Authors: Rhian Cahill
CoyoteWhispers (3 page)
He held her close, rubbed his hand up and down her back
until she relaxed against him once more. “You can’t fight what we are forever,
Doc. I understand your fear and I’ll be patient as best I can but you have to
know our mating is inevitable. Neither of us is strong enough to fight these
feelings forever.”
Warm air whispered over his chest, ruffling his hair and
bathing his nipple in a wave of moist heat. Her breasts, concealed by his
shirt, pressed into his side as she sucked in a deep breath, their taut peaks
poking into his ribcage. The sensations of holding Doc so close bombarded him
and his body reacted in typical guy fashion. His pulse raced and blood pumped
into his cock. Steve ignored his coyote’s call to claim his mate and held her.
She remained quiet for so long Steve thought she would continue to deny their
connection but she surprised him.
“I know I can’t fight it anymore. I realized that when you
moved up here but I’m not ready to take the next step.” Her words were barely a
murmur but he heard every one as if it were a physical blow to his heart.
“We’ll worry about that later. Right now, let’s get you all
fixed up.” Steve gently eased Doc away and turned her onto her back. He leaned
up on his elbow and studied her face. “You know, you don’t look as bad as I
thought you would this morning.”
The corners of her mouth tipped up and she winced. “Shoot,
that hurt.”
“Yeah, your lip is split down the middle. Try not to stretch
your mouth.”
“Talking isn’t that bad because I can do it without moving
my lips too much but smiling is obviously out of the question.” She brought her
hand up and ran her fingertips over his make-do bandage job.
Steve frowned. “It’s not the most professional job, but
working with what I have on hand and you extracting that promise you got the
best I could offer.”
“It feels okay but I should check it myself.” Doc tried to
sit up but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Stay there. I’ll grab the first-aid kit and a mirror.” He
rolled off the bed and walked around to her side. “Here, let me help you sit.”
Steve pulled the pillows from his side of the bed and
lifting her, stacked them behind her. Doc leaned back and closed her eyes. “Do
you have any pain pills?”
“Yeah. I’ll bring everything I’ve got.” He strode from the
room and into his bathroom. It didn’t take long to pull out his supplies, he
wasn’t exactly overflowing with medical paraphernalia. Steve brought back his
haul and dropped it on the bed beside Doc. He walked to his dresser and pulled
his mother’s hand mirror from the top drawer and headed back to Doc to find her
going through his kit.
“This is all you have?”
It was a simple question but there was so much censure in
those five words. Sheepishly he said, “Sorry, I’m not as familiar with all this
stuff as you are.”
Doc looked up, their gazes colliding. “Remind me to make you
up a kit, these store-bought jobs are okay but I can give you a better one from
the clinic.” She barely moved her lips when she spoke but her words were clear.
Steve watched as Doc pulled out bandages, scissors and tape.
She held the box of steri-strips before discarding them and searching the small
plastic tub for something else. A breath huffed through her nose as she stopped
combing the contents and went back to the packet of strips.
“You don’t have sutures?”
He shook his head. “No. Only what came in the kit.”
She sighed and picked up his mother’s mirror. Her eyes
widened when she saw her beaten-up face for the first time. The fingers she
brought up to brush over the bandage on her lip trembled and her brown eyes
filled with moisture. “Damn.”
“Yeah, it’s not pretty but it’s already started to heal.”
Doc brushed her fingertips along the bruise on her jaw.
“This was the first punch,” she murmured.
Steve’s gut knotted and his coyote snarled. He managed to
keep from voicing his rage. “What were you doing out in the woods?”
Her gaze met his, the dark depths held so much churning
emotion the knot in his stomach tightened. “I wanted to be near you.”
“You were in the forest to be near me?” He didn’t understand
how that was near him at all. Why hadn’t she just knocked on his door?
“Ever since you moved up here I’ve been walking in the woods
to be close. I needed to feel you.”
“Jesus, Doc, you’re killing me here.” He reached out, ran
his fingers down her cheek. “No more. You want to feel me, you come inside.”
