#TPLODSNW

[erikftglitter]

The Piteous Life of Dr. Stevens’ New Wife

Erik Killmonger AU

Created By: Erikftglitter

The Piteous Life of Dr. Stevens’ New Wife

Dr. Erik Stevens leads a life shrouded in silence and solitude, retreating into the shadows of his isolated existence outside the hospital. Haunted by his past and determined to shield those around him from his turmoil, he avoids all human connection. So when middle school teacher and unsuspecting Kari Evans extends an invitation into her world, she unknowingly opens a door to understanding the sadistic nature of Dr. Erik “Killmonger” Stevens.

—

Kari was humbled by most of the comments from married women in her life. A perfect man did not exist and she shouldn’t waste her vital years searching for him. She ought to be somewhat happy with a man and raise a family. Having a hobby or two would fulfill the gaps of unhappiness.

She almost believed that until she was hit by a shopping cart in the grocery store.

“Ow!” She exclaimed. The metal cart had unexpectedly hit the side of her body when she was shopping for cereal. So much for looking for a balanced breakfast.

“Oh my goodness. I’m very sorry.” The man rushed over to Kari and pushed his cart away from her body. She couldn’t even process a response before she felt her shirt being lifted by the man as he examined the damage. What the hell?

“There’s a little redness present and the indentations from the cart should subside within the next half an hour. I’m very sorry ma’am.”

He spoke softly and surely. If he hadn’t hit her a few moments ago he’d have an advantage over the rest of the men in the small town. He helped her off the ground and she didn’t miss the sizable difference between his hands and her body.

Snapping out of her daze by the painfully obvious fact that the man was clearly waiting for a response from her.

“I-It’s alright. I’m okay.” She stammered. It was partially from being flustered by the presence of the man in front of her and partially because she was just face to face with grocery store tiles.

He was perfect. Tall, brownskin, with a build that made her heart flutter. His hair was cut low and he was wearing gold frames that complimented his facial structure perfectly. Her touch starved description of the beautiful man was cut short by his voice.

“I’m Erik,” His eyes never left hers. “Dr. Erik Stevens. Again I’m very sorry for that. I’m a general surgeon at Oregon Medical Center and I’m just trying to figure out what the hell these interns wrote.” He looked down at the white paper in utter confusion and tried to make out the scribbles on the paper. They were definitely living up to the theory that doctors had atrocious handwriting.

“It’s alright.” Kari had enough embarrassment for the day. Being star-struck by a beautiful man in the grocery store after being struck by his shopping cart full of coffee was going to supply enough ammunition for the next year to keep her wide awake at night.

“Well can I make sure that you get to your car safely?” The doctor asked. He was genuinely upset by his actions. It wasn’t like him to multitask and hurt someone. He had always lived by that and he was in the process of teaching his new set of medical students the same thing.

“No, that's okay Dr. Stevens. I’m fine.” Kari just wanted this interaction to stop so that she could curl up into a ball. She was already an anxious adult and it didn’t take much for her to feel overwhelmed. She would just finish grocery shopping another time and at another store completely.

She completely missed how the man drank in her appearance or how his dick jumped at the way she said his name. Erik could just mount the smaller women in the breakfast aisle, but he remained calm. However, his ego was ready to play.

This was an exhausting life for the older man as well. He had started his career in the United States Navy SEALS and practiced medicine in the field. Saving hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the process of his studies. His ability to read people was instinctual and both a blessing and a curse.

Sometimes he longed to be normal. To be able to relate to the other surgeons. To have a wife and kids at home and have simple hobbies outside of work, but Dr. Stevens had a very big problem.

He was not relatable. Not even in the slightest. The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that he suffered from made him a permanent victim of insomnia and isolation. After work he worked out, ate, and stayed in complete silence or else his body would not be functional and he would take over again. And he loved to play.

He thought that he was doing a good thing by checking to see if the woman was okay, for heaven’s sake he sees all types of body parts every single day. He was pretty desensitized to anything. He’s not sure what’s triggering the unexpected reunion with him, but he would love it if he went back to hiding.

