I lacked experience when it came to demanding men. My dating history consisted of tender moments with men treating me as if I was fragile. They seemed to think I would break with the slightest pressure or roughness. But in this photo, the doctor appeared nothing but rough.
As I took in the fervor of that kiss, imagining what it would feel like to be the one he was kissing had my core fluttering. Would he barely brush his mouth against my lips, so teasingly soft it would feel like a feather had brushed across them? Or would he force his tongue into my mouth, ripping from me whatever the hell he wanted?
Dangerous thoughts swirled around loosely in my head. My foot tapped anxiously against the floor, matching the pulsating between my thighs.
It was then I was a hundred percent sure Dr. Kean Bennett was dangerous.
I hardly knew anything about him, yet I recognized he held the power that could destroy every inch of the carefully constructed layers that protected my soul. Layers so important to my survival because they kept contained secrets of the girl buried underneath.
For my own sanity she remained there, never exposed to the world because if she were, I knew I couldn’t control her. She was the type of girl who wanted none of the gentleness in her existence but instead craved a roughness that would cause her to explode.
I couldn’t allow her to escape.
“Hey, beautiful. You avoiding me?”
At the sound of Stuart’s voice, I startled and quickly closed the picture I was obsessing over as I spun my desk chair around.
“I’m not avoiding you.”
Giving me a grin, he leaned over and placed a wet kiss on my forehead. I winced as I looked at his puppy dog eyes and felt the need to set him straight about our relationship.
“Stuart, we need to talk.”
“What is it beautiful? You know I’m here for you.” Stuart grinned.
“Ciaran, can I have a word with you in my office?” Shawna interrupted from outside my cubicle.
“Yes ma’am,” I answered, standing.
I placed a hand on Stuart’s forearm and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll find you later.”
Completely clueless, he winked as I pushed past him and followed Shawna to her office. For once I was actually grateful for my boss’s uncanny timing because it saved me, at least for the moment, from breaking Stuart’s heart.
Perching myself on the edge of one of the all-white leather chairs across from Shawna’s desk, I crossed my ankles.
A mixture of glass and dark wood, the top of her desk was intimidating in its appearance. With the exception of a flat screen monitor and keyboard, the glass was impeccably clean, which went against everything I knew about being an editor. It was as impersonal as the woman herself.
“How’s your article coming?” Shawna asked as she took a seat in her desk chair.
“Great. Awesome,” I hastily responded.
“Then am I to assume Dr. Bennett agreed to an interview?”
“No, not exactly but I’ve been doing a ton of research online. There is some really great stuff out there I can use. I won’t need much from him for my actual piece.”
Shawna’s head tilted to the side as she studied me. She reminded me of a velociraptor right before it gutted you. “Ciaran, I’m not sure what you’ve been pulling up online, but I know it’s not the information I’m interested in. I want information about Dr. Kean Bennett’s personal life. His likes, his dislikes, what makes him tick, what turns him on. I know I don’t have to explain to you how sought after the man is. Frankly, I’m disappointed you haven’t already secured an interview with Dr. Bennett. I expected more from you.”
“I’m sorry, Shawna. I’m not sure I understand. I thought the main focus of my article was about why women have plastic surgery?”
She looked at me like I was an imbecile. “I should have known you were too innocent to understand my angle. Let me try and rephrase it for you. The doctor has thousands of women interested in him and remains a mystery because he refuses to go on record. I want him to spill his guts. I need an article that is going to put us on the map, stomp all over our competition, and generate millions in sales. I’m counting on this article to one-up the other magazines.”
My confused frown deepened as I stared at my boss.
Shawna impatiently tapped her finger nails on the arms of her desk chair. “Maybe I should have given the assignment to Hannah after all. I’m sure she could get me the information I want.”
At the mention of Hannah, my face heated.
It was no wonder I was only getting assigned crappy pieces. My boss had no faith in my capabilities. Well, she was mistaken if she thought I was going to let her remove me from my assignment just so she could give it to Hannah of all people.
“Don’t worry, Shawna. I’ll interview Dr. Bennett today. I promise.”
I stood and marched back to my desk with my mind set to do whatever it took to succeed. I didn’t care if I had to throw myself in front of a bus at this point. I was done pussyfooting around, emotions be damned. I needed to take the bull by the balls and get that interview if I didn’t want to lose everything I had worked so hard for.
Pulling up the phone number to Dr. Bennett’s office on my cell, I hit the dial button. A friendly, upbeat voice answered within the first couple of rings. “Dr. Bennett’s office, this is Gloria. How can I help you?”
Without mentioning my name, I started talking. “Hi, yes. I’m with Polish Magazine and I’m writing an article for next month’s issue on the benefits of plastic surgery. I’m wondering if it’s possible to schedule an interview with Dr. Bennett?”
“I’m sorry but Dr. Bennett doesn’t give interviews,” Gloria politely replied.
“May I speak with him? I think he might reconsider when I explain how I consider it an honor to write about him.” I kept my fingers crossed that begging laced with flattery about her boss would work.
A tired sigh floated over the speaker of the phone, which made me feel sorry for her. I was sure she was stuck with fending off every journalist looking for a way to get past the doctor’s famous “no comment” policy, as well as every female looking for a way to breach his pants.
“Well, it’s not going to happen,” she bit out.
It took me several seconds before I registered I was listening to silence because friendly, upbeat Gloria had hung up on me.
Tossing my phone on the desk, I stood and peered over the cubby wall into Brenda’s area. Her fingers danced across her keyboard with amazing speed as she typed.
“Hey, I need a favor,” I announced when she paused between keystrokes.
“What’s up?”
“I need you to call Dr. Bennett’s office and make an appointment for me. I can’t get an interview so I’m going to causally question him while he examines me. Then, once I have the answers I need, I will use my charm to convince him to let me write about the experience.” Hence, the reason I didn’t give my name to Gloria when I first called.
Brenda looked impressed. “Ciaran, on occasion you surprise me. I love the way your devious mind is working.”
“Don’t bring it up. It reminds me of something Melany would do and you know how I feel about her. Try to schedule the appointment for some time this week. I’ll even take tomorrow if he has it open.”
“There is no way you’re going to get in that quickly to see him. The man has a super long waiting list. Sammy had to wait almost five months just for a consultation.”
“I figured there would be, which is why I need you to fake a boob emergency. Then he will have to see me, right?”
Brenda looked skeptical but, like a good friend, picked up her cell phone and dialed the number I called out to her.
“Hi, yes. My name is Ciaran Thompson and I need to make an appointment to see Dr. Bennett. First available, please.” Covering the receiver with her hand she whispered, “the receptionist is checking availability.”
I nodded and picked at my cuticles as I waited. I really hoped this worked because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if it didn’t.