The Choice Page 2

  “I’m leaving,” River assured, then glanced her way. “Good luck.”

  Once he’d gone, silence descended. She was alone with the two men who had been tempting, confusing, and consuming her for months. They were going to demand answers.

  This wouldn’t end well.

  Heavenly drew in a shaky breath, startled to find both now inches away, arms crossed over their chests. Aggression rolled off them, filling the tense air. Beck drilled holes through her with narrowed eyes, set off by a scathing slash of his mouth. Seth’s seething stare was no less displeased. Unfortunately, she had nothing to offer the savage beasts except a smile full of trembling bravado.

  Because the truth would change everything.

  “Hi, guys. Can I get you a drink?”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “I don’t want a fucking drink. I want to spank your ass until I get some answers.” Dr. Kenneth Beckman tried not to snarl and failed.

  God, the fucking betrayal… He itched to stretch Heavenly across his lap, yank her panties down, and paddle her sweet little backside until it flushed red. But when he fantasized about spanking her—which was all the fucking time—he made her count out every swat with his fingers deep in her pussy. The fact that he couldn’t mete out punishment now frustrated him. Months of unfulfilled desire made him feel as if he was coming out of his skin.

  Heavenly was his fucking worst nightmare rolled up in his hottest wet dream. If she had any clue how deep and dark his fantasies of her were, it would scare the hell out of her. She’d be even more afraid if she knew he was both a Dominant and a sadist.

  Seth turned his way. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  After months of biting rivalry, they finally agreed on something—not that Beck could spare a fuck about that right now.

  “What the… Why in the holy, ever-loving hell did you…” Fury tied Beck’s tongue in a knot too tight to speak.

  “Offer River fucking Kendall your virginity?” Seth finished, teeth bared.

  Beck gestured to the East Coast bastard. “What he said.”

  Wine sloshed in her shaky grip. “You shouldn’t care if I’m a virgin anymore.”

  With one hand, Beck grabbed the glass and slammed it on the island. With the other, he pressed his thumb to her chin and forced her darting gaze to his. “Are you saying you’re not? If you didn’t give your virginity to River, who fucking took it?”

  She better be as innocent as the day he’d met her or there would be hell to pay.

  “My sex life is none of your business, Dr. Beckman.” Heavenly wrenched from his hold.

  “Is that what you think, Ms. Young?” He scoffed. “My fingers up your pussy should have told you otherwise.”

  Seth grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her too close for Beck’s sanity. “He touched you?”

  When she blushed furiously in answer, Beck smiled, remembering every passionate word he’d uttered while he’d plunged his digits deep and swallowed her moans with his kiss.

  “So that’s a yes.” Seth bit out. “Well, as the other guy who’s had his fingers—and tongue—inside you, I think I’m entitled to know who supposedly popped your cherry.”

  Beck had suspected the PI had done more than kiss her, but having his hunch confirmed infuriated him even more.

  Heavenly tried to wriggle from Seth’s grasp. “I didn’t ask you who your first, um…sexual partner was.”

  “Mary Jo Bartkowicz in a stall inside the men’s room at the White Castle. I was fourteen. Now it’s your turn. Spill.”

  Her eyes flared wide, and she tore her gaze from Seth to Beck, as if she thought he was going to save her. Fat chance. He wanted this answer, too.

  “Who did you fuck? We’re waiting for an answer.”

  “No one you, um…know.”

  Beck grabbed both wrists and anchored himself in her face, inches from the quivering candy mouth he was hungry to taste again. “Let’s try the truth.”

  Suddenly, Seth was behind her, his fist in her hair, tugging on the strands. He bent his considerably tall frame to murmur in her ear. “If you lie again, we’ll find a quiet corner and prove our threats to spank you weren’t empty.”

  Shit, they were all but outing themselves as Dominants. They might terrify her, but it was too late for decorum and restraint.

  When Seth’s silky threat sank in, her cheeks flared rosier. The pulse at her neck jerked faster. Her pupils dilated.

