“Well, at least, I can promise you I’ll try my hardest so you don’t get rid of me, stubborn and commanding as I am.”
The tease brought out a small smile from Sophia, “Amen, my lord Marquis.”
“So... Can I put the ring on your finger?”
She blinked. She had forgotten about the ring. “Ah...”
“Sophia, I’m not proposing. It’s not an engagement ring. It’s, as I said, a commitment ring.”
“Like the slave bracelet?” she asked him, with a raised eyebrow.
How cunning, Sophia. “Aye, like the slave bracelet,” he stifled a smile as he fingered the shining bracelet just below her watch and closed his hand around it, the contrast of her lean thin wrist and his long broad fingers gentling his grip.
“Well, then,” she sighed, extending her fingers and surrendering to his beguiling ways. “It seems you like to stake your claim, Alistair Connor.”
He smiled then and murmured against her lips, “Aye, Sophia, I do.”
Kensington. Dr. John Walter’s Office.
12.27 p.m.
“So, what brings you two here?” said John, sitting on his chair behind his desk and opening Sophia’s file.
Alistair glanced at Sophia.
She bit her lip to stop her smile and shook her head at him. Let him explain it.
“Well, first of all, Sophia... Err... Sophia has a strange reaction at the conclusion of sex. I’ve never seen it happen before. And I fear that there’s something wrong-” Alistair paused, frowning as she giggled. “Well, she goes into a kind of stupor that can last five minutes or so. She has difficulty talking. And... she even fainted once. I almost called 999.”
Five?! Aren’t you dramatic? “I didn’t faint,” she said in an amused voice.
“You did.”
“I did not.”
“Well, did you or didn’t you, Sophia?” John leaned on his chair, his kind blue eyes studying Sophia’s grinning face.
“I... Maybe I did, but it was very quick.” Her smile broadened. “This is ridiculous. I didn’t really faint. It’s absolutely normal.”
Alistair’s brows creased, “Quick or not, real or not, it scared the hell out of me. She was unconscious.”
“But what happened? Can you describe it?” John asked Sophia. “Do you feel nausea? Dizziness? Numbness in your hands or feet?”
“Numbness?” she smiled. “No, never. It’s happened before, but I never feel anything unpleasant. On the contrary. Hmm, let’s say that it’s so...” Oh, my. How do I say this? “Ah... Hmm...” Her lips slitted again in a big grin, “I feel so good that it leaves me warm all over, floating, as if I were ethereal, and it takes me some time to come back down from cloud nine.”
“Floating... Ethereal, on cloud nine...” It was John’s turn to smile, as Alistair blinked at Sophia’s description. “Well, what can I say? Congratulations are in order, I think. To both of you. All men should take their companions to that state. And women would need to be profoundly connected with their partner in order to achieve it.”
“So there is nothing wrong with Sophia? No cardiovascular-”
Sophia exploded into laughter and put a hand over her mouth as Alistair scolded her, “I’m worried about you and you laugh at me?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, struggling to compose herself, putting a soothing hand over his. “I told you there was nothing wrong with me.”
“Sophia is a very healthy woman, Alistair. There isn’t anything wrong with her. Apart from her hypotension, she is my healthiest patient.”
“Hmm,” he ran two fingers over his square jaw, thoughtfully, and looked from John’s face to Sophia’s. “If you say so... Could this hypotension have caused her fainting?”
“Good question,” John mused, tapping his fingers on the desk. “Maybe. But I think it’s unlikely since she doesn’t have any other related symptom.”
“And how low is it?”
“Low. Ninety over fifty. But it seems normal for her, because she doesn’t feel the effects a person with so-called normal blood pressure would feel when it’s this low. So that’s how we have to look at it. It’s low, but to her, it’s normal. And I’d rather have a hypotensive patient than a hypertensive one. I’ve been her doctor since she arrived in London and she was here a month ago, for her regular check-up. There’s nothing wrong with her.”
“What is she using for contraception?” Now. Alistair Connor, you don’t need to know that. Ask if she is clean and how often she gets tested and be done with.
John watched as Sophia sighed and looked down at her hands, “Sophia?”
“John, I have nothing to hide,” she raised her head, a troubled and hurt look on her face and glanced at Alistair, who was watching her with hawk-like eyes. “I told him I’m clean and that I was using birth-control, but he needs reassurance from you. Go on, reassure him.”
“Sophia,” Alistair scolded her. “It’s not like that.”
Her eyes bore down on his, “Oh, yeah, it’s just like that. You’re distrustful. I, on the other hand, am not. Go on, ask away. I have no problem in opening up my life to you.” She whipped her head to look at John. “You have my permission to answer all his questions. Better,” she uncrossed her legs and raised from her armchair, “I’ll leave you two alone. That way, neither one of you will be made uncomfortable by my presence.”
As she turned and stepped away, Alistair jumped out of his armchair and grabbed her by the arms.
She halted mid-stride and without looking at him, asked “Yes?”
“Sophia, it’s not that I don’t believe in you.”
Stand your ground. She heard his wary tone but didn’t cede. “No?” She flicked her eyes at John’s impassive face and back to Alistair’s cautious one. “But then, this isn’t the time or the place to discuss it. Ask what you need to ask. I’ll be waiting outside. I just gave my permission to John to disclose anything you want to know.”
He snaked his arms around her, hauling her flush to his body, and squeezed her lightly, dropping his head to her cheek, murmuring softly, “Please, mo chridhe, stay. There’s no need to react like this.”
He was so big, warm and tender that Sophia felt as if he was blanketing her in pure love and she inhaled deep, struggling with her emotions. You also have issues, Sophia. If you want to invest in this relationship, you’ll have to deal with his doubts and problems. “I’m not used to having my word questioned,” she said for his ears only.
“Please?” he asked again.
This is not the place to make a scene, Sophia. You can talk about it later. She looked down at his hand. The light flashed on his brand new Love ring, which she had chosen. He is committing, Sophia. He’s trying. Do your share. She exhaled, “All right.”
Immediately, he released her and, as she sat back in her armchair, he gripped her hand in his.
“I’m sorry, John,” she apologized.
“Please,” he waved the whole incident away and looked at Alistair. “Sophia has an IUD with hormones. This means she can’t get pregnant. It’s ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent safe. It works by releasing hormones in the uterus to prevent sperm from reaching or fertilizing an egg, among other things. After some months, it suppresses ovulation. In Sophia’s case, her periods have stopped altogether.”
“No periods?” Alistair looked surprised at her.
“No,” she shook her head.
“And is this healthy?” He swung his gaze back at John.
“Perfectly safe. An IUD can be used for up to five years. Her current one is going to last until,” he put on his glasses and checked Sophia’s file on the computer, “November, 2011.”