into
knots. “So you were…teaching
her? The way you teach me?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Swallowing back the bitter taste of his
confession, Ivy took a long slow breath. “And you were in love with her? With your patient?”
Cullen finally looked at Ivy again. The light streaming through the window
illuminated his gorgeous features, showed the perfection of his skin. And yet he was somehow terribly cruel in
his beauty, Ivy thought.
“I was in love with her,” he admitted.
Ivy’s lips tightened. “And you would discipline her? Spank her? All the things you do to me?”
Cullen nodded again. “Yes.”
“Tell me the rest of the story,” Ivy
said, her heart beating fast. “Tell
me what happened. I deserve to know
the truth.”
He turned his face towards the window
again, looking outside as he spoke. “We kept the relationship a secret. It was wrong to become involved with a patient, of course. But we were making plans for me to hand
her treatment over to a colleague, and once that was done, we could be public
with our relationship.”
“Which colleague?” Ivy asked.
Cullen glanced at her, expression
somewhat alarmed. “Excuse me?”
“I said, which colleague were you going
to hand her case to?”
He made a strange face. “Why does that matter?”
Ivy glared at him. “Somehow I feel like it does.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m starting to think that you’re just
fishing for ammunition.”
“And I’m starting to think that you’re
afraid to tell the truth because of how it might make you look.”
Cullen’s nostrils flared. “You’re verging on a level of disrespect
that I don’t tolerate, Ivy.”
She got to her feet and faced him. “Tell me who was going to take over her
case.”
“Xavier Montrose,” Cullen said, his teeth
grit. It was as if speaking the
name was physically difficult for him to do.
She felt somehow vindicated by this
admission. “But he never did take
over her case, did he?” Ivy pressed.
Cullen shook his head and his eyes grew
distant once more. “The scans had
come back clean for nearly a year, and I was confident that Jillian was out of
the woods. I’d never have handed
her case to another physician otherwise.” He frowned a little. “And
then one morning, she complained of a migraine headache to me. I was concerned, but told her not to
worry. A few hours later, I was at
work and I got a call that she’d been taken to the ER. She’d had a seizure while shopping for
groceries.”
“That’s horrible,” Ivy said, empathetic despite her growing unease.
“They performed a scan and found that
there were two new tumors in her brain.” Cullen seemed to be reliving the experience as he retold it. His body was stiff, as if his mind had
traveled to another place and time. “We needed to perform two different surgeries to remove the two tumors,
as they were located in different areas of the brain. Each surgery would require months of
recovery. At that point, I knew
that I couldn’t afford to hand her care over to another physician. Not with her life hanging in the
balance.”
Ivy watched him, her heart breaking for
him, and for Jillian—but also for herself.
Seeing the man she had fallen for talking
so earnestly about his past love was a terrible feeling.
“And then what happened?” she asked
softly.
Cullen sighed, running a hand through his
hair again. “What happened is that
we did the first surgery and it went well. But her recovery was difficult. The other tumor continued to grow. And Jillian’s behavior changed, became erratic. It happens when there’s significant
brain trauma. She was on seizure
medication, having memory issues and mood swings. She became very hostile at times.”
Ivy wanted to go to him, take him in her
arms. Yet another part of her
wanted to scream at him, to demand how he could
knots. “So you were…teaching
her? The way you teach me?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Swallowing back the bitter taste of his
confession, Ivy took a long slow breath. “And you were in love with her? With your patient?”
Cullen finally looked at Ivy again. The light streaming through the window
illuminated his gorgeous features, showed the perfection of his skin. And yet he was somehow terribly cruel in
his beauty, Ivy thought.
“I was in love with her,” he admitted.
Ivy’s lips tightened. “And you would discipline her? Spank her? All the things you do to me?”
Cullen nodded again. “Yes.”
“Tell me the rest of the story,” Ivy
said, her heart beating fast. “Tell
me what happened. I deserve to know
the truth.”
He turned his face towards the window
again, looking outside as he spoke. “We kept the relationship a secret. It was wrong to become involved with a patient, of course. But we were making plans for me to hand
her treatment over to a colleague, and once that was done, we could be public
with our relationship.”
“Which colleague?” Ivy asked.
Cullen glanced at her, expression
somewhat alarmed. “Excuse me?”
“I said, which colleague were you going
to hand her case to?”
He made a strange face. “Why does that matter?”
Ivy glared at him. “Somehow I feel like it does.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m starting to think that you’re just
fishing for ammunition.”
“And I’m starting to think that you’re
afraid to tell the truth because of how it might make you look.”
Cullen’s nostrils flared. “You’re verging on a level of disrespect
that I don’t tolerate, Ivy.”
She got to her feet and faced him. “Tell me who was going to take over her
case.”
“Xavier Montrose,” Cullen said, his teeth
grit. It was as if speaking the
name was physically difficult for him to do.
She felt somehow vindicated by this
admission. “But he never did take
over her case, did he?” Ivy pressed.
Cullen shook his head and his eyes grew
distant once more. “The scans had
come back clean for nearly a year, and I was confident that Jillian was out of
the woods. I’d never have handed
her case to another physician otherwise.” He frowned a little. “And
then one morning, she complained of a migraine headache to me. I was concerned, but told her not to
worry. A few hours later, I was at
work and I got a call that she’d been taken to the ER. She’d had a seizure while shopping for
groceries.”
“That’s horrible,” Ivy said, empathetic despite her growing unease.
“They performed a scan and found that
there were two new tumors in her brain.” Cullen seemed to be reliving the experience as he retold it. His body was stiff, as if his mind had
traveled to another place and time. “We needed to perform two different surgeries to remove the two tumors,
as they were located in different areas of the brain. Each surgery would require months of
recovery. At that point, I knew
that I couldn’t afford to hand her care over to another physician. Not with her life hanging in the
balance.”
Ivy watched him, her heart breaking for
him, and for Jillian—but also for herself.
Seeing the man she had fallen for talking
so earnestly about his past love was a terrible feeling.
“And then what happened?” she asked
softly.
Cullen sighed, running a hand through his
hair again. “What happened is that
we did the first surgery and it went well. But her recovery was difficult. The other tumor continued to grow. And Jillian’s behavior changed, became erratic. It happens when there’s significant
brain trauma. She was on seizure
medication, having memory issues and mood swings. She became very hostile at times.”
Ivy wanted to go to him, take him in her
arms. Yet another part of her
wanted to scream at him, to demand how he could
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