She turned away and Steve put gentle pressure on her chin to
make her look at him. “Promise me, Gordie. I don’t want you going anywhere
alone again.”
His heart stalled while he waited for her answer. When she
nodded he released the breath he held and leaned forward. As lightly as he
could, Steve pressed his lips to hers. He stilled, savored the heat and feel of
her mouth against his. The urge for more rolled over him and he groaned. Before
he could take what he so desperately wanted he pulled back and rested his
forehead on hers.
“Okay.” He breathed deep. “Let’s get you fixed up to your
standards.”
Doc didn’t speak while he helped her remove the bandage from
her mouth. The wound, like the rest of her injuries, had begun to heal. He held
the strips ready for her to apply and by the time she’d finished he was more
ashamed of the crappy job he’d done the night before.
“It’s not so bad. I doubt I could have done a better job
earlier, not without sutures.” Her words, he knew, were supposed to reassure
him but nothing except an uninjured Doc could do that.
“Feel like eating?” Steve gathered up what was left of the
first-aid kit and the trash. “You need to build up your strength. I’m no chef,
but I can open a can of soup.”
“I’m not sure my stomach is up to eating yet, but you’re
right. And a bowl of warm soup sounds wonderful.” The smile in her voice didn’t
move her lips or reach her eyes but that wasn’t surprising when she had to
still be in pain.
“I’ll grab those pain pills and a glass of water first.” He
stood and turned for the door but Doc’s voice stopped him before he took a
step.
“Steve?”
He turned to face her. “What do you need?”
“Thank you.” Her mouth curled slightly on the ends and she
couldn’t hide the flinch the action caused. “For everything.”
Steve sighed. “Gordie you know I’d do anything you asked.
The trouble is, until last night you never needed me.” He spun around and
strode from the room. Emotions collided inside him. Love, desire, rejection,
guilt, frustration. One thing about Doc, she made him feel it all.
* * * * *
Gordie sank into the soft pillows at her back and closed her
eyes. She’d swallowed the pain meds Steve had given her before heading to the
kitchen to heat some soup. It wasn’t exactly a nutritional breakfast but at the
moment that was the least of her concerns. She needed food while she healed—any
food. Her aches had lessened since she’d woken, whether that was from the pills
or her own body healing she couldn’t say, and really didn’t care.
She couldn’t bring herself to care about much of anything
right now. Having Steve look after her, tending her injuries with such a gentle
touch had soothed her in a way she hadn’t expected. As much as she’d told him
she wasn’t ready for the next step in their relationship, Gordie couldn’t deny
she was closer than ever to giving in to her need for him. The edge of fear
that always accompanied her emotions when she thought of Steve and what they
could be had disappeared in the space of a few hours.
For years she’d used that fear to keep her distance. Without
it, Gordie knew it was only a matter of time before they took the final step.
Only one thing stood between them now. She needed to make peace with her past
and the guilt she’d lived with for so long. Anthony would be the first person
to encourage her to move on, but he wasn’t here to nag her into it and as much
as it hadn’t been on a soul-deep level, she had loved him, still mourned his
loss as though it happened yesterday.
Letting go of her guilt would be like losing Anthony all
over again but it wouldn’t be fair to Steve or her to take their attraction
further until she had. The attack last night only served to remind her that
life was short, too short to not take the happiness offered. Gordie hoped Steve
had meant what he said about no pressure. With everything going on in her life
right now she didn’t think they’d be taking that final step anytime soon.
Chapter Two
December Twenty-third
Steve’s boots crunched through the fresh layer of snow on
the ground as he made his way to the back door. Knocking the slush from his
heels, he slipped through the open door and shut it behind him, making sure the
deadlock engaged. His gut tightened. It wasn’t like Doc to leave the clinic
open after hours. Careful not to make a sound, he turned and listened. Various
motors associated with a doctor’s office hummed and the tick of a clock beat
steadily but Steve couldn’t detect any other noise.
Where was Doc? Steve hadn’t seen her outside when he pulled
up and he’d driven past the front of the building on his way to the back alley.
