The Doctor's Pet by Loki Renard

couch, figuring she was fairly safe with Tim there. Kirk wouldn’t grab her and spank her in front of her brother.
    “I should let you two talk,” Tim said. “I’ll go out for a bit, shall I?”
    “Thanks,” Kirk said.
    “No,” Tessa said at the same time. “You can stay here, Tim. He can leave.”
    Kirk frowned at her. “You know your protective streak is misplaced here, don’t you, Tessa? Tim is fine.”
    “Yeah, next time I’ll bring the cuffs though,” Tim joked.
    “He cuffed you!?” Tessa’s voice rose to an outraged squeal. “Jesus, Kirk, did you fuck him too?”
    “Settle down, Tessa,” Kirk growled. “There’s no need to get so upset.”
    “Yes, there is. He’s my baby brother and you beat him,” she said, her eyes narrowed with anger. “You didn’t even talk to me about it. You just took it upon yourself. You think you can fix everything with your canes and your cuffs and everything else. Well, you can’t!”
    She stood up, threw her beer in his face, and stormed out of the apartment.
     
    * * *
     
    Kirk stood with beer dripping down his face, wondering where he’d gone wrong. Everything had been going so smoothly. He’d gotten Tim in hand, made arrangements for a rehab that would help him. Tessa should have been thrilled. Instead she was angrier than she’d ever been.
    “I’ll get you a towel,” Tim said, rather kindly given the way he was clearly still sore from the caning.
    It was Kirk’s turn to sit down on the couch with a perplexed expression.
    “What’s gotten into her?”
    “She’s been looking after me our whole lives, more or less,” Tim said. “Our parents weren’t up for much in the way of parenting. She doesn’t like it when I’m hurt.”
    “You’re not hurt,” Kirk said. “Can’t she see that?”
    “You messed with mama bear’s cub,” Tim smirked and tossed a towel at him. “You’re lucky you only got beer thrown on you. I won’t tell you what she did to the kid who bullied me in high school. I think they’re still finding parts of him.” Tim grinned at his own joke and leaned against the wall, keeping a respectful, perhaps wary distance from Kirk.
    “Is that right,” Kirk said, wiping himself down. “Well, I guess I can understand that.”
    “She’ll calm down,” Tim said. “She won’t stay mad at you for long. She likes you too much to stay mad. And she’s not good at it anyway.”
    “I think this is our first real argument,” Kirk mused.
    “Oh, yeah? Not been dating her very long then?”
    “We’ve been seeing each other a while, we just never had a significant disagreement before,” Kirk said, not sure why he was explaining himself to Tim.
    “Yeah? Where do you see things going with her?”
    Kirk smiled. “Are you asking me what my intentions are, Tim?”
    “I guess I am,” Tim shrugged. “I might be a fuck-up, but she’s my sister and I care about her.”
    “My intentions are to look after her,” Kirk said. “And, well, can you keep a secret?”
    “My life is secrets, Kirk, I can add one more.”
    Kirk reached into the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a ring box. He flipped it open to reveal a glowing golden band with a bright diamond set in it. It was like Tessa—simple, but beautiful, shining with a light that could not be ignored.
    “Wow,” Tim said, eyes widening. “That’s some ring.”
    “This is my intention,” Kirk informed him.
    “If she doesn’t forgive you, show her that,” Tim suggested. “Hell, I’ll marry you for that.”
    Kirk laughed. Tim was a complete scamp of a young man, but he had an undeniable charm and obvious intelligence, which if put to something besides gambling and drinking would probably amount to a great deal.
    “I think I’ll stick with my plan to propose to your sister.”
    Tim nodded toward the broken door. “Then you better go get her.”

Chapter Twelve
     
     
    There weren’t that many places to run to around Tessa’s apartment. She ended up in the parking