8. Rob
8
ROB
R ob found Gertrude in the clinic, looking bored as she usually was during her shifts when no one was there. Her face lit up when she saw him, or rather the steaming cups of coffee in the cardboard tray and paper bag in his hands.
"Just in time." She lifted on her toes and kissed his cheek. "I was getting hungry." She plucked one of the cups from the tray and relieved him of the paper bag.
He followed her and sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting area. "I don't know why you are required to be present at the clinic at all. If anyone needs help, they can call or text you, and you can meet them here."
"We tried that." She removed the lid and took a careful sip from the coffee. "What ended up happening was people showed up at the house instead of going to the clinic. Hildegard and I decided that it was best to just divide shifts between the two of us and spend them at the clinic."
Rob pulled the pastries from the bag and handed Gertrude her favorite chocolate croissant. "You could have just put an announcement on the clan's bulletin board that it was unacceptable, or hung a sign on your front door directing patients to the clinic."
She chuckled. "You forget that most of us are related, and people feel entitled to barge into your home because they tore a ligament in the gym or someone got hurt during a mission. I would never turn them away. Besides, I can read or watch podcasts here the same way I would do at home. The only difference is that I wear scrubs at work."
He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. "You look very sexy in them."
Gertrude rolled her eyes. "You think that I look sexy no matter what I'm wearing."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No." Her smile softened. "It's amazing. I feel so fortunate to have been gifted with such a wonderful mate."
"Same here." Rob put his coffee down on the side table and, in one swift move, lifted Gertrude onto his lap. "I love this new immortal strength."
"So do I." She looked at him from under her long lashes. "You are getting stronger by the day."
He glanced at the door and then back at his mate. "What say you that we lock the door and duck into one of the treatment rooms?"
Gertrude lifted the cup and pastry she was holding. "I love the idea, but I wouldn't dare. You'll have to be patient, my love, and wait for me to be done with my shift."
That wasn't what he'd wanted to hear, but he'd expected that. Gertrude was dedicated to her work, and she wouldn't lock the door when it was supposed to be open.
Luckily for him, William was very flexible about work hours, and as long as what he assigned was done, he didn't care about the when and where. Although he'd warned Rob about that changing dramatically when a project was deemed urgent. People in William's lab worked around the clock to complete urgent assignments, and these occurred frequently.
"Bummer." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "Bridget came to talk to Margo and me at the café earlier."
"I know. I was waiting for you to bring that up."
"Why did you wait?"
She shrugged. "It's a private matter between you and Margo and your parents."
"You are my mate, and I don't keep anything from you, not unless I'm forced to."
"Margo might not be happy about my involvement."
"Nonsense. Margo loves you."
"I know." Gertrude released a breath. "So, what did Bridget say?"
"She repeated more or less what you said. Semen can be harvested, but venom cannot. She recommended we find an unmated immortal male who would be willing to donate both. She said most would be happy to help, but personally, I doubt it."
"I can ask around," Gertrude offered. "I can do that very discreetly."
"Thank you." It was a huge relief not to have to do the search himself and explain to potential candidates what he needed from them. "You have no idea how much I appreciate your offer. I was dreading having to explain what I needed."
"Anytime." She straightened in his arms and kissed his jaw. "What else did Bridget say?"
"That's it. Then, Margo and I discussed how to present it to our parents while keeping the clan's existence a secret. A lady named Vivian overheard us talking and suggested asking Eleanor from Safe Haven if she would be willing to compel our parents to be silent on the subject. Vivian said that we could arrange a retreat for the six of us together as a family vacation and do it there. That way, we will be able to talk with our mother first and see where she stands on the issue. If she's against the idea, there is no reason to tell our father."
"When are we going?"
He chuckled. "When can you take time off?"
Her face fell. "I'll have to wait for Hildegard to return, and that will only happen once the prisoners in the keep are gone." When he lifted a brow, she shook her head. "I can't tell you about that, so don't ask."
"I'm not. Margo told me that there was a dungeon in the keep, but I was under the impression that it was rarely used to house prisoners and that it didn't even look like a dungeon."
"That's true," Gertrude confirmed. "It is often used as a transition place, I mean when people are not ready to be brought into the village but need a refuge from somewhere else."
"I thought that was the purpose of Safe Haven."
"You are right, but we use the keep a little differently. We also have the mountain cabin that, from time to time, serves that purpose too." She chuckled. "We call it the love cabin because that's where Amanda and Dalhu fell in love. Then they moved to the dungeon, so maybe we should rename it the Love Underground or something like that."
Rob laughed. "That sounds like the name of a kinky club."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you know about kinky clubs?"
"Absolutely nothing." When she arched a brow, he lifted his hands in the air. "I swear. I must have read something somewhere. I really don't remember."
That earned him a suggestive smile. "I have a few books that you might want to read to broaden your education." She cupped his cheek. "Maybe it will help you get over your prudishness."
"I'm not a prude."
Gertrude arched a brow.
"Well, maybe a little."