She was expecting him. They’d spoken on the phone not fifteen minutes earlier.
So where the hell was she and why was the clinic left unlocked? Something was
wrong. Had been for weeks but Doc refused to talk about it. He cursed her for
keeping him at arm’s length. Still.
His senses were on full alert as he stepped along the dark
corridor. The door to Doc’s office was wide open, the chair pushed back from
the desk as though she’d gotten up in a hurry. A chill slid down Steve’s spine
and the hair across his nape stood on end. He went deeper into the building.
The next door was closed and he placed his ear against the timber. No sound
came from the other side, not that he expected to hear anyone in the storeroom.
Doc kept the room locked unless she was in there but he
tried the knob regardless. It didn’t budge. Noise farther down the hall had his
head snapping around. There was no one in sight and the place had gone quiet as
a tomb again but he’d definitely heard something.
Gordie, where the hell are you?
The next room he came to served as the theater and morgue.
Steve peered around the door frame. At a glance everything appeared to be in
place so he moved on to the first examination room. Bright murals and mobiles
made the children’s exam room like a playground and other than the gentle sway
of the coyotes dangling from the ceiling where the central heating duct blew
warm air into the room, there was no movement.
Steve paused, listening for any sign of life. There were two
more rooms plus the reception office and waiting area to search. His senses
told him he wouldn’t find anyone. He could smell Doc’s lingering scent, but
couldn’t tell if she was here or not, the smells associated with any medical
facility masked others and that made his instincts howl with frustration. She
would never leave the clinic unattended and she certainly wouldn’t leave the
back door unlocked, never mind open.
He wanted to race through the rest of the building, throwing
open doors and yelling Doc’s name, but he stayed on the side of caution just in
case he’d misjudged the situation. What danger could be lurking he hadn’t a
clue and he didn’t really want to find out. All he wanted was Gordie. To know
she was safe. He stepped into the next exam room. Movement to the left in his
peripheral vision made him turn and crouch.
A large, silver blur rushed past his temple, ruffling his
hair and almost making him miss the other, smaller steel implements flying in
his direction. He ducked and rolled to the side. Landing on his stomach, he
looked across the room. Gordie stood with her arms raised, an instrument tray
in her hands, and the look of fear on her face brought his protective instincts
and coyote screaming to the surface. Steve barely held on to his human side. Something
or someone had terrified his mate and he was ready and willing to take that
threat apart.
“Gordie!” Steve remained still, strained against the need to
go to her, and tried to show the frightened woman he wasn’t a danger. “It’s me.
Steve.”
Her face drained of color and her shoulders sagged as she
lowered the tray. “Oh God. Steve?” Her words were no more than a breath.
“Yeah, baby, it’s me.” He slowly pushed off the floor. “The
door was open, Doc.”
“The door?” Her gaze darted to the doorway behind him.
Her vagueness worried him. Whatever had caused her fear had
done a real number on her. She hadn’t been this shaken up after the brutal
attack months ago. He took a step toward her, his movement made her flinch, the
metal tray dropping to the floor at her feet with a spine-rattling crash. Doc’s
hands clenched into fists at her sides but the action didn’t hide the fact she
was trembling.
He took another step, kept the motion smooth so as not to
startle her again. Steve quickened his pace when she swayed. He’d taken two
strides when she began to crumple to the floor. Darting forward, he barely
caught her in time and he ended up sitting on the cold linoleum, Doc cradled in
his lap. She threw her arms around his neck, buried her face against his chest
and burst into tears.
Dumbstruck by this vulnerable Doc in his arms, it took Steve
a moment to think straight. Holding her close, he rocked them, ran his hands up
and down her back, and whispered words of reassurance he wasn’t even sure he
believed. He told her it would be all right but he had no idea if his words
were true when he had no clue about what had happened.
When her sobbing eased off to the odd hiccup, Steve reached
into his pocket for his phone. It took him a couple of tries but he finally got
the number he was after and hit call. He listened to two rings before a deep
voice answered.
