arrived at the hotel, they
took a bubble bath together in the huge soaking tub in the
presidential suite. Raven rested between his legs, her back
relaxing on his sturdy chest as the warm water and his hands gently
massaged her breasts. He leaned over and placed a few tender kisses
on her cheek.

“
Comfortable?” he asked,
wrapping his arms around her waist and his legs around
hers.

She sighed. “Very. I could stay here
forever.”

“
I wish you would.” He
kissed her affectionately on the neck. “You think Arrington Family
Specialists could find another Ob-Gyn?”

“
Um … no,” she giggled.
“I’m a majority owner now that my parents have decided to fully
retire, but they do help out sometimes.”

“
Hmmm …” He shifted under
her and tightened his grip. “So have you hired someone to take
their place outside of the Arrington family?”

“
We’ve discussed that. Mom
is a primary care physician, so that position is definitely needed
even though we’re all board certified as such. Except for Sean, of
course. Shelbi has changed her focus to cardiology, which added
years onto her residency. We never really thought about what would
happen when our parents retired, but hiring outside of the family
has to happen now. Cannon is holding off until I get back because
we’re the decision makers along with my dad, but he’s pretty much a
silent owner … well, he’s supposed to be.”

“
Hmmm …” he said again.
Raven wondered if he was even listening to her ramblings, or if he
was dozing off. It had been a long day so she figured he was
tired.

“
Armand?”

“
Yeah, babe?” He yawned and
moaned softly in her ear.

“
Are you awake?”

“
Wide … awake,” he answered
sleepily, running one of his hands down to her clit and circled it
with his finger which sent a warm current through her.

“
You were nodding off.” She
turned over to face him, resting her chin on his chest.

“
Nope. I promise you I
heard everything you said, beautiful.” He swiped a tendril of her
hair that hadn’t found its way to the curly mess of a ponytail
sitting on the top of her head. “Tell me something. What’s the one
thing you want more than anything in the world?”

“
Is this a world peace
pageant kind of question?” she asked with a sarcastic
undertone.

“
No, seriously. I just want
to know. Who knows? Maybe one day I can give it to you, or do it
for you.”

“
You’re so sweet, you know
that?” She took one of the chocolate-covered strawberries from the
plate on the bathtub and popped it in his mouth.

He chewed the strawberry, and gave her
one in return. “I’m a grown ass man,” he said with extra bass in
his voice and a passionate suck to her neck. “I’m not sweet.” He
popped her butt, and she let out a hearty laugh.

“
Okay, Dr.
I-cried-during-Lion King. Whatever you say.”

“
I didn’t cry, but that was
very sad what happened. I’m just glad at the end Simba came back to
fight for his family and his throne.”

“
Mmm hmm.” She winked and
straddled his lap, swaying her hips back and forth on his erection
under the water. While Raven did appreciate his question, she knew
he couldn’t give her what she wanted most in the world, so she
needed a distraction.

“
All right, woman.” He
squeezed her butt and meshed his erection against her. “You keep
teasing him, and we won’t be leaving this bathtub anytime
soon.”

She moved her hips up, and
slowly lowered herself on to
him,
sliding down each thick inch as she leaned over to
kiss his twitching face.

“
Damn, girl. You’re … so
wrong … for this.” He slid his hands to her breasts and squeezed
them gently before taking one in his mouth.

“
Just sit back and relax.
You’ve had a long day.”

He licked his lips and pulled her down
to kiss him. “Good. I’ll let you do all of the work … for now.” He
winked, and tried to push her hips all the way down on to him, but
she continued to move up and down. At first she was going at a
steady pace to not splash water out of the tub, but the more she
felt his hardness, that idea flew out the window and the water blew
out the candles.

Armand began to meet her thrusts,
sitting all the way up so that she was straddled on top of him with
her legs wrapped around his waist. A tidal wave of emotions crashed
inside of her, unraveling all of her pent up desire for him.
Screams of pleasure overtook her, and she could barely catch her
breath as she held onto him, panting in his ear.

“
You okay, baby?” he asked
as she trembled in his embrace while her orgasm shot through her so
hard she almost fainted from its impact.

“
Mmm … .mmm …” she moaned,
burying her head into his chest as he slowed down and gently
bounced her on him, kissing her neck softly.

“
You feel so good, baby,
you hear me?” he whispered in her ear.

“
Yes, Armand. It’s your
turn now.”

Raven finally came down from her high
and sped up their pace, pushing him back toward the bath pillow. He
grasped her hips, holding on to her as she continued to make love
to him until he shuddered inside of her. He held her close to his
heaving chest, and she could feel his pounding heartbeat against
her skin.

“
Are
you
okay, baby?”

He chuckled. “I’m fine.”

She eased up off of him, but still
straddled his torso. “I think it’s safe to say that half of the
water is on the floor.”

“
Um … yes, and as soon as
one of us gets out of the tub to turn on the light, we can clean
up.”

“
And then finish making
love on the bed?” she asked, kissing him seductively.

He lifted her off of him and stepped
out of the tub. “I’ll go find that light.”

Chapter Ten

The weeks after the Buenos Aires trip
seemed to go by so fast that, before Raven knew it, it was almost
time to leave. Doctors Unlimited had confirmed her airline ticket,
as well as her official last day. The permanent Ob-Gyn was arrived
a few days before she was to begin work to get settled and learn
the ropes of Doctors Unlimited. Raven met her briefly yesterday at
the welcome dinner.