  Beck cupped her face. She gave a startled gasp. Under her red T-shirt, her nipples stood stiff. The musk of her arousal tinged the air, making his cock throb. After four long months of wanting her, seeing that she still ached for him nearly brought him to his knees.

  So did believing that the singular prize between her legs was still there for him to pluck.

  There was just one problem… He and Seth were touching her at the same time, and she looked more aroused than he’d ever seen her.

  Goddamn it.

  “Spank me? I’m not a misbehaving child.” Her voice sounded nervous and breathy.

  “You’re not, but that won’t stop us from firing up your ass. Because let me tell you, little girl, no other man better be the one to make you a woman.”

  “That’s for one of us,” Seth insisted.

  Knowing that Heavenly had offered her virginity to River, that Seth had touched his pussy, and that she wanted them both—Beck’s control snapped. He didn’t care that they were in the middle of a party and anyone could walk in on them. He didn’t even care that Seth watched his every fucking move. He had to taste Heavenly or lose his mind. Later, he’d figure out how to ditch the other hard dick.

  He lowered his lips toward her pale, graceful throat. And Seth—thank fuck—pulled her hair so he could stare into her eyes. It gave Beck more of her skin to explore. God, he was so close he could see every individual bump of her gooseflesh, feel the ragged pants of her breath. He could almost fucking taste her.

  Suddenly, an obnoxious droning alarm buzzed at an ear-piercing decibel level around them, pealing from her back pocket.

  “What the hell?” Seth snapped to attention and scanned the kitchen as if searching for threats.

  Beck scowled. What was that annoying-ass sound?

  Heavenly struggled free from their grasp and grabbed her phone. It fumbled in her shaking hands as she answered it. “Dad, what’s wrong? Are you all right?”

  Dad? Beck looked at Seth, who shrugged. He didn’t like being in the dark, but at least his competition was clueless, too.

  As she paced out of the kitchen, holding the phone in a white-knuckled grip, he and Seth followed, shamelessly listening to her every word. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Liam watching. The Irish bastard with the uncanny perception gave them a nod. This was the trouble Liam had warned them about, the threat that might tear her out of his life forever.

  Like hell.

  He didn’t need Liam’s urging to stay close. Until he knew that she and her father were all right, he’d be no more than half a step off her ass. The determination on Seth’s face said he felt the same. Beck had mixed feelings about that, but he couldn’t focus on those when Heavenly needed them.

  “Did you already call 911?” She paused. “Good. Yes. I’ll grab the first bus and meet you there.”

  “Bus?” Beck whispered.

  “She takes it everywhere,” Seth supplied under his breath.

  The city bus? That filthy, urine-soaked, rapist-filled mode of transportation? Beck felt like he’d been punched in the solar plexus. How had he not known?

  “Hang on, Dad. Please…” she sobbed, shoulders shaking. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Fuck, she was ripping his heart out.

  “Give me the phone. Let me talk to your dad. Medical condition?”

  She turned to him, tears rolling down her face in watery paths. “H-he already hung up.”

  Beck stifled a curse and pulled her close. It said a lot that she wrapped her arms around him without a qual
m. In fact, she gripped him so tight he could barely breathe.

  As he held her, he shared a glance of concern with Seth, who whispered soft words of reassurance and caressed her back.

  But nothing eased the anxiety pouring from her.

  “Which hospital? We’ll take you,” Beck offered.

  Heavenly sniffled. “Really? The VA. Please.”

  As Beck wondered why the hell her father was going there for an emergency, she spun from his embrace and dashed to the door. Seth took off after her, ignoring the gawking partygoers.

  Nearby, Raine struggled to her feet. “What’s going on?”

  Liam eased his concerned girl back to the sofa. “Heavenly will be all right, love. They’ll call later.”

  Beck didn’t hang around to hear the rest. He sprinted outside, after Heavenly, into the night.

  “I’ll drive.” Seth yanked his keys from his pocket and hit the fob. The second the vehicle pinged, Heavenly ducked into the backseat and shut the door. “Get back there with her and be a doctor. And I don’t mean play doctor.”

