Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
SKYLAR
She waves a familiar manila folder at me.
“Ah, yes.” I shove to my feet and cross to the door in a few steps, taking the offered chart. “Thank you.”
With a nod she disappears, leaving me alone. I stare down at the file in my hands, flipping to the cover page with Riann’s name and information on it. I’ve been both dreading this moment and desperately waiting for it ever since she left yesterday.
Now that it’s here, my nerves are on high alert. I haven’t been able to get her off my mind for a single minute.
The tiny logical part of my brain reminds me that it’s not too late to ask Dr. Martin to take over this case. At least that way, there’s no chance of me losing my job if I accidentally do something stupid… like act on any of the impulses that have been driving my alpha instincts wild.
But the larger part—the part driven by my alpha urges—is pissed that I haven’t bolted out of my office and down the hall yet.
I need to see her.
The desire throbs in my chest, radiating through my bones. If I deny myself the chance to be close to her, I know I’ll only be hurting myself.
Before I can debate the issue any longer, I turn and march out of my office, my focus zeroed in on Exam Room 3 and the patient waiting for me.
The beautiful, mysterious patient who could very well be my mate in another life…
I curse internally, barely able to compose myself enough to knock on the exam room door. The smell of sweet, mouth-watering marshmallows spills out into the hall, wrapping around me, assaulting my senses. I enter before she has the chance to call for me.
The second my eyes land on her sitting on the exam table, an unexpected sense of calm washes over me, and I’m stunned. She’s here, finally, and everything feels right.
But as I close the door and open my mouth to say something, I notice what she’s wearing, and all my rational thoughts evaporate.
Holy shit.
I’m sucker-punched by a tornado of heat to the gut.
Black makeup lines her eyes, contrasting starkly against her porcelain skin, and her long lashes flutter at me. Her lips are stained red and look so delicious that I wouldn’t be surprised if they tasted like cherries.
And her outfit… fuck me.
Her beige sweater is loose and hangs off one shoulder, the strap of a black tank top showing underneath.
A short black skirt is hiked high up her pale thighs, revealing a strip of delicious skin between it and the tops of her thigh-highs.
My eyes linger on the exposed skin of her legs before trailing back up to her face.
For a moment, I’m too stunned to speak, drinking her in like she’s the last thing I’ll ever see. My alpha instincts are whirling into a frenzy while I fight to maintain a modicum of professionalism.
I’m losing ground quickly.
And she’s still staring at me…
“Good morning, Miss Saunders,” I say, clearing my throat as my professional mask slams back into place. “How are you feeling today?”
She shifts on the table, the paper liner beneath her crinkling, and her skirt inches higher up her thighs. I quickly shift my eyes away and set her chart down on the desk.
“I’m okay,” she admits, her voice carrying a confidence that wasn’t there yesterday. It snaps my attention into focus, and my gaze drags back up to lock with hers. “I forgot what kind of side effects the nurse said the injection yesterday could cause, but I’ve been feeling a bit… off.”
“Off?” I reach for the pen in my breast pocket—the same one she used yesterday that no longer smells like her—and move to sit on the rolling stool. “How so?”
Her cheeks bloom a rosy pink color, and she chews her bottom lip. “A bit feral to be honest.”
“Feral?” I swallow down the heat threatening to rip through me and jot down the notes. “Like out of control or…?”
“Yeah, a bit out of control. Like I need to crawl out of my skin.” Then she smirks. “Lots of urges, needs.”
I can feel the growl tickling in my chest, but I beat it down.
My decision to give her the low dose of omega pheromones should have calmed her down if she was an omega.
A long shot, considering she lacks the omega compound in her blood, but it was a good place to start.
In a typical case, omega pheromones introduced to an alpha’s system would spike their libido and possibly send them into a rut if it was a high dose.
However, I don’t believe for a second that she’s an alpha.
I’d be able to tell…
Fuck, it seems I’m still stuck. And at this rate—with my focus completely ruined by the woman sitting across from me—I’m not going to get anywhere on my own. I’ll have to consult with Dr. Song, maybe even call our other specialty clinic in Linthicum.
