free. No! Don’t stop! Don’t you
dare stop! I hear him peel the glove away,
and then he gently places the pink robe over my shoulders. “You did
remarkable, Tesh.”
It takes me a minute to
figure out what he said. The exam is over?
No, it can’t be! My legs are wobbling, and
a painful knot of frustration settles into my stomach like a lead
weight.
I turn and glare at him.
“That was very cruel, Dr. Rand.”
The grin is back. “Call me
Brett. And, your exam was not meant to be cruel, Ms. Morgan, I can
assure you of that.”
“ Then,
what exactly were you trying to accomplish, Brett ?”
“ This is about evaluating
your sexual appetites so we can be sure you’ve been paired with the
correct men. Firsthand experience is so much more telling than any
written word.”
“ Really?”
“ Why? Are you aroused,
Tesh?”
“ You know I
am.”
His eyes pin me to the
table. It looks like he’s about to take a step closer to me, but
then checks himself.
Oh, no, he’s not getting
away with this. “Do all of the doctors
here administer the same exam you just performed?”
He hesitates for a long
moment. “No.”
“ Is this the normal test
you usually perform on other woman?”
This time he does not
hesitate. “No.”
Then, why are you
intentionally playing with my mind and body? There is something
you’re not telling me, Brett.
He pushes his glasses up
on his nose and changes the subject. “Have you been thinking about
your final two?”
“ Jase is the front runner.
I’m not sure where the others fall yet.”
“ Jase?” he spits out with
venom. “I would have thought you were smarter than that,
Tesh.”
I was right. There is some kind of rivalry going on between
the two men. “How could you possibly know
how smart I am?”
His eyes narrow. “Because
we are a 100% match.”
My eyes widen in
disbelief. “Me and you?”
“ Yes.”
“ Is that even
possible?”
“ Apparently,” he says in a
tone that implies he is as shocked as I am.
“ But, how?”
He spears a hand through
his hair. “Honestly, Tesh, from the very first word I read on your
profile, I was captivated by you. On paper, we enjoy all of the
same things. Biking, snowboarding, reading and writing. I love your
intelligence and wit. I love that you’re passionate about politics
and donate time to volunteerism because I do the same. I know that
you have a fighting spirit and a kind heart. And, right now, after
this exam, it’s all I can do to stop myself from throwing you down
on that table and making love to you until you scream.”
Whoa. Wasn’t expecting
that answer. “Then, why didn’t you pick
me?” I ask him softly.
“ I told you. I’m not one
of the men.”
“ Yet you filled out a
profile?”
He shrugs. “I did it for
fun, that’s all. I really wasn’t expecting to find someone like
you.”
I move away from the table
and touch his sleeve. “Make yourself one of the men, Brett. You
work here. Surely, you have some pull.”
“ I can’t. It’s
complicated.”
“ I see,” I say and an
image of Sophia’s beautiful face rears in my mind. I swallow past
the sudden lump in my throat. “Well, I guess this is goodbye
then.”
“ Yes, it is. Goodbye,
Tesh.”
The Blindfold
Test
“ Are you nervous?” Camryn
asks me as she twists and turns in front of a full-length mirror.
Her critical gaze inspects every inch of her bikini-clad
body.
Of course, I’m nervous.
I’m about to enter into a Blindfold Test with two men I’m not
really into. One of whom will most likely become my husband. I have to keep reminding myself that Brett Rand
is simply not available. “Yeah.”
Camryn holds out a shot
glass. “Come on, let’s take the edge off.”
I shake my head. “Not
tonight.”
Her perfectly manicured
eyebrow arches high into her hairline. “What’s going
on?”
“ Nothing. I just want to
make sure I’m making the right choice and not the one that feels
the best.”
My one-on-one
Under the Cover of the Moon (Cobblestone)