Chapter 4

Everyone relied on his judgment because he always knew when a case was hopeless. There was literally nothing else to do.

The middle-aged man looked just like my own father.

There's no way out of this nightmare if I don't save him.

I begged, "Please don't die."

My eyes were watering, and I could no longer see well.

Is there any use in carrying on if everyone else has given up?

His words, "We proceed," caught me off guard.

When I turned around, I saw his face; he was staring at me with a severe expression, clearly intent on making this work.

Those two words invigorated the team, and we tried to save him, but ultimately we were unsuccessful.

The facade of an independent woman crumbled, and I felt weak and helpless.

And there he was, looming over me and assuring me everything would be fine.

Despite the blood, I caught a whiff of him. I felt his presence.

It was odd... Never before had I felt that way. No, not with any of the men I've met.

My pulse quickened; my breath became erratic.

He drew nearer, but I didn't recoil. As his breath touched my lips, I nervously shut them.

A kiss followed. Even though I'd kissed men and women before, this was the first time it shook me up.

I just wanted to give in to him and have him eat every last bit of me. I needed more.

I felt those butterflies when his fingers touched my face and tickled my ear.

Wasn't there anything odd about him, though?

There was apparently something Harold and the other workers discussed if my memory serves me well.

"Not good... No, I just can't..." As he kept kissing me, I thought to myself.

But, hold on a second, isn't he a tad too good at this?

I opened my mouth a little to let him in when the thought came to me.

"There's another thing about Adam Hunt," Harold had said, "He is a womanizer and can make getting a woman appear like it's no big deal. I was told that he has always gotten the woman he wanted. You are confident in your abilities and not easily swayed, so I needn't worry about you."

I felt used as his tongue pushed its way inside my mouth. Okay, so I was a pawn.

He was making fun of my weakness and using my emotions against me. I felt like such an idiot for relaxing my guard.

When I bit down on his tongue, I felt like I had gone too far, but it was my last resort.

In pain and bewilderment, he retreated.

There was a lot of fear inside me... not of him, but of myself; a piece of me longed to beg forgiveness and have him kiss me again.

With some effort, I stood up and said, "You're just like the rumors say."

He cocked an eyebrow and said, "Huh?"

"Thank you for being a sympathetic ear. Don't even think something like this would happen again," I said, venting my wrath.

I exited, shutting the door behind me.

I touched my lips.

Still, my heart was pounding, and I had trouble catching my breath.

I vividly remembered the sensation of his lips on mine and how nice it was.

It was weird; I didn't know why I was getting so wound up.

"Are you okay?" asked Catherine.

I just looked at her with no expression on my face.

She questioned, "You seem red, fever?"

"What? Red? Me?" I asked, rubbing my cheek.

Adam pushed open the door and stepped out. He was grinning like he'd just won a prize.

As our eyes met, the grin faded into a simple smile.

Whoa, what's the deal with that look?

Are you pleased that you've gotten a new toy?

I felt ashamed and angry at the same time. Of all the people to see me as vulnerable, it had to be a player like him.

And the worst part was that I had given in to his advances and let him kiss me.

Plus, he was grinning as if nothing had happened.

It was a blunder, a serious case of stupidity.

"Doctor, I..." he fumbled out as he reached out his hand to me.

A sudden recall of his palm on my cheek and ears startled me and caused me to step backward.

His once cheerful countenance faded, replaced by one of worry or pity.

I was aware of his ruse.

"Did something happen?" asked Catherine.

"No… I…” I looked at both her and Adam.

Adam furrowed his brows in confusion.

So that was his plan all along—to act clueless.

"Nothing, pardon me," I murmured as I passed her.

I went into the bathroom and washed my face as if doing so would somehow rid me of these strange sensations.

But they did not; the feelings were stubbornly there.

I was torn between confusion and wrath. "What have you done to me?" I asked.

Adam’s POV

"What did you do?" Catherine asked.

I told her matter-of-factly, "I didn't do anything," before continuing to my office.

She was on my heels, saying, "You didn't do anything, yet she seemed scared, and her cheeks were red." She's a doctor independently, but she's technically a staff now. It would come back to bite you in the ass if you did anything.

Scared?

I lied, saying, "I noticed the scared part, but trust me, I didn't do anything."

I didn't want to embellish the truth, but I also wasn't sure whether it was necessary to bring it up now that the new doctor hadn't.

I, myself, realized I had crossed a line. I have a strict policy of never letting my employees in on my Playboy antics.

If it wasn't someone on the team, then everything was fine.

But now it seemed I had to make an exception to the norm.

Her delicate features include her big eyes, thin ears, and squishy cheeks. Not to mention that her fiery blue eyes only got hotter as her temper flared. It felt pointless to do all that just to let her go free.