Page 8 of Feeling the Heat: Part One
Looking back down at the patient intake forms, I skim thefirst page. Like I thought, it’s an omega’s first heat. I’d rather not make her wait for me to read through everything in detail, since she’s probably very uncomfortable sitting in the sterile exam room with the bright fluorescent lights that are jarring even to my alpha eyes.
I quickly grab the bottle of scent blocker from my pocket and rub it over my scent glands to make doubly sure my alpha pheromones don’t bother my new patient. First heats can be overwhelming, especially if they coincide with revealing as an omega. Which is most likely the case, since newly revealed omegas usually visit a clinic and set up a plan for their first heat ahead of time.
I put on my softest smile and try to relax my posture before I enter the exam room. Even with the scent blockers, the new omega will probably be uncomfortable with me as their doctor, especially with such a sensitive situation. My regular patients learn quickly that I’m nothing to feel threatened by or frightened of, but I know what I look like at first glance. A large, intimidating older alpha.
I knock on the door twice, letting the omega inside know I’m here, then call out as gently as possible, “May I come in?” I’ve learned that omegas often do better when I don’t barge into the room. Sven calls it my vampire protocol—I need permission before I can enter.
“Uh, yeah?” A husky, feminine voice calls out from the other side.
Good, she doesn’t sound nervous. My alpha perks up in appreciation at the sound of her voice, but I shove that down.
I open the door and make it two steps inside before I’m arrested by the sight in front of me. An instinctive rumble rises in my chest and I stifle it, doing my best to turn it into clearing my throat.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I lock my eyes on the patient’s face so that I don’t let them scan over the plush curves or the long, bare legs I saw in the brief moments I looked. I won’t lie and say I’ve never been attracted to a patient before—it’s unavoidable as an alpha without a bonded omega. But I’ve never almost growled with possessive lust after a moment in an omega’s presence.
Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to have noticed my inappropriate reaction. I plaster my smile back on. “Ms. Clairmont?”
She nods with a half smile.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Stills. Or you can call me Ambrose if you’d rather not be so formal.” I chastise my alpha for adding that last part.Rather not be so formal? God, keep it together.Flustered by my own words, I go to reach my hand out for a handshake—a rookie mistake for gaining an omega’s trust—but before I can attempt to play it off, she stands and clasps it with hers.
Her grip is strong and confident, and despite how clammy she is, I have the absurd instinct to not let go. This close, I’m hit by her scent, and I almost stagger from the impact.The perfect spiced latte, rich and full-bodied as it touches my tongue, warming me from the inside as I drink.It’s a battle with my alpha that I barely win to not inhale deeply and drink more of her scent down. I quickly let go of her hand, but I must not hide my alpha’s reaction because she grimaces.
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Stills. Uh, Ambrose. Informal is fine, so you can call me Camille. Or Cami. Or Ms. Clairmont. Whatever is fine with me.” Her pale, lightly freckled cheeks burnish slightly, the shade a lovely compliment for her abundant red curls. She clears her throat and glances at my hand, which tingles with the desire to touch her again. “Sorry for the sweaty palms. I’m feeling overheated and, uh, I’m a little nervous,” she says, adding a laugh at the end.
Fuck, my name sounds good coming from her lips. That, combined with the throaty rasp of her nervous laugh, has mycock swelling. I drop the clipboard in front of my crotch before she notices the doctor has a very unprofessional semi five seconds after meeting her.
Calm down.
“No need to apologize at all, Camille. Would you feel more comfortable if I lowered the temperature?”
I pat myself on the back for returning to a semblance of professionalism, but then I see the bead of sweat sliding down the side of her neck and into the swell of her cleavage. My alpha urges me to lick it off, and I drop my eyes to the clipboard so I don’t continue to watch its descent. I go over to the thermostat and bump it down a few degrees, needing to cool down too. Her scent is so potent that I’m having a hard time focusing, but when I hit the button for the room’s filtration fans, nothing happens.
Crap, they’re not working. That’s the second time this month these damn things have gone haywire.
“I’d feel more comfortable if I wasn’t here at all,” she says, her tone rueful.
Shit, I’m making her uncomfortable. That shuts my horny alpha right up. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Clairmont. If you’d prefer a different doctor, I can see if we have someone else on call at one of our sister clinics tonight.”
“What? No, you’re fine. I mean, you’re more than fine…” She swallows heavily and her cheeks grow even pinker. “I was just wishing I wasn’t in this… situation.” She waves her hand around the exam room. “Though I’m still crossing my fingers that it’s a weird sign of menopause.”
Now that my alpha isn’t slavering over her, my brain kicks in. The woman before me is gorgeous andmature, with small flecks of silver in her copper curls and faint crinkles in the corners of her eyes when she smiles.
I glance down at the paperwork and notice the birthdateI’d skipped over. “You’re forty?” I don’t mean to ask that aloud or sound so incredulous. I quickly course correct. “Some women start perimenopause as early as forty, so that’s not unheard of.”
I double-check the vitals that Sven took. She’s running a mild fever and her blood pressure is a little elevated. “Have you noticed any irregularity with your periods? Any night sweats or hot flashes?”
“My periods have been getting a little closer together over time, but I’m still getting them,” she says with a frown, like the fact is upsetting to her. “I’ve felt overheated a few times this past week, though,” she tacks on.
“Hmm, alright.” Her eyes are locked on mine, pleading for me to tell her that this is menopause. But even without my medical training, I’d be able to recognize that the woman before me is an omega going into heat. I’m not about to tell her I know because my alpha is desperate for her, though. “Have you had any pain during intercourse or vaginal dryness?”
She sputters at my question. “Uh, no. I’m… no dryness. The opposite.” She shifts in place on the exam chair and her scent hits me even harder than before. God, she’s perfuming for me.
Taste her slick from the source.Make her come on your tongue and then gush around your knot.
Now my face is as flushed as hers, and if I move the clipboard, she’ll see my erection straining against my pants.Fuck.No matter how hard I try, I’m not able to be professional around her, and she needs medical care, not me thinking about how she’d sound when she comes.
