Trouble(29)

“I kept a check on his heart rate on the way here.”

I turn at the sound of Mia’s voice. I didn’t even realize she was still behind me.

She keeps her focus on Dr. Callie as she speaks, “It stayed steady at sixty bpm. About five minutes ago, his breathing became a little labored. He has a chest contusion, not severe from what I could tell upon examination. And his front right leg is broken – possibly a mild fracture. I strapped it up the best I could with what I had.”

And I’ll say it again – who the fuck is this girl?

She sounds confident, a little mechanical—just like she did back at the woods when she was checking Dozer over. Nothing like the quiet, sweet, nervous girl who came into the hotel last night.

Dr. Callie looks up, removing the stethoscope from Dozer’s chest. He takes it from his ears and hangs it around his neck. “Vet or doctor?” he asks Mia.

I wait, suddenly very interested to hear her answer.

“Med student,” she answers quietly. “Second year.”

And just when I thought she couldn’t possibly get any hotter…

Dr. Mia Monroe.

Yep, she just went up a million notches on the hottie counter.

I’ve got doctor (Mia), patient (me), sex scenarios running through my mind on warp speed right now. All of them awesome.

Dr. Callie turns from us and walks over to a metal trolley. He picks up a syringe.

I shudder. I fucking hate needles.

My mom was constantly being stuck with needles while she was going through treatment.

The treatment that didn’t save her.

Dr. Callie walks back toward Dozer, syringe in hand. “Great job on the leg.” He directs his words to Mia, then looks at us both. “I’m going to need you both to wait outside now.”

“Are you going to stick that in Dozer?” I nod at the needle in his hand.

“Don’t worry, it’s just to sedate Dozer. It won’t hurt him.”

Liar. Needles fucking hurt.

I take a step closer. “Look, I just need to know … is he going to be okay?” My voice suddenly sounds small. I’m reminded of how I sounded in the hospital when we found out the treatment hadn’t worked. That mom was going to die.

A lump forms in my throat. And my eyes start to water. A dog. I’m getting emotional over a fucking dog.

I clear my throat.

“He’s going to be fine.” Dr. Callie smiles kindly.

The receptionist holds the door open for us. For the first time, I notice the name badge on her uniform – Penny.

“If you want to wait up front in the reception area, I’ll come and let you know how Dozer is doing as soon as I can,” Penny says.

I follow Mia to the door. Stopping, I turn back to Dr. Callie. “Take good care of him.”

He nods.

Penny closes the door behind us, staying in the room.

I stare at the door. My eyes start to water again.

Stop acting like a pussy, Matthews.

“Shall we sit?” Mia says from behind me.

Pulling in a deep breath, I blink my eyes clear and turn around.

The first thing my lowered eyes make contact with is Mia’s bare stomach.

Flat, soft creamy skin that is just begging to be licked. I lift my eyes, and of course, I have to check her tits out.

If she just raised her hands above her head, I’d totally get a view…

Jesus Christ. What the fuck is wrong with me?

She ripped her t-shirt to help Dozer, who is currently being treated by a vet because he was hit by a car, and here I am checking her out like a sex-crazed idiot.

“I owe you a t-shirt.” I point to the bare skin I was just staring at.

She glances down. Her cheeks flush red, and she wraps her hands around her mid-section, covering herself. “Don’t worry about it. It was just a cheap Walmart shirt.”

She drives a Mercedes and wears Walmart? This girl makes no sense at all.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

With a brisk nod, I turn and walk past her toward the reception area.

I know she’s behind me, so when I reach the seats I step aside and allow her to sit first before taking the seat beside her.

See, I’m not a total douche. I can be a gentleman.

I lean forward, resting my arms on my thighs. They’re still aching from carrying Dozer. This move puts me real close to Mia. She smells just like she did last night—vanilla.

No one should smell this good. It makes functioning difficult. Or not functioning, if you catch my drift.

I can’t remember ever being this hot for a girl before. Just my fucking luck that I can’t touch her.

“Thank you … for what you did for Dozer,” I say. I don’t look at her. If I want to keep my thoughts clean, then it’s a good idea to avoid as much visual contact as possible.