Page 5

“Erica could you please get started with Esmerelda?” Hot Vet asked his assistant. “I’ll be there in a few minutes to assist.”

“Of course, Doctor.”

The vet tech picked up my dog and left the room, sending her boss a curious look. I hoped he wasn’t about to give me bad news.

“Sit,” Hot Vet ordered.

Dr. Martin, I mentally corrected myself before I did something stupid like call him that to his face.

“I’m not a dog,” I reminded him, resisting the urge to follow his order.

He spared me a quick look.

“Sorry, please sit down. I want to take a look at those arms for you.”

I sat on the plastic chair next to the wall. Hot--, uh Dr. Martin grabbed several items from the cabinet, then walked over to my side of the exam table where we’d had Esmerelda, crouching in front of me. This close I could smell his, well I didn’t know if it was shampoo or aftershave or what, but it smelled kind of earthy, like sandalwood or something.

He grabbed my hand, and I couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped my mouth.

Holy cannoli, that little contact of his fingers against mine sent a little zing right up my arm. What was that?

“I’m just going to clean your wounds,” he said, dropping my hand and pulling on some light blue latex gloves.

His voice sounded kind of husky compared to before, making me wonder if he was as affected by our nearness as I was.

As I watched, I couldn’t help but notice how long and thick his fingers were. After he’d gloved up, Dr. Martin poured some saline solution on a gauze pad. I hissed as he touched the pad to my wound, moving my gaze to the cartoon animals painted on the wall in front of me.

Damn, that scratch really hurt.

“I thought you were a vet,” I said, “Not a people doctor. But then again I guess we’re all animals really, aren’t we? I mean, I guess a cut on my skin is the same as Esmerelda getting cut so however you treat it on a dog is probably the same as you do for a human.”

I had a tendency to babble when I was nervous.

Dr. Martin’s eyes crinkled as he looked up at me, but his face remained blank. I had the feeling he didn’t really know what to make of me. I got that a lot, especially now that I’d stopped trying to make myself fit in.

Then he got to work cleaning my wounds. His touch was light and sure, mesmerizing me. As I sat there watching him clean up my scratches I couldn’t help but fantasize about his using that light touch elsewhere on my body. I didn’t usually go for older guys, but maybe just this once…

Holy smokes, get a hold of yourself Mabel, I told myself sternly. The man is being nice, he’s not coming onto you.

I didn’t think I’d mind him coming onto me, I thought, totally forgetting my ‘no men for the rest of my life pledge’. I had a sudden fantasy of him fucking me while I was bent over the exam table, but then he ruined it by speaking again.

“This scratch here is really deep,” he said sternly as he applied antibiotic cream to the long scratch that had initially caught his attention. “You need to be more careful. Chasing after a strange dog, digging through bushes, you could have been seriously hurt. And your dog does not need to be walking around in public wearing a princess dress. You’re lucky the fabric didn’t get caught around her neck and choke her to death.”

My spine snapped straight at his chiding tone and every warm and fuzzy thought I’d had about Dr. Joshua Martin flew right out of my mind. I was done being bossed around by men. Done being told I was too weird, too impulsive, too much. I wasn’t going to be lectured by a damned vet, no matter how hot he was.

“Thanks for cleaning me up,” I said, pulling my arm out of his grasp. “I think I’m good.”

“If it starts looking infected…” he began.

“Then I’ll talk to my doctor,” I said firmly.

Of course I didn’t have a doctor here in Starlight Bay yet, but he didn’t need to know that. I’m sure there was an urgent care clinic around here somewhere if I had an issue.

A little furrow appeared between his brows as he studied me, seemingly not understanding the change in my tone. Then he stood up, gathering the supplies and tossing them into the sink next to the exam table.

As he walked away, I couldn’t help but notice that he had a nice butt. I loved guys with nice butts.

“I’ll be back in a bit with a report on Esmerelda. You can wait here or in the lobby, whichever you prefer. It’ll probably be about half an hour. I want to make sure she gets a full dose of medicine.”