by C. D. Gorri
Cassie ordered a large, extra-foam, mocha latte and a warmed chocolate croissant. Oh yeah, it was that kind of day. She moved on over to the pick-up line and checked her pocket absently for her keys.
She had her eye on the table in the corner and hopefully wouldn’t lose it in the meantime. When she was a kid, that would’ve been the worst thing that could’ve happened to her all day. Oh boy. When did life get so complicated?
Cassie sighed and smiled tightly when the barista called her name after fifteen minutes of standing next to some woman who must have taken a bath in perfume. Ugh.
She nodded as the purple-haired Java Haus employee thrust a glass plate and ceramic mug at her and moved on to the next customer.
Never one to be stingy, Cassie still dropped a dollar in the tip jar and inhaled the warm chocolatey gooey-ness that awaited her before turning around to find her table. Finally.
Cassie was still somewhere in chocolate-scent induced heaven when she collided with a brick wall. Who put that in the middle of a coffee shop?
Her daily dose of caffeine hit the floor and hot mocha latte splashed all over her ivory leggings, burning her skin underneath.
“Ouch! What the-?” She sputtered as the hot liquid splashed her legs. Cassie was so about to give the clumsy oaf a piece of her mind, but stopped as she looked up, and up, into the most intense pair of dark brown eyes she’d ever seen.
It was like diving into a pool of molten chocolate. They were more sinful and decadent than anything in the coffee shop. Yes, please! I’ll take one to go.
“I am so sorry, whoa-” A pair of strong hands latched onto her arms as she wobbled on her suddenly weak knees. Get a grip, you are not the swooning type, Cass!
She straightened her spine and smiled tightly. The least she could do was be grateful to the man as he did stop her from falling on her ass. Cassie teetered on her feet, but she managed to pull away and not fall down.
“You should come with a warning, mister! You made me drop my drink and, oh man, you crushed my croissant!” She blew her hair out of her eyes and bent down to grab the broken pieces of her mug. Stupid mountain of a man made her drop her precious! Who cares how damn sexy his eyes are anyway?
“Wait, let me,” the man-wall knelt down to help her. Of course, they managed to knock heads.
“Oof! Sorry, I am usually not this clumsy, miss?” he began, only to be cut off by a flustered Cassie.
“Miss? Oh no, you got me alright! You are batting a thousand here, buddy! Just let me get this off the floor and- damn!” Cassie pulled her hand back from a sharp slice of ceramic, but not before the damage had been done. Blood spurted from the three-inch long gash on the inside of her palm and, though her stomach was empty, it rolled over. Ugh. Okay, now she was mad!
“Oh God, is that blood? As if this day couldn’t be any worse!” Her voice was back to that high-pitched little girl version of itself and she wanted to scream. She closed her eyes against the sight, surprised when familiar strong hands grasped hers.
“Hang on, let me see that,” the stranger took her hand from where she’d cradled it, and, with deft, sure movements, he examined it.
He took a clean handkerchief out of his coat pocket and wrapped it tightly around her wound. Cassie watched, mesmerized by the way her blood quickly stained the once pristine fabric.
“I’ll be fine,” she tried to pull her hand out of his hold. The electricity she felt shooting down her arm from the place where he firmly held it was disturbing. She swallowed loudly.
“You know,” he replied, “I’m afraid this needs stitches. Come on, the hospital is around the corner, I’ll get you there.”
“No way.”
“I insist.”
“No,” she lowered her voice to keep the nosy patrons from hearing her, “I don’t have a job right now, much less insurance and besides, it’s just a little cut, okay?”
She tried for nonchalant, but when she saw how quickly the handkerchief was getting soaked she couldn’t stop the panic that was quickly welling up inside of her. Shit.
“Nonsense,” his brown eyes raked over her from head to foot. Cassie trembled from the intensity of his stare.
“This is entirely my fault. Come with me, I’m a doctor at Macconwood Memorial, let me patch you up? Please, it’s the least I can do,” he smiled encouragingly.
Cassie swallowed again. He was lethal. Too damn good looking to be let loose in public. And a doctor. Double shit.