There was no cure for Erik’s predicament. The Navy created a permanent presence that he could not erase. He was always there underneath the surface waiting to play and Erik just did his best to regulate him. For the most part they were satisfied. He was rich, worked alongside beautiful women that were thankfully married (or else he would’ve probably been in trouble a long time ago), and with the relocation to Oregon he thought that he would have a nice quiet life.

But Kari was triggering him. Maybe it was the clear aversion of eye contact, or maybe the way she gasped and how her lips parted, or maybe it was just the beauty of her existence. Erik and his ego were both in agreement with the latter part and that was never a good thing.

Erik lived in a permanent state of forced celibacy. Between his unexpected reunions with his ego and the way that his PTSD would randomly flare up, his conscious brain felt better about not putting a woman close in his grasp. It had been five years since his last sexual encounter and he fucking hated it. Sure he worked with women and found some attractive here and there, but he was an absolute extremist. If he was not strongly attracted to them then they did not exist. It was not like women hadn’t tried. Some even had the arrogance to imply that he was gay because of his lack of attraction towards them, but the Navy trains you to be a centered being. If he couldn’t control his own dick then he had no business being a trained assassin. Especially being a legally endorsed assassin.

Kari’s voluminous curls were doing something to him. The matching athletic suit that complimented her figure, the doe eyes of pure submission, and her soft spoken voice had his palms sweating. He needed to get away from this woman quickly. But he was too late. Kill was already there and ready to play.

“Well at least allow me to pay for your groceries. I insist.” He smiled at Kari. He watched her face intensely as she debated the offer. This woman was in for it.

Kari continued her shopping as usual. She’s not sure why the gentleman is so persistent about paying for her groceries, but the teacher salary in the small town of Caber City, Oregon was pitiful. Almost as pitiful as Kari. She didn’t expect him to merge their carts and shop together but she’d be a liar if she didn’t admit that the company was nice.

She didn’t have many friends or any for that matter. All of her childhood friends moved out of Caber City as soon as the opportunity presented itself. She had been raised by her grandparents and took care of them both up until their deaths. She lived a quiet life in the big house that they left her. She wondered every day if she should just follow the path of the rest of her coworkers at CC Middle School and just marry someone she went to highschool with.

“You don’t have to be back soon Dr. Stevens?” Kari asked after several moments of silence. Her thoughts were becoming too much for her and she wasn’t home to self-regulate.

“No.” He answered quickly. “Too many hours. They practically kicked me out.” He added. Kari tried to hide the smile creeping up on her face, but Erik didn’t miss the way that her eyes silently confirmed her satisfaction.

“I suppose no wife or children are waiting for you at home then, huh?” Kari was trying not to be painfully obvious at her attempts to know the man a bit better, but if he was going to follow her around and pay for her groceries, then she would feel better if he played into her fantasy. She would probably think about it every day.

“Correct. Long hours are not enough time to get to that I suppose.” Erik replied. That wasn’t a complete lie. Kari nodded. He wondered what she was thinking about. He wondered if she’d been interested or intimidated by him by now. His ego didn’t care either way.

It didn’t take Kari long to finish her list and to help Erik with his. He didn’t mind how long it took, truly. He was more interested in the athletic two piece set that she wore. He wanted nothing more than to rip it off to reveal her stunning figure. The things that he would do to this woman were unacceptable.

Once Erik kept his promise to pay for all her groceries and for their shopping to conclude; Kari almost felt sad. Who was Dr. Stevens really? How could she get to know him more? Oh what hell she had already been embarrassed enough, what’s the worst that could happen?

Erik was fighting a silent battle between himself. He was almost back in control when they left the grocery store and entered the parking lot. All he had to do was load the bags into her car and to get to his car. Then he could take a cold shower and return back to himself and this beautiful woman could return back to hers without his interruption.

“Hey. Why don’t I show you around Caber City sometime?”

Those ten words were enough to make Erik completely lose control. Oh how close you were to being a free woman, he thought silently. With a sinister smile Erik agreed to the woman’s offer.

“I’d love that.”

