Chapter 7

Katherine stared at the number as AJ’s phone rang. She wanted to grab it and let this Lisette girl know that AJ had already been taken. But just as her fingers reached for it, AJ walked into the room, a towel riding low on his hips while he used another to dry his hair.

“Is that mine?” he asked.

“Yup, it’s been ringing for a while.” She watched him pick it up, waiting for the guilt to register on his face. But—nothing. Instead, he answered the phone with a sweet ‘Yes sweetheart.’ She stared at him, frustrated, and steamed.

Katherine leaped off the bed and stalked to her room. Her heart pounded so hard she was surprised it hadn’t flown out of her chest. She couldn’t remember being this angry. She had spent the whole weekend with AJ. They seemed to be in a love bubble. But it was Sunday night, and it looked like it was time for Cinderella’s carriage to turn into a pumpkin. She should have known AJ’s attention and adoration had a time limit. How else did he fit in the hordes of whores in his busy medical schedule?

She could feel the tears sting her eyes. And no matter how much she told herself AJ wasn’t worth crying over, her heart couldn’t stop weeping. It was her fault; she was the one asked to be ‘roommates with benefits.’ She was just getting what she asked for. She quickly swiped the tears away when she heard AJ’s approaching footsteps.

“Hey, it was just my sister. Apparently since I missed Saturday lunch, I have to make up for it by having lunch with her tomorrow.” He half snorted a laugh.

“I think we should be ‘roommates with benefits,’” she declared.

“What?”

Katherine was on a verge of a giggle at the genuine surprise on AJ’s face. She could tell he had never been put on the bench before. And the little power she got from it, got into Katherine’s head. “It’s been a fun weekend, but who are we kidding?”

“Me, apparently,” he whispered, his eyes staring at the ground.

“We aren’t relationship kind of people. Especially between the two of us, it would never work.” Katherine gasped when she could hear her heart screaming out for her to stop, but her head, her misguided thoughts urged her on. “Besides what will the red-head nurse or your little brunette think if you don’t call her?”

Katherine could feel her lower lips tremble. She turned away from him, when the tears she was holding at bay slid down her cheeks. She cleared her throat of all the tension and spoke. “Sex is a great way to release the tension. And when you are up to it, we can have as much sex as you want, wherever, whenever you want.”

“So, you want the sex?” His voice was low, unreadable.

“I guess that’s what we both want.”

“Sure.”

“But exclusively.”

“I can’t promise you that.”

Katherine paused for a second, trying to digest what he was saying. He was still going to keep the other women. She turned around, ready to push back, but AJ wasn’t there. She took out her frustration on her door. Banging and locking it, telling herself that keeping AJ out would punish him. But when her frail body slid boneless to the floor, she realized the only person hurting was her.

* * * *

“…exclusively.”

“I can’t promise you that.”

Those words played in Katherine’s mind over and over again as she watched AJ play with the curls on the little red’s head. She had finally learned her name—Rose, and she hated it. Her back stiffened whenever AJ’s gaze flitted toward her. She quickly turned away and pretended to be writing in a chart. But who was she kidding? It was obvious she was stalking AJ. She was practically his tail. Katherine knew AJ would have figured out it wasn’t coincidence which had her in his sights every way he turned. Slowly she lifted her head and found AJ still staring at her. A thick black brow rose questioningly.

She needed to find someone’s heart to open up. Keeping busy was the key to retaining her sanity.

“Dr. Henry.”

Katherine let out an annoyed growl at the sound of Lyle’s voice. Now, her day couldn’t get any worse. She turned toward him slowly, her lips in a thin, white, fake smile. “Yes, Dr. Lyle.”

“How was your weekend?” She felt her skin crawl as his eyes roamed around her body. She was in her scrubs and a white doctor’s coat. But he managed to make her feel as if she didn’t have a stitch on her.

“It was perfect. Our weekend was perfect.” A deep baritone voice spoke from beside her.

Katherine commanded her spine to stay straight, her knees not to buckle and her body not to wrap itself around AJ’s. The sound of his voice in her ear had the ability to bring her body to life and put naughty thoughts in her mind. This new feeling was a total contrast to what Lyle was making her feel. She felt AJ’s arm curl around her waist and gently, but firmly pull her back into his chest. A smirk curled on Katherine’s lip—AJ was making her his territory.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Katherine managed to catch the flicker of anger and hatred as Lyle spat out his words.

Katherine could feel AJ shake in anger. Something else was going on between these two. And when AJ’s fingers started biting into her side, she knew she had to defuse the situation. “It was perfect. AJ and I had a perfect weekend. Please excuse us.”

Katherine thought she would have to anchor her foot into the tiles, just to be able to get a firm grip on AJ and pull him away. The murderous look in AJ’s once sunset-cool brown eyes, made Katherine shiver in fear. She had never thought anyone could manage to look at another human being with such hate.

“What’s going on with you?” She hissed.

