Chapter 13

thirteen

DEE

Boomer is going to be all right, the vet tells me. He won’t even need stitches or anything like that. The blood just makes it look worse than it is.

“I’m not a doctor,” the vet says when Russ tells her his story, “but let me take a look at that bite of yours.” She shaves away some of his fur, then cleans off the blood. “Oh, that’s not too bad. Much better than it looks.”

I let out a relieved breath of air. Thank goodness. I really didn’t want to have to take on the wolfman’s medical bills, when I certainly would out of guilt.

“Guess I don’t need to visit the hospital,” he says as the vet applies ointment and then bandages up the wound. He’s being a really great sport about this.

“That’s good. Then I can drop you off and take Boomer back home.”

We say goodbye to the vet, and Boomer seems to be in a much better mood as we leave. That’s probably because of the ten treats we gave him while we were waiting .

The wolfman tilts his head down to me. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay alone?”

Immediately, I want to say, no, I don’t want to be alone. Please come home with me, you complete stranger. Because fuck, when he picked me up and moved me out of the path of danger, then intervened in the fight...

I thought of Bill. And every moment since then I’ve been thinking of Bill, and for a split second I even wondered if fucking a different wolfman would sate my need.

I blame the drama today. It was a lot to take in, and my heart is still beating a million miles a minute. I’m not thinking straight at all. This guy hasn’t expressed a lick of interest in me, just gone along for the ride as I’ve whirlwinded him off.

Or, maybe his question is an invitation.

“I think I’ll be all right on my own,” I finally answer. “They gave me some pain meds for Boomer, and my?—”

I cut myself off. Do I want to tell this guy I have a boyfriend? It’s kind of sick of me not to say it right away, to make it clear I’m not available. It’s unkind to Robbie, at least, who’s not a bad guy by any stretch. He doesn’t deserve for me to hide him.

And yet I say, “My friend will be over later tonight anyway, because we had a hang-out planned.”

“Do you need company until then?” Russ asks as I help Boomer up into the seat.

I peer at him over the top of my car, which he dwarfs rather comically. Is he hitting on me? Or just being kind?

“Um,” I begin, unsure of what’s safe and what isn’t. If I do get him alone in my house, and he is hitting on me... Again I think of Bill, and how fucking delicious he felt inside me, and Russ blinks, tilting his head.

“You all right?” When I still don’t answer immediately, because I don’t know what to say, he taps the top of the car. “It’s decided. I’ll come with you to take Boomer home, and then we’re getting iced coffees. You look like you’ve seen a ghost and I think you need to relax and come down.”

Eventually, I nod in agreement. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” I say, because my hands are still trembling. “I feel like I’m finally realizing what happened.”

“Yeah, it’s called shock.” Russ climbs back in the passenger seat, curling his shoulders to fit inside my little vehicle. As I put the car into drive, I wonder if I’m making a huge mistake.

But as I pull out into the street, it’s not one I want to correct. Maybe he isn’t Bill, but something about him makes me feel... safe. Protected.

Probably because he literally just saved and protected you , I think to myself. But right now that’s what I need.

Russ the wolfman is, though, rather polite. When we get back to my place, he waits in the driveway with the car while I get Boomer set up on the couch. My dog happily accepts, and seems to have fully recovered from his run-in already, so I kiss him on the nose before locking the door behind me.

To my surprise, Russ knows the area pretty well, and guides me to a cute little coffee shop I haven’t seen before.

“This area’s still new to me,” I tell him as we park. “I haven’t lived here long, so I’m happy to learn about all the neat little hole-in-the-wall places.”

It is odd that he knows so much about a predominantly human area, but he did say he lives close by. Maybe he’s a bouncer, or an armored guard. Lots of humans hire out monsters for work that requires someone big and scary.

Inside, Russ keeps his hands in his pockets, then summons me to order my drink.

“I can buy it—” I begin.

“You’re the one who’s in shock. Please tell the man your order.”