[erikftglitter]

Ch 1 | The Piteous Life of Dr. Stevens’ New Wife

Killmonger AU

Created By: Erikftglitter

“Hey Dr. Stevens. It’s Kari. I just wanted to thank you again for the kind gesture.”

Erik read the message several times before exuding a deep sigh. He had spent most of the night trying to forget the younger woman, but the universe was setting him up for failure.

She’s practically in our hands, Erik.

He wanted to silence the overbearing thoughts from flowing but he couldn’t help but to also think that it was true. Didn’t he deserve the woman and kids that Kari, and so many others, mentioned to him before? Did he really want to commit to dying alone in a world like this?

“No need to thank me Kari. Thank you for not contacting the board about our collision.”

Erik found himself humored with his own response. Little did he know that Kari was gushing from the desk chair that she was texting from. Could this be? She wondered if the doctor would really be interested in seeing her again. Well, seeing her under normal circumstances.

“I won’t…. Only if you allow me to be your tour guide.”

Kari was persistent, inexperienced, but persistent to get the ex-SEAL out of the house. She surprised herself with her forwardness but the clock was ticking and her local blue-collared men were no where near as appealing as Dr. Stevens.

“A man of my word, that I am. Saturday?”

Erik needed to be strategic about his decisions moving forward if he wanted this woman to live. His self deprivation was starting to take a toll on him. He knew that it wouldn’t take long for it boil over once Kari was in his presence.

Just thinking about the girl’s astonishing aura and utter beauty made Erik’s dick jump yet again. What was it about her? He thought back to the initial moment when they locked eyes. She could not maintain eye contact and that certainly enamored him. He could spot a submissive woman quite easily.

Not just someone who was infatuated by the idea of being dominated by him, but someone who was completely meek. Someone who would be most compliant tied up and fucked to the state of oblivion. Kari Evans radiated that. Erik was 99% percent that his declaration of the girl was correct but he’d be patient enough to find out.

“Yes. Wear comfy shoes.”

Erik was more than pleased to return back to work. To focus on a ruptured appendix, or to remove someone’s gallbladder, or even just to guide one of his residents through a hemorrhoid surgery, supplied him a reasonable amount of distraction time. During surgery his main focus was his performance efficiency. Dr. Erik Stevens did not kill patients. One of the reasons the he remains one of the highest earners in the nation is due to that. Erik knew his limitations and typically did not engage in anything that would kill anyone, inside and outside of the operating room, post departure from the Navy.

“Dr. Stevens. Got a minute?” Erik glanced up from his seat at the computer and signaled for the man to continue.

“I was looking over Mrs. Gutierrez’s files, the one who was just transferred, and she’s rejecting the transplant.”

Erik’s face fell into a deep frown. In only his three months at Oregon State Hospital, he’s noticing the consistent errors being completed by the competing hospital. Once their team botches a surgery; Erik and his team are left to clean up the mess.

“Another transplant this soon would kill her before the week ends. Contact her family and consult about the removal. If they wait then the sepsis will spread.”

Erik looked at the extent of the damage on the results that his resident provided. He’s not completely successful just because of his own experience. Thankfully Oregon welcomed him with a skilled team upon his negotiation and he was provided with them when he arrived. He wasn’t fond of many people in his life, but some of his team made his job rewarding.

“Great call.” He murmured to himself. He learned from his mentor, that learned from his mentor, and so forth, that praising young professionals too early made them arrogant. Made them incompetent surgeons who overlooked misplaced sutures, mistreated nurses, and failed to remain at the peak of their performance. The younger surgeon reminded him of himself. That was as respected as he could be.

Kari on the other hand was not having a good time. One of her middle schoolers thought it was a great idea to climb a tree and ultimately suffered a great fall. Why? Kari didn’t have the time to asks as the girl was soaking blood through her jeans.

With trembly hands, Kari used her walkie talkie to call for an ambulance and tried her best to soothe the hysterical girl.

“It’s okay. I got you.” Kari must have repeated that a thousand times before the first responders arrived.

