We walked the rest of the way in silence. He opened the door of his office and held it for me precede him. It was a gentlemanly move. I wondered if he did it for all his patients.
I took the chair in front his desk and threw my feet onto the edge. He shoved them off as he came around to face me on the other side of the wood.
I glanced at his watch. “Don’t you ever go home?”
He smirked and picked up the phone. “Sometimes.”
I watched him while he dialed. Each push of the button purposeful. As was the slide of his gaze over my shoulder and not at me. Did he regret what happened between us? Only because now I’m his patient.
I focused as he handed me the phone across the desk.
I took it and eyed his lean back in the chair. “Some privacy?”
Again, he didn’t look at me. “Not a chance.”
“Even prisoners get privacy.”
He snorted. “No they don’t. Someone is always listening in prison too.”
I put the phone to my ear. “Hello, Mother.”
The good doctor’s eyes swung to me now, and he surveyed every twitch, every inhale. I resolved to give him nothing.
“Hello, Persephone.”
She knew how much I hated when she called me that. “To what do I own the esteemed honor, Senator?”
I used the time to get a good long look at Ash. First, locking eyes with him before slowly tracing my gaze down his neck, his chest, his stomach, stretched tight as he leaned back in the chair. I wished I could see more.
“Did you try to escape yesterday?”
I sighed and stood up. “Why are you asking a question you already know the answer to? How very unlike you.”
He spun to track me as I walked around his desk, but he didn’t make a sound as I used the tip of my shoe to spin the chair to face me.
“I wanted to give you the chance to explain yourself.”
I surveyed all of him now, taking my time. “Oh, you know, they haven’t put a Starbucks in here yet, and I was fiending for a latte.”
A shuffle from her side. “Neither irony or sarcasm is an argument.”
I propped up on the edge of his desk and planted my feet between his man-spread legs. I wanted to slide on his lap, but he wasn’t ready for that yet. “Well, Samuel Butler can suck it. I tried to escape, but it was a momentary lapse in judgment. It won’t happen again.”
She sucked in a gust of air. “Was that an apology?”
I laughed. “Never. Are we done?”
“Put your doctor on the phone.”
I handed the device across. He gave me a warning look. “Hello, Senator.”
I leaned out and reached for his belt buckle as he listened. He slapped my hands and narrowed his eyes.
He was fun to play with. I tried again, but he scooted back, my feet slid off the chair which gave me enough room to sink down to my knees in front of him.
He eyes flew wide in alert as he figured out my plan, and then he almost fell out of the chair scrambling to escape.
I stood and pasted on an innocent expression. “What’s wrong, Doctor?”