The way he gently bosses me around instantly turns me on. I can almost hear Bill’s gravelly voice telling me what to do and how he’s going to fuck me.

All I have to do is think about him and I’m already getting wet.

Russ’s eyebrows go up as we stand waiting for our orders. He glances at me from the side of his eye, then turns back to waiting. Once we have our drinks, we head for a table outside.

“Thanks again,” I say as we sit down. “For saving my bacon and Boomer’s, and then treating me to coffee.”

He leans down and laps up his drink. I don’t know why I didn’t expect that, that he would drink like... well, a wolf. Then he lifts his head again and studies me.

“It’s really not a problem,” he says, and his voice is softer. “You don’t have to thank me for doing the decent thing.”

I’m about to argue, but then I try to take his point to heart. He’s a good guy, and he was just doing as duty called on him.

In a way, though, that kills my buzz. It wasn’t because of some hidden crush on me that he stepped in to help. He did it because it was right.

I gesture at his arm. “At least that should heal fast, like the vet said.” I giggle at the square of shaved fur around the wound. His skin is a pinkish-brown under his tawny pelt. “Sorry about that, though. ”

He shrugs. “I’ll wear it to work with pride.” Then, suddenly, his eyes get huge. “Oh, fuck.” He glances down at his watch, then shoots me another panicked look. “I need to go. I’m so sorry.”

“Are you late?” I jump out of my chair and grab my coffee. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your house.”

Russ waves his hands. “No, no, it’s fine. I’ll just call a cab from here, it’ll be faster.” He takes out his phone and presses the screen a few times, and I’m surprised his claws don’t get in the way.

“How far are you going? I could take you.”

He glances at me, an uncertain look on his face. Maybe I’m taking this too far by even suggesting it? I’m about to rescind my offer when he nods briefly.

“Okay. Sure. I work at the hospital in Dunsville.”

I blink. “You work in Dunsville but live here?” It’s a good thirty minutes.

“I understand if you don’t want to drive that far,” he says apologetically. “Just let me call for a ride, and?—”

“No, no,” I say, waving my hands. “Come on. If it’s not too uncomfortable in my car.”

He shakes his head vigorously. “I would love that. Thank you.”

This time when we get in, I remember that I have an ancient sunroof. When I open it, he tilts his head and breathes in a big whiff of the passing air.

Damn. This should probably be the last time I see this guy if I don’t want to catapult head-over-heels for him.

RUSS

I don’t have half the things I need for a night at the hospital, but I’ll survive with what’s in my office. I always keep an extra set of scrubs and shoes in the closet, just in case. There’s no way I’d pass up the chance to sit in the car with Dee for half an hour, even if it gives me a massive crick in my neck and a raging boner. I keep my injured arm carefully placed over it, in case she glances away from the road.

Her scent spiked while we were waiting for our coffee, and I’m still wondering what she was thinking about. Is it too much to hope that it was me?

Ugh. It was probably her boyfriend. She hasn’t told me about him yet, and I’m not sure how I should act when she tells me. If she tells me.

If she doesn’t... I could interpret that message, but I don’t want to hope yet.

When I give her the hospital address, she raises an eyebrow. “So what do you do at the hospital?”

“I’m a doctor. I work in the maternity ward.”

Her mouth bobs open, and then she quickly rights it and turns the car on.

“Wow. So you deliver babies?”

“Lots of them,” I say, a little pride in my voice.

But instead of answering, Dee falls silent, and she’s staring ahead at the road with a puzzled look on her face.

“Is that odd?” I ask. “A guy who delivers babies?”

She flashes me a panicked look. “No, no, not at all. It’s... it’s nice. I guess.” She twists up her mouth like she wanted to say something else. “It’s really good, yeah. I just, um...”

“You can say what you’re thinking,” I tell her gently. “I’m not going to judge you for it. ”

A smile curls her lips. “Well, uh, it’s just interesting you say that, because I’m pregnant.”

I bite my lip to keep from saying, I know . Instead, I offer her a radiant smile. “Congratulations. That’s wonderful news.”