“I want you to stay away from him—”

“But—”

“If you want us to be exclusive, you will stay away from Lyle. Did you hear me?” AJ roared then stomped off.

Katherine would have been happy to oblige AJ. But Lyle was her attending. She was in his service until the end of her internship. And in order to get a good fellowship she needed a stellar recommendation from Lyle. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

Her day had been full of awkward moments. AJ was mad at her for entertaining Lyle’s attentions. But that was just her way of making sure her feelings for AJ didn’t cross the line. He hadn’t spoken to her for the rest of the day. He just glared at her each time Lyle came too close. They were at home now and the small space made avoiding each other impossible, so Katherine decided to make the first move.

Katherine hovered outside AJ’s bedroom door. The corner of her lip, where her teeth were biting down nervously, had already become sore and she could taste the coppery tang of blood. She lifted her knuckles ready to rap them on the door, but a shiver of nerves and anticipation radiated through her. Katherine shivered, shaking off the tension, but as soon as her knuckles made contact with the door, she wanted to turn around and run.

The door swung open, and her first eye contact was with his rock-hard abs. Her fingers reached out, but she pulled them back and forced them between her teeth. She bit down, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath in order to clear her mind. When she looked up at AJ, she expected to find his usual sly grin, mocking her sexual weakness for him. But there was none of that. He stared at her, a glint of loathing in his eye.

He was pissed off she was here. But you wouldn’t be able to tell, since he reached for her and pulled her into the room.

“I…aah…m-huh. Are you going out?” She asked, swallowing a huge knot which had formed in her throat.

“In a while, why?”

“Dear God!” Katherine muttered under her breath as AJ bent over and reached for a towel that seemed to have found its way to the floor. She hadn’t noticed he was wearing jeans. But the denim made a point of reminding her of everything underneath it. The material tightened around his thighs; the curve of his sweet ass grew profound. Now if she could only sneak a peek from the front.

Katherine’s visual was interrupted by AJ clearing his throat and staring at her with a black eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“Did you want something?”

“Yes, I was wondering if we could—”

“Take your clothes off. I’ve got an hour.” AJ said, then disappeared into his bathroom.

“What? No…that’s not…” That’s not what? Her body asked her mind. That’s not what you wanted to hear. Come on, who are you fooling? Katherine shifted on her feet as the warmth pooled between her thighs. Maybe they could have some passionate sex before she could talk to him about his unreasonable request of her not talking to Lyle.

AJ walked back into the room but stopped just outside the bathroom door. Another quizzical look crossed his face. “Did you want me to do it?”

“Do what?” Katherine let out a tensed breath. “Yeah right, strip. You got any music?” she chuckled nervously.

AJ picked up a remote. She didn’t see where he was aiming it, but immediately music filled the room. But it was rap, not romantic.

“Maybe you could—” She didn’t finish her statement; AJ switched the music to one of Ne-Yo’s smooth tunes.

AJ tossed something on the bed. Katherine sneaked a look and found that it was a box of condoms. A whole box! Her body exclaimed. The hormonal part of her rejoiced but she knew the kind of stamina AJ had. By the time he was halfway through, her body would be begging for rest. That was why each and every time they had sex, Katherine slept through the night, unless AJ woke her up for another round.

“Take your clothes off!” AJ growled and slowly Katherine’s trembling fingers started to work on the buttons on her shirt.

The bark in his voice didn’t invoke fear, it seduced her lust. What kind of a freak was she that she got wet from AJ yelling at her? In three quick strides, AJ had grabbed her and turned her face and stomach against the wall. “You are a bit slow today, baby. You need my help.”

Katherine’s palms were now flat against the wall. The coolness of the concrete a welcomed relief because her body was burning red hot under AJ’s attentions. He reached around her waist and tugged at the front of her jeans. Katherine heard a clunk and assumed it was the button of her denim meeting the ground. AJ’s fingers lifted the band of her panties and sneaked to her warmth. Katherine hissed, her back arching and pressing into his chest. Her hand cradled his in place as her waist rocked.

“Hands back on the wall.”

Katherine did as she was ordered. Her knees begun to buckle announcing her approaching climax. She pressed her ass against his body for support. She was just about to orgasm when AJ’s phone rang again. The sound of the tearing wrapper filled the room. Katherine didn’t know when AJ had taken their clothes off. She was just about to turn around and hold him when he hiked her leg up and entered her with such force, she felt like her body was about to split into two.

Sex, sweat and the scent of AJ’s aftershave filled the air. Katherine held on to those smells, they were going to forever invoke this memory. The moment when she felt like a woman and not delicate china. She screamed out her release and heard AJ grunt his own. He lifted her in his arms and laid her on the bed.

Cuddling, that’s what she expected. Instead, AJ’s phone rang again, “I’ll be right there,” he said before closing the bathroom door behind him. Cold and alone, that was what Katherine would be every single night if she didn’t change the rules of the game she had set in motion.