  “Fuck you.” Beck jumped in beside Heavenly and pulled her onto his lap as Seth climbed into the driver’s seat and turned over the SUV’s engine.

  She curled against him, arms around his neck, and heaved in huge sobs as Seth peeled out of the driveway. As he shot down the road, Beck held her tight, wishing he could do something to take away her pain. She might not want him in her future and maybe he didn’t deserve her, but at least he possessed the skills to help her.

  “Shh. We’ll get to him, little girl,” he crooned. “Tell me what’s wrong with your dad.”

  “H-he’s had an autoimmune disease for eight years, but he wasn’t officially diagnosed until about three years ago.” She winced. “We’ve…talked about it before.”

  Beck froze. So many things suddenly made sense. “Your dad has Guillain-Barré?”

  She nodded contritely. “I’m sorry.”

  For hiding? For lying? For hurting him? Or for sins he might not even know about yet?

  “We’ll talk about that later.” He smoothed a soothing hand down her back when she fell into his arms again.

  Months ago, Heavenly had begun peppering him with question after question about all things related to the disease, homing in on one “fictitious” patient in particular, which she’d claimed was a hypothetical case study for a research paper. My ass. Why hadn’t she bothered to tell him she was talking about her father?

  While the autoimmune disease was serious, it wasn’t usually fatal. But her father had suffered for years, hadn’t gotten proper treatment right away, and his extremities were already weakened so much he was largely unable to walk without assistance. Heavenly had cause to be worried. Normally, with good care it was possible to recover, but being over forty was another negative factor. The man probably needed nearly round-the-clock help. Was Heavenly his primary caretaker?

  Beck began sorting through his mental list of good neurologists.

  Seth glanced over his shoulder as he headed toward the freeway. “Um…guy who’s only lived in LA for, like, five minutes driving here. Where’s the VA?”

  “Here.” Beck plugged the address into the GPS on his phone, then tossed it onto the front seat. “Get us there in one piece, okay?”

  Flashing him a caustic smile, Seth veered onto the freeway and accelerated.

  Beck settled Heavenly against him once more. He comforted her with a kiss on top of her head, at her temple, against her shoulder while he whispered soft assurances he didn’t feel. What would he find when he came face to face with her father?

  Quick minutes later, Seth stepped on the brakes outside the emergency room. Beck would have grumbled at Seth’s not-so-gentle stop, but a glance out the window said the ambulance had already arrived. EMTs were wheeling out an older, frail-looking man on a stretcher.

  Heavenly wrenched the handle as Seth unlocked the doors. An instant later, she lurched onto the pavement, her feet pounding as she ran after the prone figure. “Dad!”

  A couple of hours later, ER doctors had managed to stabilize Heavenly’s father. His neurologist had never made an appearance, which pissed Beck off. At least the dipshit had sent instructions for a plasma exchange. With that underway and Heavenly’s panic dissipating, Seth had taken her to find some coffee. Beck stood across the room, tablet in hand, and stared at the frail man only ten years his senior. Dread thudded in the pit of his stomach.

  “So, Mr. Young—”

  “Call me Abel.”

  “Right. Abel. Thank you for giving me permission to scan your chart. Like I said, I’m not a neurologist.” But since Heavenly had been obsessed with her “case study,” he’d researched the disease and talked to knowledgeable colleagues on her behalf. He knew more than he wished he did.

  The dissecting stare Heavenly’s father sent him almost made Beck squirm. There was a lot wrong with Abel’s body…and nothing wrong with his mind. “You might not specialize in my condition, but if you were playing poker, I’d already know you had a lousy hand. My own doctor barely talks to me. Give it to me straight.”

  God, he didn’t want to do this, and any decent lawyer would tell him this consultation had lawsuit written all over it. But he had to be honest with Abel. It was the humane thing to do. Besides, Heavenly would never forgive him if he wasn’t.

  “First, it’s clear you need a better neurologist. I know some great ones, any of whom can tell you far more than I can about the optimal treatment and—”

  “I’m dying, aren’t I?”

  Beck hesitated, searching for the soft-shoe phrases he dished out to gravely ill patients and their families all the time. Nothing. He simply nodded.