“Ms. Evans. Nina will not cooperate unless you ride with her.” Principal Grant said to Nina as she stood up to disregard the abundance of bloody tissues.

“Don’t worry about the sub plans. The parents would like if you accompanied her as well.” He gave her an empathetic look. “Thank you for being one of good ones.” He whispered when Kari was helped in the ambulance by the first responders.

It was true. Kari was an extraordinary educator. Each of her students were individualized. She knew their strengths, allergies, their personalities, and their ability to learn. Because Caber City’s public school system was barely funded by the state of Oregon, most of teachers were underpaid. Most teachers married rich and taught for a hobby. The students rarely got the opportunity to experience a memorable relationship with education, but Kari made it her mission to change that.

Because she was young and unmarried with a strong sense of change, she was immediately disliked by her coworkers. She grew to pity their lives instead of watching in sorrow. Her students had the highest grades, standardized test scores, and overall success. That was no coincidence and it didn’t go unnoticed. If Kari wasn’t good at anything else she knew that she was a wonderful teacher. Years of watching and modeling her grandmother instilled that in her. She remembered her everyday.

“What’s going? How’d this happen?” Kari met the frantic parents as soon as she arrived at the hospital.

“During her lunch hour she wandered off to a tree and fell several feet from the ground.” The gasps from Nina’s parents troubled Kari. She hated bad news and bad things in general.

“I’m very sorry that this happened. I’ll go now, but I wanted to ensure that Nina was safely taken to the hospital.” Kari spoke again. Not really sure what else she could provide to these poor girls’ parents.

Nina’s mother spoke again. “Thank you for riding with her. She hates hospitals and probably would have passed out if she had to go alone.” Even though the shakiness, Kari understood every word. These were the moments that made her restless nights worth it.

Kari reached her hand to Nina’s mom, and looked at both parents, “She’s a very sweet girl. They’ll take great care of her.” With her final comment she began to frantically rush out the hospital herself. She hated hospitals just as much. With the amount of dried blood on her own clothes she knew that it wouldn’t be long before her own panic attack started.

Kari didn’t care about who she was running past, she just knew that she needed fresh air before she began to hyperventilate. The memories of finding her own grandparents in pools of blood haunted her. Drunk drivers collided with their car and drove away, killing both of the people who raised her.

“Kari?”

“Oh shit. Kari. Breathe.”

“Breathe.”

Erik took in the scene in front of him. There was no way this was yet another coincidence. This was going to be the one that one that Kill was going to play with.

With guided breaths and some gentle touches of encouragement, Kari was able to control her breathing. She’s not sure when she realized that it was Dr. Stevens she had been talking to, but at least it saved her the embarrassment of passing out in the middle of the road. She hadn’t thought about the fact that she was in the doctor’s proximity.

Between the wails of her student and the acquisition of her own trauma, she didn’t have much time to think about Erik.

“It’s alright Kitten.”

—

@ladymac82 :)

[erikftglitter]

The Piteous Life of Dr. Stevens’ New Wife

Chapter List

Intro

Ch1

Ch2

Ch3

[erikftglitter]

Ch 2 | The Piteous Life of Dr. Stevens’ New Wife

Killmonger AU

Created By: Erikftglitter

Kari thought that she had a lucrative imagination. There was no way those words just left Dr. Stevens mouth. The appellation confused Kari but it still seemed to affect her. She kind of liked the way that it rolled off of his tongue.

The thought of Dr. Stevens’ tongue was enough to neutralize Kari’s body. What was she doing? She felt crazy for being entranced by a man that she hardly even knew. However, Erik didn’t stop tracing the patterns on her. Kari remained inside of his arms for a few moments. The only other people that she got to hug were her middle schoolers. Who knows when she’d have the chance to be in Erik’s arms again?

In contrast, Erik wasn’t thinking about the same thing as Kari. He was curious about her reaction to his endearing pet name. He wanted to be certain that she definitely just purred at his words.

If the universe was trying to make a point then he’d be the one to test it out. Kari Evans has no clue just the things that Erik Stevens is capable of.