Raven and Armand had spent most of
their free time together, which was hard considering they had
conflicting shifts, but they still managed to sleep together most
nights once Armand was off around three in the morning. She’d been
back to the orphanage twice since the museum field trip. The last
time was the hardest because the children drew her pictures and
wrote letters that she would always treasure. Isabella even gave
her the bunny rabbit she was coloring when she first met
her.

She sat at her office desk for the
last time, making sure everything was updated for her replacement.
Raven had just seen her last patient, who she had the pleasure of
telling she was six weeks pregnant. She loved those precious
moments; telling a woman she was expecting. She just hated that she
wouldn’t be there with the patient through her
pregnancy.

Raven was really going to miss working
at the Doctors Unlimited medical facility. It wasn’t as hustle and
bustle as working at her practice, and constantly having to wake up
in the middle of the night if one of her expectant mothers was
ready to deliver.

A light tap on her ajar door jerked
her head in its direction as Armand peeked in.

“
Busy?”

“
Nope. Just shut it down
for the last time.” She leaned back in her chair and swiveled it
halfway around, watching the computer close down.

He came all the way in, closing the
door. “Cool. I’ll make sure the receptionist removes your login
information.” He seemed uncomfortable or uneasy about something.
His facial expression was rather bland, and he kept nodding his
head.

“
Something
wrong?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “No. So
you’re all packed?”

“
I haven’t even
begun.”

He laughed. “Really? Um … you have a
closet full of clothes, and you’re leaving in the morning.” His
laughed ended, and he inhaled deeply.

She smiled in her head when she
realized what was wrong with him. She felt it, too, but she didn’t
want it to show. She figured she’d cry once she was in her bed in
Memphis. “It won’t take me long to pack. You can come over and help
me.”

“
That’s not a problem.” He
stood and headed toward the door. “I have some things to finish up,
but I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“
Okay.” When he left, she
let out a long exhale. She’d tried her hardest not to say
everything that was bottled up inside of her. She had fallen in
love with him, which was something she had tried desperately not to
do with a man that, by tomorrow at this time, would be thousands of
miles away from her.

*****

“
Hey,” he said as he
entered her apartment, glancing at all of her suitcases open on the
floor. Tons of clothes flanked the couch, chairs, and coffee table.
His heart nearly sank. This was really happening. She was leaving.
“So you brought all of your clothes with you?”

She folded up a skirt, followed by
another one. “Ha. No. This is maybe one-fourth of my closet, and
apparently I brought too much because I didn’t even wear all of
this.” She kept her eyes downcast, and her hands trembled as she
folded the clothes.

“
What do you need me to
do?” He found an empty spot on the couch next to a bunch of maxi
dresses with his favorite yellow one on top. He ran his hand down
it and smiled, remembering when her strap kept slipping off of her
shoulder. That’s when he knew he had to have her. What he didn’t
know was that he would fall in love with her.

“
Sure. Take all of those
off of the hangers and fold them so they can fit into the
medium-sized suitcase by the door. I bought a few new ones from
Mrs. Gomez’s shop for me and my sisters, so I’m taking back more
clothes and souvenirs than what I came with.”

He began to slide the dresses off of
the hangars while trying to keep the conversation and atmosphere
mellow. “Mrs. Gomez makes beautiful dresses.”

Raven nodded, keeping her eyes away
from his.

Armand couldn’t believe that in less
than twenty-four hours she would be leaving. He wasn’t sure what to
say to her. He’d done this routine before: dating a woman that he
knew the relationship wouldn’t last past the time he would be in
whatever city, even if they wanted more. He always said it was for
the best. This time was different. She was leaving him, and it hurt
his male ego. He definitely didn’t want this to be a final goodbye,
even though they had agreed that what happened in Buenos Aires
stayed in Buenos Aires. However, Raven wasn’t the type of woman to
let go of. She wasn’t a cheap fling or a friend-with-benefits type
of woman. Armand had made her his from the first stare, the first
touch, the first kiss, and the first time they’d made love. She was
all his. Mind, body, heart, and soul. And he wasn’t going to lose
her.

They continued folding clothes in
silence as soft music played in the background. Every now and then
he’d catch her stealing glances his way with a hesitation on her
lips, but she’d purse them together and kept quiet.

“
You have your boarding
pass printed and passport ready?”

“
Yep, in my Prada purse by
the door.”

“
And a ride from the
airport?”

“
Sean is picking me up,”
Raven answered, finally looking at him and speaking in a somewhat
upbeat tone. “I spoke to him about an hour ago to
confirm.”

“
Good. I’m sure your family
will be happy to have you home.”

“
Mmm hmm.” She nodded and
continued to pack the suitcase in front of her.

He sat on the floor next to her and
lifted her head, but she diverted her eyes from his. “Raven … look
at me, babe.”

Sad eyes rested on his face. “This
doesn’t have to be a final good-bye. I know we said we would just
hang out while you were here, but I still want to stay in contact
with you. I still want to see you whenever—”

“
You’re in the States.” She
finished his sentence matter-of-factly.

“
Yeah, or you can come
here. Well … I don’t know how much longer I’ll be
here
. Maybe another year
or so. The board is in the process of opening another medical
facility in Chile and has asked if I’d like to move
there.”

“
That would be good for
you. You love going to different places and learning about the
cultures. That’s how you grew up.”

A slow, Latin jazz song came on the
radio and Armand stood, holding his hand out to her.

“
Bailas conmigo,
preciosa
.”

She displayed a beautiful smile, and
for a moment all was right in his world. Maybe she wasn’t ready to
say good-bye forever. Maybe he’d see her again.