“Fine,” she grumbled.
Cassie had never felt so inadequate. Covered in coffee and blood-stained clothes, she followed the gorgeous doctor out of the door not listening as he spoke some words of apology to the barista and handed the girl a $20 bill. A good tipper too. That’s nice.
She shook her head. She was feeling a little bit woozy. She had to stop for a moment.
“Hey now, you alright?” The good doctor’s deep voice cut into her thoughts and she wobbled on her feet again.
“I’m gonna get a stiff neck looking up at you,” she murmured dazedly as she looked up and caught his stare.
‘Well, then I’ll have to make sure to rub it for you,” he answered.
“Um, what? I’m sorry, I just feel a little lightheaded, let’s go-”
“No, no, hang on,” he shuffled his briefcase to his other hand then bent and grasped her under her knees.
“What the-”
“I don’t want you falling down on me, now elevate your hand for me.”
“But-”
“Hush now, as your doctor, I insist you be still.”
He grinned as he carried her the half a block over to what looked like a a private entrance to Macconwood Memorial Hospital. He waved his key chain over the lock and it opened as if by magic.
If Cassie didn’t know better from the way he was grinning, she’d swear he picked her up just to get his hands on her. But, unfortunately for her, she did know better.
She was nothing compared to this guy in the looks department and besides, he was a doctor. She seriously doubted he was so desperate for female companionship that he wounded women and carried them to the hospital just to cop a feel!
She sat still in his embrace and allowed him to carry her more than ample figure down an empty hall to a door with the name Dr. David Evangelos, Chief of the Emergency Department. emblazoned on the front. Holy Shits and Giggles. Not just a doctor, the freaking Chief.
CHAPTER 5
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 s
eemed 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.
CHAPTER 6
Oh, fuck me, I told him he was sexy. And the sexy man in question just couldn’t stop grinning at her. At her. What was it her ex told her just before he up and left with his new talent?
“You’re cute Cass, but let’s face it you’re too short and chubby and a little too old to be trying to make it in the city anymore, sweets. You just aren’t special enough.”
Cassie g
rimaced at the memory. She couldn’t argue with his logic. Mark, her ex-boyfriend and ex-director, might be a prick, but he wasn’t wrong.
She was short. She did weigh a good twenty, okay, thirty pounds more than she should. And, no, she wasn’t getting any younger. But. What. The. Fuck? Neither was he!
Cassie glanced at the office. Sure, the man in front of her was her polar opposite in every way. He was gorgeous and a doctor! But he’d just asked her out! Her. Was someone punking her?
Cause after the morning she’d just had, she certainly couldn’t take it. Come on universe? Don’t mess with me! She silently begged.
“I’m home for the holidays,” she answered his question about living in town about as vaguely as she could. She wondered at the frown that quickly flitted across his handsome face. Did the idea of her not staying disturb him? Interesting.
“So, you said you’re going to a dance on Friday? Must be the holidays or something, because I’m supposed to go the ‘Singles in Maccon City Annual Holiday Ball’ myself this Friday. It’s a hospital fundraiser, so I am obligated,” he explained.
“Wow! That is a coincidence, it’s the one I’m going to,” she bit her lip. Would he think she was hedging for him to ask her out? Cassie wasn’t the type of person to play coy. It was just a coincidence.
“is it?” His brown eyes probed hers. She felt her face heat under his intense gaze.
“Doesn’t your girlfriend mind you going to a singles ball?” She could’ve died at her not so subtle inquiry. Nosy be-yotch. Oh whatever, she said to her inner voice.
Yes. She was poking her nose in his business, but, screw it. She should know what she was getting into before she continued this flirtation. He was simply too good-looking to be single. Damn the man!
“Now, Cassie,” he murmured.
Oh boy, her name sure sounded good coming off his lips. Rolled off his tongue as if he were savoring each little syllable. It made her think of all those naughty little things she’d like to do with that tongue of his.
Things she’d fantasized about, but somehow never got around to in real life. She could almost hear her ex-boyfriend telling her she simply didn’t have that type of body or personality that inspired wild sex. That might be true, but she still thought about it she was human after all.