The Doctor's Punished Bride

The consent forms lie signed beneath the lamp, Brigid's hand still close enough to touch. I tell myself the exam room at the end of this shift is just another space for clinical work, yet the thought of her yielding to restraint under my hands has already begun to undo the armor I built after the last betrayal.

She meets my eyes with defiance that softens the instant I speak her name, ready for the discipline no proper physician would ever deliver. The rival lingers outside the door. One word from me and the bindings close around her wrists, the examination turning into the possession we both crave but cannot name. One command and everything I protect will shatter.