Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The administrator stood there with her clipboard, staring at me like I had done something wrong. She was a thin woman in her fifties, lips pressed tight. “Miss Monroe, we have strict policies about relationships between staff and patients. Dr. Black’s request to keep you here longer raises questions.”

I shifted in the bed, pain still biting at my ribs. Before I could say anything, Ethan moved closer, his tall frame blocking her view of me. “This is a medical decision, not a personal one,” he said, voice sharp and cold. “Lila experienced multiple threats while under our care. She stays until I clear her. End of discussion.”

The woman opened her mouth but Ethan just stared her down until she nodded and left quickly. The door shut and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

Ethan turned to me, his eyes softening. He sat on the bed and pulled me into his arms carefully. “Sorry about that. Some people love to stick their noses where they don’t belong.”

His hands started moving again, sliding under the sheet to rest on my soft belly. He rubbed it gently, fingers tracing the curves like he couldn’t get enough. “You feel so good,” he whispered. “I love how full you are here. These hips, these thighs… they drive me insane every time I see you.”

Heat rushed through me. I still felt shy about my body, but his words made me wet between my legs. I touched his face and he kissed me hard, tongue pushing into my mouth while his hand squeezed one of my heavy breasts. My nipple peaked under his thumb and I moaned quietly.

“We can’t do too much yet,” he said against my lips, but he didn’t stop touching me. His fingers trailed down to my thick thighs, gripping the soft flesh. “Soon though. When you’re stronger, I’m going to worship every inch of you.”

A knock came at the door. Ethan pulled back fast and stood up just as a young male doctor walked in. Dr. Ryan something. He had a friendly smile and carried fresh charts.

“How’s our patient doing today?” he asked, eyes flicking to me. He looked me up and down a little longer than normal, stopping at my chest area. “You look better already, Lila. That glow suits you.”

Ethan’s jaw clenched. “She’s under my care, Dr. Hayes. I’ll handle her updates.”

But Dr. Hayes didn’t leave right away. He checked my IV and chatted with me, asking about my pain levels and even cracking a small joke about hospital food. I smiled politely, but I could feel Ethan’s eyes burning into us.

When Dr. Hayes finally left, Ethan locked the door again. “He better keep his eyes to himself,” he growled, coming back to me. “You’re mine.”

I laughed softly. “Jealous already?”

“Very.” He kissed me deeper this time, his body pressing close but careful with my injuries. His hand slipped between my thighs, rubbing me through the gown until I was breathing hard. “I want to taste you so bad. But not here. Not yet.”

We talked for a while after that. He told me more about his father, how Richard Black pulled strings everywhere in the city. “He thinks he can control who I end up with,” Ethan said. “But I stopped letting him choose for me a long time ago.”

My phone buzzed again. Another unknown number. I showed it to Ethan and we put it on speaker.

“Leave the hospital or the next accident will be worse,” the voice said. “And Dr. Black knows exactly why this happened. Ask him about the drug trials.”

The call ended. Ethan looked angry now, pacing the room. “They’re getting bolder.”

“What drug trials?” I asked.

He sat down and took my hand. “My father’s company funds some research here. There were problems… patients got hurt. I tried to stop it but he shut me out. Your crash might be connected. Someone doesn’t want you digging.”

Fear twisted in my stomach but his touch helped calm me. He stayed with me most of the morning, sneaking in touches whenever he could. At one point he helped me to the bathroom and his hands lingered on my wide hips as he supported me. “So beautiful,” he kept saying.

By afternoon, things got busier. A few nurses came in to change my bandages. One of them, a girl named Tina who worked in trauma with me before, gave me a funny look. “Girl, people are talking. About you and Dr. Black. Be careful. There’s this new doctor coming in soon. Dr. Sophia Langford. She’s… well, she’s his type. Or so they say.”

My chest tightened. Sophia. The name Ethan mentioned before. Slim, successful, everything I wasn’t.

Ethan came back after his rounds and could tell something was off. He climbed into the bed beside me again and held me close. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop. I don’t want her. I want this.” His hand grabbed a handful of my soft belly and squeezed. “I want these curves. I want to bury my face between these thighs and make you scream my name.”

I kissed him to shut him up, scared someone might hear but too turned on to care. Our hands explored each other until his pager beeped again. He cursed and had to leave for surgery.

Alone, I tried to rest but my mind wouldn’t stop. The threats, the secrets, Dr. Hayes acting flirty, and now rumors about Sophia. It all felt like too much.

Evening came and Ethan returned looking exhausted. He brought me real food from outside the hospital, sitting with me while I ate. We shared more quiet moments, his fingers always finding my body, worshipping the parts I used to hate.

But around nine, the lights flickered again. Not as bad as last night, but enough to make my heart race. Then my phone lit up with a text from an unknown number.

“Check your door.”

Ethan went to check and found a small envelope slipped underneath. Inside was a photo of me sleeping from last night, taken from inside the room. And a note: “Next time she won’t wake up.”

Ethan’s face went pale. He pulled me into his arms tight, his body shaking with anger. “I swear I’ll kill whoever is doing this.”

I held onto him, scared but also feeling safer than I had in days. But deep down I knew we were running out of time. The hospital wasn’t safe anymore, and whatever Ethan’s father was hiding could destroy us both.

As I fell asleep against his chest that night, I wondered how much longer we could hide our feelings before the whole world found out. And what would happen when they did.