“Come in,” I called, focusing my eyes on the computer screen so I looked like I had actually been doing something.
She poked her head into the office. She was wearing her jacket and holding her purse. “I’m gonna head out,” she said kindly, and then with a little bluster in her tone, she added, “Also, Wyatt Morgan’s in the waiting room. Something about a rodeo meeting.”
I tried to look casual as I said, “Oh right, I almost forgot.” I stood up and came around the desk to walk with her. We strolled down the hall to the waiting room together, and I couldn’t refrain from talking. “Wyatt’s helping me with the special needs rodeo.”
“Oh, how nice of him. Those Morgan boys are so generous of spirit.” She dropped her voice to a whisper and added, “Good-looking, too.”
I laughed uncomfortably. “Ya think?”
“I saw Cody in short shorts once. That boy does not just have thick thighs.”
I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as I remembered the feeling of Wyatt beneath his jeans in the cafe two days earlier.
Linda teased me. “Are you blushing, Dr. Winchester?”
Overcompensating, I said, “I try to think of them as patients.”
“Better you than me,” she joked, and then with her hand on the doorknob, she whispered, “I wouldn’t mind playing doctor with this one out here.”
For me, it was funny because it was so so true. As we walked into the waiting room, Wyatt stood.
Linda winked at him and said, “Guess she’s all ready for you.”
Wyatt looked at me nervously, and I subtly shook my head. A master of diversion, Wyatt quipped, “If you’re leaving, who’ll give me a lollipop for being a good boy?“
Now it was Linda’s turn to blush, but she held her own. “You are such a flirt.”
Wyatt tipped his hat and said, “At your service, ma’am.”
Linda shook her head and said to me, “Good luck, Doc.” And then she was gone, and Wyatt and I were totally alone in Eggs’ office.
I crossed to the door and flipped the lock, and then I turned back to him and said a tiny mousy, “Hi.” I didn’t know why I suddenly felt shy, but I did.
His eyes were soft when he said, “Hi back.”
Not knowing the protocol, I made no move to do anything. Neither did he. Then, just desperate to shift the current situation, I said, “I guess we should head back to an exam room?”
He nodded, but his eyes were hot on my skin. Leading the way, I turned and went back through the door I’d just exited with Linda. Wyatt followed. I didn’t look back behind me, but I heard him close the door that separated the waiting room from the back offices. Within seconds of the tiny click, he was on me. His big man hands manhandled my body until I was pressed against the wall and his tongue was in my mouth. There was no restraint. His kiss was fierce and hungry, like he was starving. He pushed his whole body against me, making his desire known and awakening mine.
As suddenly as he had come on, he quickly turned down the heat. Reining himself in by releasing my lips and kissing my forehead, he said, “Sorry, thinking about doing this for the last forty-eight hours has me a little worked up.”
His mouth was still so close, and all I wanted was more. My internal emotional chart was ludicrous, a roller coaster. Five seconds before I was almost too shy to talk and as soon as he broke our kiss, I wanted to jump up and down like a toddler who had just lost her favorite toy. But somehow, I controlled my inner child and said, “No problem. That was perfectly welcome.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Feel free,” I answered.
The only rational one between us, he begrudgingly said, “Best to get that testing done first.”
I cleared my throat and pushed off the wall, preparing to head for the exam room door. Again, reduced to single syllables, all I managed to say was, “Yes.”
I tried to move past him, but he reached out and held my hand and we walked forward together. The hand holding felt a little out of character with the whole friends with benefits agreement thing, but honestly, I loved the feeling of his hand in mine, so I didn’t complain.
Once we were inside the exam room, he asked, “Where do you want me, Doc?”
I smirked, feeling like his question harbored a little innuendo, and said, “On the table is fine. Just roll up your sleeve.”
I rifled through the drawers and gathered what I needed. When I turned, he was sitting on the table shirtless. Oh Jesus, that was glorious, miles and miles of hard muscle. He shrugged at me. “I figured, why not?”
“Indeed.” I giggled, and then I did a little jig like a freaking leprechaun.
Grinning at me, he said, “Caroline Winchester, should I be worried about you maintaining your professional skills with all this man meat to appraise?”
My supplies clattered as I put them down on the little tray next to the exam table. I moved so I was standing right in front of him and said, “Oh, definitely. Like one hundred percent. I should not be wielding a needle right now. Like not at all. You are brave, very brave.”
He reached for me, pulling me closer so I was standing right between his knees, and left his right hand resting on my waist. “This okay?” he asked.
I nodded and he put his left arm out, offering me the crook of his elbow. I ran my finger over the spot, prepping the vein, and he shuddered. Then he laughed, saying, “I’ve got to tell you, this is a first for me. Blood draws don’t usually get me going.” Narrowing his eyes, he quirked his head at me and asked, “Are you a vampire? Have you begun the process of mind control?”
“Depends, do I get to suck you?” The comment was a little heavy-handed, but my voice was deep with my desire. I had literally never said anything that forward to a man in the moment. I’d talked about sex clinically with the men I slept with and tried things, but I never teased or tempted a man I wanted.
Wyatt didn’t mince words. “Sold. I’ll take the deal. When do I get my fangs?”
“I haven’t decided if I’m gonna turn you yet …” I said, keeping the banter going as I pushed the needle into his skin. He didn’t wince or flinch. He just stared at my face like he was looking at a work of art. I glanced back at the needle, watching his maroon blood rush in and fill the glass tube.
“Waiting to see how useful I am?” he asked.
Switching the tube, I shook my head. “No, too attached to your heartbeat.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I felt a little panicky, but when I looked up, Wyatt didn’t seem upset—a little shocked, maybe, but not angry or turned off.
He reached up and touched my face. “I really want to kiss you right now, but I know you’ve got a blood vial to manage.”
“Almost done,” I said.
We were both quiet for a moment, and I felt like I could hear his blood rushing, pumping into the tube. Using a cotton ball to apply pressure to the puncture site, I pulled the butterfly needle and final vial free. Wyatt shifted, using his right hand to apply pressure to the cotton ball as I reached for a Band-Aid.
In the split second that my back was turned, he asked, “Do we have a plan?”
I turned back to him and, pulling the bandage free from its wrapping, asked, “What do you mean?”