Start over from square one, I think, setting the clipboard aside. I stand and grab the stethoscope from around my neck.
“I’m going to check your vitals.” My mind is spinning, a whirlwind of unlikely scenarios and illicit fantasies I try to ignore. “Then we’ll draw some blood to see if there are any changes from the injection.”
She winces at the mention of blood, and I try to reassure her. “Not vials, just a finger prick.”
“You all just love sticking things in me, don’t you?” She giggles.
Before I can fight off the thought, I imagine sticking far more than needles in her. My fingers, my tongue. I want all of me inside her. I fight to regain my composure as Riann watches me, the sexiest little smirk lifting the corner of her mouth.
Not trusting myself to say anything that won’t get me dragged straight to HR—or the police station—I ignore her remark.
“Do you mind taking off your sweater?” I manage, my gaze flicking to her top as I put the ends of the stethoscope in my ears.
She reacts without a response, quickly tugging the sweater off over her head and letting it drop in a heap on the table beside her. The tank top she’s wearing is skin tight, with a low neckline that reveals a spill of cleavage.
Air stutters out of my lungs, and I fight to keep my expression emotionless. Now isn’t the time to let my professionalism slip, even though all I want to do is admire how fucking sexy she is.
I step up to the side of the table, close enough to touch her, and a shiver rolls down my spine as her scent intensifies, stuffing its way into my lungs.
My alpha instincts flare, fighting and clawing to take over, but I manage to keep myself in check.
I breathe through my mouth, hoping it will help alleviate the perfume making my head dizzy, but I can almost taste marshmallows…
The perfect peaks of her pebbled nipples are visible through the bra and tank she’s wearing, and I try and fail not to stare. The urge to reach out and brush one just to watch her reaction is quickly becoming an uphill battle.
I press the disk of the stethoscope to her chest, the race of her pulse instantly pounding in my ears. Even without counting the beats, I can tell her heart rate is elevated. Whether it’s because of the injection or my proximity, I can’t be sure.
Yet another reason why I shouldn’t continue treating Riann as my patient.
What if my involvement skews the data and fucks up the diagnosis?
I listen, counting out the quickened beats of her heart, admiring its pretty rhythm. I move around her chest, listening for anything out of the ordinary, inching closer and closer to her breasts.
Finally, the temptation becomes too much. I succumb to the fiery impulses twisting my insides into painful knots, risking it all when my hand sweeps over one of her nipples as I pull away.
It’s just a brush, a whisper of a touch, but she gasps as I whip my hand away. For a horrified second we stare, eyes locked, while time seems to slam to a stop around us.
I might have just fucked up and jeopardized my job, but the way her scent explodes around us suggests that she’s hardly upset. In fact, if I had to guess, she enjoyed that as much as I did.
Too close.
I’m getting too close, playing with the fire that’s dancing through me by just being near her.
“I'm sorry,” I say hurriedly, squeezing the disk of the stethoscope. It’s warm now from being pressed against her flesh. “That was an accident.”
“It's okay. I don't want to interfere with your work,” she says, blinking up at me as she pushes her chest out. “You can touch me more if you want.”
My brain goes fuzzy.
She has to know what she’s doing.
There’s no way she could be oblivious to the effect she’s having on me. Any alpha in my shoes would be at her mercy.
She flutters her lashes, tossing her vibrant red hair back to display the smooth column of her neck, making it so fucking clear what she wants. My throat tightens.
My eyebrow hitches as my eyes drop to that naughty strip of porcelain skin dipping between her breasts. I edge in close to take another hit of marshmallow.
“And if I take you up on that, Miss Saunders?” I press the disk to her chest again, brushing it over her skin, her collarbone.
Her breath falters as she stares up at me, and I feel like I’ve won; I’ve called her bluff.
I expect her to back down, to apologize for being so forward—like a good little omega would—but she spreads her legs wider like she’s making room for me to settle between them.
Her black skirt rides even higher up her thighs, and a torrent of sweetness swirls through the room.
Blood pounds in my ears as her pulse kicks up, and I continue exploring her skin with the stethoscope. I dip it lower, tracing the curve of her breast, before teasing the piece over her hardened nipple.
