A Secret Birthright(16)
“Actually, I’m worried this is the calm before the storm. In previous visits, Ryan acted as if the doctors were torturing him.”
His eyebrows shot up before he looked at Ryan. “But you won’t do that to your obedient ride, will you? And I won’t make it such a cheerless endeavor that you’ll be driven to tears. You can even assist me, hold instruments, test and taste them to your heart’s content. Between us, we’ll make this a great game, Ryan.”
His thoughtfulness, then the way he said Rye-aan, Ryan’s similar-sounding Arabic name, lanced through her.
After receiving Ryan’s gleeful endorsement, he moved to start prepping him. She moved, too, bumped into him.
Feeling his steadying hands on her shoulders made her jump back. “I—I’ll just undress him.”
He gave her a tiny squeeze before setting her free and turning to Ryan. “As Ryan’s designated driver this afternoon, I think he’d want me to do the honors, right, Ryan?”
Sure enough, Ryan let out a squeal of agreement.
She stood back, every nerve buzzing as he undid Ryan’s snap-button jumpsuit with great care and dexterity, although it was clear he’d never performed the task before. Instead of fidgeting as he usually did, Ryan stunned her by chewing on a chart and offering Fareed every cooperation in stripping him down to his diapers.
“You’re an extremely well-cared-for little prince, eh, Ryan?”
Her heart gave another painful thud, which was stupid. It was just a figure of speech.
“Now, let’s start the game.”
She stood mesmerized, watching Fareed’s beautiful hands probe Ryan’s muscles for power, pushing and pulling on his feet and legs, making Ryan an eager participant. He turned to sensation, walking his fingers along nerve paths, before pouncing with tickles and eliciting Ryan’s shrieking giggles.
Next came recording muscle contraction and nerve conduction and he made Ryan help him fit in plugs and place leads over his body, all the time explaining everything. Ryan hung on his every word, his eyes rapt as he watched this larger-than-life entity who’d entered and filled his limited world. Fareed warned him that the tests were a bit uncomfortable, but would be over in no time, and Gwen braced herself for the end of the honeymoon.
But as he started the tests, instead of the dreaded wails, Ryan seemed to only notice Fareed’s banter, awarded him with a steady stream of corroborating gurgles.
She shouldn’t be surprised. Fareed’s darkest silk voice made her forget a world outside existed, or a past or a future.…
What was she thinking? She should only be thinking of running away once this exam ended, forgetting she’d ever seen him again.
She’d only sought him as a last resort, had hoped to slip in among his appointments undistinguished. But she’d ended up having his attention in its most undiluted form. Then it had gotten worse and he’d remembered her, had been treating her since as if he…
Her thoughts piled up as he dressed Ryan then caught her eye. “I’ll see those investigations now.”
She pounced on the briefcase, but he gently stopped her fumbling, took over. He studied the X-rays and MRIs briefly, set aside the reports without reading them before putting everything back in the briefcase. Then he turned to Ryan, who was demanding to be picked up—by him.
He complied at once. “So how was that? Fun as I promised, eh?” Ryan whooped an agreement. “But you know what? We had all this fun together, and I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Fareed.” He pointed to himself, said his name a few time.
Ryan’s eyes twinkled before he echoed triumphantly, “Aa-eed.”
“Ma azkaak men subbi!” Fareed exclaimed. “What a clever boy you are.” Ryan seemed delighted by Fareed’s approval, and continued to say Aa-eed over and over. Fareed guffawed. “We’ll work on the F and R later. I bet you’ll get it right in a couple of months, being a genius, like Rose said—” he turned to her “—and like your mother is.”
Gwen felt about to faint again.
It’s dreading his still-unvoiced verdict, she told herself.
But it wasn’t. She was terrified of having her worst fears validated, but that lightheadedness, as if she’d been hungry all her life, was the effect he had on her. Anything he did, every move and look and breath induced pure emotional and erotic tumult.…
What was happening to her? What was it about him that made her someone she didn’t know? Someone who couldn’t complete a thought without it turning into something…licentious?