Choosing Us (Pierced Hearts Duet #1)(43)

“How do you—”

“I know Aiden appreciates it.”

“How does he—”

“Camila, I wouldn’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”

I swallowed hard. Our eyes lingered on one another for a few more seconds before I stepped away from the desk. Breaking our profound stare, I put one foot in front of the other, striding toward the elevator she just directed me to.

I was so confused…

Dr. Pierce didn’t know me, had never met me. He wouldn’t be the one talking about me, would he? There has to be cameras in the house, no way there couldn't be.

My thoughts ran wild through my frazzled mind, embarking on a course of their own. It didn’t help that Renee’s penetrating gaze lingered on me until the doors of the elevator closed behind me.

As a result of what could only be explained as one of the most eluding conversations I’d ever had, the wind in my sails deflated a little, but I didn’t allow the minor setback to deter my mission on getting through to Dr. Pierce about his kids. The only difference now, I wasn’t as pissed off as I was when I initially walked through the doors of the hospital.

Which was probably a good thing.

What was going on?

I hated being out of control of my own emotions. No good would ever come of it. I knew from experience. There wasn’t a worse feeling in the world than having your mind governed by someone you didn’t even know. Someone you’d never even personally met.

I needed my voice to be heard, but why did that seem so much harder now?

So much more real.

The moment the elevator pinged on the fifth floor, I stepped off into a quiet hallway and instantly felt it. There was a strong shift in the air, the space, the energy all around me. This strong force steering me, guiding me, taking over my heart.

My mind.

My soul.

Every inch of my skin stirred with an awakening I’d never experienced before. It was surreal, breathing new life into my being.

Something was brewing inside of me, something immense.

Significant.

Life-altering.

The more I tried to make sense of it, the less it did. My breathing hitched, my pulse quickened, and my heart started beating out of my chest. I didn’t move, too afraid if I did the emotions would leave me as well. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, waiting for I don’t know what. Getting lost in the overwhelming senses that were yanking me along for the ride.

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. This unexplainable urge seized up in my chest, and heat surged through my veins.

Pulling.

Dragging.

Taking me hostage.

My feet began to move, and my body followed as I opened my eyes. Consumed with the electricity that sparked internally, igniting a fire, burning all reasoning down to the ground.

Almost instantly, I was engulfed in a masculine scent that drove all my nerve endings into high alert. Like gas to a flame, I exploded.

Erupted.

A hot blaze seared into my flesh, and just like that I felt it again.

Except this time there was no mistaking it, there wasn’t an it.

The it was a him.

All along, I felt him.

Dr. Pierce.



Aiden.





Chapter 17


<>Camila<>

Now



__________




I softly gasped at the sight of the man standing near the nurse’s station in front of me. My view obstructed by a supply cart, I could see him, but he couldn’t see me. I just stood there unknowingly, glaring at him without even realizing I was doing so.

“What the hell is happening?” I murmured to myself.

I never imagined I could feel this way about a stranger. A man who up until this moment, I thought may have been a figment of my imagination. I lost countless hours, days, months to the endless questions of who he was, where he was, and what was wrong with him.

And there he was in the flesh.

Dressed in blue scrubs and a white lab coat with a stethoscope wrapped around his collar. Emphasizing the three cross tattoos on his neck. My eyes were drawn to them, searching for the story I knew that caliber of ink held.

He was tall. Way taller than my five-feet-four frame. He’d tower over me, and that thought alone sent shivers coursing down my spine just thinking of his dominance. But with that emotion came shame.

“Camila, he’s married,” I whispered out loud, needing to remind myself.

But is he?

Where is she?

Where is his wife?

My captivated stare shifted toward his ring finger, and sure enough proudly on display was his wedding band. A sick effect settled in my stomach.

How could I have this intense response for my married employer?

I wasn’t this woman. I would NEVER be this woman. Although, it was so much more than that.

He was so much more than that.

As was everything I was enduring.

I didn’t understand any of it, looking at the man I’d never met in awe. Words couldn’t describe how handsome he was in person. His piercing blue eyes were as bright as crystal blue water. His salt-and-pepper beard appeared as if he hadn’t shaved in months. He appeared as exhausted as I felt, like he hadn’t slept in who knows how long. But that wasn’t what caught my attention the most, it was the sadness distorting his expression, the detachment in his gaze, the despair radiating all around him.