Love's Taming (The Love's Series) Read Free Page B

beauty leaning over the table. Her hair was the most unusual color. Not red. Not blond. Under the florescent lights, it glistened like copper. She was short, much shorter than his six feet, two inches. And tiny. Her small hands were moving over the large animal assessing its condition. As his dog made a snap in pain, he found himself jumping forward to protect her if needed.
    Startled by the sudden movement of the stranger, she looked up quickly. Her eyes met his and for the first time, she could see his face clearly in the light. His hair and beard were dark, long, and shaggy framing a face that was both rugged and handsome all at the same time. But his eyes were what captured her attention. Unusually dark, almost black. Staring. Unblinking. At her.
    Sucking her lips in again, she glanced at the door, calculating. If he comes after me can I get to the door? Can I shut it on him if I have to? Damn, I can’t lock it from the other side.
    His eyes cut over to the door following the path that hers had taken and he stepped back raising his hands. “I’m not gonna hurt you, I swear. I just wanna help my dog.”
    Blushing, she mumbled an apology as she leaned back over her patient.
    Shaking his head, he growled, “Don’t apologize, doc. You got a right to be cautious. Makes you smart. You’re a woman alone who just let in a stranger. But I swear, I got no other reason to be here except for him.”
    Annie spared another glance at the rough man filling up all of the space in the room, then patted the dog. “I need to get x-rays to see what’s going on. I can work up a fee payment for you first.” As the words came out of her mouth, she knew he couldn’t afford to pay for a vet. Another charity case. Jesus, I must be an idiot. I’ll never pay all my bills.
    “No need, doc. I can pay.”
    Unable to hide her surprise, she looked up at the man, wide-eyed.
    Drawing himself up to his full height, towering over her, he cocked his eyebrow. “I can pay. Up front. In cash.”
    Her mouth snapped shut as she turned back to the dog. “Fine,” she bit out. Great. I’ve just insulted Mr. Scary.
    Grasping the blanket around the dog, she started to pick him up when she was gently shouldered out of the way and the stranger scooped up his dog. “Where to?”
    Quickly moving out of the room she led him to the back surgical area where she had her digital x-ray equipment. After settling the dog in position on the table, she began. The radiographs appeared on the computer screen next to the table completely capturing her attention.
    “There is definitely something in the intestines,” she said leaning in closer to observe the pictures.
    He watched her carefully, waiting to see if recognition would flash across her face. It didn’t. Instead, he noticed her brow furrow as she squinted in concentration.
    “I don’t know what he swallowed but we have to do surgery. Those objects won’t pass the way they are.” Leaning in closer to the x-rays, she tried to figure out what they were. Shaking her head, “I just can’t tell what he ate. Do you have kids? Is it a kid toy?”
    “No,” came the short reply. The voice was right behind her as he had silently moved to see the picture closely.
    “Look mister. I’m trying to help but here’s the problem. Your dog has a foreign object in his intestines and he needs surgery. I can’t do it alone and my tech isn’t here. You can take him to Emergi-Vet which is a twenty-four hour service. It’s about fifteen minutes away.”
    “No,” came the same short reply.
    Putting her hands on her hips, looking almost straight up into his eyes, she huffed and blew her bangs up in the air. “Can you say anything without growling ‘no’?”
    He looked down at her flushed, beautiful face, focusing on her large green eyes, porcelain complexion, and cupid bow mouth. Perfection. Good. Clean. Beautiful. How long has it been since I’ve been around someone like this. Two years? Jesus, seems like fuckin’