Forbidden Prescription: A Stepbrother Romance Read Online Free Page A

glass toward the vacant seat. She was oddly touched at the small gesture. She wasn’t very talkative at the hospital, so she was surprised that they were acting friendly toward her.
    “I told you she would come,” Jordan boasted to the boys. Isabella poured herself a full glass of tasteless beer as she listened to everyone’s recap of their first week.
    “My highlight of the week was getting hit on by a senile old lady,” Craig said.
    “Did you take her up on her offer?” Justin teased.
    “I sutured forty wounds,” Jordan added. “I think that’s a world record. What about you, Isabella?”
    She scrambled to think of something mundane she did over the week, but her mind kept going back to surgery. She couldn’t tell them about that. It would make them all hate her, and things were actually going well.
    “I think I made enemies with a nurse. He sent me to get fresh syringes, and I got distracted along the way and forgot.”
    They nodded in approval. It was reassuring to hear that other people made mistakes.
    “The next round is on me,” Isabella announced, trying to shift the attention away from her experiences that week.
    She got up from the table and went to the bar, handing the bartender her credit card. She peeked back at the table—they were all smiling and laughing. It was nice to be part of a group, even if everyone was ready to stab each other in the back to get in on a surgery.
    She returned with full pitchers to cheers from her peers. James was right—new doctors lived penniless for so long during school that the second they get anything for free, they lose their minds. The pitchers were drained in minutes.
    Isabella was feeling giddy. In her rush to get to the bar, she had forgotten to eat supper. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last meal she’d had. She didn’t care, though. Surprisingly, she was having a great time.
    As the interns were digging through their pockets to order more booze, three pitchers were delivered to their table.
    “We didn’t order these,” Jordan said to the waitress as the other interns tried to hush her.
    “That guy over at the bar bought them for you,” she said, taking the empty pitchers.
    Isabella squinted toward the bar. James was sitting at the bar, alone, with a smirk on his face. One of the tipsy interns waved at him, prompting James to approach their table.
    “Thanks for the drinks,” Jordan said.
    “This gift comes with some strings attached,” he said. “Consider this my tip to you. Enjoy this free beer, and in return, you do whatever I say.”
    They all nodded in agreement, refilling their glasses.
    “Do you want to sit down?” Justin asked as they drained their glasses.
    “No, we’ve got to keep some boundaries, don’t we?” he teased, winking at Isabella. She gave him a sleepy smile in return.
    “I see you’re taking it easy tonight,” he said sarcastically to Isabella.
    She giggled. “I’m always easy,” she slurred softly.
    Luckily, everyone was too entrenched in their drinks to notice their short exchange.
    “On that note, I will be leaving now,” he said, turning toward the door. He let out a long sigh as he left the bar, imperceptibly shaking his head.
    After they finished their drinks, they left, splitting off into different directions. Isabella decided to walk home, giving her time to sober up before bed.
    Once home, she stripped off just inside the door, brushed her teeth, and flopped down on her bed. She felt like she was floating—from the surgery, from her interaction with the dreamy doctor, and mostly, the alcohol. In the morning, she was certain she would regret it all, but for the time being, she basked in the high.

Chapter Four
    T he next Monday came too soon for Isabella. All of Saturday was spent nursing a hangover. She tried to catch up on her reading on Sunday but was overwhelmed by the bulk of information she wanted to get through. That, and distracted by how much she was dreading seeing James at work.
    On