She nods, but then her smile falls. “But it’s a weird situation,” she goes on.

“How is it weird?” I ask. “It’s amazing, what your body can do.”

This stuns her, and she turns her gaze away from the road to give me an unguarded smile. “Yeah, I guess it is,” she says as she turns back to her driving, much to my relief. “But it’s not my baby.”

I cringe. So that’s how she sees it. She’s not carrying our cub, she’s carrying mine . At least, in her mind.

“Oh?” I ask instead, trying to sound surprised rather than displeased. “You’re right, that is an unusual situation.”

I leave it there, hoping the door is open enough in case she wants to tell me more. I’d love to be that for her, someone she can talk to, and be honest with.

“I guess I don’t need to tell you my whole life story.” She gives a melancholy laugh.

“I want to hear whatever you’ll tell me.”

Dee glances at me from the corner of her eye. “You’re a cool guy, Russ,” she says. “But I don’t know if you would really understand.”

I give her a playful smirk. “Try me.”

With a deep inhale, she seems to decide to trust me, and starts talking.

“I did this program where... um...” Her face is already turning a cute pinkish-red. “...where I carry a monster’s baby. And it was, uh, a wolfman. Who picked me.”

She purses her lips together, like she already regrets saying it. I make sure to look appropriately amazed, but not horrified or judgmental.

“I haven’t heard of a program like that,” I say, falling easily into the lie. Shit. This would be the moment to say, Oh, DreamTogether? I did that, too. I wonder if I was that wolfman. Have you ever met Bill? But the words have already come out.

Besides, I don’t want to risk damaging this fragile thing between us, between the real Dee and the real Russ.

“And so that’s how you got pregnant?” I say instead. “Another wolfman, like me?”

I don’t mean it to come out almost... sultry, but I can’t help it. The smell in the car has changed, and I know exactly what it is.

She’s reacting to me, her body recognizing me.

“Yup,” she says, then abruptly falls silent again. I’m not sure what I did, but whatever it was, it stopped the conversation quickly.

After a while, I reach down to play with the radio.

“It doesn’t work,” Dee says. “Sorry.”

Soon we’re on the highway, and I wish I knew what I’d said to make her clam up. She’s fixated on the road, brow furrowed in concentration. Before long we’ve reached the hospital.

“Hey,” Dee says as I reach for the door handle. She takes a deep breath, and the creases in her face fade into a worn-out smile. “Thank you again. I know you asked me not to say that, but I’m going to say it anyway. You seriously saved us today. Especially Boomer.” She smiles. “Unfortunately, I have a boyfriend, or else I’d ask you to get coffee with me again. I really enjoyed getting to know you, Russ.”

I hover over the handle, then let it go and turn to face her.

“You’re going it alone,” I say. “Aren’t you? ”

She frowns. “Well, I sort of have Robbie...”

“Right.” I should stop now, before I make an ass of myself. “But you’re going to go through a lot of changes, a lot of difficult moments, and I hope you have a support network around you to help you through it.”

When Dee blinks those huge blue eyes at me, I just want to ravage her. I want to lick her and stuff her full of me and fall asleep curled around her. I want to hold her forever, to love her and support her through all of this.

“If you ever need someone to talk to, someone with a little bit of experience in the field...” I grin, trying not to show too many of my teeth, “then please call me.” I open my wallet and fish a card out of it, then pass it to her. She looks down at it, and then back up at me with moisture on her lashes.

“Oh. Thank you.” I wonder if I’ve hurt her in some way, but then she smiles through her brimming tears. “I do feel... alone, sometimes. Maybe we could have coffee, then. Just as friends.”

I beam at her. “I would love that. I need an update on Boomer, anyway.” I finally open the door of the car and step into the sunshine, stretching now that I can stand up straight.

“Thanks again, Russ,” Dee calls out the window as I head to the front doors, already terribly late.

“You’re welcome.” She gets a big grin on her face before she pulls away, and I feel like I could fly.