Candied Exposure: The Sensual Treatments Series

By Lisa Bonham

Kelly: A  secret sweetheart but rough and wild as a lover as I need him to be sometimes taking charge and setting the pace that sends shivers down my spine.

He's just so attentive and respectful towards women.

A true immaculately dressed, sophisticated, modern gentleman with the strong and dominating physique that sets my mind on fire.

I feel fragile and deliciously protected.

I flourish with deep happiness and thoughts of us building our lives and dreams together from the foundations of the luxurious lifestyle that he has built.

He's an infamous rockstar in his medical law world.

Being in this half dating and half friendship stage sucks.

I want to be enveloped in the embrace of this strong, silent bad boy with the  most tender heart.

Will we always just be the party couple or couple of life?

Michael:

There's a barrier around her that I don't seem to be able to crack.

She feels distant, evasive.

I had thought that she had taken to me in the last few months.

There feels like a piece of me missing without Kimberly in my day, my heart, my life.

All this distraction needs to go away for us to build our lives together.

What is the wall made up of?

Will she let me into her heart?
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Bonham
• Release date: Apr 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215846179

Book preview

Chapter 1

Kimberly

I can’t decide if today is more wonderful or more miserable: Michael has recovered enough not to need constant supervision, and he’s being discharged. I’m genuinely happy for Michael from the bottom of my heart, and I’m bubbling with excitement at the thought of him finally getting back to his fulfilling, active lifestyle, but I’d be lying if I said that I’m not sad as well. Every time I think about the fact that I won’t be seeing Michael at least twice a day anymore, I feel devastated. I know it’s not a permanent goodbye since Michael will still have to come in for a few weekly checkups, but it feels like, so little compared to all the time I’ve had with him. I’m honestly not sure how I’m going to adapt to a life where I don’t end up chatting with him.

Despite having already said my goodbyes, I made my way to Michael’s room one last time. I still have something important to talk to him about, and I know I’ve been putting it off for far too long now. I keep planning what I’m going to say in my head, trying to figure out the right words.

All plans and words abandon me as soon as I enter the room and lay my eyes on him. My mind, my whole body, goes completely still at the sight of him. I’ve had more than a year to get used to how gorgeous Michael is, but except for the first few visits, I haven’t seen him wear anything other than his pajamas or hospital robes. Now he’s dressed to go home, and the sight of him takes my breath away. Michael is wearing a pair of dark suit pants, a light dress shirt, a pair of loafers, and a blue tie hung loosely around his neck. His dark salt-and pepper hair is immaculately styled rather than just neatly combed and he’s simply radiating life pride and energy. Michael’s been taking care of himself well enough while he was here, but I realize now that he’d stopped caring about his appearance that much, and I’m terrified of how far he’d have let himself slip if his condition hadn’t improved. I force those thoughts out of my mind.

You clean up well, I say in a way of greeting. Michael smiles at me, and my knees suddenly struggle to hold my weight.

It’s been a while since I’ve stepped outside this building, he says. I figured I should look my best for such a monumental occasion. There’s a new light glinting in his green eyes, and it draws me in. That new determination and hunger for life pulls at me, and I want nothing more than to let it devour me. To let him devour me. The desire that floods me is unexpected and I find myself trying to suppress the heat pooling in my core.

Well, your best definitely lives up to the task, I say. I’m trying to focus on the here and now, but it’s becoming more and more difficult to ignore my usual fantasies that are now coming back with a vengeance. You must be very excited, I add.

I am, he beams at me. Then that brilliant smile falters, and I can see something dark flashing in his eyes.

There was a time when I thought this day would never come, he says, almost too quietly for me to hear. I was afraid that I might die in here. The words hit me like a bucket of icy water.

I try not to notice the signs of his time here in the hospital: The suit hanging too loosely on his frame, his skin several shades paler than the first time we met, the fingers constantly twitching as if too scared to stop moving again, and the slight hollow expression that sometimes still rises to the surface now and then.

Don’t take this the wrong way, he says, his usual smile back on his face, but I really hope I never see this room again. I can’t blame him. He probably knows every small detail of this room, and he must absolutely hate it by now.

About that, I start, then hesitate.

Yes? he asks, turning serious at my tone.

Your... your condition wasn’t natural, I say. It’s incredibly difficult to find the right words, despite my practice in the hallway.

Not natural? he repeats. Of course, that wouldn’t make sense to him. How do I explain this without completely upsetting him?

Yes. After your miraculous turn, I came across... well, the lab and I discovered that your condition is... Just say it already! I scold myself. You’re not making it any clearer.

I take a deep breath and push all the explanations and details to the side. They don’t matter right now.

What we thought were the symptoms of an autoimmune disease turned out to be caused by poison in your system. There, I’ve said it.

Michael looks confused and a little stunned. It can’t be easy to hear something like this.

When you suddenly started recovering out of the blue, I discovered something off in your toxicology report, I begin to explain. I sent a detailed report to the lab, and they found traces of several toxins in your system that wouldn’t normally be found in the human body. All of the toxins either damage the nervous system or weaken the body in general. I want to continue, but one look at Michael tells me he needs to process what I’ve already told him first. I shut my mouth and gave him some space.

Who? he finally asks. When? he says, going straight into the two most difficult questions.

"Our analysts in the lab concluded that the poison was administered