Mine! The second David Evangelos entered the Java Haus his senses were overwhelmed by the most incredible scent. The fragrance had nothing to do with coffee and everything to do with a certain cinnamon haired minx. Her tantalizing scent was like cocoa butter mixed with a hint of spicy vanilla.
Grrr. He breathed deep and felt his Wolf stand at attention, ready to burst free. David quieted the growl. He put a tight mental leash on his animal side. Whoa! Down boy!
He tried to get close to her, but she was farther up the line. His nostrils flared the stronger the scent grew. Cocoa butter, vanilla, and something else. Something primal in her essence that called to him.
David’s wolf whined and growled inside his mind’s eye. The beast was vocal, urging him closer, demanding he find the source of that unbelievable fragrance and claim her.
He broke out in a sweat and fingered the collar of the button-down shirt he usually wore to work. Fuck. Not in here. I can’t Change now.
David needed to get the fuck out of there before all the normals in the place got an eyeful of him in nothing but fur!
He walked off the line, no longer guided by reason, but by instinct. The woman whose scent called to him stood just out of reach.
His eyes ate her up. She was beautiful. Tiny and perfect, she stood about a foot shorter than him. Her hair was the color of cinnamon fire and whiskey, bound by an elastic of some sort on top of her head. He wondered how long it was?
Her voice when she said thank you to the barista was soft and light. Like an angel. His angel. She wore leggings and a top that seemed to hug every one of her adorable curves. He’d never been jealous of clothing before, but there was a first time for everything.
Her hair, though gathered in one of those stylishly messy buns women sometimes wore, managed to get in her way. She kept blowing her long bangs out of her face with her pretty pink lips. Lips David was dying to taste.
Her nose was straight and her chin stubborn, but what had the air whooshing out of his body was her huge hazel eyes. She’d turned her head to apologize to the man to her right for accidentally bumping into him when getting her mug.
David frowned, the guy was too fucking close to her. Neither he nor his Wolf was happy about it, but he couldn’t very well start pushing people out of line. He hardly noticed that he didn’t even order. All of his focus was on getting closer to her.
Then everything went to shit. He bumped into the tiny goddess and she dropped her steaming cup of coffee and squashed her pastry against her sweater. As if that wasn’t enough, he banged heads with her, and then, she cut herself on the broken mug! Fuck and damn.
His Wolf howled in fury that he’d hurt her, and David almost lost his shit completely. He was about to get furry until he reminded his other half that he was, in fact, a doctor and could best help her in his human skin.
Picking her up in his arms when she got a little woozy was just a bonus. The second he held her there he knew she was his. She just felt so right. He could walk for fucking miles and not notice anything except how perfect she was so close to him.
His Wolf was overjoyed. Except for the discomfort of having to walk around in his suddenly too tight pants, he was as happy as he had ever been. More than that, he felt peace, content, and a raging lust for this stranger.
“Here we are, please just wait right here,” he said as he placed her down gently on the couch in his large office. He wondered if she was impressed by the fact that he was Chief of the whole Emergency Department? He had a very comfortable office right on the ground floor of the hospital. Girls liked doctors, right? Get a grip. Fucking moron.
She looked up at him, her hazel eyes wide with shock. He frowned. His Wolf unhappy that she was injured. David glanced at the handkerchief he’d wrapped around her wound. She was bleeding entirely too much.
He hurried to his supply closet and grabbed a tray, sutures, antiseptic, and a few other items before turning back to her.
“Now, I promise to do my best not to let this hurt, Miss?”
“Oh, sorry, my name is Cassiopeia DeMarco, but most people call me Cassie.”
“Cassiopeia, that’s a unique name.”
“It’s horrible,” she snorted, and he smiled. She is so fucking sexy.
“Not at all, I like mythology. Her story is interesting,” David insisted, noticing that she tensed up just before he stuck her hand with a needle to numb the area, “Sorry,” he added. On an impulse, he bent and pressed a quick kiss to the area he’d stuck the needle.