  Abel sighed. “I’ve suspected for a while. I’ve been trying to hold on as long as possible. Once I’m gone, Heavenly will be alone in the world.”

  The man’s words knifed Beck in the fucking heart. Based on the mutual devotion he’d observed between Heavenly and her father tonight, Abel’s death would undo her.

  “No, she won’t,” Beck vowed, no matter what she thought. “I promise you that.”

  Abel scrutinized him with a glance. “I’m relieved, Dr. Beckman. You know, Heavenly talks about you all the time.”

  That sent him reeling, especially since she’d never once mentioned her father to him.

  “Oh?” Beck was dying to know what she’d said.

  Despite all the IVs and tubes crisscrossing his body, the older man laughed. “She speaks very highly of you, and I can see why. Not many colleagues would follow a co-worker late at night to another hospital to help and offer support.”

  The man was asking about his relationship with Heavenly without asking at all, and Beck tried not to look guilty. “She’s a very bright nursing student with a promising future.”

  “Uh-huh. I saw the way you looked at her. Heavenly might be innocent, but I assure you I’m not.”

  Shit. “Your daughter is a beautiful woman.”

  There. That didn’t sound like he was desperate to strip her bare and fuck her breathless.

  “I agree. But where do you fit into this picture? I know Mr. Cooper has taken her on a few dates, so I’m not surprised he looks at her like a tasty snack cake he wants to gobble up. But I assumed your time with Heavenly was strictly professional.”

  Beck felt himself start to sweat. He’d never had to explain himself to a woman’s father. And Abel didn’t seem the type for candy-coated bullshit.

  “I’ve been dating her, too.” He met Abel’s piercing blue gaze. “As for Seth… Well, I’m neither a quitter nor used to coming in second place.”

  That made Abel laugh. “Gumption and balls. I like that.”

  “The choice is Heavenly’s, of course.”

  “But you’re going to make sure she picks you?”

  Beck nodded, though he knew damn well it wasn’t that simple…

  “You should know that she’s been my sole caretaker since she was fifteen, so she hasn’t seen much of th
e world. She needs to live, to enjoy herself. But she also needs protection, guidance…and a firm hand. She may seem sweet on that soft-spoken surface, but don’t be fooled. She’s got a spine of steel.”

  “Oh, I’m well aware.”

  Abel laughed again. “Since you’re closer to my age than hers, I wondered if you’d already figured that out.”

  He didn’t need Abel’s reminder there was almost fourteen years between him and Heavenly. Beck never forgot. He was a perverted fuck—and he knew it. Usually, he embraced it. Right now? This was awkward as hell.

  “Weeks ago. I’ll do my best to make her happy,” he promised.

  Abel relaxed back against his pillows, a faint smile on his weathered face.

  “My first priority is to make sure you get better care.” Beck changed subjects. “Would it be all right if I made some arrangements?”

  “I’ll agree to anything that makes Heavenly’s life easier, since I’ve been nothing but a burden for years. But I don’t have any money.”

  “It’ll be pro bono. I have friends in the medical community who owe me favors.” Not entirely true, but he’d do whatever necessary to help Abel.

  “Thank you. That’s very generous.” Abel sighed. “Is this damn treatment almost done?”

  Beck scanned the monitor. “Sixteen minutes.”

  “How long do I have to live?”

  His gut seized up. “I can’t say for sure—”

  “Ballpark.” Abel wheezed. “Before Heavenly returns.”

  Beck didn’t know for sure. “If we get you out of here and get you proper care, could be longer than you think. But you’ve had multiple relapses, which are uncommon. That’s not promising. Your blood pressure isn’t good. You’re experiencing difficulty breathing, which concerns me most. You’ve got to be in pain.”

  “It consumes me every single day.”

  “That’s a strain on your entire organ system, especially your heart.”

  Abel nodded. “You would know. Heavenly said you work a lot with tickers.”

  “I’m a vascular surgeon, but I’ve teamed up with cardiologists on a number of hearts. I intend to keep watch over yours.”