Page 49 of Fool Moon First Aid

Tyler gives me a slight smile, while Ethan’s nostrils flare.

“Popped three,” Tyler announces, holding up the bandage like it’s a trophy. I, on the other hand, am trying not to look, because my stomach is starting to turn a little. The ceiling suddenly becomes the most interesting thing in the room. Focus on the ceiling, not the… I swallow my nausea.

“How are you a vet?” Ethan teases, a smile playing on his lips as he sets the tote down beside me.

“Easy. Animals are chill. It’s humans who are high-maintenance.” I keep my gaze firmly away from any blood. “I don’t do human ick.”

“I need to fix this. Stay,” Ethan orders, sounding every bit the authoritative figure he loves to be before he and Tyler head off to clean up.

“I’m not a dog,” I mutter under my breath. Suddenly, I feel a tad guilty for every time I’ve used that tone with my furry patients.

“No, you’re just stubborn,” Ethan retorts, his voice filled with that familiar blend of annoyance and affection. Honestly, does the guy have any other setting than snark?

“All I did was stand!” I protest, defending my honor. “And for the record, I was just following the doc’s orders. Brody’s, to be exact.”

“At least you can follow orders,” Ethan mumbles, almost too low for me to catch.

“How dare you?” I prop myself up, ready for battle, indignation fueling my fire, but then Tyler reappears, all grins and mischief.

“You know what? I’m on dinner duty. Enjoy your little spat.”

I shoot daggers at his retreating back. “Don’t you dare leave me with Mr. Grumpy.”

Silence. He’s already bailed.

“Tyler!” My shout echoes, useless and ignored. He’s gone, abandoning me to face a grumpy Ethan.

And the man in question? He’s kneeling by the couch with a look that says he’s about to do something utterly practical yet annoying. How dare he come at me with logic.

“I need you to turn around,” he instructs.

“You’re the one who parked me here,” I snap back, because if I’m going down, I’m going down swinging.

He rolls his eyes, lifts me with a huff, and repositions me with less gentleness than I’d like. There goes my dignity, bleeding out along with whatever sense of calm I had left.

This time, the tears are real as frustration, pain, and a dash of self-pity overwhelm me. “This is not how I planned my day.”

“Fuck.” Ethan’s voice is thick with regret as he falls to his knees in front of the couch. His eyes swirl with apology, and his thumb tenderly chases away my tears. “I’m sorry, Ava. I’ve been an ass, and you don’t deserve that.”

“You got that right—I don’t.” I sniffle as his hands cradle my face, wiping the tears as if he’s trying to erase the hurt. One minute, he’s rough and brooding, and the next, he’s this tender, possessive male. I can’t grasp the real Ethan under the rough exterior. “It stings a bit, you know.”

He mutters a curse so softly, it almost gets lost in the moment. He’s so close that I catch the hint of peanuts on his breath, a weirdly comforting detail, and I can see a sea of regret in his gaze. “Hurting you was the last thing I wanted. I just got…frustrated.”

“At my leg?” I can’t help but let a spark of anger flicker through me, but pushing against his chest feels like trying to move a mountain with a breeze.

“How about we strike a deal?” he offers, catching me off guard. His thumbs keep up their gentle assault on my tears, steadfast in their mission, and he doesn’t back down, even as a hint of a smile plays on his lips at my feisty attempts to push him away.

I scrunch up my face skeptically. “What kind of deal?”

That almost smile flickers again, barely there but noticeable. “Get better,” he says with such a straight face, I almost laugh, “get healthy, and let me show you how to knock me on my ass, how to take down a wolf.”

I hum, pretending to weigh his words. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“I tend to,” he admits with a smirk.

“And what’s in it for you?” I probe, curious despite myself.

His look cuts right through me, intense and unwavering. “Time with you,” he says, and damn if it doesn’t sound genuinely sweet. “On your back.”

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