“Can you tell me what’s going on now?” Erik asked when he felt Kari pull away. It was the middle of a weekday and surely Kari belonged at Caber City Middle School.

“One of my students fell from a tree. She needs stitches. I’m sure she at least sprained her ankle as well.” Kari sighed as she thought about Nina. She still doesn’t know what enticed the girl to do such a foolish thing. Erik took note of how Kari looked everywhere but to his face when she spoke. He liked the silent confirmation that he was correct about her not being able to maintain eye contact.

“Is that what made you cry?” He just wanted to know why the beautiful woman was sobbing just a few moments ago.

“Y-yeah. I guess so.” Kari stammered. She wasn’t ready to discuss the matter with the fine gentleman yet. She was finally beginning to regulate and didn’t like the idea of crying again.

“Let me take you home.” Erik offered. His legs got cramped from sitting at his desk for most of the day. He was only outside to breathe in between completing paperwork. His schedule was clear for the day. He didn’t mind concluding his work to help the troubled educator.

It was evident that Kari had a panic attack. Her clothes were bloody and she looked like she could use a friend. If he was going to choose Kari to be the one then it would make sense to be kind to the girl. At least initially.

Kari didn’t say much on the way to her house. She actually hadn’t shifted since she assumed her position in the passenger seat. There seemed to be a lot on her mind so Erik granted her the silence. He was fine with that.

“You can pull in here.” She pointed to a warm brick exterior. If this was Kari’s home then she knew how to maintain its appearance. The home was lovely.

Erik was impressed as he walked up to Kari’s home. Kari was also a gardener. A woman who had domestic hobbies naturally attracted the doctor. He desired the ability to come home one day and acknowledge something that his wife had been working on while he was away.

Before he abandoned the thought of love, he always fancied the idea of domesticating his wife, and funding her lifestyle. He would make sure that she didn’t have to worry about anything. Kari was the closest thing that he would get to this dream. He’d be splurging soon. It was just his nature. He liked control.

He did note that Kari’s home was quite large for just one person. How didn’t she get lonely in such a house? Entering the home made Erik’s throat piquant. He had to muffle the growl that was forcibly released from his mouth. Kari’s compelling scent radiated throughout the home. Faint streams of warm vanilla assaulted his senses. No wonder why Kari smelled so great. He was almost afraid to be alone with the girl.

“I’m going to get out of these clothes.” Kari says after locking the front door behind Erik.

“Please feel free to help yourself to the baked goods on the kitchen table. They’re fresh.” She motioned to the kitchen before she disappeared up the stairs. Her footsteps hardly presented much noise to the floor.

Erik wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. He couldn’t keep being around her unexpectedly like this. He needed to get out of her house and put reasonable space in between them. But he did like opportunity to explore some areas of interest of the girl. If he was going to go for Kari then it would help to know everything about her. He studied the family portraits of Kari and what he assumes to her grandparents. He made note of the types of artists that she had vinyls of and what type of books decorated her bookshelf. Kari was quite interesting.

The distant sound of the shower turning on enticed Erik. What game was she playing? The thought of her rounded breasts and shapely ass being this accessible to him allured him. He could just chuck her across his lap for teasing him this way. He imagined how much he would love to bruise the woman’s ass and watch her body thrash. He would hate to make her cry

so soon.

Kari’s shower came to an end. She just needed to scrub her entire body. Some of Nina’s blood soaked through Kari’s clothes and she just felt unclean. She also didn’t want her face to be full of dried tears in front of the doctor. It was by pure fate that she managed to run into him again. Kari only had one chance to make herself memorable.

Erik followed the footsteps of Kari with curiosity from his place downstairs. He was directly beneath her bedroom. He wondered what she looked like right now. How the beads of water rushed down her legs and how relieved she looked now. The woman had no idea who she invited into her home.

The faint sound of glass breaking ceased Erik’s thoughts. His survival instincts quickly surveyed his surroundings. He moved to the source of the sound swiftly. Was Kari okay?

“Erik!” Kari was shocked to see the man on her staircase. She had been trying to change the flickering lightbulb that rested between her bedroom and hallway but was ultimately unsuccessful.