“Ouch, yeah well, she was a vain be-yotch. Oh God, more blood,” she looked pale and he worried some more, “Look, I know it’s lame, but I’m gonna close my eyes while you do this, okay?”
“That’s fine, Cassie. Not everyone can take the sight of blood.”
“Yeah, I’m one of them.”
“I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry. How about we keep talking while this has time to take effect, okay?”
He knew it was silly, but he kept hold of her hand even though it would be a few minutes before he’d be able to start sewing the wound closed.
He’d cleaned the area and checked for further damage, but luckily it was nothing serious. Still, he didn’t want to stop touching her.
I’m a fucking creep, he grimaced at the though. He attempted to let go, but then she curled her pinky around his hand, staying him. She didn’t seem to notice the action, but he felt it down to his toes.
“Okay, what do you want to know?”
“Well, are you from Maccon City? You look familiar to me, but I can’t place it.”
“I grew up here, but I’ve been in the city the last couple of years,” she said.
“Really, doing what?” he pressed her palm, checking to see if she reacted with any pain.
When she didn’t, he picked up his tools and set about making tiny little stitches across her palm. Small and close so as not to leave a scar, he worked as she spoke in her sexy, soft voice.
“Oh, well, I was in a few Broadway shows here and there, nothing special,” she murmured and blushed a dark pink that made his heart skip a beat.
“Ah, maybe that’s where I’ve seen you,” he said.
“Yeah right, you don’t have to say that.”
“What do you mean? I like Broadway. I try to go to see a show at least once a year with New York City being relatively close.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I was also an understudy to a lead role in this one musical and the lead got sick. I was in the show for three whole weeks, but it was a kid’s show,” she laughed self-consciously, but went on to tell him the name and dates of the show.
“What a coincidence! I was a volunteer chaperone for our community center and we took the kids to see that show. I guess I did see you then, you were an absolutely incredible princess,” David mused, surprised since he did enjoy that show more thoroughly than any other he’d ever been to. Now he knew why.
“Yes! Wow,” she said, “you must have some memory! Well, I guess you do, being a doctor and everything,” she smiled shyly.
David cleaned up after he finished her stitches. His throat was dry, and he felt restless. He’d never felt anything as powerful as his attraction to this woman. Mine.
“I’m going to put some medicine on this and wrap it up with gauze, then I’ll get you a prescription for an antibiotic just to ward off any infection. Are you allergic to anything?”
“Um, nope, no allergies,” she assured him.
He grabbed the phone and ordered her meds. Then turned back to her. He’d never felt so unsure of himself. He knew he needed to think, to take things slow, but his Wolf was ready to rip through his body and claim the woman with his bite.
Fuck. He smelled her sweet fragrance fill his nostrils and felt her walk over to him, something in her outstretched hand.
“Um, look I meant it when I said I’m unemployed right now, so I don’t have any insurance, but I have some savings. How much should I make this out for?”
“What? Oh no, please, it was all my fault-”
“No, I couldn’t do that, you’re a professional, I need to pay you-”
“Absolutely not, look, you hurt yourself because of me,” he turned around and met her eyes.
“I insist on doing something to pay you back,” she shook her head and that stubborn little chin of hers stuck out, making him want to to nibble on it. Grrr.
“Fine,” he grinned, “Have dinner with me?”
“What?”
“To pay me back. I hate eating alone and since my brother got mate-, married, uh, I’ve been having all my meals alone. It gets tiresome.”
“Yeah, right. Like the sexy doctor needs help getting a date?”
“You think I’m sexy?” he asked eyebrows raised.
David couldn’t help but grin in satisfaction at her obvious mortification. She thought he was sexy. Well hot damn!
“Um, thank you for your help and all, but I’m sorry, doctor, I can’t do dinner tonight. I have a dance thingy to go to on Friday and I have to go shopping and unpack-”
“So, you are staying then? In Maccon City?” He was fishing, but he didn’t care. He needed to see her again.