Page 29 of Claiming Ours
As I was checking out his cool-as-hell boots, the other set of feet—paws, rather—caught my attention. Apparently, I was too busy ogling the owner to notice the gorgeous yellow lab sitting beside him, tail swishing along the lobby floor.
Clearing my suddenly dry throat, I slid my gaze back to the man’s, casually wiping at the corner of my mouth since it was literally hanging open. When our gazes met, unexpected recognition swirled. I squinted as if that would help place the stranger. My heart squeezed painfully, almost making me gasp, but I didn’t understand why. This time I scanned his striking face to determine how I knew him rather than admiring his sharp, model-like features.
When I came up blank, I shook my head in annoyance with myself and forced a smile, clutching the chart to my chest.
“Hi, welcome in. I’m the veterinarian here, Dr. Baylee Smith, but please call me Baylee.” I couldn’t help but gawk at the sexy-as-hell tattooed hand and fingers he stretched out between us. Swallowing hard, I slid my much smaller hand into his and squeezed before pulling back quickly. My heart raced, breaths turning choppy at the small touch, which made little sense.
When he didn’t offer his name, which I had already forgotten even though it was on the appointment booking, I turned a strained grin to his adorable companion. Finding the largeyellow lab practically smiling at me, my own turned genuine, the tension and confusion melting away.
“And who do we have here?” I squatted low, putting my face right in front of his.
“Elvis.”
I shivered at the mysterious man’s deep voice. Tipping my chin up, I found him staring at me with an intense expression that I didn’t understand.
Shit, maybe too many orgasms scrambled my brain.
Oh well, it was worth it.
Another wave of recognition, a little tickle in the back of my brain hit me then, making my smile drop.
“Do I know you?” I asked before I could stop. Fingertips to the floor, I pushed to stand. “Sorry, I just… it feels like….” I stared at him, slowly shaking my head in confusion. “Anyway, sorry, I’m not feeling great this morning?—”
A squeak escaped, and I clutched the folder tighter to my chest when he cleared the distance between us in a single step. The toes of his boots stopped a centimeter from the tips of my tennis shoes. Staring at his chest, I tipped my face up, finding his green eyes full of concern.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured, hand hovering beside my face as if tempted to touch me.
“What?” I breathed. I was certain I should feel uncomfortable or scared with a stranger standing so close, but I didn’t. I really, really didn’t. The way my pulse raced, and my stomach trembled with desire and not unease spoke to a very different feeling than fear. If I had more than a few seconds to process it all, I’d probably feel terrible at being attracted to the stranger after my morning with Liam.
“You said you were sick. What can I do? Do you need to sit down?”
Before I knew what was happening, his hand pressed to my lower back, and I was guided to a basic plastic chair in the waiting room. Eyes still locked on his, I lowered into the seat, and he followed, crouching in front of where I sat.
“What is going on?” I couldn’t even react when he grabbed my wrist, pressing two fingers to my pulse while lifting his other wrist, exposing a traditional watch.
“Tell me your symptoms. Did you eat something this morning?” he asked while staring at his watch, lips faintly moving as he counted my pulse. “You should drink some water. I’m sure you’re dehydrated after last night.”
“I had?—”
He froze when I did, and his green eyes caught mine. This close, just a short distance separating our faces, that flicker of recognition turned into an unrelenting beat.
“Who are you?” My voice shook, but it wasn’t exactly from distress, more confusion and worry.
A soft tongue swiped at the back of my hand, drawing my attention to Elvis, who laid his large head on my thigh and whined.
“What is going on?” I repeated a little more urgently. The longer this went on, the more freaked out I became.
“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath at whatever he saw flash across my face. Sighing, he gently laid my arm down on my thigh, his fingers sliding away like he was reluctant to stop touching me. “Your pulse is fine, though a little weaker than I’d like. We should get you something with electrolytes.”
The slight accent mixed with a voice so deep and familiar had me leaning in, brows pulled in tight as I studied the man’s features. Then it hit me like a punch to the stomach. I sucked in a breath and jerked back, fingers flying up to cover my gaping mouth.
He gripped the armrests, boxing me in. “Hiya, Bay. It’s been a while.”
Overwhelmed by too many emotions to identify, tears welled in my lower lids before spilling over. “Memphis?”
His chin dipped in a hesitant nod, features frozen as he studied me, waiting for my response.
Without questioning my gut reaction, I threw both arms around his neck, the motion sending me sliding forward in the chair. Warm breath brushed past my ear with a grunt at the unexpected attack. He rocked backward but somehow caught me, regaining his balance to keep us from falling to the floor.