The look on his face was obscure. He moved past her began to clean up the assorted bits of glass.

Kari almost wished that he at least admired her frame for a little longer. However she was still grateful that he respected her enough to turn away.

The amount of self control was killing the doctor deep down inside. He had to ward off his own fantasies.

“I promise that I’m usually not a klutz. I’m just having an off day.” She was kind of grateful that Erik was here to change the lightbulb.

Erik chuckled before he walked into the bathroom to disregard the broken glass. The sight of Kari was enough to lure out the mischievous identity that impatiently waited for a chance to be free.

“How’s the contusion coming along?” He didn’t expect Kari to open her robe to show him the discolored bruise. The yellow push-up bra was enough to lure Erik to step closer.

His fingertips softly grazed Kari’s delicate skin. It was apparent that she bruised quite easily and he couldn’t deny the fact that he was attracted to that.

Kari fought the need to moan in front of Erik. His light touches were enough to intoxicate her. She couldn’t resist the urge to lean into his presence.

Erik was satisfied with the embrace. She was just as needy as he expected her to be. Between Kari’s bottom lip being sucked by her teeth and her breathing, she was definitely the type of submissive woman that Erik was waiting for.

That they were waiting for.

// @theesmartblonde @harleycativy @ziayamikaelson @ladymac82

[erikftglitter]

Ch 3 | The Piteous Life of Dr. Stevens' New Wife

Killmonger AU

Created By: Erikftglitter

Kari cannot deny that she was interested in Dr. Stevens. After their impromptu reunion she found herself constantly thinking about the doctor.

He had an intimidatingly high level of mastery of the human body, being a surgeon and all, and she caught herself fantasizing about the way that he held her. She felt so safe, so comfortable, so protected.

Kari paused. She hadn’t thought about this before, but she felt the same feeling when she first locked eyes with the man. There was something about his aura that hypnotized Kari. She needed an explanation for the psychological affair.

Without knowing how much this decision would change the course of her life, Kari located her laptop and searched frantically for a solution for her problem. How would she give him a tour while battling these large emotions? She could barely look at him without anxiously shifting her eyes to something else. There was something about Dr. Stevens that Kari was missing.

It had been four days since Kari last seen Erik and she was about to be late for their meeting. Kari needed to make a quick detour to the bookstore before she met Dr. Stevens at the historic National Park. She expedited a book to the store and fell restless while she waited for the delivery. She just wanted to understand.

When Kari arrived at the Park she has happy when she noticed that Erik wore comfortable shoes as she suggested. She was also fond of the way that Erik listened to her dabbles of local traditions and customs.

“Kari.” Erik interrupted after a while. She immediately stopped her words and hummed for him to continue his sentence. This pleased him.

“Is there anything else on your mind?” Kari chewed her lips while she silently negotiated the outcome of what she had been thinking about.

“Did you mean to call me that? You know. Instead of Kari?”

She was scared to say it. How cute.

“Call you what?” Erik was almost gleeful at the clear sign of aggravation on her face.

After a while it was apparent that Kari was genuinely too flustered to repeat the pet name, so Erik saved her the trouble.

“It felt right.” Erik answered truthfully.

Kari was one hundred percent a submissive woman. Erik concluded that by their previous interaction. Those eyes told on her every time.

Kari looked away from Erik and thought for a moment. They hadn’t been on a date yet but she was already starting to feel something. This was their first date, maybe, she’d been too scared to label it. She was lost. Was this some type of game that she was unaware of?

The soft crumbling of the leaves beneath Erik’s foot signaled that he was moving closer.

“Is it okay that or do you prefer Kari?” Erik asked, gently lifting her gaze from his feet to his face.

If he got Kari to agree to only be called Kitten, then he wouldn’t have to fight for much longer. All she needs to do is take the bait.

Come on baby.

“I don’t mind it. Am a little confused is all.”

Gotcha.

Erik hid the smirk from forming on his face.