“Oh fuck,” she whispers, the sound making my knees weak. I gently swipe over the pebbled peak again, following the stethoscope with my finger, and a delicious whine drops from her lips.
I freeze, and panic flashes over her face.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry!” she gasps, pink exploding across her pale cheeks.
“Don’t apologize.” My voice is low and growly, and I start to back away. I’m coming on too strong, too fast. I don’t want to scare her, especially when so much is on the line.
However, I’ve barely made it a half-step away before her hand shoots out and grabs my tie, pulling me back toward her with a jerk of her wrist. I fly forward off balance and crash into her, pinning her down before I’m able to catch myself.
In the flurry of movement, my stethoscope falls off and clatters to the ground.
One of my hands lands on the exam table, holding me up just high enough that I can see Riann’s shocked expression, and the other—the one that was teasing her nipple seconds ago—is conveniently cupping her breast.
If anyone was to walk through the door right now, I’d lose my job. I’d have my license stripped, and I’d never be able to practice medicine again.
Yet the only things I can focus on are her parted lips and the dreamy, lust-filled look in her eyes. My tie is still gripped firmly in her hand, which is pinned between us, but she’s not urging me to move. If anything, she’s begging me closer.
“Riann…” My voice dips as her name curls around my mouth, and I don’t miss the way her eyes spark at the sound. “Are you trying to get me fired?"
Her soft breath brushes my face, and I can’t stop leaning closer. Her neck exposed, her eyes wide, she takes a deep breath, pushing her breast further into my hand.
“No, but I’m going to lose my mind if you don’t kiss me.”
My eyes drop to her mouth again as a hot wave of desire throbs through me. It would be easy, so fucking easy, to press my lips against hers and taste what I’ve been denying myself since the first moment I saw her.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Her closeness nearly has me purring.
She nods, tugging her cherry-red bottom lip between her teeth. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
For the moment, we’re alone, despite the alarm bells going off in my head that a nurse could walk in at any second. But if I wait, I could miss my chance completely. We’re mere inches apart, my lips aching to meet hers, even though I know this is a horrible fucking idea.
An embarrassed flush still paints her cheeks, but my restraint snaps when her other hand slides up my chest, hooking over my shoulder.
A growl rumbles at the back of my throat, and I lower myself the short distance to brush my lips against hers.
It’s faint at first, the barest whisper of skin on skin, but when a whine falls from her mouth, I increase the pressure to swallow the sound.
Santo dios.
Electricity lights up my system as her mouth moves against mine, her entire body reacting to my touch. She wiggles and bucks, her fingers teasing the hair at the nape of my neck, and our scents meld into a perfect mix of pine and smoke and marshmallows.
When I pull away a second later to catch my breath, her eyes are bright and wild.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Morales,” she whispers. “I—”
“—Skylar.” The word flies out. “Call me Skylar.”
The urge to tear off her clothes and worship her body here in the exam room outshines any alpha instinct I’ve ever had. It’s bone-deep, radiating from the depths of my soul, and it’s all I can do to keep my hands from wandering.
“Skylar, then,” she says, a cocky smirk quirking her lips. “You can keep going; I promise, it’s fine.”
I hesitate for a beat.
She’s put the ball back in my court, giving me the express permission I crave to keep going. I’ve already crossed the line—flown straight over it—but taking this any further is dangerously idiotic.
And I’ve never felt so reckless.
“I plan to, but not here.” I stand, pulling her with me so that she’s upright and sitting on the exam table again.
My eyes flick toward the door as I contemplate my office down the hall.
It’s more private, and we’re less likely to be interrupted there.
Even if all it leads to are more stolen kisses and holding her close, I’m not ready to stop.
Whatever the hell is happening between us, this intense pull that has its claws buried in me deep, I can figure it out later.
Right now, my only concern is giving Riann the attention she’s after. The only thing that will sate my soul.
“Follow me,” I say, bending to grab my stethoscope off the floor. Hopefully, it isn’t broken.
I snatch my clipboard off the desk while she collects her sweater, then I lead the way down the hall with Riann on my heels.