She was clearly flustered. She tried to regain her ability to speak but was clearly struggling. There was some type of inner dialogue happening with Kari. Erik was willing to bet that she’d never been able to unlock this part of her, but he was willing to give her the chance to be free. She was beneath the surface waiting for Erik and he was waiting for her.

But he wouldn’t be the one to reveal it. Nope. He would allow Kari to discover it and he’ll know when she does, he’s certain of it.

“Say Kari.” Erik felt quite impetuous. “Why don’t you join me for dinner soon?” He was ready for the fun to begin.

“It’s a date doctor.” Kari quickly retorted. As anxious as she was to be in Erik’s presence she also wouldn’t decline the invitation to see him again. Erik was an extremely handsome man and she was enamored with the idea of love. The idea of having a man of Erik’s caliber to come home to weakened Kari’s knees. She knew that she was thinking irrationally and that she hardly knew much about Dr Stevens, but she was profusely aware of her attraction to him.

“Perfect. Let’s continue the tour. Shall we?” Erik urged. The teacher was more than thrilled to continue her chattering. Erik enjoyed her enthusiasm. She spoke vivaciously with her hands and offered small smiles when she reminisced about childhood experiences. She had to be a great educator, Erik thought. She certainly captured his attention.

“Can you swim?” Erik asked when they approached the boarder of the river. Being an experienced Navy SEAL, questioning Erik’s ability to swim was quite redundant, but she hadn’t learned much about him yet. Erik was careful of that.

“Yeah. I just shy away from deep waters.” Kari shrugged. She grew up swimming with her grandfather and she was on her high school’s swim team. Perhaps her response was too modest.

“What about you Dr. Stevens? Is swimming something that you have time to do? Busy man.” Kari joked. The tour gave her some time to warm back up to the lad. It did help that they were walking side to side and she was no longer face to face with him. That was growing difficult for her. Especially when he had his bottom tucked in between his teeth. The thought made Kari’s legs buckle.

“You alright?” Erik was puzzled by the sight in front of him. Either Kari was an actual klutz or she was accessing her subconscious mind. He hadn’t even touched her yet, and here she was walking around with two left feet.

If Kari’s face was able to showcase how flustered she was then it’d easily expose her.

“I’m okay.” She laughed. “I’m guess I’m just excited to talk about Oregon to anyone who would listen.”

Erik frowned at that. Kari deserved better. She had no friends and she clearly desired to talk.

I’d be your friend, kitten. I’d love to hear you talk.

“I’m honored to listen, Kari.” Erik said after a few moments. Kari seemed to appreciate that. “And I perfected the ability to swim during my time in the Navy.” Erik revealed. He knew that the revelation would be of interest to Kari. He took pride on being a very strategic man.

“Oh my gosh, you were in the Navy?” Kari gushed.

Suddenly the doctor’s physique made sense. His body was too defined. His broad shoulders and prominent muscles were enough to keep Kari daydreaming about the possibility of getting to see Dr. Stevens intimately. Why did Dr. Stevens taunt Kari’s thoughts like this? It didn’t help that Erik was a man of service. The thought of him in his uniform was making her body warm all over again. She had a thing for men in uniforms.

Erik may have already known that from one of Kari’s public social media accounts.

Erik chuckled at her excitement. He was humble about his time in the Navy and hardly ever spoke of it. It could have been the PTSD. Or because purposely shifting the attention to the persona that he is in an everlasting relationship with isn’t fun to talk about.

But Kari was different. If he wanted to truly acquire her trust, then he’d need to put in the actual work to do so.

It’s not like she’s going anywhere.

Still, Erik entertained her questions. Even though they quickly became rather ridiculous. Erik was growing increasingly fond of the girl.

“Kari, please, I will do anything to make the movie references stop. My head hurts.” Erik couldn’t keep track of the scenes mentioned. Kari had a lot of time to watch moves is what he concluded. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit that the lack of serious questions was refreshing. He didn’t need to trigger himself when the fun was just beginning.

“Fine. But I’m calling you first in the event of an apocalypse.”

I’m only one call away kitten.

/

@theesmartblonde @ziayamikaelson @ladymac82